Homemade General Grievous build-up opinion

[SSB_Shadow 46]

I am trying to build a character statblock of General Grievous, mostly for fun, but might be used in an alternate future game I'm planning where he survived. Some abilities are missing since I don't know what bonuses a Kaleesh cyborg would get. I haven't chosen a specific career either but mostly built him like one normally would by picking talents.

Another note; I am basing this build on his abilities shown on ep. 3 and the clone wars (both the animated cartoon and the cg), and what I've read on Wookieepedia.

 

So here's my take on him. I will also add small descriptions on why I chose this way.

 

General Grievous

 

Brawn: 6

Agility: 5

Intellect: 4

Cunning: 2

Willpower: 5

Presence: 3

 

Soak: 6

Wounds: 18

Strain: 15

 

Naturally he has high Brawn and Agility, being a cyborg and showing high strength and mobility. I am mostly uncertain about the mental and social attributes but I went with high willpower because he doesn't seem easily influenced by the Force. He might be a leader but doesn't seem to have much of a natural high Presence to inspire people like Dooku do, so I put it on a 3; but may lower it to a 2.

Lastlty Cunning could perhaps be higher but most of the associated skills doesn't seem to fit him. Intellect 4 is also debatable but he seem to be somewhat of a "brilliant mind" so that is why I put semi-high on that.

 

Skills:

Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Coercion 4, Coordination 4, Discipline 2, Leadership 5, Lightsaber 5, Mechanics 3, Melee 4, Knowledge (Outer Rim), Piloting (Planetary) 4, Piloting (Space) 5, Ranged (heavy) 2, Stealth 3, Vigilance 5, Knowledge (Warfare) 6

 

What Grievous is good at, according to Wookieepedia: fighting, athletic stuff, being intimidating and being a master tactician. He also seem good enough of a pilot to even match up to a Jedi according to Windu, even though that is rarely shown. Then I took some Stealth to portray his ability to vanish and re-appear like in the cartoon. Mechanics since he seem to tweak his starship and himself quite often, although this could be somebody else doing the tweaking on his behalf and thus I could lower it. Then there is his cowardly side, representing his low Discipline. He doesn't show fear to anyone but can decide it might be a good idea to flee if a battle goes sour.

I was thinking on giving him Cool to represent a good ambusher, but let's face it, that guy has no patience or temperance to speak of.

 

Talents:

Adversary 3, Brilliant Evasion (once per encounter, select 1 opponent and make an oppose Pilot check to stop opponent from attacking you for rounds equal to Agility), Intimidating 2 (may suffer a number of strain to downgrade difficulty of Coercion check equal to number of ranks), Commanding Presence 1 (remove setback die per rank from Leadership and Cool checks), Heroic Fortitude (may spend a Desinty point to ignore effects of critical injuries on Brawn or Agility checks until the end of the encounter), Physical Training 1 (add boost die per rank to Athletics and Resilience checks), Shortcut 1 (during a chase, add boost die per rank to any checks made to catch or escape an opponent), Speaks Binary 2 (when directing NPC droids, may grant them boost die per rank on checks), Swift (do not suffer usual penalties for moving through difficult terrain), + other battle talents

 

I haven't chosen battle talents because there were a lot and was unsure which to take.

As for these, Brilliant Evasion portrays how he can become untouchable in space combat, giving him enough time to calculate a hyperspace jump and flee. Heroic Fortitude portrays him that, despite how many limbs he loses in a battle, he can still fight and crawl away. Shortcut is him being good at escaping, and Swift since he's good at mobility over any terrain. I am thinking about either taking Sixth Sense or Superior Reflexes since he seem to be untouchable by blaster shots and can stand up against Jedi, but I'm not sure. He already has a high soak so it might be unecessary. Lastly maybe give him some Commodore talents. Maybe Let's Ride since he seem good to get into an escape ship quickly.

 

Abilities: ???

 

As I mentioned I don't know what exactly his Kaleesh species would give him. As for being cybernetic maybe he would get some droid traits but I am not sure exactly what.

 

Equipment: Cybernetic arms (+1 Brawn), cybernetic legs (+1 agility), a bunch of lightsabers, starfighter Soulless One, wheelbike, blaster rifle Annahilator.

 

Again, I am uncertain what more he has except for the obvious things.

 

So what do you think? I am very open to hear your opinions. Feel free to criticise.

Edited November 6, 2014 by SSB_Shadow

[copperbell 617]

I recall he was trained by Count Dooku with emphasis on as long as he could intimidate his opponents but if he couldn't to immediately flee, so I figure his Presence may be higher than that possibly up his Cunning by 1 too.

 

Is that some kind of Makashi Duellist?

 

How are you going to deal with his multiple arms?

Edited November 6, 2014 by copperbell

[Ghostofman 8,319]

I am trying to build a character statblock of General Grievous, mostly for fun, but might be used in an alternate future game I'm planning where he survived. Some abilities are missing since I don't know what bonuses a Kaleesh cyborg would get. I haven't chosen a specific career either but mostly built him like one normally would by picking talents.

Another note; I am basing this build on his abilities shown on ep. 3 and the clone wars (both the animated cartoon and the cg), and what I've read on Wookieepedia.

