Team Foxhound

[John Robinson]

 Built and played using version 1.0.33  Some talents have changed since then

Setup:  Difficulty: Basic.  Check Manual Box.  This design starts the Captain at level(1) of his chosen profession without spending points automatically in the second job.  All officers, and crew also begin at level(1).

Team Foxhound

Pri	Category	Name #
A	Attributes	52 pts.
B	Contacts	6
C	Skills	8 (Negotiate)
D	Ship	Juror
E	Experience	Merchant

Disclaimer: This is all based on my own twisted views.  If you are looking for a tutorial, that's your first mistake. 
.

Setting up Ship and Crew:  With this design you only start with about $17.5 K so this can get a little dicey.  To get started all you need is enough for fuel, one crew payday, and repairs to complete your first mission.   

1.)  Look at the revealed traits of your officers and crew.  Dismiss the ones that want increased pay per level, and bullies.  Some revealed traits are good indicators of what the other hidden ones might be.
      The one you see may be sweet, but the group it's associated with could be bad news.  Don't forget traits are in play whether or not you know what they are.  Once under way pay close attention to those
      first ship landings.  If you see a crew member or Officer that want's multiple spice servings almost every time you land to boost their morale.  You've got a spice addict on your hands.  
      They will really drain your funds at early levels.  Dismiss them right away before they level to the point they become important to ship operations.
      This design:  Those first few paydays are going to increase crew talent ranks very quickly, keep the strong, dismiss the rest.
      I've made a crude attempt at discovering which traits go together with this, rethinking traits, table.

2.)  Decide what type of officers best fit your plan.  Go through your crew looking closely at stats and bonuses.  If a current officer isn't a good choice for your design compared to a crew member.
      Dismiss the Officer and promote the crew member.  You have nothing to lose except the promotion fee as everyone is at level(1). ($2,500 per promotion).
      Which skills will help boost another Officer's abilities?

3.  Build one officer with the Doctor job, as soon as possible.  If you don't you'll be gushing cash out of every orifice.  I won't fly without one.
     During flight Doctor skills and talents are constantly tested.  Winning skill tests helps raise rank quickly.
     In this game I discovered the Combat Medic worked really well in boosting the Doctor stats allowing her to become a strong diplomat.  This in turn boosted the Captain's merchant talents, and skills.

3.)  Hire a mechanic or eat a pipe wrench covered in engine oil gravy.

4.)  Replace unused components to boost ship stats: By now you've trimmed the fat, and have a number of free crew spaces. The ship stats are looking very weak.  Wait don't hire just yet.
      Replace components you aren't going to use in the early phases with components that require little or no gunnery, ops or electronic support.
      I fly a Juror class most of the time because of it's flexibility and small crew size.  The boarding assist unit uses 350 mass, I dump that and install a Mass Dampner(1) even though it's going to cost $3,500
      when I can least afford it. Early on there is no way I'm getting close enough to use the two auto-cannons, or the Lance.  So I replace them with Armored bulkheads, passenger cabins, or a prison cell.
      None of these require ops, gunnery or electronics support.  This will strain your early cash reserve but raise your ships stats ($3,500 per upgrade).

5.)  Now hire more crew:  This will  bring all your ship stats to 100% or higher.  Occasionally you'll get dealt a real turkey of a crew.  Big deal, start a new captain using copy template, chances are
      your new crew will be higher quality.  Sometimes outstanding!

6.) Fighter Officers:  If at all possible promote an existing crew member to a Pistoleer then I selected Combat medic, and a Military Officer as the second job.  Why?  Consistently dismissing a soldier or Pistoleer
     and hiring one at a Starport yields a much inferior quality than the one you just dumped. I design teams using 2 fighting officers for crew combat.  
     Keep 3 things in mind.
     a.)  Dismiss the ones defined in 1.) regardless of quality.
     b.)  Carefully check your crew again.  Many times a crew-dog, or Hnav will have terrific HP, Morale, Pistol, Evasion or Speed.  There's your perfect fighting Officer base.  
    c.) Basic Difficulty makes testing your Officer synergies, and discovering high level talents, a breeze.  Why?  On this difficulty level they can't be permanently killed, and they will not desert you.

What happened next: 
I really enjoyed playing this team, probably the best one yet.  In previous games bankruptcy, making awful trades, or getting my tush shot off were not uncommon events.
I've thought "Wow those Bounty hunter missions pay big, I can really could get some cash early to start playing my design."  Uh Oh they get the big bucks because they earn it!  I didn't become
a successful bounty hunter until I stopped trying to be one.  Captain Tom took his first job as a Merchant because I wanted  Friendly Banter to be the first available talent I could take.
I planned to concentrate on being an Explorer.  To my delight playing the Merchant offered powerful team support options, not just, buy here, sell there.  So that put Explorer in second place.

Why Foxhound?  I designed this with Bounty Hunter missions in mind to pay the bills and invest in merchandise.  Testing a team is all about getting some solid cash in the bank first. 
                         Bounty contracts have the advantage to make a larger positive or negative rep with a single mission.  Great for manipulating enemies of two or more factions that hate each other.
                         Many bounty missions start with a skill test before you are allowed to enter crew combat.

                         Negotiate or bribe to locate Mark?    Use the Tom's Wise Counsel Talent to auto pass a failed negotiate test and move on to combat.  Captain Tom often passed because of high negotiation.
                         Intimidate to reveal location?           Use Livy's Pirate's rank(1)  Icy Stare to pass a failed intimidation test. (I also hired a Pirate later in the game).  I'm usually weakest in intimidation.  
                         Sly Move                                         Auto pass failed test when tracking a mark.  This team doesn't use a Spy, and doesn't take missions that require stealth. 

