What does your character look like? How old is he (or she)? What sort of first impression do they make? What lead them to become a hero?
This section covers a miscellany of topics that apply to your character. It help you establish your character’s identity and place in the Star Wars universe and make them more lifelike—like a main character in a Star Wars movie or novel. For many players, this is the true expression of roleplaying: defining the character that you are going to play.
When you first play a character, it’s fine to leave some of the details sketchy. Over time, as adventures play out, you’ll get a better sense of who you want your character to be. You’ll develop your character’s details much the way an author develops a character over several chapters in a novel or over several novels in a series.
Details
This section offers advice as you determine details about your character, including their name, age, appearance, and personality. Start with some idea about your character’s background and personality, and use that idea to develop the details that bring your character to life.
Name
Invent or choose a name that fits your character’s species and heroic class. A species’ description page contains some examples of alien names. A name is great way for you to start thinking about your character’s background. For instance, a Rodian scout might be named after a great Rodian hunter of the past, and the Rodian may be striving to live up to that heritage. Alternatively, the name could be that of an infamous traitor, and the hero could be bent on proving the they are not like their namesake.
A name can also tell a lot about a character and help establish an image in your mind and the minds of the other players. It doesn’t have to be descriptive, but you want it to fit the type of character you're going to play. Use the sample names to help you make up a name that has the appropriate Star Wars feel.
Age
Your character’s age is pretty much up to you (subject to the Gamemaster’s approval). A character reaches 1st level in an heroic class at the point when they step out of mundane life and into the drama of the story, either by choice or through circumstances beyond the character’s control. That could be as a young adult for a Padawan learner, as a 20-year-old adult (such as in the case of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope), or as an even older character depending on your character concept.
The species characteristics table gives age ranges for the various species. As your hero ages, their physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution) generally decrease and their mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) generally increase, as shown in Table: Aging Effects (below). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
First, generate your ability scores as defined in Chapter 1. Then, once your starting age is determined, apply the modifiers shown on Table: Aging Effects. Note that the methods described for determining ability scores yield the scores of an adult character. For example, when a character reaches middle age, their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores each drop by 1 point, while their Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores each increase by 1 again. So far they have lost a total of 3 points for their Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity scores and gained a total of 2 points to their Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma scores due to aging.
On the other hand, a child would start with a total penalty of −4 to Strength and Constitution and a −2 penalty to all other abilities (adjustments are cumulative for both the child and young adult categories). As they advance to young adulthood, these penalties would be reduced to −1 for each ability score. They would thus “gain” 3 points to both their Strength and Constitution and 1 point to each of their other ability scores. When they later become an adult, they would gain 1 point to each of their ability scores.
Jedi live longer than the average member of their species. While a typical Human lives well into their 80s, a Human Jedi might live well into their 100s. The upper limit for a character powerful in the Force can be twice as much or more than a typical member of a species.
| Aging Effects | |
|---|---|
| Child | −3 to Str and Con; −1 to Dex, Int, Wis, and Cha |
| Young Adult | −1 to Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha |
| Adult | No modifier |
| Middle Age | −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha |
| Old | −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, WIs, and Cha |
| Venerable | −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to int, Wis, and Cha |
Appearance
Decide what your character looks like using the descriptions of the various species as a starting point. Characters with high Charisma scores tend to be better looking than those with low Charisma scores, though a character with high Charisma could have strange looks, giving them a sort of exotic beauty.
You can use your hero’s looks to tell something about his personality and background. For example:
—Deel Surool, the Twi’lek scoundrel, always has a smirk on his lips, no matter what situation he finds himself in. He treats life as a joke where only he knows the punch line. He wears the latest fashions and comes off as being mildly superior to everyone around him.
—Vor’en Kurn, the Human soldier, has a rough, dark look that speaks of the life he has led. His mercenary nature shows through in the way he moves, the way he wears his armor, and the way his twin blasters hang at his sides. His eyes are cold, dead, uncaring. You know he means business and that he’s dangerous just by looking at him.
—Sia-Lan Wezz, the Human Jedi, appears confident and in control. She wears her Jedi robes and lightsaber proudly, and her fresh, young face glows with enthusiasm and hope. You know you can trust her, and you know she takes her role very seriously. Perhaps even a bit too seriously.
Height and Weight
The species characteristics table presents average heights and weights for the different species. Your character may be of average height and weight, or you can make your character’s abilities might say about their height and weight. If they are weak but agile, they may be thin. If they are strong and tough, they may be tall or just heavy.
