Scientist in the Star Wars galaxy RPG build

[Maximum7]

In my Star Wars RPG, I am a scientist working in a lab on an Outer Rim planet. What am I researching or trying to create?

Rules are

1. No teleportation
2. No time travel
3. No matter replication

I'm not trying to make Star Wars like Star Trek. In the canon Disney universe, the first and second are thought to be "impossible" and the third one is a plot hole that may or may not exist in some form. What's something I could be working on in a galaxy where faster than light travel is commonplace and advanced artificial intelligence is nothing special?

[sir_pudding]

Ancient civilizations, minor improvements to existing technology, or a super weapon. Alternatively you could be studying something academic as a backgrounds detail, like a species of frog or something, when you get kidnapped by space pirates.

[Mark Skarr]

The mating habits of the denobulan slime slug.

They have some striking similarities to Hutts. The ability to study such a creature is a blessing. You feel deeply honored that you were given this opportunity.

Just because you're a scientist doesn't mean that you're doing something terribly awesome. And humble beginnings make for good characters.

[Anaraxes]

• Super-soldier serum for clone commandos
• Closed-form polynomial-time solution for calculating hyperspace jumps which lets you make the jump to hyperspace soon, and also can be used to make the Kessel Run in under 10 parsecs.
• Synthetic Khyber crystals, so they can be manufactured anywhere
• Method to stimulate midichlorian counts and thus gift anyone with increased Force sensitivity
• Plague that is lethal in proportion to how Force-sensitive the victim is. Time to get rid of both the Jedi and Sith so we can live normal lives
• Apparatus for ejecting thermal exhaust that doesn't require a physical tube leading from the reactor to ship exteriors

[Anthony]

There are an awful lot of options that aren't terribly interesting from a plot perspective. If you want something that would actually matter, common options include weapons of mass destruction and force-sensitive creatures. I would ask the GM for suggestions that would make good plot seeds.

[Irish Wolf]

He's researching how to make something akin to Star Trek's synthehol, as a way of coping with being a scientist in a universe dominated by space wizard Jedi.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

The mating habits of the denobulan slime slug.

They have some striking similarities to Hutts. The ability to study such a creature is a blessing. You feel deeply honored that you were given this opportunity.

Just because you're a scientist doesn't mean that you're doing something terribly awesome. And humble beginnings make for good characters.

Actually it ought to be something with the potential to make the character a hunted person because only thus can you explain why it leaves its comfortable lab to get shot at. Now it could be something unexpected, like astrophysics research that could lead to a method for destabilizing suns. Or...here's one with some adventure potential. You're studying hyperspace and managed to discover a method for plotting a safer course into parts of the galaxy that have historically been impenetrable barriers and have forced explorers to chart hyperspace routes around them.

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Actually it ought to be something with the potential to make the character a hunted person because only thus can you explain why it leaves its comfortable lab to get shot at. Now it could be something unexpected, like astrophysics research that could lead to a method for destabilizing suns. Or...here's one with some adventure potential. You're studying hyperspace and managed to discover a method for plotting a safer course into parts of the galaxy that have historically been impenetrable barriers and have forced explorers to chart hyperspace routes around them.

I don't agree.

Why does it have to be something that the character has done or is on the cusp of doing? Why can't it be something that The Force has predicted they will do. This is Star Wars, think outside the box.

If two opposing Force users discover that, in the future, they will perfect a method for infusing normal people with Force Sensitivity (be it Midichlorians or some other tchotchke of plot device), both side would be desperate to possess that ability.

Or maybe they'll be the one to discover an improved hyperdrive, but, right now, they're just a simple botanist. Or, they'll develop a world-ending plague, or maybe a serum that makes everyone immune to the Jedi Mind Trick (or, worse, makes everyone susceptible to the JMT). Easiest case for the GM, the character is hunted for something they will do, but no one tells them, to try to ensure that they don't do it.

This gives more depth to the character, and gives the character the chance to reflect on their place in the universe. You don't have to start out as Reed Richards to be an interesting character.

[Flyndaran]

I've only seen the original trilogy. But in those, Jedi were strongly encouraged not to mess with fate.
This would suggest that regardless of what they're "going to do", they'll mainly be noticed by Sith. Jedi may approve or disapprove, but won't interfere, except for mavericks that "don't need no force telling them what to do, or who to save".

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

I don't agree.

Why does it have to be something that the character has done or is on the cusp of doing? Why can't it be something that The Force has predicted they will do. .

That doesn't seem like something the Force really does. It's not so great at making meaningful long range future predictions about abstract things. But apart from that, I wasn't suggesting that their work really has to be on the cusp of a great discovery. Just close enough that someone somewhere can see a potential in their research.