1.) Cards: Some talents provide cards that reduce the risk of completing contracts.   Methodical Sweep:  Provides a card you can use to protect systems on a patrol mission.
      Every "Crew Dog" can get one, pretty soon you have a fistful.  Prince's, and Politicians loved  sending me out on these.  The pay was low, the missions can be quite dangerous, but I took
      them mainly to increase my rep with the contact, and I had allot of cards to protect myself with.
      Another example:  You might be an explorer, you will be sent on missions that have nothing to do with prospecting.  The explorer cards are essential to success.
      Spy and Black market decks also have tough challenges, and cards you can get to help you win provided you make a careful choice of captain/officer professions


2.)  Card Deck Mini Games:  I've played allot of them. My absolute favorite is crew combat.  I've had a high success rate.  Zenos always take me to the wood shed but I still can win.
      I avoid them when possible. They have a very high number of hit points, and inexhaustible supply of morale.  I guess it's because to them we're dinner.  I send two officers into combat,
      and two remain on board (a little more on that latter).  So far my best combat teams consist of 3 Pistoleers and one Soldier.  It isn't because Pistoleer talents are overwhelmingly superior.
      It's because they are less affected by attacks that change their combat positions.  The number one reason I never use Swordsmen in combat, or place Soldiers with grenades in the front ranks.

3.)  Slow Build Design: Sure every officer can have 3 jobs, but I never specialize in more than 2.  In the future more levels will become available and high level talents will be implemented.
      Some of the best talents in the game occur between ranks(15) to 20.  I think specializing to get high ranks will become increasingly important as new content is released.
 
Document Layout:  First a discussion of each officer.  Synergy with others, each ones strengths, and weaknesses.  Following this you will see the Leveling template used for each.
                             Last a sample of contacts sorted in a way I found most helpful to my goals.  Keep in mind all kinds of good contact sorting is coming in future game releases.      
   
Captain Tom Major   

Why did I make Attributes priority(A)?   I'm intentionally moving his primary job to the lowest priority(E).
Unlike Skills, Attributes are permanent and cannot be increased.  There are a few bonus traits such as Charmer that add +2 to Charisma.  Taking attributes as his top priority
provided the highest starting level with 52 points left over to spend.  He is a non combatant so I left his Strength and Quickness at 16. 
I took his Fortitude(26) because he can get pasted during ship combat, accidents, or radiation storms.

   I raised his Charisma, and Wisdom to the max.  Even though these generate .5 standard Attribute dice for most skill tests it sometimes makes all the difference in the world.  
Any successful Explorer better have a very high Wisdom, it will really save your bacon in passing ship, or crew damage card draws.  
You can only use one reduce risk card per round.  So you will take it in the teeth when there are multiple danger cards on the table without good skill saves to protect you.
A successful Merchant really needs all the charisma he can get to pass skill tests.

Social Perception:  High Charisma(26) will occasionally automatically trigger this ability to discover a hidden crew member's traits. This is not a talent you choose, it's an attribute skill test.

  Contacts, Contacts and more Contacts!  Tom's main role is to generate them fast and in high volume.  Contacts outside Thulun are the way to get pardons, establish high level trade permits,
 and getting a high volume of contracts.   It doesn't do you any good to have a high rep with Cadar without being able to sell top dollar Thulun goods because Cadar's license is too low.

 ==> Even though I have $2 million at level(32) almost all of it didn't come from trades, it came from the contacts that a Merchant can generate leading to high paying jobs.
 
 Friendly Banter - Choose the spice plate at the end of a mission instead of the big show at the Palace and you'll get a 10% + Charisma chance of getting a new contact.  That's 38% for Tom,
                           The sooner he starts the better.  The first talent taken.  Even if you are specializing in a different profession it's worth considering one level in Merchant if you have high Charisma.

 Market Confident - As soon as it became available.  Make a trade anywhere for >$5,000 get another 10% + Charisma chance of getting a new contact with the local faction.

 Talk of Far Worlds - Is a Hyper Navigator talent that provides a chance to get a new contact when spicing. 

Listening Post - Is an Etech talent.  Everytime you land in an Urban zone there is a chance of getting a new contact.
 
Having all these talents. You can start to see the momentum building. By the time Tom reached Level(17) he already had over 40 Contacts. At the bottom of this thread you can view a partial list.

Garner Favor: One of the best Merchant talents. With a single trade >$5,000. Here's an example from the event log.  
                      "Captain Tom Major's Garner Favor has gained 25 Rep with Cadar Syndicate."  Not bad for a guy flying for Thulun.  
                      It's a good side effect when you have to sell less expensive goods into a lower trade license, especially when combined with the Righteous Profits talent.

Strong Synergy with Doctor Livy's Diplomat  Negotiate skill(20) combined with Captain's Negotiate skill .
                        I passed many skill tests without having to use the Merchant Wise Counsel autopass Negotiate talent. 
                       
                        Remember Talents have at least a 3 week cool down, skill tests never do.  Autopass talents only kick in if you fail your skill test,
                        the more you pass the longer you can hold onto unused autopass talents for critical missions.
                        Here's and example from the event log when trying to bribe/negotiate to locate a target on a Bounty mission.

                       We successfully passed Negotiate + Charisma test.  (Debug) rolling skill save (Strong 45 + Standard 14) vs (Strong 12 + Standard(23)
 
                     

Crew Morale:  Tom's Generosity Talent adds a bonus to morale whenever a crew member gets paid.  When combined with the Crew Dogs Relaxing Leave talent
                      and having a crew member with the Story teller trait nearly eliminated having to pay to raise morale at the Spice den.  
                      Exceptions being a badly injured fighter after crew combat (can be mitigated with Combat medic's Restoration talent.)  
                      Big morale hit also occurs when crew is suffering from a particularly nasty ship to ship battle.  Spice halls vary greatly in effectiveness,
                      the best approach is not to let the morale plummet in the first place. The Generosity Talent is just the ticket.

