Campaign Rules - Part Four: Jedi and the Force

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

    In the past, I've really tinkered with the rules for the Force and its related abilities based on the misgivings and dissatisfaction (real or perceived) expressed by fellow players and GMs of the system. At the same time, I've successfully winged a lot of stuff with the game simply by being a fan of Star Wars and doing what my players and I think "feels right" for the setting. I've looked over the past notes I compiled regarding the Force in D6 Star Wars and I'm going to post only those things that change as little of the system as possible.

    The reason for this is because I want to give the system a chance and to give us a chance as GM and players to sort out what works and what doesn't. The first change in the rules here is the institution of Peter Schweighofer's "Dueling Blades" system, which emphasizes quick, simultaneous combat rolls with some nice dramatic flourishes. The second is the use of Charles McNeill's rules variant as presented in "The Singular Force" as published in issue #4 of the Adventurer's Journal. McNeill's concept takes a page from D6 Space by creating a Force attribute, addressing both the granular scale used to evaluate an individual's Force sensitivity as well as the impotency of fledgling Jedi.

   Now, let's dive in...

Creating Jedi and Force-Sensitive Characters
Creating a Force-sensitive character is not that different from creating a regular character. Dice for the character's Force attribute are drawn from the 18D they receive for attributes. For each 1D in the Force attribute, the character receives one of the three skills (Control, Sense, Alter). These do not have to be acquired in the traditional "order". The Naive Youth template in the Star Wars Adventure Journal has the Alter skill at 1D, while the Quixotic Jedi template in the rulebook has Sense at 1D. In addition, the character receives two Force Points instead of just one.

If you want to find powers beyond what's listed in SW2R and the Tales of the Jedi Companion (TJC), you can check our main reference for this game, the Rancor Pit's Force Power compendium; any material from this book that does not already appear in the rulebook or TJC must be cleared by the GM first. Other notes and powers can be found in the following conversion books by the Rancor Pit crew as well as conversions by Gary Astleford:

• 
  Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide - p.41
• Galaxy Guide 16: The Old Republic - p.183-232 
• The Clone Wars Campaign Guide - p.58-60 
• The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide - p.27 
• Jedi Academy Training Manual - p.11-14
• Power of the Jedi conversions
• Star Wars Gamer conversions

Likewise, any powers and material from these conversion files and their associated books must be cleared by the GM before going into use in the game.

After that, the character either needs to find the lore and time to train themselves in the ways of the Force, or find a master to teach them, either of which is a hazardous challenge thanks to the Empire...

...and as always, because the Jedi are hunted, any master or other Jedi who teaches a Force-sensitive is most likely going to limit how many students they have. Thus we only have two slots for Jedi or Force-sensitive PCs. This does not preclude the inclusion of an NPC master in the group at the GM's discretion.

Martial Arts and the Force
In witnessing the abilities of Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One, I thought it prudent to put in some info on the Force and the martial arts specialization for the brawling skill. Basically, the martial arts rules we'll be using can be found on p.116-117 of Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook (ROE). Overall, the interaction between the techniques and Force skills is pretty simple. A successful roll for the appropriate Force skill allows a character to add that skill's dice to a roll for an applicable martial arts technique.

The three Force skills are defined as such on p.141 of the SW2R rulebook:

Control: Control is the Jedi's ability to control her own body. A Jedi with control can access her own internal well of Force energy, learning harmony with and mastery over the functions of her own body.

Sense: Sense teaches a Jedi to sense the Force in other things beyond her own body. Te Jedi learns to feel the bonds that connect all living things and gains the ability to understand how all things are interconnected. Sense governs powers such as detecting danger and learning information about the world around the Jedi.

Alter: A Jedi with alter learns how to change the distribution and nature of the Force. Jedi who have mastered alter can move physical objects with their minds, can help others control their own Force, or can manipulate the Force in the bodies of others. This power can be used to change the perceptions of others and make them come to incorrect conclusions.

While the martial arts techniques shown in ROE are particularly effective, when bolstered by training in the Force, they are even more so.

