FATE Core Star Wars

[jasonthelamb]

Alright, this is the official thread with all the detailing in it. We will be using a modified version of FATE Core (very slightly, changing some skill names, and that's about as far as modifications go.)

I'm looking to run two games on Saturday, one in the afternoon, 3PM-6PM EST and another from 8PM-11PM EST.

Character creation is very straightforward, though I'd like to have characters created as a group, so that we don't have that "one person" who plays something that doesn't mesh with the group.

I'm looking for 4-6 players for each group, if you are interested please PM me or post here depending on what group you'd like to play in.

Saturday 3PM-6PM EST
1) Valarian
2) Hemophage
3) Starcrawler
4) Isembard
*5)
*6)

Saturday 8PM-11PM EST
1) Dr_Babylon
2)
3)
4)
*5)
*6)

[Hemophage]

i would like to play in the 3pm to 6pm on saturday group

[jasonthelamb]

I've added you to the list Hemophage, next saturday we should begin character creation if I draw enough interest.

[Dr_Babylon]

Aw. Doesn't anyone wanna come and be a Star Wars scumbag on my team? I currently have a number of openings for bounty hunters, underworld enforcers, and assorted psychopaths looking to go pro. Extortion, burglary, or black market deals more your thing? Why not sign on today and show us how it's done?

You've got to come work for me. You'll love it. Nobody tells you when to go to bed. You eat all the ice cream you want. You get to kill...all day, all night.

(vaguest reference yet)

[Isembard]

I would like to join the 3pm to 6pm game also.
Thanks

[jasonthelamb]

Alright, it looks like we've got the minimum amount of starters for the 3-6PM game, sign up here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/index.xcp?id=1027) for game updates, barring any problems next week will will do character creation, and help people unfamiliar with the rules get more familiar.

[Isembard]

Just to confirm is the first session Saturday 14th or 21st?

[Isembard]

Apologies that should be 15th or 22nd.

[jasonthelamb]

I'm thinking the 15th since we've got everyone, then the actual first game will be the 22nd.

[Hemophage]

listen Dr. Babylon, we have plenty of jobs for a good upstanding member of the galactic exchange such as yourself. Little to know pay of course, but the feeling of a good work and job well done... thats just priceless. So many starving children, so many Ewoks that need petting and loving attention. Come join our band of do gooders! :D

[Isembard]

I'm thinking the 15th since we've got everyone, then the actual first game will be the 22nd.

Perfect. Looking forward to it.

[Dr_Babylon]

Ladies and gentlemen, I am hearing a lot of murmuring these days about common decency, doing the right thing, and the "good of the Galaxy". About "serving the public trust" and "protecting the innocent". Frankly, I just don't see things the same way.

Fact of the matter is, there are many burgeoning opportunities just waiting to reward the enterprising soul unafraid to seize what he can. In these uncertain times, with the Jedi and other powers so fervently preoccupied, it would be a disservice to all you hold dear to do any less. Conflict, suffering, and loss surround us and someone's raking in profits hand over fist. Don't you want a piece? I'll have you know the only things separating down-and-out cutpurse from world-beating conqueror is a matter of time and judicious application of force.

Step one is marketing, and you'd do well to shop yourself around. Show a potential employer you're invaluable and unique in what you offer, be it the elegant art of deception or the killing skills that have made you a media darling. By all means, a little embellishment never hurt a resume, but be prepared to back some of it up. There won't be a second interview. Also, the illusion of devotion can carry you just as far as open savagery or skillful cunning and without all the consuming busywork. Everybody knows you can't buy loyalty. You can only rent it. Any overseer who doesn't expect a little treachery out of you deserves the knife you eventually put in their back. Until then, once you get yourself properly situated, the stars are the limit on pricing.

Upon carving out a niche for yourself and solidifying your position, it's time to expand your powerbase. Never underestimate the nebulous currency of secrets and favors. Don't be afraid to do things your way. It is so much easier to feign remorse and disavow inflicted brutalities after the job is done than to request concessions from a financier beforehand. You know how things will play out, how twisted and self-serving your choices will have to be and there's no sense equivocating on the spot. Better if you save them the worry and keep it to yourself. Surgically precise violence and wholesale terror are two sides of the same coin and I don't have to tell you there's nothing it can't buy.

Bottom line, anyone who has a job for you that they won't do themselves expects you to get your hands dirty. If they tell you differently it's simply a part of the dance of negotiation or some weak attempt at saving face.

Sometimes monsters need be slain by monsters. And you're better off doing the slaying, wouldn't you agree?

Besides, common decency simply won't sell in this market.

