Badan Rana's Sith Armor

[NukeHavoc]

Baden Rana has secured his long wished-for Sith armor. During the long two week journey back to Kala'uun, Zulen has a chance to go over the armor with Baaden.

Looking closer you can see the surface of the armor has been etched with all manner of strange, cruel-looking symbols. Highlife takes a look at the armor and recognizes it to be of Krath manufacture. He explains to the gungan that the Krath were a major Dark Side sect from the Empress Teta system associated with the Great Sith War 15 years earlier. They had a reputation for particularly cruel and effective weaponry, though typically only officers in Sith army wielded Krath weapons or wore Krath armor.

This armor is the equivalent of stormtrooper armor (8000 cr, Armor bonus to Ref: +6, Equipment bonus to Fort: +2, Max Dex Bonus: +3, Weight: 10 kg; Availability: Military, Rare). It is of Krath manufacture (Galactic Lore: DC 15 to recognize) and has the Krath gear template (Damage Reduction 2 against energy damage). It has one upgrade slot available (per the armor upgrade rules in Scum and Villainy)

As military-grade armor, it technically requires a license to wear, though on the Rim that's going to be less of a concern than in the mid-systems or the Core. As Sith/Krath armor, well, it's Sith/Krath armor. It brings back a lot of bad memories of the Great Sith War (which, being Gungan, Badan doesn't share IIRC his backstory correctly). In places where the Republic is strong, wearing Sith armor may be problematic, if not downright illegal. Contact your local HoloNet for details.

On the Rim, it's less likely that someone will try and arrest you for wearing it, but it's sure to elicit a response from people, ranging from hatred to fear to respect.

[Jonkga]

Well, I don't know what to say here, and I'm not even sure how to talk about it without sounding like a dick.

I play a soldier, and specifically a soldier who wears armor and shoots blaster rifles, primarily. But, we are playing star wars, and not D&D, so the typical feel of "kill the bad guy, loot his magic items" isn't really there. However, I would argue that in the movies you do see all sorts of characters pick up gear and equipment to use, even if just temporarily.

As a soldier, one of the ways I want to improve is to improve my equipment. So, as my character was not a member of the Republic Army, or Navy, or a specific military organization, I wasn't going to be issued better armor as our characters progressed. So, the only real way for me to get it would be to gather it from enemies. Heck, even in the core book, the description for Battle Armor reads: "while off-the-rack battle armor is available, most users cobble together their gear from various sources."

And, as I am trying to play a competent soldier, who has offensive abilities as well as defensive ones, losing some dex bonus is important to me, so I was wary of going up to medium armor yet. So, the best light armor is stormtrooper armor. But, in a KOTOR campaign, there are no stormtroopers. That leaves me with finding Sith armor, which is basically the stormtrooper armor of the time.

All I want is some cool armor to round out my character. Zulen can make his own stuff; the jedi can build cool lightsabers with specialized crystals that give them bonuses; Highlife can put together a cool ship. I thought I could get me some cool armor. But, it seems that my armor is evil, and not only will I be shunned for wearing it, but I couldn't even find a "normal" set, or cobble together some "normal" pieces. No, I had to find an even "evil-er" set. Sure, it has a nice in game bonus, but it makes it harder to wear in public and/or get licensed (as all my weapons are officially licensed; my plan was of course to procure a license for my armor. Because the game has such rules, I've been spending more on licensing my equipment so I could keep it and less each level on new equipment - my plan was the same here).

I'm not looking for expandable armor, or supercool armor with templates. Thank you, for it does sound cool, but as a player I wasn't looking for those complications. I am purposely trying to stay just with the Core rulebook and the KOTOR book, as to avoid personal confusion from all the other sourcebooks.

So, I guess my response to this post is as follows:
Baden of course wants the armor. First things first, he will file off all the evil-looking etchings, "blue" the metal plates so it no longer looks like the chrome of regular Sith troops, and etch the Binary Transports logo prominently on it. (I don't know if removing the etching will change the Krath Manufacture template, but if so, then it does.)

As he doesn't really have plans for upgrade slots, that won't get filled right now.

Then, he would seek to procure an official license for his military-grade armor (not listen in the gamebook as illegal). Because the licensing mechanic is a Knowledge (bureaucracy) check, which is of course a skill my character would never have, I've been paying for the licenses as if I've been able to get them during downtime. If you really want to adhere to the strict rules here, then I guess Baden won't really have any effective gear, as I am not interested (as a player for this character) of using non-licensed equipment. My in-game, background-type assumption here is that as the head of security for Binary Transports, inc., I should be able to get my necessary gear licensed.

So, I guess those are my initial thoughts regarding this post about the armor he was able to procure from the Spires of Zax last night. My appologies if this comes across as petulant.

