Greetings, and welcome to another Discipline Focus article. I started these as Combat Master, and will continue to make them as Voice. As with previous jobs, I’ve begun to outsource various elements to members of the DB and my staff.

Like the previous Focus articles, I will highlight the NPC that’s been created, showcase a short fiction showing off how they could function, and then break down and expand on what makes the Discipline cool and how it could work in practice. You can view the Disciplines on their Wiki page, or on CDAWG here.

Today I’m going to talk about the Scoundrel.

The Scoundrel is one of the most recognizable character “types” in Star Wars. Han Solo, Hondo Ohnaka, Lando Calrissian? Icons and legends. They always seem to find a niche for themselves, and excel at staying cool under pressure, picking up on the various languages of the galaxy, and having a “person” for any kind of situation.

Scoundrel NPC: Vance Kordall

In perperation for this article, I ran a Build-A-NPC competition. This was an effort to give non-Voice staffers a chance at designing a character for the Brotherhood. I really liked the entries, but one really rose to the top. The winning entry was made by Inyri Ginovef with her creation of Vance Kordall, who has become our newest Smuggler NPC. Congrats to Inyri, who was included on the character creation process and gave her stamp of approval for us to bring Vance to life!

(Artwork by Zehsaa Hysh!)

Vance might remind movie buffs of a certain notorious cowboy. While the surface inspiration is there, the character takes on a life of his own when you break down his 6 Custom Aspects (workshopped from Inyri’s original submission with help from the Voice). Vance has the savvy and know-how to get jobs done, which makes him the perfect man to be of use to the Inquisition.

You can check out Vance’s character sheet here.

Short Fiction

This fiction was written by Kordath Bleu, a member of the Voice staff. He volunteered to help out, so make sure to thank him for guest-authoring this!

Just Another Job

”Kester’s Run”
Nar Shaddaa
Hutt Space

The cantina smelled of smoke, stale alcohol, and out-of-work spacers to the Ryn who’d walked through the door. Some trendy music played loudly in the background but was still being drowned out by raucous conversations from around the pub. To the Arconan, it was a familiar scene, one that made him look through the milling mixture of species towards the well-stocked bar that lined one wall.

No, Kord, job first. Then...maybe….

His eyes swept the room, seeking out the Human that had been described to him. The newly-minted head of the Inquisitorius had sent him for this task and failure would surely be a bad thing. After a few minutes wandering the tavern, he saw a group of spacers and patrons of less reputable background gathered around a table in the corner, a sifter field flickering in the center. Peering over a hand of sabacc cards was his objective, one Vance Kordall. He was sitting in a well-fitted coat and wore a confident smirk as he pushed credits into the pot. Blue eyes met gray for just a moment, the smuggler showing no indication of noticing the Ryn staring at him.

Bleu watched the game for a moment, knocking a smoke from his pack and adding to the delightful atmosphere of Kester’s. As the last cards were dealt for a round, he started to close in, meandering towards the corner by a circuitous route and trying to look casual. Instead of reaching the smuggler at the opportune time at the ending of a hand, he ran into a solid mass of muscle. His eyes tracked up — and then up some more — to find a set of three staring back at him and a barking alien language he didn’t recognize.

A Gran, great. Bit angry, bit on tha dumb side. And he’s brought a friend, thought the Ryn as he spotted a Rodian closing in from the left, also speaking in its native tongue.

“Can I help ya, mates?” Kordath tried to address the two aliens in Huttese. If they understood, they made no gesture of acknowledgement.

Instead, he watched the large, three-eyed thug cracked his knuckles and then reached over to grab him by the jacket. The yellow-skinned Gran lifted Kordath off the ground. The Ryn kicked a few times, his boots rebounding off the bigger alien’s midsection before a silver blaster barrel prodded against the Gran’s ear.

One of the Gran’s three eyes swiveled slightly to take in Vance, who had cleared his seat at the table and come to his feet in a smooth, fluid motion. The smuggler wicked the end of his narrow mustache with one hand and gave the big alien a grin.

“Now, this little one is surely not worth so much effort, is he? Why don’t you and your little friend move along,” stated the smuggler, his voice light yet full of intent as the thug set down the Ryn and backed away.

“Ingar baag, nee ka rama, vah!” the Gran growled.

“Oh come now, Tornq. You remember how well that went over last time,” Vance replied casually, his confidence palpable despite his smaller stature. It was all in his body language, Kordath noted. The smuggler looked perfectly at ease, shoulders set firmly and feet spaced evenly.

“Sii, wassa di ne’rra Gorbba,” the Rodian added with an air of implication.

