A Fellowship-Based Character?

By venkelos, in Rogue Trader

So, I am wondering if anyone might be able to give me some suggestions. I have a character idea; she's my Navigator Asteira Volaris. Asteira is an experiment of her father, Novator Daedalus Volaris, in an effort to create a more aesthetically pleasing Navigator. Through considerable T&E, he finally fabricated a stable speciman whose Navigator powers were decent, and who didn't look like a monster (when you imagine that half of her DNA is his, and the elder Navigator looks like Guild Navigator Edric from Dune Messiah by Scifi Channel, that's a major accomplishment). He efforted to breed in the most stunning, attractive features he could, while working around the Navigator gene's mutative properties, trying to stymie them as much as possible. 20 plus years later, what he got was one of the most breathtaking humans most people will ever see, with the only notable oddities being a penchant to ALWAYS wear elbow-length gloves, and blood like tree sap, rather than blood. Her third eye is concealed behind a small, technical marvel of a circlet, with sensors that can detect the muscle movements, and open an iris to reveal said warp eye when necessary.

Okay, thanks for reading all this crap, now, onto the question. Asteira exists both to try an improve the baseline Navigator, at least on her family, and to serve them in enterprises. She is a skilled diplomat, and a capable business woman of a sort, in addition to being a skilled Navigator, and a Navis Scion, as well. Is there anything I might do/add to increase her Fellowship effectiveness, mechanically? In her block, at lvl.2-3, she has a 51, though Fellowship is tricky for Navigators to raise. Many Traits have something that can be added to make them more effective, and the sultry, social Navigator could possibly benefit from such, but I don't know of one for Fellowship, beyond Unn Fell, which only Slaaneshi servants seem to have. Any ideas would be much approved. Her Fel-based skills are already pretty far along, thanks to Navis Scion, so I'm not sure where else to go. Maybe she already has everything she needs to woo prospective clients, and get work done, I'm not the best judge in this system. She's more a fanfiction story character, at the moment, but could easily be a decent PC in a game, if ever I get to play in one.

I had a statblock here, but the site ate it twice, so you can ask if you care, and otherwise, it stays shorter this way.

A 51 Fel is already fairly impressive, especially if you have the social skills to back it up. I wouldn't try to force it to 'beyond what's normally possible' or the character starts looking like a really offensive example of a fan fic piece.

Your best bet probably lies in gaining Peer and Good Reputation talents as elite advances. However, realize that getting those talents for one group may exclude others (for example, getting Peer and Good Reputation [Adeptus Arbites] may exclude you from gaining the same talents for the Underworld).

I'm playing a Fellowship-heavy Navigator right now: a sort of Don or Crime-Prince with a network of informants and lackeys all over the ships of our fleet, who is always skimming some Profit off the top. I basically I just sucked it up and paid for a Fellowship increase to get myself to a pretty respectable 46. My GM allowed me to buy Inquiry at Rank 1 and I picked up the right skills. It's worked awesomely so far and I've never had more fun playing a Fellowship-heavy PC.

As HappyDaze said, if you've got a pretty good Fellowship to start, and the right skillset, you should be good to go - the rest is role-playing. If your group is anything like mine, you'll be roleplaying most of the social encounters and possibily getting a few situational bonuses as a result of good RPing.

Oh, and save those Fate points for social situations.

I'd definitely suggest looking at the Navis Scion from Into the Storm -- it is an Alternative Career Rank for Fellowship based Navigators who represent their houses to others.

You've already mentioned the Navis Scion alternate rank, and you have a good stat block so far (51 fell is impressive for a navigator). Have you looked into Peer/Good Reputation, other talents like Warrant of Renown (which works per character that buys it afaik and not the whole party) and finally implants like the pheromone generator (social bonus) or other implants like the one that allows you to digest almost anything, handy when dealing with exotic or potentially dangerous foodstuffs at formal meetings.

The RT, Missionary and Senechal are generally the ones that "should" have those kinds of Fellowship numbers - and focus on improving them - because they are the ones that most commonly "deal with people." To a lesser degree, Arch-Militants and Void-Masters too, but that is mostly if they intend to "command" others, as infantry commanders and squadron leaders.

I can agree with that, but Asteira is a very unique Navigator, and Fellowship is at least her second most important Ability, balancing between Fel, Tough, and Int. Basically, her father, Novator Daedalus Volaris, is trying to clear all of the "junk" out of his line of the Navigator gene, and return them to a point where they are mostly Human, in appearance, and more resistant to mutations (she already has my favorite, and one that is mostly easy to hide with gloves; so getting no more would be good, and many aren't that helpful. While that's the point, it's also why Daedalus would effort to clear things out.) Since he looks like G.Nav. Edrick from Dune Messiah (the Scifi Channel movie one), her looking practically Human is a major accomplishment. If the process can work, then the small House can get its representatives into a lot more places, and possibly dig up more work, as well as staving off full genetic impairment; other members of his line are often crippled by their twisted deformities. Since she is so Ambassador-Navigator oriented, I was curious how much Fellowship, and cheesy Fellowship the character could get.

Heya,

I guess for cheesy fellowship, as you put it:

Origin - Noble Born:

+5 Fellowship

Etiquette (+10 to interaction tests with high authority and formal situations)

Peer (Nobility)

Peer (choose from list)

Birthright - Savant

Peer (Academic)

+3 Fellowship

Lure - Zealot - Favoured of the Feaithful

+5 Fellowship

Peer (Ecclesiarchy)

Trials - Press Ganged

Free skills (Intimidate?)

Motivation - Prestige

Talented (choose) or Peer (choose)

Navigator Lineage - Magisterial or Shrouded

See Exalted Lineage & Mercantile Opportunities (this one seems best here for skill interaction)

Take the Foreshadowing Navigator power. +10% to any test.

That's +13 fellowship hard stat.

And easily a +20 roll, starting, against different groups due to Etiquette combined with Peer. Higher if using a fellowship skill that is talented. Being close to +30 for that sort of thing (inquiry? interrogation?). +40 if using your Foreshadowing skill. You're already rolling over 100 here.

Plus the +20 from character generation if using the 25 all, with 100 to spend.

Buy +5 Fellowship with your first round of experience.

Puts you at fellowship 63 to start the game. And with anywhere from +20 to +40 for skill rolls on interaction skills with above bonuses, you're pretty much going to pass most tests right away, with degrees of success.

Still leaves plenty of room to keep Intelligence high for Navigation and Perception high for Navigation, with a splash of a combat direction of choice to a lesser degree.

Very best,

Edited by MalVeauX