Personality
Decide how your character acts, what they like, what they want out of life, what scares them, and what makes them angry. Your character’s species is a good place to start when thinking about personality, but it’s a bad place to stop. Make your Wookiee (or whatever) different from every other Wookiee.
Personality is a summary of how your character usually acts. Make sure it’s interesting and fun for you to play. Give your character good points and bad points. Think about his code of ethics. Will you character do anything for the right price, or is there a line they just won’t cross? Is your character cheerful or dour, optimistic or pessimistic, honorable or dishonorable? These are just some of the factors that could go into your character’s personality.
A handy trick for making an interesting personality for your character is including some sort of conflict in his nature. For example, Deel the scoundrel is generally self-centered, but he looks out for his close friends. He may be tempted to help them, even if it goes against his best interests, so long as he can justify doing so.
Your character’s personality can change over time. Just because you’ve written some personality notes on your character sheet doesn’t mean you can’t let your character grow and develop the way real people do.
Background
See Backgrounds for information on the Backgrounds game mechanic.
Decide what your character’s life has been like up until now. Here are a few questions to get you thinking:
How did they decide to become a hero?
How did they acquire their class? A soldier, for example, might have been in a planetary militia, they may come from a family of soldiers, they may have been trained in a martial school, or they may be a self-taught mercenary.
Where did they get her starting equipment? Did they assemble it piece by piece over time? Was it a parting gift from a parent or mentor? Do any items have special significance to them?
What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to them?
What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to them?
Do they stay in contact with their family? What does their family think of them?
Only your GM needs to know all the details of your background. You can tell the other players as much or as little as you see fit. You can get as complex as you like, or keep your character’s background simple. Have they traveled around the galaxy a lot? What’s their home planet like? What do they think of the Republic (or Rebellion, or Empire, or whatever)? Do they know any of the other players’ characters from before the campaign started? If not, what’s their connection to the rest of the team?
Goals
Your character might have a number of objectives that they hope to accomplish. These are the things that motivate your character. Do they seek wealth or love? Revenge or power? That’s up to you and your GM.
Goals can be immediate or long-term. They can also change during play, and new goals can be added all the time. Think of goals as what’s motivating your character right now, though some long-term goals might fade to the background until circumstances warrant.
Destiny
For an alternative game mechanic, see Backgorunds.
Destiny plays a large roll in the Star Wars universe. As a young boy, Anakin Skywalker is told that his destiny is to bring balance to the Force. Padmé’s destiny is to give birth to the twins, Luke and Leia, so that they can fulfill their own destinies. Luke Skywalker learns that his destiny is to redeem his father, Darth Vader, so that balance to the Force is restored. Leia’s destiny is to save the Rebellion from annihilation at the hands of the Empire and help forge the New Republic. The destiny mechanic helps players and Gamemasters recognize that all heroes—and even major villains—have significant roles to play in the fate of the galaxy. Destiny rewards players for good roleplaying and gives Gamemasters new plot hooks to use when designing adventures.
The rules presented below are optional. A Gamemaster may decide to use Destiny Points or not; however, the decision to use them should be made before the campaign gets underway, so that each player can decide whether or not to embrace a destiny for their character from the outset.
Although conceivably any character—heroic or nonheroic—has a destiny to fulfill, only heroic characters receive Destiny Points and receive in-game benefits for pursuing their destines. Nonheroic characters don’t receive Destiny Points; their destinies, whatever they might be, exist purely on a story level.
Choosing A Destiny
Players don’t need to choose destinies for their heroes at the start of the campaign—or ever, for that matter. Not every hero has a destiny that must be fulfilled before the end of the campaign, and even players who want their characters to have destinies need to give their characters—and the campaign—a chance to develop first. It may take several adventures before players understand where the campaign is going and what goals their heroes are likely to pursue.
Choosing a destiny can be handled in one of two ways: Either the player can select an appropriate destiny for their hero (based on what’s happening in the campaign), or the Gamemaster can select a secret destiny for the hero. If the player chooses a destiny for their character, the GM should challenge the player to fulfill their destiny by presenting conflicting situations where the smartest and most beneficial decision might force the character to choose between doing what is best for their fellow heroes and taking steps toward their destiny. If the GM secretly chooses the hero’s destiny, they must present challenges that let the character move closer to achieving their destiny, imparting benefits when the character is moving in the right direction and imposing penalties when the character does something that takes them far from the destined path. The GM-selected “Secret Destiny” forces the player to take their character through a period of self-discovery, as they learn which actions lead them closer to—or farther from—their destiny. In essence, this mirrors Luke Skywalker’s struggle at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, when he must choose between redeeming his father and falling prey to the corruption of the dark side.
