Taking a swing at combat options for Force Users

[Naaman]

And yes, I am going to attempt to develop the controversial "blaster combat" force power.

What I am NOT trying to do is make a bunch of options for Jedi specifically, but I will be taking a look at different options for how to handle the 7 forms, as well as just making up my own version of lightsaber forms that has nothing to do with canon (though some of it will be obviously inspired by canon).

Also, I will make no attempt to fit these skills and Force powers into the RAW. They will generally assume that my own house rules for Force use and lightsaber combat are in effect.

On the bright side, when I make a house rule, I try to make sure it fits seamlessly into the normal mechanics of the game without disrupting any other aspects of play. YMMV, but conversion into your own system should be fairly easy, if you decided you wanted to try.

So, I'll break it up into a few posts, with blaster combat being the first one.

BLASTER COMBAT
Control Difficulty: None, see below.
Sense Difficulty: None, see below.
Required Powers: Special, see below.
Time to Use: Special, see below.
Effect:
With this power, you are able to use the Force to augment your proficiency with blasters and other hand-held weapons that fire an energy bolt or projectile. With GM's discretion, certain aspects of this power may be applied to primitive weapons such as bows, javelins or slings.

When firing your blaster, you use your ability to sense the Force to enhance your attack. For each die you have in sense you may add a +1 prescience bonus to your attack roll. This bonus may be added to a number of attacks per round equal to the number of dice you have in control.


NEW USE FOR SKILL: BLASTER REPAIR
You may craft a special blaster that is attuned to your relationship to the Force, in a similar way that a Jedi crafts a lightsaber that is attuned.

For this application, you will need special materials (GM discretion, the following is an example) which include at least one focusing crystal and a photo-kinetic lens. In addition, you must invest 1 Force point when creating the weapon in order to imbue the crystal. This represents the personal investment into the creation of the weapon.

A weapon so crafted is far more effective in the hands of it's maker than an ordinary blaster and allows him to apply Force powers that he knows in special unconventional ways when fighting with the weapon. Only one special ability (listed below) may be used at a time. The shooter may freely switch between abilities at the start of his turn.

When crafting the weapon, choose a number of special abilities you would like to apply to it. Each ability requires the expenditure of 5 character points, and the Force power must be successfully rolled at it's normal difficulty +10 in order to be imbued into the crystal. Once imbued, the benefits provided by that power to the weapon are permanent.

If you imbue the magnify senses Force power, you may choose to convert some of your prescience bonus into the ability to shoot farther. For every 3D of sense you choose to allocate to this ability, you may engage targets at one range increment farther than your normal sight would allow you to, provided that your weapon is capable of shooting that far (note that this does not required you to activate the magnify senses power... this effect is built in).

If you imbue the danger sense Force power, you may apply some of your prescience bonus to your dodge rolls. Simply choose how much of your prescience bonus you wish to apply to attack rolls, and how much you wish to apply do dodge rolls.

If you imbue the combat sense Force power, you may forgo 4D of your prescience dice to take one action outside the normal initiative order. Simply resolve your action at any point in the round that you wish. Not that you may forgo an additional 4D to grant this ability on two actions, etc.

If you imbue the life detection Force power, you may convert 2D of your prescience bonus to ignore the effects of concealment (but not cover) when making attacks with your blaster. Note that concealment is differentiated from cover in that it only hides the target from view, but does not stop the blaster shot from penetrating. It is not required to activate the life detection power to use this effect. It is built in.

If you have the life sense Force power, you are able to analyze your target's anatomy, granting you insight on his vital areas; you may choose to increase damage to your target, instead of increasing your attack roll. For each die of prescience bonus you give up you gain a +1 bonus on damage.

If you imbue the enhance attribute Force power, you may choose to convert any of your control dice into bonus actions. For every 2D in control you give up, you may ignore one MAP generated by blaster attacks.

If you imbue the concentration Force power, you may choose to apply two of the combat options listed above instead of one.


It's still very sloppy and needs a lot of work and streamlining... but lets see what the feedback yields.

