Star Was Saga, Soldier Class, Clone Commando help

[KnockingDevil]

I am starting a new campaign set during the Clone Wars and I need help creating my Clone Commando character as I am a bit lost within the 15 books. Each PC gets 25 attribute points that can be allocated wherever I like, no less than 8 and no more than 18. We can use all 15 of the Star Wars Saga rule books. We can get any equipment we want, except those tagged as illegal, and start with 150000 credits (will lose those that are not spent during creation). As I will be a Clone Commando I will be wearing Katarn-Class Commando Armour and be equipped with a Interchangeable Weapon System, that leaves 115500 for other purchases. I want to be the technician/ computer/ communications expert of my squad IE having a higher intelligence than you would normally have for a soldier. So that's it, MASSIVE thanks for anyone and everyone that does help me out with this! :)

[PastorofMuppets]

Depending on how the game will be run, and with that immense credit amount I'd suggest buying every sort of survival item you can get your hands on so that from mission to mission you have a complete inventory of gear to choose from. Also if any undercover work is needed a suit of medium armor and weapons that are not obviously republic affiliated would be helpful. Sensorpack, Med packs, security kits, portable computer, camo netting and poncho. possibly mechanical tools and the various demolition charges remote detonators and mines depending on whether technician include demolitions or mechanical repairs.

*edit, also a speederbike or some form of personal transport could be very helpful to already own and not necessarily need to find/aquisition

[Mando Knight]

A big note that you haven't touched on here or in your thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/SagaEdition/comments/3gbzt8/star_was_saga_soldier_class_clone_commando_help/) on r/sagaedition (https://www.reddit.com/r/SagaEdition) is what level you're starting at. I could give a fully annotated build for a soldier-y tech expert, but the starting level is kinda important.

[KnockingDevil]

A big note that you haven't touched on here or in your thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/SagaEdition/comments/3gbzt8/star_was_saga_soldier_class_clone_commando_help/) on r/sagaedition (https://www.reddit.com/r/SagaEdition) is what level you're starting at. I could give a fully annotated build for a soldier-y tech expert, but the starting level is kinda important.

You might be about to become my hero. We'll be starting at level one, though if it isn't too much trouble an outline of what ways I should go with feats and allocating points. I also think that it might not be 47 points anymore, I need to check with my gm

[PastorofMuppets]

are you sure that starting credit number is right if you are playing a level one character? it seems a tiny bit high to me

[Mando Knight]

Since the point-buy is now up in the air, I'll list the stats in general priority rather than specific numbers.

Race: Human, obviously.
Starting Class: Soldier. You're trying to start with Medium armor, and buying those feats in any other class is terrible. Soldier does have the two most important techie skills (Use Computer and Mechanics) as well as Treat Injury, so there's that.

General Stat Priority:
Dexterity: Katarn armor only has a +1 Max Dex bonus, but that's not why Dex is important. That maximum only applies to your Reflex Defense, so your Initiative and ranged attack rolls get the full benefit. Hitting reliably is a top consideration in the game, and attacking first is also fairly important.
Intelligence: You're a specialist, get the brains for it.
Constitution: Get tough, tough guy. Constitution keeps you in the fight by increasing both your HP and your Fortitude Defense (which also determines your Damage Threshold).
Strength: Your 20 kilo armor isn't going to carry itself. Your light load in kilograms is the square of half your Strength, so at 10 Str, you'd have a light load of only 25 kg (which is how much your armor and your gun weigh together, let alone any other essentials like ammo). Since Katarn armor is medium armor, staying under a heavy load is still relevant towards your run speed and physical skill checks. 13 is enough to get a comfortable buffer (42.25 kg light load), and also provides you with access to Burst Fire and Rapid Shot later down the line.
Wisdom: Don't put this at 8. You never know when the GM starts throwing enemy Force Adepts at you, so don't tank your Will Defense. This also improves your Perception and Treat Injury skills.
Charisma: Last priority. Let someone else be the pretty face.

