I’m about to start GMing an Edge of the Empire campaign, and I’m building a Smuggler: Gunslinger for a player who missed our character generation session and doesn’t know the system yet, and I thought I’d look for a little input.

I’m pretty set on a human because (1) the rest of the party is all alien and a human can be helpful during the Empire, and (2) I think a repainted Legion Padme would make a cool mini for a gunslinger, but I’m going back and forth on Characteristics.

The two arrays I’m considering are 3 each in Agility, Willpower and Presence, or Agility 4 and Presence 3.

The advantage of the former is that it leaves ten starting XP that could either buy Quick Draw and Quick Strike or Rapid Reaction, or raise Ranged Light to 2. Plus, both initiative skills would wind up 2 greens and a Yellow.

On the other hand the 4 in Agility would more directly shore up combat, which I’m not sure the rest of the party is super strong on.

So, thoughts?

It depends.

If you go with 333222, the character is a bit more balanced. They are competent, but not exceptionally so. With two-weapon combat, this is on the low side.

If you go with 432222, the character is much more specialized. They are really good at what they do, and will consistently be able to hit twice with two-weapon combat.

Progression is a big consideration. Think about where the first Dedication will go. If you go with 333222, it will probably go into Agility. I think this makes sense for the type of character, is the sort of progression I generally prefer.* If you go with 432222, there is a chance the player will still put it into Agility, buffing it to 5. This makes the character extremely specialized and really good at what they do. In my opinion, you shouldn't have more than 4** in any Characteristics except for Brawn and Intellect without cybernetics or other enhancements.

Because Gunslingers tend to use two-weapon combat, there is a natural push towards min-maxing as the player wants to be able to consistently hit with both weapons, so this is something to keep in mind.

*I have played characters with 433221 (my favorite), 432222, and 333222 spreads. I don't especially like 432222 spreads except for Brawn, as I have one character whose whole shtick is that he's a big guy (but first Dedication went into buffing a Characteristic to 3). Intellect is also okay, but I haven't played a 432222 Intellect character.
**Once you get to a high enough level, then you're kinda pushed in that direction and it's fine. I'm talking about while you're still in the 600-700 EXP range.

Bottom line, I suggest 333222, but have laid out the cases for both.

3 hours ago, LStyer said:

I’m about to start GMing an Edge of the Empire campaign, and I’m building a Smuggler: Gunslinger for a player who missed our character generation session and doesn’t know the system yet, and I thought I’d look for a little input.

I’m pretty set on a human because (1) the rest of the party is all alien and a human can be helpful during the Empire, and (2) I think a repainted Legion Padme would make a cool mini for a gunslinger, but I’m going back and forth on Characteristics.

The two arrays I’m considering are 3 each in Agility, Willpower and Presence, or Agility 4 and Presence 3.

The advantage of the former is that it leaves ten starting XP that could either buy Quick Draw and Quick Strike or Rapid Reaction, or raise Ranged Light to 2. Plus, both initiative skills would wind up

On the other hand the 4 in Agility would more directly shore up combat, which I’m not sure the rest of the party is super strong on.

So, thoughts?

If you're focused firstly on combat prowess, I'd definitely go with Agility 4 here. Yes, it is 10XP more expensive so you can't buy Quick Draw & Quick Strike, etc. but those things can easily be bought later -- probably right after the first session if you want to -- whereas the chance for a Characteristics increase during game play is at best more than 100XP away. So, (again, if good and consistent combat prowess is important, which is typically is in most SW games), I'd definitely go for the Characteristics bump during character generation rather than let the player investing in some basic talents after the first couple sessions etc.

Good luck.

I think it really depends on what sort of game you intend to run. If the rest of the party is light on combat skills, that one character that can consistently do amazing things quickly starts to overshadow the rest of the party in a combat-focused game. If, instead, it's not that sort of game and the party's focus on other skills isn't going to hurt them too bad, then one might question what a combat-focused specialization like Gunslinger is doing in the party.

Another thing to consider, if everyone else made their own character I would *NOT* min/max a GM-built PC by putting a 4 in Agility. That's just begging for some pushback and hurt feelings from the other players. YMMV, of course.

Well, a Human has 110 starting XP, and potentially some more from extra Obligation (a group of 4-5 players can take up to +10 Obligation to add +10 XP). With that extra +10 XP, the ideal array is 333322. For a Gunslinger, B2 A3 I2 C3 W3 P3 is a good build, and allows the character to branch out into social skills, especially with an eventual cross-spec into Charmer.

If the game is going to be an on going campaign then I would make them more well rounded with more stats at 3. (4 if possible with obligation) It is not too long after you can buy dedication after 100 earned exp.

If the game will only be a couple sessions then pump their main stat up, so they can be great right away versus waiting for a time that may never come.

One thing I would think about is how the character's back story and motivations agree or not with the stat build. If the backstory is that she has always been amazing with a blaster, and that has been what defines the character, then the 4 agility makes a lot of sense to me. If being that amazing shot is not primary, then what is the primary backstory? Maybe the character wants to be a great gunman, but only has a 3 agility, so wants to train (Gunslinger spec) to be great. I have a early game (125xp) 432222 Gunslinger where the 4 is Cunning. The talents of Gunslinger somewhat make up for the 3 Agility. In the back story fate caused the character to default to a combat spec for survival, but the character's inclination is to be Cunning. Make the backstory fit the Stats.

Focus on combat and going first in combat.. let some other player be the face.

Make up a generic reusable NPC gunslinger and throw it at the PC occasionally and get the soundtrack for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to play as background music.

add XP as a rival as the PC evolves.

Don't be surprised that with dual weapons and decent pistols they knock out 15 to 20 damage with one hit - enough to wipe out a minion group or even a weak rival

Ditch minion groups or ramp up the minion groups..