i was wanting to play a mandalorian and wanted to know if I could use the stats from the mandalorian ware machine guide in use the characteristics' of the npcs in the guide and add some abilities to them is long as my groups gm agrees?

Apparently 'mandalorians' can be of any species - they are a warrior brotherhood not a race (the original race died out I think).

But hey, it's your game, so if your GM wants to change things, go for it.

A Gadgeteer Bounty Hunter would probably be a good place to start, or any kind of Hired Gun.

see that's what I thought any type of bounty hunter or hired gun and yes wookiepedia says that the original mando'ade species had died out I was jus wondering because the war machine (fan based) supplement only showed npc mandalorians but I figured what's to stop from making a pc from mandalore.

First off (Rule 0) if your GM is okay with something, that means it should be okay for you and your group.

However, what you seem to be wanting to use NPC "stats" from (correct me if I'm wrong) Jegergryte's Mandalorian War Machine document. I cannot recommend this approach, and would deny your request it for a variety of reasons.

Thing is, NPCs are completely different from PCs in this game. 100% incompatible. PCs are built using rules that govern XP expenditure and species traits; NPCs, by contrast. are bound by no species traits or XP values.

That's not to say that you can't make a human PC and use the Mando'ade document as inspiritation. For example, it'd be easy to use the Elite Rifleman or the Elite Pistoleer as a sort of template for your guy, buying the characteristics up (100 XP for Brawn 4, Agility 3, for example) and selecting a good career (Bounty Hunter or Hired Gun, or perhaps Soldier if you have the Age of Rebellion beta).

EDIT: I see the clarification, yeah if all you want to do is make a PC mandalorian, talk to your GM and show him your idea. He'll probably work with you to help you create a character that is satisfactory for you and balanced for him.

Apparently 'mandalorians' can be of any species - they are a warrior brotherhood not a race (the original race died out I think).

But hey, it's your game, so if your GM wants to change things, go for it.

A Gadgeteer Bounty Hunter would probably be a good place to start, or any kind of Hired Gun.

Yeah, the Taung, basically they show up in the Old Republic Era. The chronologically last Taung mentioned anywhere in the EU, AFAIK, is the Mandalore that Reven killed.

see that's what I wanted to do but I thought it be harder than that but maybe not could I use 3 brawn 3 agility and a ability like user gets I to ranged(light ) or ranged(heavy) and u can choose and give like one to brawl stat or something like that or the first rank in the expert tracker trait? or could I do like chose between ranged (light or heavy) and one non career skill? with would be better? these are things im coming up with while just typing this lol.

That lady on page 56 is intended to be a mandalorian, I think.

In EoE, it's not necessary to go for exact 'builds'. Just go for a Bounty Hunter or Hired Gun, increase obligation to start out with some decent armour, build stats like Brawn, Agility, and skills like Ranged Heavy and Cool.

As for talents, even a few Hired Gun talents seem to make a BIG difference in combat.

Take Oath or Dutybound as your obligation, and there you have your mandalorian.

Get your character concept together first if you're having trouble deciding on skills. Things will generally become more clear once you've got a better idea of who this guy/gal is .

The mandalorian bounty hunter in my group is an arkanian (which we used human stats but gave him infravision eyes - he mostly wears goggles), cos we read that they can be any species.

Besides the usual plethora of Aliens in the star wars universe, there are "Near humans" which beyond some prosthetic foreheads , skin color , or weird skin tags , are in game terms, human. Sapients from Mandalore are "Near-human" but their code of ethics often set them apart.

Besides the usual plethora of Aliens in the star wars universe, there are "Near humans" which beyond some prosthetic foreheads , skin color , or weird skin tags , are in game terms, human. Sapients from Mandalore are "Near-human" but their code of ethics often set them apart.

Yep. There really isn't any mechanical difference from one near-human to another. There are cultural differences. Like Hapans have a matriarchal society and men are second class citizens. Human mandalore's just focus on being better at combat. Which leads to them seeming to be better than average humans, when really they've just spent their XP to improve combat related stuff rather than being born that way per se.

Well, human variants are on the horizon with the Suns of Fortune setting book... so perhaps a mandalorian variant could work, in some cases?

There isn't any particular Mandalorian human variant, though. There's a common culture independent of planet of origin. Sure, many Mandalorians are human, but there have been Togruta, Rodian, Togorian, Wookiee, and even Twi'Lek Mandalorians. If FFG wee to put out a Human (Mandalorian) variant, it not only puts out the false impression that being Mandalorian is a Human-specific feature, but also that Humans from other origins can't become Mandalorians.

Yeah, Mandalorians are really more of a culture by the time of the Rebellion Era, albeit a culture in serious decline in comparison to the standing they had during the KOTOR era prior to and during the Mandalorian Wars.

Since it's a warrior-based culture, you'd probably want to pick a combat-centric career, such as Bounty Hunter (especially the Gadgeteer spec), Hired Gun (any spec), or Soldier (Commando particularly, but only if the GM allows AoRBeta material); while there are Mandos that are good at things other than combat, being able to hold your own in battle is a big deal and those characters are accomplished warriors. Brawn 3 and Agility 3 are solid choices for Characteristics, making your Mando-to-be both tough and accurate in a fight.