“That’s nice, so you tell Gorbba that if he’s got a problem, he knows where to find me.”

The two thugs looked from the Ryn to the Human. They took special note of the blaster already in his hand, which seemed to make them both uneasy all on its own. With a series of grunts and gurgles, the Rodian and Gran stormed off and found their way towards the exit.

Kordath shook his head as he watched them go. He turned his back towards Vance Kordall, looking up at him again.

“Ya speak gran?” Bleu asked, straightening his jacket.

“I get by,” replied the smuggler with another smirk, tucking his blaster back in its holster and then idly hooking his thumbs underneath his belt. “You were staring holes through me, little man. Sorry, but you’re not my type. Still, didn’t want to see you get turned to paste, call it a soft spot for the little guy.”

Short jokes. Really.

“Eh, not like that, mate, here on tha word of some shadowy folk who wanted ta offer a job, said you was tha guy ta’ find.” Bleu pulled a datapad from his jacket and held it out. Kordell stared at it with disdain.

“Your ‘friend’ know my rates? I don’t come cheap, and I don’t do no secret missions. I get the job done, I get paid, but I never go in blind,” he stated, looking past Kordath and at a group of what might have been working girls. They waved at the Human and blew some kisses, which considering the blend of species, was quite the sight. He simply winked at them, and returned his attention back to Kordath.

“Rate ain’t an issue. First job is simple, hand off style. Test, methinks, they do nae trust me enough ta tell me more, heh.”

“‘Ain’t an issue’ huh? We’ll see about that.” Vance gingerly took the datapad from the Ryn and glanced it over with a bored expression, sniffing as he did so. A less perceptive person would have missed the slight widening of the eyes and twitch at the corners of the lips when the smuggler reached the end where the offered fee was listed. “Not bad, bit small time,” affected the Human.

“Yeah. Small time,” growled Bleu with a head shake. “So, jobs on tha table, what da ya say?”

“Well, as long as I can negotiate on a more reasonable fee for future endeavours, I can’t see why not,” spoke the man with a grin.

Kordath simply sighed and shook his head, “Time and place is on there, have fun, I’m gettin’ meself a drink.”

By: Kordath Bleu

Highlights + Breakdown

Skipped ahead? That's okay if you did. I’m going to highlight the important parts anyway, but wanted to give organic examples of how a Scoundrel’s unique feats can come in handy.

Scoundrel Feat: Intergalactic

Both of these Feats really were designed to work together to make Scoundrels special. That’s why you will see a bit more overlap in this section between the two Feats.

“Ingar baag, nee ka rama, vah!” the Gran growled.

“Oh come now, Tornq. You remember how well that went over last time,” Vance replied casually, his confidence palpable despite his smaller stature.

Here is a first look at the Intergalactic feat. Vance has Intergalactic II, which means that he has “been around the Galaxy more than a few times, picking up on the trade languages used by different species and droids. He can understand most of (but not speak) alien and droid dialects without the need of Language Skill Points. Vance’s journeying and interaction with both legitimate and illegitimate Smugglers and Bounty Hunters grants him an additional Lore topic in dealing with Underworld contacts.”

As a result, Vance is able to understand an alien language without having points in that language. This doesn’t make him an expert in it, but he’s able to know what’s being said, as we’ve seen smugglers have a penchant for in other Star Wars canon.

“Ya speak gran?” Bleu asked, straightening his jacket.

“I get by,” replied the smuggler with another smirk, tucking his blaster back in its holster and then idly hooking his thumbs underneath his belt.

This is Vance’s Intergalactic II explained, so to speak. While he isn’t supernaturally able to speak both languages, he was able to understand them from experience being a smuggler and able to then lean on his Intimidation and Subterfuge from his Fly Casual II feat.

Alien Languages (Quick Notes)

Alien dialects have come up in conversation before. They can be handled differently depending on the author. From my experience, and how some of my favorite authors have handled foreign languages, implied meaning and organic integration is key. I literally just made “Ingar baag, nee ka rama, vah!” up. However, when Vance replies, you’re able to (I hope) take the context of “I will break you/beat you up, puny Human”.

This is how we see Chewie and R2D2 (two of the most iconic characters in Star Wars) communicate with others. We don’t know exactly what they say, but get the meaning behind it, typically, based on the reactions of Han or Luke.

You could also include the translated text in italics after the alien dialect, or simply write the text in English (Basic) and then say in the description modifier that the dialogue was delivered in the alien tongue. You can also use footnotes, though this is a personal pet-peeve of mine, as I dislike being taken away from the moment/scene when I’m reading something. Even with people writing Mando’a, you can usually infer base meaning from context without having to look up a Mando’a dictionary. I could be slightly biased on this last one considering I grew up in the DB surrounded by Mandos ;P.

