Boba Fett – Portrait of a Serial Template Character

He’s the coolest baddie in the Star Wars Galaxy. Only Darth Maul comes near. And yet many roleplay scenarios have characters based upon, influenced by or starring the great bounty hunter himself. Mark Newbold scratches his head in confusion and poses the eternal question – why?

Now, before I start I don’t want any of you Fett fans out there to get me wrong. I love Boba Fett. Not in the carnal sense of course (that helmet is WAY too intimidating) but in the character sense. Fett is the perfect amalgamation of every cool, baddass hard guy to grace screen, page or fable. Harry Callahan crossed with Judge Dredd crossed with The Man with No Name. An enigma within an enigma within a massive merchandising campaign. Bad to the bone from the first time we saw him (in the Star Wars Holiday Special of course) he’s become synonymous with hard-edged mystique, ruthlessness and dogged determination. And to us Star Wars fans he’s a symbol of cool that no other film, franchise or serial can hope to compete with…

Apart from Star Trek Voyagers Seven of Nine. Now they’re cool. Sorry, sorry, THAT’S cool. She’s cool. Whatever…

Anyway, back to Mister Fett. If Boba Fett were as ubiquitous as he appears to be within the RPG universe, popping up in games across tables all over the planet, then he’d be the richest hunter in history and would never have to raise arms again, apart from the fact that he’d probably do it just for the sheer hell of it. Let’s face it; having Jabba the Hutt in a game is one thing. I mean, he doesn’t exactly get out much so having a scene with him at his palace for five minutes isn’t an unreasonable situation (unless unreasonable is standing on the grill over the Rancors pit). My character Jan Lomona has been there many times. But having a character like Fett appear in a game does a number of things: -

Totally and utterly unbalance the structure of a game. Since we know that Boba Fett almost always gets his man, unless you’re playing one of the main heroic characters from the films (which is fairly unlikely) then you’d stand as much chance against him as a snowball in a Banthas armpit – i.e., not much. We know Fett is the main dude – you’re previously cool character would stand no realistic chance against him, no matter what time period you play in or what surprise weapons you pull out of the bag. And don’t kid yourself – the GM knows this.
Throw continuity out of the window. A sad gamer like me is a real stickler for stuff like this. Having compiled the Setnin Sector guides over the years I find it difficult to have to account for a character like Fett being in our region of the galaxy. True, in a few stories he has cropped up, but I would never presume to have him be a major adversary, or a colleague or (GULP!) any kind of a friend. Del Rey and Bantam arrange who writes for the main characters – in a RPG session (and in my own humble opinion, not necessarily shared by other contributors to this site) I believe it’s better to concentrate on your own characters. But that’s just my opinion.
Makes him the total focal point of a scenario. How can other character stuff, plotlines and story threads hope to compete in the presence of the greatest bounty hunter who ever lived? Who, frankly, would give a toss what you do if Fett is around? Me, I’d be more concerned with not pissing him off than worrying about your port fees, or your six crates of DL-8 spice you forgot to sign for back on Abrogard. Wake up buddy – Boba Fett’s in town, and he’s nobodies supporting player. If you want a cameo part get Jodo Kast. He’s cheaper and doesn’t expect 99% of the takings.
Pushes the game into the power player area. Okay, we’ve shown how Fett can unbalance a game by simply being there. And no gamer in his right mind would either take Fett on or be amazed at dying by his hand. He’s pretty much untouchable. So, apart from the fact that it’s pointless him even being there (you may as well introduce a Super Star Destroyer as a character) the testosterone levels present at the table are bound to rise. Fett isn’t the empathy-seeking type. He can suss you out with a glance, so where’s the need for conversation? Action is the only way forward, and with Fett around action usually follows.

Fett in a game has a similar effect on normal proceedings as a Death Star does to peaceful unarmed planets harbouring the seeds of rebellion. But having Fett in a game is one thing. Having Fett-type characters in a game is something altogether trickier.

There are various types of gamer. The story-influenced gamer who wants to be involved in a good yarn. The character-influenced gamer (like me) who wants to progress his/her character through their life. The dice-influenced player who’s just as interested in the rules and mechanics of the game as in the game itself and finally the power-influenced player. And this final example is what I am here to talk about today.

Power players love the hardware of the game. The bigger the gun, faster the ship, swifter the fast draw (my only specialisation vice, I admit) the more physical enhancements the better. Most gamers go through a period of power playing. Jonathan Hicks and Paul Squire had a long stint back in the early 1990’s. Paul was playing Ryath Centaur, Jonathan Goah Galletti. Both had massive physical enhancements done to their characters and both…got really bored with it after a while because they lost sight of the characters and became cyborgs versions of themselves. Louis Turfrey prefers this style of gaming, although I think he might deny that if asked face to face. His main character is Tarr Ranth – a man who wears black Mandalorian armour and who hunts with a bounty hunting licence. Now, I just want to have this in print right now, before anyone can claim to say that Louis stole the idea (unless he has direct access to George Lucas – is there something you’re not telling us Louis?). Ranth inherited the armour he wears and the ship he flies from his father by besting him in combat. Boba Fett will, in Episode II, take the armour and ship of his father from him after he dies. But the Ranth version of events was written over a year ago and has been displayed on this site since September 1999. Weird, huh? Just thought I’d make that quite clear.

Anyway, Tarr Ranth is the Boba Fett of the Setnin Sector. They met in the story The Black Armour and that encounter has had an ongoing effect on Ranths life. Cool stuff. But whichever way you look at it, Tarr Ranth has built his reputation on the shoulders of the number one bounty hunter in the galaxy. People think that HE is Fett. But I digress; this has nothing to do with RPG. From a gaming point of view, Ranth is tough as nails, armed to the teeth and lives by a code of honour known only to him. Which makes him very much like Fett, only he’s not Fett. Never will be, and Louis probably never wants him to be (which is hardly surprising - those pesky Sarlacc’s…)

The problem arises from the fact that in a combat sense he seems to be modelled closely on Fett, from the backpack to the technically superior ships to the manner in which he approaches his work. And as a consequence, he tries to stamp his authority on the game in a similar manner to Fett…

But he’s not Fett.

So why’s this a problem? Well, even a Fett-type character causes imbalance. Why? Well, if someone is playing a generic bounty hunter, let’s say a Dengar-type…efficient, tough and knowing, then there’s no problem. He can trip up and fall like the rest of us smugglers, traders, mercs, etc. But the Fett-types bring a whole other side to the game, like luggage. They expect to be first on the scene, first to draw a weapon, first to collect the bounty.

Why?

Because that’s what Fett would do, and if by playing a character that’s almost but not quite the man himself, then they expect the same prizes. And if they don’t come their way then the belligerence starts. The confrontations, the arguments, the ego tripping…

Lord save us from Fett clones!

But this isn’t in any way a condemnation of Tarr Ranth. In the written universe he’s a character with a rich background and plenty of scope for story development. But narrow him down to the confines of the RPG universe and you have an altogether different character. In fiction a one-sided fight is pointless. A victor is only as good as his opponent. But in RPG you expect the Stormtrooper to fall after two hits. Different structures, different perspectives.

A generic Fett clone is a disruptive influence, be it Jodo Kast, Tarr Ranth or Fenn Shysha. But that’s not to say that the efforts in integrating the character into a game isn’t worth the rewards it might reap.

It’s just not for every gamer…like me.

Next Week: - Wicket W Warwick – Portrait of a Serial Template Teddy Bear