I apologize for my disjointed writing. It's been difficult for me to string together a coherent thought lately...

Got an interesting one for the collective. I'm experiencing a dry spell of creativity at the moment so I was hoping to outsource some of the work. I'm rolling up a new character for a campaign my wife is starting up. It's set in the TOR era, just after the treaty of Coruscant. However, that's simply background noise to the campaign. This campaign is going to be a little more slice-of-life oriented.

The premise was heavily inspired by Trailer Park boys. (I know. Odd source of inspiration, but I think it could be fun.) In any case, the setting will be on a residential space station in the middle of nowhere on the outer rim, and will be heavily leaning towards Edge of the Empire. So why am I posting in the Force and Destiny forums? because I want to play an alchemist.

I'm really wanting to make something that will fit the setting so I was thinking something more akin to backwoods magic, but of course on a cramped station. My pagan friends refer to this concept as a kitchen witch. Someone who use more common household items and ingredients to perform their magics.

My problem is, that's about as far as I can come up with. A friend of mine suggested that he/she really does cook with "spice" (as in drugs), and they would be more like Breaking Bad than Appalachian witch, but I really don't like the idea of them cooking meth or growing dope.

I suppose, in the end, I'm practically making up a brand new Force tradition.

So I would love to hear with the community thinks and if they have any ideas.

Well, I would suggest you watch Babylon 5 for some ideas on how life in a space station in the middle of nowhere might operate, and how it would develop it's own culture and way of life. Plus it's just an awesome show. Or, for a more current source, the Expanse book series is really good at fleshing out how an isolated space culture would operate, how hydroponics would be a vital part of the ecosystem, and other stuff.

As to the kitchen witch idea itself? I mean, I can toss out some generic idea seeds and see if you like them.

The PC is part of a tradition, that believes there is a special connection to the Force when one is adrift deep in space. They seek out space stations, and long distance drift ships that spend lots of time in space, to try and commune with the Force (or whatever they call it if it's something different.) Perhaps, if there is a very distinct astronomical feature that the space station is near, that could be the focal point of their rituals. Having prayers to the nebula, or perhaps some ritual gathering or prayer whenever a particular stellar body has a regular mass eruption. You get the idea I think of what I'm referring to.

As to what the PC would do as a "kitchen witch", I would say that homegrown ingredients would be key for their alchemical workings. If they are living as a "street urchin", then they've squirreled away a corner of some sub-level, and converted it into her own little garden, with diverted energy for lightning, and siphoned water for the hydroponics. The various plants that are grown are used to make her potions, and may or may not have narcotic properties, per your preference. (Personally don't see anything wrong with growing pot (meth I understand), but it's not my PC so you do you.)

She could be something of a local wise woman, that the locals come to for advice or fortune telling. If the station has been around for many years, long enough for people to be station-born, and thus a unique culture, perhaps she's one of those, or if not, the locals still value her wisdom regarding issues.

Perhaps she's seen as something of a local medicine woman, literally, and survives by selling some of her plants that have medicinal properties, or cooking up potions that would help people, that can't afford going to the medical bay.

On the side, she does her Force Tradition stuff, and perhaps has a few devotees on the station as well. They are her eyes and ears around the station, keeping informed on information that she might want to know, shifts of power in the station command structure. Changes in the local gangs, etc.

Further thoughts about the tradition specifically, I would perhaps take ideas from some of the Legend of the 5 Rings philosophy about The Void, or other traditions that discuss a concept of nothingness.

Perhaps have the tradition focus on things like Foresee, or Seek, or any of the vision related Force powers. The idea being that by "tapping into the void of the Force, found only in the depths of space", they are granted awareness and other classic mystical abilities.

Given traditions usually have some drawbacks, perhaps have it be where they suffer from penalties if they are actually on a planet, as the overwhelming gravity of it squelches their "ties to the Void" or something similar.

That's what I've got off the top of my head, might have other ideas later.

Great advice. I especially like the idea of acolytes or at least a gossip circle. And this character will definitely be growing their own flora.

4 hours ago, kaosoe said:

I'm really wanting to make something that will fit the setting so I was thinking something more akin to backwoods magic, but of course on a cramped station. My pagan friends refer to this concept as a kitchen witch. Someone who use more common household items and ingredients to perform their magics.

My problem is, that's about as far as I can come up with. A friend of mine suggested that he/she really does cook with "spice" (as in drugs), and they would be more like Breaking Bad than Appalachian witch, but I really don't like the idea of them cooking meth or growing dope.

