This week I’m working on making the Starfinder NPC stat block as small as possible for as book of NPCs and Pawns that I’m working on.

The first NPC is our Saloon Gal, historically they weren’t prostitutes, they talked to customers, encouraged them to buy drinks and sometimes danced with the cowboys. Some Saloon Gals were also card dealers. So my NPC needs to be passable at cards, dancing, and talking to people. Playing into Wild West tropes a little I also want her to be able to palm a small pistol, knife or pair of kings when necessary. So I’m giving her the Sleight of Hand skill on top of the profession skills.

The Array

I originally planned her as a CR one Combatant, I put her +4 into Charisma, +2 into Wisdom, and +1 into Dexterity. If I had wanted her to specialize in being a dealer, I might have put the +4 into Wisdom, and +2 into Dexterity, with the +1 in Charisma. I had strong feelings about her being a combatant, but she’s not an Expert the way the Doctor might be, and she’s not a spellcaster. Not skills, but skill adjacent, I gave her English and French as languages, sometimes saloon gals and soiled doves of the old west spoke a little French, all the sexy and naughty words are in French.

I received some friendly advice that she might be better be as an Expert with Operative or Envoy grafts, if your Saloon Gals is secretly a Treasury Secret Service Agent or Prinkerton Detective in disguise, then Operative might be the way to go. For our Saloon Gal played straight, not a spy, not a card sharp, we’ll go with the Expert array and Envoy graft. The Stat bonuses are the same so I will leave them in the same places. Experts get 3 Master skills at +10 and 2 Good skills at +5 this changes her up a bit. Lets say that every Saloon Gal isn’t a world famous poker player, or ballet dancer putting the +10s into her Professions skills seems a bit heavy handed.

Survival though a useful Frontier trait seems out of place, though Owen’s blog has rules for using it for riding horses. Putting a +10 into Perception might be too much, however, our canny gal has to be wary of cheats and when a customer has had too much to drink. Adding Sense Motive to her repertoire doesn’t seem like much of a stretch. Honorable mention goes to Bluff, Culture and if Sally’s grandmother was from the old country and had the sight, Mysticism wouldn’t be out of genre.

Lets get to that Envoy array, +2 Ref saves, Master Sense Motive, Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate. Looks like the decision got made for me. Ability Mods, Charisma, Intelligence, Dexterity. 1st level Envoy Improvisation, Clever Faint seems too obvious, especially if she already has Bluff. Dispiriting Taunt seems in genre, Don’t Quit, Get Em, and Inspiring Boost are all in genre and all might come in handy when the obligatory Saloon fight breaks out.

Special Ability

Looking over Feats as special abilities, I am drawn to Diversion, Fast Talk, or Quick Draw. For Universal Monster Rules as special abilities, I’m vaguely drawn to Distraction, the Saloon Gal kicks the bad guy in the no-no place and he’s nauseated on top of taking damage. Nothing else in Alien Archive feels vaguely appropriate.

Alignment

I made her Chaotic Neutral. You could say saloon gals and dance hall girls are law abiding in places where drinking, gambling and the like were legal, but frontier life isn’t always for Lawful types. Moutain Men, trappers, and others who live off the land and avoid civilization might tend towards Neutrality. Unless you’ve got specific ideas about a saloon gal with a heart of gold who could be Chaotic Good, I recommend we stay Chaotic Neutral for now.

Saloon Gal

CR 1
Saloon gal
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Perception +10

Defense

HP 17 RP 4
EAC 11; KAC 12
Fort +1; Ref +3; Will +4

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Melee straight razon +6 (1d4+1 S) concealable
Multiattack straight razor +6 (1d4+1 S) concealable
Ranged Derringer +4 (1d4+1) concealable
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Statistics

Str +0; Dex +1; Con +0; Int +2; Wis +0; Cha +4
Feats Quick Draw
Skills  Diplomacy +10, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +5, Profession, Dancer +5, Profession Gambler +5
Languages English, French
Gear derringer, straight razor, professional clothing, 10 dollars

Name	Array	Class	Notes
Bartender	Expert	Envoy	Owns the Saloon, takes cowboys guns at the door, keeps a shotgun under the bar.
Cavalry Officer	Combatant	Soldier	Blitz. Commander of the local fort, carries a saber and revolver.
Cavalry Soldier	Combatant	Soldier	Hit and Run. Soldier carries a revolver and percussion rifle.
Cavalry Soldier	Combatant	Soldier	Sharpshoot. Soldier carries a percussion musket and a saber.
Cavalry Soldier	Combatant	Soldier	Blitz. The Lieutenant carries a revolver and saber.
Gunslinger	Combatant	Soldier	Sharpshoot. Carries two revolvers and hasn’t forgotten the face of his father.
Gunslinger	Combatant	Soldier	Blitz. Carries two revolvers, a lot of bullets and a spicy attitude.
Gunslinger	Combatant	Soldier	Hit and Run. Carries a revolver and is liable to smack you with it as shoot you. Bullets ain’t free.
Lanky Landry	Expert	Operative	Owns the long guns store, keeps a Whitworth rifle with scope on the wall behind him.
Peter Parnasus	Expert	Operative	Owns the pistol palace, revolvers, pepperboxes, derringers, he’s got em all.
Saloon Gal	Expert	Envoy	She’s all charm and smiles until the fighting starts.
Shop Keeper	Expert	Mechanic	Owns the General Store and when he’s not there, he’s tinkering in his workshop.
Schooolmarm	Expert	Envoy	Always carrying a book, always reading something, dime novels or classics.
Name	Array	Class	Notes
Bounty Hunter	Combatant	Soldier	Blitz. Armed with a rifle and a power glove.
Airship Pilot	Expert	Operative	No obvious weapons, but she’s ready for anything.
Airship Pirate	Combatant	Soldier	Blitz. Armed with a revolver and a saber, or is it a navy cutlass.
Inventor	Expert	Mechanic	His towering intellect is matched only by his enormous wrench.
Adventuress	Expert	Envoy	The lady’s fascinator is the least interesting thing about her.
Game Hunter	Expert	Operative	He’s hunted big game on six of the seven continents.
Lady Detective	Expert	Operative	Whodunit? She’ll find out, and look stylish doing it.

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Paul

Evilrobotgames at Gmail.com