Focus on combat skills, taking at least one rank in Brawl, Melee, Ranged (Heavy), and Ranged (Light), along with a rank in some other combat-related skills, at least adding Perception and Vigilance, maybe even a rank in Coercion if you can manage it seeing as how the primary Mando method of dealing with people is either violence or threats of violence. Mechanics isn't a bad idea either, to reflect your PC's know-how of tinkering with and upgrading their gear.

Gearwise, pick the best armor you can (probably Padded Armor to start with, as I've found the added point of soak is worth more than the setback die that armored clothing's 1 point of defense provides) and work your way up to heavy battle armor after gameplay begins (perhaps as a Motivation to claim an actual suit of beskar'gam?). Same with weapon, pick the best gun you can afford and use (at least a blaster carbine if not blaster rifle), pick up a decent back-up weapon (vibroknife is a solid option that won't break the bank), maybe an attachment for your primary weapon (I'm found of the forearm grip myself)

After that, generally have your character act in accordance with the Mando Code, and you've got yourself a Mandalorian. You'll note I made no mention of species in all that... and that's a deliberate point, as the Mando society (particularly during the Dark Times and Rebellion Era) isn't overly picky about who can join up... it's probably just that Humans in general don't have as strong of a unified cultural identity as most other species have, thus lending to a greater proportion of Humans in the ranks of the Mandalorian culture.

What about the planet of blond Aryan types led by Obi-Wan's old flame in the Clone Wars TV show?

All good points, I'm not disagreeing, but I can see a mando variant happen, if FFG ever goes to the KOTOR-era... I'd also disagree that presenting a human-mando-variant would prevent any other human variants from becoming mando, just like the corellian human variant coming in Suns of Fortune won't prevent anyone from playing a corellian human using the corebook human variant.

I do agree, and have argued myself, that the mando culture is what makes them distinct. In most rpgs with no sub-types of species or culture specific customisation this seems to be the case, but when FFG now presents a human variant (breaking away from these other rpgs) based upon a sector in space, why not present a mando variant, if they ever were to produce a mandalorian sector setting book?

I'd perhaps give them some gadgeteer talent or whatnot... perhaps only skills, but who knows. There is definitely an opening here now in my mind. We'll just have to see how they do the corellian human variant.

What about the planet of blond Aryan types led by Obi-Wan's old flame in the Clone Wars TV show?

The peaceful pacifist group that apparently got Karen Traviss so incensed that she's no longer doing Star Wars novels?

Seems they were a "passing fad" that pretty much got wiped out by the time the Clone Wars ended, due to Satine being killed and the leader of the Death Watch faction taking over.

Can't blame her. They basically invalidated her work. As a writer, that would make me mad too.

But yeah, though they are making a Corellian human class, I would be inclined to TRY to make a Mandalorian race, but there, as they mentioned, isn't a true mandalorian race. I've made a write up for the Taung, but that wouldn't apply during Empire era because they kinda don't exist anymore. I would just do what everyone else has suggested. It is the best way to do it in my opinion, though you don't have to restrict yourself to one kind of weapon or another. Some mandalorians used pistols (Jango) and some preferred the use of melee weapons. The most important thing is for all of that gear to be top of the line, and for you to be a badass. XD

The peaceful pacifist group that apparently got Karen Traviss so incensed that she's no longer doing Star Wars novels?

I had thought it was more because The Clone Wars > her books as far as canon, so even if they were ephemeral in galactic history, Satine's faction existed at all ... then again, Traviss was pretty overtly political about what she had in mind with the Mandalorians, so I can't say that I was at all sympathetic.

Can't blame her. They basically invalidated her work. As a writer, that would make me mad too.

Well, there are plenty of other EU authors that have elements of their work invalidated by newer material (Timothy Zahn for instance, particularly references to the Clone Wars in his Thrawn Trilogy) and are still writing Star Wars books.

With Traviss, one of the big issues was that she made some absolutely ridiculous assumptions about the size of the Republic (something 2 million clone troopers for the entire GAR) and Separatist forces (not much better), and when later work override her assumptions, she basically pitched a hissy fit and stormed out, forgetting the one important fact that every EU writer has to accept... that George Lucas was the final authority, and if you wanted to play in his sandbox, you had to abide by his rules and his decisions. But that's a fact of working with any licensed product; the person or persons in control of the license have the final say on which material takes precedence. Star Wars is unusual in that it tries to incorporate as much of the broad expanse of material as it can, but there's also a hierarchy in case of substantial conflicts.

As Chortles said, given some of her attitudes, I shed no tears when I heard she'd pretty much quit writing for Star Wars.

That's to say nothing of her treatment of the Jedi both in her infamous Commando books and in Legacy of the Force (albeit that was after the EU had pretty much warped the New Jedi Order into a redux of the prequel-era Old Jedi Order), which thanks to the aforementioned "unusual" continuity meant that her stuff (both her take on the Mandalorians) is officially just as canonical as other C-canon works... such as Troy Denning's own, rather different take on them both.