I suppose, in the end, I'm practically making up a brand new Force tradition.

Ok, so here's my angle.

If those two things are different or the same, is your call.

I mean I could easily see a weird character in a back compartment all:

Quote

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

Eye of mynock, glove of tech,

Hydroed fruit, and oil of mech,

Cool it with some smuggler's blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.

But yeah... also:

Quote

Oh... you want some booster blue? Go talk to the weird old lady in compartment 34, she cook's up the best stuff. Just don't mind all the dried mynock's she's got hanging about...

I'm trying not to go full drug cook, but if I have her be a potion brewer, the line blurs pretty quickly. And of course the double meaning of spice is hard to ignore. I'll have to think about it.

For even more hilarity, there's a section of the station that is for the lowest income. They're basically just stacks of shipping containers they the station have turned into habitat pods. She may even be living in a set of those that have been fashioned into a single unit.

25 minutes ago, kaosoe said:

I'm trying not to go full drug cook, but if I have her be a potion brewer, the line blurs pretty quickly. And of course the double meaning of spice is hard to ignore. I'll have to think about it.

Well there are varying grades of "drugs", from stuff that is so mild that it's perfectly legal and recreational (see alcohol and pot for example), to really terrible stuff like crack and meth, etc. Just because she might grow a few of those, doesn't mean she does all of them. It could be as simple as the herbal equivalent of someone with their own micro-brewery in their house, to make their own beer/ale. She just does it with some plants.

Again, that's your call on if she does drugs, but not EVERY drug dealer is Walter White, despite that being the only freaking drug dealer pop culture seems to think exists. As someone who regularly took illegal drugs back in my youth, pretty much everyone I knew that dealt in pot, didn't touch the hard stuff, either to use personally, or sell. It was too dangerous, too risky, and not very socially accepted like pot is/was.

29 minutes ago, kaosoe said:

For even more hilarity, there's a section of the station that is for the lowest income. They're basically just stacks of shipping containers they the station have turned into habitat pods. She may even be living in a set of those that have been fashioned into a single unit.

Yeah, Babylon 5 had a section of the ship that was similar to that. It was either called Down Below or the Brown Sector, due to it being where the waste products were processed, and thus a lot of brown stuff was frequently around the place. Since few people wanted to leave new a sewage processing plant, the homeless and dredges of the station lived there as a sort of homeless "tent city" if you will. Pulling out paneling and using them for shelter, splicing into the ships systems for small access to power/water/heat, etc.

Having a town area that's basically a Container Crate City is a really good idea, as those things are used to make actual houses IRL, for some of the more unique home designers. I've seen some photos of houses that are literally just 4-6 of those containers stacked together, welded and cut open in ways to make what appears to be a very posh little house. So yeah, people just moving into the crates that are lying around would make sense.

Another thing that Babylon 5 had going for the "lower class" on the station, was they were frequently used for day labor, by the various unsavory types that operated in the station. A ship comes in and needs a few crates unloaded quickly, before the ship inspector shows up, pay a few station rats some credits to move the stuff without asking questions. So they will likely be very in the know about any criminal goings on.

3 hours ago, kaosoe said:

I'm trying not to go full drug cook, but if I have her be a potion brewer,  the line blurs pretty quickly.

Maybe it's just me, but this seems like a serious issue of campaign themes, which the Player and GM can set and abide by.

I mean, in modern western culture yeah, the line between drug cooks and potion brewers is kinda blurry, but a lot of that is because it's modern western culture where the concept of traditional medicine has, in pop culture, been cooped by drug culture at least to a certain degree.

So don't think western culture.

Going into a traditional medicine shop in Asia, you can get all kinds of weird stuff for anything that ails ya. Yeah, some of it may be kinda druggish, but the majority is just going to be weird stuff that people swear works.

In the case of your kitchen witch, you set that tone and concept and stick to it. Use flavor text. Her compartment can be an odd mix of tech. She can use chemistry gear to distill industrial chemicals into base components which then can be repurposed. Have a hydroponic rack where she grows rare herbs. A modified heat-sanitizer she has rigged up to dehydrate dianoga tentacles.

As long as you stay away from actual "Spices" and stick to it, you should be able to make it work.

You can even pull some nice running gags with it...

Witch: Here, rub this on your upper lip and get it into your nostrils. Breathe only through your nose so you really fill your sinuses with the vapors.

Smuggler: What.... is this going to send me on a "Vision Quest" hehehe?

