parrying bolts of different scales

[garhkal]

I have been wondering. Should it not be harder to parry bolts of speeder or walker (or fighter even) scale?? But with the RAW rules, since your 'reaction skill' gets a scale BONUS to dodge shots from those scales, would that not also apply to LS Parry?? Which if so, does that not then make it Easier to parry a bolt from say an AT-ST than it would a Stormie?
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Raven Redstar]

I have my players roll strength vs scale difference to avoid being knocked down.

AT-ST shoots at the Jedi (Str 2D+2) Walker scaled is 4D. Roll 4D vs 2D+2 - Lets say the 4D rolls 18 while the 2D+2 rolls 11. Walker scale beats character scale, so the Jedi may have managed to block the bolt, but they're flung backward and hit the ground on their back.

Big laser blast = lots of kick from the energy banging into the lightsaber.
_________________
RR
________________________________________________________________

[Fallon Kell]

From a game balance perspective, I can see the benefit of a bonus to parry bolts of a larger scale. I can't really see why they would be any easier or harder from an in-universe perspective, except that larger scale weapons seem to move faster... What is it that makes you think they would be different?
_________________
Or that excessively long "Noooooooooo" was the Whining Side of the Force leaving him. - Dustflier

Complete Starship Construction System

[Bren]

[atgxtg]

Yeah, the big problem is the width of he beam. If the beam is really wide, the Jedi might only be able to get his blade in front part of the bolt and still get fried. It is hard to block a 120mm bolt with a 25mm wide blade.


I also like Raven's idea. Blaster bolts do have some impact (just look at how the Millinium Falcon gets slameed from a hit), so I could see a blast knokcing a Jedi down, or even across the room. Leverage and agling the blade would count, so I7d probably let the Jedi add Control to his STR roll, just like with damage.

[garhkal]

[Raven Redstar]

Mostly just stun damage or having to MAP to get back up. Depends on how far back they get flung and if they hit something. I've only ever had this come up once, and it was for an NPC. He was taking on a pair of AT-ST to draw attention from the PCs. After he got flung back from parrying the main cannon, he gave into his hate and fell to the dark side. Destroying each AT-ST in a semi-force unleashed style.

For a player character, I would say that they get bumped back 1 meter for every 3 they get beat by, and then use the damage codes from the force push conversion power to figure out damage if they hit something.
_________________
RR
________________________________________________________________

[Fallon Kell]

[tetsuoh]

We use the following - a lightsaber can only block/parry and amount equal to twice its damage.
Upon the damage of the bolt being more than the lightsaber itself - we roll for knockdown. (not surprisingly the same way Raven's group does)

Anything bigger and when the character tries to block or parry - their lightsaber shorts out from the effort (possibly blows - we sometimes call for jury rig effect rolls) and they take the remainder of the blast and roll for knockdown.

It genrally plays out nicely as a cinematic effect.
Steaming clothes character hits the floor after trying to save their friends, etc etc.

[cheshire]

Nah. If Obi-Wan would have been on Alderaan at the time, it would have been no problem. Scale rules woulda handled the problem.

Honestly, though I'm not sure if scale alone helps us. Even if the scale rules went the other way (where they counted against to parry instead of in the Jedi's favor), it would be theoretically possible for someone powerful enough to deflect the Death Star's superlaser (and even redirect it back at the Death Star). I think that's just physically impossible no matter how strong in the Force someone is. I think that there's got to be a cap on how large the blast can be before the Jedi just can't do anything. Where that line is is going to elicit different responses I'm sure. I know that some will site canon referencing Dark Empire, though I'm wondering if the comic artists didn't take too many liberties.
_________________
__________________________________
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.

[vanir]

Once again why I use the 2e capped scale system. Characters get a cap to dodge walkers, speeders and starfighters for this very reason. They can't dodge capital or deathstar scales, because they destroy whole city blocks at a time.

As an ad hoc rule I also add artillery style blast radius based on damage die, for turbolaser weapons only individual blasts will have an explosive radius equal to 5 metres per damage dice when used in planetary bombardment.
I'm a bit more circumstantial with starfighter scale weapons but 1m per damage dice is a reasonable estimate to represent a good sized blast that does secondary damage upon troop concentrations. Use grenade table for direction of a near miss, a near miss might circumstantially do half damage but the scale bonus is still deadly.

Characters can dodge speeder-starfighter scale weapons but you need to see it coming. Still it is harder for them to target you than it is for you to dodge them. So you'll get a lot of near misses.
Scary near misses.

The die cap for resisting damage also means no personal armour, no alien toughness is going to help much against large vehicle weapons, which is as it should be.
I only use the 2e/r&e system for specific systems targeting damage (called shots) and it does this type of damage to the system only, the basic structure of the craft is left undamaged (but you can take out weapons, sensors, etc. one by one this way, then kill the crew and salvage the wreck).

[garhkal]

[Bren]

I don't have an exact rule. Given the high skills for Jedi Council members, high level Sith, and later version of Luke Skywalker - using the R&E scale rules, an exact rule may not quite give the effect I want. Hence (emphasis added):

[vanir]

You'd use the dodge chart for the parries I reckon mate.

Isn't it somewhere in one of the sourcebooks about blast radius on artillery weapons translating to starship or vehicle weapons doing blast radius damage when used as artillery? It's been so long since our gaming group established this I honestly can't remember if it was WEG sourced or something we came up with ourselves.

[Bren]