Nothing Ventured Games

Name: April
Grade Level: Elementary (age 6)
Monster: Fizzy the Unicorn

Appearance: Small, pale, mousy girl with big gray eyes.
Personality: Quiet and sweet. Smart. Shy.
Favorite Thing: Fizzy

Feet 2 (Dodging +2)
Guts 4 (Wind +2, Courage +3)
Hands 2
Brains 4 (Out-Think +3, Remember +2, Notice +1)
Face 3 (Charm +2)

Relationships: Books 2, Breakfast 1, Parents 3

Fizzy the Unicorn
Fizzy is a sparkly pink unicorn about the size of a house cat with a long ivory horn. She smells nice and is warm and fuzzy. She likes to cuddle and stab things, but her absolute favorite thing is sparkling juice drinks. When she needs to hide, she turns into a stuffed unicorn that April can hide in her backpack.

Stabbing Horn 10d (locations 8-10): Attacks (stab stab stab), Useful (can heal anyone it touches), Awesome 2, Tough 2

Slashing Hooves 9d (locations 6-7): Attacks (slash slash), Useful (can make a ringing sound that April can hear from just about anywhere)

Fast Legs 9d (locations 4-5): Defends (nimbly jumps out of the way), Useful (runs really, really fast)

Sparkly Mane and Tail 8d (locations 2-3): Useful (cloud of sleepy dust), Area 2

Long, Twitchy Ears 5d (location 1): Useful (can hear April from just about anywhere)

Cavat
Medium Male Ryn Noble 7
Force 5; Destiny 1
Init +11; Senses Perception +9
Languages Basic, Binary, Bothan, Huttese, Ryn, Sullestese, Mon Calamari

Defenses Ref 21 (flat-footed 18), Fort 17 (19 in space suit), Will 20
hp 39; Threshold 17 (19 in space suit)

Speed 6 squares
Ranged +8 blaster carbine (3d8+3)
Ranged +8 blaster pistol (3d4+3)
Base Atk +5; Grp +8

Abilities Str 8, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 16
SQ musical beak, prehensile tail, connections
Talents Beloved, Bolster Ally, Inspire Confidence, Lead by Example
Feats Coordinated Attack, Bad Feeling, Linguist, Point Blank Shot, Skill Focus (Deception), Skill Training (Pilot), Weapon Proficiency (pistols, rifles, simple weapons),
Skills Deception +16, Gather Information +11, Initiative +11, Knowledge (bureaucracy) +10, Knowledge (galactic lore) +10, Perception +9, Persuasion +11, Pilot +11, Use Computer +10
Possessions blaster carbine with rangefinder (takes no penalty to attack a target at short range), datapad, holdout blaster pistol in concealed holster, space suit, utility belt, credchip with 2000 credits.

Designer's Notes: This creature takes a pipeless satyr from the System Reference Document and applies the Icy Elemental and Breath Weapon templates from Goodman Games' Book of Templates: Deluxe Edition.

Crios, Spirit of the North (CR 3)
Before you stands a crooked-legged, roughly man-shaped creature made of smoky, bluish-white ice. From the fey's brow projects a ridge of hard blue ice, and a mist hangs around him as waves of cold wash off his body.

Always CN Medium Fey (Cold)
Init +1; Senses low-light vision; Listen +15, Spot +15
Languages Common, Sylvan
Aura cold aura (5 ft., 1d4 cold damage per round, Fort save DC 13 half)

AC 15 (+1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 14; Dodge
hp 22 (5 HD); DR 5/cold iron
Immune cold; Vulnerable fire
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +5

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares); Mobility
Melee head butt +2 melee (1d6 plus 1d4 cold)
Base Atk +2; Grp +2
Special Atk breath weapon 2/day, freeze

Abilities Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 13
SQ icewalking (as spider climb, but only on icy surfaces)
Feats Alertness, Dodge, Mobility
Skills Bluff +9, Diplomacy +3, Disguise +1 (+3 acting), Hide +13, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (nature) +9, Listen +15, Move Silently +13, Perform (wind instruments) +9, Spot +15, Survival +1 (+3 aboveground)

Breath Weapon (Su): 20-ft. cone, 1d6 cold damage, Ref DC 13 half.
Freeze (Ex): At will, works as grease (CL 5th), but coating is icy. Any application of heat destroys the effect.

