Star Wars: The Tide Turns (VOIP Game)

[Hotfoot]

Okay, all destinies seem to be in order, so time for a post about that.

Most destinies will give temporary bonuses to the entire group as progress is made towards completing them, but there may be some tension at times since progress towards one's destiny may end up in conflict with other goals at times. This is not intended to fracture the group, but to provide senses of urgency and tough decisions, not to mention character defining moments.

Not all destinies will come into play right away. Some may take a while to come about just by their nature. Some will be active goals that some characters will work on from now until they are completed. If your destiny is not called into play right away, please do not think I'm ignoring it, it just may not yet be an appropriate time for it.

That said, thank you for the destinies. They're a great way for me to add in personal subplots that matter to you and your characters. Also, to those that have given me feedback in what they'd like to see more of in the game, thank you, I do appreciate it, I have been listening, and I hope you'll enjoy the coming sessions.

If anyone has any questions, requests, or comments, as always feel free to ask here or contact me on AIM.

[rhoenix]

Preliminary UtF (Use the Force) Compilation

This is simply meant to collect every single use of Use the Force from the books, to have in one place for easy reference.
(Books checked are Clone Wars, Force Unleashed, Jedi Academy, KOTOR Era, Legacy Era, Scum & Villainy, Main RPG, Starships of the Galaxy, Threats of the Galaxy - most included duplicate entries on additional uses of UtF)

Main RPG Rulebook: (p. 77)
- Activate Force Power (any)
- Force Trance (remain aware of surroundings; each hour in trance, gain HP equal to your char lvl)
- Move Light Object (DC 10 allows telekinetic movement of a single object of 5kg or less, up to 6 squares any direction. To use as a projectile attack, DC 15 vs. target's Reflex Def., doing 1d6 damage)
- Search Your Feelings (DC 15 full-round action: "Is walking alone and unarmed into a crime boss' hideout a good idea? Magic Force Ball says 'All signs point to you being a dumbass'")
- Sense Force (sense disturbances; a place steeped in dark side can be sensed up to 1km away; a relative/companion/close friend in mortal danger / great pain can be sensed up to 10,000 lightyears away; worse can be detected further away; can check for other Force Users up to 100km away at DC 15)
- Sense Surroundings (DC 15 check = "cover? lulz you don't have cover" for Perception checks to detect/observe targets. DC 20 to see through total cover)
- Telepathy (standard action, single word thought; distance to target determines DC)

KOTOR Campaign Guide (p.30)
- Breath Control (DC 15 check allows one to hold breath for 2x CON score in rounds before having to succeed in Endurance checks)

Jedi Academy (p.10)
- Place Other In Force Trance (as Force trance, but place a willing ally as a DC 15 check; each hour, regains their clvl in HP; cannot come out of trance on their own, but Force-user can bring them out as a swift action)

[Hotfoot]

As I am getting things ready for tomorrow, I need everyone who has not already done so to update their character sheets with their new levels, equipment, and any expenditures.

[Hotfoot]

As I'm going through the various character sheets, I'm noticing some errors.

Kel's defenses, with armor on, should be as follows:

REFLEX: 17 (base 10 + 5 + 1 + 1) (Armor/Level, Dex, Class Bonus)
FORTITUDE: 17 (10 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 2) (Level, Con, Class Bonus, Armor Bonus)
WILL: 15 (10 + 3 + 1 +1) (Level, Wis, Class Bonus)

Erik's Will Defense should be as follows:

WILL: 16 (10 + 3 + 1 + 2) (Level, Wis, Class Bonus)

Tal's Hitpoints and BAB need to be updated.

HP: 17 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 32
BAB: +2

I still need Kailik and Antares to be updated before the game so I can have the sheets updated in my database.

[rhoenix]

REFLEX: 17 (base 10 + 5 + 1 + 1) (Armor/Level, Dex, Class Bonus)
FORTITUDE: 17 (10 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 2) (Level, Con, Class Bonus, Armor Bonus)
WILL: 15 (10 + 3 + 1 +1) (Level, Wis, Class Bonus)

Shit, good catch. Fixed now.

[rhoenix]

Also, to everyone's attention - my work schedule is changing "soon" (no ETA yet) to have me working Thursday through Sunday. Hotfoot related that Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday appear to still be good days for everyone, so what's your take?

