Help me design some villains!

[Mojomoe]

So, I need to create some villains for my group (Rebellion era).

They have two stipulations. They're trigger-happy, quick-to-blast mercenary combat vets who don't scare easy, and half of them have lightsabers (but no force powers - long story). So, I need some villains to throw at them to test their shootin', ligtsaberin' ways without having to deal with Dark Jedi. I've also been inspired by finding some of these here pics online...

So I present:

Order 67

An elite troupe of Empire-fed, but possibly mercenary soldiers built specifically to fight Jedi on their own terms.

Led by Vector Kane:



The individual troops are known as STZs or Stormtrooper Zeroes. Not force sensitive, but armed with low-grade, mass-produced lightsabers and saber shields:



For fun, we'll give 'em these kickass swoop ground transports:



And amazingly, after I decided to combine these two things, I found this awesome painting of this exact idea (it's a fan painting of the 501st):

.


So, help me make stats and backgrounds for Order 67! Who are these fellows, and where did they come from? Who is Vector Kane, and how did he come to lead an imperial legion while wearing Mandalorian armor? Is there a connection to Kamino/Jango Fett?

[thedemonapostle]

throw someone like the joker from the dark knight.
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[Jedi Skyler]

Very nice! I like it.

There could definitely be a connection; I've only read one of the Republic Commando books, but I remember that Jango Fett had a sister. Could be a possible connection there, but I'm not well-read enough on the Fett family to give a definitive answer on that. However, with as inclusive as the Mandalorian culture can be, it's completely possible that Vector Kane is simply a clan brother of Fett; there were other Mandalorians who were brought in to train troops, so it's completely within the realm of possibility. Being close to Fett would explain Kane's being in charge of a prestigious unit. Being post-Geonosis, it would also explain him learning (and training others) to fight Jedi with their own weapon, and others; he'd be angry about how Mace Windu did Jango. Being post-Republic, he'd have the blessing of the government.

Now, I'd like to know more about this Order 67. Are they Coruscant-bred clones? Perhaps some of the last batch of Kamino-bred clones, clones who hadn't had the opportunity to work with the Jedi, to know how good they really were? Also, they wouldn't necessarily have to have powered-down lightsabers. After all, these boys are fully sanctioned by the Emperor himself. Did the Inquisitorius have powered-down lightsabers? I'd hardly think so. And, since these are NOT Force-sensitives, he'd want to make sure they had every advantage possible (hence the shields).

In addition, their armor might be specially-made, perhaps even cortosis-lined to give them a further advantage over a lightsaber-wielding Jedi.

Since they're trained to fight Jedi, these guys are going to have to have some very high Lightsaber skill dice, perhaps even a Specialization in their unorthodox lightsaber style with the shield.

You could possibly even make Vector Kane not only Force-sensitive, but also trained by either the Emperor or Vader. Part of his backstory could include his reticence to be trained in the arts of the hated Jedi, but the Emperor is a master politician. He'd have wooed Kane with being trained specifically to hunt them down and to have the tools to destroy them. That may be outside the scope of what you were thinking for him, but you asked for ideas, so I'm brainstorming here.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes!

[Naaman]

But if the PCs are not Jedi, what is the plot hook for.getting these guys involved? If they were my idea, I might hold off on introducing these guys until some old Jedi discovers them and trains them to use their lightsabers PROPERLY (i.e. in conjunction with the Force), and THEN bring out the shock troops.... perhaps have them kill the master off camera and thenstart humlnting the PCs...

[lurker]

I'm to poorly read on the EU to be of any use in making the back stories ...

[garhkal]

How's about this then..