These supple leather boots provide the wearer with a +4 circumstance bonus on Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march. Also, once per week, the wearer can cast pass without trace as a 1st-level druid.
Faint transmutation; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Items, bear's endurance, pass without trace; Price: 215 gp.

Developed out of the original d20 System rules (before the 3.5 revision of Dungeons & Dragons), D20 Modern was WotC's attempt to create a more flexible rule set that could be used for late-historical, modern, and futuristic gaming (basically, anything after the invention of firearms). Modern has languished in recent years as Wizards' attention has turned primarily to D&D and, at least lately, Star Wars.

For this character creation, I'll be making a character for the Iron Lords of Jupiter setting presented in Polyhedron Magazine #160. This setting calls back to the old "planetary romance" stories like Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" tales. My character will be a human from modern Earth transported to the planet Jupiter, which in this setting has a solid surface ruled by a despotic race that has mastered ironworking.

To begin, I'll assign my ability scores. D20 Modern gives the option of rolling scores randomly, buying them with points, or taking a standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. For the sake of speed, I'll go with the standard array. For my character concept, I'm thinking about playing a doctor, so I'll want a high Wisdom, and I want him to be somewhat athletic, so my physical scores are also a priority. I end up with Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 8.

For character classes, D20 Modern starts with six base classes. Each base class is based on one of the six ability scores, and they present choices of talents and bonus feats that play off of the associated ability. For a medical professional, my best choice is the Dedicated Hero, based on Wisdom. First thing I get to choose from my class is a talent. Talents in Modern work essentially the same as talents in Star Wars. The Dedicated Hero gets to choose from three talent trees: Empathic Talent, Healing Talent, and Insightful Talent. Going with my concept, I take Healing Knack, getting a +2 bonus on Treat Injury checks.

Now I can figure out a lot of my character's traits without making any choices. I get hit points equal to 6 + my Con modifier, for 7 hp total. The Dedicated Hero gets a +1 Defense bonus, a +0 attack bonus, a +1 Reputation bonus, +1 to Fort saves, +0 to Reflex saves, and +1 to Will saves.

Next, I get to choose a starting occupation to represent my mundane background. Doctor would be the obvious choice, but I like the look of Athlete instead. My doctor was an aspiring fencer in college until an injury put him on the path to medical school. I get to choose three skills to add to my skill list, taking Balance, Jump, and Tumble. I also get a free feat, Archaic Weapon Proficiency. Finally, I get a +1 bonus to Wealth (not that it will matter when I get zapped to Jupiter).

As a Dedicated Hero, I get a number of skill points equal to (5 + my Int modifier)x4. Obviously, Treat Injury is going to get a full 4 ranks. I also put max ranks in Tumble, Knowledge (earth and life sciences), Listen, Survival, and Sense Motive.

I get to choose two feats now. I decide my character wasn't just a doctor, he was a surgeon, so I take the Surgery feat. And for some more of that fencing training, I take Dodge.

And that just about wraps it up. Give him a name: Dr. Jordan Killian.

Dr. Jordan Killian (Human Dedicated Hero 1)
CR 1; Medium-size humanoid; HD 1d6+1; hp 7; Mas 13; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 class); BAB +0; Grp +0; Atk +0 melee or +2 ranged; Full Atk +0 melee or +2 ranged; FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3; AP 5; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 8
Occupation: Athlete (class skills: Balance, Jump, Tumble)
Skills: Knowledge (earth and life sciences) +5, Listen +6, Sense Motive +6, Survival +6, Treat Injury +8, Tumble +6.
Feats: Archaic Weapon Proficiency, Dodge,Simple Weapon Proficiency, Surgery.
Talents (Dedicated Hero): Healing Knack.

In 2005, Green Ronin published Blue Rose, a roleplaying game of romantic fantasy, basing the rules system off of their Mutants & Masterminds game but tweaking it to better fit the heroic fantasy genre in general and romantic fantasy in particular. The rules that resulted were eventually broadened into the True20 system and published as a separate book. Personally, I find the incarnation in Blue Rose a bit easier to play and infinitely easier to read.

Blue Rose presents the world of Aldea and specifically the central kingdom of Aldis. Aldis is ruled by a monarch chosen by a magic stag that lives in a stained glass window, and the kingdom is populated mainly by kind, open-minded people who accept all races and all views on sexuality. (The setting is very true to its literary roots, where humans and talking animals mingle freely and homosexual or even bisexual characters barely get a second mention.)

