Politico

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

Colonist Career Skills: Charm, Deception, Knowledge (Core Worlds), Knowledge (Education), Knowledge (Lore), Leadership, Negotiation and Streetwise

Politico Specialization Skills: Charm, Coercion, Deception and Knowledge (Core Worlds)

If there is one thing a Politico knows how to do better than anyone else in the galaxy, it's talking. He can talk to anyone about anything in any necessary way. What others accomplish with might and fear, a talented Politico may well achieve with a few well-placed words and a decent plan.

A Politico might join a discussion, speech, or debate in any number of ways. With his talents, he might act to inspire greatness in those around him, or he might know just what to say to cut an opponent to the core, diminishing his confidence and leaving him vulnerable.

Politicos in the Outer Rim are usually up to something; ambition is hardwired into their very being. They may not yet know what they wish to accomplish, but when they see an opportunity to achieve some kind of greater goal, they will turn all their will and personality towards achieving it. Politicos might sign on to temporarily work for another, but they will not long be happy in a subservient role. Leadership is the core of who they are.

In a group, the Politico works best as the front-man, or the "face." More than anyone, he is best suited for initial contacts with any being or group, and he's the best to have at any negotiation, social gathering, or interrogation. There are even times when he can bring up morale in combat and crisis situations, though the palace throne room, corporate board room, or casino floor tend to be better battlefields for him.

Potential Backgrounds

  • The Opportunist: A Politico may be sent to a new colony as a representative of a larger political or commercial interest. Many colonies are founded by established governments or corporations, and those governments and corporations tend to want to ensure the colony stays loyal and profitable. Thus, they often pack the colonial administration with their own appointees. These appointees may be receiving the task as a reward for loyalty or previous services rendered, or as the next step in a promising career. Generally, however, they are chosen from outside the colony they will be running. Most colonists react to these off-world administrators with suspicion and resentment, seeing them as outside overlords sent to keep them in line.
  • The Grizzled Settler: A Politico may have started out as a young and idealistic leader of a colony. In the past, he honestly believed he could build a new Utopia in this new world, free from the corruption and graft of established planets. Eventually, however, he saw his world succumb to the same problems he thought he left behind, leaving him with an embittered view of his situation.
  • The Fugitive: A Politico could be a dissident. Perhaps they stood up for what they believed in, and that put them in opposition to the Empire. They may have used their status as a known public persona to spread a message of defiance. Now they're on the run, marked for arrest (or even execution) by the Imperial authorities. Since they may have been a prominent figure in their previous life, their defiance is even more galling to the Empire.
  • The Local Leader: Religion can be a powerful motivating force in a colony, where people find faith a comfort in the face of hardship. A Politico may start life as a preacher for one of the galaxy's many faiths. He might be from the bantha-worshipping Dim-U monks, the trendy, female-empowering Zealots of Psusan, the frontierminded Children of Mani, the serious Order of the Ffib, or one of the chaste Priests of Ninn. Whatever his beliefs, however, he must serve as a shepherd for his flock, and often must deal with more secular problems than spiritual ones.
  • The Idealist: Politicos, particularly firebrands with an unrelenting desire for justice across the galaxy, often find themselves in the Outer Rim seeking to bring attention to the problems that its inhabitants face—problems that the galaxy at large would often like to ignore or forget about. A Politico might approach members of an isolated mining town and urge them to join a galactic union to fight for better wages, or seek to organize protests that raise awareness of the cruelties of local governments and the Empire alike. Some might even openly stoke the fires of revolution, seeking to lead oppressed populations up against whatever regimes hold them under their bootheels.