With character
sheet laid out and pencil in hand Player 1 leans over the table and stares at the unfilled
boxes. With a deep sigh, Player 1 tries to imagine what kind of character to play next.
“Well?” the GM asks. “What are you going to play this time?”
Player 1 looks up at the GM, face covered in worried, confused lines.
“I don’t know,” comes the reply.
Don’t you just love templates?
The character templates you get with Star Wars are an almost essential tool
for those first-time players or players new to Star Wars. You don’t
have to worry about dice rolling or lots of point spending. All you have to do is add a
few points to the already existing character and give it a name. Hey, presto! Instant
character, just add a voice.
Unfortunately, dependence on a template is not exactly something that’s going to last throughout on-going campaigns. Certain PC’s are going to get shot, blown up, vaporised, crushed, mangled, spaced... general everyday things that happen to the average character. So the need to create new and interesting characters is going to be a necessity.
The templates won’t last for
ever and very soon the players will have to create their own to suit their role-playing
needs. It’s fine having twenty-odd templates, and maybe you look at it as plenty of
characters (after all, how many characters is a player going to get through?) but when the
game progresses and the players become more ‘one’ with the setting then
they’ll want to forgo the supplied characters and do something a little more
personal. Besides, most of the supplied templates may not be to their tastes.
So they create their own character.
You’ll notice that when they do they’ll become a lot more protective over them,
a lot more than they were over the templates, because instead of adding to what was
already supplied they have designed from scratch. This means they’ll play them for
longer, unless they get vaped, because they are a lot more personal to the player.
But there comes a time when the
player has got through several character types and needs to create a new one. A time when
inspiration, because you’ve already played many types of personality, is a little
lacking.
So, instead of creating a character that suits your needs, why not create a character that you have to conform to? A real challenge in role-playing is working with a character that has either been supplied or randomly created. The player will be willing to take more risks with the character – they didn’t pour their heart into it, after all – and this in turn will increase the enjoyment of the game as high adventure and over the top action rules. In other words, it really is Star Wars.
So, do you need a quick character
that’ll be around for a while but want to spend a bit more time on their
personalities than just grabbing a template?
For GM’s and Players alike the
following charts give you the means to create a quick random character. The dice involved
are based on the standard 18 dice attributes, 7 dice skills but you can add more or less
depending on the level of campaign you’re playing.
It’s handy for those GM’s
who need a quick NPC it’s and for those players who want to add a little randomness
into their character creation. Other systems rely on random creation but Star Wars
has always been one of point spending and skill-deciding. So, for those people who like
the challenge of playing someone ‘un-decided’ then this should help.
The following steps don’t take
Force-users into account. This is for your run-of-the-mill heroes and villains only.
ATTRIBUTES
Roll 1d3 for each attribute (1d6
halved, rounding up). When each attribute has been given an amount then roll 1d6 and
consult Chart 1.
1
Dexterity
2
Knowledge
3
Mechanical
4
Perception
5
Strength
6
Technical
For every Attribute rolled add 1 pip
to the total of the attribute already rolled. Additional pips can be converted into a die
as normal if the total on one attribute goes above +2. Do this until the total die equals
the 18 building dice allowed.
EXAMPLE : Player 1 rolls DEX 2d, KNO
2d, MEC 3d, PER 3d, STR 2d, TEC 2d, equalling 14 dice used of the allowed 18.
Then they roll for pips. They roll 4
(PER) and add a pip to the PER total, changing it from 3d to 3d+1. They then roll 5 (STR)
adding a pip to make it 2d+1. Then 5 (STR) again to make it 2d+2. Then 2 (KNO) to make it
2d+1.
At this point, the pips total 1d+1, adding that to the 14d total, making it 15+1d. The player keeps rolling until the total dice and pips equal 18 building dice. If the player rolled 5 (STR) again at this point, it would automatically change to an extra dice, changing total STR from 2d to 3d, making the total used 15+2d.
STEP TWO
SKILLS
Using
Chart 1 above and the skill guide from whatever edition the gaming group uses, the creator
then adds to the character’s skills.
Firstly,
they roll 1d6 on Chart 1. This gives the Attribute from under which the skill will be
chosen.
