NRAC: synthesis of kit design

“In the Outer Rim, what an individual wears is as much a calling card as a blaster pistol or an Imperial insignia. The clothes on a being’s back tell a tale as eloquent as any holonet drama. They speak of his priorities, how and where he works, his state and status in life, and the ways in which he wishes to present himself to the galaxy at large. -Armored plates sewn into clothing, gun belts loaded with firepower, and bandoliers slung across torsos are the hallmarks of bounty hunters and other guns for hire. Tool belts, bulging carryall bags, and coveralls smudged with machine fluids are the mark of a technician, and a flight suit sets a pilot apart in any crowd. Those who spend their time and make their living exploring and exploiting the vast empty places in the Rim are just as easily spotted. Well-worn clothes, battered packs, and goggles scratched by the dust of a thousand worlds tell of the many countless kilometers these hardy souls have traveled.” Fantasy Flight Games: Edge of the Empire – Enter the Unknown: page 44.

Last week I laid out my research into space-archeologist gear/clothing and utilitarian clothing in the 20ABY period; this week I am showing my current ideas for the items of kit which will be assembled to depict such an impression.
If we consider that by 20ABY the Galactic Civil War is over and the New Republic is a legitimate government, as a civilian this should be much less outwardly militaristic than my other ‘partisan’ personas from the GCW period…although based on the standard galactic aesthetic and the archeologists I’ve worked with (and the no-nonsense gear they tend to use), a certain amount is bound to remain regardless.

1. Depictions of field-based occupations in WEG materials combined with their prevalence (for all societal strata) in the period in which this persona is based suggest that a generic flight/jumpsuit or coveralls are an appropriate base garment.
After the Bastion Accords in 19 ABY, one might expect a fair amount of Rebel Alliance military surplus gear to be decommissioned and released to the public market. With this in mind, I imagine an archeologist doing fieldwork could make great use of an old Alliance flightsuit, specifically an unflashy one like those used by Rebel flight technicians and ground crew:
Such a garment, authentically aged and worn, would be perfect as an archeologist’s coverall to protect clothes from dust, sun, rain, etc., or to add an extra insulating/wind-cutting layer in cold conditions, yet still able to be tied off at the waist for upper body cooling in warm conditions. Either way, plenty of storage is available for small items of ‘pocket trash’.
(double bonus: if I decide I want to go for Rebel Legion membership sometime in the future, a Yavin base hangar technician is just about the quick-and-dirtiest outfit to put together).

-the Alliance flightsuit has most of its pockets located below the waist, so for more ‘visual interest’ and to get a little closer to established Galactic/offworld explorer style—especially one favored by explorer types—a pocketed vest could be worn over it.
While I’ve been giving serious thought recently to converting my dark brown short jacket from last summer’s Naboo kit into a vest, in light of the vest description in last week’s post I am thinking of going one step further. I like my jacket’s pattern, but it is a heavy cotton that will soak up water and take forever to dry if saturated. At the same time, I also have an old M66 Vietnam light jacket/heavy shirt hanging in my closet I haven’t worn in years…which is made of fast-drying ripstop cotton. I am now thinking that I will make a ripstop vest from the ‘Nam jacket using the pattern of the brown jacket, and dye the whole thing brown. And between the existing pockets and sleeves, I should have plenty of material to trick the vest out with even more extraneous pockets for true GFFA style.

-As a reflection of planetary heritage, a Naboo-style shirt with high Mandarin collar could be worn beneath the flightsuit (academics being a large part of Naboo’s culture—see the University of Theed). For more generic GFFA style, I’m thinking about making up a doublebreasted ‘bib’ type shirt along the lines of Han Solo in Episode V or the male lead in ‘Rogue One’.

-The copious pockets of a flightsuit+vest provide plenty of storage space, but equipment belts are also key to the aesthetic. Based on the WEG equipment descriptions, my belt gear will definitely need to include a datapad (and therefore a leather pouch), but also certainly a multitool, a comlink of some sort, a folding trowel, ‘saber hook’ for things with D-rings (glowrod?), and…what else?

-Since NRAC expeditions may take one into undeveloped or hostile environments, it may be necessary to clearly advertise one’s affiliation with the recognized legitimate government. Therefore an armband with New Republic insignia will be included in the kit:
-While RPG and video games tend to depict characters with unrealistic footwear adorned with copious buckles, flaps, metal studs, and other such greeblies, to adhere to the cinematically-established GFFA aesthetic, footwear will be plain black Finnish jackboots, well worn:

-As someone who works on their hands and knees, I feel that kneepads of some sort may be necessary to better sell the impression as a legit field archeologist. Because I would like to maintain the possibility of using this flightsuit for RL membership, I don’t want to modify it any, so any kneepads would need to be of a removable sort.

-For protection from sun/rain/the elements, some pattern of hat is still necessary. However as I explained last week, I wouldn’t mind deviating from the ‘fringey gunslinger’ look established by EotE:EtU. Such a hat, while practical for keeping the sun off one’s face and neck, is not exactly practical in windy (it would catch a gust like a sail!) or cold conditions (no insulation). Therefore, as I always seek gear which is both practical and can do double duty for me, I think my Pfilbee Jhorn winter hat can be worn with this kit, with or without goggles (see opening passage^) depending on conditions.
After all, Jhorn was a sergeant in the Imperial Survey Corps, and I can imagine it might be just the sort of hat one would come across second- or third-hand in some Outer Rim junk shop.

-The reference above to ‘battered packs’ suggests that any one of my three main gear-carriers—Norwegian Bergan framepack, Czech 60 softpack, or M17 satchel—could be appropriately used for this persona. Looking back in my notes, I wrote that the latter was intended to look like ‘GFFA surplus’ with an Indiana Jones flavor: perfect for an archeologist persona!

I also don’t think that such a digger should be very heavily armed. True, this is the Galaxy Far, Far Away (and so most everybody open-carries), but packing a military-grade blaster rifle seems like a bit of overkill. However, both of WEG’s character templates mention a blaster pistol, so perhaps something inconspicuous would be appropriate. I feel my DH-17 is definitely too Rebel-associated, but there are a plethora of lesser-known blasters out there to choose from. I do have a DL-44 (with inline scope based on the Battlefront!2004 version) retool that’s in need of finishing…but those are just so overdone 😛

With all that said, here’s what I’ve sketched up to synthesize these ideas. What do you think? Have I skipped over some critical piece of gear? How do you imagine an in-universe archeologist would look? Drop a comment below and let me know!

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