[Naaman]

KINETIC COMBAT
Alter Difficulty: Target's reaction roll, see below.
Required Powers: Telekinesis, combat sense, concentration.
Time to Use: One round
Effect:
You can use the Force to manipulate a melee weapon telekinetically. Your alter roll serves as the attack roll. For every 3D you have in alter, you may wield one additional weapon. Your target opposes with the appropriate reaction skill (brawling parry, lightsaber, melee combat, etc). For purposes of dealing damage, your "strength" is considered to be one half your control skill dice (round down). Weapons still cannot deal more than their maximum damage. If wielding a lightsaber in this way, count only half your control dice when adding to the lightsaber's base damage.

Example:
Jedi Master Behlc has 11D in control, 12D in sense, and 14D+1 in alter. When using this power, he rolls 14D+1 to make his attacks with a single weapon, or he can manipulate up to four weapons (taking appropriate MAPs rolling each attack at 11D+1). He chooses to attack with his own lightsaber, a vibro axe, and a stun baton. That's three weapons, which means he suffers a MAP of -2D. So his attacks resolve at 12D+1. His opponent, a Sith acolyte named Kol, uses his lightsaber to parry. Behlc rolls for his attack with his lightsaber first, and Kol rolls lightsaber to parry. If Behlc hits, he deals 10D damage with his lightsaber. Next, is the vibro axe. Behlc's control allows him to count up to 5D as the strength behind the attack, and the axe adds +3D, for a total of 8D, but the maximum damage a vibro axe can do is 7D, so if Behlc succeeds at this attack, he rolls 7D damage. Last, stun baton attack is resolved. The maximum damage allowed is 5D, so that is all Behlc may roll for damage if he hits.

This, too, is quite raw, so let's see where dialogue takes us.

[Darth_Hilarious]

I have had a couple of players in the past that had Jedi characters that used more than just a lightsaber. In one campaign set after RoTS when just being seen with one could bring storm troopers down on you. I never let them specialise in blaster weapons but they also never tended to shoot from the back and were always first into most combat situations.

The whole light saber thing goes back to the japanese samurai. Swords are personal and visible, when you see one in action you KNOW that youre in trouble. Plus you cant deflect one blaster bolt with another.

[Naaman]

Yeah, these are not intended to be for Jedi (though a Jedi is certainly capable of being taught them). They are simply there to expand the options for "other" Force sensitive characters who may develop these powers through specific study and disciplines.

[Naaman]

Okay, so I've been thinking about several ways to interpret the 7 forms into D6 and I've come up with a few.

The most common approach is to include them as advanced skills, which I will attempt here (later), but two other possibilities come to mind:

Given that "lightsaber combat" is a Force power in D6, I've considered making each form a separate Force power.

I've also considered making each Form an individual skill ("lightsaber" skill would be form 1, while "Makashi" skill would be form 2, "Soresu" form 3, etc).

I'm going to try and do the base skills first, so here they are:

MAKASHI
When wielding a lightsaber, you may choose to take a penalty on all of your attack rolls equal to -1 for each die you have in this skill. If you do, you may make a single counter attack each round against an opponent who attacks you in melee combat and misses. Note, that you must be able to reach this opponent with your lightsaber at the moment that your parry roll succeeds. The counter attack is a free action, and the penalty you took on your normal attack rolls does not apply to this counter attack (it is rolled at your full die code).

SORESU
For each die you have in this skill, you may add a +1 bonus to your sense roll when deflecting blaster bolts. In addition, when you convert your lightsaber damage dice into a bonus to your lightsaber skill, the bonus for each die is +0 on attacks with your lightsaber, and +2 when parrying.

ATARU
When attacking with a lightsaber, you gain a +1 bonus on your roll for each die you have in Dexterity. A character with 7D in lightsaber and 3D in Dexterity would roll 7D+3 for his attack rolls. Note that powers such as enhance attribute will improve this bonus further.

DJEM-SO
When attacking with your lightsaber, you may re-roll a number of dice equal to the number of dice you have in Strength. You may make this re-roll only once per round. In addition, for each die you have in this skill, you gain a +1 bonus on control rolls to redirect blaster bolts.

NIMAN
Attacks with your lightsaber are resolved at -1D. Parries are rolled normally. When you raise this skill to the next D, chose one other skill that is lower than this skill. That skill receives +1 pip.

