{"id":8728,"date":"2017-03-03T07:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/?p=8728"},"modified":"2017-02-24T07:05:33","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T13:05:33","slug":"the-gm-awakens-if-top-gun-met-star-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/the-gm-awakens-if-top-gun-met-star-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"The GM Awakens: The Top Gun of Star Wars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout cinema history there are\u00a0characters that get ingrained into popular culture, known by people whether they’ve seen the movie the character is in or not.\u00a0 Han Solo and Darth Vader, Captain Kirk, the Terminator, Rocky Balboa, and Indiana Jones are all examples of characters that stand the test of time and become part of common vernacular.\u00a0 Growing up, all of these characters and more became favorites of mine, and all of them would be shining examples of characters I’d love to play in an RPG setting.\u00a0 But there’s one that I think would be an absolute ball when put into the Star Wars universe:\u00a0 Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, of Top Gun fame.<\/p>\n

So here is my version of Maverick… if he was in Star Wars, using the Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars RPG system.\u00a0 A fun, hilarious background to read if you’re a fan of Top Gun, he has all his stats and is ready for use!\u00a0 Don’t forget to check out his special ability: He’ll Fly Right By<\/em>.\u00a0 Epic and Cinematic!\u00a0 And yes, you bet Goose is with him.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h2>\n

Pete Mitchell, call-sign “Maverick,” was a military brat.\u00a0 Moving from system to system was necessary depending upon where his father, Duke Mitchell, was stationed.\u00a0 Growing up, Pete idolized his dad, considered one of the best pilots for the Republic in the Clone Wars.\u00a0 Duke, an ARC-170 pilot, was later shot down over the Battle of Coruscant, the great battle that essentially ended the war.\u00a0 Great controversy, however, followed the Mitchell family following his father’s death.\u00a0 While the details of the battle were classified, everyone knew that the battle had a great deal to do with the kidnapping of Chancellor Palpatine.\u00a0 Many things were to blame for the ability of the Separatists to infiltrate the planet and abduct the Chancellor.\u00a0 As rumors swelled following the battle, Duke Mitchell became one of the ones blamed for the failure, despite the fact that two Jedi Knights were able to retrieve the Chancellor shortly after the kidnapping.\u00a0 So for most of Pete’s life, he was told his father cost many lives that day over Coruscant.<\/p>\n

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Click the stat block to enlarge above.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pete would go on to follow in his father’s footsteps.\u00a0 While Maverick initially joined the Imperial Naval Academy, he quickly became witness to the many immoral wrongdoings of the Empire.\u00a0 After seeing several atrocities, Maverick defected to the Rebel Alliance.\u00a0 Upon joining the Rebellion, Pete would earn the call-sign “Maverick” due to his selfish and flamboyant flying and dogfighting skills.\u00a0 Shortly after being promoted to Lieutenant, Maverick became an X-Wing pilot and met his Astromech, R7-G0…call-sign “Goose.” \u00a0Very soon the tandem of Maverick and Goose became notorious throughout the ranks of the Alliance Navy, often finding them in trouble with superior officers.\u00a0 One of their trademarks was to do “Flybys” of the tower guard outside the base at Yavin IV, once causing a scene where the guard went around the Yavin base yelling, “I want some butts!”<\/p>\n

Later on, Maverick would help save his fellow pilot Cougar and his astromech R2-MN “Merlin” land their fighter after having a near-death experience with new TIE Interceptors the Rebels had not seen before.\u00a0 Shortly thereafter, Maverick would take Cougar’s place enrolling at the prestigious Alliance Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, better known as “Top Gun.” \u00a0 At Top Gun, Maverick had trouble following directions and often showcased his hot shot piloting talents, leading him to be disliked by many of the other pilots at the school.\u00a0 Tom Kazansky and his astromech R3-SL “Slider,” became thorns in his side as each tried to outdo the other.\u00a0 During a dogfighting simulation in his X-Wing, Maverick had an engine flame-out, which induced a flat spin towards the ground.\u00a0 Maverick was pinned against the cockpit, forcing Goose to initiate the ejection sequence.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the flat spin forced the X-Wing cockpit upwards instead of back, and R7-G0 smashed against it upon ejection, permanently damaging his memory unit beyond repair.\u00a0 Maverick had lost his astromech.<\/p>\n

The loss of his astromech best friend was too much to take.\u00a0 Maverick abruptly quit the Top Gun school.\u00a0 During his mourning, he had a conversation with an old pilot, Mike “Viper” Metcalf, one of his instructors.\u00a0 Viper told Maverick he was with his father during the Battle of Coruscant.\u00a0\u00a0 For the first time in his life, Maverick heard the real story about what happened to his father in that ARC-170 that day.\u00a0 It turned out that his father did do it right.\u00a0 His ARC-170 was hit, but instead of leaving the fight he saved 3 other fighters before his ship exploded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inspired by the news, Maverick graduated from Top Gun and received a new astromech, R2-MN “Merlin,” Cougar’s old astromech.\u00a0 After a dogfight against the Empire with Merlin, Maverick decided to go back to Top Gun, and has been an instructor there ever since.<\/p>\n

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Maverick preparing to execute his “He’ll Fly Right By” maneuver.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Using Maverick in Your Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Maverick was one of the best pilots in the Navy, so it stands to reason that he should be one of the best pilots in the Rebellion.\u00a0 I built this version of Maverick to have 310 earned XP, rather than stat out a beginning character.\u00a0 I wanted one that had been through these experiences.\u00a0 So, feel free to knock back any of these stats or talents if he is too strong for your game.<\/p>\n

Base Statistics and Characteristics<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Career: Ace<\/strong><\/p>\n

Specializations: Pilot\/Hot Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n

Species: Human<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brawn: 2<\/p>\n

Agility: 5<\/p>\n

Intellect: 2<\/p>\n

Cunning: 2<\/p>\n

Willpower: 2<\/p>\n

Presence: 3<\/p>\n

Maverick is a bit of a hot-headed pilot, but is quite cool in the air was well as with the ladies.\u00a0 So Maverick has one rank in Charm, and two ranks in Cool.\u00a0 Piloting the ship needs amazing Agility and skills, so after getting Dedication, Maverick sports an Agility rating of five, with a rank in Perception, three ranks in Piloting (Space), and two ranks in Gunnery to make sure he shoots down his enemies.\u00a0 Last, a couple ranks of Warfare seem logical as he’s been part of a military family or career his entire life.\u00a0 His XP has been spent more on dogfighting and hot shot talents, rather than base skill ranks to reflect his cinematic nature.<\/p>\n

Special Ability<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“He’ll Fly Right By”<\/strong> – If Maverick is engaged in combat with a silhouette 3 or lower ship, and that ship has\u00a0Gain the Advantage<\/em> on Maverick’s ship but has not fired yet, Maverick may perform a “Fly Right By” maneuver:\u00a0 Suffer 3 strain, reduce Maverick’s ship’s speed to 1 less than the opposing ship, and automatically\u00a0Gain the Advantage<\/em> on the enemy ship.<\/p>\n

Talents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n