Force hunting shock troops (Order 67)

Dex 3d+1. Blaster 4d (S) Pistol 7d, dodge 7d+1, Grenade 5d, Melee 5d, Melee parry 5d (S) Shield 8d, Light saber 8d+1, running 6d
Know 2d+2. Alien species 5d, Bureaucracy 4d, Languages 5d, law enforcement 4d+2, streetwise 5d, survival 5d, tactics 5d, willpower 5d
Mech 2d+2. Beast riding 4d, Communications 5d+2, ground vehicle operations 4d+1, hover vehicle operations 4d+1, repulsorlift operations 4d+1, Starship gunnery 5d+2, shields 5d
Per 4d. Command 5d, con 5d, forgery 4d+2, hide 5d, search 6d, sneak 6d, investigations 6d
Str 3d+2. Brawl 7d, swimming 5d, climb/jump 5d, stamina 6d
Tech 2d. Armor repair 5d, first aid 5d, blaster repair 5d, melee weapon repair 5d, shield repair 5d, lightsaber repair 5d

These characters are not force sensitive.
FP 1-3, CP 7-12, DSP 2, move 12
Equipped with: Light sabers (5d), clone trooper armor (+2d physical, +1d energy, -1d dex penalty which these guys have bought off, affective against lightsabers as well due to phrick alloy interwoven), shield (+2d physical/energy protection if can make melee parry to interpose against attack, affective against lightsabers due to containing a mix of phrick and cortise, -1d dex and related skills, not yet bought off), Cali-merced series IV blaster pistol (5d+2 damage, +1d bonus to hit for those with 6d or more blaster skill), utility belt.
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[Naaman]

Garhkal reminds me of another thread that presented the dilemma o how to handle shields in D6. Its a problem the OP will have to face as soon as he introduces them into his game and especially since (I speculate) the PCs will invariably loot them.

Sholid a shield provide a bonus to parry? Should it provide a boost to strength rolls to absorb damage? Both? Niether/something else?

[Jedi Skyler]

[garhkal]

[Kytross]

When used to parry melee attacks, there is no damage check, the blow was successfully turned aside. Yes, there should be a bonus to parry for using a shield, as it is much easier to parry with a shield then it is with a sword.

When used to block (Especially blaster bolts) shields are portable protection. Rules for protection can be found on page 94 of 2E R&E

[Mojomoe]

Aight you guys, these responses are great!

The stats posted are solid, I think I'll be using them directly!

I wanted to specifically comment on the notion of making the lightsabers more solid and powerful, as opposed to mass-produced and fairly breakable or unreliable.

I have these waking nightmares of my group slicing through these guys like butter, looting the bodies, and then carrying around an effectively infinite supply of lightsabers with which to do horrible, gamebreaking things (same with the shields, I suppose - a shield that can block a lightsaber?? What CAN'T it block??).

Any suggestions on that part? The mass-produced angle let them be fritzy, unreliable, generally breakable, or easily damaged, to keep them from piling up. There are other alternatives (such as having them tied to their trooper's vital signs, or a specific handprint), but they seem more forceful or frustrating to have a GM enforce.

[Dromdarr_Alark]

Use lightfoils, like the ones in the Tapani Sector guide. Their damage ranges from 3D to 4D, and they're sometimes unstable.

Edit: On a roll of 1 on the wild die, the beam flickers and fades. Requires two hours and a Moderate lightsaber repair roll to fix.
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"I still wouldn't have a roll for it - but that's just how I roll."

[Jedi Skyler]

If your guys are not Force-sensitive, and you don't want them to be able to simply take and use these lightsabers, then make the troopers wielding them Force-sensitive, and one of (if not THE only) the tricks they were taught to do is to channel the Force to complete the circuit that activates the lightsaber. If you're not Force-sensitive, you're not able to turn the thing on, period.

[garhkal]

Yup. Just like Hethrir had with his LS in the crystal star novel, to use his LS you had to use the force to activate it. No force power, no use!

As to the Loot issue.. Why would 'tying their effectiveness into their user's life signs" be frustrating/forceful way of keeping them out of the pcs hands?
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[Jedi Skyler]

Exactly, garhkal. I agree that using a DNA-encoded hilt would put the kaibosh on anyone else using it, unless they made an appropriate Lightsaber Repair roll.

And in this case, if your guys don't have any reason to have that skill (because they found their lightsabers already functioning, and therefore didn't have any reason to know how to repair them), I'd set any such rolls (including ones to change a DNA-encoder to read the character's DNA instead of the already-programmed set) with a Heroic difficulty.

Your players might balk at it, but they A) can't argue with the fact that the GM has the final say, and B) the logic behind this line of reasoning is sound.