Wow, four posts in the same month. One might start to think the owner of this blog actually remembered that it exists ;)
It'd been quite a while since I'd last updated my Ways of the Force fan supplement. I'd been working on altering a number of things, such as largely doing away with the minor Force powers and expanding two of them into full-fledged Force Power trees.
Ways of the Force, Version 1.3
I've also made some major revamps to the Force Powers, new and old, in light of clarification from FFG's own Sam Stewart in regards to how Force Power effects were activated. To simplify, my understanding was incorrect, and that in light of that understanding, Injure and Healing were vastly more powerful than I was comfortable with. There was also the matter that they had gotten perhaps too complicated, particularly Healing and my attempts to keep it from being too useful to a group but not so restricted as to make it nearly useless. I think I've struck the right balance this time around with both powers, making them effective but not game-breaking.
The Jedi Initiate has also gotten a substantial change in layout. I opted to go back to the original focus of this being a specialization that focuses on becoming a competent lightsaber duelist as one of it's primary aspects, and that improved Force usage isn't quite as major. That's not to say that someone taking Jedi Initiate won't be slackers in the Force, but rather that lightsaber prowess is going to be a major part of the specialization. So folks that are looking to be a Jedi but don't want to bother with the lightsaber talents, I'm afraid you're going to have to look to other Force-sensitive specializations to scratch that particular itch.
I've also recanted a bit on my earlier statement about not having any kind of skill check to construct a lightsaber. For this version, I've settled on making it a single Discipline check, partly to avoid the issue of "how would my PC know how to build a lightsaber if they're not trained in the skill?" had I used the Lightsaber skill, but largely as a nod to Saga Edition and having it be a Use the Force check to accomplish that task. Plus, Discipline ties into it being an important skill for Force users to have as well as the concentration and focus needed for a task that's noted as requiring a combination of great delicacy and precision. However, that's not to say that it's an automatic thing either, especially if the player is impatient, as the check starts at Daunting, and only gets harder the quicker a PC tries to accomplish the task of building the 'saber; get too greedy and your Jedi-in-training could find themselves having to start completely from scratch.
Another major change has been to the Deflect Blasters talent. I feel there comes a point that when you need more than a single paragraph to cover the effects of a talent, then you've reached the point of needing to split it into two talents. And given some of the unexpected issues that cropped up, such as a PC using the talent to deflect a single shot from auto-fire weapon and then trigger auto-fire (something that was never intended), the split was needed. So while it now takes two talents to allow a Jedi Initiate to deflect and reflect blaster fire (presuming they've acquired a lightsaber in the first place), both talents are better balanced, with the minor bonus that deflecting ranged attacks is now something that the character could start knowing how to do; after all, it's one of the first lessons that Luke learned on his path to becoming a Jedi Knight.
The two new powers are Rebuke (expanded from Resist Force) and Message (expanded from Projective Telepathy). As for Sense Force, that's simply been moved to a sidebar (found under the Force Mystic) and is pretty much a function of the Sense power.
With Message, I had toyed with the idea of creating some kind of "battle meditation" effect, but I felt that such an ability was best left as a plot device type of thing, particularly with FFG having kept the uses of the Force in the powers they've published much closer to the general feel of the films while mostly averting some of the crazier stunts that have been seen in the Expanded Universe. While Sense covers the "picking up thoughts" aspect of telepathy, Message is more in line of what folks think when one mentions "telepathy," though like Saga Edition I kept the power's effects fairly simple, with the intent that any conversations would be very simple; something akin to Luke contacting Leia and sending a general sense that he was in danger and that he was "underneath Cloud City," and hoping that she'd be able to take it from there to rescue him.
As for Rebuke, one complaint I've often seen is that there was no real way to defend yourself from a Force power. It's not a major issue with Move (since any defensive traits that work against ranged attacks would apply), but it becomes a bigger on with Influence and Injure, both of which as written don't give the target any way to stop the damage inflicted. I opted to keep the opposed Discipline check that Resist Force had, though this isn't too big of an issue for most powers (especially as I scrapped the opposed check that was part of Injure in the last version). I've also broken out it so that the basic effect is simply to negate the effects of a power; if your Force user wants to pull a Yoda and hurl those bolts of Force lightning back, you'll need a Control Upgrade to do it. One potential concern is that with enough ranks in Discipline and the way Rebuke's Strength Upgrades operate it could become very easy for a Force-user with this power to shove an offensive power right back down their opponent's throat. Admittedly, this is offset somewhat by needing a Triumph on the opposed Discipline check and the chance for a Despair against more potent Force users as well. I also opted to include the ability to absorb/negate energy attacks as the "capstone" ability of Rebuke, using the same general mechanics, such as the Force user making an opposed Discipline check, only this time the difficulty is the shooter's combat skill. You could potentially use this to redirect a blaster shot with your bare hands, but by the time that most characters gain that particular Control Upgrade, they should be facing some pretty potent adversaries.
There have been a few other lesser tweaks here and there, but those are the highlights. And, barring any major typographical errors, this will probably be the final revision to this document.
With a Force & Destiny Beta having been teased as coming out later this year (presumably at GenCon), that brings to a close the reason I created this supplement in the first place; namely as a way to provide players with further options to play Force users in and Edge of the Empire or an Age of Rebellion campaign. A number of folks wanted some way to play an actual Jedi, not a "let's pretend" version that had either the Force Exile or Force Emergent specs and a few ranks in the Lightsaber skill, as well as an ability to perform Force-based feats that we saw in the movies but weren't covered by Edge of the Empire. While some folks chose to focus exclusively on creating a Jedi career, I opted to split the difference and create a Jedi specialization as a nod to the limited training available during the Rebellion Era as well as create additional Force powers.
But, with Force & Destiny having been teased to cover Jedi and other Force-users, the need to add new material or revise the existing material becomes less and less. Then again, I knew this was going to happen eventually, and thus had a degree of "planned obsolescence" from the very start. After all, when it comes to choosing between officially published material and some random guy's fan work, most gamers are going to lean towards the officially published material. And I'm okay with that. On a personal level, I'm interested to see how different in the design and application of things like blaster deflection and rebuking enemy Force powers my stuff and FFG's stuff will be. Amusingly, around July of last year, I'd been working on building an "enhanced movement" and "farseeing" power, and laughed with giddy joy at seeing that the Enhance and Foresee powers in the Age of Rebellion Beta were along very similar guidelines; my stuff would have gotten to that point in another month or two. Part of me hopes I'll get to experience that a second time around with the Force & Destiny Beta.
