Need help trying to pick a specialization for "Space cowboy"

By Dragsaw, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

So i like the bounty hunter career as it fists the most thematically. But im having some problems deciding between Assassin or Gadgeteer. Im trying to make what is pretty much a space cowboy gunslinger, like the wild west sharpshooter kind. I know Gunslinger isnt an option but that seems based on just dual wielding and im told thats not the greatest until you have a ton of talents. Currently im leaning towards a larger blaster or a side arm but i like the idea of changing my equipment per mission.

Im using the term cowboy really loosely, im thinking like some Red Dead Redemption stuff more than rooting and tooting and quick drawing blaster pistols in some space chaps. Currently im the only real full combat character in the party.

check out the Colonist Marshal tree. And the Gunslinger tree is an awesome tree. You don't have to have a lot in it for it to be awesome.

Edited by Daeglan
10 hours ago, Dragsaw said:

I know Gunslinger isnt an option...

Why do think that? It's plenty good. It's not the highest damage output in the game, but so what? None of the other possibilities really fit your concept. Marshal and Gunslinger are great flavour choices, and have cheaper access to other specs that help flesh such a character out, depending on the direction you want to go.

10 hours ago, Dragsaw said:

Currently im the only real full combat character in the party.

If I can interpret the subtext here: you shouldn't feel the need to become the damage-dealer just because nobody else will. The PC group could be entirely made of scholars, it's up to your GM to scale encounters accordingly.

Work your way up to a customized pair of Dragon-eye Reaper pistols, and you'll do fine.

Gunslinger is a really strong talent tree, plenty of my players who bought it loved it. It fits space cowboy the best.

Marshall would also fit space cowboy, it is less combatant and has more social skills. Which if your party is social then you can help out others with GOOD COP or BAD COP.

You could also do sharpshooter from Age of rebellion, that one is really strong for shooting and damage and can fit space cowboy. The skills maybe slightly out of place but that would be a deadly person with pistols.

12 hours ago, Dragsaw said:

So i like the bounty hunter career as it fists the most thematically. But im having some problems deciding between Assassin or Gadgeteer. Im trying to make what is pretty much a space cowboy gunslinger, like the wild west sharpshooter kind. I know Gunslinger isnt an option but that seems based on just dual wielding and im told thats not the greatest until you have a ton of talents. Currently im leaning towards a larger blaster or a side arm but i like the idea of changing my equipment per mission.

Im using the term cowboy really loosely, im thinking like some Red Dead Redemption stuff more than rooting and tooting and quick drawing blaster pistols in some space chaps. Currently im the only real full combat character in the party.

Marshal from colonist and sharphshooter from soldier (AoR) do pretty good together.

OK i will check out gunslinger, marshal and sharpshooter some more. Because im new to the system is it a good idea to take ranks in both heavy and light weapons or should i just focus one one?

17 minutes ago, Dragsaw said:

OK i will check out gunslinger, marshal and sharpshooter some more. Because im new to the system is it a good idea to take ranks in both heavy and light weapons or should i just focus one one?

That depends. If you are going to be using both, go for both. Otherwise, pick one.

If your question is "is it worth using both" then it also depends.

Ranged (Heavy) weapons tend to be higher damage and longer ranged, with the drawback of higher Encumbrance and the often the Cumbersome quality. They are also NOT inconspicuous, so you may very well be restricted in where you can take them.
There is then the question of grenades. If you are going to be using grenades, you'll need Ranged (Light), regardless of whether your primary is Ranged (Heavy).
Ranged (Light) weapons are less frequently illegal and allow you to carry more due to their lower Encumbrance. You can also dual-wield, which allows you to increase their damage output dramatically (and look AWESOME).

Having versatility is useful. Here's my bottom line suggestion: Except in rare cases, if you primarily use Ranged (Heavy), you should pick up Ranged (Light) as well. The same is not true the other way around, but it is not in advisable to have that versatility, especially if your character is supposed to be a good all-round fighter.

20 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

That depends. If you are going to be using both, go for both. Otherwise, pick one.

If your question is "is it worth using both" then it also depends.

Ranged (Heavy) weapons tend to be higher damage and longer ranged, with the drawback of higher Encumbrance and the often the Cumbersome quality. They are also NOT inconspicuous, so you may very well be restricted in where you can take them.
There is then the question of grenades. If you are going to be using grenades, you'll need Ranged (Light), regardless of whether your primary is Ranged (Heavy).
Ranged (Light) weapons are less frequently illegal and allow you to carry more due to their lower Encumbrance. You can also dual-wield, which allows you to increase their damage output dramatically (and look AWESOME).

Having versatility is useful. Here's my bottom line suggestion: Except in rare cases, if you primarily use Ranged (Heavy), you should pick up Ranged (Light) as well. The same is not true the other way around, but it is not in advisable to have that versatility, especially if your character is supposed to be a good all-round fighter.

Yeah i imagination they are a good all-round fighter. I am leaning to have them be "mandalorian" but not necessarily the human (mandalorian) species. I guess The Mandalorian is pretty much a space cowboy in the show.

1 hour ago, Dragsaw said:

OK i will check out gunslinger, marshal and sharpshooter some more. Because im new to the system is it a good idea to take ranks in both heavy and light weapons or should i just focus one one?

Since you will probably start out with 4 Agility, you don't strictly need to put any skill ranks in your backup weapon skill. You'll generally do fine just rolling four greens plus boosts from various non-talentsources.