Witch: Whaaa? No! This Galvorian Mint extract! I need to switch dehydrator over from dianoga tentacle to Vinkrat droppings! It's gonna be stinky in here for a few hours! *mumbling* Bah... *high pitch* "will it make me high??? *more mubling* Stupid smugglers always shoving spice into orifices...

Good thoughts and ideas. As an aside, it's not campaign themes that prevents me from wanting to go full Walter White. My wife/GM is pretty okay with us playing those types of characters. I simply don't want my character to lean too far in that direction. But home remedies is perfectly fine and will definitely play a part with this character.

I also am considering having some sort of mystical element play a part in this character. I think that's where I am struggling the most. But you have definitely given me something to chew on.

3 hours ago, kaosoe said:

Good thoughts and ideas. As an aside, it's not campaign themes that prevents me from wanting to go full Walter White. My wife/GM is pretty okay with us playing those types of characters. I simply don't want my character to lean too far in that direction.

Which is fine, I just sort of cringed a bit when the first mention of drugs immediately went to meth and Walter White, and there is a huge spectrum aside from that terrible person and that terrible drug. Again, pop culture seems to only have one note when it comes to that "I want to be a drug dealer like Walter White!" All I can say to that is "why? He was a horrible person who had a horrible ending, why would you ever want to do that?" Personally, I'd rather be the kind of dealer that I actually knew IRL, who just hung out, got high with people, watched movies and just enjoyed being a stoner. There's of course the more professional, business style drug dealer, like IRL, who sells their product medicinally as a public service, and everything in between. I can appreciate that some people just don't want to play a drug dealer, of any flavor, and that's fine, I just always try and point out that not all of them are the Embodiments of The Devil that is most commonly in films. A lot of them are more like James Franco in Pineapple Express

3 hours ago, kaosoe said:

I also am considering having some sort of mystical element play a part in this character. I think that's where I am struggling the most. But you have definitely given me something to chew on.

I would hope so, seeing as the PC is actually using mystical powers

I don't know if you want ideas on the game mechanics side, but I'd suggest adding later a dash of Prophet and Seer specializations to the the Alchemist, to represent "vision quest" inspirations. This could represent ideas taken not from the "safe drugs" that she sells, but from special brewed-to-order when-necessary-for-plot-reasons potions.

On 8/21/2018 at 11:02 AM, KungFuFerret said:

Well, I would suggest you watch Babylon 5 for some ideas on how life in a space station in the middle of nowhere might operate, and how it would develop it's own culture and way of life. Plus it's just an awesome show. Or, for a more current source, the Expanse book series is really good at fleshing out how an isolated space culture would operate, how hydroponics would be a vital part of the ecosystem, and other stuff.

As to the kitchen witch idea itself? I mean, I can toss out some generic idea seeds and see if you like them.

The PC is part of a tradition, that believes there is a special connection to the Force when one is adrift deep in space. They seek out space stations, and long distance drift ships that spend lots of time in space, to try and commune with the Force (or whatever they call it if it's something different.) Perhaps, if there is a very distinct astronomical feature that the space station is near, that could be the focal point of their rituals. Having prayers to the nebula, or perhaps some ritual gathering or prayer whenever a particular stellar body has a regular mass eruption. You get the idea I think of what I'm referring to.

As to what the PC would do as a "kitchen witch", I would say that homegrown ingredients would be key for their alchemical workings. If they are living as a "street urchin", then they've squirreled away a corner of some sub-level, and converted it into her own little garden, with diverted energy for lightning, and siphoned water for the hydroponics. The various plants that are grown are used to make her potions, and may or may not have narcotic properties, per your preference. (Personally don't see anything wrong with growing pot (meth I understand), but it's not my PC so you do you.)

She could be something of a local wise woman, that the locals come to for advice or fortune telling. If the station has been around for many years, long enough for people to be station-born, and thus a unique culture, perhaps she's one of those, or if not, the locals still value her wisdom regarding issues.

Perhaps she's seen as something of a local medicine woman, literally, and survives by selling some of her plants that have medicinal properties, or cooking up potions that would help people, that can't afford going to the medical bay.

On the side, she does her Force Tradition stuff, and perhaps has a few devotees on the station as well. They are her eyes and ears around the station, keeping informed on information that she might want to know, shifts of power in the station command structure. Changes in the local gangs, etc.

