Raw Material

One thing I try to do when putting together is to have a dedicated "character creation" session, where all the players are brought together and where they create their characters (as the name implies). This serves two purposes:

1. By creating the characters together, the players hopefully create a group, not just a bunch of characters.
2. Having a dedicated session before the first 'real' session gives me time to adjust the campaign to suit.

It is that second point that is of most interest here. See, RPGs are inevitably rather broad and sprawling, with a huge range of directions in which they can go. And while players will generally sign up for something because the premise sounds interesting, they haven't signed up to be read a story - they inevitably, and rightly, want to have significant input into how the game goes.

What the character creation session allows, then, is for the players to give some indication of where their interests lie. After all, if they create a bunch of scheming nobles, that's probably an indication that they want a campaign filled with intrigue and backstabbing, while if they create a bunch of straightforward paladins then they probably want something different!

With that in mind, then, what has the "Star Wars: Imperial Fist" character creation session given me?

Well, firstly, and unfortunately, we had one player drop out shortly before the session and (more annoyingly) we had one no-show. That meant that we've dropped from the 'ideal' five characters to three. That's still a quorum... but only just. Hopefully, we'll be able to pick up one or two more players for the next session.

Brindy has created a Jawa Scout character, skilled in mechanics and perception, and very skilled in stealth. That suggests to me an interest in messing around with technology (especially junked tech), and in sneaking around and learning things best left undiscovered. That shouldn't be a problem - there's plenty of Separatist tech left over from the Clone Wars, after all, and the Empire does love its secrets...

Smug has created a Rodian Scoundrel, with a view towards the Gunslinger prestige class. This is almost an iconic "Imperial Fist" character, and should be near-trivial to drop into the campaign. That said, there's possibly some scope for shaking things up there... what if these two characters only start as part of the "Imperial Fist" project? Hmm...

(Actually, that bears a bit more thought. If he was drafted in to "Imperial Fist" having been captured running contraband, that suggests a disgruntled former employer out there somewhere. And that means... something. But not a Hutt; that's just too cliché.)

Finally, Polgare has created a Human Soldier who she describes as "just a grunt". On the face of it, that suggests that she's perhaps just interested in following on and seeing where the campaign goes, happily being blown where the wind takes her.

And yet... the character has a surprisingly detailed background for all that. The daughter of a doctor and a biochemist, who drifted into the Imperial Navy when it became apparent that she couldn't follow in her parents' footsteps, was overlooked for promotion due to her sex, and then was recruited by Daala for the same reason.

I think with that one, I'm inclined to run with the "doctor and biochemist" angle there. If nothing else, that dovetails nicely with the abandoned research station on Varn from the one-shot - they never did investigate what was being researched. And it's very "Star Wars" to have children somehow unexpectedly come face to face with their parents' work...

But where does that leave my original concept?

Well, actually, it should still work - the "Imperial Fist" teams are intended to hunt down and eliminate Jedi malefactors and other rogue elements, and incidentally to deal with any Imperial corruption or other rogue elements they uncover. That can still fit. And I'm starting to see the outlines of a big "rogue element"... It does appear, however, that I may need either a different Big Bad or perhaps a second(ary) Big Bad. Not that that's particularly a problem.

And in the meantime... there are problems on Fere. Agents of Seinar systems, keen to open a new shipyard on the old world, and so trade on its former reputation, have requested assistance from Governor Tarkin and his agents. Someone has been sabotaging their efforts. And so, the Chimera's Escape is dispatched...