So, I'm going to make a Blue Rose character, and I'll follow the guidelines in Chapter 2 step by step. First, I generate ability scores. Blue Rose is based (though a few generations removed) on the d20 System of Dungeons & Dragons fame, so there are six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. While D&D derives a bonus or penalty from a numerical score ranging (for most characters) from 3 to 18, Blue Rose dispenses with the score entirely and just allows you to buy the bonus (or take a penalty to get a few points back). All of the abilities start at +0, and I get 6 points to spend. (The only caveat at this stage is I cannot put more than 5 points in a single ability.) As I start imagining my character, I see him as a cerebral sort, frail but bookish, drawn more to magic than to feats of physical prowess. He is somewhat graceful, however, from a cultured upbringing that included lessons in dance and perhaps fencing. I end up with the following abilities: Str +0, Dex +1, Con -1, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +2.

Next, I get to choose a background for my character. This includes various nonhuman races, but it can also be used to define the cultural background of human characters as well. My character is human, so I have to decide what culture he hails from. Immediately, from my concept so far, I know he is an Aldin, the cultured inhabitants of the central valleys and great cities of Aldis. Being a human gives me an extra known skill (I'll remember this for later, when I choose my role) and a bonus feat. As an Aldin, this feat will either be Fascinate or Jack of All Trades. I turn to the Feats chapter to read the entries, and I choose Jack of All Trades. My character has studied so many broad topics that is at least comfortable attempting just about any skill.

Next, I get to choose my role. I think this character is an adept, a fully-trained user of the arcane. I get to choose 4 skills to be favored (favored skills have a higher bonus if you are trained in them), and I get all Craft and Knowledge skills as free favored skills. What's more, my background gave me Diplomacy and Language as additional favored skills. For my choices, I pick Acrobatics, Concentration, Gather Information, and Sense Motive. I then get to choose 2 skills plus a number of skills equal to my Intelligence modifier, plus an additional skill for being a human, and I get all of these as known skills. I take Concentration, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Knowledge (arcana), and Knowledge (nobility), and Sense Motive.

After skills come feats. As an adept, I get 4, and I favor Arcane feat and General feats. I should note here that my arcane powers are taken with feats, specifically the Arcane Training feat. In order to train in a power, I need the talent feat for that category of power. With my highest ability score in Int, my character is best suited to shaping powers, so I take the Shaping Talent feat to gain access to them. I'll also take Arcane Focus (shaping) to increase the saving throw DCs of my shaping powers. To gain some powers, I take Arcane Training (Fire Shaping, Light Shaping) and Arcane Training (Move Object, Psychic Shield).

Now I can record the other traits derived from my role. As a 1st-level Adept, I get an Attack bonus of +0, a Defense bonus of +2, a Toughness bonus of +0, a Fortitude bonus of +0, a Reflex bonus of +0, a Will bonus of +2, and a Reputation bonus of +1. I also get 3 Conviction points. I have a Calling, based on the setting's version of the tarot. I choose the The Tower, a calling of "lowering the lofty". For alignment, my character is definitely a good person, so he is aligned with the Light. His Light nature is "inquisitive," while his Dark nature is "petty."

Finally, I choose possessions, and then I'm done. Blue Rose uses the Wealth system derived from d20 Modern. I start with a Wealth bonus of +5 plus my Charisma, for a total of +7. Anything with a purchase DC of 7 or less, I can purchase automatically. Anything with a DC of 8 or more will require a check and lower my Wealth score. So I'll go through and pick stuff that costs 7 or less first. As an adept, I'm only trained in simple weapons, so I pick up a light mace and a shortspear (for throwing) as well as a heavy crossbow. I'm not proficienty with any armor, so I'll skip that section. For adventuring gear, I pick up a backpack, a bedroll, a scroll case, and a belt pouch. Finally, I'll make a Wealth check to see if I can purchase a meditation stone with a +2 bonus (purchase DC 11). I roll a 22, easily purchasing it. This lowers my Wealth bonus to +6, however.

And that's it for this character. His name is Jacen Camaron, a minor noble raised in luxury who has grown tired of the complacency of his peers. He has taken to adventuring to show other nobles that there are things in the world worth struggling against.