While it's not for me and I would do my best to prevent my family (except for medical use) from using pot, I don't see a problem with someone growing/smoking their own pot until they get behind the wheel of a car (or perform some job where poor performance can get someone killed/hurt) stoned. Colorado's car accident rate went up several hundred percent after legalizing recreational pot. But self driving cars aren't that far away from a comercial reality and that will go a long way to alleviate that problem. Yay for self driving cars... also because my car won't be taken away from me when I get too old to drive safely.

59 minutes ago, EliasWindrider said:

While it's not for me and I would do my best to prevent my family (except for medical use) from using pot, I don't see a problem with someone growing/smoking their own pot until they get behind the wheel of a car (or perform some job where poor performance can get someone killed/hurt) stoned. Colorado's car accident rate went up several hundred percent after legalizing recreational pot. But self driving cars aren't that far away from a comercial reality and that will go a long way to alleviate that problem. Yay for self driving cars... also because my car won't be taken away from me when I get too old to drive safely.

Operating anything while intoxicated on anything is never a good idea. But just like it's "ok" to consume alcohol in controlled situations, there isn't any difference really with pot.

27 minutes ago, KungFuFerret said:

Operating anything while intoxicated on anything is never a good idea. But just like it's "ok" to consume alcohol in controlled situations, there isn't any difference really with pot.

Conceptually I agree with you... but from the news show, there doesn't seem to be a test to see if someone is CURRENTLY (verses having smoked a joint in the last month) high on pot, something akin to a breathalyzer or blood alcohol content which makes prosecuting those to do wreck their car and someone else's life while stoned difficult. Point is use of pot is much harder to control than alcohol. In the absence of a pot "intoxication" test I honestly think that there should be an easily obtainable license to smoke pot where you get prosecuted for smoking pot if you don't have the license and having the license and any/a specific level of pot in your system makes you liable for driving under the influence if you get in a car accident whether or not you've had any in the last month. A large part of the problem is an insufficient medical/legal framework for penalties. But self driving cars... will make it less of a problem.

6 minutes ago, EliasWindrider said:

Conceptually I agree with you... but from the news show, there doesn't seem to be a test to see if someone is CURRENTLY (verses having smoked a joint in the last month) high on pot, something akin to a breathalyzer or blood alcohol content which makes prosecuting those to do wreck their car and someone else's life while stoned difficult. Point is use of pot is much harder to control than alcohol. In the absence of a pot "intoxication" test I honestly think that there should be an easily obtainable license to smoke pot where you get prosecuted for smoking pot if you don't have the license and having the license and any/a specific level of pot in your system makes you liable for driving under the influence if you get in a car accident whether or not you've had any in the last month. A large part of the problem is an insufficient medical/legal framework for penalties. But self driving cars... will make it less of a problem.

Which is fine, I'm not saying any kind of drug use doesn't come with consequences and problems. I was only trying to point out, as someone who spent years actually IN the drug community to a degree, that not every dealer is Walter White. It's been my experience that people who always jump to that as an example, usually don't actually have any real life familiarity with the drug world. And have literally only ever seen it on tv. So they don't realize, when someone suggest playing a drug dealer, that this possible character concept, doesn't mean they have to be a meth cooking, sociopathic, kingpin, who boils bodies in acid in a tub and yells about being the one who knocks. That there are in fact, a lot of perfectly good, and normal people who also partake of recreational drugs, that aren't booze, and are able to function normally, and be perfectly friendly people. But then someone says Walter White again, and it's all lost

As I said to the OP, if he just doesn't want to play a drug dealer, that's fine, I have character concepts that I just personally never have a desire to play, and no amount of persuasion is likely to convince me otherwise. But if the only concept of "drug dealer PC" is Walter White, then they were missing out on many other possibilities that are far more morally palatable.

Besides, it's Star Wars, there's no reason we can't say the stuff the PC grows is perfectly legal, is harmless unless used in excess (like most things), and has many beneficial, medicinal uses that have been tested for efficacy. She just has to make her own, because it's a confined ecosystem (the space station), and transporting that kind of stuff is super expensive, better to home grow it and sell it to the locals.

4 minutes ago, KungFuFerret said:

Which is fine, I'm not saying any kind of drug use doesn't come with consequences and problems. I was only trying to point out, as someone who spent years actually IN the drug community to a degree, that not every dealer is Walter White. It's been my experience that people who always jump to that as an example, usually don't actually have any real life familiarity with the drug world. And have literally only ever seen it on tv. So they don't realize, when someone suggest playing a drug dealer, that this possible character concept, doesn't mean they have to be a meth cooking, sociopathic, kingpin, who boils bodies in acid in a tub and yells about being the one who knocks. That there are in fact, a lot of perfectly good, and normal people who also partake of recreational drugs, that aren't booze, and are able to function normally, and be perfectly friendly people. But then someone says Walter White again, and it's all lost

As I said to the OP, if he just doesn't want to play a drug dealer, that's fine, I have character concepts that I just personally never have a desire to play, and no amount of persuasion is likely to convince me otherwise. But if the only concept of "drug dealer PC" is Walter White, then they were missing out on many other possibilities that are far more morally palatable.