VAPAAD
When converting your control dice from damage to a skill bonus, you may choose to allocate some of the dice to allow additional attacks instead of a bonus. You may give up 2D worth of damage in order to gain on free attack with your lightsaber (no MAP). You may still choose to allocate dice to receive a +1 bonus on your skill roll, as normal. Note that anytime you use this skill, if the wild die comes up '1,' you must immediately make a willpower check. The difficulty is moderate, +1 for each die you have in this skill. So, a character with 7D in Vapaad would need to roll a 22 on this check. Failure results in a dark side point, as you succumb to your passions in the heat of battle.

[Naaman]

Okay, so as I was thinking about this most recent post for lightsaber combat, I'm moving in the direction of adding some more layers to it, as well as adding similar options to melee combat, ranged combat and brawling (even for non Force users). I'll start with lightsaber combat, though, since that's where I'm at right now.

Given that there are 7 different "styles," it would make sense to me that each Jedi would use the Force in a different way, maximizing the strengths of their individual style, and even developing methods of augmenting their style with preferred Force powers. For example, Yoda likes to incorporate enhance attribute into his style, but it would feel too clunky making him re-roll it every round in order to keep the effects going. Obi-Wan might rely more on a power like danger sense in order to give him insight that makes him capable of fending off an otherwise more skilled or more powerful opponent. Mace Windu uses shatterpoint to overcome an opponent by exploiting their weaknesses.

So, here is an attempt to bring some depth to lightsaber combat and it's 7 forms. Each form will have more options for what they can do with their control dice instead of simply adding them to damage.

Form 1
By concentrating on the fundamentals of lightsaber combat, you can deliver consistent, effective performance. You may give up some of your damage dice in order to ensure more consistency in your form. For each die you give up, you may re-roll a single die each round. The re-roll may be on any action that involves using your lightsaber including an attack roll, a damage roll, a sense roll to deflect blasters or a control roll to redirect a blaster bolt. You may give up more than one die of damage for this purpose, but only one die may be re-rolled per action.

If you are benefiting from the effects of the emptiness power, instead of re-rolling, you may treat any single die as having rolled a 6 instead of what it actually shows. Note that if the wild die is modified by this method, it does not explode (but, a wild die that already exploded can be modified up to an additional 6, at which point, it stops exploding).

Form 2 Makashi
(If D6 had the empathy power, a la d20, I would be using it here... which I will eventually house rule, but for now, the closest thing is receptive telepathy, which will stand in for the meantime). With Makashi, you are able to read your opponent, feeling out his decision-making process and analyze his strategy. This allows you to deliver the most decisive blow at the most critical time, maximizing on your opponent's failures and missteps.

--For each die of damage you give up, you gain a +1 bonus to your counter attack roll with your lightsaber.

--If you have receptive telepathy, you may roll it at the beginning of combat, in place of your normal initiative. Your opponent opposes with control or willpower. If you win, the margin of victory is considered to be your initiative total (for example, if your sense roll is 27, and your opponent's control roll is 17, your initiative total is considered to be 10). If you lose the roll, you are considered to have the lowest initiative for that combat encounter.

If your roll succeeds, you may add the difference to your parry rolls against one opponent. If that opponent is defeated, you may Force a new opponent to make a control or willpower roll against your original total.

--You may make a con roll to taunt your opponent into making a mistake as you attempt to trigger his hubris. Your opponent may roll con or willpower to resist. Choose one of the following effects:

Aggression: your opponent gains a +5 bonus on attack and damage rolls, and a -5 penalty to parry rolls.

"You have anger; you have hate, but you don't use them."

Fear: your opponent receives a +5 bonus to parry rolls and a -5 penalty to attack rolls.

Doubt: your opponent suffers a -5 penalty to parry rolls, unless he uses the full parry option, in which case, he receives an (additional) +5 bonus.

"You disappoint me, Kenobi: Qui-Gon always spoke so highly of you!"

Note that these effects are not necessarily a dark side tactic, but a method employed to overcome an opponent by encouraging him to take actions that feed into his natural weaknesses. Neither does the target of the con necessarily receive a dark side point for falling victim to it.