Jacen Camaron
1st-level human adept: Initiative +1; Speed 30 ft.; Defense 13 (+1 Dex, +2 role); Attack +0 melee (+2 damage, light mace), +0 melee/+1 ranged (+2 damage, shortspear), +1 ranged (+4 damage, heavy crossbow); Alignment: Light; Wealth: +6; Reputation: +1; Saves: Tough -1, Fort -1, Ref +1, Will +3; Str +0, Dex +1, Con -1, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +2; Skills: Concentration +5, Diplomacy +6, Gather Information +6, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (nobility) +7, Sense Motive +6; Feats: Arcane Focus (shaping), Arcane Training (Fire Shaping, Light Shaping), Arcane Training (Move Object, Psychic Shield), Jack of All Trades, Shaping Talent; Arcana: Fire Shaping +7, Light Shaping +7, Move Object +7, Psychic Shield +5; Equipment: backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, heavy crossbow, light mace, meditation stone (+2), scroll case, shortspear.

Time for another character creation post, and this time, it's Mage: The Awakening, one of White Wolf's World of Darkness games. Mage is about people whose souls have awakened to a higher reality, allowing them to perform powerful magic.

Step 1 for any World of Darkness character, as I've said before, is concept. For my mage, I want to make a character who isn't interested in the personal or political force his magic could bring. Instead, he wants to use his new power to help others. He works as an ER nurse on the night shift at a major urban hospital, and he uses his magic to bring some of the most injured patients back from the edge. He's also a modernist, and feels comfortable mixing magic with technology. For a name, I'll go with Stewart Green.

In step 2, I choose attributes. I know that Stewart's physical traits are his least important area. For his primary attributes, both mental and social could fit, but mental wins out in the end. I get 5 dots there, and I put 2 each in Wits and Resolve and 1 in Intelligence. In social, I get 4 dots, 1 each in Presence and Manipulation and 2 in Composure. Finally, 3 dots go into physical, and I put 1 in Strength and 2 in Stamina. Stewart is not the most graceful guy, but he's tough.

Step 3 is skills, and I get 11, 7, and 4 dots. I choose social as my primary, putting 2 dots each in Empathy, Streetwise, and Subterfuge, 3 in Persuasion, and 1 each in Intimidation and Socialize. Mental skills are next, getting 3 dots in Medicine, 2 dots in Science, and 1 dot each in Academics and Computer. Finally, I put 1 dot each in Brawl, Drive, Stealth, and Survival.

Step 4 is skill specialties. I put one in Medicine (Trauma), one in Streetwise (Gangs), and one in Intimidation (Stare-Downs).

Step 5 takes me into the Mage book for the first time, adding a supernatural template to represent the gifts of awakening. First I choose a path, and this is easy. The Thyrsus path specializes in Life and Spirit. As a Thyrsus, Stewart would most easily be able to heal others, and spirit magic would allow him to protect the hospital against malign entities that feed on suffering. Being a Thyrsus gives Stewart and extra dot in Composure, bringing that attribute up to 4. I can choose an Order to join or declare my mage an apostate, but choosing an Order is also simple. The Free Council are modernists who seek to work magic into the modern world.

I then choose my Arcana, the categories of magical knowledge that determine what kinds of spells I can cast. I get 2 dots in one Arcanum, 2 in a second, and 1 in a third. Two of these Arcana have to be my ruling Arcana (Life and Spirit). Right away I put 2 in Life and 2 in Spirit. My third Aracanum will be Death, to allow Stewart to sense the nearness of a patient's passing. Finally, I get a final dot to place in any Arcanum, including one I've already chosen. I put it in Life, raising that Arcanum to 3.

I get to choose 6 dots in rotes. It's important to invest in rotes primarily for spells that require multiple successes (things like healing). Looking through the lists, I choose Forensic Gaze (Death 1), Purify Bodies (Life 2), and Healing Heart (Life 3).

Finally, my Gnosis begins at 1. This trait measures how magically powerful the character is.

Step 6 is working out my advantages. Defense is the lowest of Dexterity (1) and Wits (2). Health is Stamina (3) + Size (5). Initiative is Dexterity (1) + Composure (4). Morality in Mage is called Wisdom, and it starts at 7. Speed is Strength (2) + Dexterity (1) + 5. Willpower is Resolve (3) + Composure (4). Finally, I choose a Virtue and a Vice. Stewart's Virtue is definitely Hope, while I think his Vice is Pride (saving people is a validation of his own skills).

