Star Wars Saga classes

[Dienekes]

Alright, well I'm going to be GMing a star wars saga campaign which no one in my group has played but we all think it looks interesting.

So I was wondering, is there any balancing issues I have to worry about?

I think I read somewhere that a highly force optimized jedi can pretty much beat everything. Is this true?

Also, any help on the balance of prestige classes as well would be helpful.

[Mando Knight]

Alright, well I'm going to be GMing a star wars saga campaign which no one in my group has played but we all think it looks interesting.

So I was wondering, is there any balancing issues I have to worry about?

I think I read somewhere that a highly force optimized jedi can pretty much beat everything. Is this true?

Also, any help on the balance of prestige classes as well would be helpful.

Highly optimized is the keyword here. SAGA's pretty well balanced between classes, so long as the Jedi don't go overboard, since they've got the most Force synergy out of any of the base classes.

[NPCMook]

The classes are usually pretty balanced with the exception of some Talent Abuse. A few races tend to have balance issues when it comes down to the crunch. Pau'uns which are a "Web Enhancement" have been notably mentioned as being very overpowered, since they have a bonus to both Wisdom, and Charisma, giving them a higher "Use the Force Check" and a Bonus to wisdom giving them an additional Force power.

I'm sure someone who is more experienced with the game will pop in and inform you on the more powerful mixtures of abilities

[Katana_Geldar]

In terms of party balance, you usually have to look out for droid PCs as they can really go uber.

[KillianHawkeye]

Just ask your Force using PCs not to take Skill Focus (Use the Force) at level 1 or you will cry. Trust me.

[Katana_Geldar]

If you're still hesitant about Jedi, you could consider temporarily banning them from your game so you guys can focus on mechanics instead. Then maybe people could multiclass or roll up a new Jedi character later.

[Kiero]

Just ask your Force using PCs not to take Skill Focus (Use the Force) at level 1 or you will cry. Trust me.

This.

But it isn't as simple as that. Sure a Jedi character could get lots of Talents to substitute UtF for everything else, except that's Talents that can't be spent on useful things.

My only recommendation is to start at level 3 at least. You get much more interesting and varied PCs that way, the system is designed with modularity in mind.

[Dienekes]

Thanks everyone so far.

Though now I have a few newerish questions.

What should I be worried about with the aforementioned droids? And, if a character has absolutely 0 force, how gimped would he be?

Also, why would anyone take dodge when improved defenses exists?

[Katana_Geldar]

Because dodge has some rather good stacking feats, that's why.

And the trouble with droid characters is when they buy upgrades for themselves and become overpowered. Though this could get worse when the droids book comes out.

[The_Snark]

On droids: This only gets to be a problem when the droid's player is given a lot of money and starts to go crazy buying upgrades: flight systems and shield generators are two things most other characters can't get. Droids who focus completely on melee can be pretty scary too—but then, so can Wookiees, or any of the Large-sized races from the splatbooks.

Just don't give them tens of thousands of credits at low levels, and droids are fine.

On having no Force skills: You're not gimped. You're just not a Force-using character. There are plenty of ways to make a good character without bothering with the Force—if there weren't, Saga would be a decidedly unpopular system.

On Dodge: Uh... it's a prerequisite for some things, I guess... Also, you can apply it while piloting a starship—the bonus from Improved Defenses only applies to your personal defenses. So it has a slight advantage if you want to be a starfighter ace.

[Starbuck_II]

Thanks everyone so far.

Though now I have a few newerish questions.

What should I be worried about with the aforementioned droids? And, if a character has absolutely 0 force, how gimped would he be?

Also, why would anyone take dodge when improved defenses exists?

Mostly Shield Generators.

Granted KotOR granted everyone a personal shield buyable, but before that only droids had that.

[The_Snark]

Mostly Shield Generators.

Granted KotOR granted everyone a personal shield buyable, but before that only droids had that.

And those are expensive (and non-rechargable), require armor proficiency, and inflict penalties when they're in use even for proficient wearers. Not really worth it.