I'm fine with any of those three days.

[Stofsk]

I updated my sheet, including the respecs.

[Academia Nut]

Hey guys, sorry for the no show, but as they say, the excrement hit the rotary oscillator today. Although I hear that happened in game too.

[rhoenix]

I'm bored at work, so I'm making a spreadsheet of all Talents in SW. It'll be a while before its done, but PM me if you want a preliminary draft.

If you have a Gmail account I can set you to collaborate on it if you wish, since it's a Google App spreadsheet.

[Stofsk]

Given the events that took place last session, I think Antares is going to go one step or two down the path of building his own commando/fighter squadron. In aid of rescuing anyone from the Paradise.

[rhoenix]

Given the events that took place last session, I think Antares is going to go one step or two down the path of building his own commando/fighter squadron. In aid of rescuing anyone from the Paradise.

Then so far, it sounds like most of us are down. Kel is definitely down to rescue, given that he's kicking himself for not speaking up when it came down to choose between direct assault or sabotage.

[rhoenix]

Talents spreadsheet now has all Jedi & Noble talents from the main rulebook. I'll be adding the others from the main rulebook tomorrow, and then expanding from there to get the additional talents from other books.

[Marcao]

Erik will certainly listen to any plan with the desired end goal of rescuing allies. However, this will be done only after the information that is presented to him is deemed accurate by more than one source and the chances of a successful rescue are suitably high. He is not signing into any death pacts, and raiding the holding cells of the "Unrepentant" falls along those lines. :(

[Hotfoot]

No real rules changes, just some clarifications based on more detailed readings of the rules.

1. Area attacks can not crit. On the roll of a natural 20, all targets in the area are hit, but no extra damage is applied.
2. Autofire remains a 4-square grid (may change to 3 square to fit with other burst weapons), but burst attacks (like grenades, mines, mortars, and artillery) are radius weapons based on a corner of a hex. Splash weapons have a radius around the target's hex.
3. Burst weapons affect all targets in the radius equally, Splash weapons do full/half damage to the primary target, and half/none to all other targets. As a general rule, missiles are considered splash, while grenades and autofire are considered burst.
4. You can only take 10 on initiative if you are trained in the skill and are not currently under fire (aka, ambushes negate the take 10).

Now, this is a proposed rule change that I'd like everyone's input on:
Upon multiclassing, instead of taking one of the class feats from the new class, you may instead take the feat "Skill Training" for one of the new class skills.

You only get one feat anyway from multiclassing, and this might be more useful to some players.

[Stofsk]

Clarification of the way you're handling destinies: if we complete a destiny, do we choose another or is another chosen for us?

I listen to the Order 66 podcast and one of them had a discussion on the destiny system. Some GMs have a 'one destiny for the whole campaign' outlook, so from level 1 to level 20 (or whenever). While another GM had this notion which I find I agree with. If you look at the original trilogy, Luke has 3 destinies (destinies as per the descriptions in the Saga Ed rulebook). In ANH, it's destruction (destroying the Death Star). In ESB, it would be education (going to Dagobah to become a Jedi), and in ROTJ it would be redemption (saving Vader's/Anakin's soul so to speak).

Incidentally, the podcast mentioned and I happen to agree with it, but the destiny 'redemption' has a weak fulfillment reward. Especially considering how Hotfoot has decided to implement Force points. Also, unless I am mistaken or unless Hotfoot has any other ideas, we gain destiny points per level and they're there until spent, so we should each have 3 destiny points (because we're 3rd level and haven't spent any).

During today's session I asked a couple of the guys what their character's goals are. Bear in mind guys, I wasn't asking what your destinies are - Antares' wanting to form his own fighter/commando hybrid squadron isn't fulfilling his destiny, although it could be used as a tool toward that end.

Some of you guys might also be effective members of any such squad. You might want to think about it. Antares will be making a petition to a Rebel leader when we head toward a base after dropping off the cargo on the brick. You guys might want to select feats or what not if you want to join my squad, however, I made a point of mentioning how even Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron had people involved in supporting it who weren't members of it. Somebody like Eric I can't see getting into a cockpit and so on, but I can see Eric being a backer/supporter (especially if he gets something out of it, and having a well-trained and supplied commando outfit could do wonders for his future goals...).