Skills (Human Soldiers pick 4 plus their Intelligence modifier):
Mechanics: Both fiddling with machinery and setting explosives use this skill, and it's necessary for the Tech Specialist feat. Top priority for a mechanically-minded tech guy.
Use Computer: What'cha wanna do? Wanna be hackers, code crackers, slackers? Waste some time with all the chatroom yakkers? 9-to-5 chillin' at Hewlett-Packard? It's all about the Pentiums Use Computer, baby.
Treat Injury: Need at least one medic in the party. That Katarn armor gives you a bonus to self-treatment, so it might as well be you.
Initiative: Han shot first, why shouldn't you?
Pilot: Again, you should probably have at least one pilot in the party, just in case.
Perception: Notice things before they shoot you in the face.
Knowledge (Tactics): Only Knowledge skill in the Soldier list. Needed for Battle Analysis and some Officer talents, but isn't otherwise that useful unless your GM likes knowledge checks for everything. Or you want to play spotter for artillery strikes.
Various Athletic Skills: AKA Climb, Endurance, Jump, and Swim. All four are extremely niche at best, unless you know that half the campaign is going to be on Dac or Utapau or something.

Feats To Consider For Level 1 (Humans can pick two):
Armor Proficiency (Heavy): A bad, terrible, no-good feat if you're not going to actually use heavy armor. Unfortunately, Katarn armor's helmet package is keyed to this feat instead of AP:Medium like it should be. Talk to your GM first about the obvious editorial error (it was probably changed one way or the other while it was being written) before taking the feat.
Skill Focus (Mechanics, Use Computer): These are your main skillmonkey skills. Starting with a +12 or so in one of them will go a long way, if you can find time to focus on doing what you've chosen to be good at.
Tech Specialist (Starships of the Galaxy): For a fee, lets you make stuff better. Quintessential techie feat, but Skill Focus (Mechanics) is almost required if you want to reliably pass the skill check early on.
Point Blank Shot: Damage and accuracy for point-blank attacks. Since your ICWS will probably be in rifle mode most of the time, and rifle range is fairly decent for most sane maps (30 square range is usually plenty, even for a lot of outdoor fighting, as longer ranges than that are just painful for players and GM alike to deal with), you'll get a lot of use out of the feat.
Weapon Proficiency (Heavy): Your ICWS's anti-armor mode requires this feat, and there's a lot of cool stuff heavy weapons will get you, like the Rotary Blaster Cannon, all vehicle weapons, and access to the Burst Fire feat.
Weapon Proficiency (Advanced Melee): You can probably skip this, unless you feel like punching a lot of enemies with your armor's built-in vibrodagger. Even then, I'd consider taking Martial Arts 1 instead, which is a prerequisite for Elite Trooper.
Rapid Shot/Burst Fire: More dakka is more damage. Both require 13 Strength, but Burst Fire also requires WP:Heavy and a weapon in autofire mode.
Precise Shot: If you like to aim instead of shooting rapidly, this feat opens up Careful Shot and Deadeye later down the road, and also lets you provide more effective supporting fire for your Jedi.
Weapon Focus: Boring, but unlocks Penetrating Attack in case you need to use your rifle against the big stuff. I would delay this feat for a few levels, and grab it if your GM likes throwing Heroic enemies at you instead of just armies of standard droids, since you'll want the extra attack bonus against Heroic enemies.

Talents (Pick one):
Armored Defense: A dead talent until level 10 on its own if you're in Katarn armor, but unlocks Juggernaut (lets you move at full speed in Medium armor) and Improved Armored Defense (improved Reflex Defense starting at level 6 for Katarn armor). I'd hold off on this until level 5 (or 3 if you intend to take both IAD and Juggernaut).
Devastating Attack: -5 to the enemy's Damage Threshold while using your favored weapon group, meaning you can disable or destroy them more reliably.
Demolitionist: You're going for the Military Engineer route, so you might as well be able to blow stuff up better.
Battle Analysis: Useful if you want to unlock Cover Fire, or check up on how much more you need to work on destroying the enemy's big stuff, but not great otherwise.
Draw Fire: Avoid, unless your GM feels like rewriting the talent. It requires a skill that isn't even on the Soldier skill list!
Harm's Way: At level 1, with you in Katarn armor, actually pretty good if you're going to be escorting a VIP. 21 Reflex Defense is hard for most CL 1-3 enemies to beat.

[KnockingDevil]

Since the point-buy is now up in the air, I'll list the stats in general priority rather than specific numbers.

[/LIST]

So I only have the standard 25 points (the gm mixed up how the point buy system worked). Where do you think I should put them?

[Nerd-o-rama]

So I only have the standard 25 points (the gm mixed up how the point buy system worked). Where do you think I should put them?

