Hey everyone! For my first ever SW RPG Edge of Empire game I would like to be a Doctor Aphra type character. Can anyone please help me in creating her on the character sheet? Ive never played an RPG before so I'm very lost.

Thank you,

Barby

What exactly do you need help with? Figuring out a specific character build, or figuring out how to use the sheet/make a character?

23 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

What exactly do you need help with? Figuring out a specific character build, or figuring out how to use the sheet/make a character?

Figuring out what tree or trees to follow. I feel like she fits Archaeologist, Scoundrel, and Outlaw Tech. I want to know what is smart to start with to head in the direction of being Aphra.

Barby

Yeah, that's pretty good, I would suggest going with Archaeologist, Fringer, Scoundrel, and Slicer though. She shows proficiency with Computers and hacking more, in my opinion, than she does in Mechanics/modding.

Aphra is a hard character to build from the ground up as a starting character (more on that later on), but if you do so, I would suggest starting with Fringer, then Archaeologist, then Slicer. Scoundrel should probably be last, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't train those skills. Even if they are out of career, training relevant skills shouldn't necessarily wait until you get the corresponding tree. And as a Human, you can pick a rank in 2 general skills for free. These should probably be Charm and Deception. Fringer and Archaeologist are relatively interchangeable in order, and if the party has a pilot, you could consider dropping Fringer entirely. Aphra largely worked alone-ish, so she was her own pilot. Archaeologist has Well Rounded, which could be used to obviate the need for scoundrel.

A good alternate build to what I originally suggested would be Archaeologist, Slicer, Fringer,* and Scoundrel.*

*These are optional.

For Characteristic builds, I would suggest starting with 2 2 3 3 2 3 and putting your first dedication into either Agility or Intelligence.

Aphra is a fun character for an RPG, but if your intention is to try to replicate the character through an RPG, I would warn you that there is a difficulty there in that the main characters are often so advanced and diversified that it would take a significant amount of XP to replicate them.

If you are just going for an Aphra style character, this sort of progression should work well.

Another piece of advice, talk to your GM about your plan and ask them about the rate of XP. If it is going to be a relatively XP light game, you may want to reconsider as acquiring 4 spec trees, especially when 2 of them are cross-career, will take a very long time. 15 XP per session is a pretty average XP rate, an average of 20+ would be high. For this build, it will probably work best with a 20+ average, though I would advise you not to push too hard for it, because if the other players are not diversifying as much, it can cause some issues.

I hope this helps!

1 hour ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

Yeah, that's pretty good, I would suggest going with Archaeologist, Fringer, Scoundrel, and Slicer though. She shows proficiency with Computers and hacking more, in my opinion, than she does in Mechanics/modding.

Aphra is a hard character to build from the ground up as a starting character (more on that later on), but if you do so, I would suggest starting with Fringer, then Archaeologist, then Slicer. Scoundrel should probably be last, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't train those skills. Even if they are out of career, training relevant skills shouldn't necessarily wait until you get the corresponding tree. And as a Human, you can pick a rank in 2 general skills for free. These should probably be Charm and Deception. Fringer and Archaeologist are relatively interchangeable in order, and if the party has a pilot, you could consider dropping Fringer entirely. Aphra largely worked alone-ish, so she was her own pilot. Archaeologist has Well Rounded, which could be used to obviate the need for scoundrel.

A good alternate build to what I originally suggested would be Archaeologist, Slicer, Fringer,* and Scoundrel.*

*These are optional.

For Characteristic builds, I would suggest starting with 2 2 3 3 2 3 and putting your first dedication into either Agility or Intelligence.

Aphra is a fun character for an RPG, but if your intention is to try to replicate the character through an RPG, I would warn you that there is a difficulty there in that the main characters are often so advanced and diversified that it would take a significant amount of XP to replicate them.

If you are just going for an Aphra style character, this sort of progression should work well.

Another piece of advice, talk to your GM about your plan and ask them about the rate of XP. If it is going to be a relatively XP light game, you may want to reconsider as acquiring 4 spec trees, especially when 2 of them are cross-career, will take a very long time. 15 XP per session is a pretty average XP rate, an average of 20+ would be high. For this build, it will probably work best with a 20+ average, though I would advise you not to push too hard for it, because if the other players are not diversifying as much, it can cause some issues.

I hope this helps!

This is VERY helpful! Thanks a lot.

Barby

You're welcome!

It depends what parts of Aphra do you want to specialize on. She is good at lying and cheating, resourceful when seeking for lost knowledge and adquiring intel and objects from others, and knows a lot about the underworld.

For the cheater/liar/ever smile on the face aspect, I would go Charmer.

For the the lost knowledge part, if you really want to specialize in intel, I would go Scholar, Archaeologist or Analyst (Age of Rebellion).

For the "tomb raider" part of her, I would go Scout.

For the underworld black market contacts, thief and action part of her, I would go Scoundrel.

As you see you have lots of options, and you can adapt a fictional character in a thousand ways. The problem with Aphra, as stated by @P-47 Thunderbolt , is that she is an advanced character and you start a new and fresh character that cannot start with all the options that Aphra displays, so the best way to start is to think whitch part of Aphra do you like the most and do you want to roleplay.