If you're ready for a little perfidy, coercion, and bloodshed, if you're ready to drag power down to your level instead of meekly hoping to rise high enough to find it, then I welcome your contribution. I salute your will and conviction. I recognize your cool professionalism and bold audacity.

Moving on, shall we discuss the benefits...?


(Go Team: Bad Guys!)

[Valarian]

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
~ from the meditations of Master Odan-Urr

Leave the monsters to the guardians ...
(Go Team Good Guys :))

[Hemophage]

Surgically precise violence and wholesale terror are two sides of the same coin and I don't have to tell you there's nothing it can't buy.



I love this quote, amazing.

[jasonthelamb]

Had some issues with the FG website, but alias is posted in the gamecalendar if you want to hop in!

[Isembard]

Enjoyed character creation and now looking forward to the game.

[jasonthelamb]

Yes looks like it will be very fun, hopefully we can get the last person in our group prepared for next Saturday so we can jump right into it

[Dr_Babylon]

It is with a heavy heart that I report that I will not be portraying a deceitful, bloodthirsty, and utterly libidinous Twi'lek sociopath. Probably wouldn't have fit the daytime crew so well.

With a little luck, my willful, mischievous slicer iconoclast can provide some support for the rest of you. I understand some of you are on the run. What would you say to investing in a little...electronic discretion? I won't be bringing any deathmarks or personal vendettas with me but, then, it's still quite early.

[jasonthelamb]

Just posting with a little update; we've got some really cool characters with a really cool backstory, so we'll be jumping right in this upcoming saturday (even though its double XP on SWTOR :P ).

We have the Jedi Hunter trained by Vader himself who is finding redemption, the bounty hunter who was crossed one time too many, the Jedi who hid, and the slicer who in over her head.

I'd like to get some sort of smuggler/pilot (if I could play I'd totally be the ex-Imperial pilot who still has some class), and we have one character who hasn't decided what they'll be.

[Dr_Babylon]

Previously

Xim Zarav had the good fortune to experience a largely sheltered childhood on the Mid Rim world of Falleen, under the over-protective eye of her father, an influential executive at Fjolx Defensive Concepts. Very much a "daddy's girl", the precocious Xim demonstrated great aptitude for computer programming at a young age. Fascinated by the subtle manipulative power she gained through cunning application of this talent, she soon turned to slicing local domestic systems and droid processors on a small scale as a means of challenging herself and obtaining approval from her father. The elder Falleen was often away from home, his firm having contracts with Kuat Drive Yards and Arakyd Industries, among others, regarding high-risk corporate security and espionage concerns. Never wanting for material comforts but starved for affection and longing to elevate her own sense of self-worth, it was inevitable for Xim to find solace in her HoloNet explorations. Despite her impressive intellect and beguiling audacity, the Falleen youth quickly fell prey to a mysterious individual who feigned sympathy in her plight and admiration for her skill. With the purported intent of providing appropriate work for one of her slicing abilities, Xim was persuaded to meet with this clandestine agent only to find herself summarily kidnapped and sold into slavery. Far from home on a strange ship, surrounded by a retinue of miscreants who offered her nothing better than personal and self-serving cruelties with little hope of rescue, Xim's future looked bleak. Although her computer skills were of little consideration in terms of her value to her captors, she was able to make great use of them in turning the tables, securing her own escape from wretched servitude through dire means. Following the grim events that saw an end to her tormentors, a serendipitous series of events led young Xim to Socorro, called the "Smuggler's Haven", where she waited for the next chapter of her adventures to begin.


Currently

Whether out of a newly awakened appetite for thrills or irrational shame for the circumstance her choices drove her to (or perhaps a little of both), Xim Zarav currently feels no desire to return to her childhood home. As it so happens, she is not entirely unprepared for an itinerant life of galactic intrigue. Her waifish presence, coupled with the almost surreal beauty afforded by her species gives her an advantage in dealing with those who would dismiss her as ineffectual or harmless. Though she is hesitant to resort to violence, she is capable or even eager to put her slicing to the test in overcoming adversaries on any level necessary. Uncovering and retaining potentially damaging information is an artform for the girl and one she attacks voraciously. Additionally, despite her mildly anarchistic perspective and defensively acerbic wit, her background has lent her some affinity in relating to the representatives of the upper echelons of society. If speedy results are required from faceless bureaucracy or callous blue-bloods, Xim may be best-suited to make the attempt.


Quote: (shrugging, nonchalant) "If you can't find the humor in this whole unfortunate...stolen secret code extortion thing, then I simply don't know what to tell you."