In the end, I can only hope that in the time frame between when I first web-published Ways of the Force and when the Force & Destiny core rulebook gets released next year, folks have found the material I've created to be useful for their games, either in whole or just select parts of it.
Edit: For some reason, Dropbox disabled the previous link. I've put a new one up.
Showing posts with label May the Fourth. The Force. Show all posts
Showing posts with label May the Fourth. The Force. Show all posts
March 22, 2014
November 29, 2013
Ways of the Force, version 1.2 (and other things)
Greetings, salutations, and various other modes of introduction.
Firstly, for those readers that live in the U.S., I hope your Thanksgiving was fun, semi-relaxing, and filled with plenty of good eats.
As the title notes, I'm now releasing Version 1.2 of my Ways of the Force fan supplement for use with Fantasy Flight Games' terrific Star Wars Roleplaying Game.
Ways of the Force, Version 1.2
On the mechanical side of things, the material takes into account new material and updates from the Age of Rebellion Beta, as well as some reworking and (hopefully) simplification of some of the new Force Powers, specifically the Injure power and the Resist Force minor power. I'm quite pleased with how the specializations are set-up, so not major changes there other than swapping out a talent here and there.
However, the biggest change is in the formatting of this fan supplement. Previous versions have been fairly "bare bones" and going right into the material, with the credits and such at the end. Well, due to various experiences with some of the realities of web publishing, I've opted to change things up a bit in regards to how the document appears. For starters, there's an actual cover page, with the credits page following right after. Also added was a Creative Commons license agreement, something I've added out of semi-reluctant necessity given how one of my other projects was treated as "help yourself and do what you want" due to the lack of the CC license agreement in the document itself, leading to a series of events that I have no desire to repeat.
You might also notice that I've moved away from GoogleDocs and over to DropBox. I've been having some issues with updating and replacing files on GoogleDocs (to say nothing of GD's lack of ability to track how many hits a file's gotten), and so I'm going to give DropBox a shot. I've been using DropBox for a couple minor things, and I've been pretty impressed so far. That and the preview versions of my PDF files don't look quite as garbled or washed out as the did on GoogleDocs. Still, you'll need to download the file to your computer/netbook/tablet/device for it to look the way it should.
As for the other FFG Star Wars RPG fan project, the Unofficial Species Menagerie, going through the process of getting version 3.0 in order was certainly a learning experience. In particular, that I should have stuck with my gut feeling and reached out to the person that I wanted to have do the "prettied up" PDF in the first place instead of the individual that I got stuck working with due to the lack of Creative Commons license issue that I noted above. For all his remarks about my being "unprofessional" (mostly as I was trying to give various artists and authors a reasonable time to respond rather than the "right now dammit!" that he was insisting upon), he certainly screwed several things up, including the spelling of several alien species, and his own attitude was hardly what I'd call professional. Particularly when Brian "Fiddleback" Casey in his role as editor of the Gamer Security Agency started up a separate thread to announce the newest version of the USM being available and the accusation that I deliberately tried to cut him out of the deal, when nothing could be further from the truth as I tried to arrange a simultaneous notification of both the low-resolution and high-resolution versions.
But that is in the past, and I'm happy to say that JegerGryte (check out his blog here) has happily agreed to step up to the plate in getting a corrected version of the Unofficial Species Menagerie. He was my original choice as for who I wanted to work on the "prettied-up" version of the USM for the third version, and his work has been outstanding. He's also shown to have no problems with feedback or about typos, which puts him well above the other guy in my book. As I said, given the quality of work that he's done and the lack of ego in working with him, I really wish I had stuck to my gut and told "thedearth" to sod off. Things are looking pretty good, so keep your eyes on the GSA for an update in the near future.
And speaking of the Gamer Security Agency, things are in a state of flux as near as I can tell. Brian Casey has opted to move on to doing his own version, the Mad Adventurer's Society, and I think his notification that he was stepping down from being the GSA's primary editor has left everyone else a bit gun shy. While the GSA is still up and still running, there's not been a whole lot of new content.
Also, given a listen to the latest episode of the Order 66 podcast "GMing A-Z with Jay Little" featuring the lead developer/designer of FFG's Star Wars RPG, Mister Jay Little himself. There is some great advice on working with so-called "problem player" types, with an emphasis on the "working with" part as opposed to the traditional suggestions that focus more on "dealing with" those types of players.
Firstly, for those readers that live in the U.S., I hope your Thanksgiving was fun, semi-relaxing, and filled with plenty of good eats.
As the title notes, I'm now releasing Version 1.2 of my Ways of the Force fan supplement for use with Fantasy Flight Games' terrific Star Wars Roleplaying Game.
Ways of the Force, Version 1.2
On the mechanical side of things, the material takes into account new material and updates from the Age of Rebellion Beta, as well as some reworking and (hopefully) simplification of some of the new Force Powers, specifically the Injure power and the Resist Force minor power. I'm quite pleased with how the specializations are set-up, so not major changes there other than swapping out a talent here and there.
However, the biggest change is in the formatting of this fan supplement. Previous versions have been fairly "bare bones" and going right into the material, with the credits and such at the end. Well, due to various experiences with some of the realities of web publishing, I've opted to change things up a bit in regards to how the document appears. For starters, there's an actual cover page, with the credits page following right after. Also added was a Creative Commons license agreement, something I've added out of semi-reluctant necessity given how one of my other projects was treated as "help yourself and do what you want" due to the lack of the CC license agreement in the document itself, leading to a series of events that I have no desire to repeat.
You might also notice that I've moved away from GoogleDocs and over to DropBox. I've been having some issues with updating and replacing files on GoogleDocs (to say nothing of GD's lack of ability to track how many hits a file's gotten), and so I'm going to give DropBox a shot. I've been using DropBox for a couple minor things, and I've been pretty impressed so far. That and the preview versions of my PDF files don't look quite as garbled or washed out as the did on GoogleDocs. Still, you'll need to download the file to your computer/netbook/tablet/device for it to look the way it should.