So, the real question you have to make to yourself is what do you like about Aphra that you want to play by yourself. The cheater part? The knowledge part? The tomb raider part? The underworld part? The pilot part? From here, your choice will be much easier.

For a starting out Dr. Aphra type character, I'd say you could go with Smuggler/Thief, as that provides you with Deception, Computers, Perception, Skulduggery, Stealth, and Streetwise, all skills that she'd be proficient with, as well as talents like Bypass Security, Black Market Contacts, and Street Smarts as entry-level talents. Use your two free skill ranks from being a Human for Ranged (Light) and a rank in Knowledge (Education).

Form there, you can hop into either Archaeologist to pick up more useful skills (Discipline, Know [Education] and Know [Lore]) as well as talents useful in the field, such as Well-Rounded to grab a couple skills that you might want to invest more than a couple of ranks in but otherwise aren't career skills, and Researcher to make your Knowledge checks a bit easier. To say nothing of extra ranks of Grit (more strain to fuel Dodge from Thief) as well as a bit of Toughened, Durable, and Enduring to make you better able to avoid getting taken out early in a fight. The spec itself does seem to lean quite a bit into the Lara Croft "tomb raider" aspect by itself, given that as action-orientated as Miss Croft is she's also not clueless about the intellectual side of her chosen profession (or at least that's the case in the video games).

Starting characteristics would probably be a 3 in Intellect, Cunning, and Agility, maybe also bumping up either Presence or Willpower, though I'd lean more towards Willpower (extra strain and boosts Discipline and Vigilance checks) as while she seems charming at first, she's got a nasty habit of eventually rubbing most everyone the wrong way).

I could see the appeal of Scholar, but there's not a lot there that really helps an active field explorer like Aphra. Maybe taken as a third spec down the road after filling out most of Thief and Archaeologist, but that'd be about it.

Having Computers as a career skill will let her do most of what she needs to regarding computers and slicing; she won't be as good as a purely dedicated Slicer would be, but she's still very competent with her Intellect of 3 (higher if boosted with Dedication, which I'd suggest doing) and a few skill ranks.

On 10/30/2019 at 9:55 AM, hikari_dourden said:

It depends what parts of Aphra do you want to specialize on. She is good at lying and cheating, resourceful when seeking for lost knowledge and adquiring intel and objects from others, and knows a lot about the underworld.

For the cheater/liar/ever smile on the face aspect, I would go Charmer.

For the the lost knowledge part, if you really want to specialize in intel, I would go Scholar, Archaeologist or Analyst (Age of Rebellion).

For the "tomb raider" part of her, I would go Scout.

For the underworld black market contacts, thief and action part of her, I would go Scoundrel.

As you see you have lots of options, and you can adapt a fictional character in a thousand ways. The problem with Aphra, as stated by @P-47 Thunderbolt , is that she is an advanced character and you start a new and fresh character that cannot start with all the options that Aphra displays, so the best way to start is to think whitch part of Aphra do you like the most and do you want to roleplay.

So, the real question you have to make to yourself is what do you like about Aphra that you want to play by yourself. The cheater part? The knowledge part? The tomb raider part? The underworld part? The pilot part? From here, your choice will be much easier.

Thanks a lot. This gave me a lot to think about. :)

Barby

On 10/30/2019 at 11:22 AM, Donovan Morningfire said:

For a starting out Dr. Aphra type character, I'd say you could go with Smuggler/Thief, as that provides you with Deception, Computers, Perception, Skulduggery, Stealth, and Streetwise, all skills that she'd be proficient with, as well as talents like Bypass Security, Black Market Contacts, and Street Smarts as entry-level talents. Use your two free skill ranks from being a Human for Ranged (Light) and a rank in Knowledge (Education).

Form there, you can hop into either Archaeologist to pick up more useful skills (Discipline, Know [Education] and Know [Lore]) as well as talents useful in the field, such as Well-Rounded to grab a couple skills that you might want to invest more than a couple of ranks in but otherwise aren't career skills, and Researcher to make your Knowledge checks a bit easier. To say nothing of extra ranks of Grit (more strain to fuel Dodge from Thief) as well as a bit of Toughened, Durable, and Enduring to make you better able to avoid getting taken out early in a fight. The spec itself does seem to lean quite a bit into the Lara Croft "tomb raider" aspect by itself, given that as action-orientated as Miss Croft is she's also not clueless about the intellectual side of her chosen profession (or at least that's the case in the video games).

Starting characteristics would probably be a 3 in Intellect, Cunning, and Agility, maybe also bumping up either Presence or Willpower, though I'd lean more towards Willpower (extra strain and boosts Discipline and Vigilance checks) as while she seems charming at first, she's got a nasty habit of eventually rubbing most everyone the wrong way).

I could see the appeal of Scholar, but there's not a lot there that really helps an active field explorer like Aphra. Maybe taken as a third spec down the road after filling out most of Thief and Archaeologist, but that'd be about it.

Having Computers as a career skill will let her do most of what she needs to regarding computers and slicing; she won't be as good as a purely dedicated Slicer would be, but she's still very competent with her Intellect of 3 (higher if boosted with Dedication, which I'd suggest doing) and a few skill ranks.

So after reading these posts & thinking, I came to the conclusion of starting out as a Smuggler - Scoundrel & then adding points in the Explorer - Archaeologist tree.

Thank you,

Barby