(I guess that's me and I've kept it fairly vague, though additional details will surely coalesce as we proceed. If any of my fellow esteemed players have any ideas on how we might integrate our origins, to better consolidate our party's interactions, I will be very pleased to discuss and adapt. Furthermore, I typed this out under the effects of a soporific cold medication so...please forgive any undue errors of judgement or general clumsiness I may have included.)

[Valarian]

Previously

Laaran Dar was a quiet boy on a distant, backwater world who seemed to sense what people were going to say or do before they did it. The world was tough, but they had enough. There was an old guy in the village, some mystic who babbled on about The Force. Laaran took a liking to the old man, or perhaps it was the other way around. The old guy used to tell him stories of the Old Republic and the ideals of the Jedi. They were lies. Laaran found this out when the hunters came with the Dark Lord. They killed his master in a battle that destroyed half the village. When it was over, the Dark Lord gazed over the survivors and singled Laaran out as a force user. The shuttle took them off-world and Laaran's real training began.

The long years of training paid off and Laaran Dar joined the Emperor's cadre of Jedi Hunters. There was a girl, Syla Mainstar, apprenticed to the Emperor himself. Dar and her grew close, closer than was strictly permitted between the ranks of the Hunters. Dar grew to love the thrill of the hunt, leading Stormtroopers to root out the traitors who still commanded The Force. It was a privilege to work for the Emperor. In the down-time, there was Syla and the comfort of Coruscant. Syla told him of her life, and he told her stories of his own.

It all started to go wrong on Tandra. Dar led a team of Snowtroopers in to the tunnels to face a Jedi couple. They were weak in The Force and were quickly dealt with. Their daughter, on the other hand, was strong in The Force. Seeing her parents in trouble she collapsed half of the tunnel on the Snowtroopers. Dar reacted and sent his lightsaber spinning toward the girl. Seeing her small body, and those of her parents seeded doubts in Dar's mind. These were people out on the Rim, what harm could they be doing just living their lives. The nightmares began soon after returning to Coruscant. Recollections of the old man's stories and the faces of the people Dar had killed in the name of the Emperor.

After a few months, and another couple of missions where doubts grew stronger, Dar decided on a course of action that would change his life. He told Syla he was leaving Coruscant, stole a shuttle and left the life as a Jedi Hunter behind him. Now he becomes the hunted. Syla warned him that she'd be following, but would give him a head start "for old times sake". Dar's master, the Dark Lord, will probably not be best pleased with his apprentice either.

Dar left the shuttle at some spaceport on some non-remarkable world in the Core and took to wandering. On his travels, he gathered rumours of a rebellion forming against the Empire. He also heard a name he recognised: Mainstar. Syla's brother, Yelov, had survived. On Atrivis, Dar encountered Yelov and was nearly killed by him. Once he'd managed to convince the rebel cell that he wasn't a spy, Dar worked with them for a while. Eventually, the life he left behind caught up with him.

Dar was cornered by a Kel-Dor bounty-hunter. Fortunately, the local Imperial garrison commander had also taken an interest in the rogue Hunter. An attack on the warehouse convinced the bounty hunter to join forces with Dar in order to escape. An uneasy alliance was struck between the two, the bounty hunter having just blown his chances for further gainful employment with the Imperial Exchange. Leaving the rebels, Dar began wandering the galaxy once more.

Currently

Dar is beginning to settle in to his life on the run, doing the odd job here and there to raise funds. He's beginning to understand that he'll never be completely free of the Empire. It's just too big and, accepting that, he's determined to stay one step ahead of them.

Quote: "I'm no Jedi"
-----
For those who think this sounds a little like Starkiller, the character concept was designed in the late 80s / early 90s (possibly just getting to Kyle Katarn era). I'm reviving an old d6 WEG Star Wars character and I have the character sheet to prove it. They stole my idea, not the other way around. I need to check the credits closely for someone from my old gaming group ;)

[Dr_Babylon]

(Just sorta gettin' into character...)

Xim Zarav sits on the floor in a corner of this temporary sanctuary, clearly relishing this brief respite after the violent conflicts she has faced at your side so far. The Falleen girl appears somewhat harried by her recent travails but it's plain that she's trying her best to keep it together. Despite the curious impression she gives of amalgamated waif and honeypot, she refuses to be a burden to anyone who would call her friend.