Since I mentioned Eric, I should also note that Antares will likely ask Eric for assistance in-game anyway, to make use of his contacts. It's not enough to simply go to the Rebel High Command with hands held out and go Oliver Twist on them. At most, they might go 'here's 11 x-wings and a list of pilots, good luck'. On the other hand, they might have less to offer. In that event, or in any event, Antares will be needing the group to help him set this squadron up. Now, Antares in-character hasn't gone "Gee I wish I could be a squadron leader because that'll be hella cool". More like "The man who saved me from a POW camp is now likely suffering under the Imperial's hands, I've got to do something!" Whatever means are chosen to rescue the captain and crew of the Paradise will ultimately depend on the formation of this squadron.

I fully expect the rescue to be a long affair; won't be done in the next couple of sessions I bet. But that's fine, especially if the focus becomes planning for and preparing the operation, and there are heaps involved in that: recruiting personnel to stage the rescue, training them (hugely important), getting supplies and equipment, and getting the cash to pay for that as well. Doing demo runs to make sure the team works well together (this could involved making raids to get those supplies). Gathering intel - that involves or could involve capturing and interrogating Imperial personnel, or other clandestine means. (in other words, I'm not expecting the Bothans and Hutts will be giving us all the answers)

Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

[rhoenix]

During today's session I asked a couple of the guys what their character's goals are. Bear in mind guys, I wasn't asking what your destinies are - Antares' wanting to form his own fighter/commando hybrid squadron isn't fulfilling his destiny, although it could be used as a tool toward that end.

That makes more sense now. Ok, cool.

Some of you guys might also be effective members of any such squad. You might want to think about it. Antares will be making a petition to a Rebel leader when we head toward a base after dropping off the cargo on the brick. You guys might want to select feats or what not if you want to join my squad, however, I made a point of mentioning how even Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron had people involved in supporting it who weren't members of it. Somebody like Eric I can't see getting into a cockpit and so on, but I can see Eric being a backer/supporter (especially if he gets something out of it, and having a well-trained and supplied commando outfit could do wonders for his future goals...).

Excellent, that definitely works for me. Kel will be getting pilot-assisting feats over time as well, and meanwhile his aim and is only going to improve (dice willing, anyway).

Since I mentioned Eric, I should also note that Antares will likely ask Eric for assistance in-game anyway, to make use of his contacts. It's not enough to simply go to the Rebel High Command with hands held out and go Oliver Twist on them. At most, they might go 'here's 11 x-wings and a list of pilots, good luck'. On the other hand, they might have less to offer. In that event, or in any event, Antares will be needing the group to help him set this squadron up. Now, Antares in-character hasn't gone "Gee I wish I could be a squadron leader because that'll be hella cool". More like "The man who saved me from a POW camp is now likely suffering under the Imperial's hands, I've got to do something!" Whatever means are chosen to rescue the captain and crew of the Paradise will ultimately depend on the formation of this squadron.

I like the way you're thinking about this. I'm down.

I fully expect the rescue to be a long affair; won't be done in the next couple of sessions I bet. But that's fine, especially if the focus becomes planning for and preparing the operation, and there are heaps involved in that: recruiting personnel to stage the rescue, training them (hugely important), getting supplies and equipment, and getting the cash to pay for that as well. Doing demo runs to make sure the team works well together (this could involved making raids to get those supplies). Gathering intel - that involves or could involve capturing and interrogating Imperial personnel, or other clandestine means. (in other words, I'm not expecting the Bothans and Hutts will be giving us all the answers)

Though Kel has longer-range goals, this fits in nicely with one of them, and he'd definitely be amenable to join.

[rhoenix]

Work progresses on the Master Talent list. Let me know if you wish to view it or help me edit it; in the meantime, I'll make it publicly viewable when finished.

Link: SW:S Talents Spreadsheet

Currently contains:
- one sheet for all Base Class talents, one sheet for all Prestige Class talents, and a third sheet for all Force User talents (excluding Jedi or Sith specific).
- Star Wars RPG material (all classes' talents, force user talents, all prestige classes' talents)
- Rebellion Era Sourcebook additions
- Legacy Era Sourcebook talents for classes up to p. 29 (added new Misfortune talents, need to add Yuuzhan Vong Biotech talent tree, as well as all additional Scout, Soldier, and force user talents

Remaining to add:
- Legacy Era Sourcebook Scoundrel Yuuzhan Vong Biotech talent tree, as well as all additional Scout, Soldier, and force user talents
- all other sourcebooks' info

EDIT4: updated post with progress.

