Hey there.

Just started to create a character for our upcoming game, tinkering with some ideas, but I was struck but the fact that starting characters only get 500c to buy gear with. Is this enough and is the assumption that the Rebellion leadership will equip their troops with enough equipment to get the job done?

The reason I'm asking is that my Twi'lek medic can't afford a blaster rifle, only a pistol or a slugthrower rifle, and after working out boosting Intellect, doesn't have the Brawn to be able to carry the latter. While I realise that it's a balancing act, having a Medic with Ranged (Heavy) as a skill is a bit limiting if you can't get the weapons!

Or do I just need to choose a different race and suck it up?

I felt the 500 was very little when my friend made a mechanic and had to pay 350 for his tool kit.

This left him with only a slugthrower pistol as a possible gun...

There are always attachments to lower the encumbrance of a weapon!

So here's what my medic can have then...

Slugthrower rifle with sling ....... 350c

Emergency medpac ....... 100c

Heavy clothing ....... 50c

Is that about it? and would you say that is enough for a soldier...? Or should I skip the Heavy Clothing and get a commlink and stimpack instead?

500 is really crap. For most characters that's just a blaster and some weak armor. For characters who need specialty gear (mechanic, medic, slicer) you might not even have a gun.

An AoR character may be part of a military organisation and like most soldiers will get the tools he needs to do his job. Each career choice should have an equipement list that gives them a "standard" issue rifle, pistol, armour and assorted goodies to do their job.

As such AoR Characters should start with the d100 cash and just what is on their list.

I found the 500c kind of low in EotE, since certain characters needed tools for their job, but at least in EotE there was a way to get a bit more starting creds that didn't require the entire team to make a decision to not have a ship.

And for the people who do the "well, its not like you can't have a blaster rifle after the first few encounters you have" people: Then why make it so starting characters are so restricted from the possibility of owning one?

I think a list of equipment per starting specialization (with a few options, like "blaster carbine or blaster rifle" stuck in there) rather than starting creds would probably be a more workable system.

Depends on what the GM wants the story to be. If you're a nerf herder fresh off the farm with a slugthrower, then 500 about covers it.

I was kinda generous, so the players start off with the shuttle, 3 y-wings, the base and the extra cash. And halfway up the command chain already. Our game isn't representing a story of raw recruits, but an independent cell that mostly has to fend for itself without many orders or resupplies from HQ.

Depends on what the GM wants the story to be. If you're a nerf herder fresh off the farm with a slugthrower, then 500 about covers it.

That's obviously true, but if that was the whole story, why have an amount of starting money at all? why not just say 'Your GM will tell you how much money you may start with'? Or make it higher and have the GM be more miserly if they want to.

I actually think that it is reasonable to have a maechanic start off with a tool kit and a doctor start off with an emergency medical pack.

On the whole I think the tool kit is waaayyyy to expensive at 350cr and no particular gameplay benefits just fluff...

The tool kit would, or could, count as the right tools for the job and the fore provide a boost die (there's a side bar about this, at least in EotE). Without it a lot of tasks would be impossible to do also.

As for the starting cash, it's low, but I think it's ok. Players will have incentives to improve their standing, get personal gear by other means. I know not every player and group enjoys this, but I think it's cool. Also, I believe gear needed for a mission will be handed out, but the characters won't necessarily get to keep this after the mission. So disguise kits and black ops stuff could be handed out, but would also have to be returned after the mission.

Other solutions would be to increase the starting cash, or make packages available for the players to choose from, or you could mix in the obligation mechanic if the players really want more cash, or xp.

Generally I think the idea for the game is that the operatives the players will be are new, fresh recruits with little more than they can carry. There is however nothing in the way of starting with a higher contribution rank, or a background that provides more cash or gear. If the idea is that the players are long time operatives, hand out more cash, give them a CR of 2-3 (with rewards to follow), just remember to balance it somehow between the players.

Because not every group wants to start at first level. Mine wanted to skip the whole 'fighting rats in the sewers' phase of their careers.

So they're not raw recruits, they're already deep in the action. I'm happy with that; the movies encourage you to think big, not small. And I'd prefer them to be fairly self-sufficient rather than be grunts who get told what to do all the time.

Honestly, it makes sense just to start characters off with whatever their career suggests they would have. A soldier would have a decent weapon and some armour. A tech has a toolkit and maybe a small droid. A pilot has a snubfighter. A doctor has a medikit. And an Ace/Driver isn't going to have a lot of fun without something to drive.

Or if you really want to stress the whole 'raw recruit' angle, give them the 500 credits and that's your lot.

It seems kind of bizarre that even the Rebels would send troops into battle with a truncheon and an antique slugthrower. For me, having to scavenge your weapons and armour isn't what AoR should be about. YMMV. Let's get away from the D&D 'wealth by level' mindset. RotJ Han didn't seem to have any more gear than he had when we first met him, really.

They're not going to have the top-of-the-range stuff yet, but they should have something to shoot with when a stormtrooper pops up. Shouting 'zap' in a loud voice isn't going to cut it. Not without 'Scathing Tirade' anyway

The tool kit would, or could, count as the right tools for the job and the fore provide a boost die (there's a side bar about this, at least in EotE). Without it a lot of tasks would be impossible to do also.

I must have missed that side bar! I'll look it up.

