Use of Force Powers: Concentration & Enhance Attribute

[shootingwomprats]

A Jedi is using Concentration all the time. If Understand correctly, he must concentrate for an entire round, not doing anything else, makes an easy Control roll. If successful he gets a +4D for a single action the following round.

Per RAW, though it doesn't make sense, he could take a -1D MAP and if successful with his Control roll could immediately roll a single skill at +3D.

One of the questions I have is what skills would you allow a concentration to be used on?

Now something else he is doing is using Concentration then use the bonus for his moderate Control to activate Enhance Attribute.

I am wondering if this is a reasonable use use of powers. Thoughts? Also, when using Enhance Attribute to what extent does it help? Will it enhance knowledge skills? Interpersonal skills like Con, Persuasion or Hide? Where do you draw the line?
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[garhkal]

First off, by the concentration power's write up, his diff is not just a flat 10 all the time. That is only for Non stressful situations.
If he is being rushed, hurried, stressed out (like in any battle) that goes up to 15 poss even 20.

As to using it to then kick in Enhance attribute. IMO that is NOT an ok use of the power as concentration is for a SKILL, not an attribute (which a force power roll such as Control) IS.

On the E/A power. I have mostly seen it used for Dex, Per, and Str. On 3 occasions i have seen it for Tech, once for Mech. Never for Know as yet.
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[garhkal]

If you think it is abusive to do that though, you COULD let him know
"fine, its allowed. However while using it consistently, he is sending out ripples in the force that WILL lead jedi hunters to him.

I can't remember which of the NJO novels it was, but Mara had Jacen in tow, and was grinding into HIM about his consistent use of the force to where it HAD become a crutch.
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[Pel]

Outstanding points. A strict reading of the Concentration entry from R&E states the difficulty is Easy unless the Jedi is filled with anger, fear, or other negative emotions (that's Difficult), and Very Difficult if that Jedi is acting on those negative emotions. Then the Jedi concentrates (pun intended) on one (1) specific task at hand and if successful, may add +4D to any one (1) action that round. Anything more stressful and immediate requires a Force Point in my estimation.

Now a seasoned rules lawyer could argue that their Jedi is the "bright calm center of the universe and thus in a perpetual state of peace and enlightenment" and therefore eligible for the Concentration bonus each and every round. Likewise the player whose Jedi pops a couple of Xanax (or it's Star Wars equivalent) before every fight, resulting in no more overwhelming emotion than a half-hearted 'meh'.

It's up to crafty GM's to spot this sort of abuse and curb it with extremely creative prejudice.
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Aha!

[garhkal]

I'd rule a jedi who popped a Xanex to try and make it easier to get the benefit, would not 'care' if they were racking up DSPs as their emotional center was 'suppressed.
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[Naaman]

Just for the record Control IS a skill not an attribute.

Also, how many dixe does your player have in control? The concentration power is basically a way to allow low leveel Jedi to actuay use the Force during a game. In my opinion (I play Jedi 99% of the time), concentration is the only way for beginning Jedi to not be a burden or liability to the rest of the group because they start out so weak.

Once your player has about 4D in each of his Force skills, you should see this drop off significantly. If he simply neglects to raise the skills, perhaps playing a Jedi is not for him, or perhaps the campaign makes reliance on other skils more important, to where the player feels he needs bureaucracy more than control or sneak more than sense, etc.

[Pel]

It's described as a skill, but it takes attribute dice to fund Force skills in a beginning character, so that debate could go either way.

Concentration is mostly used at low skill levels and often neglected as Jedi advance because they don't need it as much, if at all. No argument there. I do submit that it's available as a tool at all skill levels.

Case in point: Qui-Gon concentrates/meditates/centers himself during the lull in the fight with Maul, while the Sith stokes his anger by angrily pacing and striking the shield to much the same effect. Both were highly skilled and both knew the fight could go either way, so they recharged their Force batteries during the respite in the hope of prevailing.

To swerve all this back to the original question, I wouldn't allow a player to pop Concentrate and Enhance Attribute as that's potentially too unbalancing. Otherwise you get Wookiee Jedi trying to benchpress an AT-AT when it attempts to trample them.
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Aha!

[Naaman]

Do what works for ya, but if the best answer that a GM can come up with is "because I said so" it can pretty much kill the desire to play the game with that GM.

GMs need to be careful not to over-stipulate good/effective tactics or ideas that players come up with.

While using concentration is not particularly creative, when something works and is within the spirit of the rules, why not allow it? At least come up with a story-based reason for why something should not be practiced or not allowed or impossible, etc.

[tetsuoh]

Jedi do by most measures get the shaft in terms of power early on.

So my question is a simple one - why is this an issue?

They are losing actions that their companions will be taking in order to do this.

They then gain a bonus that often doesn't even make them as powerful as some of their companions sense their companions get to put dice in more attributes, let alone if those players choose to be of an alien race.

Furthermore - using the force like this often is warrant for story - force users who rely solely on the force to solve their problems become far more susceptible to the dark side and tend to stop thinking in original ideas the more it happens.

Look at Mara Jades argument with Jacen Solo about the fact that the force had become a crutch to him and how he no longer knew how to solve even everyday problems without it.

If they use the force excessively I tend to talk force users into using it at times when it only might be useful as being the better option for whatever reason, and then to how it really is the only option and how other options put people at risk.