Casting Shadows

Today’s question for #RPGaDay2022 asks us how our characters have changed. It isn’t specific about when this change occurred. We could assume that it means in play, but this is not necessarily required.

My Star Wars: Age of Rebellion character, Il Han-Na Eintz has changed in two significant ways. The first was before play, and the second was as a result of play.

In the spirit of change, let’s change the order and talk about the second change first.

Il started out as a typical gunslinger concept on whose foundation intended to build. I pictured him as somewhat young, and that his experiences in play would lead him toward a more defined moral code. I did not believe the campaign would last very long, so I did not imagine much farther than that, but I was curious if he would stay with the Alliance for the longterm, or return to independent operations.

Once we started playing though, it become obvious to me that he was actually older than I had thought, and had more of a devil-may-care attitude. I had thought he might be a kind and somewhat humerous individual who can intimidate if necessary, but found it was actually the reverse. Also, as was discussed yesterday, I learned that he was not acting from a love of freedom, but from a hatred of fascist oppression.

Play taught me a lot about Il, and I have more to learn.

Before play, he went through another major change. I did not initially want to play a force sensitive, but in revising the character through a few iterations to mesh well with the other characters, I started to feel like the campaign was a good opportunity to play one who was unlikely to want to pursue being a jedi, and who could develop in his use of the force through abilities which a dedicated force user would not necessarily benefit from for soldiery. I began to see ways in which vision was a factor for Il.

In my perception of the duros, they have lidless eyes which never seem to close. As a force sensitive, he is attuned to the future and is given prophetic visions. As a gunslinger, he relies on the speed and accuracy of his vision to acquire and hit targets. When a triune concept appears, it should be honored, I feel, so this led me to create a preternaturally aware gunman, unnaturally quick on the draw, whose actions in combat set up others for finishing moves almost like he is moving through a series of actions whose beneficial outcomes are not recognized until the smoking bodies are counted up.

Tomorrow: Style Sunday!