Dueling Sabers Feedback & Discussion

[CRMcNeill]

[Bren]

I am actually thinking of using the combat wild die not the intiative wild die for this.

That way Asoka has to choose between using her lightsaber roll where she knows she already has a six on the wild die or instead switching to a different skill - say jumping where she thinks she may be able to outroll Grievous.

One problem with this is that if you roll all the dice together, what to do with the nonwild dice. It would be simplest to first roll only the wild die, but I don't like two part rolls. Two part dice rolling will slow down all the normal rolls.

Probably I'd just go rolling all the dice and then if Asoka gets a six, she could choose to use jumping add in the six for the wild die and rerolling the non-wild dice for the jumping skill (plus the wild die which is actually the second roll of the wild die). But that brings up another problem/feature if all the dice are rolled together, then the player decides whether or not to switch skills the player can look at her dice total for lightsaber and if the non-wild dice rolled well stick with lightsaber and if the non-wild dice were below average switch to a "stunt" skill.

As I said, it needs more thought.

[CRMcNeill]

A thought just occurred to me. The original Seven Forms have been expanded to make Mace Windu's Vaapad a more advanced and evolved version of "regular" Form VII, so what if it wasn't the only Form to receive this treatment? What if other masters have taken their own mastery of a given Form and evolved it above and beyond the norm for that Form? A key example (to me) would be Form IV. Obi-wan and Qui-gon have been stated to be Form IV adepts, and used the technique against Maul in E1, but their combat style, while fluid and incorporating the occasional jump and the like, bears little or no resemblance to Yoda's whirling-turbocharged-lightsaber-dervish routine. What if Yoda is not just far advanced skill-wise, but is actually practicing an evolved style of Form IV, one which takes the concepts of Form IV and pushes them to extremes. After all, if Mace Windu, who is human or at least near-human, can take Form VII and evolve it to create a new style during a human lifespan, surely Yoda, with his 900 years, would be able to do something similar.
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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

[Bren]

I have two thoughts regarding the need and desirability of additional specialized forms.

1) Qui-Gonn and Obi-wan don't look like they are using Form IV to me. Sure they jump once or twice, but I don't see that the use of a jump makes that Form IV any more than parrying a blaster require the use of Form III. Watching the TV show, Ahsoka Tano seems to jump around way more than Qui-Gonn or Obi ever do, yet she is listed as form V user - apparently due to her reverse grip.

2) Why not?

[CRMcNeill]

[Bren]

[CRMcNeill]

I agree. The approach that I took was that you had the Seven Forms, each with is own emphasis, and then you had the variations or techniques which incorporated some unique weapon (light-staff, dual lightsabers, or a standard lightsaber with an unorthodox grip) into the existing Form. Under my system, Ahsoka would be a Form IV adept who is also trained in the Shien and Jar-Kai variations of Form IV.
_________________
"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

[CRMcNeill]

[Bren]

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

A recent post revived my interest in this subject, and I had a new idea. I want to incorporate some movement rules into my Seven Forms concept, with each of the Seven Forms having its own Movement constraints (sort of like the Stamina modifier). The basic idea is something like this:

Form I = Cautious
Form II = High
Form III = Cautious
Form IV = All-Out (Cautious minimum)
Form V = Cautious
Form VI = Cruising
Form VII = High

When in combat, the Form adept can make up to the listed Move without incurring a MAP (alternately, the listed Move could be a hard cap, and they can't move any faster than the listed Move in the same round as the lightsaber combat roll). Form IV, with its emphasis on mobility, would actually be required to make a minimum Move while in combat.

I have some additional ideas that I haven't quite formalized enough to put down in writing, but I'd like some commentary first. Thoughts?
_________________
"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

[CRMcNeill]

Ok, I'm going to assume that either no one disagrees with my idea or no one read it. My next question would be how to substitute in a jump or a roll for a running move action, and how much distance it would cover. Would a single roll or somersault count as, say, a Cautious Move (5 meters or less)? Would a Force assisted jump count as a normal Move by trading meters covered on a 1-to-1 basis?
_________________
"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

[CRMcNeill]

So, I have been coming back around to an idea that could add an exciting random aspect to this system. Bren, you mentioned having Stunt moves, such as acrobatic disengagements and the like. What if the opportunity to perform those was based on Wild Dice? The way I'm thinking is to only allow combatants to perform things like Force Push, Force Lightning, acrobatic disengagements, charge attacks and the like would be to limit them to moments when an opening occurs in combat (as determined by the Wild Dice).

The short version is that, if a character rolls a Wild Dice success (or his opponent rolls a Wild Dice fail), he gets the opportunity to make a Stunt move. He can make an attack with the Force, or can perform some sort of acrobatic move, but his opponent would still have an opportunity to counter the action (details to be decided). In the event of the character rolling a Wild Dice success and his opponent rolling a failure, the character would get the same Stunt move opportunity, but his opponent would not have the chance to counter it. (If both sides roll Wild Dice success or failure, they cancel each other out, and combat continues as normal).
_________________
"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

[Liquidsabre]

I like this, I like it a lot crmcneil. I think this would be a great way to add spontaneity and interesting non-attack effects into melee combat.
I'm not sure if I'd implement this for both a wild die '6' roll, since it already explodes though, perhaps as an option to forgo the additional roll to add?

In theme, I like the idea of attacking your opponent and they roll a '1' on their wild die as part of a defense roll, momentarily lowering their guard, and you'd get a free 'stunt' as a result.

I'd like to see combat 'stunts' implemented in this way existing primarily as free and unopposed (to keep things moving) non-attacks such as maneuvering foes back onto a narrow bridge, tripping them, throwing sand in their eyes, or kicking them off balance. Honestly, these sort of things are so fluid and an instantaneous part of a whirling melee it seems a great way to implement these.

The more rare event where you roll a '6' and they roll a '1' on the wild dice sounds good too, not sure what I'd allow for this. Perhaps on a defensive roll you get a free stunt, since normally you only get this when your foe rolls a '1' on a defensive roll or you attack with a '6' wild die and forgo the bonus roll). If you get this when attacking you can make a free unopposed attack.
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