Violet Octopus
2009-08-12, 12:28 AM
New Force Powers
(more to come later)
Divert
You focus on someone about to fire a weapon, slowing down your perception of time. When they fire, you reach out with the Force in a split second and deflect their shot's trajectory.
Time: Readied action. Target: One character or object within 12 squares and within line of sight (or, in certain cases, one vehicle within 2 squares starship-scale and within line of sight). When that target makes a ranged attack with a pistol, rifle, simple or thrown weapon (without using autofire), you may expend this power, making your Use the Force check, or you may retain it to use against another attack. If you do not expend this power before your next turn, it remains within your suite.
Make a Use the Force check. The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 20: Choose a point along the line of fire of the projectile. The projectile's trajectory is deflected by up to 45 degrees in a direction of your choice. It continues normally along this trajectory. If there are any targets along the new line of fire, compare the shot's original attack roll to the Reflex Defence of the first target to see if it hits. If the weapon is an area-attack that targets a group of squares (e.g. a grenade, autofire [see below] , but not a splash attack), measure the distance in squares from the point of deflection to the original target. The attack travels for that same distance along its new trajectory and affects a new group of squares.
For each additional 5 by which the user beats the check, the shot may be deflected an additional 45 degrees.
Special: Your focus is on a character, not an individual weapon, so this power cannot be foiled by that character switching to a different gun. It is foiled if they move out of range before firing. In cases where this power is used against a vehicle of Colossal size or larger, the GM may ask you to choose an area of the vehicle to focus on and be able to deflect a shot from. For example, a character using this power against a LAAT/i gunship may have to choose between either the missile launchers and laser cannons, or the composite-beam lasers. An AT-AT's weapons on the other hand are entirely located on its head, so a character would not have to choose what area to cover.
You may spend a Force Point to deflect a barrage of autofire from lighter weapons, or a single shot from a heavy weapon, including the following vehicle weapons: blaster cannons, ion cannons, laser cannons, concussion missiles, ion bombs, shieldbuster torpedoes and proton torpedoes.
You may spend a Destiny Point to deflect turbolasers, or autofire from lighter weapons. Superlasers, such as the Death Star's main armament, and similarly powerful weapons cannot be deflected in this way, however a team of Force-users working in concert and expending Destiny Points might be able to accomplish such a feat.
Improved Divert (Force Technique)
When using the divert Force Power, you may deflect the projectile one additional time during its course. The check result determines the total angle by which it can be deflected, which may be split up as you wish. The maximum range of the power increases to 18 squares, or to 3 squares at starship-scale.
Force Diagnosis
Through the Force, you expand your awareness to become conscious of the subject's physical state. If you are sufficiently attuned, you can locate sites of internal bleeding or disease, and assist the body's natural recovery.
Time: Standard action. Target: One creature touched (may be yourself).
Make a Use the Force check. The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 10: You get a general impression of health, learning the target's current hit points (and its maximum), and its current place on the condition chart. If there's a persistent condition affecting the target, you gain a general idea of where the problem is located, e.g. using this power on a human senator who has suddenly collapsed would reveal there's something wrong with his liver.
DC 20: As DC 10, except you accelerate the body's natural healing, and gain specific knowledge of the cause of any persistent conditions. This knowledge is sufficient to grant a +5 bonus when aiding another on their Treat Injury check, see Special. Continuing with the previous example, this result would tell you the senator had ingested a poison which targets the liver, insert medical jargon of choice. If the poison was a common one, the user could identify it.
In addition, if the target rests for 8 hours within the next 24 hours (and is unaffected by any persistent conditions), they recover hit points equal to their character level, in addition to those recovered from natural healing and/or long-term care.
DC 35: As DC 20, additionally you enhance the target's natural healing to the point where it can overcome persistent conditions. If the target has a persistent condition, the target may make a check to overcome it. The check is equal to 1d20 + their Fortitude Defence - 11, and is made against the hazard's original DC. If the target is affected by multiple persistent conditions they make one check and compare it to all their conditions' DCs. Any conditions whose DCs are equalled or exceeded are removed. A creature may only make such a check once in a 24 hour period.
For every additional 5 points by which you exceed DC 30, the target gains a +2 bonus on their check to overcome a persistent condition.
Special: Formal knowledge of anatomy and biology aids your diagnosis, and also gives you the vocabulary to meaningfully communicate to a medical professional. If you are trained in Knowledge (life sciences) or Treat Injury, you gain a +2 synergy bonus to your Use the Force check. You can also more effectively assist a medical professional; when you successfully use the aid another action you grant a +5 bonus to their Treat Injury check instead of the usual +2.