Then
they count the amount of skills under the heading, ignoring any specialisation that may be
added to the list. They choose the relevant amount of dice so that the maximum total
number that could possibly be rolled is equal to or a little more than the amount of
skills on the list. They roll the dice, minus from the total the amount of extra dice above 1d6 used so that all skills are
attainable. The number rolled is the skill they add 1 dice of the allowed seven building
dice (or more, depending on the level of game you’re playing) to that skill. Any
numbers rolled higher than the amount of skills available are ignored and the player rolls
again.
EXAMPLE : Using the skill lists from the first edition game, the player rolls a 4 on Chart 1 (PER) and then adds up the amount of skills represented under that attribute. In this case it is 6, so they take 1d6, roll it and get a three – Con. They add 1d to their Con skill from the 7 dice allowed for raising skills.
Then they roll a 2 (KNO) on Chart 1. There are eight skills under KNO, so they roll 2d6 to cover the extra skills. Problem is, if they roll 2d6 the minimum number they could roll is 2, which means the skills at the top of the list are unattainable. Subtracting the extra amount of dice rolled (1) from the total solves this problem. In this case, the player rolls 7. 7- extra dice rolled. 7-1=6. The skill rolled is Streetwise. Any roll higher than the amount of skills present is ignored and the player rolls again.
STEP THREE
EQUIPMENT
Roll 4d6
and multiply the total by 100. This is the amount of credits the player is allowed to
spend on equipment. For GM’s, they might just want to add stuff that makes sense for
the campaign.
FORCE
SENSITIVE?
Simply
roll 1d6 – odd number no, even number yes. This will, of course, decide on how many
Force Points the character starts with.
STEP FOUR
MOTIVATION
Roll 1d6
on chart 2 to help decide on what drives the character
Chart
2
Roll
Motivation
1
Money (‘I’m in it for the
money’)
2
Personal pleasure (‘The almighty Jabba
hopes you will die honourably’)
3
Power/responsibility (‘Fear will keep
the local systems in line’)
4
Prestige (‘Someone must have told them
about my little manoeuvre at the battle of Tanab’)
5
Necessity (‘She’s the one from the
message, we gotta help her!’)
6
Family (‘I want to learn the ways of
the Force and become a Jedi like my father’)
OBJECTIVE
What
does the character want at the end of it all? Roll 1d6 on chart 3.
Chart
3
Roll
Objective
1
Revenge (‘At last we will reveal
ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge’)
2
More money (‘What goods a reward if you
ain’t around to use it?’)
3
Control (‘I promise I will put an end
to corruption’)
4
To do good (‘I will come back and free
you, mom. I promise’)
5
To become famous (‘You’ve never
heard of the Millennium Falcon?’)
6
Personal freedom (‘The Emperor has made
a critical error and the time for our attack has come’)
PERSONALITY
Roll 2d6
on chart 4 to decide on the basic personality traits of the character being created.
Chart
4
Roll
Personality
2
Nasty (‘Continue with the operation,
you may fire when ready’)
3
Uncaring/selfish (‘He’s no good to
me dead’)
4
Charming (‘You truly belong with us
among the clouds’)
5
Friendly (‘You’re a Jedi too?
Pleased to meet you’)
6
Emotional (‘You’re lucky he
doesn’t blast you into a million pieces right here’)
7
Quiet (‘We are brave, your
highness’)
8
Shy/nervous (‘We should not have made
this bargain’)
9
Flamboyant (‘Laaapti’nek...
etc’)
10
Rushed/energetic (‘Hootini! Or any
other Jawa exclamation’)
11
Haughty/snobbish (‘From now on you do
exactly what I tell you’)
12
‘Heroically Idiotic’ (‘What
good will it do us if he gets himself killed?’)
That
just about covers it. Once the basic skills and character traits have been established
then any additional details can be added by the player as play commences or as a personal
touch before the game starts. The quotes on charts 2-4 are not limiting to the type of
character who said the quotes, they were just used to put the entry into perspective.
It’s just as easy for someone doing good to be vengeful, or someone needing cash to
attain personal freedom. The charts are just a guideline. The creator of the character
will still need to add a little detail but the above charts and ideas should take a little
of the pressure off.