Hey /tg/, I have a problem I'm hoping you could help with.
I'm making a rules-light Star Wars RPG (in this case, meaning just using a couple of d6 and a basic few stats/skills per character) for my friends and I to just fuck around with on the weekends, and I have just about everything set that I wanted to, except for one hang-up.
Force Sensitivity and Force Powers.
I want the GM to have a system that allows him/her to secretly determine randomly whether or not a character is Force Sensitive, and how closely attuned to the Force he/she is.
Secondly, I have to make a list of Force Powers that players can learn to use and a system that keeps them balanced.
Any ideas? I want to have dedicated Light Side/Dark Side powers, with maybe a few "neutral" ones like Push, Pull, etc.
>>44450628
For starters, perhaps it could involve a roll for 'Force Potential', if you will. And a character's Force Potential determines how difficult or easy it is for them to learn the ways of the Force.
Example w/ something like a D6 system: Han Solo has a Force Potential of 16 on the d66. Rolling under that to use or learn a Force power is grossly inefficient, and means he's better of as a smuggler. Rey has a Force Potential of 66, the highest value. As a result, she has absurd strength in the Force.
>>44451260
As for Force powers, they ought to be broad to allow for a wide variety of creative uses. For example, instead of having Push, Pull, and Thrust, you could have the broader 'Move'. And as you level it up, it grows from having a saber fly to your hand to lifting an X-wing out of a swamp.
Neutral Powers
>Move: Move things with one's mind.
>Enhance: Accomplish amazing feats of acrobatics.
>Sense: See beyond sight and perceive ripples in the Force.
Light Side Powers
>Affect: Influence another's mind.
>Serenity: Last for long times in periods of meditation, heal yourself.
>Ward: Protect yourself and allies from harmful Force powers and other attacks.
Dark Side Powers
>Grip: Choke or crush a foe.
>Unleash: Attack a foe with blasts of energy.
>Rebuke: Block hostile energy attacks.
>Seize: Wrack a foe's mind or draw forth information from it.
>>44451260
>>44451410
This sounds very close along the lines I was thinking.
What if I used a d100, and we have certain known characters mapped out on the d100 chart.
Example being Anakin being in the high 90s, Luke in the 70s, etc.?
>>44451260
>>44451410
>>44451443
You'd need to have other mechanics balance out the random roll for pretty much the main stat of the game.
Maybe some way to represent high-Force individuals (who are enemies more often than not) crossing paths with each other disproportionately often?
>>44451484
I agree with the first part, but I don't quite understand the second portion of your post, what do you mean?
>>44451508
All the Jedi and Sith had a sort of radar for each other, fighting each other in climactic (and, more importantly, fair) battles.
On the other hand, nobody ever "felt a disturbance in the force" and found Han Solo.
>>44451585
Oh okay, that makes sense.
Well, what are you thinking in terms of actually USING the Force Powers? I was thinking that some kind of "Force Points" system as a mana-style rule would be easiest, but probably not the best to use.
>>44451630
You could give all characters one fatigue track, and use degrees of success to determine how many points it uses.
>>44451714
That's kind of what I was shooting for, I like the trade-off that is often involved with those systems.
For ease of understanding, we're using the normal 6 Attributes (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA). Should their "threshold" be a combination involving
1. CON to represent their physical ability to be a battery for the Force, and
2. WIS to represent raw willpower
>>44451751
I'd recommend using a different system; Star Wars pretty much demands something narrative.
Maybe three stats: Body, Guile, and Force?
If you roll two stats (not necessarily different) for each test, then you could have six different dice pools.
Body + Body would be for punching faces, Body + Guile for intimidation and dexterity-type things, Guile + Force/Guile for building/fixing tech (depends on whether it's Force-relevant or not), and Force + Body/Guile for doing Force powers.
>>44451859
I like that idea, but to make sure I understand:
Say I want to punch someone using no technique, just raw force. Body+Body.
But for technical fighters, I could instead use Body+Guile?
>>44451898
>>44451915
Oops.
>>44451714
I like this, but would change it slightly.
Id have the basic use of a power be free. Probably even automatic success.
From there, I would implement a scaling system where they can increase the intensity of the power at the cost of fatigue.
At a certain point of fatigue even the basic (free) powers would begin to need tests for, to convey the exhausting effect of huge force powers.
ie.
Acrobatics = Free.
Moving a box = Free.
Lifting an X-Wing - 2 degrees of success required. (2 levels of fatigue)
When a character is at X fatigue (based off force ability or endurance. Then increase the degrees of all force powers by 1.
>>44451585
>>literally tfa
>>44451915
Yeah, it's a pretty vague outline. Just use what seems appropriate.
Many Jedi combat styles would even bypass Body and instead use Force + Guile to play a very elaborate game of bluffing and dodging. Some extraordinarily difficult ones (read: NPC-only or very expensive for player use) draw from all three stats and thus are nigh-unbeatable in single combat.
>>44451940
Maybe take your dice result, add/subtract some function of your Fatigue, and compare it to a DC based on the difficulty?
So at high skill and low Fatigue, the lowest result you could get still beats easy DCs, making them auto-successes. Higher DCs would still be under the "Fail AND pay Fatigue" threshold, essentially giving them free retries.
One feature might be a Force + Guile test in difficult situations (intense fights, after failing several times, etc.) to avoid stress - represented as Fatigue points.
>>44451955
Sorry, what?
>>44452262
So, Body/Guile/Force.
Point-Buy? How many points?
Roll? What, 3d6 or something?
>>44451410
I read 'See beyond sight and perceive nipples in the Force'
God damn
>>44452874
I'd use a universal point-buy system, buying points of Body or Guile with the same currency as skills. In the 2d6 11-66 system laid out above, a fairly low-level character might have maybe 66 'points' that translate 1:1 to stats, and use around 20 or 30 of them for purchasing skills and allies.