Finally, step 7 is buying merits. I get the High Speech merit for free for being a member of an Order. I also have 7 dots to spend. Stewart has a good job, so he has 2 dots in Resources. His picked up quite a bit of Spanish working in the ER, so he has 2 dots in Language (Spanish). Finally, he has a small apartment which he has secured, allowing him privacy in which to practice his magic (Sanctum with 2 dots in Security and 1 dot in Size).

A few finishing touches. Mages usually take a Shadow Name, a pseudonym they use among other mages to maintain their own privacy. When he was initiated into the Free Council, Stewart took the name "Sel" (French for salt, a mineral with great biological and magical importance). Mages also possess magical tools which they have dedicated themselves to magically and which help avoid the force of Paradox. Stewart always carries around a penny from the year of his birth onto which he has scratched a five-pointed star (the Atlantean pentagram).

And that just about wraps it up for Stewart Green.

Sel
Real Name: Stewart Green
Path: Thyrsus
Order: Free Council
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 1, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics 1, Computer 1, Medicine 3 (Trauma), Science 2
Physical Skills: Brawl 1, Drive 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Intimidation 1 (Stare-Downs), Persuasion 3, Socialize 1, Streetwise 2 (Gangs), Subterfuge 2
Merits: Language (Spanish) 2, Resources 2, Sanctum (Security 2, Size 1)
Willpower: 7
Wisdom: 7
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Pride
Initiative: 5
Defense: 1
Speed: 8
Health: 8
Gnosis: 1
Arcana: Death 1, Life 3, Spirit 2
Rotes: Death - Forensic Gaze (•); Life - Purify Bodies (••), Healing Heart (•••)
Mana: 7/1
Armor: 3 ("Organic Resilience", Life ••)

To accompany the alternate history Luke, here is his father, the Jensaarai invader, the so-called "Starkiller", Anakin Skywalker. I'm going to be working out a combat between the two soon.

Anakin Skywalker, "Starkiller" (CR 20)
Male Human Jedi 7/Jedi Knight 5/ace pilot 2/Force adept 3/Force disciple 3
Destiny 6; Force 8; Strong in the Force
Init +18; Senses Perception +17; Use the Force +21
Languages Basic, Binary, Huttese

Defense Ref 38 (flat-footed 35), Fort 38, Will 38; +10 armor, +2 equipment
hp 164; Threshold 38

Speed 6 squares
Melee lightsaber +22 (3d8+15) or
Melee lightsaber +20 (4d8+15) with Rapid Strike or
Melee lightsaber +17/+17 (3d8+15) with Double Attack or
Melee lightsaber +15/+15 (4d8+15) with Double Attack and Rapid Strike
Base Atk +17; Grp +20
Atk Options Double Attack, Rapid Strike
Special Actions Redirect Shot
Force Powers Known (Use the Force +21): battle strike (2), farseeing, Force disarm, Force grip, Force slam, Force thrust, move object, negate energy (2), rebuke, surge
Force Secrets Devastating Power
Force Techniques Force Point Recovery, Improved Move Light Object, Improved Sense Force

Abilities Str 16, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 15
SQ indomitable, prophet, vehicle dodge +1
Talents Armored Defense, Attune Armor, Deflect, Empower Weapon, Force Focus, Force Perception, Force Pilot, Force Talisman, Redirect Shot, Vehicular Evasion, Visions, Weapon Specialization (lightsabers)
Feats Armor Proficiency (light), Double Attack (lightsabers), Force Sensitivity, Force Training (4), Rapid Strike, Skill Focus (Use The Force), Strong in the Force, Vehicular Combat, Weapon Focus (lightsabers), Weapon Proficiency (lightsabers, simple weapons)
Skills Initiative +18, Mechanics +17, Perception +17, Pilot +18, Use the Force +21
Possessions custom armor (treat as armored flight suit; modified and attuned, +10 armor bonus), cybernetic prosthetics (1, right arm), lightsaber (self-built, empowered), Force talisman (Reflex), utility belt with medpac

Creating high-level characters in a level-based game is time-consuming, if not outright difficult. Star Wars Saga edition, though, makes the task easier by streamlining the process and making the timeline of the character generally irrelevant. It doesn't matter when an ability score was increased or which class came when (with the exception of the very first class).