Besides, it's Star Wars, there's no reason we can't say the stuff the PC grows is perfectly legal, is harmless unless used in excess (like most things), and has many beneficial, medicinal uses that have been tested for efficacy. She just has to make her own, because it's a confined ecosystem (the space station), and transporting that kind of stuff is super expensive, better to home grow it and sell it to the locals.

While I hear it was a well written and executed show, I never watched breaking bad because I didn't like the premise, which is why I don't think Walter white when I think drugs. I had a friend in high school who claimed to have smoked weed but I never saw him do it, and he didn't smell odd (i think but am not sure i know what pot smells like), so I agree that SOME people appear to be able to lightly dabble in relatively harmless "gateway drugs" without ruining people's lives.

1 minute ago, EliasWindrider said:

While I hear it was a well written and executed show, I never watched breaking bad because I didn't like the premise, which is why I don't think Walter white when I think drugs. I had a friend in high school who claimed to have smoked weed but I never saw him do it, and he didn't smell odd (i think but am not sure i know what pot smells like), so I agree that SOME people appear to be able to lightly dabble in relatively harmless "gateway drugs" without ruining people's lives.

At the risk of derailing this further, this will be the last thing I say on the subject, it's not a "gateway drug", in the sense that people like to claim it is, namely that after you do pot so long, you get bored with it and do other things because it's just not "giving you that same feeling". Which is crap, because alcohol works the same way, yet nobody seems to think booze is a "gateway drug". The reality is that, at least until recently with the large scale legalization, to GET it, you had to deal with some unsavory people from time to time. People who were already trying to run a business that was illegal in nature, and were thus more willing to also carry other products of an illegal nature. And then, good ole capitalism and upselling would kick in. "Hey, I've got some other stuff that's really good! You should try it while you're buying that pot." So if you are frequently around dealers who were like that (and they are out there, not all of them, but they do exist), you are more likely to try it, simply due to proximity.

4 minutes ago, KungFuFerret said:

At the risk of derailing this further, this will be the last thing I say on the subject, it's not a "gateway drug", in the sense that people like to claim it is, namely that after you do pot so long, you get bored with it and do other things because it's just not "giving you that same feeling". Which is crap, because alcohol works the same way, yet nobody seems to think booze is a "gateway drug". The reality is that, at least until recently with the large scale legalization, to GET it, you had to deal with some unsavory people from time to time. People who were already trying to run a business that was illegal in nature, and were thus more willing to also carry other products of an illegal nature. And then, good ole capitalism and upselling would kick in. "Hey, I've got some other stuff that's really good! You should try it while you're buying that pot." So if you are frequently around dealers who were like that (and they are out there, not all of them, but they do exist), you are more likely to try it, simply due to proximity.

Makes sense, I was using "gateway" as a "mostly harmless in itself" label.

I don't have a quarrel with people who use drugs until their habit starts hurting people.

What an interesting debate my thread sparked.

My only contribution is I think my character will have an obsession with whatever the Star Wars equivalent of Mason Jars are.

3 hours ago, kaosoe said:

What an interesting debate my thread sparked.

My only contribution is I think my character will have an obsession with whatever the Star Wars equivalent of Mason Jars are.

Space Mason Jars.....Spason Jars?

On the subject of "spice," it's really more of a catchall term in Star Wars the covers both perfectly legal, controlled, restricted, and illegal substances, mostly for recreational use but some have medicinal value in addition or in place of recreational value.

Yeah, Han Solo was smuggling spice for Jabba the Hutt, and Legends (specifically the Jedi Academy Trilogy) defined what he was running as a highly illegal version of spice, but smuggling doesn't make the substance in and of itself illegal or bad. There are lots of reasons why a perfectly legal substance might be smuggled illegally.

Moreover, to get into real-world parallels, there are many substances that dangerous, harmful, or fatal in certain dosages and combinations, but perfectly safe in others, and that's where a lot of legal and illegal lines get drawn. Ingredients in good cold medicines can be repurposed with a little chemical knowhow into meth, so those substances end up controlled by association.