8 minutes ago, micheldebruyn said:

Since you will probably start out with 4 Agility, you don't strictly need to put any skill ranks in your backup weapon skill. You'll generally do fine just rolling four greens plus boosts from various non-talentsources.

Ah, i was told that 4 isnt worth it over having 3/3/3/2/2/2. I can change into 4 agility if that would work better?

13 minutes ago, Dragsaw said:

Ah, i was told that 4 isnt worth it over having 3/3/3/2/2/2. I can change into 4 agility if that would work better?

If you're human you could have 333322. If you pick a species that boosts any of 3 attributes you want to boost and penalizes one you don't care about you can get a 433221

16 minutes ago, EliasWindrider said:

If you're human you could have 333322. If you pick a species that boosts any of 3 attributes you want to boost and penalizes one you don't care about you can get a 433221

My maths must be off then. Isnt it 10xthe number you are raising the stat too? So 30xp for a 3, 40xp for a 4?

Yes, he's assuming you take 10 Obligation for +10 starting XP.

For other species builds, you need only 100 XP to get a 433221 spread because you've already got one of the threes.

48 minutes ago, Dragsaw said:

Ah, i was told that 4 isnt worth it over having 3/3/3/2/2/2. I can change into 4 agility if that would work better?

It's personal preference, really. And it greatly depends on the character and what it wants to be good at and how many things it wants to be good at.

1 hour ago, Dragsaw said:

My maths must be off then. Isnt it 10xthe number you are raising the stat too? So 30xp for a 3, 40xp for a 4?

30+30+40 is 100. The point was to pick a species that has a 3 in an attribute you wanted to boost and a 1 in an attribute you don't care about.

14 minutes ago, EliasWindrider said:

30+30+40 is 100. The point was to pick a species that has a 3 in an attribute you wanted to boost and a 1 in an attribute you don't care about.

Ah, Yeah i was looking at the Mirialan but they drop cunning, and cunning seems important for what i want. I know there are other races but i decided to be a jerk and have my race a mystery to the rest of the party. So basically due to me being a jerk im limited to what looks more or less human under some armour

Also, don’t sleep on the Beast Rider. A cowboy without a trusty steed just isn’t that cool...

8 hours ago, DanteRotterdam said:

Also, don’t sleep on the Beast Rider. A cowboy without a trusty steed just isn’t that cool...

A Space Cowboy that whistles for his mount? AWESOME.

17 hours ago, EliasWindrider said:

If you're human you could have 333322. If you pick a species that boosts any of 3 attributes you want to boost and penalizes one you don't care about you can get a 433221

433221 is my favourite distribution, and I also allow it for humans (gain 20XP for the drop to 1, spend it elsewhere). The only con is if you have a player who can't handle the humour of having something they are bad at.

333322 is the next best distribution IMHO, and it really shows its benefits after you get your first Dedication (433322). The only con is not having a high enough initial dice pool in your chosen area of expertise, but it doesn't take that long to either get Dedication or get the required skill ranks to 4. If the other players go a similar route, and the GM is scaling properly, then it's not really a problem.

432222 is the worst IMHO. It does give an immediate boost to the chosen areas of expertise, but it means you generally suck at everything else, but without the benefits of the humour a true "1" provides. After Dedication it remains the worst distribution of the three.

27 minutes ago, whafrog said:

433221 is my favourite distribution, and I also allow it for humans (gain 20XP for the drop to 1, spend it elsewhere). The only con is if you have a player who can't handle the humour of having something they are bad at.

333322 is the next best distribution IMHO, and it really shows its benefits after you get your first Dedication (433322). The only con is not having a high enough initial dice pool in your chosen area of expertise, but it doesn't take that long to either get Dedication or get the required skill ranks to 4. If the other players go a similar route, and the GM is scaling properly, then it's not really a problem.

432222 is the worst IMHO. It does give an immediate boost to the chosen areas of expertise, but it means you generally suck at everything else, but without the benefits of the humour a true "1" provides. After Dedication it remains the worst distribution of the three.

Gand, pantoran and I don't know what else could pull off a 433222. Pantoran is restricted to having one of the >=3 stats in presence which is harder to abuse. Gand have to take lungs that make atmosphere deadly.

Scoundrel isn't a half bad quickdraw gunslinger either, and Mercenary Soldier is just a solid all-round shooting spec.

333322 is the best distribution, imo. No strong attribute but 4 above average and the other 2 average, that means no weakness. With 4 dedications you're 444422, and 4 more dedications make you 555522 or 554433. You're either with 4 very strong attributes and 2 average or 2 very strong, 2 strong and 2 above average attributes, but quite monstrous in both case.

But for a very short campaign or a one shot I'll go with 433221. If I can expect to earn enough XPs to get 3 or 4 dedications, because the campaign won't run that long, I prefer to be strong in one attribute to get a 2 green and 2 yellow in some skills check very early in the game.

ï have read none of the above posts but im still 100% correct when i say pick gambler

"It dose not fit my charater" IT DOSE NOW!

"I was more looking for a (insert diffrent way of playing here) approch" TO BAD YOU ARE PLAYING GAMBLER NOW

"I dont like the gambler tree".....Get out...NOW!

No but seirusly the gambler tree works really well with most charaters and its really fun since it lets you go for those crazy plans more often since you improve your odds