As for the other FFG Star Wars RPG fan project, the Unofficial Species Menagerie, going through the process of getting version 3.0 in order was certainly a learning experience. In particular, that I should have stuck with my gut feeling and reached out to the person that I wanted to have do the "prettied up" PDF in the first place instead of the individual that I got stuck working with due to the lack of Creative Commons license issue that I noted above. For all his remarks about my being "unprofessional" (mostly as I was trying to give various artists and authors a reasonable time to respond rather than the "right now dammit!" that he was insisting upon), he certainly screwed several things up, including the spelling of several alien species, and his own attitude was hardly what I'd call professional. Particularly when Brian "Fiddleback" Casey in his role as editor of the Gamer Security Agency started up a separate thread to announce the newest version of the USM being available and the accusation that I deliberately tried to cut him out of the deal, when nothing could be further from the truth as I tried to arrange a simultaneous notification of both the low-resolution and high-resolution versions.
But that is in the past, and I'm happy to say that JegerGryte (check out his blog here) has happily agreed to step up to the plate in getting a corrected version of the Unofficial Species Menagerie. He was my original choice as for who I wanted to work on the "prettied-up" version of the USM for the third version, and his work has been outstanding. He's also shown to have no problems with feedback or about typos, which puts him well above the other guy in my book. As I said, given the quality of work that he's done and the lack of ego in working with him, I really wish I had stuck to my gut and told "thedearth" to sod off. Things are looking pretty good, so keep your eyes on the GSA for an update in the near future.
And speaking of the Gamer Security Agency, things are in a state of flux as near as I can tell. Brian Casey has opted to move on to doing his own version, the Mad Adventurer's Society, and I think his notification that he was stepping down from being the GSA's primary editor has left everyone else a bit gun shy. While the GSA is still up and still running, there's not been a whole lot of new content.
Also, given a listen to the latest episode of the Order 66 podcast "GMing A-Z with Jay Little" featuring the lead developer/designer of FFG's Star Wars RPG, Mister Jay Little himself. There is some great advice on working with so-called "problem player" types, with an emphasis on the "working with" part as opposed to the traditional suggestions that focus more on "dealing with" those types of players.
September 2, 2013
Ways of the Force, version 1.1
Firstly, happy Labor Day for those of us enjoying a day off in the U.S.
Kind of fitting that after a couple month's worth of labor, consisting of a substantial amount of review and revision, I now present the latest version of my Ways of the Force fan supplement:
Ways of the Force v1.1
There's been some pretty substantial changes, the foremost of which is the restructuring of the Jedi Initiate talent tree. The intent with the change was to allow for character with this specialization to not be overly penalized for not becoming an expert at using a lightsaber, though mastery of the lightsaber still remains a major focus of this specialization. So if all you want to do with your Jedi Initiate is buff up their Force Rating and not once pick up a lightsaber, you can easily skip all those lightsaber-related talents.
I also removed and revised some of the Minor Force Powers, as well as removed a talent (Force Leap) from the Jedi Initiate. If you've managed to snag a copy of the Age of Rebellion Beta, then you'll understand way. If not, let us just say that my thoughts when developing some of these elements came very close to those of FFG's design team.
Part of the reason why there had been such a lengthy delay between versions was that back in July, I decided to develop the Force Leap talent and the "Search Your Feelings" minor power into full-fledged Force Powers, with a Basic Power and various Upgrades. I actually had a decent layout for the power trees for what I was calling Enhancement and Farseeing.
Enhancement built upon my Force Leap talent by allow a Force Die to be rolled to add successes or advantage to various Brawn and Agility based checks, such as Athletics, Coordination, Stealth, and Resilience, as well as a movement-based effect that drew upon lessons learned from an ill-fated attempt at creating a "Force Speed" power tree in months prior. The bulk of the power tree were Control Upgrades, with the base power starting at Athletics, and broadening the skills affected with each Control Upgrade on one side and a "Force Speed" effect on the other, with Range Upgrade to allow the user to cross additional Range Bands.
As for Farseeing, the basic power allowed a brief but fuzzy snapshot of events in the near future, with Strength Upgrades to allow more details, Duration Upgrades to look further into the future, and Control Upgrades to look into the past as well as to see the future/past of someone else, or multiple someones if you had enough Magnitude Upgrades. A base framework, but one that needed a great deal more refinement before they were ready to publish.
Well, as I mentioned in my prior post, I wound up being very pleasantly surprised when I (finally) cracked open my copy of the Age of Rebellion Beta (had to wait until after an EotE run by Sam Stewart before I could retreat to the VIG lounge to actually read the book), and wound up laughing quite a bit at how close I'd gotten in most aspects to what FFG had published, a sentiment that GM Chris of the Order 66 podcast and lead designer Jay Little were both glad to share, and I'm sure a few other folks will too. To paraphrase Jay, it says something about how simple and intuitive the design of their Star Wars system is when someone totally unrelated is able to independently design concepts that mirror those that the official design team has come up with.
So that fun little anecdote aside, a couple other changes you'll find is that I've broke the new weapons and new gear out into separate pages, adding a few more lightsaber variants such as the double-bladed lightsaber and training lightsaber to the weapons listing. For the Force-related items, both of the new entries are very heavily slanted towards the Jedi, those being Adegan/Ilum crystals (useful for building one's lightsaber) and the coveted Jedi holocron (which can be damn handy both as an information resource and instructional aide to burgeoning Force-users).
The "Sense Force" minor power has been simplified, with the "sense disturbances" aspect broken out into a separate side bar and being something anyone with a Force Rating of 1 or better can do. New to this section is the "Resist Force" power, which provides experienced Force-users a way to protect themselves from enemy powers. That's probably the one element of this latest version that will most likely be in need of further revision or clarification, but I think the core functionality is solid even if it does add yet another measure of complexity to using the Force.
So, hopefully the changes and updates made in this latest version prove agreeable to your group.
Kind of fitting that after a couple month's worth of labor, consisting of a substantial amount of review and revision, I now present the latest version of my Ways of the Force fan supplement:
Ways of the Force v1.1
There's been some pretty substantial changes, the foremost of which is the restructuring of the Jedi Initiate talent tree. The intent with the change was to allow for character with this specialization to not be overly penalized for not becoming an expert at using a lightsaber, though mastery of the lightsaber still remains a major focus of this specialization. So if all you want to do with your Jedi Initiate is buff up their Force Rating and not once pick up a lightsaber, you can easily skip all those lightsaber-related talents.