Blindfighting (Sense): A successful (Very Easy, modified by proximity) sense roll allows the character to add their sense dice to the skill roll for this technique.

Disarm (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to add their control dice to the brawling (martial arts) roll. NOTE: Per Martial Arts Revised & Expanded, the item lands 1D meters away.

Elbow Smash (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost or reduce the damage roll for this technique.

Flip (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add 1/2 their control dice (minimum 1D) to the technique skill roll. A successful alter roll allows the character to add 1/2 their alter dice (minimum 1D) to the technique roll. The difficulty of the alter roll is based on the weight of the attacker (Very Easy for objects weighing 1 kg or less; Moderate for objects 11-100 kg; Difficult for 101 kg to one metric ton.

Flying Kick (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost or reduce the damage roll for this technique.

Foot Sweep (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add 1/2 their control dice (minimum 1D) to the technique skill roll. A successful alter roll allows the character to add 1/2 their alter dice (minimum 1D) to the technique roll. The difficulty of the alter roll is based on the weight of the attacker (Very Easy for objects weighing 1 kg or less; Moderate for objects 11-100 kg; Difficult for 101 kg to one metric ton).

Headbutt (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost or reduce the damage roll for this technique.

Hold/Grapple (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add their control dice for attackers the same size as the character. A successful alter roll allows the character to add their alter dice to the technique roll when fighting against attackers larger than the character. NOTE: Per Martial Arts Revised & Expanded, a martial artist who makes a successful hold/grapple roll gains a +1D bonus to opposed brawling skill checks while grappling the target. This technique can be maintained each round with a successful new skill check.

Instant Knockdown (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add 1/2 their control dice (minimum 1D) to the technique skill roll. A successful alter roll allows the character to add 1/2 their alter dice (minimum 1D) to the technique roll. The difficulty of the alter roll is based on the weight of the attacker (Very Easy for objects weighing 1 kg or less; Moderate for objects 11-100 kg; Difficult for 101 kg to one metric ton).

Instant Stand (Control): A successful (Moderate; +1 modifier for each additional 1D of damage above 2D) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost the brawling (martial arts) roll for this technique.

Instant Stun (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost the brawling (martial arts) roll for this technique.

Instant Wound (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost the brawling (martial arts) roll for this technique.

Kick (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost or reduce the damage roll for this technique. NOTE: This technique is added and handled per the rules in Martial Arts Revised & Expanded.

Multiple Strikes (Control): A successful (Difficult) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost the brawling (martial arts) roll for this technique. NOTE: Per Martial Arts Revised & Expanded, this technique allows multiple attacks at no penalty, but normal damage for each attack.

Nerve Punch (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost the brawling (martial arts) roll for this technique. NOTE: Martial Arts Revised & Expanded includes a second Nerve Punch technique that allows the martial artist to render the target unconscious. We will be rolling these two techniques together. Under this ruling, the attacker must clarify if they are going to render a limb useless or knocking out the target for 3D rounds when making the attack.

Power Block (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to add their control dice to the technique's skill roll, the damage roll, or split the dice between the two.

Punch (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to use their control dice to boost or reduce the damage roll for this technique. NOTE: This technique is added and handled per the rules in Martial Arts Revised & Expanded.

Reversal (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add 1/2 their control dice (minimum 1D) to the technique skill roll. A successful alter roll allows the character to add 1/2 their alter dice (minimum 1D) to the technique roll. The difficulty of the alter roll is based on the weight of the attacker (Very Easy for objects weighing 1 kg or less; Moderate for objects 11-100 kg; Difficult for 101 kg to one metric ton).

Silent Strike (Control, Sense, and Alter): A successful (Very Easy for control and alter; target's control or PER roll for sense) skill roll for Force skill allows the character to add 1/3 of the dice (minimum of 1D) for that skill to the technique's skill roll. NOTE: Per Martial Arts Revised & Expanded, a martial artist may declare that they are using this technique to render the target unconscious for 3D rounds. Otherwise, the technique does STR+3D damage.

