Operator

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

Bounty Hunter Career Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Perception, Piloting (Planetary), Piloting (Space), Ranged (Heavy), Streetwise and Vigilance.

Operator Specialization Skills: Astrogation, Gunnery, Piloting (Planetary) and Piloting (Space)

To catch a target, a Bounty Hunter must be fast, and even the swiftest sentient being cannot hope to outrace a speeder or starship on foot. An Operator prefers to undertake all pursuits from within a vehicle or spacecraft, keeping the target in sight with deft maneuvering and on the run with withering firepower. In a high-speed chase, few characters can match an Operator’s expertise, and fewer still are prepared for the arsenal of daring moves and dirty tricks she can unleash.

A high Agility rating always benefits an Operator, especially when paired with a solid investment in Gunnery and Piloting (Planetary) or Piloting (Space), depending on the Operator’s preferred vehicle. An Operator also benefits from an investment in Intellect, as this characteristic is used for both the Astrogation skill—critical in tracking quarry across the galaxy—and for the Mechanics skill.

Even if the Operator is not the group’s main technical expert, having a strong Intellect and a rank or two of Mechanics means that the Operator can make repairs on the fly. After all, most Operators put their craft through its paces (and even push beyond its limits from time to time). Knowing how to fix an overtaxed engine can be the difference between staying on the trail and drifting for weeks, waiting for a repair team to arrive. Any Bounty Hunter who has spent time adrift in space knows full well the value of being able to perform one’s own repairs.

Operators are sometimes lone wolves, chasing their targets across the gulfs between the stars with no company but a trusty ship. However, many Operators are part of teams of bounty hunters, conveying their comrades on to the location of their foes and running starship interference while they capture targets on the ground. Some such Operators are loathe to leave their ships entirely, though disembarking from time to time is usually unavoidable on the hunt.

Unlike many other specializations focused on piloting, Operators need to disable enemy ships rather than just destroy them. The Operator specialization gives a character access to numerous talents that help bring targets to a halt, including Debilitating Shot, Hindering Shot, Overwhelm Defenses, and Offensive Driving. All of these abilities are useful for taking down fleeing starships—or, in a pinch, disabling the vessels of rival bounty hunters pursuing the same quarry.

Potential Backgrounds

  • In It For the Money: There is an old joke among spacers that a starship is just a hole in space to throw credits into. While all spacers have some idea that owning a ship is a pricey proposition, Operators know all too well the numerous hidden costs of keeping a galaxy-hopping craft functional for any length of time. First there is the initial purchase price, registration with various official agencies, the fitting out, and, of course, expensive insurance. Then come the thousands of fees hidden to all but those who travel for a living: customs, docking and berthing, fueling and arming, repairs and maintenance, and for some, constant and costly modifications. For many Operators, it seems sometimes they are working for their ship more than for themselves, and it shows in their receipts.
  • Lawbringer: As dedicated as they are to their ships and vehicles, Operators who put exceptional faith in the rule of law often pursue bounties associated with ship- and vehicle-related crimes. With their knowledge of ships and vehicles and the various cultures that surround them—criminal and otherwise—these bounty hunters are uniquely positioned to infiltrate swoop gangs, speeder theft rings, smuggling operations, and various other such organizations in search of their prey. They are also commonly hired to track down and recover stolen ships, and many an Operator pays for a ship and its modifications alike by trading this kind of work to shipyards in exchange for drydock time.
  • Thrill of the Hunt: Flying full throttle through tumbling asteroid fields or threading high-powered speeder bikes through crowded thoroughfares, Operators are the masters of the chase. Pushing their skills and their vehicles to the limit, these master pilots revel in the sound and danger of a fast chase. The faster and more dangerous, the better, as each chase proves the superiority of their piloting skills, their ships, and their ability to squeeze every last bit of performance from their trusty machines.