Telekinesis & Time To Use

[CRMcNeill]

In the films, Telekinesis does not appear to happen instantly. It always seems to require that the character using it needs a little bit of time to make it happen. In the prequels, the Jedi don't seem particularly shy about using TK to attack battle droids (or Royal Guardsmen), but the times it does get used seem to be during lulls in the battle, where the Jedi aren't actively dueling or parrying with their sabers.

I'm wondering if it might be appropriate to represent this by increasing the Time to Use for Telekinesis, perhaps having it take effect at the beginning of the round after you use it. I'm open to alternate suggestions, but I do think the evidence in the films is quite strongly in favor of something to that effect.

As an aside, I do also think there should be a separate, more advanced TK skill, most likely at the CSA level, that allows a Jedi to use TK both as a Reaction skill and a weapon. Something like this would explain (among other things) how Joruus C'baoth was able to use TK on an arrow in flight in HttE, and to use a TK'd rock to intercept a blaster bolt from Rukh in the same scene. I wrote up something to that effect in the past, but it's been a while since I've gone back and looked at it, so it may need an update.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Naaman]

I can recall many of the scenes that you are referring to, and I will have to disagree that there needs to be a delay in its effect. Many of the combative uses of TK don't happen "while" Jedi are attacking/parrying, but many happen as part of a fluid sequence in a sort of combination attack.

I would assert that any "delay" in the effect is shown for dramatic value, in much the same way that the physical hand gesture is: it's there for the benefit of the audience so we know who is doing what. Not because TK actually requires use of the hands.

How do you interpret Qui-Gon's usd of it immediately after slicing down one droid and then firing it off even while holstering his lightsaber in a sort of reverse iaijitsu move?

Darth Maul literally uses it on ObiWan while parrying/attacking with his lightsaber.

Also, it has traditionally been accepted that TK is required to "throw the lightsaber." Do you see Yoda's use of this technique in EP3 as delayed? I don't.

We also see Jedi able to brawl while TKing their lightsaber back to hand just in time to parry the next attack, etc.

[cheshire]

Also, since a round is approximately five seconds, that's a considerable delay between initiation and effect. I'm not sure that's played out in film evidence that someone makes a physical sign that they're going to use it, and then up to five seconds later the thing happens.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[CRMcNeill]

[Raven Redstar]

If you add in certain converted powers from D20, there are several abilities that could be used as reactive skills in the ways you described.

Push, Pull, Grenade Defense, Missile Defense.
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[CRMcNeill]

[Whill]

I'm personally not too concerned with this one. The rules are there to facilitate telling an original story featuring original characters that takes place in the same universe as the films. I don't need to make every minute detail in the films explainable in game-mechanical terms. So if Tk for an original PC or original NPC in the game doesn't work exactly like it appears in the films, that might not matter so much to player experience and the original story we are making with the game play.

[CRMcNeill]

[Starbeard]

Another option is to cut the initiative roll of the character using telekinesis in half. That way it encourages them to rely on it only when they are feeling comfortable that they won't be in immediate trouble if they lose initiative.

[Darklighter79]

[CRMcNeill]

[Naaman]

The thing about dramatic value (in film) is that it does not translate into a straight forward interpretation of time flow. Something like a "lull" in the fight that was added for dramatic emphasis is simply the director giving the audience a moment to process what is going on. It's an alternative to using slow motion for emphasis. In written form it might be an exclamation point or italics, etc.

But, yes: there are scenes where there is no reason to think that TK should always be instantaneous. The scenes I mentioned, however, seem to me to indicate that the ONLY reasons we see a delay are 1) lack of skill (Luke on Hoth in the wampa cave) or 2) especially massive objects.
As for Jedi brawling, see ObiWan vs Jango, or Obi-Wan vs Anakin.

[garhkal]

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]