It still seems incredibily steep though to pay 350 for this....

No side bar to be found in EotE...

Hohum. Mhm. I AFB now, but I'm pretty sure there's either a side bar, or a paragraph, somewhere in EotE about the right tools for the job. Of course it does not stipulate that the right tool automatically grants a boost die, but it suggests that sometimes this is a good solution. With the tool kit you can do stuff that you can't without it, in that case a boost die might not be warranted in all cases, but in some cases where a tool box is not just enabling, but beneficial beyond that, I'd let the kit grant a boost die.

Now, I'm going to check the book asap, unless someone beats me to it, but I think its in the gears and equipment chapter. Whether its a side bar/box or (within) a paragraph I'm not entirely certain.

An AoR character may be part of a military organisation and like most soldiers will get the tools he needs to do his job. Each career choice should have an equipement list that gives them a "standard" issue rifle, pistol, armour and assorted goodies to do their job.

As such AoR Characters should start with the d100 cash and just what is on their list.

I have used this method in my Stargate conversion. Since the Pc's are members of a military or paramilitary organisation I have given a base level of gear which is modified by career/specialization. However, they get no starting money at all. It does have the down side of removing any real individuality regarding gear, but given the subject matter I was working on I don't think that is an issue.

For AoR I think a similar mechanic might work, or at least have a basic weapon (say a blaster) being an automatic piece of kit even before the 500c worth of gear. Perhaps a minimum amount of gear being: Comlink, Blaster, and a basic kit if Medic or Engineer (not good enough to provide a boost dice though).

Hohum. Mhm. I AFB now, but I'm pretty sure there's either a side bar, or a paragraph, somewhere in EotE about the right tools for the job. Of course it does not stipulate that the right tool automatically grants a boost die, but it suggests that sometimes this is a good solution. With the tool kit you can do stuff that you can't without it, in that case a boost die might not be warranted in all cases, but in some cases where a tool box is not just enabling, but beneficial beyond that, I'd let the kit grant a boost die.

Now, I'm going to check the book asap, unless someone beats me to it, but I think its in the gears and equipment chapter. Whether its a side bar/box or (within) a paragraph I'm not entirely certain.

I'll go and look at over again more thouroughly later!

I don't have the book on me at the moment so I'm not certain but if I remember it correctly I believe there's a spot where it talks about the party being given the minimum equipment needed per mission(that's how I run it). Also personal equipment is earned through contribution ranking.

If you're running a game where the party has higher starting exp here's an idea: Have each PC make a skill check that could directly affect whatever his/her Duty is at 2-3 dice difficulty and add to their duty ranking like so, each success +10, advantage +5, triumph +20. That should give the party a good chance to have better gear and in a way they still earned it.

But as far as I'm concerned the starting money is fine, my AoR players like the gritty resistance feel of earning their gear through contribution and getting the bare minimum of what they need per mission(not counting personal gear or what they pick up during the mission). It makes them feel like they really are the underdogs fighting oppression.

@ DanteRotterdam: EotE Page 171 for the side bar, its called "The right tools for the job".

Thanks! I'll read it tonight!

Given the military nature of AoR one would assume that a given team would have the necessary gear for a given mission. i believe the 500c is intended to be spent on personal items/gear that one would want, such as attachments, specialized gear, better than standard padded armor etc.

I see it like a few months pay that the characters have saved.

For EotE I never had a problem with the cap. And for the most part, for AoR I still don't have a problem. As others have pointed out, the Rebellion should provide you, with the best of their abilities, with proper equipment depending on the missions they will be sending you on. Although the Rebellion doesn't exactly have the resources that the Empire has, so they can't be too generous.

As a GM, I might be willing to allow my players with certain specialties with one piece of equipment for that specialty, (Slicing gear, Disguise kit, tool kit, etc...). I would probably try and work this in to the starting destiny pool for their first session. (like assume that the first x number of rolls grant 1-2 dark side points each. and those that didn't take the free equipment can roll the force die). Obviously there are some flaws in that idea, but it's simple.

A few things to consider in Age of Rebellion: maxing out duty can get you gear.

Also, it really depends on the feel of the game as set by the starting group package. If you are fighter pilots you don't need more than a blaster pistol at most. An infiltration team with the shuttle probably won't need a lot of gear.. mainly because it might raise some alarms why all the mechanics have heavy blaster rifles and such.

The base comes with lots of credits for each character. Really it comes down to the type of game you want to play.

Finally, not everyone carries a gun. Especially those infiltration experts. Consider easily concealed items. Now if you are doing a combat game think of it like most first person shooters. You stary with a small pistol and pick up everything else during the adventure.

If the intent of AoR was/is for their superiors to give the PCs gear to help accomplish each mission, I think a sidebar explaining this or a suggestion of too little vs too much would be good. That or port over a Requisition/Renown system like Deathwatch so players can pick their "assigned" gear for the mission, but don't just get to keep it indefinitely and don't always have access to great stuff..

If the intent of AoR was/is for their superiors to give the PCs gear to help accomplish each mission, I think a sidebar explaining this or a suggestion of too little vs too much would be good. That or port over a Requisition/Renown system like Deathwatch so players can pick their "assigned" gear for the mission, but don't just get to keep it indefinitely and don't always have access to great stuff..

It might just be our assumptions that this is the case. But you're right, if this is true, a sidebar would be great.