I also removed and revised some of the Minor Force Powers, as well as removed a talent (Force Leap) from the Jedi Initiate. If you've managed to snag a copy of the Age of Rebellion Beta, then you'll understand way. If not, let us just say that my thoughts when developing some of these elements came very close to those of FFG's design team.
Part of the reason why there had been such a lengthy delay between versions was that back in July, I decided to develop the Force Leap talent and the "Search Your Feelings" minor power into full-fledged Force Powers, with a Basic Power and various Upgrades. I actually had a decent layout for the power trees for what I was calling Enhancement and Farseeing.
Enhancement built upon my Force Leap talent by allow a Force Die to be rolled to add successes or advantage to various Brawn and Agility based checks, such as Athletics, Coordination, Stealth, and Resilience, as well as a movement-based effect that drew upon lessons learned from an ill-fated attempt at creating a "Force Speed" power tree in months prior. The bulk of the power tree were Control Upgrades, with the base power starting at Athletics, and broadening the skills affected with each Control Upgrade on one side and a "Force Speed" effect on the other, with Range Upgrade to allow the user to cross additional Range Bands.
As for Farseeing, the basic power allowed a brief but fuzzy snapshot of events in the near future, with Strength Upgrades to allow more details, Duration Upgrades to look further into the future, and Control Upgrades to look into the past as well as to see the future/past of someone else, or multiple someones if you had enough Magnitude Upgrades. A base framework, but one that needed a great deal more refinement before they were ready to publish.
Well, as I mentioned in my prior post, I wound up being very pleasantly surprised when I (finally) cracked open my copy of the Age of Rebellion Beta (had to wait until after an EotE run by Sam Stewart before I could retreat to the VIG lounge to actually read the book), and wound up laughing quite a bit at how close I'd gotten in most aspects to what FFG had published, a sentiment that GM Chris of the Order 66 podcast and lead designer Jay Little were both glad to share, and I'm sure a few other folks will too. To paraphrase Jay, it says something about how simple and intuitive the design of their Star Wars system is when someone totally unrelated is able to independently design concepts that mirror those that the official design team has come up with.
So that fun little anecdote aside, a couple other changes you'll find is that I've broke the new weapons and new gear out into separate pages, adding a few more lightsaber variants such as the double-bladed lightsaber and training lightsaber to the weapons listing. For the Force-related items, both of the new entries are very heavily slanted towards the Jedi, those being Adegan/Ilum crystals (useful for building one's lightsaber) and the coveted Jedi holocron (which can be damn handy both as an information resource and instructional aide to burgeoning Force-users).
The "Sense Force" minor power has been simplified, with the "sense disturbances" aspect broken out into a separate side bar and being something anyone with a Force Rating of 1 or better can do. New to this section is the "Resist Force" power, which provides experienced Force-users a way to protect themselves from enemy powers. That's probably the one element of this latest version that will most likely be in need of further revision or clarification, but I think the core functionality is solid even if it does add yet another measure of complexity to using the Force.
So, hopefully the changes and updates made in this latest version prove agreeable to your group.
May 25, 2013
Ways of the Force v1.02
Judging by the number of page hits since it's debut on May the Fourth, it would indeed seem that my Ways of the Force fan supplement for Fantasy Flight Games' upcoming Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG is quite popular.
I've also gotten some really good feedback on both the d20 Radio Network and FFG EotE forums, which has in turn lead to a few corrections and some revisions to the supplement. There were a few things that looked really good on paper that didn't quite stand up to scrutiny on the gaming table, with Deflect Blasters being far more cumbersome than I was hoping and the new Healing power being too good as just a couple of prime examples.
Ways of the Force v1.02
I won't bore you with the details (at least not this time around), so here's the highlight reel:
- Deflect Blasters is now a competitive check.
- Lightsaber Defense now works within the mechanics for Defense.
- Dark Side's Embrace has been replaced with a more useful entry.
- A narrative-based set of guidelines for determining if a Force-user has fallen to the dark side.
- Jedi Initiate specialization has had several talents shuffled around.
- The Healing power has been toned down in its effectiveness.
- The Injure basic power has been revised and the power tree reworked.
- Search Your Feelings minor power now provides a tangible use for additional LS points.
As mentioned above and in my prior post, the feedback I've received so far has been both positive and informative, so I'm curious to see what sort of reception these changes get. Hopefully I've solved several issues without creating too many new ones in their place, but we'll just have to see.
I've also gotten some really good feedback on both the d20 Radio Network and FFG EotE forums, which has in turn lead to a few corrections and some revisions to the supplement. There were a few things that looked really good on paper that didn't quite stand up to scrutiny on the gaming table, with Deflect Blasters being far more cumbersome than I was hoping and the new Healing power being too good as just a couple of prime examples.
Ways of the Force v1.02
I won't bore you with the details (at least not this time around), so here's the highlight reel:
- Deflect Blasters is now a competitive check.
- Lightsaber Defense now works within the mechanics for Defense.
- Dark Side's Embrace has been replaced with a more useful entry.
- A narrative-based set of guidelines for determining if a Force-user has fallen to the dark side.
- Jedi Initiate specialization has had several talents shuffled around.
- The Healing power has been toned down in its effectiveness.
- The Injure basic power has been revised and the power tree reworked.
- Search Your Feelings minor power now provides a tangible use for additional LS points.
As mentioned above and in my prior post, the feedback I've received so far has been both positive and informative, so I'm curious to see what sort of reception these changes get. Hopefully I've solved several issues without creating too many new ones in their place, but we'll just have to see.
May 18, 2013
Lightsabers in EotE - A relic of a more civililzed age
Well, it's now been two weeks since I published my "Ways of the Force" fan supplement for Fantasy Flight Games' Edge of the Empire RPG.
And overall, the response has been positive. To have someone say "normally I don't like fan supplements, but I really like what you've done with yours" says quite a bit about the quality of the work and that I fulfilled my objective of keeping as much in synch with Edge of the Empire's default setting and feel as possible.
Now, that's not to say everything was perfect. Far from it in fact, and there's a few elements that have been revised based upon feedback provided, both on the d20 Radio forums and FFG's EotE message board. Among those elements are Dark Side's Embrace and the Healing base power, the former actually providing a concrete benefit and the latter being reduced in effectiveness in order to step away from "magic healing."