[Jonkga]

Oh, and I just read that being of Krath manufacture actually raises my Dark Side score, so now I'm not even sure if I want the armor. So, I guess it's back to my flight suit.

[NukeHavoc]

Here's my perspective: Sith armor, like stormtrooper armor, is badass. It's some of the best armor in the game, but IMHO both kinds of armor comes with role-playing strings attached. It's just the nature of the armor and part of the balance of associated with it; a mercenary soldier running around in storm trooper armor in the Rebellion or New Jedi Order eras would have just as many issues.

As an aside, I do think Baden has other options for getting armor/equipment/weapons, especially considering the burgeoning resources of Binary Transport (and I still need to post the credits earned from the last major arc). Looting's an option, but as our new head of security, I think he has other ones as well.

Having said that, if you want to strip it down, get rid of the over Krath markings and energy deflection capabilities, repaint it in keeping with the Binary Transport armor, I'm ok with that. I think 3,000 CR for the refurb, including the new military-grade license (which would cost 1,600 CR) would be reasonable. It would then lose the Krath DR trait and while it may ring some bells as having been descended from Sith armor (say DC 25 Galactic Lore?) it wouldn't strike fear in the hearts of men at a glance. The armor itself is listed at 8000 CR and the black market cost is x4, so I think that's a pretty good deal. I expect that Binary would be able to cover part or all of that upgrade from the company coffers.

As far as licensing for weapons go, yeah, everyone should be paying the licensing costs. Those costs may be absorbed by an organization (like Binary) but they should still be paid. As you say Baden's the head of security now, and I expect our esteemed CEO could successfully navigate the licensing channels for employees.

I mentioned the upgrade slot 'cause you were looking for ways to advance your character's capabilities. Upgrades are a good way of doing that IMHO, but they're not covered in the core rules so I'll understand if you want to ignore them.

[NukeHavoc]

Oh, and I just read that being of Krath manufacture actually raises my Dark Side score, so now I'm not even sure if I want the armor. So, I guess it's back to my flight suit.

IIRC, it's only if you have a Dark Side score, but in any case, see my other post.

[Jonkga]

Here's my perspective: Sith armor, like stormtrooper armor, is badass. It's some of the best armor in the game, but IMHO both kinds of armor comes with role-playing strings attached. It's just the nature of the armor and part of the balance of associated with it; a mercenary soldier running around in storm trooper armor in the Rebellion or New Jedi Order eras would have just as many issues.

And, I guess I'm looking at it differently. If I loot the better plate armor form the orc mook, my fighter can lose his splint armor and wear the plate, no adverse effects. I'm not talking about the plate armor of Orcus the cultist leader was wearing. I wasn't looking for Krath armor, just mook sith armor. And no, in my star wars worldview, no real in-game effects.

[Jonkga]

Having said that, if you want to strip it down, get rid of the over Krath markings and energy deflection capabilities, repaint it in keeping with the Binary Transport armor, I'm ok with that. I think 3,000 CR for the refurb, including the new military-grade license (which would cost 1,600 CR) would be reasonable. It would then lose the Krath DR trait and while it may ring some bells as having been descended from Sith armor (say DC 25 Galactic Lore?) it wouldn't strike fear in the hearts of men at a glance. The armor itself is listed at 8000 CR and the black market cost is x4, so I think that's a pretty good deal. I expect that Binary would be able to cover part or all of that upgrade from the company coffers.

And, this seems unreasonable to me. Sure, I pay for the licensing. But, I looted the armor. I don't think I should need to pay 3000 credits to refinish it, with the resources Binary Transports has at it's disposal. Again, I wasn't looking for Demondim-spawn Krath armor, just regular soldier sith armor.

Frankly, this seems like more trouble than it is worth, so maybe we'll just say the suit got damaged in the Spires, and forget the whole thing.

Again, not trying to be a dick, but I guess we see this too differently to compromise on it.

I can just save up the credits for some off-the-rack battle armor and be done with it. (Of course then I may want to jump up a few more levels so I can get the feats/talents to wear it effectively.)

[EvilGenius]

Okay, no biggie. Just like in D&D; you wanted Full Plate Armor and we found Demonic Plate Mail instead. shrug. This is not the armor you're looking for .....

We still have some adventuring to do wherein you can find the armor you're looking for. You can also spend credits to build the armor you want to use. The rules even say that people cobble together parts of armor to make their own. It's in flavor text and there aren't any specific rules on HOW to do that, but Zulen made his own lightsaber which was a little outside the printed scope of the rules, after all. IMO, it's not super unbalancing for you to make a set of armor that you want, with the stats you want, especially if you're spending the credits for it.

