We are discussing AoR characters right now (haven't even got the book yet, but it should arrive this week) and I'm wondering what species make a good thematic fit for the various AoR careers.

Of course, the system is set up for any race to play any class, but what role would be iconic for each of the species here?

Assuming humans could play any role...

Droids - did the Alliance have many droids beyond support roles? Would careers like Ace or Commander make sense for a droid? Sure they had R2 units but they're not actually pilots, are they? They seem more like a navigator or co-pilot. Did they ever have robots giving orders?

Bothans - obviously thematic fits for Spy or Diplomat

Duros - Ace, clearly

Mon Calamari - Akbar wasn't the only leader, so Commander/ Tactician/ Commodore seems tailor-made for them, no?

Sullustan - Again, Ace seems the obvious choice. Maybe Engineer?

Gran/Ithorian - They seem to occupy the same thematic space as regards species here - they are both essentially peaceful and co-operative races, with the Ithorians liking plants and gardening. So 'Diplomat' seems a perfect fit for either. I notice 'Scientist' is now in the 'Engineer' career, so maybe that fits the Hammerheads too.

None of these races seems to have a high Brawn or combative flavour that would be ideal for a foot-soldier type (no Wookies or Trandoshans). Anyone know what kind of species did the 'heavy lifting' for the Alliance when it came to squaddie ground-pounding?

And any other species you feel should have been here, that are traditionally Alliance races? I'm surprised Bothans made the cut twice - are they really that popular and iconic compared to say, Twi'leks or Wookiees?

Thoughts?

In the EU, a lot of species fill a lot of different roles. For example, although the Mon Cal often assume leadership roles, they're equally adept as engineers. The Rogue Squadron has had aces of at least a half dozen species -- including a Gamorrean! One of the comics featured a recurring commando squad that includes a Duros. Another comic had a group of Bothan commandos who were pretty scary.

Although it's easy to go with species stereotypes, it's just as easy to go against it. John Jackson Miller does this a lot in his comics, which feature, among other things, a pair of Ithorian bounty hunters (one of three pairs of criminal Ithorian brothers in the EU) and a cowardly shipjacker Trandoshan.

Although it would seem odd for droids to be in a leadership role, I don't see a reason it couldn't happen. Although not a leader, Rogue Squadron had a droid quartermaster (who, if I recall correctly, had spy training as well). We've seen countless spy and combat droids in the EU, and the fact that the can respond faster than humans if designed for it would indicate that a droid ace could be a fearsome thing (oddly enough, I don't know that we ever DO see a droid ace, but I think that's because the best droid pilots generally ARE their ships).

Possibly the clearest example of a droid leader is Goto (aka, G0-T0), from KotOR II, who was an administrative droid who become a crime lord to fulfill his programming. He hid behind holograms, implying that he was a sentient, and he often relied heavily on droids, but he had sentient lackeys, too. a "good" version of the idea could easily be a droid commander.

The Rebellion was said to have included many Separatist remnants. These could certainly have included droid Ace, Commander, and Soldier characters. Espionage is also a natural for droids as they are easily overlooked, so Spy fits nicely too.