Why is Morale Important?  During Crew Combat if one of your team falls to morale 20, every round there is a chance they'll run for it, leaving you with one less fighter.  If you start crew combat using a fighter
                                              that already has damaged morale you've added a risk of desertion under fire, and the fighter will emerge with even lower morale than they went in with.   During ship combat it's even worse.
                                              If  crew members morale falls below 25 they stop contributing to all skill pools.  Strong ship dice relies on having crew skills equal to or greater than needed to support a given component.
                                              One thing that can happen is a sudden elimination of your Pilot strong dice pool, making it tough to escape, probably take more damage, and lower crew morale even further.  
                                              If for any reason you drop below skill points needed for a component all the strong dice will convert to standard dice. For more information read this effects of low morale thread.

Explorer(9) Cards.        Rank I took to get all three reduce risk cards when taking a recovery mission, or prospecting.  Talents Vigilant Search, Reduced Exposure, Legacy Seeker.

They Hate each other:  So I helped them out by playing one against the other.  Generate a high rep and rank with a faction, then it's safe to fly a few missions against them without severely
                                   impacting the relationship you worked hard to build.  I always pick out one faction to become a mortal enemy with, and try hard to keep -rep low with the rest.  
                                   Most often they choose me, and I get tired of being picked on so I stick it too them every chance I get.  Take a look at my contacts table.  
                                   I've got an irreparable reputation of -1,236 rep with Javat.  I  make some big bucks and increase my rep looking up a contact that hates them
                                   because the majority of contracts offered will go against Javat.   This is also why I chose Contacts as Priority(B) to start the game with 6 of them.

Level(32) Faction Rep: Here is what Captain Tom's relationships look like using a map of 18 quadrants and 7 factions;                                 
                                 

Faction	Rep	Title	Rank	Title	Permit	Title	Edict	Title
Thulun	694	Star Hero Dedicant	15	Immortal Titan Trooper	4	Principal Trader	4	Principle Hunter
Cadar	223	Immortal Hero	7	Commander Major	4	Principle Trader	3	Full Hunter
Rychart	155	Legendary Hero	0	Civilian	0	None	0	None
De Valtos	124	Star Hero	6	Commander	3	Full Trader	4	Senior Hunter
Steel Song	63	Senior Curator	0	Civilian	0	None	0	None
Mokumnue	-892	Legendary Crime Lord	1	Pirvate	3	Full Trader	0	None
Javat	-1,260	Legendary Crime Lord	0	None	0	None	0	None

When to Surrender?  If you don't have a particular bad rep, stop for Military ships that won't hurt you.  If you encounter a Pirate and you aren't carrying a particularly high value cargo, letting
                                them loot you is allot less expensive than repairing ship and crew damage. You can use the Jettison Cargo Merchant autopass talent, but you will have a 3 week cool down,
                                and can easily encounter more than one Pirate before making port.
                                NEVER surrender to a SPY of any faction.  Your butt will be dragged off before the judge, they will squeal on every bad thing you ever did.
                                You will be formally disgraced and lose allot of rep.  If you have a very high negative rep with that Spy's faction you will be executed, game over.
                               (Another good reason to play basic difficulty level.)  Autopass talents such as Forged Papers can be a big help avoiding arrest or damage from a fight.

Weaknesses  If Captain Tom Major has any weaknesses I couldn't find them.  He worked beautifully with his entire staff of officers.  I could spend allot more time talking about Tom's strong
                     points but it's important to cover a few highlights and move on. 

Commander Ard Hass

Having never played a Military Officer,  I found some of his talents jaw dropping.  He started out as a level(1) Etech crew member promoted to an officer.
His crew combat stats are so good I immediately promoted him before my first mission, to use in combat as a Pistoleer/Military Officer.  His other high attributes make him a very flexible design.
 
Level(32) Combat:  Pistols(14), Evasion(3), HP(127), Morale(109), Command(20), combined with his unique talents makes this guy able to really take it, and dish it out.  
                              You might take one look at the evasion and think big deal.  But he is wearing armor that soaks 60% Ballistic, 48% Melee,  adds +4 Deflection, and +2 Evade.

Traits:    Outstanding!  
               a.)  Charmer +2 Charisma.
               b.)  Sharp Witted +25% chance of gaining double XP.
               c.)  Classically Trained  +10% All Accuracy.

Equipment Slot:  As an officer,  Commander Hass is allowed to equip the Thrall Injector into his eq-slot.  This raised his Quickness Attribute from 22 to 26.  
                          It also bumped his initiative +4 both great qualities to have in a pistoleer.
                   
Winning Initiative:   His stats give him a very good chance of winning an initiative roll.  Then two awesome auto talents can come into play.
                              I haven't proven in testing that both talents can go off at the same time in the same combat round.

                              But if your lucky enough to trigger each one of them successfully in two combat rounds that's some killer stacking.
                               

Flashing Steel	Self-guff +10% Ranged Acc. +20% Critical 3 Turns
Boarding Rush	Self-buff +6 Initiative, +10% Accc. +10% Dmg. 2 Turns

Two of my Pistoleers have taken the Aimed Focus talent, let's add it now;

Aimed Focus

Group Buff 1st 3 positions.  +30% Ranged Acc. +30% Dmg, +20% Critical for 3 Turns

Now let's throw some gasoline on the fire with his Perfect Aim talent,  my, my,  how those critical's stack!

Perfect Aim

Pistol attk.  +40% Acc. +10% Critical

Before you go thinking he might be overpowered.  In real time combat his enemies should be dropping like flies, after 32 levels I can say with authority they don't drop like flies. It's more like using
using multiple shots dropping elephants.  I'm not complaining that's just how it goes.  Potential and Effect are very different things, one doesn't grant the other.  With his buffs
he is more effective using  Unloading Fire as his normal attack not Perfect Aim the extra 10% critical doesn't seem to make the difference I was hoping for.

