[SWSE] Lethality

[Mushroom Ninja]

Is it just me, or is it really easy for PCs to avoid death in SWSE? Since you can spend a Force Point to avoid death, it takes two attacks on downed PCs in a round to kill them. Short of having NPCs waste actions to finish them off, it doesn't seem easy to cause PC death. In the game I've been running since SWSE's release, I've yet to see 1 PC death. I'm not necessarily calling this a bad thing, but it has been quite noticeable.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

[Swordgleam]

Force points are not that common, though. So it only takes two bad rounds in a battle for a PC to be dead.

[Friv]

I would say that there are two reasons for this.

1) Saga Edition tends to be based around an action-oriented template. In the course of the six major Star Wars movies, how many main characters die? I can only count four - Qui-Gonn, Mace Windu, Vader, and Palpatine. Of those four, two are opposed to the main characters at the time, and a third is clearly choosing to sacrifice himself, and thus probably is spending his Force Point on more plot-interesting effects.

2) There's no ressurection in Star Wars Saga, unlike in D&D. The result is that death is permanent, so you don't want it to be too easy.

[Mushroom Ninja]

Force points are not that common, though. So it only takes two bad rounds in a battle for a PC to be dead.

I dunno, if you don't spend FPs on much other than self-preservation or have that force technique that lets you get some back at the end of each encounter, you're probably okay unless enemies specifically target you once you've been dropped unconscious.

[Swordgleam]

Granted, it's been a while since I played. But I don't recall us having more than a few at a time. Perhaps that was just our DM's style, though.

[Foryn Gilnith]

unless enemies specifically target you once you've been dropped unconscious.

Why is this so implausible? Between ruthless enemies cognizant of peoples' hardiness, hostage-takers, slavers, et cetera, unconscious fellows aren't necessarily safe.

Also, it helps the PCs' consciences, sort of, since any NPCs downed can just be taken unconscious to the local prison.

[Mushroom Ninja]

Why is this so implausible? Between ruthless enemies cognizant of peoples' hardiness, hostage-takers, slavers, et cetera, unconscious fellows aren't necessarily safe.

Also, it helps the PCs' consciences, sort of, since any NPCs downed can just be taken unconscious to the local prison.

I suppose it's not too implausible. However, in battles not involving many foes, a wasted standard action can be an unreversable tactical error.

[raitalin]

Also remember that you are unconscious and your party either has to win the encounter or drag you out under fire*, so you can spend that FP and still die/be imprisoned.

* This is where STR being a popular SWSE dump stat comes back to bite people.

[Gamgee]

I would say your not taking into account just how lethal combat can be. With both HP and the condition track to watch out for there is a higher need to use those force powers. Also death in this game is permanent. It is going to be harder to kill someone. There are a few ways to cheat death, but it involves a destiny point. In my games I use the Rebellion Guides background system instead of Destiny. Adds some lethality, and it really gives the game more of an average guy feel. As opposed to a super heroic bad ass jumping all over and kicking ass.

There are also plenty of optional rules around to make combat more lethal. I am pretty sure there are a few in the wizards articles.

[AstralFire]

SWSE is just dangerous enough to present the feel of lethal combat, while not so dangerous that you spend more time rerolling than you do playing.

[Gamgee]

SWSE is just dangerous enough to present the feel of lethal combat, while not so dangerous that you spend more time rerolling than you do playing.

I know. It's a good illusion. It really makes for sad deaths when they finally do die. My most recent one was a player who was new to my game.

Instead of staying behind his ally with a flamethrower. He decided it was prudent to sprint down a 40 Meter corridor infested with nothing but nasty little droch beetles. Millions of them, and he was like... level 2... or 3. Needless to say he was disappointed and never came back. When my friend told me about him he was apparently used to playing in games where "He would dual wield gods, and stomp on nations as footsteps, and where the rule of cool was the only real rule". Needless to say even if he lived, I doubt he would have liked my game. I let the rule of cool apply only in the most badass and cool of situations, not for every random thought one might have. It tends to diminish the effect until all you have is clown syndrome.