However, one element that got some critique was the Build Lightsaber talent, mostly due to some folks feeling that it was either a "useless" talent or that it needed to provide a bigger bang. Well, I figure here is as good a place as any to go into why I wrote up the Build Lightsaber talent the way I did.
Just so we're all on the same page, here's the game text:
Build Lightsaber
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Trees: Jedi Initiate
The character is now able to construct a lightsaber, a task that requires components worth at least 2000 credits and a number of days equal to 7 less the character's Force Rating.
In the Jedi Initiate specialization, it's nestled in the 2nd Row, but you've got to go through at least two 3rd Row talents in order to reach it, so it's not like you're going to have very many Jedi neophytes starting play with the ability to construct a lightsaber. Note I say "construct," as this talent doesn't automatically provide the character with a lightsaber, just the means to build one of their own. Now a GM could handwave the days needed to build a lightsaber, but they certainly should not waive the cost in components.
Some critiques suggested that, much like the d20 Star Wars games, a self-built lightsaber should provide some kind of perk, such as a bonus to hit. The problem with that approach is that FFG made the lightsaber an incredibly potent weapon; even after the Beta Updates, it still has the highest raw damage of any melee weapon, it pretty much ignores character-scale Soak Values, and it has the lowest Crit Rating; any attack that hit is going to deal damage and like inflict a Critical Injury in the process. For non-Jedi, you either need to spend a small fortune procuring a lightsaber on the black market, or hope the GM chooses to provide one as an adventure reward.
So to me, being able to build a lightsaber at a relatively modest sum during the height of the Empire's power and influence is enough of a benefit already. Also, a self-built lightsaber providing any kind of special bonus only showed up in the d20 versions, due to d20 being a crunch-focused game built upon calculating modifiers and getting the largest bonus you can manage. Back in the D6 version, what little rules there were for building a lightsaber simply said "congrats, you've built your own lightsaber." And that was it; no special bonuses or perks, just the fact that your Jedi PC now had a lightsaber. Which given that most of the D6 material was set during the Rebellion Era and the New Republic eras, when Jedi Knights were scarce, being able to build your own lightsaber was a pretty nice perk without needing any extra mechanical benefits.
Now if one were to add a mechanic-based perk to building your own lightsaber in EotE, the next question is "what benefit do you add?" The first thing that might come to mind is the Superior weapon quality (pg107 of the EotE Beta), but a free Advantage on every attack plus a boost to damage is simply too good.
The next option is to model the benefit of a self-built lightsaber after the Jury-Rigged talent (pg95, EotE Beta), but most of that talent's benefits wouldn't apply, leaving you with just a bonus to damage. I suppose you could tweak Jury-Rigged's text to allow the lightsaber to provide an extra point of Melee Defense or Ranged Defense, which might fit with the possible perks of Dooku's curved-hilt lightsaber and the advantage it provides the wielder in melee combat.
One idea I had considered during the earliest stages was simply giving a self-built lightsaber the Accurate quality, but a free Boost die on all lightsaber attacks felt just as overpowering as the giving a self-built lightsaber the Superior quality, particularly as you're more apt to roll Advantages, and per the reading of the Sunder quality, you don't have to hit your target in order to damage their weapon. So either the Jedi hits and gets an extra Advantage or two to inflict a Critical Injury, or they have an easier time triggering the Sunder quality on their lightsabers.
One suggestion that I saw was to instead apply the perks of the Tinkerer talent and give the lightsaber a bonus Hard Point (it normally has none), allowing the Jedi to personally customize their lightsaber. Now I'll admit that has some appeal, but the problem is that right now, the EotE Beta only has one melee-based attachment available, which provides the Superior quality, leading us to the problems documented three paragraphs up and making an already impressive weapon that much more deadly. According to Sam Stewart, we should be seeing more melee-based attachments in the final version of the core rulebook, so this one may get a revisit depending on what those new attachments are, but it may also result in an increase to the cost of building a lightsaber as well.
Ultimately, I think trying to cram more benefits into a lightsaber, self-built or otherwise, is going too much down the d20 path, where equipment is only as good as the bonuses it applies. Truthfully, given EotE's heavier focus on narrative gameplay, just being able to build one of these iconic weapons is enough of a benefit already. Yes, it's incredibly powerful as is, and the Jedi Initiate has several talents that were designed around a lightsaber, but at the same time, openly wielding a lightsaber during the eras of play that most EotE games occur in is just asking for trouble. There's a rather hefty Imperial bounty out for anyone caught in possession of a lightsaber (WEG put it at 25K credits), and anyone seen using a lightsaber openly, especially if they're any good at it, are going to stand out in most people's memory, far more than your average heavy blaster pistol-slinging smuggler or blaster carbine-toting bounty hunger or even a marauder wielding a vibro-ax.
So, that's enough on the "self-built lightsabers need a mechanical benefit!" front. On to the other side of the coin, which is "why do you even need a talent for this?"
As I said in my prior post, one of my main design goals was to stick as close as possible to the general feel of the early Rebellion Era, the default setting of Edge of the Empire (at least if the time frame given in the Beginner Box is anything to go by). During this time frame, a lot of Jedi lore was either lost, locked away, or outright destroyed by the Empire; after all, the Sith had spent a thousand years plotting their overthrow of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Knights, so Palpatine was certainly going to take steps to ensure the Jedi Order wouldn't come back overnight.
So what does this mean for an aspiring Jedi-to-be in an Edge of the Empire game? Typically, this means that they don't have the benefit of being trained since early childhood in the Jedi arts, including the basics of maintaining and eventually constructing one's own lightsaber. So this is knowledge the Jedi Initiate has to rediscover, either through trial and error or by coming across some hidden bits of Jedi lore that covers such things. It's pretty specialized knowledge, on par (in my mind at least) with the kind of specialized knowledge it takes to properly jury-rig a weapon or armor for better performance or how to tinker with an item to cram more tech inside of it; these aren't things that just anybody can do. And you can be sure that the more easily accessible venues to learn about building a lightsaber have been destroyed or put under Imperial lock & key.
One of the things I tried to keep in mind when designing my Jedi Initiate specialization was Luke's progression from naive farmboy that didn't even know what the Force was to freshly-minted Jedi Knight. While it wasn't touched upon in the original theatrical version of Return of the Jedi, Luke didn't instantly know how to build a lightsaber. Looking to the EU, he had to rely upon a set of instructions left behind by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the old Jedi's remote hut on Tatooine in order to build his own lightsaber, and it took him almost a week to do it (though how much of that was nerves and him taking the time to check and re-check everything is up for debate).
