Luke Skywalker
A last name that means something to everyone: Luke Skywalker is the protagonist of the first Star Wars, and the namesake of the "Skywalker Saga" – a story that has 9 movies to date.
A simple moisture farmer on a desert planet, Luke has big dreams of flying among the stars.
Over the course of the saga, we watch Luke become a pilot, a Jedi apprentice [Ed. note: is he technically a padawan?] and an eventual master. He's also a great example of the Jedi powers – an excellent lightsaber duelist, a user of force powers we've never seen before, and more.
He's also a great audience surrogate. It is through Luke's journey from farmhand to master that we learn about the force, the jedi and the dark side. First from Obi Wan, then from Yoda, then from Darth Vader himself.
I am not the biggest Star Wars fan. I haven't even seen A New Hope all the way through. But I do love the Jedi, and there are few names more synonymous with the order than Luke Skywalker.
Keys to the Character
Walking On Two Sunshines
Luke's home planet of Tatooine is under dual suns. As a result, it's sandy (don't remind his dad).
Saber-toothed
Luke has a crash course in being a Jedi – going from a farmhand to a duelist pretty quick. We see him disarm other lightsaber users many times.
X Marks the Spaceship
Achieving his dream of becoming a pilot, Luke Skywalker is a flying ace who takes down an entire Death Star with a nice shot at a weak spot.
Daddy Issues
Luke may be the first protagonist in the saga, but our real subject is his dad – Anakin Skywalker. Surely no surprises will follow.
Like many of our builds, Luke Skywalker is a character that we've watched over the course of decades. Usually that means the character has gone through many iterations of power, skillset and age. That's the case here.
Essentially, we're building the Return of the Jedi Luke. He's a lightsaber duelist, a capable force-user, still a great pilot and a pretty nice guy.
On the battlefield, Luke fits the bruiser role, using his lightsaber to battle foes up close and personal. He is in the thick of it, with enough swordplay skills to parry away attacks and find opportunities to strike – plus cool things like deflect ranged attacks, obviously.
But there are lots of swordsmen out there. That alone doesn't make a Jedi. To get there, we add a Psychic dedication at level 2, with the Grasping Hand conscious mind.
This is enough to grant the Mage Hand psychic cantrip, to move objects around the battlefield – and, by using focus, people too.
Outside of battle, Luke can use is Piloting Lore to be the team driver, and his dedication to the Force (Occultism) can provide some great knowledge of oddities and ancient things.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Human - Half Elf
I feel like the "half elf" heritage is a nice little hint to Luke's force sensitivity. He's human, but allowing elf feats gives him that extra touch of mystical ability. Plus, by keeping the human ancestry we can take Natural Ambition at level one for some extra saber skills.
Background
Farmhand
Not just a farmhand, a moisture-farmhand. If it seems like I've mentioned this a lot in this build, it's because I absolutely love this detail. Stuff like this is why the franchise took off.
This gives some Lore we'll probably never use, but also a Constitution bonus that comes in handy for a front-line fighter.
Class
Fighter
A case could maybe be made for a Fencing Swashbuckler, but I don't like that case. Fighter gives the broadest access to many different swordplay feats, and we can tailor them to fit Luke's lightsaber style pretty perfectly. Plus, he gets the coveted Legendary proficiency with most weapons, and Master with some good lightsaber candidates.
Taking Psychic Dedication early on gives access to just enough force-wielding powers to feel like they matter. The dedication is largely ignored after that except for Psi Development, which gives an extra force cantrip (and more importantly, an extra focus point for force pushing fools).
Skills & General Feats
Any pilot who's resume includes bringing down the Death Star is legendary in our books.
Legendary: Lore: Piloting
Master: Acrobatics, Athletics, Diplomacy, Occultism
Expert: Survival
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Dueling Sword - the dueling sword is a great start to a lightsaber. Adding a flaming rune is a good next step. Plus, the fact that it is an advanced weapon that only fighters can "master" gives some extra lightsaber-y flavor.
Key Spells
Luke only gets two spells – Mage Hand and Telekinetic Projectile.
The bigger deal of the two is Mage Hand. As a psi cantrip, it can be cast (for two actions) at will. This isn't the best use of Luke's actions... however, at the cost of a focus point, it can be "amped" to shove or disarm a creature. Pretty force-y if you ask me.
Changelog