Shoulder Throw (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add 1/2 their control dice (minimum 1D) to the technique skill roll. A successful alter roll allows the character to add 1/2 their alter dice (minimum 1D) to the technique roll. The difficulty of the alter roll is based on the weight of the attacker (Very Easy for objects weighing 1 kg or less; Moderate for objects 11-100 kg; Difficult for 101 kg to one metric ton). NOTE: Per Martial Arts Revised & Expanded, damage for this technique is STR+1D.

Spinning Kick (Control): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows the character to add their control dice to the technique's skill roll, the damage roll, or split the dice between the two.

Weapon Block (Control and Alter): A successful (Moderate) control roll allows a character to add 1/2 their control dice (minimum 1D) to the technique skill roll. A successful alter roll allows the character to add 1/2 their alter dice (minimum 1D) to the technique roll. The difficulty of the alter roll is based on the weight of the attacker (Very Easy for objects weighing 1 kg or less; Moderate for objects 11-100 kg; Difficult for 101 kg to one metric ton).

EDIT: The Martial Arts Revised & Expanded book does have Jedi battlemaster and Sith martial art styles and does indeed make some minor changes to the system - adding several additional techniques (Kick, Nerve Punch 2, and Punch) and changing some of the difficulty numbers for techniques. We're going to dispense with the technique difficulty rolls and go with opposed rolls per the Dueling Blades rules; the rules per ROE will be used. I've included the basic punch and kick techniques here, but they can also be found in Martial Arts Revised & Expanded.

Lightsaber Duels
Peter Schweighofer, a talented individual who wrote quite a bit of material for the Star Wars RPG, designed and posted a fast, rules-light set of dueling rules for the D6 system. This is the system we'll use for lightsaber battles in our game.

Lightsabers and Fighting Styles
Lightsabers come in a variety of sizes and shapes. While most are customized to their owner's preferences and species, some do require specializations of the lightsaber skill, such as the greatsaber, double-bladed lightsaber, (aka lightstaff), etc.

There are also a number of fighting styles associated with the Jedi and Sith. Given that Disney's revision of the canon wipes away a lot of the specifics, we can really only go by the descriptions of the styles, counting them as specializations of the lightsaber skill.

• Form "Zero" - While not really a specialization, this is pretty much just the standard lightsaber skill.
• Form I: Shii-Cho
• Form II: Makashi
• Form III: Soresu
• Form IV: Ataru
• Form V: Shien/Djem So
• Form VI: Niman
• Form VII: Juyo/Vaapad
• Other Styles
• Double-bladed lightsaber combat
• Jar'Kai (dual-blade) combat
• Lightsaber pike combat 
• Lightwhip combat 
• Lus-ma
• Sokan
• Su ma
• Tràkata
• Trispzest
• Unorthodox and hybrid methods
• Unarmed combat
• Weapon-specific Fighting Forms

The way I see and understand it, the lightsaber combat power works as written in the rulebook. Under the Dueling Blades system, the two combatants make their lightsaber rolls as modified by their control and sense dice normally for attacks, parrying, and damage. Peter's system just flows with the first edition initiative rules we're using and the highest roll wins fighting for that round with the difference in rolls determining what you can do. The higher the roll, the more your character can do.

Campaign Rules - Part Three: Vehicles and Ships

Abstract Vehicle and Ship Combat

The vehicle rules went through a significant change between first (SW1E) and second edition (SW2R) from being rather abstract to a little more concrete. SW1E assigned each ship and vehicle a "Speed Code" - basically a dice pool representing how fast they could possibly go. Conversely, SW2R changed this to "Space" and "Speed" scores in line with the movement rules for characters. While SW2R's vehicle movement rules certainly work from a mapboard and counter perspective, we won't always have the luxury of space for those elements in the shop. Overall, if we don't have the space for a mapboard and counters or if I should forget to bring them, we'll use the SW1E rules with SW2R's scaling rules.

It should be noted that the first edition Rules Companion introduced a system for abstract/cinematic capital ship combat. It was more on par with the "command and control" rules for FASA's Star Trek RPG. Should the heroes manage to somehow find themselves on the bridge of a capital ship during a battle, we might give them a try.