By GM discretion, a character might be able to describe an ailment in lay terms (e.g. "there's a gland above the left leg made of squiggly purple cells unable to carry out their normal function, because there's some foreign chemical disrupting a spiky structure within each cell"). Conveying knowledge to a professional this way can take a lot more time, and may reduce the bonus granted by aiding another.
Houserule: Spontaneous Force Powers
While I generally like the Force Power system in Star Wars Saga Edition, I find it implausible that, say, a telekinetic adept knowing force slam, move object and force thrust can get into combat, use force thrust and then be "Oh no, my power to move an individual creature is exhausted, but I can still move objects or knock over a group of people just fine!"
So here's a possible (not at all innovative) houserule for Force Powers:
* The Force Training feat adds a number of Force Powers known equal to the character's WIS modifier + 1, as normal. There is no benefit to selecting the same power multiple times.
* A Force-user gains power points/encounter equal to their total number of known Force Powers divided by 2 (round down). Power points may be spent to activate any Force Power the character knows.
e.g. Siek Ato is a 5th level character who has taken Force Training once, and she has a Wisdom of 14. She knows move object, surge and mind trick, and one power point, meaning she can use one power of her choice per encounter. When she reaches 6th level, she takes Force Training again, gaining the powers rebuke, force slam and farseeing. With 6 known powers, she now has 3 power points. In combat against a darksider, she uses move object once and rebuke twice.
I can see some advantages and disadvantages, but I'd rather get other people's opinions before I think about implementing this, especially since I'm still learning a lot about balance in SWSE.
* Makes more sense, to me anyway (pro)
* Makes Jedi characters slightly less powerful at 1st level (pro?)
* Encourages people to take various powers instead of just move object (pro)
* Stronger Jedi at higher levels (con?)
* Characters will tend to have a lot of powers, making them more complex (pro? con?) and requiring lots of splatbooks/homebrew to find enough thematically appropriate powers (big con). Possibly worth decreasing Force Training to just WIS mod (and then rounding up PP)?
* Makes Rebuke and the like a lot more powerful (con)
Another possibility is to restrict spontaneity by having separate PP pools for Alter, Sense and Control powers. PP could be divided up among each one according to its proportion of powers known, or permanently assigned by the player whenever they take the Force Sensitivity feat.
(more to come later)
Divert
You focus on someone about to fire a weapon, slowing down your perception of time. When they fire, you reach out with the Force in a split second and deflect their shot's trajectory.
Time: Readied action. Target: One character or object within 12 squares and within line of sight (or, in certain cases, one vehicle within 2 squares starship-scale and within line of sight). When that target makes a ranged attack with a pistol, rifle, simple or thrown weapon (without using autofire), you may expend this power, making your Use the Force check, or you may retain it to use against another attack. If you do not expend this power before your next turn, it remains within your suite.
Make a Use the Force check. The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 20: Choose a point along the line of fire of the projectile. The projectile's trajectory is deflected by up to 45 degrees in a direction of your choice. It continues normally along this trajectory. If there are any targets along the new line of fire, compare the shot's original attack roll to the Reflex Defence of the first target to see if it hits. If the weapon is an area-attack that targets a group of squares (e.g. a grenade, autofire [see below] , but not a splash attack), measure the distance in squares from the point of deflection to the original target. The attack travels for that same distance along its new trajectory and affects a new group of squares.
For each additional 5 by which the user beats the check, the shot may be deflected an additional 45 degrees.
Special: Your focus is on a character, not an individual weapon, so this power cannot be foiled by that character switching to a different gun. It is foiled if they move out of range before firing. In cases where this power is used against a vehicle of Colossal size or larger, the GM may ask you to choose an area of the vehicle to focus on and be able to deflect a shot from. For example, a character using this power against a LAAT/i gunship may have to choose between either the missile launchers and laser cannons, or the composite-beam lasers. An AT-AT's weapons on the other hand are entirely located on its head, so a character would not have to choose what area to cover.
You may spend a Force Point to deflect a barrage of autofire from lighter weapons, or a single shot from a heavy weapon, including the following vehicle weapons: blaster cannons, ion cannons, laser cannons, concussion missiles, ion bombs, shieldbuster torpedoes and proton torpedoes.
You may spend a Destiny Point to deflect turbolasers, or autofire from lighter weapons. Superlasers, such as the Death Star's main armament, and similarly powerful weapons cannot be deflected in this way, however a team of Force-users working in concert and expending Destiny Points might be able to accomplish such a feat.
