Deflector Shields set to Double-Front

[Jonkga]

It takes a whole feat to be able to adjust your shields? Yuck... I guess that's why you just buy an R2 unit who has the feat to do it for you.
.

Actually, that's only one of the maneuvers the feat lets yo do, so you actuallyget pretty good bang for your buck with that feat...

[Jonkga]

To throw in my two cents, I don't think that we should be using NPCs to pilot/operate our ship. If you look at how the folks from the classic movies are built, they all have at least one or two starship type feats or talents. I think where we need to re-think things is on assuming we are going to build steadily up only one talent tree or feat path. This game assumes we'll be building characters organically, and taking what we need as we do. So, just like in the movies, if we do some flying around in ships, we'll take the feats we need. It doesn't force us to have to build up one particular tree to be effective -- adding starship pilot feats won't dilute my soldier, it'll round him out. I think this is something slightly different from D&D we may have to get used to. Anyway, I vote no on the NPCs.

[NukeHavoc]

To throw in my two cents, I don't think that we should be using NPCs to pilot/operate our ship. If you look at how the folks from the classic movies are built, they all have at least one or two starship type feats or talents. I think where we need to re-think things is on assuming we are going to build steadily up only one talent tree or feat path.

I agree -- I'd rather grow the characters organically. That said from my perspective it's more a question of what to do when players aren't around to play the characters who are needed for a particular combat.

e.g. Cory can't make it, and Cory's our pilot. So do we play his character for him, or do we go with an NPC? Same thing for your soldier (who would have been hella handy on Friday night) -- use the character when the player isn't there, or go with an NPC?

I'm fine either way, but sometimes people don't like other folks playing their characters (this was certainly the case years ago in D&D; I'm not sure what opinions are now, or what they might be in star wars).

Personally, I'm fine with someone else running my character on the starship if I'm missing ... but really only on the starship. The rest of the time I think we should leave the unattended characters behind, as they're much more likely to get into trouble if they go on an adventure.

[Jonkga]

To throw in my two cents, I don't think that we should be using NPCs to pilot/operate our ship. If you look at how the folks from the classic movies are built, they all have at least one or two starship type feats or talents. I think where we need to re-think things is on assuming we are going to build steadily up only one talent tree or feat path.

I agree -- I'd rather grow the characters organically. That said from my perspective it's more a question of what to do when players aren't around to play the characters who are needed for a particular combat.

e.g. Cory can't make it, and Cory's our pilot. So do we play his character for him, or do we go with an NPC? Same thing for your soldier (who would have been hella handy on Friday night) -- use the character when the player isn't there, or go with an NPC?

I'm fine either way, but sometimes people don't like other folks playing their characters (this was certainly the case years ago in D&D; I'm not sure what opinions are now, or what they might be in star wars).

Personally, I'm fine with someone else running my character on the starship if I'm missing ... but really only on the starship. The rest of the time I think we should leave the unattended characters behind, as they're much more likely to get into trouble if they go on an adventure.

I'd say the way to handle this would be not have the spaceship fights when people needed to man the ships arent there. For example, we blast off from the spaceport on a night the pilot player is there - then we have to fight off some fighters to get free, a la The MF leaving the Death Star. We blast off when the pilot guy isnt there -- we make it out of there without a ship level combat, a la the MF blasting out of Mos Eisley. I dont see this sort of DM fiat as a bad thing here.

[erilar]

To throw in my two cents, I don't think that we should be using NPCs to pilot/operate our ship. ... It doesn't force us to have to build up one particular tree to be effective -- adding starship pilot feats won't dilute my soldier, it'll round him out.

Agreed and seconded.

I do think that the characters with missing players could act as NPCs in a ship-station-manning capacity, though. There probably won't be all that much role playing going on, and not a lot of decisions being made other than the "fire back at the enemy fighters that are trying to kill us" type.

I'm sure people don't want their character roleplayed for them. Personally, I certainly wouldn't mind my stats being used to man a gun or fiddle a shield while I'm absent though.

It also kind of makes the ship more a home, and the party more of a cohesive group, when the shadows of the missing characters are still lounging about on the Metallic Sparrow in their players' absence.

[EvilGenius]

Personally, I'm fine with someone else running my character on the starship if I'm missing ... but really only on the starship. The rest of the time I think we should leave the unattended characters behind, as they're much more likely to get into trouble if they go on an adventure.

Yes, I'm really only talking about "on the ship". I mean, if we're in a space combat, presumably all of the characters will be there because they're on the ship. So if Cory is absent, and he's the ship's owner and pilot, we should have his stats so we can make appropriate die rolls.

While I think that the DM fiat that Jon talks about is mostly fine, that may not always fit into the story. "you end this session after breaking through tough resistance to join your waiting ship, desperate to join the pitched naval battle against the Sith fleet above you, upon which the fate of the planet rests. A battle which we'll fight next week."

Next week: Cory and Jon can't play. No pilot or gunner. "hmmm, well, you escape leaving the planet to its fate" :p

Of course it won't always be like that, I'm giving an extreme example. Most of the time, if an important ship-focused character isn't present it's reasonable to hold off on the ship combat.

Although that will certainly earn some characters a dangerous reputation!

"Jeez, man! Whenever you travel with us we get jumped by pirates! Are you a dirty traitor or what? Strip naked and put your stuff in this box!!!"