[Building Character: SWSERPG] VX-3R "Vexer"

This is the fourth post in my Building Character series, and the last one that will feature a character made for the Star Wars Saga Edition Roleplaying Game (at least for a while). This newest character, a droid called Vexer, joins my previous characters and rounds out their crew.

Process

Vexer is the fourth character I’ve made for the Star Wars Saga Edition Roleplaying Game in this series of articles. I wanted him to be different from the other three characters I’d made, and I wanted him to bring something new to the team. I decided to create a droid character, since droids are a staple of the Star Wars universe, and we didn’t yet have one on the team. You can create a droid character to do pretty much anything a biological character can do, except use the Force, but I wanted Vexer to have some feature you would specifically associate with droids. While droids in Star Wars don’t all possess superior strength as a rule, it’s generally not surprising to see them demonstrate incredible physical abilities. For this reason, I decided to have Vexer be an exceptionally strong warrior that specializes in unarmed combat.

In the Star Wars Saga Edition Roleplaying Game, the soldier class makes a good choice for any warrior. I wanted Vexer to be a quick fighter who keeps his opponents off-balance, though, so I decided to start him out in the scoundrel class. Through the scoundrel class he can gain the Sneak Attack talent, which will give him extra damage with attacks against an enemy caught off-guard. Later on I moved him into the soldier class to accelerate the rise of his attack bonuses and get him the Hammerblow talent – another talent that would improve his unarmed damage. The rest of his talents and feats were chosen to augment his unarmed attacks as well.

Background

The VX-series droids were built by Holowan Mechanicals primarily to serve as bodyguards and security droids. Similar in function to their IG-series cousins, they possess a sleeker design, making them more aesthetically pleasing to the wealthy costumer base they are marketed to. VX-3R was first owned by the founder of a major Corellian-based corporation. He was intended to be a bodyguard for the businessman’s three daughters. Fiercely independent as they were, however, they instead ordered VX-3R to instruct them in hand-to-hand combat so that they could defend themselves. The girls nicknamed him “Vexer” because his lessons were always difficult, as he refused to go easy on them.

When the family business fell apart due to corruption among the board members, Vexer’s owner had to relocate and sell off many of his assets. Vexer was sold. His young charges were loath to part with him, but Vexer left them satisfied in knowing he had taught them well how to protect themselves and each other. His new owner was an entrepreneur who entered him into droid-only gladiatorial competitions. Following the example of his former charges, Vexer had developed a pronounced independent streak. When Vexer became frustrated with the endless abuse him and his opponents suffered in the ring, he found a way to escape. The droid eventually wound up on Tatooine, where he came into the employ of a mercenary named Shara Koth.

Personality

Vexer is almost unnervingly quiet. Designed to be a bodyguard for the wealthy, he was programmed so that he wouldn’t be intrusive at social functions. Thus, he will only speak when addressed directly, or when he deems it absolutely necessary. Behind this steely silence, however, Vexer is very alert and attentive to what is going on around him. He also holds exceptionally strong opinions for a droid. Because of past experiences, both good and bad, Vexer has learned to be fiercely independent. It is not easy to win his trust. However, he has a natural inclination to protect others, especially children or anyone else who appears helpless and oppressed.

Game Statistics

I wanted Vexer to be a moderately experienced character so I made him level 6, putting his first three levels in the scoundrel class the next two levels in the soldier class, and coming back to scoundrel for his sixth level. I choose to make him a 4^th-degree droid, which is a lot like choosing a species for the character. The Scavanger’s Guide to Droids sourcebook gives you the option to choose a manufacturer for your droid hero. I chose Holowan Mechanicals, the producers of the IG-series of droids, because it gives him an extra ability to do a little more damage once per encounter. I decided to use the optional background rules from the Rebellion Era Campaign Guide, instead of the standard destiny mechanics found in the core rulebook, and gave Vexer the military background (which helps him out with a couple of skills). Vexer has pretty good Strength and Dexterity, no Constitution (this is a trait of being a droid), and about average scores in all of his mental abilities. His skills focus on the areas of deception and stealth.

Combat Tactics

Vexer has a pretty good Reflex Defense, but his Fortitude and Will Defenses are kind of low. His hit points are a tad on the low side, so it’s best if he engages the enemy when he has friends around who can draw away some of their attacks. The fact that he’s a droid does mean he can be repaired a bit faster than an organic can heal. While he focuses on making unarmed attacks, he’s fairly proficient with a blaster pistol or a simple weapon (such as a knife or grenade).

In the Star Wars Saga Edition Roleplaying Game unarmed attacks are fairly weak, and just making an unarmed attack against an armed opponent can provoke an attack of opportunity. Vexer has a number of talents and feats that really make him shine in hand-to-hand combat, though. First, the Martial Arts I feat will increase the die he rolls for damage with an unarmed attack from a d4 to a d6. The Hammerblow talent gives him another +3 damage if he’s not armed. K’thri Training allows him to make a second unarmed attack once per round as a swift action. This second attack has no penalty to its accuracy, but it won’t deal a lot of damage. Still, it’s good when Vexer is surrounded by a number of weak opponents. Also, once per encounter, Vexer can deal half damage with an unarmed attack that misses, giving his attacks some additional reliability. And, because he’s a Holowan Mechanicals droid, he can deal an additional die of damage on one attack each encounter.

Vexer has another trick that will help him increase his damage output. With two instances of the Sneak Attack talent, Vexer rolls an extra couple of dice when damaging an enemy that is flat-footed. The K’tara Training feat gives him an additional die of damage when that attack is an unarmed strike. Normally, getting an enemy flat-footed for your attack can be difficult, but the Combat Trickery feat lets him use two swift actions to render an opponent flat-footed against his next attack. All he has to do is succeed on a Deception skill check against his opponent’s Will Defense. With a +13 bonus to Deception checks his odds are pretty fair.

Here are Vexer’s game statistics in stat block form for use by a Game Master. Players can download his character sheet here.

VX-3R “Vexer” (CL 6)

Medium Droid (4^th-degree Droid, Holowan Mechanicals) Scoundrel 4/Soldier 2

Background Military; Force 8

Init +6; Senses Perception +8
Languages Basic, Binary

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Defenses Ref 22 (flat-footed 18), Fort 18, Will 17
hp 44; Threshold 18

Immunities Droid traits

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Speed 6 squares
Melee unarmed +8 (1d6+9) w/Hammerblow or

Melee unarmed +8 (4d6+9) w/Hammerblow, K’tara Training and Sneak Attack

     Melee (Swift Action, 1/round) unarmed +8 (1d6) w/K’thri Training

Ranged blaster pistol +8 (3d6+3) or

Ranged blaster pistol +8 (3d6+2d6+3) w/Sneak Attack

Base Atk +5; Grp +8

Attack Options Hammerblow, Holowan Mechanicals (extra die damage 1/encounter), Point Blank Shot, Sneak Attack

Special Actions Combat Trickery, K’tara Training, K’thri Training

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Abilities Str 16, Dex 16, Con --, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 10
Talents Hammerblow, Sneak Attack ×2

Feats Armor Proficiency (light), Combat Trickery, Dual Weapon Mastery I, K’tara Training, K’thri Training, Martial Arts I, Point Blank Shot, Skill Focus (Deception), Weapon Proficiencies (pistols, simple)
Skills Deception +13, Endurance +5, Perception +8, Ride +8, Stealth +11, Treat Injury +5

Possessions walking locomotion, heuristic processor, internal comlink, locked access, claw appendage ×2, vocabulator, jump servos, blaster pistol