So, when it came to deciding how to cover the specialized knowledge of lightsaber construction in EotE, I opted to stick more to the existing EU canon than to d20, which could allow for a Jedi PC to build a lightsaber in a single day; it's one thing for a prodigy like Anakin to build a new lightsaber in a day or two, it's something else for a less gifted Jedi student working from cobbled together notes and their own intuition to do the same.
Now, could a GM provide a set of in-game instructions on lightsaber building to a prospective Jedi, and negate the entire need for this talent? Yes, they certainly could, but I'd contend that the Jedi would only be able to build a lightsaber so long as they had access to those instructions. Should those instructions be misplaced, stolen, or destroyed, then no more lightsaber building for that Jedi. Having the talent means the Jedi Initiate has internalized the technical knowledge and intuition required to build a lightsaber, and needs only time and parts to build a new lightsaber should they be deprived of their old one.
There's also the fun aspect that those lightsaber building instructions may very well make reference to using specific items, such as crystals from the Adegan system or the caves of Ilum, both of which the Empire is aware of and guards heavily. Those instructions might also say that you need to use a specific type of focusing lens or material for the grip, with no indication that other alternatives would be suitable. A Jedi Initiate with Build Lightsaber talent has figured out enough of the process on their own that they'd know they could use other types of crystals (even synthetically created ones), and that the other elements don't need to be a specific make or model; it might take them a bit longer and the end result may not be as stylish as the Jedi lightsabers built during the Order's glory days, but it will get the job done. Case in point, Corran Horn using a speeder bike handle as the grip for a hastily-constructed lightsaber in the novel "I, Jedi." Your average Jedi Knight from the Old Jedi Order would likely be appalled at such a pedestrian design, but it worked for Horn.
Well, that's the long and short of why I wrote the Build Lightsaber talent the way I did. Is it the most awe-inspiring of talents? Nope, and that's fully intended, since it gives access to one of the more awe-inspiring weapons in Edge of the Empire. And it opens up some of the Jedi Initiate's most powerful talents, such as the ability to deflect an enemy's blaster attack or to destroy their weapons in a single stroke. So buy itself, the ability to build a lightsaber may not seem all that impressive, but that talent is something of a stepping stone to more impressive talents, as well as not being reliant on the GM for either a massive windfall to purchase a lightsaber or an adventure designed with the intent of putting a lightsaber in the would-be Jedi's hands.
I'll try to be a bit more regular in posting my thoughts and insights as to why I designed aspects of "Ways of the Force" the way I did.
Until next time, may the dice be ever in your favor.
And overall, the response has been positive. To have someone say "normally I don't like fan supplements, but I really like what you've done with yours" says quite a bit about the quality of the work and that I fulfilled my objective of keeping as much in synch with Edge of the Empire's default setting and feel as possible.
Now, that's not to say everything was perfect. Far from it in fact, and there's a few elements that have been revised based upon feedback provided, both on the d20 Radio forums and FFG's EotE message board. Among those elements are Dark Side's Embrace and the Healing base power, the former actually providing a concrete benefit and the latter being reduced in effectiveness in order to step away from "magic healing."
However, one element that got some critique was the Build Lightsaber talent, mostly due to some folks feeling that it was either a "useless" talent or that it needed to provide a bigger bang. Well, I figure here is as good a place as any to go into why I wrote up the Build Lightsaber talent the way I did.
Just so we're all on the same page, here's the game text:
Build Lightsaber
Activation: Passive
Ranked: No
Trees: Jedi Initiate
The character is now able to construct a lightsaber, a task that requires components worth at least 2000 credits and a number of days equal to 7 less the character's Force Rating.
In the Jedi Initiate specialization, it's nestled in the 2nd Row, but you've got to go through at least two 3rd Row talents in order to reach it, so it's not like you're going to have very many Jedi neophytes starting play with the ability to construct a lightsaber. Note I say "construct," as this talent doesn't automatically provide the character with a lightsaber, just the means to build one of their own. Now a GM could handwave the days needed to build a lightsaber, but they certainly should not waive the cost in components.
Some critiques suggested that, much like the d20 Star Wars games, a self-built lightsaber should provide some kind of perk, such as a bonus to hit. The problem with that approach is that FFG made the lightsaber an incredibly potent weapon; even after the Beta Updates, it still has the highest raw damage of any melee weapon, it pretty much ignores character-scale Soak Values, and it has the lowest Crit Rating; any attack that hit is going to deal damage and like inflict a Critical Injury in the process. For non-Jedi, you either need to spend a small fortune procuring a lightsaber on the black market, or hope the GM chooses to provide one as an adventure reward.
So to me, being able to build a lightsaber at a relatively modest sum during the height of the Empire's power and influence is enough of a benefit already. Also, a self-built lightsaber providing any kind of special bonus only showed up in the d20 versions, due to d20 being a crunch-focused game built upon calculating modifiers and getting the largest bonus you can manage. Back in the D6 version, what little rules there were for building a lightsaber simply said "congrats, you've built your own lightsaber." And that was it; no special bonuses or perks, just the fact that your Jedi PC now had a lightsaber. Which given that most of the D6 material was set during the Rebellion Era and the New Republic eras, when Jedi Knights were scarce, being able to build your own lightsaber was a pretty nice perk without needing any extra mechanical benefits.
Now if one were to add a mechanic-based perk to building your own lightsaber in EotE, the next question is "what benefit do you add?" The first thing that might come to mind is the Superior weapon quality (pg107 of the EotE Beta), but a free Advantage on every attack plus a boost to damage is simply too good.
The next option is to model the benefit of a self-built lightsaber after the Jury-Rigged talent (pg95, EotE Beta), but most of that talent's benefits wouldn't apply, leaving you with just a bonus to damage. I suppose you could tweak Jury-Rigged's text to allow the lightsaber to provide an extra point of Melee Defense or Ranged Defense, which might fit with the possible perks of Dooku's curved-hilt lightsaber and the advantage it provides the wielder in melee combat.