Form 3 Soresu
--If you know the danger sense Force power, you may give up some of your damage dice in order to further improve your ability to deflect blasters. For each die of damage you give up, you may add 1D to your sense roll when deflecting blaster bolts, as you channel your control to further augment your reflexes in response to incoming firepower.

--Also, if you know the danger sense power, you may use your sense skill in place of initiative.

Form 4 Ataru
Your prowess is derived from your athletic ability and talent, and you have learned to exploit that gift to augment your combat ability.

--You may give up some of your damage dice in order to extend the duration of your enhance attribute power. If you know this power, you may give up 3D of your damage in order to extend the power's duration through the current round. You may continue to use this application for as long as the battle lasts, if you wish.

--You may give up 2D of damage in order to boost your mobility, as an extension of the enhance attribute Force power. You may add a bonus to your dodge and parry rolls equal to +1 for each die you have in acrobatics (or climbing/jumping, or the specialization jumping, if you do not use the acrobatics skill in your campaign). Note that you do not need to activate the enhance attribute power to use this effect as long as you are in combat at the time, but this ability may only be used in conjunction with a full reaction.

Form 5 Djem-So
You are skilled at turning an opponents firepower against him, and capitalizing on his over-extension.

--If you know the combat sense power, you may give up some of your damage dice to more effectively repel blaster attacks. For each die you give up, you may redirect one blaster bolt as a free action.

--You may give up 2D of damage in order to use the ability to re-roll some of your attack dice one additional time in the same round. Note that the additional re-roll must be for a separate use of the skill. You cannot re-roll the dice twice for the same attack.

Form 6 Niman
You are skilled at mixing your social insights and keen wits with combat.

--If you know the projective telepathy Force power, you may give up some of your damage dice in order to focus your mind and spirit to gain a bonus on other skill rolls during combat. For each die you give up, you gain a +2 bonus on one of the following skills that can be used to influence your opponents or allies:

Command
Con
Intimidation
Persuasion
Tactics
Willpower

--If you know the affect mind Force power, you may give up all of your damage dice (rolling only base damage for that round) in order to gain a bonus equal to +1 per die you give up on skill checks you make to convince your opponents to stop fighting. Note that you may use any skill that could reasonably be used to give an opponent a reason to cooperate (such as intimidation, persuasion or con). The choice of skill should depend on the circumstances and overall situation. For example, an opponent who has no reason to fear you (from his own point of view) may not be affected by intimidation attempts. Conversely, an opponent who is terrified of you my also continue fighting if intimidation is chosen, since you're not offering a different way for him to interpret the situation. Persuasion may be useless against a storm trooper, whereas con might work, etc.

Form 7 Vapaad
You are able to use your adrenaline to fuel your attacks and increase your potency in battle. You are also skilled at manipulating the fight to expose your opponent's critical weakness.

--You may roll intimidation in place of initiative at the start of combat. If you do, you increase the difficulty of your willpower checks (brought on by the roll of a '1' on the wild die) by +10. However, if you roll the highest during initiative, you may re-roll any rolls of '1' on any dice (except the wild die) on any attack roll as long as you have the highest initiative. If something happens that changes the initiative order or reduces your initiative, or you suffer a wound, you lose the benefits of this ability (but your willpower difficulty is still increased by +10).

--If you know the farseeing Force power, you may give up some of your control dice in order to discern your opponent's shatterpoint. Instead of attacking, you may roll sense. Add a bonus to this roll equal to +1 for each die of damage you wish to give up on the following attack. The difficulty is equal to your opponent's relevant combat skill roll (the opponent may choose the higher of his attack skill or his parry skill), and he rolls the skill (at full die code) as a reaction opposing your sense roll. If you win, you may immediately strike your opponent's weak spot, making an attack roll as normal. This attack receives a bonus equal to your margin of victory on your sense roll. If you lose, you may take no other actions that turn, except reactions as normal. Use of this ability triggers an immediate willpower check, at the normal difficulty for this skill, including all relevant modifiers (such as for use of intimidation, etc). You may NOT benefit from the effects of a Force point or character points on this roll, though you may choose to sacrifice a Force point in exchange for an automatic success (this represents the character resorting to using the ability only in times of true necessity, in effect, making a calculated risk of possibly receiving a DSP in exchange for defeating his enemy).