As an NPC I wouldn't worry too much about specific bonuses or careers. We know (about) what he's capable of, just stat to that (with enough restraint to allow the players to win when needed) and you're good. Your mileage may vary depending how you see him, but here's my take....

 

 

Brawn: 6

Agility: 5

Intellect: 4

Cunning: 2

Willpower: 5

Presence: 3

 

These seem a tad high, and lacking focus. Yes he's a featured character so Wookieepedia says he's amazing an unbeatable at all things, but you gotta reign it in and decide what you actually want him to be able to do in you game.

 

So Grievous is usually depicted with two core MOs:

• In combat he's a blunt instrument. Dooku loads him up with sabers and lobs him at the enemy like a razorblade covered man grenade. He can't actually "use" a lightsaber, but he can use brute force to "make it work."
• In a leadership capacity he's a flake. He can get up and launch an attack just fine, and his tactical and strategic knowledge is salright. But the moment the battle doesn't go his way, he bugs out, usually leaving some kind of ticking time bomb for the good guys to deal with in the process.

So lets start with a core of:

Brawn: 5

Agility: 4

Intellect: 3

Cunning: 3

Willpower: 2

Presence: 3

 

That's pretty solid, with some skills he'll be tough and capable, but he'll lack the intestinal fortitude to really back himself up.

 

 

Soak: 6

Wounds: 18

Strain: 15

Oh no, too low.

Soak: 6

Wound: 25

Strain: 22 

 

Skills:

Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Coercion 4, Coordination 4, Discipline 2, Leadership 5, Lightsaber 5, Mechanics 3, Melee 4, Knowledge (Outer Rim), Piloting (Planetary) 4, Piloting (Space) 5, Ranged (heavy) 2, Stealth 3, Vigilance 5, Knowledge (Warfare) 6

Ok, looking better here, but again there's some reigning in to do. Again, lets look less at whats on Wookieepedia and more on what we want him to do within the actual game.

 

Athletics 4, Coercion 3, Coordination 3, Discipline 1, Leadership 2, Lightsaber 4, Ranged (light) 3, Stealth 3, Vigilance 1

 

I left his key skills intact, but trimmed off a lot of fat.

As an NPC he doesn't really need knowledge skills. Unless you're planning a kind of "duel of wits" encounter with him you can probably leave them off. He knows what he knows.

Similarly Piloting skills are only needed if you're actually going to have him piloting something. Even then he probably doesn't need skills that high, as there are talents that will effect his ability to fight in a vehicle far more then a skill rank.

I kept Lightsaber pretty high, but I switched his ranged skill to light since I plan on equipping him with a heavy pistol.

I dropped his discipline because he's unlikely to stand and fight. He can still triumph, but if the players really try and intimidate him he'll run rather then fight (more to come, see talents).

 

 

Talents:

Adversary 3, Brilliant Evasion (once per encounter, select 1 opponent and make an oppose Pilot check to stop opponent from attacking you for rounds equal to Agility), Intimidating 2 (may suffer a number of strain to downgrade difficulty of Coercion check equal to number of ranks), Commanding Presence 1 (remove setback die per rank from Leadership and Cool checks), Heroic Fortitude (may spend a Desinty point to ignore effects of critical injuries on Brawn or Agility checks until the end of the encounter), Physical Training 1 (add boost die per rank to Athletics and Resilience checks), Shortcut 1 (during a chase, add boost die per rank to any checks made to catch or escape an opponent), Speaks Binary 2 (when directing NPC droids, may grant them boost die per rank on checks), Swift (do not suffer usual penalties for moving through difficult terrain), + other battle talents

I really like most of what you've done here.

More fat cutting...

Adversary 3, Intimidating 2, Heroic Fortitude, Shortcut 1, Parry 3

 

I removed the piloting stuff again since I think he'd lose something in a space encounter, though if that's the path you really wanted to take I'd look at talents like defensive driving, though ultimately I'd make those choices based on what vehicle we was operating so the talents matched.

 

Abilities:

I'd consider adding a variation of Imperial Valor.

If you're willing to house rule a little I'd do something like: Expendable Assets: Once per session if Grevious fails a Discipline check triggered by a fear or coercion based effect he may immediately sacrifice a single friendly NPC with the droid quality (minion groups count as one) and pass the check with a single success.

Another house to consider: Multi-limb combat: When using four identical weapons he may make increase the difficulty of the attack by one, and give the attack the Linked 3 quality.

 

Equipment: Cybernetic body (+1 Soak, +1 Defenses, Atmo seal), 4 Sabers, Heavy Blaster Pistol, comlink, other basic items as needed.

[SSB_Shadow 46]

Hmm... interesting inputs. I agree with most of it. Less emphasis on starship abilities and more focus on making him a more realistic foe (and not so cluttered with talents and skills). Those house rules abilities fits him too and solves my dilemma with his multiple-arms thing. I agree with the knowledge skills, although the only "battle of wit" could be during a fleet battle. Then I can just give him a handful of skills in warfare if needed.