Traveling at the Speed of Plot
As I've noted before, we're dispensing with the old timeframes for hyperspace travel. The multipliers still apply, but we'll be using the hyperspace rules cribbed from FFG's Age of Rebellion RPG (AOR). Additionally, I've folded the sublight travel guidelines provided on p.116 of SW2R into the sublight guidelines provided in AOR.

Sublight Travel Times
Flying from a planet's orbit to a safe hyperspace jump distance: 5-15 minutes
Flying from a planet's surface to one of its moons: 30-90 minutes
Flying from one planet to another within the same star system: 2-12 hours*
Flying from the center of a star system to its furthest limits: 10-72 hours*
* - This time varies depending on the relative position of the planets in question and any stellar phenomena between them.

Hyperspace Travel Times
Within a sector: Ten to 24 hours
Within a region: Ten to 72 hours
Between regions: Three days to one week
Across the galaxy: One to three weeks

Tabletop Starship Combat

SW1E had rules for ship combat both in the RPG and in the form of Star Warriors. Unfortunately, Star Warriors was a bit hard to incorporate into the RPG as it used a different system. Still, it seems a pity to let those counters and the mapboard go to waste simply because of a difference in systems.

The prime difference between tabletop starship and character combat is going to be the fact that ship combat is hex-based and character combat is on a square grid. Star Warriors favored wargaming's hex grid over a square grid, which I find is much better. Unfortunately, all of my character combat maps are square grids. Oh well.

Firing arcs for starfighter-scale ships are shown per the Star Warriors rules at right (we'll cover capital ships in their own section below). A vessel can move a number of hexes forward equal to its Move score. Turning is very simple; a vessel must move at least one hex space forward (counting as one (1) point of its Move score) before turning one hex face (again, counting as one (1) point of its Move score). Some ships can “turn tighter” than others. A ship’s maneuverability is determined by the number of dice in its Maneuverability rating. For example, an A-wing (Maneuverability of 4D) is far more maneuverable than a TIE/ln fighter (Maneuverability of 2D), but is on almost even terms with a TIE interceptor (Maneuverability of 3D+2). The number of hex faces a ship can turn is based on this maneuverability as shown in the table below.

EDIT: In going over this table, I came across a discrepancy which I'm going to adjudicate. In the RPG rules, the TIE Advanced x1 is given a Maneuverability of 1D+1. That just doesn't jive with Vader's performance at the controls of his signature fighter in Star Wars Rebels (see below). As such, I'm retconning that stat and giving the TIE Advanced x1 a Maneuverability of 3D. This actually fits well as the Rebels Season 2 sourcebook gives the TIE Advanced v1 a Maneuverability of 2D. Alternately, the homebrew Guide to TIE Fighters gives the TIE Advanced x1 a Maneuverability of 5D.

"Pushing The Envelope"
A pilot can push the limits of his fighter if things get rough, but there’s only so much stress a ship - and its pilot - can take. A tighter turn or more speed is limited by the ship’s Hull dice. For every die the ship has in its Hull rating, it may move one hex or turn one hex face beyond its standard ratings. The GM may require Starship Piloting rolls to see if the pilot maintains control of their ship or collides with any obstacles (including other ships).

Overaccelerating: A ship can be pushed beyond its maximum speed, but at the cost of maneuverability. For every extra hex the ship moves forward beyond its standard Move rating, it may turn one less hex face. Additionally, the ship takes 1D of damage against its Hull rating for each extra hex moved forward; deflector shields do not protect against this damage.

Tighter Turns: A ship may make a tighter turn than its Maneuverability rating allows, but stress is placed on both the pilot and the ship. For every extra hex face turned, the ship takes 1D of damage against its Hull rating; deflector shields do not protect against this damage. Keep in mind, this is in addition to the information provided above.

When either such a maneuver is made, the pilot and passengers take damage as per the passenger damage rules on pg. 112 of the SW2R rulebook. A ship may not make a tighter turn and overaccelerate in the same turn.