A character with a destiny gains short-term benefits whenever they make significant progress toward fulfilling it, while a character who pursues goals that move them further away form their destiny suffers short-term negative effect. Conversely, a character without a destiny has nothing to gain and nothing to lose.
Destiny Points
Destiny Points are resources that a player can use to help fulfill whatever destiny has been set before their character. A 1st-level character begins play with 1 Destiny Point and gains another Destiny Point at each level. A Destiny Point allows a hero to perform a nearly impossible task or survive against all odds.
Only a character with a destiny can gain or spend Destiny Points.
Spending Destiny Points
Spending a Destiny Point does not take an action and grants one of the following benefits:
- Automatically score a critical hit (No attack roll required).
- Automatically cause an attack made against you to miss (Even once the attack is resolved).
- Act out of turn (thus changing your position in the initiative order) once per encounter.
- Take damage that would otherwise harm another character within your reach.
- Increase the effect of some Force powers (as noted in their descriptions).
- Immediately gain 3 Force Points.
When a character fulfills their destiny, they can choose to keep the Destiny Points that they accumulated, or transfer some or all of them to allied characters. A character who retains their unspent Destiny Points can’t spend them until they acquire a new destiny. A character who chooses to give away some or all of their Destiny Points can’t give more than 1 Destiny Point to any single ally. Under no other circumstances may a character transfer their Destiny Points to another character.
For example, Sia-Lan fulfills her destiny by redeeming a powerful dark-sider, after witch she still has 2 unspent Destiny Points. Sia-Lan decides to give Vor’en and Rorworr—two of her compatriots—1 Destiny Point each, leaving her with 0 Destiny Points.
Death and Destiny
Achieving one’s destiny may yield great benefits, but the path of destiny can be perilous. Many characters in the Star War saga perish attempting to fulfill their destinies. If a Force-Sensitive character dies while fulfilling (or attempting to fulfill) their destiny, the Gamemaster may allow the dead character to manifest as a Force Spirit. If a non-Force-user perishes while pursuing or achieving their destiny, the GM may decide that the character’s sacrifice or untimely death imparts some benefits upon their surviving allies.
Force Spirit: A Force-user who dies in the process of fulfilling their destiny may manifest as a Force spirit. For a Jedi or other good Force-user, this means transforming into a translucent blue spirit that can appear before their former allies. For a darksider, this means becoming an evil dark side spirit that can linger on, continuing to spread the influence of the dark side.
If a character with the Force Sensitivity feat dies while fulfilling their destiny, that character may become a Force spirit, retaining their consciousness (and their Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores) but becoming completely incorporeal. The Force spirit can manifest at will and can vanish just as easily. It can also walk through walls and exist in the vacuum of space. Additionally, Force spirits can travel anywhere in the galaxy instantly with a mere thought. However, Force spirits have no substance and cannot interact physically with creatures or objects in the universe.
When a hero dies and becomes a Force spirit, that Force spirit becomes a GM-controlled character. Under the GM’s control, a Force spirit might serve as a guide, advising heroes in times of dire need and sharing valuable information or wisdom it held in life.
Noble Sacrifice: Whenever a character willingly sacrifices themselves for a noble cause, particularly while fulfilling their destiny, they can bolster the resolve of their surviving comrades and allies. For example, when Arvel Crynyd crashed his A-wing into the bridge of the Executor, it was a turning point in the battle of Endor. When a character dies fulfilling their destiny in such a way, all allies within the same star system gain a +1 destiny bonus on attack rolls and +1 destiny bonus to Defenses (Reflex, Fortitude, and Will) for 24 hours.
Vengeance: When a valid ally falls in the pursuit of their destiny, it can have powerful effects on those present at the time of their death. When a character dies fulfilling their destiny, any ally who witnesses their death may choose to become filled with a desire to avenge their fallen comrade, gaining a +2 destiny bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls for 24 hours. Since revenge leads to the dark side, any Force-user who chooses to gain these bonuses must immediately increase their Dark Side Score by 1.
For a listing of destinies, see Destinies.