Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Fighter Ace 3.0

The Fighter Ace is already a pretty good template.  It's nicely focused and excels at what it sets out to do, which is to be good at piloting a starfighter. This makes him ideal in handling military-scale problems set in space, giving him an interesting relationship with the commando.  Unfortunately, the Fighter Ace is arguably too focused.  Is he good at anything else? This creates two problems.  First, how often will military-scale issues come up in space?  If everyone is a fighter ace, it can come up all the time, but if your party consists of an assassin, a spy, a bounty hunter and a fighter ace, what does the rest of the party do while the fighter ace if dogfighting the enemy, and what does the fighter ace do when the rest of the crew is doing their thing?

To help with this problem, I've made sure that handling any vehicle, mostly through the rules I've applied to defaults, as well as a few secondary skill options.  Thus, the fighter ace can assist people with any movement needed.  He's not as good as the Smuggler for getting you there, but he can also help you navigate space, and he's better than the smuggler at bypassing military-style blockades.  He can also support the more military characters with close-air support.

I've tried to expand his secondary skillsets in a few useful directions, which have resulted in his power-up packages.  First, the Fighter Ace can easily be very social, with access to good looks, charisma, and a variety of social skills to complement his leadership skills.  This is not a unique power-up package, though, because enough of those skills are fundamental to how a fighter ace needs to work that they make little sense to refactor out.

If a pilot falls behind enemy lines, he'll need to escape, which gives us the Evasion package.  I had already included a variety of skills and advantages meant to assist a pilot in resisting torture, escaping imprisonment and surviving on a deserted planet, and I have since shifted those into the Evasion package.  This gives the pilot a secondary role as infiltrator and chaser.

Finally, knowing how to fix and maintain technology is a useful skill for a fighter ace.  Add to this the possibility of deploying unique technology on his preferred fighter, and he can turn his fighter into a temporary swiss-army knife, using it to solve the situation in unique ways.

Finally, to take advantage of unique "starfighting styles," I've included a few martial art packages to guide players in choosing their perks and techniques.




Fighter Ace 3.0: 250 points

Attributes: ST 10 [0], DX 14 [80]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 11 [10]

Secondary Characteristics: Damage 1d-2/1d; BL 20 lbs; HP 10 [0]; Will 12 [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 11 [0]; Basic Speed 6.00 [-5]; Basic Move 6 [0]

Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15], Hot Shot Pilot +4 [20], Luck [15] and either Military Rank 2 [10] or Contact Group (Space Navy, Skill 15, 9 or less) [10]. Choose a total of 25 points from the following: Increased DX +1 to +2 [20/level], Increased IQ +1 to +2 [20/level], Increased Basic Speed [5/level], 3D Spatial Sense [10], Ally (Robot, 50%, almost all the time) [9], Appearance (Attractive) [4], Charisma +1 to +2 [5/level], Daredevil [15], Danger Sense [15], Enhanced Dodge (Vehicular, Pilot skill) +1 to +3 [5/level], Enhanced Dodge +1 [15], Fearlessness [2/level], Fit [5], Hard to Kill [2/level], Higher Purpose (Dogfighter or Wingman) [5], Perfect Balance [15], Rapier Wit [5], Serendipity 1-2 [15/level], Signature Gear [Varies], Signature Ship [Varies], Wild Talent 1 [20], Upgrade Luck [15] to Extreme Luck [30] for 15 points.

Disadvantages: Either Duty (Required if your character has Military Rank) (Space Navy, 12 or less, Extremely Hazardous) [-15] or -15 points from Code of Honor (“Fight Fair”, Mercenary's or Soldiers) [-5 or -10], Compulsive Behavior (Thrill-Seeking) [-5*], Fanaticism (Faction) [ -15], Impulsiveness [-10], Lecherousness [-15], Obsession (Defeat rival ace) [-5], Overconfidence [-5*], Sense of Duty (Team or Faction) [-5 or -10]; Choose an additional -30 points from the above or from Bad Temper [-10*], Bloodlust [-10*], Bully [-10*], Chummy [-5], Compulsive Carousing [-5*], Delusion (Invincible in my fighter), Jealousy [-10], Trickster [-15*], Intolerance (Rival Faction) [-5], On the Edge [-15*], Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10].

Primary Skills: Pilot (Starship) (A) DX+61 [8]-20, Artillery (Guided missiles) (A) IQ+3 [12]-15, Gunner (Beams) (E) DX+61 [4]-20, Navigation (Hyperspace) (A) IQ+31 [1]-15, Beam Weapons (Pistol) (E) DX+1 [2]-15; Divide 8 points among Beam Weapons (Rifle or Projector) all (E) DX+1 [2]-15, Leadership (A) IQ [2]-12, Tactics (H) IQ-1 [2]-11, improve any of the previous skills, increase Gunner (Beams) or Beam Weapons (Pistol) +1 level for +2 points, or increase Pilot or Artillery (Guided Missile) +1 level for +4 points.