Improved Divert (Force Technique)
When using the divert Force Power, you may deflect the projectile one additional time during its course. The check result determines the total angle by which it can be deflected, which may be split up as you wish. The maximum range of the power increases to 18 squares, or to 3 squares at starship-scale.
Force Diagnosis
Through the Force, you expand your awareness to become conscious of the subject's physical state. If you are sufficiently attuned, you can locate sites of internal bleeding or disease, and assist the body's natural recovery.
Time: Standard action. Target: One creature touched (may be yourself).
Make a Use the Force check. The result of the check determines the effect, if any:
DC 10: You get a general impression of health, learning the target's current hit points (and its maximum), and its current place on the condition chart. If there's a persistent condition affecting the target, you gain a general idea of where the problem is located, e.g. using this power on a human senator who has suddenly collapsed would reveal there's something wrong with his liver.
DC 20: As DC 10, except you accelerate the body's natural healing, and gain specific knowledge of the cause of any persistent conditions. This knowledge is sufficient to grant a +5 bonus when aiding another on their Treat Injury check, see Special. Continuing with the previous example, this result would tell you the senator had ingested a poison which targets the liver, insert medical jargon of choice. If the poison was a common one, the user could identify it.
In addition, if the target rests for 8 hours within the next 24 hours (and is unaffected by any persistent conditions), they recover hit points equal to their character level, in addition to those recovered from natural healing and/or long-term care.
DC 35: As DC 20, additionally you enhance the target's natural healing to the point where it can overcome persistent conditions. If the target has a persistent condition, the target may make a check to overcome it. The check is equal to 1d20 + their Fortitude Defence - 11, and is made against the hazard's original DC. If the target is affected by multiple persistent conditions they make one check and compare it to all their conditions' DCs. Any conditions whose DCs are equalled or exceeded are removed. A creature may only make such a check once in a 24 hour period.
For every additional 5 points by which you exceed DC 30, the target gains a +2 bonus on their check to overcome a persistent condition.
Special: Formal knowledge of anatomy and biology aids your diagnosis, and also gives you the vocabulary to meaningfully communicate to a medical professional. If you are trained in Knowledge (life sciences) or Treat Injury, you gain a +2 synergy bonus to your Use the Force check. You can also more effectively assist a medical professional; when you successfully use the aid another action you grant a +5 bonus to their Treat Injury check instead of the usual +2.
By GM discretion, a character might be able to describe an ailment in lay terms (e.g. "there's a gland above the left leg made of squiggly purple cells unable to carry out their normal function, because there's some foreign chemical disrupting a spiky structure within each cell"). Conveying knowledge to a professional this way can take a lot more time, and may reduce the bonus granted by aiding another.
Houserule: Spontaneous Force Powers
While I generally like the Force Power system in Star Wars Saga Edition, I find it implausible that, say, a telekinetic adept knowing force slam, move object and force thrust can get into combat, use force thrust and then be "Oh no, my power to move an individual creature is exhausted, but I can still move objects or knock over a group of people just fine!"
So here's a possible (not at all innovative) houserule for Force Powers:
* The Force Training feat adds a number of Force Powers known equal to the character's WIS modifier + 1, as normal. There is no benefit to selecting the same power multiple times.
* A Force-user gains power points/encounter equal to their total number of known Force Powers divided by 2 (round down). Power points may be spent to activate any Force Power the character knows.
e.g. Siek Ato is a 5th level character who has taken Force Training once, and she has a Wisdom of 14. She knows move object, surge and mind trick, and one power point, meaning she can use one power of her choice per encounter. When she reaches 6th level, she takes Force Training again, gaining the powers rebuke, force slam and farseeing. With 6 known powers, she now has 3 power points. In combat against a darksider, she uses move object once and rebuke twice.
I can see some advantages and disadvantages, but I'd rather get other people's opinions before I think about implementing this, especially since I'm still learning a lot about balance in SWSE.
* Makes more sense, to me anyway (pro)
* Makes Jedi characters slightly less powerful at 1st level (pro?)
* Encourages people to take various powers instead of just move object (pro)
* Stronger Jedi at higher levels (con?)
* Characters will tend to have a lot of powers, making them more complex (pro? con?) and requiring lots of splatbooks/homebrew to find enough thematically appropriate powers (big con). Possibly worth decreasing Force Training to just WIS mod (and then rounding up PP)?
* Makes Rebuke and the like a lot more powerful (con)
Another possibility is to restrict spontaneity by having separate PP pools for Alter, Sense and Control powers. PP could be divided up among each one according to its proportion of powers known, or permanently assigned by the player whenever they take the Force Sensitivity feat.