To demonstrate this, I created a 20th-level character for Saga Edition, even pulling in some elements from the Starships of the Galaxy supplement. I have also provided stats for the character's starfighter. All told, the stats (for both character and starship) took me less than an hour.

Following his exposure as the Sith lord Darth Sidious, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was charged with treason by members of the Jedi Council. Sidious resisted arrest, killing three of his accusers, and Jedi Master Mace Windu was forced to kill Palpatine in self-defense. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was witness and testified to the necessity of Windu's actions before the Galactic Senate.

To maintain order, the Jedi Council assumed control of the Republic, but too many Senators refused their authority, citing the obvious extent of Palpatine's corruption. Thousands of star systems flocked to the banned of the Confederacy of Independent systems, and within a year, the Jedi Council found itself the steward of a mere handful of worlds. The Galactic Republic was dead.

The galaxy now fell under the authority of the Confederacy, but with its greatest leaders killed in the final days of the Clone Wars, the various founding member squabbled among themselves. Eventually, power was consolidated in the hands of a few wealthy star systems and various interstellar consortia. The CIS ossified, with the poorer systems serving as de facto (and in some cases, actual) slaves to the wealthy. Under the tyranny of the Confederacy, rebellion festered. Soon, terrorist attacks rocked hundreds of worlds, and pirates menaced the trade routes.

After the collapse of the Republic, the Jedi Order waned, finding no home within the CIS. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, disgusted by the death of the Republic and the decline of the Jedi, drew inward, convinced that he was fated for a different destiny than to watch the institutions he loved die. He believed he should have had the power to save the Republic; instead, he had failed to uncover Palpatine's treachery in time.

Skywalker's struggle distanced him from his wife, former Senator Padme Amidala, mother of Skywalker's twin children, Luke and Leia. Eventually, Padme took the children and left Anakin, driving the young man further into despair. Finally, Skywalker resigned his knighthood and disappeared into the unknown reaches of the galaxy to seek his destiny.

His children came of age among the corruption of the Confederacy. Her homeworld having been conquered by the Trade Federation, Padme found refuge with her old friend Bail Organa of Alderaan. Luke and Leia were raised in the palace, but they were too aware of the travails of the less fortunate. Luke trained with the Alderaanian Defense Force from the day he was strong enough to lift a rifle. His sister Leia, on the other hand, was charming and had an intuitive understanding of people, making her a natural diplomat.

By the time the twins were adults, the rebellion against the Confederacy had reached a peak. Leia's diplomatic overtures had drawn dozens of systems away from the CIS with promises of economic freedom, while Luke's prowess in battle both on the ground and in the cockpit lead to several major victories. The Skywalker twins soon found themselves at the core of a growing alliance - the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

The beginning of the Confederacy's end came when they unveiled their ultimate weapon: the planet-destroying Death Star. The Death Star's first test came at the twins' homeworld of Alderaan. While their mother was safely off-world at a secret Alliance base, their "uncle" Bail Organa and billions of other Alderaanians died in a single shot. Luke led the assault on the Death Star personally. With a single, almost preternaturally placed torpedo, he destroyed the station and with it the last hopes of the Confederacy.

It would take much more work to dismantle the CIS, but before the Alliance could start on the task, a new threat appeared from the edge of space. A vanguard of armored, Force-trained warriors flooded into the Alliance and Confederacy both, seeking out the Jedi, long ignored by the rest of the galaxy. Their numbers had dwindled to only a few thousand since the fall of the Republic, and this assault threatened quickly to destroy the Order forever.

The Jedi came to the Skywalkers and begged the Alliance for asylum from their attacker, the masked figure they knew only as the Starkiller. Moved by their plight, Luke and Leia agreed, and General Skywalker took his fleet to meet the invaders in the Endor system, where they had established a base on a forest moon.

The Starkiller met General Skywalker in a clearing on the forest moon, and when the tall figure removed his ceremonial helmet, Luke immediately recognized the face of his father, a man he hadn't seen for nearly 15 years. Anakin explained what he had found in the unknown reaches: the resting place of Revan, a Jedi who 4,000 years before had fallen to the dark side and been redeemed. The spirit of Revan, alive in the Force, had instructed Anakin in the ways of both Jedi and Sith, teaching him what the ancient master called "the middle path."