On a somewhat related note, here is a funny video of R2D2 subtitled.

Scoundrel Feat: Fly Casual

Here is a good example of the Fly Casual II Feat. As detailed on both the Wiki and C-D4WG, Vance has “gotten a lot of experience wheeling and dealing in everything from small time cons to larger gambits. Vance gains a +1 Skill Point bonus to his Subterfuge when making or setting up a deal between parties while bluffing, selling, buying, or improvising (to a maximum of +5). Vance is also more at ease when surrounded by unfamiliar species, cultures, or gangs, and can generally adapt to unseen variables with mixed results.”

That means that in this kind of scene, Vance is working with a +5 in Subterfuge, and still has his +3 Intimidation to boot.

It was all in his body language, Kordath noted. The smuggler looked perfectly at ease, shoulders set firmly and feet spaced evenly. ... The two thugs looked from the Ryn to the Human. They took special note of the blaster already in his hand, which seemed to make them both uneasy all on its own. With a series of grunts and gurgles, the Rodian and Gran stormed off and found their way towards the exit.

This allows Vance to diffuse the situation using a mixture of his reputation and sense of presence. He could have blasted holes in the two thugs, but realized that making a scene wouldn’t be professional (which ties into his character Aspects).

Bringing it all together

“Sii, wassa di ne’rra Gorbba,” the Rodian added with an air of implication.

“That’s nice, so you tell Gorbba that if he’s got a problem, he knows where to find me.”

This is a mixture of both Fly Casual and Intergalactic, as well as the granted bonus Lore Topic of “Underworld Contacts”. As readers, we don’t necessarily know who Gorbba is, but we can assume it’s some kind of crime lord that the “thugs” report to, possibly a Hutt going off the stereotypes and memories most readers will have of the famous Mos Eisley cantina scene where we first meet Han Solo.

From there, the story wraps up with Vance taking the job. This will lead up to the next Discipline Focus article coming Soon(TM).

New Aspects!

I’ve gone ahead and made the following Aspects available as pre-written Aspects in the database. I left off Rough Weather Duelist as it was created for Vance specifically.

My Fees Are High For A Reason
The character does not charge a high price because he has to pay for a life of luxury; he charges a high price because he knows that he is the best in the game and worth the credits. Those who do not know the character will feel he is gouging them, but those who have seen him in action know that he always delivers. This bravado follows the character around and builds on the success of completed jobs and can be off-putting to other mercenaries that will try and lash back by pointing out his failures.

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Loyalty Is Earned, Not Bought While the character will see a job through to its conclusion and put forward his best effort, it’s still just a job. The character's true loyalties lie to his friends, and through thick and thin, he will stand by them and die for them if needed. This loyalty is reserved for those who have earned the character's trust, putting him at odds with other mercenaries that are only doing a job for the money. This also makes it harder for employers to trust his motives, often times creating extra competition and difficulty finding work. None of it matters to the character, though, because loyalty to his friends is not something credits can buy.

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The Finer Things In Life The character would much rather be behind a hand of good sabacc cards or a rare vintage of aged liquor than with his blasters or ship. More often than not, he will spend nights at high-end establishments gambling, drinking and "socializing". The character can survive without the finer things, but he sure would rather not. This preference follows him onto the job, so it is not uncommon for the character to insult a client or potential partner by commenting on their choice of beverage or recreation.

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A Gentleman At Heart Despite his line of work, the character still sees himself as a refined gentleman and will often put on a show of being haughty and arrogant to those he does not know. The character only lets the mask slip to show his more laid back nature to those he trusts. To those he dislikes, he will actually become even more insufferable as taunts and quips without any regard for who or what he might be offending.

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Play For Blood Through a mixture of cocksure courage and arrogant swagger, the character will not back down from a challenge when called out, even if the wiser path is to walk away or let it go. The character's personality does tend to rub a lot of people the wrong way, which generally puts him into situations that escalate quickly to violence. While he may not be the one to always start a fight, he will always see it through to its conclusion. Some have tried to play a challenge off as idle banter, but when the character initiates or accepts a challenge, he does not hold back.

Conclusion

That wraps up another Discipline Focus article. You can view the rest of the articles and NPCs on the newly added table (thanks Atra) right here on the Disciplines Wiki!

That’s all for now. Look for my first Voice Report to drop sometime this weekend. I'll cover some policy and admin changes, explain why Marick has had a change of name, so to speak, and some other insights into the fictional direction of the Brotherhood.

Thanks everyone, and make sure to thank praise Kordath for helping with the fiction!