One idea I had considered during the earliest stages was simply giving a self-built lightsaber the Accurate quality, but a free Boost die on all lightsaber attacks felt just as overpowering as the giving a self-built lightsaber the Superior quality, particularly as you're more apt to roll Advantages, and per the reading of the Sunder quality, you don't have to hit your target in order to damage their weapon. So either the Jedi hits and gets an extra Advantage or two to inflict a Critical Injury, or they have an easier time triggering the Sunder quality on their lightsabers.
One suggestion that I saw was to instead apply the perks of the Tinkerer talent and give the lightsaber a bonus Hard Point (it normally has none), allowing the Jedi to personally customize their lightsaber. Now I'll admit that has some appeal, but the problem is that right now, the EotE Beta only has one melee-based attachment available, which provides the Superior quality, leading us to the problems documented three paragraphs up and making an already impressive weapon that much more deadly. According to Sam Stewart, we should be seeing more melee-based attachments in the final version of the core rulebook, so this one may get a revisit depending on what those new attachments are, but it may also result in an increase to the cost of building a lightsaber as well.
Ultimately, I think trying to cram more benefits into a lightsaber, self-built or otherwise, is going too much down the d20 path, where equipment is only as good as the bonuses it applies. Truthfully, given EotE's heavier focus on narrative gameplay, just being able to build one of these iconic weapons is enough of a benefit already. Yes, it's incredibly powerful as is, and the Jedi Initiate has several talents that were designed around a lightsaber, but at the same time, openly wielding a lightsaber during the eras of play that most EotE games occur in is just asking for trouble. There's a rather hefty Imperial bounty out for anyone caught in possession of a lightsaber (WEG put it at 25K credits), and anyone seen using a lightsaber openly, especially if they're any good at it, are going to stand out in most people's memory, far more than your average heavy blaster pistol-slinging smuggler or blaster carbine-toting bounty hunger or even a marauder wielding a vibro-ax.
So, that's enough on the "self-built lightsabers need a mechanical benefit!" front. On to the other side of the coin, which is "why do you even need a talent for this?"
As I said in my prior post, one of my main design goals was to stick as close as possible to the general feel of the early Rebellion Era, the default setting of Edge of the Empire (at least if the time frame given in the Beginner Box is anything to go by). During this time frame, a lot of Jedi lore was either lost, locked away, or outright destroyed by the Empire; after all, the Sith had spent a thousand years plotting their overthrow of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Knights, so Palpatine was certainly going to take steps to ensure the Jedi Order wouldn't come back overnight.
So what does this mean for an aspiring Jedi-to-be in an Edge of the Empire game? Typically, this means that they don't have the benefit of being trained since early childhood in the Jedi arts, including the basics of maintaining and eventually constructing one's own lightsaber. So this is knowledge the Jedi Initiate has to rediscover, either through trial and error or by coming across some hidden bits of Jedi lore that covers such things. It's pretty specialized knowledge, on par (in my mind at least) with the kind of specialized knowledge it takes to properly jury-rig a weapon or armor for better performance or how to tinker with an item to cram more tech inside of it; these aren't things that just anybody can do. And you can be sure that the more easily accessible venues to learn about building a lightsaber have been destroyed or put under Imperial lock & key.
One of the things I tried to keep in mind when designing my Jedi Initiate specialization was Luke's progression from naive farmboy that didn't even know what the Force was to freshly-minted Jedi Knight. While it wasn't touched upon in the original theatrical version of Return of the Jedi, Luke didn't instantly know how to build a lightsaber. Looking to the EU, he had to rely upon a set of instructions left behind by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the old Jedi's remote hut on Tatooine in order to build his own lightsaber, and it took him almost a week to do it (though how much of that was nerves and him taking the time to check and re-check everything is up for debate).
So, when it came to deciding how to cover the specialized knowledge of lightsaber construction in EotE, I opted to stick more to the existing EU canon than to d20, which could allow for a Jedi PC to build a lightsaber in a single day; it's one thing for a prodigy like Anakin to build a new lightsaber in a day or two, it's something else for a less gifted Jedi student working from cobbled together notes and their own intuition to do the same.
Now, could a GM provide a set of in-game instructions on lightsaber building to a prospective Jedi, and negate the entire need for this talent? Yes, they certainly could, but I'd contend that the Jedi would only be able to build a lightsaber so long as they had access to those instructions. Should those instructions be misplaced, stolen, or destroyed, then no more lightsaber building for that Jedi. Having the talent means the Jedi Initiate has internalized the technical knowledge and intuition required to build a lightsaber, and needs only time and parts to build a new lightsaber should they be deprived of their old one.
There's also the fun aspect that those lightsaber building instructions may very well make reference to using specific items, such as crystals from the Adegan system or the caves of Ilum, both of which the Empire is aware of and guards heavily. Those instructions might also say that you need to use a specific type of focusing lens or material for the grip, with no indication that other alternatives would be suitable. A Jedi Initiate with Build Lightsaber talent has figured out enough of the process on their own that they'd know they could use other types of crystals (even synthetically created ones), and that the other elements don't need to be a specific make or model; it might take them a bit longer and the end result may not be as stylish as the Jedi lightsabers built during the Order's glory days, but it will get the job done. Case in point, Corran Horn using a speeder bike handle as the grip for a hastily-constructed lightsaber in the novel "I, Jedi." Your average Jedi Knight from the Old Jedi Order would likely be appalled at such a pedestrian design, but it worked for Horn.
Well, that's the long and short of why I wrote the Build Lightsaber talent the way I did. Is it the most awe-inspiring of talents? Nope, and that's fully intended, since it gives access to one of the more awe-inspiring weapons in Edge of the Empire. And it opens up some of the Jedi Initiate's most powerful talents, such as the ability to deflect an enemy's blaster attack or to destroy their weapons in a single stroke. So buy itself, the ability to build a lightsaber may not seem all that impressive, but that talent is something of a stepping stone to more impressive talents, as well as not being reliant on the GM for either a massive windfall to purchase a lightsaber or an adventure designed with the intent of putting a lightsaber in the would-be Jedi's hands.
I'll try to be a bit more regular in posting my thoughts and insights as to why I designed aspects of "Ways of the Force" the way I did.
Until next time, may the dice be ever in your favor.
May 4, 2013
Ways of the Force - an unofficial supplement for Edge of the Empire
May the Fourth be with you!
Yeah, it's a bit corny, but me being the unabashed Star Wars geek that I am, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Pretty much since I got my hands on the Edge of the Empire Beta, I've been toying with and tinkering on a series of house rules to expand upon what's offered for Force-users in Fantasy Flight Games' upcoming entry into the long line of Star Wars RPGs.
