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Creating a character for the first time.
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Author:  Demosthenes [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Creating a character for the first time.

Ok, so I've started making a character for the first time, and I must say, I'm a bit lost. I've never played an RPG before, so I'm not understanding some of the terminology and am not sure all the stuff I need to do to get started, stats wise.

I rolled for each of my Abilities, and this is what I got:
Constitution: 16 (+3)
Wisdom: 15 (+2)
Charisma: 12 (+1)
Strength: 17 (+3)
Dexterity: 10 (0)
Intelligence: 13 (+1)

- My character is a Level 1 Corellian Human Jedi, and knows Basic, High Galactic
- HP: 33
- Skills: Endurance, Use the Force (2 more)
- Feats: Force Sensitivity, Weapon Proficiency (Lightsabers), Weapon Proficiency (Simple Weapons), Force Training, Weapon Focus (Lightsabers)
- Talent:
- Force Powers: Move Object (2 more)
- +1 Attack, +1 Reflex Defense, +1 Fortitude Defense, +1 Will Defense
- 5 Force Points

Any help is appreciated! :mrgreen:

Author:  jedispyder [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

You don't get all those Class Skills, you only get a certain amount and it should be based around your Intelligence (and for being Human you get a bonus 1). It's on page 38 of the Core book under the table, you get 4 from that list (2 automatically, 1 from Int, and 1 from Human).

On page 39 under "Class Features" it breaks down what you get for Defense Bonuses (+1 for Fort, Reflex, and Will).

Your starting feats will be Weapon Proficiency (lightsabers, simple weapons) [but since you're Human you also get 1 from the general list further in the book that you qualify for] and then you get to choose a Talent.

Yes, you get 5 Force Points. Every time you level up as a Jedi you start over fresh with 5 plus half your level.

You're HP is wrong. It should be 30 plus your Con modifier, which is just +3 (the 16 is your whole Con score). So you'll get 33 for being a first level Jedi.

Author:  Ruhk [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

often a high dex is preferable to a high strength even for melee. You can get Lightsaber Finesse to apply your dex bonus to melee attacks.. and you get a boost to your reflex def (very important for not getting hit!)

Author:  Demosthenes [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

Thanks for the tips! I've updated my character a bit. Just need to pick 2 more skills and 2 more force powers.

Author:  jedispyder [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

I've never been a Jedi so I can't really suggest Force Powers, I do that the popular ones in my group include Rebuke, Force Slam (very nice against large groups of clustered enemies), and Force Cloak. Also the usual Deflect and Block are great with Deflect used more.

I know for Skills the ones that may work for you could be Acrobatics (actually, this is basically a MUST) and either Initiative or Perception. Initiative obviously helps you to go higher on the initiative track and then Perception gives you a better chance of noticing things. I'm not sure how important Endurance really is, I've been playing the game for about 3 years now with 2 Jedi in my group and I don't ever remember my GM making us roll an Endurance check.

I suggest sending a PM to LoboStele and asking him for insight, he's the competent Jedi in my group and I'm sure he'll be able to give you insight. Especially because he knows the mistakes he did when he first started and knows what not to do, lol!

Author:  Disturbed1 [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

Im wondering about your stats. Did you do a point buy system, or did you roll for them, and those are your rolls?

If rolls, then ok, and you did fairly well, actually.

If you did a point buy, I suggest you rethink the way your points are spent. in my opinion, An odd number is often a waste of points, unless you are trying to meet the criteria for something (feats such as Dodge with 13 Dex as a prereq, or Combat Expertise with 13 Int as a prereq for example), have points leftover with nothing really important able to be raised to another even number (in this case, I suggest dump into Con if you can, but thats just me), or are going to raise it in the future. You have 3 stats right now with an odd number, so unless your game is going to go at LEAST to level 12, you wont be able to get all those to even numbers, and even if the game does go that high, its likely youd prefer to put your extra points upon leveling up into a stat you use a lot (such as raising your Dex higher repeatedly) instead of taking the time to raise the other stats up later. Plus, even if you do plan to raise them all in the long run, its a long-term investment to start them all on odds now.

Just my 2cp.

Good luck ;)

Author:  jedispyder [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

Disturbed1 wrote:
Im wondering about your stats. Did you do a point buy system, or did you roll for them, and those are your rolls?

If rolls, then ok, and you did fairly well, actually.

In his original post he stated that he had rolled it out.

