Let’s Talk About The High Republic
I’ve started to add some of the characters from the High Republic Series to the site. This will be an off and on project as I have not finished The Light of the Jedi just yet. I’m currently on Chapter 11 for those wondering, and yes I am enjoying it. I’m reading and taking notes as I go along. One of the questions I had while reading is if the Vector and Longbeam spacecraft have hyperdrives or not. I believe they do but so far it has not been mentioned in the novel. More to come on that.
Let’s talk about the characters themselves. We have a crop of interesting Jedi to follow with the new series. I’ll be upfront and say that I usually don’t find Jedi characters that interesting. Jedi are way overpowered in the Star Wars Universe so to make them interesting you have to find a way to dampen their space wizard abilities. I will say though that The High Republic does a good job of showcasing the Jedi abilities without making them too OP. At least from where I am in the novel.
A few Characters from The High Republic that we will need to build character sheets for.
Avar is the brightest, most noble example of Jedi-hood. She always tries to see the good in people and situations, and never puts herself first. She is invigorated about life on the frontier and the challenges it brings, and is an inspiration for those who work with her. She is compassionate, not dogmatic, and always ready to sacrifice herself over others. Avar Kriss is the best of the best.
Loden is a Twi’lek Jedi Master, and is considered to be one of the best teachers in the Jedi Order. Strong and wise, with a good sense of humor, Loden looks at every moment as a learning experience, always trying to better himself and those around him, especially his Padawans.
Keeve is a young firebrand Jedi, believed to have a great future ahead of her, if only she would believe it herself. Quick-witted and more impulsive than she should be, Keeve has only been a Jedi Knight for a few weeks and is a little starstruck around Avar, knowing many of the great things Kriss has done in the past. She is determined to prove herself to Avar and the other legendary Jedi stationed on Starlight Beacon, but first she must learn to trust in herself as much as she trusts the Force.
Stellan is an optimistic and well-respected Jedi Master. Stellan came up through the Order with Avar Kriss, and although they are often on different assignments for the Jedi or the Republic, when the two work together they are a powerhouse team of two noble heroes in action. Strong in the Force and a natural teacher, Stellan is currently stationed at one of the Jedi Temple outposts on the distant planet of Caragon-Viner.
Vern is a newly-minted Jedi Knight. Vernestra, Mirialan, was Padawan to Stellan Gios. She works hard and is devoted to the Jedi Order, more so than most others her age. At sixteen she is one of the youngest Knights in a generation. She struggles to fit in with the adults while also setting a good example for the younger Jedi.
Klias Teradine (Image Not Available)
Klias Teradine was a male Padawan of the Jedi Order that discovered the Bogan Collection during the time of the High Republic.
Porter Engle (Image Not Available)
Porter Engle, known as the Blade of Bardotta, was a male Ikkrukkian Jedi Master and cook who lived during the High Republic Era. Sporting an enormous beard, Engle was once a legend within the Jedi Order, but eventually stepped down to become a humble cook, becoming known for his recipes, such as Nine-Egg Stew.
So far I have completed the template for Rwoh and will have the others completed soon. Rwoh being fresh out of the Jedi Trials we can have an understanding of her abilities and her Lightwhip / Lightsaber combo she travels with. The others I’ll complete when I finish the Light of the Jedi and feel comfortable releasing those stats. These are some pretty elite Tales of the Jedi level characters so I want them to feel right for the era. This is a time when Yoda was still young and we know he will show up in the High Republic storyline.
In other news, I have completed Chapter 6: The Prisoner with templates from that episode. I do expect the Porax Starfighter will have an official name this July when the Star Wars The Mandalorian The Ultimate Visual Guide is released. The place holder in the Star Wars Community is the Porax-45 as a advanced Porax design from the Porax-38 during the Clone Wars Era. The starfighter was designed around the WWII Era P-38 and shares a lot in common with the Mandalorian starfighter seen in Chapter 6. When the book is released I hope we get several items confirmed like if the astromech droid we keep seeing is indeed the R6 or some other model of astro droid.
I’ll begin on Chapter 7: The Reckoning this week so watch for that. I’ll usually schedule the new posts to appear at 7pm EST for those interested. I usually spend me free time reviewing data from sourcebooks, going over hundreds of pages of notes, and trying not to get sidetracked each evening. For example I spend three hours this week updating my notes from 1996 on Capital Ship weapons. When building a Capital Ship I spend far too much time on the weapon systems and shields. I start with a default set of stats, review the size of the ship, how large of reactor the ship would carry and then apply the damage modifier for that ship. Say we want to create the stats for the anti-starfighter emplacements on a Venator-class Star Destroyer. I’ll start with my base stats for the point defense system.
Light Twin Point Laser Cannon
Fire Arc: Turret | XX batteries front, XX batteries left, XX batteries right
Crew: 3
Scale: Starfighter
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 1-3/10/20
Atmosphere Range: 400-1/5/10 km
Damage: 4D
The Venator has 26 of these emplacements while also having to share power with Heavy Turbolasters and Medium Turbolasers which take far more power. We also have to share power with shields. That brings down our damage modifier from 4D to 3D due to reactor drain. Fire Control will increase as we go from one turret to a battery of cannons. Usually anything more than 4 batteries requires a fire control skill of 3D.
26 Point-Defense Laser Cannons
Fire Arc: 12 front, 6 left, 6 right, 2 rear
Crew: 3
Scale: Starfighter
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 3D
Space Range: 1-3/10/20
Atmosphere Range: 400-1/5/10 km
Damage: 3D
As a game master you usually will have only a few batteries firing at a players ship and the smaller the ship the more difficult it should be to hit. You can always adjust stats on your ships based on the crew skill as well. If the ship is carrying a green crew that has never been in combat before feel free to make their rolls more difficult.
Remember that when you are running a campaign it is your campaign. Change NPC stats to fit the story and make the adventure more exciting. There should always be risk to the players and should never feel like it is too easy. Add some drama and give your characters stakes that give their actions meaning. Drama and tension make for a great adventure. While a story should not be only combat based, combat is a part of Star Wars. There is a lot going on and even if the players are not combat based, they should be pulled into combat on when it fits into the story. Then it is fun to see how the non-combat players escape.
That’s all for today. Have a good one and May the Force be with You!!
PW