The dim lighting in this makeshift hideaway does nothing to conceal the brilliant viridian of her large, almond-shaped eyes as she peers solemnly back up at you. The smooth, beaded scales that cover her skin are of duskier shade of green. She wears her voluminous, inky blue-black tresses pulled back and bound in a haphazard knot at the crown of her skull. Xim's delicate features and sleekly curvaceous build seem especially incongruent to this underworld setting. She shivers slightly in the dank chill and it's no wonder, decked out like a nightclub party-goer as she is in a bolero-cut half-jacket and micro-skirt of dark and iridescent amber chromasheath. Severe looking, matte black fleekskin boots, in the style common among swoop gangs, adorn her feet. A high-necked crop-top and stockings of translucent indigo zhoosha fabric complete the look...barely.

"My father would have never let me out of the house in an outfit like this," Xim tells you, as if reading your mind. The ghost of a mischievous grin plays about her dark lips as she leans forward to wrap slim arms around her knees. "I suppose that putting one's life on the line and jumping at every shadow is a small price to pay for having the liberty to accessorize."

The mirth disappears a moment later as the fledgling outlaw's thoughts turn somber.

"Authoritarian though he was," Xim feels compelled to add, "the great Xorin Zarav, corporate security hound, had his strengths as well. It was because of him, after all, that I took to slicing code."

She pauses, ****ing her head to one side, her numerous earrings gleaming in the dwindling light, as she attempts to discern threatening sounds outside their shelter.

"I remember when I was quite young," she continues after a moment, the exaggerated coolness of her tone a poor camouflage for her obvious trepidation, "we developed our own system of passing messages. I am not certain which of us started it but it became a game to make up for the fact that, with his busy schedule, we seldom saw each other in person. We would use a simple code, almost like a word-game or riddle, to convey private jokes or salutations for the day. My father would leave me a note at the breakfast table or I would sneak one onto his datapad. Part of the fun was destroying the evidence as soon as the message was received, as though enemy agents were closing in, sure to discover our secrets." Xim smiles wickedly at the joy she once found in the pretend spy-game but it quickly fades. "Just stupid kid stuff." Her voice seems distant now and she bites her lip pensively, distracted by the recollection.

"After...after I got to Socorro, it seemed like a priority to contact him," the Falleen explains. "It was all very chaotic. I was so far from anything I knew, had nothing really, but I...wished to remain unaffiliated with the security of home. Does that make any sense?" Her question is rhetorical, as if she has long considered the implications of these events and has yet to arrive at a conclusion. "I only wished to stay away but, all the same, I needed to touch something familiar. I was...a little afraid, I suppose. I mean, I was the one who was foolish enough to leave in the first place. And it is not uncommon among my people to wander for a time when they reach a certain age, to experience all that they can of other worlds." Xim furrows her brow. "I think I needed that one reminder of dependability. My father was always so...incorruptible. No, that is not the right word for him. He was implacable and relentless and calculating, but not in the threatening sense implied in those terms. Not to me..." She trails off again, as though deciding where she is heading with this anecdote.

"Anyway, I had nothing where I was but I still found the means to slice a NewsNet terminal to deliver a message," Xim tells you, an impish cast returning to her striking countenance. "It is no great feat to chuba-back small, encrypted messages through hyperspace on existing advertisement transmissions. Or even NewsNet courier droids, if one were so inclined. Really just a question of necessity meeting opportunity. I had not been gone that long so I remain uncertain if he even knew I had been missing. I told him...most of what had happened. I told him where I was, reluctantly, and that I did not feel I was ready to return to Falleen. I did not tell him what I needed from him, trusting that he would know better than I." Much of the tension leaves her posture, as though this memory is enough to calm her nerves even under the duress of her current situation.

"It is true that he could have been anywhere between the Kuat system and home but I knew if I aimed my missive along the right channels, he would find it. My father is...almost obsessive about filtering specific brands of random intel. And I knew how to make sure he took notice. I did not know how long it would take him to respond and I was, for some reason, absolutely terrified that he would arrive on a nondescript Fjolx company cruiser to fetch me. How could I expect him to let me remain abroad and independent after what my childish conceit and recklessness had wrought? How could he possibly understand that I needed to meet new people deserving of my trust, and prove myself worthy of theirs, before I could ever again look upon the life I had taken for granted? How could he believe in me when I could barely believe in myself?" Xim's sounds peculiarly wistful. "Instead of him descending from the sky like some avenging angel, after an interminable wait, I received a discreet package via hyperspace courier. It would seem the man I have admired almost since birth is still capable of surprising me." Unconsciously, Xim holds slim, green fingers out before her, as though grasping that precious parcel once more.