For example, a Y-wing pilot is trying to evade a pursuing TIE interceptor. The Y-wing has a Maneuverability of 2D and can turn a total of two hex faces, while the interceptor is twice as agile with a Maneuverability of 3D+2 and can turn three hex faces total. The Y-wing pilot attempts to turn tighter than normal, changing three (3) hex faces instead of the regular two (2). The GM rules that since it's in open space, there's no concern of hitting another ship or object, and so the difficulty is Easy (5). The pilot makes the roll, maintaining control, but he and his fighter take 1D damage per the SW2R rules.

Dogfighting
Star Warriors did have some rules with regard to certain maneuvers (1/2 loops, slips, double-slips, etc), and I know the RSB also had some diagrams of dogfighting maneuvers and tactics. I don't have rules worked out for such things yet, but I'll post them here once I've got the notes together.

Capital Ships
Capital ships follow the same rules with regard to movement and pushing their limits as above. The only difference is that capital ships can rotate – turn without moving one hex face forward. A capital ship can change a number of hex faces in one turn as it has points in its Move score; most capital ships listed in the SW2R rulebook can rotate a full 360 degrees in one turn.

The diagrams from Star Warriors and the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (RSB) below show how capital ships turn and how their firing arcs are arranged.

 

  

Those of you familiar with the RSB will note I left out the diagram of the dorsal/ventral firing arcs. That's because the arcs for the Imperial star destroyer are incorrect. The RSB diagram showed no firing arcs for the star destroyer's belly, essentially leaving the docking/launch bay vulnerable. However, when you watch the chase at the beginning of Episode IV, you can clearly see turbolaser blasts coming from the belly of the star destroyer.

Mixing Scales
With regard to battles involving both starfighter and capital-scale ships, figure that capital ships move twice as fast as starfighters. Nothing puts the fear of the Dark Side in a character (and his player) than having an Imperial star destroyer breathing down his neck as he tries to make a getaway in his X-wing fighter. Turning, however should be handled on a 2:1 ratio. For every two hex faces a fighter can turn in one game turn, a capital ship can turn one hex face.

Range and Line of Sight
Line of sight is determined by either eyeballing the situation or by using a ruler. Range is figured in hexes when in space. In an atmosphere, range is figured at a ratio of 1 hex = 100 meters for starfighter scale ships, and 1 hex = 2 km for capital scale vessels. Elevation is also factored into combat situations and its effects are determined by the GM.

Vehicle Movement and Maneuvering Using Miniatures
The movement rules in SW2R are pretty much in force here. The exception is if we're using a hex grid for a wider area. In that case, vehicles move and maneuver as shown above for starfighters.

That's pretty much the nuts and bolts of vehicles and ships in this game. My next entry will be on the energy field that binds everything together - namely, the Force.

Campaign Rules - Part Two: Here's Where The Fun Begins!

The Canon
Before Star Wars: Rebels and Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, the canon for the Expanded Universe was a very convoluted and intricate thing. While the cultures and history of the Legends canon (as it's now called) have a lot of depth and detail, I don't have all the money and time to gather all the novels, games, and other media associated with it in order to become a guru.

That being said, I'm working with the new canon as established by Disney, bolstered by any details I find relevant and interesting from the Legends canon. For example, I consider the Han Solo and Lando Calrissian trilogies, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, and Dark Empire to be valid in this campaign. If you have questions about it all, just ask and we'll hash it out; just remember, as GM, I do have the final say.

The Meat of the Rules
Thus far, we've covered creating characters and the skill list for the game. I know I mentioned having notes regarding combining actions and the like, but to be honest, the bulk of the rules are going to come from the second edition revised & expanded (SW2R) rulebook.

Initiative
The first edition's initiative rules were more of a "flow-style" as compared to SW2R's conventional Perception-based initiative. Basically, if your character got the high roll against their opponent, they won initiative and the effects were determined from that point forward. For example: Jana (Blaster skill of 5D+2) and Roark (Blaster skill of 5D+1) both shoot at each other; the difficulty number for each shot is 15. Jana's roll is 19; Roark's is 17. Jana gets her shot off first (because 19 is greater than 17), and hits Roark (because 19 is also greater than 15). Roark's shot doesn't take place.