Example: Mace Windu finds himself locked in combat against the Darth Sideous. Realizing that the battle is becoming increasingly dangerous, and the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance, he elects to search out Palpatine's shatterpoint. He gives up 5D of lightsaber damage in order to look into the Force to see the weaknesses in Palpatine's skill. He rolls sense, adding a +5 bonus getting a total of 39. Sideous rolls lightsaber (straight skill, no bonuses) and rolls 32. Mace Windu wins by 7, and makes an attack roll with a +7 bonus against Sideous, which overpowers his parry roll, and disarms him. Having bested his opponent, he must now decide whether to make a willpower check (at a +10 difficulty for having used intimidation before the start of battle), or sacrifice a Force point in order to avoid succumbing to his fears that Sideous may destroy the republic as everyone knows it...

[Tupteq]

I think your lightsaber forms are just too complex. I had similarly complex form rules and my players didn't use potential of forms due the complexity, nobody (including me) wanted to read all the rules in the heat of combat to figure out if there's some possibility of use.

I reduced my form descriptions to very short and clear bonuses or special actions that can be described in one sentence (not exceeding one line of text) and thank that my players finally understood them and started to make proper use of forms.

Maybe your players are smarter than mine, but anyways, I think too complex rules are not usable, especially when they have no common base set of rules, and each description introduces new mechanics.

[Naaman]

I agree. I like to keep things as concise as possible. The common base set is described in the link I provided for how I run LSC. Anyway, it works like this:

You add control to damage, or you can give up some of your damage dice to gain other effects.

The long descriptions are not so much complicated as they are wordy, though. It will just take some refinement to bring the language down to more digestible amounts.

A work in progress.

[DougRed4]

I'm a big fan of keeping things as simple (and concise) as possible, too. Care to share what you've come up with, Tupteq?
_________________
Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Tupteq]

[Naaman]

The reason why I bother with house rules for D6 is exactly the opposite of why I house rule d20. D6 is, in my opinion, far to simplistic. So, the point is to bring rules that differentiate one character from another via the rules.

Since there is only one mechanic in D6, it has the side effect of bringing a character into a pigeon hole that wraps him up into 4 or 5 skills.

And even then, the result of swinging a vibro-axe is the same as firing a blaster: roll skill, count dice, bad-guy dead. Or, essentially it's "I attack, you defend, roll." Everything else about the game is narrative.

That may be perfect for some, but for me, I've gotten tired of going around in a circle taking turns just rolling dice.

I like for the skill set that each character has to be portrayed through the rules themselves, in order to give the feel of each character a unique quality, so that when I play a different concept, the actual game play experience is different.

This problem is even more pronounced with Jedi, who accumulate individual Force powers so frequently (every pip; and not to mention that "light side" powers are so few) that by the time they've got 4D or 5D, they know every power they are likely to ever use, and then a bunch that never come up. They are, in effect, carbon copies of each other because the RAW make learning Force skills so difficult and restrictive that it is the only place you can afford to spend CPs, unless you just want to suck at using the Force, in which case, you might as well play a non Force sensitive and save your CPs for skills you can actually use.

So, the purpose here is to create options for Force users (and in the case of the 7 forms, Jedi) in order to help differentiate one from another and to allow a Jedi who focuses on one Force skill over another options in combat that are not immediately available to another Jedi without specific training and focus in that direction.

And in that regard, I think they are more successful than not, though I do want to streamline the language while still adding a thin layer of slight complexity to the overall system.

[Naaman]

Rather than simply editing the above posts, I'm going to try and refine the 7 Forms in this post. I will start from scratch, giving the overall foundation of the rules, and then building from there. The goal with this post is to bring as concise an explanation as possible.

All forms will be based on the following basic rules set:

LSC is no longer a Force power that needs to be rolled. Rather, it's effects are rolled up into the Lightsaber skill. Also, the Lightsaber skill itself shall only be available to Jedi or other characters who have a solid background explanation as to why they should have the skill. An existing character may, of course, learn the skill from someone who has it.