Synergy:   Commander is an all around top fighter in ground combat, no doubt amazing in boarding.  Your combat team will be frequently assailed with enemy crippling attacks.  He can still
                use his Leader in the Ranks talent to alleviate the effects.    
                It's not all about fighting with Hass.  He has a talent called Power Play  That adds +%Charisma Rep for every step of a mission you complete.  This is a big deal plus
                for the Captain, Doctor, and in generating more influence, and getting more contracts.  His current Charisma(20) is netting +20% Rep with every contact that you have an
                active contract with, every step of the way.  Starts to add up fast.                

Built for Boarding:  As noted earlier, I've not played a Military Officer before.  These talents just amazed me.

Incite Victory	Buffs Ship with +20% Boarding, +50% Acc, +50% Dmg,  +25% Critical , 3 Turns.  Restore Command Skill worth of Morale to 10 Crew.  (He is packing Command 20 !)
Overriding Discipline	Buffs Ship +10% Boarding, +10% Acc, +10% Dmg. +10% Def 3 turns.  Purges Ship of crippling effects.  Restores Command Skill worth of Morale to 10 Crew
Leader in the Ranks	In Crew Combat Group purge cripple effects, Buff all with +10% Accuracy, +15% Parry, +15 % Dodge 3 Turns
Boarding Rush	Make Init Roll, Self buff +6 Initiative, +10 Acc, +10% Dmg 2 turns.

If you've hired a Pirate or select it as a second job you can get 2 of the finest ship to ship talents in the game to combine with the Military Officer's extraordinary qualities.

Barrel Roll	Ship Buff +60% Defense, +20% Shield 3 Turns
Disabling Shot	Hit an enemy weapon. Cripple -25% Defense, -10 Range Change 4 Turns

I'll be testing this in future builds.  I'm absolutely convinced with this mix + crew skills/talents a small ship can overwhelm, and capture through boarding a much larger ship without a Pyrrhic victory,
that causes very high repair costs, and injury or death to crew.  So your the Officer fighting the good fight for King and country.  But how do you make it bring in enough cold hard cash to offset
the trade in negative rep you are generating?  So far when a ship surrenders and I look at the cargo to loot, there really hasn't been anything I could make allot of money with.  When destroying
a Zeno expert salvage will do a great job repairing the hull, I make an average of $27,800 not very impressive.

fallen , Cory Trese ,  The Military Officer is the perfect design for boarding.  Could you guys say a few words about why a Military Officer should board another ship,  
                              and how to make allot of money with boarding?  I'm confused he's one of the good guys, not a pirate.    big thanks.  

Medic Snake Plissken      ("I thought you were dead")

The lynch pin of the whole combat team.  Snake is so indispensable  I'm considering having 2 Combat Medic/Pistoleers on my next team.
The solid rock that fights from position 1.  Snake started as a simple crew Hyper Navigator.  He demonstrates the advantages of promoting from within your crew.
I got an generous roll for great base stats, then I was able to build him into one of the most impressive characters I've seen in many play troughs of ST2.
His HP is the only weak point but still well above average, doesn't matter much if you avoid getting hit as often as he does.

Level(32)

Str(23)

Quickness(25)

Fortitude(22)

Resilience(31)

Charisma(20)

Wisdom(18)

HP(123)

Morale(144)

He would make a fine officer of any profession, but I'm glad to have chosen this medic/pistol combo.

Armament:  He can take it, and dish out a double scoop.

Pistols(20)	Evasion 4 (10)
Oslafige Pistol	40 - 72 Dmg with 1 Armor Piercing.
Orgich Plating	Light Soaks 80% Ballistic, 48% Melee, +4 Deflection, +2 Evade
Thraul Injector	+4 Quikness, +4 Initiative

Traits:  Exceptional!
           a.) Steady:  Morale loss is reduced by 50%, +2 Fortitude, +5% Armor
           b.) Erudite:  +3 Wisdom, +1 Resilience.
           c.) Tense:    +2 Initiative.

Restoration: 
                    The sentences prefixed with an asterisk described how appropriate and powerful a talent this was.  Reducing the healing would have been fine.
                    Stripping it completely is just completely baffling.  Oh how nice instead of triaging the wounded, he is now just going to hold their hands
                    and cheer them up while they bleed to death.  What a morale booster that is.

                    The Foxhound Combat team was built around the Combat Medic's talents this one the most important of all.  With the new leveling XP requirements it takes
                    allot longer for the Combat Medic to reach rank(8).  What a lame upper tier talent it is now.  It should be a level 1 talent.
                   
                   Restoration and boosting of Morale is for Commanders and Military officers,  
                   Not guys trying to keep their asses from being shot off while, returning fire, and applying emergency medical aid.                     
                   
                   *This is the most important talent he has, and possibly one of the most important talents in the game.  It rates being highlighted in red.
                    *Restoration becomes available at Medic(8).  I gave him one point of pistoleer, followed by 8 straight ranks of Combat Medic.  
                    *It was very important that I banked the talent point from Level(6)  so I could get this talent as soon as he reached rank(8).

Restoration v.1.0.33	Group Purge all cripple, Buffs all +25% Resist all debufs, Heals +40 HP [doctor]
Restoration V.1.2.1	Group Purge all cripple, Buffs Restore Morale (6 + 8 Doc) Morale

                 * When he reached Medic(25)  Because of his high Doctor(20) skill an additional +12 HP of group heal was added meaning everyone gets a +52 healing HP whenever he uses this combat talent.
                    
Another awful side effect of castrating a once wonderful talent;  These advantages are now lost.

                  *The only drawback of course is he can't attack while using it.  Preventing one of your team getting killed early is obvious.
                  *But I discovered something I think is even more important  If you time it right, last round of combat,  it will heal all or most of the damage any of the team sustains during battle.
                  *When the combat ends you will have no healing to pay for.  Because they came through it relatively unscathed their morale remains at a good level.
                  *Captain Tom's Generosity plays a role with residual morale damage on payday.

