Character Discussion

Sounds great.

My character concept is a simple one.

My character is Tarek Ahmed, a Privilged Operative, subclass is Guardsman. He's from Dabaran and prays to the Judge. His family proudly claims themselves as bring Zenithian with ties to The Legion faction.

Having proudly served in the Legion (Special Operstions), Tarek made the transition into the private sector. Being assigned to protect Fahad Abid (a politician) and his family. Having served as their bodyguard for a couple years, Tarek found himself growing close to the Abid family.

That would change one night, when Fahad and his family were targeted for assassination. During the attack, Tarek managed to get Fahad's daughter Naba to safety, regrettably Fahad and his wife were killed before Tarek could save them.

Tarek took Naba to a safe and undisclosed place. Knowing that if it was found out that she was alive, the assassins would try and kill her again. Making a vow to avenge the deaths of Fahad and his wife, Tarek put his skills and talents to the ultimate test.

Making contact with Khadija, Tarek offered up his skills in trade for her assistance in tracking down the assassins and who hires them.

I see the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship with 78RPMLife's Data Spider. She is described as in trouble with the Syndicate (and likely in need of physical protection) and she has the Data Djinn skills to help you in your search for the assassins. You might be uneasy allies, friends, or even lovers or married!
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Similarly, Farouk bin Khalid al-Marwan is a former criminal who might still have Syndicate or just general underworld contacts that might help your search. It sounds like Tarek and Farouk might form a bond over regrets - Farouk's criminal past and Tarek's failure to protect his employer and friend. Also helping you track down an assassin and protect a young girl sounds like the kind of noble act of redemption that Farouk is seeking.

Sounds like great ideas to me.

No one has jumped at the chance to be Captain, so I am going to pitch reasons why it might be wise to be Captain even if you're not excited about the prospect. I am doing this because Brahim feels lost without a clear command structure (he is logical like that).

Tarek - is following leads to find the assassins, so what happens if a lead is going one direction and the job requires the ship to go the opposite? As Captain he would have greater opportunity to choose jobs that help him pursue the assassins and to influence the crew to help him. He has extensive military experience that probably includes leadership and would be an effective commander.

Farouk - is a fugitive. What if jobs take the ship to busy destinations or places where he is known. As Captain he would be able to avoid jobs that increase his risk of exposure and to choose jobs that help make up for his past. As a mystic he probably has high empathy and would be an effective commander. His criminal past may also have included running a gang/crew of criminals giving him leadership experience.

DataSpider - owes a debt to the Syndicate and is a fast talker. What if the jobs don't pay well or take the ship to Syndicate heavy areas? As Captain she would be able to choose more lucrative jobs and her fast talking to pay back the Syndicate more quickly. Also, as Captain she might be entitled to a larger share of payment for each job.

Your character might not want to be Captain, but it might be the smart move.

Those are some solid points. Well done.

I could play a captain-y character, if the rest of you aren't feeling it.

Ed makes a lot of great points, and I’m tempted, but I think I’d like to make Zahra on the younger side, and probably not captain material yet. Naelick, if you’re up for it, I say take it away.

I'm thinking of a character who through good or bad fortune keeps getting credit for good or bad things he had nothing to do with, so he has a list of unearned credits the length of his arm, anywhere he goes he's either revered as a savior or denounced as a devil. Naturally this gives him a bit of a complex. On the one hand he wants to do something great to actually earn some accolades, and on the other sometimes he has the feeling that if he's going to be hunted and hated anyways he might as well not bother playing nice.

Yeah I can't imagine Farouk being a captain. To again use the Firefly analogy, my character is probably Shepherd Book - man of faith with a violent past. If naelick wants the position, then by all means.

I like all of those ideas. I imagine Farouk as having connections to the Syndicate, or at least he did at one time. That's likely how he knows anyone else with Syndicate connections in the crew. Also Farouk has spent years studying the Icons and Icon worship. Though he could never officially be a cleric because of his fugitive circumstances, he probably fills that role in the crew. As the resident "priest" (I use the term very loosely), some crew might come to talk to him about their personal problems.

I went ahead and submitted my character. All I have left to do is add in the group talent, the icon talent, and then buy weapons and equipment.

Zahra grew up on Coriolis, the only child born to older-than-average parents who owned and maintained a spice shop on The Promenade with a vendor's cart on the Spice Plaza. They were solid members of the community, their daughter quick-witted and mercurial, the sort to always easily get into just a little bit of trouble but friendly enough with nearly everyone around to get out of it just as easily.

One day, a man from the Syndicate approached Zahra's father Saladin and, in addition to the usual small amount of birr the Syndicate asked as 'protection fees', wanted him to hide an item in his shop for an unknown amount of time. He never said what the item was, just that it would arrive in a box, and it was to stay in the box undisturbed until another individual from the Syndicate came to pick it up. There was no offer of payment for this service, but there was a thinly veiled threat to Saladin's family if he did not follow the plan.

Having little choice, he agreed. But he failed to inform his highly inquisitive daughter, who found the box a few days later in a supply closet of the shop. On a whim, she sliced through the security and locks without much thought. Even then, she was a natural at such things. Inside the box was a mercurium knife with a jeweled hilt, clearly very expensive and -- given the secrecy surrounding it, probably at the very least stolen. Zahra certainly didn't take it; even she realized that she shouldn't be touching it, and quickly put it back. But the damage was done. The man from the Syndicate opened the box when he came to collect it and immediately realized that someone had messed with the item.

Zahra, fearing for her father's life, admitted to being the one to break in. The Syndicate operative was reluctantly impressed with this 15-year old girl who so easily broke through some fairly advanced lock encryption, and made it clear that payment for this transgression would be provided by Zahra, doing work for the Syndicate whenever they asked. Two years later, she still gets a job from the Syndicate now and again, and she knows better than to say no. The last time she did, she came home to find her father with a broken leg.

She was expecting to take over her parents' shop and joined the Free League in order to make the necessary connections. But as her parents remain in mostly good health and show no signs of retiring any time soon, Zahra has hired herself out as a data spider for hire.

This is probably how she met Tarek. I had some idea of Tarek helping her out of a tight spot with an unsatisfied customer who was threatening her with some violence, and in return, she offered to help him with his 'quest'. How does that sound?

I'll get Zahra submitted tomorrow.

Perfect!

Hey guys! Just to let you know I'm almost done reading about the setting. I will probably still take a day or two to go through the character and ship discussion but getting there :D I really liked the concept of computer expert who summons cryptic data-djinn but also the nomadic neo-bedouin so I'm leaning to some sort of Dune-like prophet with an hint of cthulhu at the moment, but it is defenitly nothing serious yet

Welcome, CESN! Good to see you!

My character is a computer expert, which I bring up only to suggest that if you want to go that way too, maybe we can work out niches for both characters so that we don't completely overlap.

Hey 78RPM that’s good to know! I didn’t have the time o read all the threads yet so I have no clue what the PCs are so far :(
Hopefully tomorrow :) I guess nomadic prophet if there is a cleric like think could still work. Or a slave dancer, that could be interesting if s/he is property of another player or like a "part" of the ship 🤔