The basics:

Lightsaber skill is used to attack and parry.

Control dice are added to damage.

Sense is used (by itself) to deflect blasters (reaction, usually only rolled once per round).

Control is used to redirect a blaster shots (counts as an extra action).

So that is the basis.

NOW, each of the 7 Forms will allow a Jedi to "customize" the benefits of LSC. Each of the 7 Forms is a skill unto itself, and, in effect replaces the lightsaber (Form 1) skill.

Form 1 - Shii-Cho
You may give up some of your damage dice in order to use your control to enhance your reflexes and prowess.

For each die of damage you give up, you gain a +1 bonus to attack and parry rolls with your lightsaber.

Form 2 - Makashi
You are skilled at drawing out your opponent's flaws and missteps, capitalizing on his mistakes and ending battles with a decisive counter attack.

You may choose to take a penalty to all of your attacks for a round (the penalty is -1 for each die you have in this skill). If you do, and your opponent attacks you and misses by at least 10, you may make an immediate counter attack (a free action) against your opponent. This counter attack does not suffer the penalty of your other attacks.

You may give up some of your damage dice in order to gain a bonus on your parry rolls. Each die of damage you give up grants you a +1 bonus to your parry rolls.

Form 3 - Soresu
You are skilled at using your lightsaber to deflect blaster bolts and deny an opponent an opportunity to strike. Your defenses are nearly impossible to penetrate.

For each die you have in this skill, you may add a +1 bonus to your sense rolls to deflect blaster bolts.

You may give up some of your damage dice in order to boost your parry rolls with your lightsaber. Each die you give up grants you a +2 bonus on parry rolls with your lightsaber.

Form 4 - Ataru
You use your athletic prowess to overwhelm your opponent with fast, powerful strikes.

Add a bonus to all of your attack rolls with a lightsaber. The bonus is equal to +1 for each die you have in Dexterity.

You may give up some of your damage dice in order to boost your speed and agility. For each die you give up, you may re-roll 1D when attacking with your lightsaber.

Form 5 - Djem-So
Your are skilled at using your strength and power to overwhelm an opponent, and turning his firepower against him.

For each die you have in this skill, add a +1 bonus to control rolls to redirect blaster bolts.

You may give up some of your damage dice in order to increase your attack power. You may give up 1D of damage to gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls with your lightsaber. Or, you may give up 2D in order to gain a +3 bonus on attack rolls with your lightsaber.

Form 6 - Niman
You study a very basic, simple form of lightsaber combat, allowing you time to pursue other interests.

All attacks with this skill take a penalty equal to -1 for each die you have in this skill (a character with 6D in this skill rolls 6D-6 to attack). Parries are rolled normally.

Each time this skill is raised to the next whole "D", choose another skill that is lower than this one. That skill receives +1 pip. You may choose a Force skill, but if you do, it must be at least 2D lower than this skill.

Just like Form 1, you may give up some of your damage dice in order to gain a bonus on your attack and parry rolls equal to +1 for each die of damage you give up.

Form 7 - Vapaad
Your style is powerful and extremely difficult to defend against. You are skilled at fighting multiple opponents and individuals with equal ease.

You may give up some of your damage dice in order to make additional attacks. For each 2D of damage you give up, you may make 1 attack as a free action.

If your only action in the round is an attack (you may use reactions normally), you may choose to give up some of your damage dice in order to gain a bonus to attack rolls. The bonus is +2 for each die of damage you give up.

When attacking with your lightsaber, anytime the wild die comes up as a '1' you must immediately make a willpower check. The difficulty is moderate + 1 for each die you have in this skill, and +2 for each dark side point you have. For example, a character with 7D in Vapaad and 2 dark side points must roll a 26 or higher or else receive another dark side point.

[DougRed4]

Thanks, Naaman. I do plan to compare and contrast all of the possibilities, when considering whether to incorporate lightsaber combat forms.

Thanks for taking the time to simplify everything.
_________________
Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Tupteq]

Looks nice and simple, and most of all usable in the heat of battle

[Naaman]