4. Assigning Stats and Skills
'Stats' (Statistics) are the measure of the basic physical and mental capacities of your character.
Skills are what your character has aptitudes in- including fighting.
Both are easy to assign to your template.
Stats
Strength is a measure of your physique and toughness; it is used to resist damage, to do damage in close combat, and is also the basis of power attacks in lightsabre duelling.
(Note- for Matrix players, Strength in this game incorporates Constitution and Toughness)
Agility is a measure of your character's mobility and athleticism. It helps you fight up close and make acrobatic manoeuvres, as well as being the basis of outflanking attacks in lightsabre duelling.
Dexterity is a measure of your character's finesse and handling skills; it is used to pilot, fire guns, and is the basis of classical attacks in lightsabre duelling
Speed is a measure of your character's wits and reaction speed. It is not used in skills but sets how fast and how often you move in a fight.
Charisma is a measure of your character's strength of personality- it enables to to better relate to others, whether that be being friendly or threatening to kill.
Intelligence is a measure, of course, of how smart your character is, which can be quite an asset to a Jedi or Dark Sider, who are taking the roles of policemen or master criminals respectively.
Willpower is your strength and firmness of mind, used to resist mental effects and keep going in the face of adversity.
Perception is your ability to notice things, from clues at a crime scene to an incoming ambush.
To set your stats, simply add the amount your template allows you to between physical and mental stats. 5 is the average for a being in the Galaxy, 6 a better average for trained people like yourselves, 7 is the exceptionally fit/clever level- a level that Jedi rather strive to reach- and 8 means you are actually at the limit! Impressive.
All templates point out that the attribute maximum is 8; this is the highest a stat can go for a 'human' template (where 'human' is a wide term referring to about 90% of Star Wars races who are pretty much the same as humans in the end- like Twi'leks and Zabraks). Exotic alien templates with different maximums exist but I am leaving them in the background for now.
Note also that there is a limit on the combined total of your Strength, Agility and Dexterity- 21 for the more physically active templates, 20 for the less capable ones, and 22 for the Type Ds. This is to help regulate lightsabre duelling. However, you do not need to worry about this, because I have simply put the points you could not put into Strength, Agility and Dexterity into Speed instead, which is why the templates tend to have a higher base speed then Strength/Agility/Dexterity (the remaining physical points actually cannot bring you past that limit, which we call the SAD limit, if I have done it right, that is). But it is useful to bear in mind that this prohibition technically exists. By the same logic, bear in mind that if your Strength/Agility/Dexterity are not even, you are favouring one lightsabre style over another. Type Ds, who have an extra physical stat past everyone else, always favour a style, but without disfavouring another. Type Bs and other less combat capable templates always have to disfavour a style.
If a stat has an '=' sign by it- notably for Masters- then it cannot be increased; it is already as high as it can go.
Finally, note that Willpower has already been spent on in most templates, which is why it is higher- this is because Willpower is easy for a Jedi to ignore as most mental effects involve using the Force, and a Jedi can use his own Force to counter such effects. So rather than everyone moping around with weak-willed Jedi, it has been forcibly spent upon.
Skills
All skills are based on a stat. To get your final level in that skill, add the stat and the '+' number relevant to the skill. So someone with a Combat skill of +4 would check his Agility, which Combat is based on. If his Agility is 7, his combat would therefore be 7+4 to make 11.
You may add points to your given skills, or in some cases any skills, as noted on the template (if you do not add to a +0, simply ignore it). Unless stated, the maximum for the final total of the skill (not the + number, the final total with the stat included) is 12.
If a skill has a '=' sign by it- normally for fighting skills, and always for Lightsabre- then it will always equal that final amount, including the stat, no matter what. So if a Guns skill is =13, then it final + number will equal whatever is needed to get it to 13. Guns is based on Dexterity, so if your Dexterity was 7, the + number would become 6 to make 13; if your Dexterity was 8, the + number would be 5. Nothing will change this final amount so don't spend points on an = skill (after all, they are set at a high level for you as it is!)
Here is a summary of skills:
Combat (Agility): The ability to fight up close unarmed or with a melee weapon other than a Lightsabre.
Fix-it (Perception): Technical knack and know-how, always an important skill in Star Wars for little emergency jury-rigs on the job
Gambling (Perception): The ability to either play well in skill-based, or judge well in luck based, gambling games. Gambling is a useful social skill.
Guns (Dexterity): The ability to fight, preferablty at a distance, with the wide variety of handheld arms in the Starwars galaxy, from small pistols to longarms.
Heavy Weapons (Dexterity): The ability to operate very large weapons, including rocket launchers and the like. Force Users very rarely have this skill.
Intimidation (Charisma): The ability to compel others, either by threats or general scary presence, to do what you want.
Intrusion (Agility): The ability to break and enter- just as vital for Jedi penetrating hostile bases as it is for Dark Siders up to no good.
Jedi Lore (Intelligence): Knowledge of the mysteries of the Force, and the secrets of the Jedi and the Sith. The first campaign was a Jedi Lore plot and you can expect to see it being useful again in future.
Languages (Intelligence): Your general knowledge of other languages. Whilst most aliens speak basic, it is often highly useful to understand others in their native tongue.
Law (Intelligence): Not the knowing of what is and is not illegal- it is assumed all Jedi know that part of their job well enough- but law as a lawyer or politician would see it- understanding the legal system, how to use it, abuse it, speed it or slow it. This is an obscure and difficult skill and cannot be taken unless noted on your sheet- for Jedi, that is for the Venerable Master or Bane only.
(Many look down at this sort of skill, but they will be laughing less when they work out Palpatine became Emperor using it)
Leadership (Charisma): The ability to get others to follow your lead by example and direction.
Lying (Charisma): The ability to fool and deceive others. All Dark Siders lie, of course, but only those with this skill are any good at it!
Medicine (Intelligence): The ability to treat basic wounds and other mdecial problems, and identify the cause of wounds.
Observation (Perception): The ability to notice things- not just physical things, but also to notice things about the manner of a person, for example
Persuade (Charisma): The ability to get people to help you via means of reasoned argument
Pilot (Dexterity): The ability to fly ships and drive vehicles. Pilot is often used as a combat skill in some circumstances.
Sabotage (Dexterity): The generic ability to wreck stuff- from viruses to electro-disruption to big bombs
Savoir-Faire (Charisma): Cultural knowledge of the Galaxy- essential for travellers like yourselves, this helps you blend in to and understand the myriad planets and cultures you will encounter over time.
Seduction (Charisma): The ability to bring others under your thumb via means of personal attraction. Not a common skill for Jedi or even Dark Siders, but it does happen...
Lightsabre (Special): Combat training involving the wielding of a Lightsabre, a difficult and dangerous discipline. People without the Force can learn Lightsabre but without Force Sense cannot use it defensively, are limited to 12, it cannot exceed their Combat skill, and it costs double to learn... so on the whole, only Jedi and Dark Siders use these weapons! In most ways, Lightsabre is the central skill to any Jedi; it is based on any one of Strength, Agility or Dexterity.
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Your characters also have a Force stat and two Force skills- Force Attack and Force Defence- these cannot be changed at character creation and are dealt with in the Force section of the main rules.