So the other day I was surfing the net and I came accross this article. It was a piece that talked about the work of Nikolas A. Draper-Ivey. Although this was my first time seeing this art, it immediately inspired me... made me want to pull a Boomer and spin up an NPC based on a character many of us know and love - Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Of course, I love that the artist spun Rey (and the rest of the characters from The Force Awakens) as an Eastern-styled character; the concept just feels cool. I mean, come on, it's the force.... ...it's always been more of an oriental concept than an occidental one.
For me, the force feels a lot like a spiritual path, but one that is not necessary followed in a religious sense (although there are Jedi Temples). But even that's not what I really got excited about, to be honest. It was sorting out how I wanted to best represent the force using the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules.
At first, I thought about using Hero Points. Sure, they'd work, but they didn't feel like the force. No, I wanted something else. Then, it hit me. Let's make Star Wars heroes (at least those using the force) mythic heroes. It's the perfect match. All of those mythic powers could be re-written (or you could just take a page from Sean Reynolds and just File Off The Serial Numbers) to represent force abilities. So, instead of Display of Dexterity, you might have Force Jump. Or you might use Commune with Power to represent someone attuning to or meditating on the force. The more I thought about it, the more it hit me that the mythic power rules are perfect for representing the force in a game. Even using the mythic surges makes sense; characters "tap" into the force, but in less obvious ways. So instead of vulgar displays of power (like Vader force choking Imperial Officers or the Emperor shooting everyone with lightning), you end up with something a little more subtle - heroes are tapping into their innate luck, possibly nudged on a little by the force.
This left me with; great art, a cool idea, and an interesting setting in which to translate it. So, I decided to have a go of it. So, here's my take on "Feudal" Rey. I built her in Hero Lab and left comments under some of the powers and abilities (see the indents in italics). Enjoy.
Image credits: Nikolas A Draper-Ivey.
Feudal Rey Female human (Keleshite) monk (unchained) 6/Champion 1 (Pathfinder Unchained 14) LN Medium humanoid (human) Init +4; Senses Perception +12
Defense AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 15 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 monk, +3 Wis) hp 61 (6d10+11) Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +5; +2 vs. enchantments Defensive Abilities evasion, hard to kill
Offense Speed 50 ft. Melee rey's scavenged staff +8/+8/+3 (1d6+1) or unarmed strike +10/+10/+5 (1d10) Special Attacks flurry of blows (unchained), mythic power (7/day, surge +1d6), stunning fist (7/day, DC 16), style strike
Statistics Str 11, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14 Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 26 Feats Artifact Hunter, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms)UC, Extra Mythic PowerM, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mobility, Stunning Fist, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (quarterstaff) Traits fate's favored, resilient Skills Acrobatics +13 (+21 to jump), Climb +9, Escape Artist +13, Intimidate +6, Perception +12, Ride +11, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +13 Languages Catfolk, Common, Kelish SQ fast movement (unchained), fire-forged steel, ki pool (6 points magic), ki powers (diamond mind, feather balance), prior claim, style strike (defensive spin), sudden attackMA Other Gear Rey's Scavenged Staff, belt of incredible dexterity +2, figurine (onyx dog), monk's robe, backpack, belt pouch, blanketAPG, hemp rope (50 ft.), soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 400 gp
So you're probably wondering why I picked Catfolk as a language. Well, given there's no "Wookie," this seemed like the next best thing. If you're running an actual Star Wars game, change it to make sense.
As for Rey's gear, I wanted her to have a few goodies and the belt of incredible dexterity seemed like a natural choice (and it goes good with the art, too). I also gave her a monk's robe, which just made sense. I wanted to give her some sort of goggles, but I was instead drawn to the small BB-8 hanging from her belt, which immediately made me think - figurine of wondrous power. Given the artist illustrated BB-8 as an Akita, I knew right away I wanted her to have this. In fact, I imagine it's something that Rey, Finn, and a few others might share as BB-8 moves from hero to hero. What better way to represent him than as a figurine! Finally, Rey's staff. In play, it's actually a +1 fire-forged quarterstaff. I just envisioned it as a collection of scavenged piece-parts, mounted to an otherwise normal staff. It's also a pretty cool monk weapon.
Special Abilities Artifact Hunter (1/day) Take 15 on UMD check. +2 to emulate a class feature, ability score, race, or alignment with UMD
So here's the idea behind this choice. In The Force Awakens, we quickly learn that Rey is a bit of a scavenger and, from the various items she's picked up, pretty selective of what she sells and keeps. I'm instantly left with the feeling that she's after bigger things. When I couple that with the idea that she's ultimately to become the one who brings Luke his lightsaber, well... it feels even more appropriate as a choice.
Combat Reflexes (5 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
You know, while Rey might come off as a little insecure at times, she's down to scrap. When I saw her fighting off those raiders in the bazaar on Jakku, well, this immediately came to mind.
Defensive Spin On fist hit, gain +4 AC vs. struck foe's attacks for 1 rd.
Diamond Mind (Su) As a swift action, use 1 ki to suppress fear on self as remove fear, 2 ki if frightened/panicked.
Although Defensive Spin is another "Battle of Jakku" choice for me. Rey runs, spins, dodges, and just gets out of the way when Tie Fighters are tearing up the town, and this felt like a good choice. Part of me wanted to focus on her luck as a pilot, but I ultimately decided that - at least for The Force Awakens version of Rey - she's not seasoned enough (I just imagined quite a few surges added to those skill checks). Diamond Mind, however, just fits. When Rey and Kylo have that first "mind war," well that's when this made more sense for me. Sure, she's new to the force and is doing her best to resist, I couldn't really think of a better way to represent her strong will in the face of all that danger (and yes, I did consider Iron Will).
Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead.
Fast Movement (Unchained) (+20 ft.) The Monk adds 10 or more feet to his base speed.
Feather Balance (Ex) As a swift action, use 1 ki to treat all balance checks as auto 20 for 1 min.
Feather Balance was another design choice. While we didn't get to see Rey spend more than a couple of the opening minutes in that Star Destroyed, I imagine she grew up exploring its burnt out shell, learping from the twisted beams that support it. Again, Feather Balance felt like the right choice.
Fire-Forged Steel Dwarves stumbled across the secret of crafting fire-forged steel in an effort to make forge-friendly tools. It didn’t take them long to adapt its unique properties to arms and armor. Fire-forged steel channels heat in one direction to protect its w Flurry of Blows (Unchained) (Ex) As full-rd action, gain extra attacks with unarmed strike/monk weapons.
Hard to Kill (Ex) Automatically stabilize when dying, and only die at neg Con x 2.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Ki Pool (6/day) (Su) You have a ki pool equal to 1/2 your monk level + your Wisdom modifier.
Mobility +4 to AC vs. AoO provoked by moving out of or through a threatened area.
Prior Claim (1 rounds) (Su) As immediate action, spend 1 power to delay mind-affecting effect for rounds equal to tier.
Okay, a bunch more standard monk stuff (and mobility). Prior Claim was another mythic choice that I felt really represented Rey handling Kylo Ren after her capture. While Diamond Mind allowed her to remove that fear, this ability represents her ability to delay or otherwise ignore his other attempts to dominate her.
Stunning Fist (7/day, DC 16) You can stun an opponent with an unarmed attack.
Style Strike (1/round) (Ex) During flurry of blows, one or more unarmed strikes has an extra effect.
Sudden Attack (Ex) As a swift action, use 1 power to make melee att, roll twice with +1 bonus and bypass all DR.
Surge (1d6) (Su) Use 1 power to increase any d20 roll by the listed amount.
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