Ways of the Force, version 1.4
This is the result of several months' worth of design, writing, revising, play-testing, re-designing, re-revising, reviewing, and yet even more revisions. Though I mention this in the first page of the document, this unofficial supplement is by no means intended to cover everything Jedi or even Force-related. Frankly, if you want an RPG with full rules on playing Jedi and all sorts of weird and wacky Force Powers, I suggest you turn your attention to either WEG's D6 system or any of WotC's d20 games, in particular Saga Edition.
As much as I enjoy playing Jedi characters in Star Wars (heck, I even brought an older Jedi PC from a prior campaign out of retirement to be played in a game I'm currently in), I actually do agree with the design intent of Jay Little and his team to not have fully-trained Jedi PCs in an era where the Jedi Order doesn't exist. So if you want full-blown Jedi careers and an exhaustive catalog of Force Powers covering all the things that have cropped up in the EU, I'm afraid you're going to have to look elsewhere.
So what does the "Ways of the Force" unofficial EotE supplement offer?
For starters, I discuss a fleshed-out Lightsaber skill, and then move onto the real meat of the supplement, a trio of brand-new Force-Sensitive universal specializations, those being the Jedi Initiate (minor Jedi-in-training, mix of lightsaber prowess and Force ability), the Dark Side Acolyte (student of the dark side intent on power and control of others), and the Force Mystic (a catch-all for those who have been trained to use the Force but aren't Jedi). Each of these specializations come with a selection of new talents while also borrowing talents from the Force-Sensitive Exile and other careers where I felt it was appropriate.
And we end with some new Force Powers in the form of two new power trees, Injure (using the dark side for direct damage) and Healing (using the light side to help others recover from injury) as well as a handful of minor powers that don't rate a full power tree on their own, but yet were essential enough to a Force-user to be included.
In the weeks to come, I'll post some insights as to why I made some of the design choices I did, as well as some tidbits as to how this document evolved over the months. This was definitely a labor of love and a fun project to work on. I'll be starting a thread for this on both the d20 Radio and FFG forums, and possibly even ENWorld, so I'm curious to hear what folks think.
Edit: If you've come to this post courtesy of the opening post over at the d20 Radio Network or FFG EotE forums, there's a new version available with several revisions and updates. Simply click the Ways of the Force tag over on the right or at the bottom of this article to get to the most up-to-date version of this supplement.
Edit 2: I should have done this a lot sooner, but I've replaced the v1.0 link with a direct link to v1.02.
Edit 3: Link updated with Version 1.03. A few pictures look odd when viewed through GoogleDocs using FireFox, but looks fine if you download and open it using a PDF viewer.
Edit 4: And Version 1.1 is now live with the link updated accordingly.
Edit 5: Link updated to Version 1.2. Not a lot of mechanical updates, but it certainly looks a mite more professional than the older versions did.
Edit 6: Link now points to Version 1.3. Some major changes have been to the material.
Edit 7: New version 1.4 has been posted. Once again, various changes, some major, some minor
Yeah, it's a bit corny, but me being the unabashed Star Wars geek that I am, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Pretty much since I got my hands on the Edge of the Empire Beta, I've been toying with and tinkering on a series of house rules to expand upon what's offered for Force-users in Fantasy Flight Games' upcoming entry into the long line of Star Wars RPGs.
Ways of the Force, version 1.4
This is the result of several months' worth of design, writing, revising, play-testing, re-designing, re-revising, reviewing, and yet even more revisions. Though I mention this in the first page of the document, this unofficial supplement is by no means intended to cover everything Jedi or even Force-related. Frankly, if you want an RPG with full rules on playing Jedi and all sorts of weird and wacky Force Powers, I suggest you turn your attention to either WEG's D6 system or any of WotC's d20 games, in particular Saga Edition.
As much as I enjoy playing Jedi characters in Star Wars (heck, I even brought an older Jedi PC from a prior campaign out of retirement to be played in a game I'm currently in), I actually do agree with the design intent of Jay Little and his team to not have fully-trained Jedi PCs in an era where the Jedi Order doesn't exist. So if you want full-blown Jedi careers and an exhaustive catalog of Force Powers covering all the things that have cropped up in the EU, I'm afraid you're going to have to look elsewhere.
So what does the "Ways of the Force" unofficial EotE supplement offer?
For starters, I discuss a fleshed-out Lightsaber skill, and then move onto the real meat of the supplement, a trio of brand-new Force-Sensitive universal specializations, those being the Jedi Initiate (minor Jedi-in-training, mix of lightsaber prowess and Force ability), the Dark Side Acolyte (student of the dark side intent on power and control of others), and the Force Mystic (a catch-all for those who have been trained to use the Force but aren't Jedi). Each of these specializations come with a selection of new talents while also borrowing talents from the Force-Sensitive Exile and other careers where I felt it was appropriate.
And we end with some new Force Powers in the form of two new power trees, Injure (using the dark side for direct damage) and Healing (using the light side to help others recover from injury) as well as a handful of minor powers that don't rate a full power tree on their own, but yet were essential enough to a Force-user to be included.
In the weeks to come, I'll post some insights as to why I made some of the design choices I did, as well as some tidbits as to how this document evolved over the months. This was definitely a labor of love and a fun project to work on. I'll be starting a thread for this on both the d20 Radio and FFG forums, and possibly even ENWorld, so I'm curious to hear what folks think.
Edit: If you've come to this post courtesy of the opening post over at the d20 Radio Network or FFG EotE forums, there's a new version available with several revisions and updates. Simply click the Ways of the Force tag over on the right or at the bottom of this article to get to the most up-to-date version of this supplement.
Edit 2: I should have done this a lot sooner, but I've replaced the v1.0 link with a direct link to v1.02.
Edit 3: Link updated with Version 1.03. A few pictures look odd when viewed through GoogleDocs using FireFox, but looks fine if you download and open it using a PDF viewer.
Edit 4: And Version 1.1 is now live with the link updated accordingly.
Edit 5: Link updated to Version 1.2. Not a lot of mechanical updates, but it certainly looks a mite more professional than the older versions did.
Edit 6: Link now points to Version 1.3. Some major changes have been to the material.
Edit 7: New version 1.4 has been posted. Once again, various changes, some major, some minor
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