Shadows of Bankor

Djanik was an interesting character for me - in part because I hadn't played the system before, so he ended up coming out with a very bland skillset - which I initially really struggled with, while trying to find his voice.

I originally gave Djanik a series of hooks and traits that didn't really pan out - the street kids, the criminal background, and he was going to be a much more hardboiled character - and he ended up much more sardonic, self-deprecating, and idealistic, especially as he started getting a taste of his old world of flying and soldiering.

Romantic sub plots were unexpected, and also, for the most part, crashed and burned in comical ways, so that was something which probably contributed to his wry voice. He really ended up having a split identity - a well meaning and easy going guy, who had a few hard lines for how he felt one should morally behave as a soldier.

Either way, if you have questions about him, why he did stuff, what he thought about other characters, or what made him so determined to fly a ship through a space station upside down, ask away.

What will be next for Djanik? Did he ever thought he'd join a nemoidian forming a new CIS?

Hmm, that will depend a lot on goals/end game results.

That said, he never expected to work with CIS expats, but he really isn't one to hold grudges as much as guilt.

I enjoyed the way you rolled with the "date" thread Were there any other incidents that stand out as being weird moments that helped in developing the character?

Honestly the whole thing with Bowze and CIS really caught me off guard, along with the 'date'.

Having Liua on the rescue, and having it so chaotic really did a lot to push forward his earnestness to do the job and his frustration with how chaotic things were, but at the same time later threads where he tried to address that ended up making clear, to him at least, how his role really wasn't to take charge of things, but rather to try and push people from behind toward his end goal of 'make empire go away.'

The run in with Verse also really sort of made me realize how much nicer and more of a sense of humor he had - he was going into that meeting much more hard baked, and came out a bit goofier.

An earnest thank you for helping keep me in the game and engaged. I always bemoan not spending time with more people, but it is nice having those one or two people who help me find stuff to do and explain the game and my character better to me.

Djanik's defining moment from the past?

Highlight of the game?

Moment of despair (other than the Yusandr thing)?

Most foul/evil In character thought?

As originally written, and as came out in play, having a Jedi lead his squadron into a fairly obvious trap, because they were so confident in their own skills, and determined to 'do the right thing'. It was the most of his own squad he had ever lost in one sitting (9 of 12 pilots) and he never quite forgave the Jedi responsible. Apart from that, probably the moment he was told to kill innocent protesters in cold blood, and when he refused, some of his pilots countermanded his orders and did it anyway - that was what convinced him he no longer had a place in the Imperial Navy.

Highlight... oof. That's hard to choose - I really enjoyed several scenes - the standout ones to me were the 'date' escape sequence, the entire underground lab+zombies sequence, and all of the CIS/Rebel balancing act really did a lot to highlight his character to me. The CIS/Rebel stuff did a lot to highlight his professionalism and conciliatory nature - his desire to protect and teach people to keep them safe. He largely failed in those threads, but it did a lot to inform his motivations.

The zombie sequence gave him a boot in the pants to just *attempt* stuff, caution be damned, and it included the flight race and first encounter with Nora, where Djanik got to wrestle between feeling alive and knowing he was about to die. It was interesting using a finite number of time slots to try and express a character trying to burn through his obligations and make all the preparations he could.

The date was great because it showed off his more gentlemanly and humorous side, as well as giving him his first chance to actually use his skill set, so it really helped define him as an old-fashioned pilot - a knight of the sky with an antique code of conduct.

Moment of despair? The alarm being raised in the escape thread, and the night clinic thread where a force witch stunned him, took his blood, and then said she didn't have a cure. At that point he was certain he had released an ancient plague, and untold people would die for his mistake.


Most foul/evil thought? He didn't really trend toward the dark side, the closest he came was wanting to shoot Yusandre on two occasions, for largely the same reasons she threatened to shoot him. Other than that, he contemplated a suicide runf into the Dictator if he couldn't be cured of the rahkghoul plague.

I liked having Djanik around. So who is all in his pack and how did he become the alpha?

His pack is mostly NPCs, but he's the most experienced flight lead, so even if he isn't the best pilot, he's decent at squadron action - and has the mindsight of protecting his people, rather than trying to shine individually.

So he's less the alpha and more the papa-wolf.

Besides the Star Wars rogue/wraith books, what fiction (or nonfiction) do you think of when you think of fighter jock stories?

(A slightly self absorbed question because I may some day overcome my ignorance of the ffg vehicle rules by trying to run a game that focuses on them)

Vaya Mer'darrow wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:39 pm

Besides the Star Wars rogue/wraith books, what fiction (or nonfiction) do you think of when you think of fighter jock stories?

(A slightly self absorbed question because I may some day overcome my ignorance of the ffg vehicle rules by trying to run a game that focuses on them)

I always draw a lot on inspiration from Macross, Robotech, and Gundam series as a huge mecha fan. I cut my GMing teeth on old school Robotech RPG by Palladium games.

Vaya Mer'darrow wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:39 pm

Besides the Star Wars rogue/wraith books, what fiction (or nonfiction) do you think of when you think of fighter jock stories?

(A slightly self absorbed question because I may some day overcome my ignorance of the ffg vehicle rules by trying to run a game that focuses on them)

I personally have gone to historical stuff - I spent a lot of time on the Battle of Britain and WW 1 flying rivalries. WW1 in particular is a very colorful time for aviation, with a very short lived code of chivalry and extremely famous pilots, and WW2 served as a direct inspiration for George Lucas in setting up his dog fights in space.tm

For Fiction, I enjoyed a lot of the Star wars books, certainly, but I also draw on the Ace Combat games, some of the mecha stories (games like Armored Core in particular, for a pilot whose professionalism leads to them being used by others) and to some extent I also draw on anime (see things like Eureka 7, gundam, etc.)

Also lots of this: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6benut