Pistoleer(6):  Supplies most of the favorite combat talents the Pistoleer currently has.
                     Unloading Fire, Flashing Steel, Unloading Fire, Pinning Shot, Tricky Gun play, Aimed Focus, and Dueler's Stance (fixed for next release). 

Combat Medic(25):  Supplies some unique combat attacks and buffs;

Bio-Agent Dart

Crippling Pistol attk.  +16 Poison, -25% Parry, -25 Dodge for 3 Turns

On paper this talent looks great, in practice it is a little to little, a little too late. Initial attack is not high damage. I think the Poisoning effect needs to be much higher to make a difference.
The target is usually killed by the team long before the poison takes effect. I would like to see it act more like a cobra bite, the initial bite hurts and doesn't do allot of damage,
but a minute or two later you're fighting for your life. I would like to see this single target attack adjusted in a similar fashion. So Snake relies on Unloading Fire to get the job done.
I don't think I've used this talent more than 8 times in all the ST2 teams I've tested.

Bio-Poison Grenade

Crippling attk. causes -2 Initiative,  -20% Dmg, +12 Bio-Poison 3 Turns

Right now it only hits one target but is being corrected to hit the first 2 targets. I'm really looking forward to using this one. The negative Initiative, and negative damage are great.
As with the Bio-Agent Dart I'm not expecting the +12 Poison damage to matter very much. The enemies have plenty of hit points, this amount just takes to long to make a real difference.

Choking Vapor

Pistol attk. 1 target. -15% Accuracy, -15% Damage 3 Turns

This is a little under powered as well. Love the title. Tried it and don't use it anymore.  Taking a look at HoS Kjartan's Choking Ash talent, you can see why I feel like something
is missing with this talent.  Perhaps AoE, drop armor, I don't know the recipe just needs a pinch of something.  

Pistoleer(6) has to supply his effective attack talents.  Currently his real strength is in his purges and buffs.
 
I truly believe when Zenos become fully active they are going to constantly poison the hell out of the combat team.  
They'll no doubt go after your medic first to keep him from helping the rest of the team.  In addition to the mandatory Restoration talent Here are a few more.  
I haven't used them much so far but when our devious duo gets these monsters ready I'll glad to have them.

Cleansing Purge

Purge self of cripple and Restore Morale 10 + Doctor Skill

I'll be begging for this to become a group purge when we stagger back onto the ship puking our guts out, ready to lynch the captain for sending us out their in the first place.

Thus far it keeps your Medic better protected, but he'll be sacrificing an attack, it is not multi turn.

Vaccination Watch

Buffs +15% Armor, +26% Bio-Poison Resist for 3 turns

I think this one is another hint about what type of attacks the code gremlins are planning.

I'm more than a little interested to see what goodies we get when the Life Blood talent gets implemented.


Tactics:  What would I do differently next time?  It's hard to improve on such a solid performer.  I think next time I'll use two medics.
              When playing HoS I desperately needed a way to keep Kyera attacking without sacrificing allot of turns keeping the team afloat.  I did solve it, but that is described in another thread.
              Snake faces much the same problem.  He has the absolutely essential talents listed above, but all to often you are really fighting with only 3 of your team members instead of 4,
              because his fire is suppressed while buffing and purging.  (Not bingeing and purging!).  Being able to keep at least one medic firing at all times will help,
              and I expect most of the time they will both be able to fire as multi round buffs take effect.  The future  may prove I'll need both just to keep the poison Zeno spit off us.

Synergy:  His value to Doctor Livy is invaluable.  The in flight doctor skill tests have so many strong dice now, it is rare to have one fail.
               He also brings his First Aid talent to the party effectively doubling Livy's autopass Medical Staff talent. I've dabbled with the Medic a few times.
               This is the first time I made him a full blown specialist.  Combined with 6 ranks of Pistoleer.  
               So far Snake Plissken is my favorite character. 

Doctor Livy Ingston

I was planning to write up Livy after dinner.  Then the new phase 2 release came out  Awesome!     You can still look at the leveling table I used for her
below.  I firmly believe you must have one officer with a doctor job.  See you at the next roundup.                  


Captain Tom's Starting Stats

Strength(16)	Quickness(16)	Fortitude(26)
Charisma(28)	Wisdom(26)	Resilience(26)

Trait 1	Charmer	+2 Charisma
Trait 2	Gossip	20% Rumor @ Spice

Captain  Tom Major Checklist

Job-1: Merchant

Job-2: Explorer

Job-3: Pirate(1)

XP	LVL	Job / Rank	Pt	Talent	Description
0	1	__+1 Merchant(1)	0	x	x
25	2	__+1 Explorer(1)	+1	Friendly Banter	Spice Plate end of mission 10% + Char new contact
80	3	__+1 Pirate(1)	0	x	x (to get icy stare talent)
180	4	__+1 Merchant(2)	+1	Wise Councel	Autopass Negotiation test
390	5	__+1 Merchant(3)	0	x	x
590	6	__+1 Merchant(4)	+1	Icy Stare	Autopass Intimidation test
790	7	__+1 Merchant(5)	0	x	x
1,040	8	__+1 Merchant(6)	+1	Mrkt Confident	>$5,000 10% + Charisma new contact
1,290	9	__+1 Merchant(7)	0	x	x
1,540	10	__+1 Merchant(8)	0	x	x
1,790	11	__+1 Merchant(9)	0	x	x
2,040	12	__+1Merchant(10)	+1	Righteous Profit	> $5,000 add 10% to profits
2,290	13	__+1Merchant(11)	0	x	x
--------	----->	__+1Merchant(12)	0	x	x
2,540	14	__+1Explore(2)	+1	Generosity	+Morale bonus when crew paid
2,790	15	__+1Explorer(3)	0	x	x
-------	----->	__+1Explorer(4)	0	x	x
3,090	16	__+1Explorer(5)	0	x	x
3,390	17	__+1Explorer(6)	+1	Gut Instinct	Autopass explorer test
3,690	18	__+1Explorer(7)	0	x	x
3,990	19	__+1Explorer(8)	0	x	x
-------	----->	__+1Explorer(9)	0	x	x
4,446	20	__+1Merchant(13	0	x	x
--------	----->	__+1Merchant(14	0	x	x
4,946	21	__+1Merchant(15	+1	Legacy Seeker	Card remove explorer danger
5,492	22	__+1Merchant(16	0	x	x
6,086	23	__+1Merchant(17	0	x	x
6,730	24	__+1Merchant(18	0	x	x
7,426	25	__+1Merchant(19	+1
8,176	26	__+1Merchant(20	0	x	x
8,982	27	__+1Merchant(21	0	x	x
9,846	28	__+1Merchant(22	+1	Vigilant Search	Card remove explorer danger
10,770	29	__+1Merchant(23	0	x	x
11,756	30	__+1Merchant(24	+1	Reduce Exposure	Card remove explorer danger
12,806	31	__+1Merchan(25	+1	Furious Prod	Purge ship & Crew restore intim morale 10 crew
13,922	32	__+1Merchant(26	+1	Corsair's Eye	Card remove blockade risk
Total	32	36	13
--------	------	---------------------	------	-------------------	------------------------------------------------