For a Soldier who wants to be good with Int-based skills, I would go:

Str 12
Dex 15
Con 14
Int 13
Wis 10
Cha 8

Put one point at every 4th level into Dex, and one point into Int at level 4 and the rest into Con. These are good stats for someone who wants to get extra damage out of aiming (Careful Shot, etc.). If you'd rather focus on Autofire or melee, swap Int and Str. You won't get an extra skill training at level 4, but you'll be eligible for penalty-free Rapid Shot and Burst Fire. As a human, high Str is probably the better route, unless you're planning to dip into a class with a better set of Class Skills before level 4 (Scout or Scoundrel for Stealth being the obvious choice).

Even with 10 Int, you can get the four skills I'd call essential to being a specialist who can still rumble on the battlefield: Mechanics, Use Computer, Perception, Initiative. More Int lets you pick up extra specializations (Pilot, Treat Injury, Stealth with a multiclass) or get tougher at the soldiery side (Endurance, movement skills)

[KnockingDevil]

If you'd rather focus on Autofire or melee, swap Int and Str. You won't get an extra skill training at level 4, but you'll be eligible for penalty-free Rapid Shot and Burst Fire. As a human, high Str is probably the better route, unless you're planning to dip into a class with a better set of Class Skills before level 4 (Scout or Scoundrel for Stealth being the obvious choice).
What do you mean by autofire? Isn't higher int what I want?

[Nerd-o-rama]

What do you mean by autofire? Isn't higher int what I want?

Well, I guess I should put it this way. Once you have enough Intelligence to train all the skills you want, it provides diminishing returns (a mere +1 on relevant skills for every two points, where a Feat will get you +5 to a skill, once for each skill). Rapid Shot or especially Burst Fire increases your in-combat capability a fair bit more than an extra skill modifier in usually-out-of-combat skills will, especially if you're a Soldier and not a Scoundrel. However, if you want to pump your Int higher, Careful Shot is also a good damage increase without the Strength prerequisite, as long as you're able to sit still and aim.

Really, it depends on how many skills you want to train more so than what modifier you want on them, since the added bonus from Intelligence is going to be relatively marginal. At least in my opinion, without considering a number of talents and feats I'm sure I'm overlooking.

[Dienekes]

Generally, for Soldiers, getting rapid fire style weapons gives you more damage and killing potential than careful shot and the like. Not that the other is in any way bad.

However, you can avoid this problem completely by putting a 9 in Wisdom and putting the extra point in Strength right away. Sure, this lowers your Treat Injury and Perception by 1, but that's not too big a problem, you're the tech guy, not the Scout and the Medic. And you can drop any open Feat slot you have on Grand Army of the Republic Training, which gives your armor's Equipment bonus to your Will Defense, effectively giving you a +3 to your Will (after the 1 point penalty) which is pretty good.

If you want to go the Medic route the penalty to Treat Injury is not a big problem, especially since Medics really just want a two-level dip in the Medic prestige class to get Improved Perform Surgery and pick up the Experienced Medic and Surgical Expertise feats. The Surgery check is 20 with penalties for failure, but with Skill Focus the -1 penalty shouldn't make that big a difference. Total investment 1 level dip into another class (presumably Scoundrel if you want to pick up some of their techie talents), 2 levels in a prestige class, and 4 feats to be as effective a medic as anyone could ask for. To also mitigate the penalty, your first level of Medic just pick up Steady Under Pressure (allows re-roll), or Emergency Team (allies auto-succeed aid attempts on your TI rolls).

Other than that, the prestige classes you should be looking for are Elite Trooper if you're going the more warrior route, it's a great prestige class with (I think) the most options in it of any prestige class in the game.

Saboteur is probably my favorite of the techie prestige classes, giving you a turret and some jammers. It does require a 1 level dip into a non-Soldier class and a feat to pick up the Deception skill though.

Military Engineer is another good one, and does not require any dips. It basically turns you into MacGyver, able to make weapons on the fly that are single use only. That said, you can make some fun explosions with this, but the single use per encounter and the weapons themselves are only single use makes it's limit a bit annoying for me, which is why I put Saboteur above it.

The other techie prestige class is the Improviser, which has a lot of focus on being able to buy illegal goods, I only really add it for completions sake. But, luckily, the prerequisites for the class you should have, so look through any talents it has for something you want and you can pick it up at very little cost, and the always being considered to have access to tool kits is a fine perk, not one that should really come up if you're the dedicated techie but it's always nice to be prepared.