Anakin finally understood his destiny. The Force sought balance in both its aspects, and the Jedi and the Sith were expressions of this desire. But neither order could accept equilibrium, and one would always seek to destroy the other. The only way the Force could be balanced, Anakin decided, was if both the Jedi and Sith were destroyed.

To that end, Anakin had returned secretly to civilized space and recruited a secretive order of Force users called the Jensaarai, a group which also sought a middle ground between light side and dark. The Jensaarai became his army, the weapon with which he would destroy the Jedi and bring balance to the Force.

Luke pleaded with his father to put aside his vendetta and settle in the Alliance in peace. Anakin said he would gladly order his follower to set down their weapons - once the last Jedi was dead or converted to the middle path.

The two returned to their fleets, and the Alliance ships departed the Endor system. But Luke knew it was only a matter of time before he would face his father on the field of battle. The galaxy holds its breath as its fate is decided in the struggle between father and son.

General Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Alliance (CL 20)
Male Human Soldier 8/Ace Pilot 6/Officer 6
Destiny 3; Force 6; Strong in the Force
Init +19; Senses Perception +15
Languages Basic, Binary, Jawa Trade Language

Defense Ref 37, Fort 37, Will 36; +2 equipment
hp 202; Threshold 37

Speed 6 squares
Ranged heavy blaster rifle +22 (3d8+12)
Base Atk +18; Grp +18
Atk Options Assault Tactics, Battle Analysis, Born Leader, Cover Fire, Far Shot, Point Blank Shot, Sniper
Special Actions Tough as Nails
Starship Maneuvers Known (Pilot +23): afterburn, attack formation zeta nine, Corellian slip, counter, I have you now (2), overwhelming assault, Skywalker loop, strike formation

Abilities Str 11, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 10
Talents Armored Defense, Assault Tactics, Battle Analysis, Born Leader, Cover Fire, Expert Gunner, Keep it Together, System Hit, Tough as Nails, Vehicular Evasion, Weapon Specialization (rifles)
Feats Armor Proficiency (light, medium), Careful Shot, Far Shot, Point Blank Shot, Skill Focus (Pilot), Sniper, Starship Maneuvers (3), Strong in the Force, Toughness, Vehicular Combat, Weapon Focus (rifles), Weapon Proficiency (pistols, rifles, simple weapons)
Skills Initiative +19, Knowledge (tactics) +17, Mechanics +17, Perception +15, Pilot +23
Possessions armored flight suit, heavy blaster rifle, advanced Incom T-65B X-wing starfighter

Advanced Incom T-65B X-wing Starfighter
Gargantuan starfighter
Init +19; Senses Perception +15

Defense Ref 35, Fort 29; +7 armor, Vehicular Combat
hp 150; DR 10; SR 25; Threshold 49

Speed fly 16 squares (max. velocity 1050 km/h), fly 4 squares (starship scale)
Ranged laser cannons +24 (see below) or
Ranged proton torpedoes +24 (see below)
Fighting Space 4x4 or 1 square (starship scale); Cover total (crew), +5 (astromech droid)
Base Atk +18; Grp +52
Atk Options autofire (laser cannons), fire-link (proton torpedoes)

Abilities Str 48, Dex 30, Con -, Int 20
Skills Initiative +19, Knowledge (tactics) +17, Mechanics +17, Perception +15, Pilot +18

Crew 1 plus astromech droid; Passengers none
Cargo 110 kg; Consumables 1 week; Carried Craft none
Payload 6 proton torpedoes
Hyperdrive x1, 10-jump memory (astromech droid)
Availability Military; Cost 1,500,000 (650,000 used)

Laser Cannons (pilot)
Atk +24 (+17 autofire), Dmg 7d10x2
Proton Torpedoes (pilot)
Atk +24, Dmg 10d10x2, 4-square splash

Venom Blade: Once per day, a character can use this +1 kukri to inflict a poisoned wound as a melee touch attack or as part of a normal attack with the weapon. The poison has initial and secondary effects of 1d10 Con damage and a Fort save DC of 15.
Moderate necromancy; CL 7th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, poison; Cost: 13,508 gp