Author:  Disturbed1 [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

In that case, I suggest swapping your Str and Dex scores, lol.

Author:  jedispyder [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

I agree, Dex can be much more important. Especially in those cases where you don't really want to run up and use melee attacks and instead attack ranged.

And if anyone in your group is playing a Noble, I suggest them planning to end up being a Medic. For the Noble Talents, the main 3 important ones for beginners are Born Leader (allies get +1 attack), Inspire Confidence (allies get +1 attack, different type than from Born Leader so it stacks), and Wealth (when you're rolling in 100 times the amount of credits your friends have, they'll do favors for you). Healing is one of the best ways to go for Nobles since our attack usually sucks. We beef up our comrades with bonuses and then heal them when they get hurt...

Author:  thereisnotry [ Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

If you're looking to possibly re-arrange your ability scores, then here's my suggestion:

Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 17 (+3)
Constitution: 13 (+1)
Intelligence: 12 (+1)
Wisdom: 15 (+2)
Charisma: 16 (+3)

High Dex and high Cha make for a jedi who can use the force like nobody's business (since Cha is the stat for that skill), and who is very difficult to hit (and when you do get hit, you have a high chance to block/deflect it with your high Use the Force check). Having a good Wisdom is nice if you want a good number of force powers, and it will also help your Will def. Jedi can get away with a low Str score, because they have so many damage-boosting options as they level up...and if you have multiple uses of the BattleStrike force power, you'll have no trouble dealing damage. :)

And yes, if you have a high Dex, then Acrobatics is a very valuable skill to take as well, since you can get the Acrobatic Strike feat, which goes a long way in helping you to hit your attacks.


I guess the learning here is to recognize the different roles that each of the ability scores plays. For Jedi, Cha and Dex are important, and Wis is valuable. For other characters, it's different...but almost every character will want at least a decent Dex, because it's the main ability score for determining how easy you are to hit.

Anyway, have fun! :)

Author:  TreebeardTheEnt [ Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

How you assign the skills, feats, talents, etc. not only depend on the class that you want to play but the type of character. For example you can have a soldier that uses armor and ranged combat and another that noes not and fights mostly hand to hand. I find having a basic idea of the type of character you want to play, even if it is similar to a movie or book character, in your mind will help with how you make your choices.

Author:  thereisnotry [ Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

Yep, if you want a melee smash character (a wookiee jedi?), you could re-arrange your stats differently:

Strength: 17 (+3)
Dexterity: 15 (+2)
Constitution: 12 (+1)
Intelligenge: 10 (0)
Wisdom: 13 (+1)
Charisma: 16 (+3)

If that character were a wookiee (+4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex, -2 Wis, -2 Cha), you'd have these stats:
Strength: 21 (+5)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 14 (+2)
Intelligenge: 10 (0)
Wisdom: 11 (+0)
Charisma: 14 (+2)

That's a bit less effective with the force, but he can do MASSIVE damage with a lightsaber! :)

So I'd echo what Treebeard said: first decide on what type of character you want to play, and then find a way to arrange your ability scores to match it. The first design was more of an Obiwan-type of character, and the second is basically a "Hulk smash!" type of character (think of Chewbacca with an oversized lightsaber). Both can be a blast to play, depending on what you're looking for.

Author:  Lord_Ball [ Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

For stats distribution/Skills and powers

It really depends on what "type" of character you plan on really playing.
If you plan to go the armored jedi route, then a low Dex is fine
If you plan to ba a negotiator/"face" type jedi a High Charisma is a necessity (as is the persuasion skill - or more likely Adept negotiator/Force Persuasion talents)
If you want to play a run of the mill Jedi Knight You will definitely want to take the initiative skill - actually you'll probably want it regardless, I would also suggest the perception skill

Even if you want to play a Jedi you may want to start your character as a different class.
The key to starting out your character definitely lies in the end result you hope to achieve.

Author:  Jedi_Master [ Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Creating a character for the first time.

If you are looking for good force powers, I cannot express enough how useful negate energy is in a firefight. No damage and you can heal damage if you spend a force point (provided you make the check) is really good. Also, if the party lacks a medic, Vital transfer is useful so long as you have enough force to run it. Honestly, I would just take negate energy a few times for multiple uses an encounter without having to spend force on it. Nummy nummy blaster bolts ^^

As for a talent; block and deflect are great if you are the tank, battle meditation if you are support, and way way WAY to many options if you are the sword.

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