Considering that you're the only armor wearing character in the party, even if the armor is better than what you can get in the book, it's not incredibly unbalancing. As a story development, it could even become something like signature armor. Mook, 'Hey, check out that sentient, I've never seen that type of armor before.' Mook2, 'I have once. Only in glimpses though. That Krayt Demon had my whole squad pinned down with his cursed autofire!! Our best marksmen hit him at least a half dozen times but our blasters weren't powerful enough to get past that damnable armor of his!! I'm the only survivor from that day ....'

Heck, take the Creation or Discovery destiny (or whatever) and maybe your signature armor even becomes legendary, inspiring a whole new type of armor!!

[NukeHavoc]

If others in the party don't have a problem with it, let's just say you salvage the armor, piecing it together with your other armor, repainting/retooling it to strip the overtly Krath influences. You pay the licensing fee so it's all legal (or Binary Transport picks up the tab; I'll defer to Cory on that one).

I really like Bob's suggestion regarding the Creation/Destiny destiny; I think that's a great idea, and very much in keeping with the milieu.

[Jonkga]

I really like Bob's suggestion regarding the Creation/Destiny destiny; I think that's a great idea, and very much in keeping with the milieu.

Not a bad idea, but not really what I'm looking for for my character. I don't see him as being the armor artificer type of character, and all this cobbling together I was viewing as an off-camera type of thing. His goal in leaving Naboo wasn't to become the ultimate soldier and develop an excellent suit of armor. His soldiering just came from the fact that bodyguarding was the only real job he had any "skills" towards when he needed to earn credits. He sort of fell backwards into soldiering.

I guess I see the Destiny aspect of the whole anakin/luke storyline that is central to the star wars movies, but I really wasn't looking for a similar path for my character. I was looking at him as more of the "everyman" in somebody else's heroic story. He's just the point and shoot guy that's part of the team: Destiny is up to Highlife and the Jedi running around.

[Jonkga]

If others in the party don't have a problem with it, let's just say you salvage the armor, piecing it together with your other armor, repainting/retooling it to strip the overtly Krath influences. You pay the licensing fee so it's all legal (or Binary Transport picks up the tab; I'll defer to Cory on that one).

I don't know. In looking at it now, it's really not that big a step up from what I have. I really wanted it for the look of Sith Armor. If that's too much trouble in-game (and I believe that point is inarguable at this point), then I'm just going to forgo the armor.

Really, I was jsut looking for something that had that iconic soldier look (clone armor, stormtrooper armor, sith armor), but I've changed my mind. I'm going to stay with what I've got. Let's just assume the armor didn't make it out of the Spires.

[NukeHavoc]

Moving on ... I think Baden should consider Light Battle Armor (KOTOR, p. 71):

Light Battle Armor Ref Def +5, Fort Def +2, Max Dex Bonus +3. Weight 10 kg, Availability: Military, Upgrade Slots: 1, Cost: 3,500 cr

The Reflex bonus is one step less than Storm/Sith trooper armor. If Zulen works his tech specialist magic then you can get the armor to about where you wanted it (at least mechanically):

1) Agile Armor: Max Dex increases by 1.
2) Fortifying Armor: Equipment bonus to Fort increases by 1.
3) Protective Armor: Armor bonus to Reflex increases by 1.

ken

[Jonkga]

Moving on ... I think Baden should consider Light Battle Armor (KOTOR, p. 71):

Light Battle Armor Ref Def +5, Fort Def +2, Max Dex Bonus +3. Weight 10 kg, Availability: Military, Upgrade Slots: 1, Cost: 3,500 cr

The Reflex bonus is one step less than Storm/Sith trooper armor. If Zulen works his tech specialist magic then you can get the armor to about where you wanted it (at least mechanically):

1) Agile Armor: Max Dex increases by 1.
2) Fortifying Armor: Equipment bonus to Fort increases by 1.
3) Protective Armor: Armor bonus to Reflex increases by 1.

ken

yeah, that has exactly the same stats as the armored flight suit he is wearing already. Well, except for the upgrade slot, which I'm not really interested in. And, my soldier talents already improve the effectiveness of the suit pretty well.

Don't worry about it. I'm good with what I have.

[Jonkga]

Bottom line: Baden has an armoer flight suit, a blaster rifle, and a blaster pistol. Sure, he's got some other odds and ends, but really, he's got all he needs. From now on I'll just not worry about his stuff - it'll certainly be sufficient for him/me.

[NukeHavoc]

yeah, that has exactly the same stats as the armored flight suit he is wearing already. Well, except for the upgrade slot, which I'm not really interested in.

Just FYI -- all armor has one upgrade slot, so your current armor has that as well.

ken