Charmer

Of the 8 Career Skills, choose 4 to get a free rank. Of the 4 Specialization Skills, choose 2 to get a free rank.

Smuggler Career Skills: Coordination, Deception, Knowledge (Underworld), Perception, Piloting (Space), Skulduggery, Streetwise and Vigilance

Charmer Specialization Skills: Charm, Cool, Leadership and Negotiation

Confident and elegant, the Charmer employs his wits and wiles with more precision than a laser scalpel. Rather than resorting to uncivilized intimidation tactics or distasteful acts of violence, the Charmer believes the best way to get what he wants is to simply ask for it. A Charmer knows how to talk the talk, possessing natural charisma that makes him irresistible. Struck by the flash of his smile or the wink of his eye, people have a hard time denying anything to the Charmer.

The Charmer combines the silver tongue of a Politico, the street smarts of a Scoundrel, and the keen mind of a Trader. Where the Politico might rally, chastise, or even bribe to achieve his objective, the Charmer showers his mark with flattery. While the Trader relies on his ability to haggle down a price, the Charmer convinces others that lowering the price is their idea. When a Scoundrel resorts to coercion and violence, a Charmer applies a softer touch to disarm his opponents with words alone.

The chief weapon in a Charmer’s arsenal is clearly his undeniable charisma. When coaxing his way into a private club or restricted area, the Charmer knows how to compliment without sounding sycophantic. In rare cases when his debonair appearance and refined taste fails him, the Charmer knows how to resort to negotiation and trickery to get his way, doing so with his own smooth brand of flair and style. The Charmer keeps a cool head in the hottest situations, which often serves as inspiration to others, and he has no qualms with taking a leadership role if it furthers his purposes. Whether or not he knows the right thing to say, the Charmer always knows how to say it.

Despite all his silvered words, the Charmer is no gilded flower. When all else fails, if the Charmer cannot diffuse the situation before it escalates, or cannot convince others to fight in his place, the Charmer holds his own in combat. In a fight, the Charmer can cause opponents to doubt their motives and lower their guard. The Charmer’s Smuggler career gives him the knowledge to navigate the underworld, the ability to escape a jail cell, and the skill to steal a starship for a quick getaway.

A Smuggler who chooses Charmer as his specialization is an exceptional choice for nearly any campaign. His emphasis on social interaction makes the Charmer handy in any intrigue-oriented campaign, but his Smuggler fundamentals and ability to negotiate with merchants, distract would-be attackers, or diffuse combat encounters make him a welcome addition to underworld- or combat-focused campaigns as well.

Potential Backgrounds

  • Disadvantaged: Charmers may have been born disadvantaged, with access to few resources, and so learned how to get what they want from people through manipulation. The Charmer’s social savvy is his most valuable tool, as it allows him to imitate and manipulate those who might otherwise look down on him.
  • Privileged: Charmers often appear confident when they are not, but some really do have the confidence of the wealthy and well-educated. A Charmer may have once spent credits to get people to do what he wanted, but he’s since learned other ways of manipulating them to his ends instead.
  • Ex-Military: Charmers are most likely to have held desk jobs in the military, but might have craved careers with more action. Such a background gives a Charmer inside info and the ability to mimic or mingle wi.th military officers and similar characters.
  • Respectable: Charmers may have erred once or twice and gotten away with it. It only takes one failure to end up with a criminal record, though, and then fate might compel a Charmer to turn to smuggling.
  • Cynical: Charmers are adept at manipulating people, so for, a Charmer to be deceived is particularly galling. A Charmer who has fallen victim to another, smoother' manipulator will be very careful not to trust again.
  • Born and Bred: Charmers who learned their skills from a parent or mentor in the smuggling trade will have had many opportunities to practice their abilities, and practice makes perfect