And I remember that scene in the cartoon, copperbell, and that pretty much sums up Grievous' main tactic. Although he was trained by Dooku so I wouldn't agree with him being only a blunt instrument but formidable when not fighting Obi-Wan.

 

But by the way, what is "Parry"? I suspect it's something from Force and Destiny. Unfortunately I don't have the beta book so I don't know exaclty what it does. Can he have it without being Force sensitive?

 

Also, on his cybernetic things, can he has that cybernetic weapon implant with a grappling hook instead of a blaster pistol? He used something like that in his escape on Ep. 3 after crashing out from the Invisible Hand.

[Atraangelis 301]

Rule 1...

 

Dont build NPC's like PC's.

 

Your NPC needs to be what you need him to be. Every thing else you put up there is meaningless.

[Ghostofman 8,319]

But by the way, what is "Parry"? I suspect it's something from Force and Destiny. Unfortunately I don't have the beta book so I don't know exaclty what it does. Can he have it without being Force sensitive?

Yeah it's from F&D, no, it's not a force talent, anyone can do it. I expect to see it on mundane trees once F&D is all solidified. For this build when hit with a melee attack Grevious would be able to suffer 3 strain and reduce the damage of that attack by 5, allowing him to mitigate a good chunk of lightsaber damage. Combined with the lightsabers, his talents, and his defenses means he would be able to brute-force duel a fairly skilled Jedi at least for a few rounds. Engaging him at range actually might be a bit better idea... you know... if you're into uncivilized behavior like that. But even then if he's got... Confederate Valor i guess, then as long as the GM keeps a few battledroids nearby even ranged attacks will take some time to punch through.

 

So as a recurring villian he'd be functional, as the GM could pretty much ensure he's last, but eventually the players would be able to face and defeat him, probably by piling on enough crits to make him non functional.

 

 

Also, on his cybernetic things, can he has that cybernetic weapon implant with a grappling hook instead of a blaster pistol? He used something like that in his escape on Ep. 3 after crashing out from the Invisible Hand.

 

Well the blaster pistol is just a blaster pistol because he does carry one... Woulda listed the cape too if I thought it should have a mechanic effect. So the cybernetic thing would probably just be a line launcher on a wrist mount... I'm trying to remember if such a thing exists yet, but I don't think so....

 

Could probably be used in a similar fashion to the enhance power and just allow him to move to any location Horz or Vert within short range. Don't have the book on me so I cant' really check proper.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Ghostofman

[BadMotivator 1,263]

Lightsabre 5 seems a little too high. He's certainly good, but he's not THAT good. He never really beat anyone who was a true master of the lightsabre. Lightsabre 3 seems more than enough. Enough to beat your average Jedi and at least hold his own against a true master. Plus he's got such a high brawn he'll be tossing a minimum of YYYGGG.

 

Ranged heavy 2 also seems too low. I think he should be at least 3 in both heavy and light. And probably melee and brawl as well.

 

He's also definitely much more cunning than just 2. Some of the associated skills might not be his forte, but his base instincts are definitely very high.

[SSB_Shadow 46]

Rule 1...

 

Dont build NPC's like PC's.

 

Your NPC needs to be what you need him to be. Every thing else you put up there is meaningless.

Haha, yeah, I know. I admit I am still a bit stuck on the old saga d20 system of building everything from level 1 and up.

 

All your comments have been read and I will see if I can lower ol' Grievous' power level a bit. Some things I am bit uncertain of. The ranged (heavy) was a normal mistake since I thought his gun was one (looked like a stormtrooper blaster carbine which counts as heavy). His lightsaber skills can also be debated for eternity. Being trained by Dooku would assume Grievous' skills are super good while others say he is just a flailing saber-grunt portrayed in the series. But I agree that since he has so high brawn, he doesn't need that high of skill. Here is a new updated version. Big thanks to you all. This may be good enough Grievous.

 

 

General Grievous, version 2

 

Brawn: 5

Agility: 4

Intellect: 3

Cunning: 3

Willpower: 2

Presence: 3

 

Soak: 6

Wound: 25

Strain: 22

 

Skills:

Athletics 4, Coercion 3, Coordination 3, Discipline 1, Leadership 3, Lightsaber 4, Ranged (light) 3, Stealth 3, Vigilance 2, Knowledge (Warfare) 5

 

Talents:

Adversary 3, Intimidating 2, Heroic Fortitude, Physical Training 1, Shortcut 1, Speaks Binary 2, Swift, Feral Strength 1, Parry 3

 

Many of the melee talents only worked on Brawl or Melee; not lightsaber. So yeah...

 

Abilities:

Expendable Assets: Once per session if Grevious fails a Discipline check triggered by a fear or coercion effect, he may immediately sacrifice a single friendly NPC with the droid quality (minion groups count as one) and pass the check with a single success.

Multi-limb combat: When using four identical weapons he may make increase the difficulty of the attack by one, and give the attack the Linked 3 quality.

 

I really liked these ones. Might change the name of them but for now I keep them as you named them, Ghost.

 

Equipment:

Cybernetic body (+1 Soak, +1 Defenses, Atmo seal), 4 Sabers, wrist-mounted grappling hook, Heavy Blaster Pistol, comlink,