Commander Ard Hass  Checklist

Job-1: Pistoleer

Job-2: Military Officer

Job-3: Etech(1)

XP	LVL	Job / Rank	Pt	Talent	Description
0	1	__+1 Etech(1)	0	x	x
25	2	__+1 Military(1)	+1	Power Play	Each mission step (+Rep =  Charisma%)
80	3	__+1 Pistoleer(1)	0	x	x
180	4	__+1 Military(2)	+1	Leader in Rank	Group purge, +10%Acc +15%/P.D 3T
390	5	__+1 Pistol(2)	0	x	x
590	6	__+1 Military(3)	+1	Unloading Fire	+10% Dmg, +2 Armor Pierce
790	7	__+1 Military(4)	0	x	x
1,040	8	__+1 Military(5)	+1	Recruiter Eye	50% + Comnd See 1 trait, better recruits
1,290	9	__+1 Military(6)	0	x	x
1,540	10	__+1 Military(7)	0	x	x
1,790	11	__+1 Military(8)	0	x	x shld have banked lvl(12) pt
2,040	12	__+1 Military(9)	+1	Comnd Sweep	Patrol card +rep card replace
2,290	13	__+1Military(10)	0	x	x
2,540	14	__+1Military(11)	+1	Boarding Rush	Auto buff if win init then +6 Init 10% A/Dmg 2T
10%  2,790	15	__+1Military(12)	0	x	x & lvl(12) new tal Incite Victory Hot Damn!
3,090	16	__+1Military(13)	0	x	x
3,390	17	__+1Military(14)	+1	Incite Victory	Buffs Ship +20% Board, +50% ACC/Dmg
				------------	+25% Crit  10 crew +Morale = Command
3,690	18	__+1Military(15)	0	x	x
3,990	19	__+1Military(16)	0	x	x
4,446	20	__+1Military(17)	0	x	x
4,946	21	__+1Military(18)	+1	Over Discipline	Buffs ship 10% Boarding, +10% Acc/Dmg
				-------------	+10% Defense, Purge c, Cmnd +morale
5,492	22	__+1Military(19)	0	x	x
6,086	23	__+1Military(21)	0	x	x Rank is correct must be error above
6,730	24	__+1	0	x	x
7,426	25	__+1Military(22)	+1	Aimed Focus	buff 3 30% Crit 10% acc
8,176	26	__+1Military(23	0	x	x
8,982	27	__+1Military(24	0	x	x
9,846	28	__+1Military(25	+1	Flash Steel	Make init, +10% acc, +20% crit 3t
10,770	29	__+1Military(26	0	x	x
11,756	30	__+1Military(27	+1	Pin shot	see above
12,806	31	__+1Military(28	+0	x	x
13,922	32	__+1Military(29	+1	Perfect Aim	+40 Acc +10% Critical
Total	32	32	12
--------	-----	--------------------	----	--------------------	------------------------------------------------------

x

Your Combat Medic needs to get to rank(8) asap to get Restoration Talent

Combat Medic Snake Plissken Checklist

Job-1: Pistoleer(6)

Job-2: C-Medic(25)

Hnav(1)

XP	LVL	Job / Rank	Pt	Talent	Description
0	1	__+1 Navigator	0	x	x
25	2	__+1 C-Medic(1)	+1	First Aid	Autopass Doctor test
80	3	__+1 Pistoleer(1)	0	x	x
180	4	__+1 C-Medic(2)	+1	Unloading Fire	+10% Dmg, +2 Armor Pierce
390	5	__+1 C-Medic(3)	0	x	x
590	6	__+1 C-Medic(4)	+1	Bio Dart	Attk +16 Poisno, -25% P/D 3T
790	7	__+1 C-Medic(5)	0	x	x
1,040	8	__+1 C-Medic(6)	+1	Bank pt.	bank for restoration rank(8)
1,290	9	__+1 C-Medic(7)	0	x	x
1,540	10	__+1 C-Medic(8)	0	x Restoration	x Group purge, +40Hp + doc
1,790	11	__+1 C-Medic(9)	0	x	x
2,040	12	__+1C-Medic(10)	+1	Flashing Steel	Win Init. Buff 10% Acc, 20%Crit 3T
2,290	13	__+1C-Medic(11)	0	x	x
2,540	14	__+1C-Medic(12)	+1	Bio-Grenade	-2 Init +12 Poison -20% dmg 3T
2,790	15	__+1 Pistol(2)	0	x	x
3,090	16	__+1 Pistol(3)	0	x	x
3,390	17	__+1 Pistol(4)	+1	Pining Shot	Pin Tar -25% P/D 2 Turns
3,690	18	__+1 Pistol(5)	0	x	x
3,990	19	__+1 Pistol(6)	0	x	x
4,446	20	__+1 C-Medic(13)	0	x	x
4,946	21	__+1 C-Medic(14)	+1	bank pt	bank pt
5,492	22	__+1 C-Medic(15)	0	xT-Gunplay	x See others common
6,086	23	__+1 C-Medic(16)	0	x	x
6,730	24	__+1 C-Medic(17	0	x	x
7,426	25	__+1 C-Medic(18	+1	Bank pt	Bank pt
8,176	26	__+1 C-Medic(19	0	x	x
8,982	27	__+1 C-Medic(20	0	xAimed Focus	x same as others
9,846	28	__+1 C-Medic(21	+1	Clean Purge	Purge cripp & rest Morale (10+Doc)
10,770	29	__+1 C-Medic(22	0	x	x
11,756	30	__+1 C-Medic(23	+1	Vaccinate	+15% Armor +26% poison res 3T
12,806	31	__+1 C-Medic(24	+0	x	x
13,922	32	__+1 C-Medic(25	+1	Fading Shot	10% Acc, 20% Crit, fall back 1
Total	32	32	12
--------	-----	----------------------	----	--------------------	-------------------------------------------------

