5 Ways to Make Star Wars Outlaws and Rebels in D&D

You can play all of your Star Wars favorites in D&D!

This year has been filled with cool Star Wars media, like the live-action series The Acolyte, the animated series Tales of the Empire, and the video game Star Wars: Outlaws. Force users like the ones in The Acolyte are awesome (in fact, we made a whole post about them for Star Wars Day)! But don’t forget the outlaws, rebels, droids, and other non-Force-users living on the scrappy edges of the Star Wars universe. Who's Luke Skywalker without Han Solo or Chewbacca? Who’s Rey without BB-8? For that matter, what's Star Wars itself without characters like Boba Fett or Padme Amidala? If you ever looked at the cast of smugglers, droids, mandos, and more and wondered “what if I could play that in D&D?” we’re here to tell you the answer is yes (and share some ideas to bring these kinds of characters into your own games).

Play As A Mandolorian In Dungeons & Dragons

Sabine Wren, Boba Fett, The Armorer, Din Djarin, and Bo-Katan

Mandalorians are a clan of warriors who often traverse the galaxy as rogue mercenaries and bounty hunters. If you're looking to play as a Mandolorian in D&D, we recommend the artificer class. Artificers craft armor, weapons, and other gadgets much like those that the Mandolorians use in combat. If you select the armorer subclass, you can craft arcane armor like the armor Mandolorians forge from the super-strong metal beskar. The armorer artificer can switch between Guardian and Infiltrator armor, both of which have their own nifty gadgets. The Guardian’s Thunder Gauntlets act like the Mandolorian’s vambraces, while its Defensive Field mimics their sonic repulsors. The Infiltrator’s Lightning Launcher shoots from the wearer's fist, like the Mandolorians’ wrist darts, and the Perfected Armor of the Guardian pulls creatures towards you, like the Mandos do with a wrist cable. Artificers also have a spark of magic; their spells can stick them to walls like the Mando’s magnetized boots, produce flaming arrows, like the Mandalorian missiles, and even let them fly through the air, like the Mandolorians’ iconic jetpacks.

Play As A Pilot In Dungeons & Dragons

Poe Dameron, Plo Koon, Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, and Cassian Andor

Pilots, whether they be flying in the trenches of the Death Star or smuggling contraband underneath the nose of the empire, need incredible reflexes and the ability to maneuver from one place to another undetected. Dungeons & Dragons’ rogue class is a perfect pick, as they’re incredibly stealthy and dexterous (as well as often being on the wrong side of the law). They also are incredibly observant and accurate with abilities like Blindsense, which allows them to detect things without seeing them, and Steady Aim, which gives the accuracy of a targeting computer! Like a quick-moving X-wing, rogues can avoid attacks with abilities like Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, and Elusive. The mastermind archetype is particularly good for playing gold-hearted scoundrels like Han Solo and Cassian Andor. These rogues are masters of disguise and can produce incredibly believable forgeries. Like Han Solo infiltrating the Stormtropers, mastermind rogues can read and influence others with the Insightful Manipulator ability (and make a hasty escape at someone else’s expense with Misdirection). 

Play As A Droid In Dungeons & Dragons

BB-8, K-2SO, C-3PO, IG-11, AND R2-D2

Droids are mechanical beings programmed with artificial intelligence. A great way to play a character like that in D&D is to play as a warforged; they, too, were built from metal with the intelligence - and heart - of a human. Because warforged are not organic, they don’t need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep, and they can’t catch diseases. As for a class, the clockwork-soul sorcerer has the mechanically orderliness of a droid. These sorcerers have spells that are very similar to the abilities of Star-Wars droids; they can set off alarms, fix broken things, tinker, send messages, shock people (like R2-D2 often does), know several languages (like protocol droid C-3PO), speed away (like BB8), shoot missiles, and, of course, blow things up.

Play As A Rebel Leader in Dungeons & Dragons

General Organa, Admiral Ackbar, Saw Gerrera, Senator Amidala, and Mon Mothma

The Rebellion is full of loyal pilots, skilled droids, and talented fighters, but it would be nothing without the strategy and command of its leaders (and the leaders sympathetic to their cause). Playing as a cleric with the order domain in D&D will give your character the same presence and power of these legendary leaders. Order clerics can use their magic to gather intelligence, and track people down, essential for covert operations, They can also inspire their followers, either with magical means or special feats. Using their Voice of Authority, they can rouse their allies to attack. Like the strategists heading the Rebellion, these clerics can use the  Order’s Wrath ability to make others vulnerable to attack. They also have a way of getting others to assist their cause, casting spells like command, compulsion, and even dominate person, that influence others in the Senate, the battlefield, and beyond.

Play Your Star Wars Favorites in Dungeons & Dragons

The Wookie Chewbacca would make a great D&D barbarian

We would be remiss to finish out this list without mentioning two near-perfect pairings of Star Wars characters and D&D classes. The first is Chewbacca, the beloved Wookie. As Han Solo not-so-subtely states, Wookies are known to “pull people’s arms off when they lose” - and they have the strength and size to back it up! Playing as the Goliath species will give you the extra height and strength of a Wookie. Picking the Barbarian class will let you activate Rage (perhaps when you lose against a Droid). Rage gives barbarians even more strength and power, letting them tear their enemies apart with big furry arms (Barbarians also are proficient in light crossbows, like Chewy is with his trusty Bowcaster). 

Lando is clearly a bard!

Second is the smooth-talking smuggler Lando Calrissian. He’s a bit of a scoundrel who gets by on his excellent charm and ability to gain allies - for as long as it takes to swindle them, anyway. The bard class is a great pick for a character like Lando; they have high charisma and can use spells like Friends, Charm Person, Calm Emotions, Enthrall, or Fast Friends, to influence others. Like Lando, bards have a flair for the dramatic, roasting people, summoning effects, and producing distractions. They can also be less than honest like pretending to be someone else, selling something for more than it’s worth.

Play Your Star Wars Adventure in D&D

These ideas are all well and good, but what use is a cool character idea if you can’t find anybody to play with? Luckily, there are plenty of options these days to play D&D with others using online tool to connect with other D&D fans. At Young Dragonslayers, we run games customized to the preferences of our tween and teen players - I once ran a game with a Zabrak Jedi who was searching for his lost brother! If you’ve got an awesome character idea, check out our groups; we’d love to help you bring them to life.