I don't even have to weigh in on the actual merits of their content to say that that's where you know that something is up with Star Wars' canon and licensing policies -- two authors, diametrically opposed, yet both as canonical even when covering the same topics and characters .

As for Traviss' departure, she claimed that in January of that year (2009) she was informed that " that the Mandalorians were being revamped as long-standing pacifists who'd given up fighting centuries ago and that Mandalore was now a post-apocalyptic wasteland devastated by war . " (You'll have to Ctrl+F that.) That's rather different than what ended up actually being produced though... or was the "ephemeral"/"merely one political faction, however ascendant dominant before its downfall" part but a retcon outside of the actual TV show?

I ask this since her claims about what was so irreconciliable with what she'd painted as " a global warrior culture living on a non-nuked Mandalore " were that it was higher-canon retconning the Mandalorians as a whole and higher-canon also depicting it as going way further back than hers, making her Mandalorians the recent anomaly. (She did however concede that as far as how Imperial Commando 2 would have gone, " it would have been artificially packed with thread resolutions. for a start, because the Commando series was based on the old canon and so originally designed to run a lot longer. So I would have had to tie up a lot of things prematurely in a final book - still in the old canon, but not quite where the book would have gone under normal circumstances .")

Finally, as for her and Jedi... I'll just leave her own infamous words , however outdated. From the posts quoted above I actually thought that she actually didn't pitch a public hissy fit at all but rather explained that it came down to timing* and more recent interest in other IPs without the potential for higher-canon overruling her. Like Donovan my issues with her came down to some of her attitudes, but in my case also the choices she made, her seeming to pick canon fights with Troy Denning, a view that there is a better way to depict the Jedi as less glowing which has already been done by other authors before and after her ... and, admittedly this one is out of Star Wars, her replacing "Mando" in Star Wars with "Pesang" in Gears of War... and how transparently the Pesanga were a stand-in for the Gurkhas with regards to her "British-filtered" COG, which made me not think more sympathetically for the real-world Gurkhas but rather just worse of the whole thing because Karen Traviss was associated with it.

Then again...

There have been- and are- far worse authors than Karen Traviss or Troy Denning who have written Star Wars stuff.

*Do not make a joke about Lucas's scriptwriting ability, do not make a joke about Lucas's scriptwriting ability....*

As far as actual on-topic crunch...

OP, if you would be OK with a Corellian human template, then I could see a template for a character "raised Mandalorian". If you wouldn't (like me re: species variant templates) then go with whatever species the character would be "under the helmet".

* That is, it came off to me as being in the same vein as J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman's departure from Batwoman -- although the Internet reactions focused narrowly on DC Comics disallowing Batwoman from marrying Maggie Sawyer, Wiliams and Blackman made it clear that it was simply the " most crushingly " of multiple editorial shootdowns which " came at the last minute, and always after a year or more of planning and plotting on our end ."

One of my players has a Mandalorian.

Took Human species, Bounty hunter career, gadgeteer specialisation and an oath (Mandalorian code) obligation.

Voila, instant Mando, just add a bit of roleplaying.

One of my players has a Mandalorian.

Took Human species, Bounty hunter career, gadgeteer specialisation and an oath (Mandalorian code) obligation.

Voila, instant Mando, just add a bit of roleplaying.

I'm on a campagne too. And i have the same concept. Like the same.

Oath for the Mandalorian code, human bounty hunter and gadgeteer specialisation.

One is not born a Mandalorian, you become one. Anyone is eligible if you accept our ways and learn our language. True warriors all. Sometimes with this new cannon I get the feeling a lot of people want to sweep us aside. So be it. If the traitorous Darth Traya's words are to be proven correct then we will die in the field of battle, "shells" all. For that is our way. Our ideology will never end.

You can't really make a Mandalorian "species" any more than you can make a "Rebel" or "Imperial" or "Black Sun" species. Being a Mandalorian marks you as a member of a culture, so that would be more of a roleplaying/Obligation/Motivation aspect of your character than any mechanical benefits; you would have to build your character in such a way as to represent how they've spent a lifetime of training and fighting (Bounty Hunter/Hired Gun/etc).

Classes and Specializations aren't just the role your character settles into on the Fringe, they represent the path they've taken to get where they are now. If your character starts off with two points in Ranged Light it's not due to their species, but the fact that they trained as a part of their chosen career.

EDIT: I would also like to state that Traviss is a hack without an editor to reign in her crazy and a petulant child to boot. Not only does she have a basic lack of respect for previously-established canon and her fellow writers, she has an unhealthy obsession with finding moral issues in any pre-existing series she is asked to write for, arbitrarily deciding that one side is "right" and one side is "wrong", and blatantly rewriting canon so that she can have her stand-in characters soap-box about how good they are and how bad the others are. It's behavior more in line with a bad fanfiction writer, not a woman who makes a living writing science fiction that people willingly buy.