Secondary Skills: Stealth (A) DX [2]-14; Free-Fall (A) DX [2]-14; Parachuting (E) DX [1]-14; Savoir-Faire (Military) (E) IQ [1]-12; Spacer (IQ/E) IQ+2 [4]-14; Vacc Suit (A) DX [2]-14; Either Brawling (E) DX+1 [2]-14 or Karate (H) DX-1 [2]-12; Either Judo (H) DX-1 [2]-12 or Wrestling (A) DX [2]-13; [1]-14; Choose four of Fast-Draw (Pistol) (E) DX+22 [2]-15, Pilot (Flight Pack) (A) DX+125 [2]-15, Area Knowledge (Region of Space), Camouflage or First Aid both (E) IQ+1 [2]-13, Connoissuer (Starship), Electronics Operation (Comms, EW, Sensors), Fast-Talking, Leadership, Public Speaking, Shadowing all (A) IQ [2]-12, Swimming (E) HT+1 [2]-12, Carousing, Sex-Appeal all (A) HT [2]-12, Scrounging (E) Per+1 [2]-13, Survival (Any) or Urban Survival, both (A) Per [2]-12, or Intimidation (A) Will [2]-12

Background Skills: Computer Operation (E) IQ [1]-11, Pilot (Contragravity) (A) DX+23 [0]-16, and 20 points chosen from a background lens.

Starfighter Arts: Choose 5 points from among your advantage options, your primary skill options, or from the following perks and techniques from one of the following packages
  • Bombardier:
    Perks:
    Equipment Bond (Starfighter), Feel of the Ship, Fishbed Flier, Standard Operating Procedure (Calibrations or Primed to Go), Wing Commander.
    Skills: Aggressive Maneuvering [1-2], Defensive Tactics [1-4], ECCM [2-7], Evasive Maneuvering [1-4], Offensive Tactics [1-4], Skipjacking [2-5], Targeted Attack (Torpedo/Any) [varies], Targeted Attack (Any/Armor Gap (Engines)) [2-11], Targeted Attack (Any/Armor Gap (Turret)) [2-11].
  • Maverick Piloting:
    Perks:
    Equipment Bond (Starfighter), Feel of the Ship, Intuitive Starfighter, Mark of the Ace, Maverick, Soar like a Leaf
    Skills: Aggressive Maneuvering [1-2], Distracting Fire [2-5], Fast Firing (Gunner (Beams)) [2-5], Quick Salvo (Any) [2-7], Reacquire Target [2-6], Reversal Maneuver [1-3], Sidewinding [2-7], Stunt [2-5].
  • Starfighter Academy Training:
    Perks:
    Formation Flier, Sacrificial Dodge, Standard Operating Procedure (Calibrations or Primed to Go), Wing Commander.
    Skills:
    Aggressive Manuevering [1-2], Defensive Tactics [1-4], Distracting Fire [2-5], Evasive Maneuvering [1-4], Escape Manuever [1-4], Offensive Tactics [1-4]


1: +4 from Hotshot Pilot
2: +1 from Combat Reflexes
3: From Pilot (Starship) default
*Modified by Self-Control Rating

Fighter Ace Power-Ups

Evasion Specialist

Advantages: Spend 15 points on the following: +1 HT [10], Increased Will [5/level], Increased Basic Move [5/level], High Pain Treshold [10], Trained by a Master (Evasion -50%) [15];

Skills: Spend 10 points on Jumping (E) DX+1 [2]-15, Climbing (A) DX [2]-14; Escape (H) DX-1 [2]-13; Lockpicking or Navigation (Land) both (A) IQ [2]-12, Hiking or Running both (A) HT [2]-11, Survival (Any) or Urban Survival, both (A) Per [2]-12, or improve any of the previous skills or Stealth by one level to [4] for 2 points.

Starfighter Tinkerer 25 points

Advantages: Choose 20 points from among IQ +1 [20], Artificer 1-2 [10/level], Quick Gadgeteer (Starfighter Tinkerer -80%) [10], or Gizmo (Spaceship Gadgets) 1-3 [5/level]

Skills and Perks: Spend any remaining advantage points and 5 additional points from the following skills and perks:

Perks: Equipment Bond (Toolkit), Standard Operating Procedure (Calibrations) [1]


Skills: Armoury (Force Shields, Heavy Weapons, Vehicular Armor), Electrician, Machinist or Mechanic (Starship) all (A) IQ+1 [4]-13, or Engineering (Starship) (H) IQ [4]-12

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