Doctor Livy Ingston Checklist

Job-1: Doctor(8)

Job-2: Diplomat(23)

Job-3: Hnav(1)

XP	LVL	Job / Rank	Pt	Talent	Description
0	1	__+1 Etech(1)	0	x	x
25	2	__+1 Doctor(1)	+1	Bank pt	Bank pt for diplomat
80	3	__+1 Diplomat(1)	0	x Settlement	x Autopass Negotiation test
180	4	__+1 Doctor(2)	+1	Treat Wounded	20 + Doctor in HP to crew (Med rate x 3)
390	5	__+1 Diplomat(2)	0	x	x
590	6	__+1 Diplomat(3)	+1	Winning Comp	10% + Negotiate $ per mission step
790	7	__+1 Diplomat(4)	0	x	x
1,040	8	__+1 Diplomat(5)	+1	Life Saver	it works
1,290	9	__+1 Diplomat(6)	0	x	x
1,540	10	__+1 Doctor(3)	0	x	x
1,790	11	__+1 Diplomat(7)	0	x	x
2,040	12	__+1 Diplomat(8)	+1	Med Staff	Autopass Doctor test
2,290	13	__+1 Diplomat(9)	0	x	x
2,540	14	__+1Diplomat(10	+1	Mag Victory	Defeat a ship offset -rep by Negotiate pts
2,790	15	__+1Diplomat(11	0	x	x
3,090	16	__+1Diplomat(12	0	x	x
3,390	17	__+1 Doctor(4)	+1	Bank pt	Bank pt
3,690	18	__+1 Doctor(5)	0	x Med Ward	xShip Vic (#crew x medrate) +HP 10+Doc
3,990	19	__+1 Doctor(6)	0	x	x
4,446	20	__+1 Doctor(7)	0	x	x
4,946	21	__+1 Doctor(8)	+1	Upstage Succ	+Rep = Charisma% contact completed miss
5,492	22	__+1Diplomat(13	0	x	x
6,086	23	__+1Diplomat(14	0	x	x
6,730	24	__+1Diplomat(15	0	x	x
7,426	25	__+1Diplomat(16	+1	Gen in Service	look it up not so good yet
8,176	26	__+1Diplomat(17	0	x	x
8,982	27	__+1Diplomat(18	0	x	x
9,846	28	__+1Diplomat(19	+1	Storm Shield	Protect ship and crew from rad storm
10,770	29	__+1Diplomat(20	0	x	x
11,756	30	__+1Diplomat(21	+1	Signature Jam	Prevent Ship I.D. -Rep
12,806	31	__+1Diplomat(22	+0	x	x
13,922	32	__+1Diplomat(23	+1	Voice of reason	fire on mutiny
Total	32	32	12
--------	-----	----------------------	----	-------------------	--------------------------------------------------------

xxxx

  Contacts  (just a sample)                       

