Lore Check: The Island of Misfit Builds

WARNING: The following Edge of the Empire character builds are not optimized. Far from it. They were spawned from amusing species/specialization combos and the roleplaying challenge such characters might present. Some of them are surprisingly effective, some might never be more than mediocre—mechanically, at least. All of them are presented as both beginning characters and more mature versions with 150XP. All have backgrounds explaining the unusual circumstances of their existence. Feel free to copy them, tweak them, PC them, or NPC them to your heart’s content. Without further ado, I give you:

Rufus, Drall Heavy

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 4 Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak 2 WT 10 ST 14

Drall (Adds 1 Boost die when giving skilled assistance)

SKILLS: Athletics 1, Discipline 1, Education 1, Gunnery 2, Ranged (Light) 1, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Resilience 1

TALENTS: Burly 1

OBLIGATION: Addiction (Mayhem) +5

MOTIVATION: Finding and using bigger, better guns.

From a young age, Rufus had a fascination with firearms. He gleefully blasted away with anything he could get his hands on, all in the name of research (it was the one excuse his elders and superiors would accept, and after all, every minute with a gun in his hands did spawn an idea for an even better gun). All that hard work made him quite a physical specimen, at least by the standards of his people. When he finally got an opportunity to join a research and development venture, he leaped at the chance, thinking he could finally bring some of his dream weapons to life.

Rufus never could get the hang of invention, however, likely because his most beloved original weapon designs were simply too ambitious. Repeated discouragement and mockery by his peers (the words “grossly impractical” and “vulgar” came up surprisingly often) eventually pushed Rufus to leave his homeworld after declaring that he would “show them, show them all!” His many hours handling weapons gave him the experience he needed to start making a mercenary life for himself in the galaxy’s underworld, but he refuses to stop there. No, Rufus won’t be happy until he’s capable of taking on armies by himself.

150xp

Brawn 2 Agility 3 Intellect 4 Cunning 2 Willpower 2 Presence 2

Soak 2 WT 10 ST 14

Drall (Adds 1 Boost die when giving skilled assistance)

SKILLS: Athletics 1, Discipline 1, Education 1, Gunnery 2, Ranged (Light) 1, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Resilience 1

TALENTS: Armor Master, Barrage 2, Brace 2, Burly 3, Dedication (Agility)

Under the hood: After using the bulk of his starting XP to buy Brawn up to 2 and Agility to 2, Rufus takes an extra 5 Obligation to buy the first rank of Burly. This allows him to use Cumbersome 3 weapons without penalty from the start (although he probably wouldn’t blink at the penalties offered by even bigger guns). From there on, he spends any XP he gets taking the most direct path through his talent tree toward Rain of Death and Heavy Hitter, getting Burlier all the while. He won’t quite reach Rain of Death and Heavy Hitter by 150XP, but he will pick up Dedication, using it to increase his Agility (and consequently, his accuracy). At this point, he’ll be able to fire any weapon with Cumbersome rating of 5 or lower without penalty. As for the encumbrance of such weapons, that’s what slings and harnesses are for.

Mulduun, Toydarian Big-Game Hunter

Brawn 1 Agility 2 Intellect 2 Cunning 3 Willpower 3 Presence 3

Soak 1 WT 10 ST 15

Silhouette 0, Hoverer (Doesn’t need extra maneuvers in difficult terrain)

SKILLS: Cool 2, Knowledge (Xenology) 2, Perception 2, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2

OBLIGATION: Family

MOTIVATION: Wanderlust

Youngest child of a minor noble family on Toydaria, Mulduun never had much use for politics. He dodged every social event that he could, preferring to wander the swamps in solitude rather than engage in social sniping. Most dismissed him as an eccentric loner until he failed to appear when his family hosted the visiting Toydarian king. That was one snub too far, and he was cut off from his family and exiled from his homeworld.

Finally free to do as he wished without guilt or the judgment of others, Mulduun wasted no time putting the skills he’d developed in the swamps to use. Within a few years, he’d made a name for himself as a guide to hunters and tourists exploring the galaxy’s more rugged and dangerous locales. Time away from home has made him nostalgic, however, and if his family were to contact them, he doubts he’d pass up the chance to see them again.

150xp

Brawn 1 Agility 2 Intellect 2 Cunning 3 Willpower 3 Presence 3

Soak 1 WT 12 ST 15

Silhouette 0, Hoverer (Doesn’t need extra maneuvers in difficult terrain)

SKILLS: Cool 2, Knowledge (Xenology) 2, Perception 2, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2

TALENTS: Confidence 1, Expert Tracker 2, Forager, Heightened Awareness, Hunter’s Quarry, Natural Hunter, Outdoorsman 2, Quick Strike, Stalker 1, Toughened

Under the hood: Despite the name of his specialization, Mulduun is more guide than hunter, so his skills and talents are weighted toward support rather than combat. His starting XP is spent buying Agility and Cunning up to 2 and 3, respectively, with the rest going to skills. After that, he starts working his way through the talent tree. By the time he hits 150 earned XP, Mulduun is an expert at finding creatures before they find him, regardless of the environment. Once he’s located the target, Heightened Awareness helps his party’s big guns take the first shots, and Hunter’s Quarry ensures that those shots count.

