Revamping Concentration

[Kytross]

I don't think I have ever said this before CRMcNeill, but I think I have to disagree with your premise. I definitely have to disagree with your use of the example.

[CRMcNeill]

The key problem here is how fast Luke was going. If the X-Wing was traveling at "full throttle," the presumption is that Luke was going at least Full Speed. Because of the vagaries of the 2R&E rule system, traveling at Full Speed under those circumstances would've required a Piloting roll every round, due to terrain and speed conditions.

To fire a torpedo (I'm assuming he had his torpedo launchers fire-linked, firing two with a single action) would require making two standard actions (one Piloting and one Gunnery) with a -1D MAP penalty to both.

However, the description of Concentration limits it to a single action in a round:

The individual Jedi concentrates on one specific task at hand. If the skill roll is successful, the Jedi may add +4D to any one action in that round. The Jedi may do nothing other than using the concentration power and using that one skill for one action. The Jedi receives no bonus if anything else is done in that round, including duplicate uses of the same skill or dodges or parries.

So, the only way Luke could've used Concentration under those circumstances is if A) he had dropped his X-Wing to Cruising Speed or B) Concentration is somehow less restrictive in some way. And there is no indication in the film that Luke ever reduced his speed during the trench run.

One possible explanation that occured to me as I wrote this was that, since all of an X-Wing's weaponry is fixed forward, and requires steering the starfighter itself to bring it to bear on the target, it could be possible to allow the pilot to substitute his Gunnery roll for his Piloting roll, making a single roll of his Gunnery skill at -1D.

Just a thought...
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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

[Kytross]

So I went back and read 2E R&E of 106 & 107. You're right, any vehicle speed over cautious is considered an additional action, even if you don't have to roll it.

I'll have to remember that.

[garhkal]

Apologies accepted Commander Krytoss...


[choking sound heard in the backround]..
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

[jmanski]

You guys are all over-emphasizing the rules. The end of ANH is the climax of the story and Luke will get a pass from the GM on "non-important" issues. In essence, the GM hand-waved the piloting roll after Vader was eliminated, allowed Luke to use Concentration with a Force Point, and the day was won.

The rules are important, but the game is meant to be fun. The GM gave the PCs in this instance an impossible situation but instead of telling the players what they couldn't do, let them do the heroic at the moment of destiny. This is the cinematic approach to gaming.

Now, granted, every adventure will not boil down to such a single, massively difficult task such as hitting the exhaust port, but if it does, the players should be given the ability to work with cinema magic instead of worry about the rules.

The point being this: you cannot shoehorn the rules back into the movies and expect them to work perfectly. The rules are for basic governance of the game, not to prevent fun.

Disclaimers: fwiw, ymmv, just my opinion, yada yada yada
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Blasted rules. Why can't they just be perfect?

[Whill]

[CRMcNeill]

I would submit that, while the rules can't duplicate it, an effort should be made to make it come close. I'd rather see a somewhat viable path via the rules to accomplish what is seen on screen than a blatant GM fiat.
_________________
"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

[garhkal]

[Darklighter79]

[Phalanks Balas]

[CRMcNeill]

I suppose my only real objection is that, if there were one power that by definition should restrict the character to performing one action and one action only, it should be Concentration. It is, after all, an intense focus on a single task.
_________________
"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

[Whill]

[CRMcNeill]

IMO, if a character is special, then their game stats should reflect it, not merely be hand-waved into existence via GM or game designer fiat (which is something of a cop-out, AFAIC). If someone is playing the game who has never seen the films (assuming such a creature exists), they should be able to look at Luke's stats and tell that he's special. This is one of the reasons I support a Force Attribute; it's a lot easier to make the Death Star run something only someone like Luke could pull off if he's got a Force Attribute in the 6D-7D range. His WEG stats as of the Battle of Yavin are respectable, but the dice levels he shows in the essential skills would allow a mid-level Force Sensitive Pilot PC to make the Trench Run as well.

I much prefer a system where the hero characters are capable of amazing feats because their high attribute and/or skill level makes it plausible that they could succeed at an epically difficult task, not just because a GM or game-writer played the "he's special, so don't ask" card.
_________________
"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

[Whill]