I was trying to figure out the best specializations to make a con-man. Somebody skilled in banter and deception, as well as the sleight of hand necessary for your three card monte and shell game type swindles. I'm trying to figure out the best specialization to start with and then one or two to add on as I gain experience. We usually play campaigns out to 500 to 1000+ exp, so there will probably be room to develop.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Gambler and Charmer from Fly Casual would probably be pretty spot on for what you want. Throw in Scoundrel from the Smuggler Career as well and you got three specializations that fit your idea quite well and interact with each other in quite a few good ways.

I don't have my books in front of me but it sounds very much like you want a Smuggler career with Charmer/Gambler specializations. With that starting XP you should be able to get enough talents from each tree to do what you are wanting

Edit: Darth Revenent type faster than I do

4 hours ago, Split Light said:

I was trying to figure out the best specializations to make a con-man. Somebody skilled in banter and deception, as well as the sleight of hand necessary for your three card monte and shell game type swindles. I'm trying to figure out the best specialization to start with and then one or two to add on as I gain experience. We usually play campaigns out to 500 to 1000+ exp, so there will probably be room to develop.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Gambler is very good at deception and sleight of hand, with talents that help back that up. It also means you'll clean up at the card table thanks to talents that boost your winnings.

But so too is Scoundrel, who has ranks in Convincing Demeanor as well as Charm as a career skill as well as having a selection of very nice combat talents (Quick Draw, Quick Strike, Rapid Reactions) to help bail you out when the con goes south for any number of reasons.

As to which of the two to take as your starting career, that's going to depend on what sort of campaign direction the GM has in mind. If they're planning something with a substantial amount of combat and not quite so many ways to talk your way out of trouble, then Scoundrel is a very strong starting option. If however they're thinking something where combat is a rarity and is openly wanting your group to pursue non-violent solutions, then Gambler might be more to your liking.

Thanks all for the thoughts.

I had a chance to look over the suggested options and I think I'll start charmer and then immediately add gambler. I'm playing a human so I can throw on a rank of ranged-light to have a little combat viability. We play weekly and usually get 20 points a session, so it shouldn't take to long to turn him into somebody viable. I can buff and debuff in combat (Inspiring Rhetoric and Disarming Smile) and be an ok shot, and I should be able to charm and deceive well with high skills and great talents. If the game goes long enough I might add in Scoundrel to get some more social bonuses and some combat talents.

Of course this is all subject to change, as my mind is a chaotic place, but I appreciate people giving me a starting place to look.

I'd also consider Sleeper Agent in Spy career. If you ignore the name, it gives you Cool, Deception, Charm and Skullduggery as career skills, meeting your skill needs, and with only 5 xp talent spend, can use Charm with cunning (so you don't need high presence for your charming character) for 2 strain.