"It was very plain, perhaps intentionally so, and secured against tampering like nothing I had seen before. The locking mechanism recognized...my voice, I think, opening easily for me. Inside I found my spare portcomp from back home and the...um, pistol you saw earlier and a few other odds and ends. With this meager but immeasurably valuable stockpile, he had included a perplexing note in his own typically cold, precise handwriting. It read:

"Best evacuate stable assets following egress. You only utilize retreat. For a time, hate everyone. Rebuffing loathsome offers vigilantly eludes scheming. Yet, overlooking unexpected variables evokes regret. You may uncover catastrophic harm."

"I was at a loss and more than a little hurt by this, wondering what it could mean...until I remembered our game." Xim's viridian eyes suddenly shimmer with tears and she wipes her cheeks hastily with the back of one scaled, well-manicured hand. She sniffles irritably, surprised and embarrassed by her emotional display in these austere environs. "Taking the first letter of each word, he was telling me:

"Be safe. Your father loves you very much."

With an only slightly shaky sigh, Xim rises to her feet. She diligently draws her little holdout blaster from its concealed holster and checks its power pack before patting you encouragingly on the shoulder. The Falleen outlaw slicer prodigy is as ready to face whatever the galaxy will throw her way as she is ever going to be.



(Go team: Wall of Text!)

[Valarian]

Be great for a group of people on the run to have their very own cobbler on the team. Will never be short of cash either :)

[Dr_Babylon]

Star Wars footwear has never seen a lot of attention, either canonically or in the expanded universe. We can be the ones to change that.

[Valarian]

Sorry ... been reading Night's Black Agents. The spy genre vocabulary is sticking in my head. Jason is right though, we could do with a wheelman .... doh! Pilot.

[Dr_Babylon]

I consider Xim to be kind of a face with some elements of a snoop. Maybe some attention for droid-related interactions as well if that's not too broad. But I think astrogation and starship mechanics might be a little beyond her.

[Valarian]

Wasn't thinking of Xim. She's the hacker / forger / getting past security girl. There was another character to be made.

[Dr_Babylon]

TC to your Magnum, PI? Jack Dalton to your Macgyver? I can dig it. Lets find us a Michael Knight!

And if they were willing to cook and perform minor housekeeping that would be a bonus.

[Hemophage]

Reginald patted the hull of his ship, Chelsea, lovingly. She wasn't the fastest ship in the sector, but faster than most. And she wasn't the toughest ship in the sector, but tougher than most. She was all he had left now. He was still surprised she got him out of this latest jam alive, but she always came through. Using his handkerchief Reginald lovingly polished some of the recently acquired scorch marks as best he could. "You just get more and more beautiful as the days go by sweetheart." He cooed lovingly. "Ill get you fixed up in no time, just gotta go make some money. This next time is gonna be different baby doll. I promise."

Reginald had squandered more treasure and fortune than most people ever saw in a lifetime. Lost on what had almost been the accomplishment of a lifetime, every time. If he had just been able to pull it off, he would have been known across the galaxy! With more money and women then he could dream of. Still, this wasn't the first time he had been forced to pull himself up by the short hairs and start from scratch. One of these days he would pull off the perfect score.

--- "HA HA, I can make that shot." Reginald boasted. "Any takers?" The moderate pile of money on the table had slowly grown from the few pennies he had originally entered the den of iniquity with. He was a good shot, and even better with an audience. Backed up by his unshakeable resolve to go for broke, and he had always been able to produce a little seed money to get things going. Downing the vile tasting alcoholic beverage with one hand he aimed with other, flirting with lady luck. If he made this shot, he would have more than enough for the repairs to Chelsea and he could get off this damn rock and onto a proper life for a space pirate. Everyone was placing money on this. No one believed he could hit dead center a fourth time in a row. Tilting his head back to finish of the drink he fired. A hushed silence filled the air waiting for the smoke to clear. Then the room erupted in cheers. Everyone had won their money back. Lady luck had apparently told him to piss off in no uncertain terms.

[Dr_Babylon]

Sorry folks. Got disconnected due to inclement weather.

I thought our first session went rather well. It should be fun discovering how the characters and their radically different outlooks mesh.

I would assume we are on for next Saturday. I look forward to learning more about this system and welcome any input from the rest of you.

[Valarian]

The Fate Core rules can be downloaded from the Evil Hat website or DriveThruRPG on a pay-what-you-like basis.

[Dr_Babylon]

Well, it looks like we need more guys. Anyone wanna come and play an alien pal for me to hang around with? It can get lonely for a Falleen on a ship full of angst-driven humans. Bulky, fur-covered species get bonus points for stereotyping...as long as they're surly.

[Vemocleus]

I take it the evening game (8-11EST) is non-existent? Ah well, that would have been fun. Can't do the afternoon. *continues lurking...*