Guddz, Gand Charmer

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 2 Cunning 2 Willpower 3 Presence 2

Soak 2 WT 12 ST 13

Ammonia Breather (Has respirator, oxygen is a Rating 8 dangerous atmosphere)

SKILLS: Charm 2, Deception 1, Discipline 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 2, Negotiation 2, Perception 1, Streetwise 1

TALENTS: Congenial 1, Disarming Smile 2, Kill With Kindness 2, Smooth Talker 1 (Negotiation)

OBLIGATION: Addiction (Muon gold), Criminal

MOTIVATION: Prestige

Naturally more personable than most Gands, Guddz worked as a tour guide and salesman of sorts on one of Gand’s orbital trading stations. He arranged meetings, mediated business discussions, and provided friendly, honest advice whenever asked. It wasn’t long before he became known as a reliable man who could get things done or at least point you—discreetly and humbly—toward someone who could.

Then Guddz’s reputation caught up with him. A drug supplier specifically requested him to mediate negotiations with a smuggler. The talks were going well, even jovially—and that’s as far as Guddz can remember. He woke up on the Wheel with a hangover and a strong urge for Muon gold. Much as he would like to know just what happened in the intervening time, he sees no reason why he can’t seize this opportunity to make new contacts and a few credits. After all, he couldn’t have done anything too bad during his blackout, right?

150xp

Brawn 2 Agility 2 Intellect 2 Cunning 2 Willpower 3 Presence 3

Soak 2 WT 12 ST 13

Ammonia Breather (Has respirator, oxygen is a Rating 8 dangerous atmosphere)

SKILLS: Charm 4, Cool 1, Deception 1, Discipline 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 2, Leadership 2, Negotiation 3, Perception 1, Streetwise 1

TALENTS: Congenial 1, Dedication (Presence), Disarming Smile 2, Don’t Shoot!, Improved Inspiring Rhetoric, Just Kidding!, Kill With Kindness 2, Smooth Talker 1 (Negotiation)

Under the hood: Guddz has lungs to get +10 XP to start, and will buy his Presence up to 2. There’s no mechanical reason it can’t be bought higher, but I find it more flavorful for a [stinky] Gand to really have to work for better than average Presence. The XP saved by not padding a characteristic gives him a head start down the talent tree to account for the tricks of his trade. By 150 XP, he’s gotten used to working in a party, picking up ranks in Leadership to power Improved Inspiring Rhetoric. All that practice finally pays off with Dedication to give a much-deserved boost to Presence.

EG-88, Droid Scholar

Brawn 3 Agility 3 Intellect 2 Cunning 2 Willpower 1 Presence 1

Soak 4 WT 13 ST 11

Inorganic (Doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or breathe, must heal wounds with Mechanics or emergency repair patches, starts with one rank of Enduring), Mechanical (Cannot be Force-sensitive, have Force rating, use Force powers, or be affected by mind-altering Force powers)

SKILLS: Charm 1, Deception 1, Enduring 1, Knowledge (Core Worlds) 1, Knowledge (Education) 1, Knowledge (Lore) 1, Knowledge (Outer Rim) 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 1, Knowledge (Xenology) 1, Negotiation 1

TALENTS: Codebreaker 1, Researcher 1, Respected Scholar 1, Speaks Binary

OBLIGATION: Criminal (EG-88 is considered stolen property)

MOTIVATION: Expertise

EG-88 was designed as an assassin droid for the budget-conscious, sacrificing some efficiency for affordability. A twist of fate involving a delivery shuttle and reckless Coruscant traffic resulted in the droid plummeting down through the city, lost before it was ever activated. Luckily, it was recovered intact, and shuffled from junkie to pawn shop to collector before finally ending up at an understaffed and underfunded library.

EG-88’s arrival was a windfall for the library staff, who carefully reprogrammed the droid for research and clerical duties before finally activating it. Since then, it has spent a year cheerfully assisting library patrons and growing used to their surprised reactions to seeing such an aggressively-designed droid behind a desk. The droid sometimes muses that perhaps it was originally meant for physical labor. What a sight that would have been: EG-88 hauling crates, twisting hydrospanners, or waving blasters about like some kind of barbarian!

150xp

Brawn 3 Agility 3 Intellect 2 Cunning 2 Willpower 1 Presence 1

Soak 4 WT 13 ST 12

SKILLS: Charm 1, Deception 1, Enduring 1, Knowledge (Core Worlds) 2, Knowledge (Education) 3, Knowledge (Lore) 2, Knowledge (Outer Rim) 2, Knowledge (Underworld) 1, Knowledge (Xenology) 1, Negotiation 1

TALENTS: Codebreaker 1, Grit 1, Intense Focus, Knowledge Specialization (Education) 2, Researcher 2, Resolve 1, Respected Scholar 1, Well Rounded (Athletics, Coordination)

Under the Hood: Built for combat but programmed for a library, EG-88 is a droid at odds with itself. The bulk of its starting XP goes toward enhancing characteristics that are of little help to a scholar, and an average Intellect demands significant investment in knowledge skills to make them competitive. The starting array of talents reflects a sedentary librarian role, but the adventuring life sees the droid start working down the right side of the tree, eventually grabbing Well Rounded to make career skills of Athletics and Coordination (adventurer or not, EG-88 is loath to use weaponry). On the left side of the tree, Intense Focus and Knowledge Specialization (Education) help make up for EG-88’s handicaps.

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Thad Kanupp

Contributing Writer at d20 Radio

Thad's hobby is collecting hobbies. In addition to gaming, painting minis, and playing music, he occasionally writes stories about spaceships and dragons (but never both at once!).

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