Once you've accepted the life of a blockade runner, the next step toward your adventures is to become one. With the right mix of spice and stats, you'll soon be on your way to becoming your own legend (or myth). The following are suggestions that should help a player (new or old) get the ball rolling. Follow these easy steps to develop your blockade runner; remember, you are what you make of yourself! Have fun...
 
A good place to start is with the character's origin, background and personality. The background of your character has a great deal to do with how this person will be in the game. Just as your background has a lot to do with what you are like, let it be equally true with your character. Starting with a background lets you flow easily into figuring out what kind of personality and objectives you will wind up with. To start with background, pick an origin of the character. Here's a few examples of places you can be from:
Point NOCA, a trade station concerned primarily with feeding the glut of transportation, is filled with scurrying beings with pressing business elsewhere, tired traders and a rich smuggling legacy...

Vaeirmor, a corporate-owned city-planet brimming with more excitement and individuals than one could hope to deal with in a lifetime, where the rich play hard, the working class work harder and the criminals are the hardest...

Nostalg, an old settlement resting at the south pole of a forgotten planet in an all but lost system, where the weather is unforgiving and frigid, as are the general populace...

Swistern, an industrial planet filled with dark cities and even darker individuals, where many abandoned souls have parked their lot amongst the rest of those seeking a hiding place or ill-gotten gains...

For additional possible places of origin, consult a terrific list found in Platt's Smugglers Guide on pages 5 and 6.

Another way to decide the origin of your character is to pick a race that is not human. In Alien Encounters and the Alien Races Galaxy Guides, you can find many races that are great for this type of character. I will refrain from making suggestions, but look for good mechanical and technical attribute dice and check the backgrounds for races that lean toward smuggling, trading or related occupations. Also, in the back of Alien Encounters, there is a list on pages 183 & 184 that is a space-farers index, which can point you in a lot of good directions.

Once you have that picked out, you should be able to get a background and personality figured out pretty easily. Here's some important tips to keep in mind during development:

Avoid making a character that is too stereotypical Though a blockade runner should be someone who is generally of a less-than-savory type, you don't want to create a character that won't allow you to grow in the game. Make them shifty, but not too dastardly. If you can't figure out a good balance, just leave some room...

Develop some traits that only you will have Maybe your character always smokes a cigar after or before a run is made. Or maybe they scream out a certain saying just before entering combat. Perhaps they have some strange ritual, like a drink, prayer or poem they recite before taking on a run. Whatever you pick, this is what will become your trademark of sorts in the game...

Give them a role you'll have fun playing In other words, give them a personality that you can really get into. A lot of people find that funny, corny characters are a ball to play. They are characters with no social inhibitions, and you can really cut loose with them. Others enjoy serious and pondering types, characters that analyze and examine their actions. These characters can help let out the intellectual and authoritative skills in you and often wind up being very interesting to play. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that what you do here is how you'll be later, so pick something you can really sink your teeth into, and don't forget to balance it out to keep it even...

Mix it up with some advantages and disadvantages Find the supplement of the same name here, and follow the rules. Be sure and check with your GM for approval, and make sure you pick things that don't clash too hard with your character's personality or background. And don't forget to pick stuff that you can deal with both easily and in a fun way...

Additional help with creating a character can be found in many of the game books, which you already know of. Take advantage of these resources. Most important, don't be afraid to try out a character type that you've never done before. With some thought and detailed preparation, playing a character you usually would have not created can be easy and exciting, so take a chance! Wrap up this portion of the creation process by picking a height, weight, age, sex and physical description.


At this time, you should be able to tackle your character's objectives and their connection with other players.

Make realistic objectives, but don't hold back Don't let this part be too simple. Objectives like "To make money and keep my ship well maintained" or "To fight the Empire" are not really objectives, they're almost a given. Defining your character objectives is a great opportunity to define how that character is going to make decisions, and it is also the part where you decide what your character cares about. Spend some thought on this, and reward yourself with objectives that will guide you through the game with depth. Chasing after money is most people's bottom line, but maybe you need the money to help your mom out? Or send your cousin to school? Many want to fight the Empire, but maybe you want to fight them because your son once wished his dad was a "hero." This opens up a new ballfield to play in. Give yourself motivations you can live with, but that serve as a driving force in your character's life.

Connect or disconnect? Most people connect their new character with other characters in the group in simple ways: "Got hired on" and "A ride to Epsilon 7 turned into an extended stay" are two connections I've seen a lot. Connecting with your group doesn't have to be easy and simple though. Think a little about bonding yourself to another character or the whole group through some common goal, and don't make this simple either. Talk to the other players about it. Maybe you wind up all changing your objectives to intertwine each other in different ways. When I say disconnect, I don't mean connect yourself to the others in a rough or difficult manner. I'm talking about NOT connecting yourself with them. Think about starting out alone for a session or two, and talk to your GM about running alone for a bit then role-play your joining the group. Let the GM decide how you all meet up, and let him surprise you all. This way, a part of your character's background can literally be part of the story.

A note on crews Though it is possible to run blockades alone, it is easier and more likely for you to run with a crew. Running with a crew has pros and cons to it. The pros are that you can divide up chores and develop a team effort. The con is that you will have to come up with a system of dividing the profits and figuring out the way the decisions are made. A good way is to keep the ship as a priority and dump credits into the ship. Take twenty percent of the earnings out of every job and divide that equally among crew members as personal share, with the rest going to making the ship better. In terms of decisions, flip a coin or discuss it out; try to avoid making an actual leadership hierarchy. Unless you all think it would work perfectly, it usually causes trouble down the road. Doing things by vote is a good way, but can easily turn into a hierarchy itself if there is an odd number of people. Play with different ways and come up with what works for you.


Now that you've rounded out the psychological and emotional side of the character, it's time to tackle the game stats. Even if you've done this many times before, read the following for some helpful reminders...

Balance it or it will fall to one side or the other Don't forget to not put too much starting dice in one area. Though a blockade runner needs good piloting and gunnery skills, and probably some pretty decent technical skills, don't overdo it. This can be something metered out to others in the group. In other words, if the other players already have established characters, check their strengths and weaknesses. Use that to your advantage. If everyone is making a new character, then maybe everyone can talk about which stats they'll try to concentrate on. One person can tackle mechanical skills, another technical, and so on. But always remember to keep it balanced; if it's not, then your character will "tip" from too much weight in one place.

Don't fret, it will come in time When one makes a new character, it seems like they don't start with enough dice to even feed themselves sometimes! But remember, that's why they call it role-playing. Especially for players with a lot of experience, a new character with low dice levels increases the need to role-play situations, which in turn makes a role-player a practiced role-player. And practice always helps and never hinders.

Put it where it counts Keep in mind that the range of skill that a blockade runner will use are almost identical to those that are used by smugglers. Peruse other books that talk about making smugglers, and borrow from this time-honored profession. Also don't forget to place dice that is commensurate with whatever specializations or special abilities you have chosen for yourself (if any).


Once the stats are done with, pick some equipment and weapons for your character. Almost no two GMs have the same philosophy governing starting equipment and weapons (and money), so we'll leave that to be handled between you and your GM. Also make sure the character is approved by your GM, and check over everything one last time before you start to make sure you've got everything the way you want it. And remember: this is step one in character creation. The second step is playing, so have at it! If you need ideas or help, take a look at the "Notable Blockade Runners" section for examples, but remember that this is my concept of what a blockade runner is. You will be your own unique and interesting character!

For sample blockade runner characters, see the "Notable Blockade Runner's" section

 
Creating a Blockade Runner

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This is an original work by Tim "Nealos" Salam.

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