Quadrant	Type	Faction	Name	Planet	City	Hates
Garrick Rim	Prince	Thulun	Keldorn Luxor	Sahelia	Vishalem
	Ex-Bounty	Thulun	Doc Sievers	Balkinour	Elmers Folly
	Re-Explorer	Thulun	Amelia Sievers	Wolkental	Styria
	Military	Thulun	Phord Blorstad	Poncis	New Baltimore
	Prince	Thulun	Oacoac C.	Khandris	Durania
	Archivist	Thulun	Jarreth Shahin	Balkinour	Elmers Folly
	Prince	Thulun	Brian Blorstead	Yilian	Mashruem Chasm
	Warden	Thulun	Jerry Apallas	Glensanda	Brosnin
	Ex-Bounty	Thulun	Ghie Indrajana	Wolkental	Styria
	Ex-Merc	Thulun	Ingo Enviren	Sahelia	Fitzroy North
	Spice Trd	Thulun	Sergei Veltzar	Petai	Adoro Venatrix
Juhety Cluster	Wep Deal	Thulun	Natalya Enviren	Nicol Virtutis	Valley of Dreams
	Intel	DEVALTOS	Gavain Shahin	Savage Heart	Erelan
Sween	Politician	Thulun	Pablo Hadjor	Selen VI	Bellix Ice Wasstes
	Merchant	JAVAT	Merahel Cade	Hercules	lesser Ecumenia
	EX-Bounty	RYCHART	Ragnor Falcon	Lynx II	Mashruem Chasm
Infinite Reaches	Military	DEVALTOS	Perry Orgin	Utica	Fihi Haven
	Ex-Merc	DEVALTOS	Valik Mykatte	Ophidas	Charzaa Prime
	Ret-Explr	Thulun	Avler J'antile	Allistar	Taminok Station
	Military	Thulun	Stark Veltzar	Allistar	Delsia
	Fixer	Thulun	Constantine S.	Sousa City	Watch
	Politician	DEVALTOS	Craig Hame	Sorfaria	Fort Tiny
	Military	DEVALTOS	Nemo Zoltral	Zeconis	Mont. Mountain
	Merchant	DEVALTOS	Mason T.	Kimmeria	Arnhem
Les Ecumes	Re-Explr	Thulun	Psilous Tundnaugh	Afcrone	Celephais
	Wep Dlr	Thulun	Ned Veltatte	Afcrone	Bozwell
Ironforges Cluster	Re-Explr	Thulun	Auler J'antile	Allistar	Taminok Station
	Military	Thulun	Stark Veltzar	Allistar	Delsia
	Fixer	Thulun	Constantine S.	Sousa City	Watch
Tenebrous Cluster	Smuggler	RYCHART	Ken-Ji Shuttleworth	Sominum	Shreveport
	Smuggler	RYCHART	Alexander M.	Concordant	Kataja
The Fifth	Prince	Thulun	Matthaeus Hog	Revek	Starwalker	x
	Wep Deal	Thulun	Cacame Goldson	Revek	Antonia Prime	Javat
	Merchant	DEVALTOS	Mattekernry V.	Cephus	Kurbal Station	Steel
	Intel	DEVALTOS	Wen Mykial	Zoomfat	Eldmor	Dval
Briens Pass	Smuggler	STEELSONG	Aariz Orgin	Jerr-dan	Star City	x
Thogs Gambit	Intel off	Thulun	Greyson Veltzar	Criticorrum	Charlesville	Javat
	Military	CADAR	Richard Aslax	Sedai	Desert Hold	Dvalt
Hyperion Expanse	Politician	DEVALTOS	Randall T.	Darian Cluster	Merovia	Javat
	Ex-Bounty	RYCHART	Pekaafax Starc.	Rosserick Star	Shattered Lance	Cadar
	Ex-Bounty	RYCHART	Mathgon Aubade	G08 Funkatte	Gnolth	Javat
	Warden	DEVALTOS	Oleg Tundeernor	Visset	Chernigou	x
Cthurian Abyss	Mechanic	Thulun	Pents Baldihah	Theobroma	Tembuktu
Sine Memoria	Ex-Bounty	Thulun	Osmedirex E.	Taurus	Borodindo
	Mechanic	Thulun	Greyson R.	Canis VII	Sine Memoria
	Politician	RYCHART	Markus Mykatte	Hydrox Cross	Pale Moon
Minervas Rim	Prince	CADAR	Jarreth Pratchett	Evox III	Tritus
	Military	Thulun	Alf Mykial	Knights Rest	Arkona
Dixieland	Ret-Explr	STEEL S	Willy Hame	Karrak	Centurian Prime
	Spice Trd	Thulun	Merahel T.	Omega P.	Magiki
	Smuggler	Thulun	Trey Mykial	Centaurus	Alphaiat
Orion Delta	Merchant	STEELSONG	Jet Hogstras	Wilivsa	Andyran
	Warden	Thulun	Pekaafax Irving	Trinarian P.	Eira
	Merchant	Thulun	Jacen Aslax	Fergal	Sorrow's Harvest

There is allot more I just haven't tracked them in the above table.

Captain	Trait 1	Description	Trait 2	Description
Zealot (Comdr)	Fearsome:	-2 Charisma, +15% Dmg	Concentration:	+2 Wisdom, +1 Resii
Military Officer	Inspiring:	+2 Charisma	Tough:	+3 Fort, +10% Arm
Bounty Hunter	Menacing:	+25% pass Intimidate Saves	Sharpshooter:	+10% Ranged Acc
Smuggler	Focused:	+1 Quick, +1 Fort	Shrewd:	+3 Wisdom
Pirate	Terrifying:	+25% Credits on Blocade	Dead Aim:	+15% Critical
Merchant	Charmer:	+2 Charisma	Gossip:	+20% Rumor @ Spice
Explorer	Adventurous:	+3 to +5 Morale Exploring	Device Freak:	+1 Gear Slot
Spy	Charmer:	+2 Charisma	Sharp Witted:	+25% chance 2 x XP
Star Trader	Steady	+2 Fort, +5% Arm, -50% Morl Loss	Fearless	50% to M60 ship combat

xx

CAPTAINS

OFFICERS

XP	LVL	Rank	TAL		Rank	TAL
0	1	+1	0		+1	0
25	2	+1	+1		+1	+1
80	3	+1	0		+1	0
180	4	+1	+1		+1	+1
390	5	+1	0		+1	0
590	6	+1	+1		+1	+1
790	7	+1	0		+1	0
1,040	8	+1	+1		+1	+1
1,290	9	+1	0		+1	0
1,540	10	+1	0		+1	0
1,790	11	+1	0		+1	0
2,040	12	+1	+1		+1	+1
2,290	13	+2	0		+1	0
2,540	14	+1	+1		+1	+1
2,790	15	+2	0		+1	0
3,090	16	+1	0		+1	0
3,390	17	+1	+1		+1	+1
3,690	18	+1	0		+1	0
3,990	19	+2	0		+1	0
4,446	20	+2	0		+1	0
4,946	21	+1	+1		+1	+1
5,492	22	+1	0		+1	0
6,086	23	+1	0		+1	0
6,730	24	+1	0		+1	0
7,426	25	+1	+1		+1	+1
8,176	26	+1	0		+1	0
8,982	27	+1	0		+1	0
9,846	28	+1	+1		+1	+1
10,770	29	+1	0		+1	0
11,756	30	+1	+1		+1	+1
12,806	31	+1	+1		+1	0
13,922	32	+1	+1		+1	+1
Total	32	36	13		32	12

xx

[fallen]

Wow ... amazing as always. Wow! Lots to digest here