Translator for only spoken basic?

[tetsuoh]

I'm planning playing a wookie in an upcoming game, and while I love the interaction of playing a character that can't speak basic. I have never played with the rest of the group and have no idea of their opinion on the subject.

As such I'm looking for a nice cheap translation unit. My wookie is skilled in languages, so all he needs is something to output in basic. I'd prefer it do so verbally, like a protocol droid. But a decent sized visual display (holo perhaps?) would be just as good.

I have the stats collection so I know of quite a few options, but what are your opinions on the matter?

[garhkal]

500 credits can purchase a datapad with 6d linguistics which has a vocoder attached.... that's all you need.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[cheshire]

We did something in our current game that was kind of a bit of GM handwavium to explain it. We had a translator droid for the first couple of adventures, but it was destroyed very early on. We had our Jawa ramshackle some of the pieces together to turn the remaining parts into a basic translation unit. It would take any language spoken in close proximity to it and translate it into basic. Essentially it let the rest of us understand what the Jawa was saying.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[Bren]

[garhkal]

It wasn't.. it basically did 5 languages worth, and spoke in an obvious robotic voice, unlike a true protocol droid.. but the fact i could turn off the vocoder and just have it wired into my ear piece, and keep the datapad part in my pocket (to in unobtrusively eavesdrop), was worth it.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Jedi Skyler]

That's a good idea, garhkal...especially about the eavesdropping capabilities, if you can turn up the gain.

I would imagine you could have a slicer up the programming on it; modify the datapad with higher memory capabilities so it can translate more languages.

I don't know how I feel about a device with 6D in Languages only being able to translate five languages. A character with that high a Languages stat is gonna be able to understand darn near anything he hears. How high a Languages score does a protocol droid usually have?

It would cost more to have a translator droid, for sure, but I'd imagine it'd cost much, much less to have a small unit like Lowbacca has in the Young Jedi Knights books. For anyone who hasn't read them, Em Dee is a small translator droid that gets around on replusorlifts. It would be a fairly easy thing, I'd think, to have a droid that size or even smaller so you could always be understood and understand those around you. I know the Wookiee just needs some way to be understood himself, but there are gonna be conversations he isn't gonna be able to follow as well. The droid will cover both needs, with few confusion issues.

[CRMcNeill]

In Galladinium's Fantastic Technology, there is a hand-held translator unit that provides the character with a print-out of what someone just said, as well as contextual information (such as if the translated remark was intended complimentarily, neutrally, as an insult, etc.). The device then provides the character with a list of potential replies, which it can then play out loud. It's not too much of a step to imagine a more expensive model that provides audio feedback instead of written.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Jedi Skyler]

[garhkal]

[Esoomian]

My Esoomian character in the pen and paper game we played was unable to speak basic without an impediment (which we made the inability to pronounce sibilent sounds as anything other than a ff). This was a lot of fun but it did cause some problems so eventually the group's verpine hacked a protocal droid's software and built a helmet that would translate his garbled basic into perfect basic.

The downside was that when using the helmet he had to speak like a protocal droid, very precise and almost snobby.
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Don't waste money on expensive binoculars.

Simply stand closer to the object you wish to view.

[jmanski]

Nice
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Blasted rules. Why can't they just be perfect?

[Bren]

Which is pretty funny if you are a big hulking behemoth.

[Esoomian]

The juxtaposition was a lot of fun. Plus it did make people think he might not be as tough as he looked which was handy.
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Don't waste money on expensive binoculars.

Simply stand closer to the object you wish to view.

[Bren]