[Marcao]

I am sure that Erik would not be hard to persuade when it comes to assisting the formation of this squadron. It is in his best interest after all, he will consider it an investment on the future. As when it comes to becoming a backer, it is the most likely path Erik would take. He is not going to become an ace pilot anytime soon. His interests lay elsewhere. I look forward to when Antares makes his pitch. :)

[Stofsk]

Need some help to pick a feat and equipment.

Since I don't need to take Skill Training (Stealth) for my Clvl 3 feat, I've been thinking about what I should take instead. This is more complicated than I thought, when I factor in the equipment I want and the possible talents I can take down the track.

For feats, I figure I want dual-usefulness in and out of a cockpit. Hence why I have Dodge because that +1 to Reflex helps in close quarters as it does in the cockpit of my X-wing (it's also why I multiclassed into Scout, because of Evasion). According to Starships of the Galaxy, Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot can also be used in a cockpit.

But I was also looking at Running Attack, because there has been at least one occasion where having that feat could have been useful, but not super-useful.

As for equipment, for my blaster carbine I am thinking of having a pulse charger integrated into it, and a computerised interface scope to replace the targeting scope. The benefits are pretty awesome: the pulse charger will give a -1 to hit but grant a +1 for every damage die, so +3 for the carbine, but the energy pack is halved. The computerised scope works well with a helmet package, which is what I want for the armour.

For the armour, I was thinking of taking Camo Scout Armour from Galaxy at War. But I was thinking of the Armour talents the Soldiers gets, and it made me think that something like Corellian Powersuit or just the regular Battle Armour can suffice. The latter in particular can be upgraded with Shadowskin to get the exact same +5 equipment bonus to Stealth that Camo armour has, but has a higher Reflex defence.

EDIT: Hotfoot, can I ask that the Enhanced low light targeting scope be combined with the computerised interface scope? The latter is smaller, but costs double, while the former is larger, costs half, but doesn't have the interface benefits. It's sort of implied in the item description that the computerised interface scope is otherwise equivalent to the targeting scope, but it doesn't specify which one, so it could conceivably be equivalent to both the standard and low-light versions. (it costs 2000 credits so I mean, it's not like I'm asking something for nothing)

[rhoenix]

Stofsk, I should also point out that I found a Gunslinger talent tree specifically for rifles, just in case you're curious. Its found in the Legacy Era sourcebook, and I'll be adding it to the main spreadsheet when most of the suits go home, but I thought I'd point this out now.

[rhoenix]

Updated the spreadsheet - Legacy Era Sourcebook additions are almost done; I need to add the Disciples of Twilight and the Initiates of Vahl talent trees' descriptions. After that, my next target will be the KOTOR book.

[Hotfoot]

Just to remind everyone the game is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 Eastern, which is in roughly 14 hours from the time of this post.

[rhoenix]

Though late, I've finished getting my character's new armor. From Armored Flightsuit to Light Power Armor.

[rhoenix]

Update: the SW:G Talents Spreadsheet has been updated now with all of Legacy Era, Rebellion Era, Clone Wars, KOTOR, Force Unleashed, Scum & Villainy, Galaxy at War, Jedi Academy, and Starships of the Galaxy.

(EDIT: updated with progress)
(EDIT2: Finished KOTOR)
(EDIT3: finished base classes' talents from Force Unleashed, prestige classes and force-user talents remaining)
(EDIT4: Finished prestige classes & force-user talents from Force Unleashed)
(EDIT5: Finished up through the Assassin prestige class' talent trees in Scum & Villainy)
(EDIT6: Finished adding talents from Scum & Villainy)
(EDIT7: Finished adding talents from Galaxy at War)
(EDIT8: Finished adding talents from Jedi Academy)
(EDIT9: Finished adding talents from Starships of the Galaxy)

[Hotfoot]

Just a reminded, there is no game today, as it has been called on account of turkey day.