In resolving ties, PCs win out over NPCs. Between PCs, the highest attribute or skill code wins the roll. I find this is a bit more realistic than having a static initiative roll for each character during the course of an encounter.

Drama, Ammo, and "Speed of Plot"
While there are travel times listed on the astrogation chart in the rulebooks as well as several maps, all hyperspace travel is pretty much "speed of plot" as it is in the movies and TV shows (Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels). While I'm not a fan of FFG's new Star Wars RPG, Age of Rebellion has an excellent way of handling hyperspace and sublight travel. The hyperdrive multipliers still remain in effect; these guidelines just save us a lot of headache and bookkeeping.

Sublight Travel Times
Flying from a planet's orbit to a safe hyperspace jump distance: 5-15 minutes
Flying from a planet's surface to one of its moons: 30-90 minutes
Flying from one planet to another within the same star system: 6-12 hours*
Flying from the center of a star system to its furthest limits: 12-72 hours*
* - This time varies depending on the relative position of the planets in question and any stellar phenomena between them.

Hyperspace Travel Times
Within a sector: Ten to 24 hours
Within a region: Ten to 72 hours
Between regions: Three days to one week
Across the galaxy: One to three weeks

The same goes for ammo - although SW2R gave us how many shots each type of blaster has in its power pack, we're going with what's "dramatically appropriate". To extrapolate, if a character fumbles a blaster roll, the player rolls 1D to determine what happened.

Roll Result
1-2 - Malfunction! The weapon overheats, runs out of blaster gas, short circuits, etc. A successful Technical or Blaster Repair roll (2D difficulty) is needed to get the weapon working again.
3-4 - Out of ammo! A successful Dexterity or Blaster (5+) roll is needed to reload the weapon.
5 - Nothing happens. You're just a lousy shot.
6 - Complication! - Your shot goes so awry that it creates... problems.

 
Character Points
 Per SW2R, any dice provided to a roll by Character Points (limit of 5 CP on any roll) that come up a six (6) are added to the roll and rerolled. My limitation on this is the number of rerolls as shown in the table below; "CP Dice" refers to the number of Character Point dice rolling a six (6).

For example, a player decides to burn three Character Points on a roll, netting their character an extra 3D for a shot at a major villain. The roll comes up 5, 4, and 3 for the hero's normal Blaster skill of 3D and three 6's for the added 3D from their Character Points. The player adds the 6D up for a total of 30 (5 + 4 + 3 + 6 + 6 + 6), and then gets to reroll the extra 3D. The second 3D roll nets the hero a 6, 6, and 3 for an added bonus of 15; this brings the total to 45. The player gets one more reroll on the two sixes and comes up with a 2 and a 3. The final total is a whopping 50!

My reasoning on this is to keep the dice rolls within reason for those who aren't fond of math, as well as keeping the momentum of the game up. For those who want to know, no, dice provided by a Force Point do not explode on a six.

LATE EDIT: One last note. Since Character Points do double duty as experience points as well as mini-Force Points, I strongly recommend people try to keep a bank of at least five (5) Character Points at all times. That way, you can use some for improving your skills and attributes and still have some Character Points to burn if you don't want to (or can't) use a Force Point in a situation. This is not a hard rule; you're free to burn your character's Character Points as you like, but know that there are consequences (and it's always good to have a few Character Points when they're needed).

Rolling More Than Five Dice
For some people, rolling more than five dice at a time seems a hassle because wrangling 6D or more is a pain and/or math gives them a headache. I sympathize. As such, here is a copy of the dice code simplification table from the revised, expanded, & updated (REUP) rulebook. In using this table, find the number of dice you're supposed to roll, roll 5D and then add the number in the "5D" column to the total.

Combining Actions
Getting back to the whole "combining actions" situation, I took a look at the rules as presented in both the first edition Star Wars Rules Companion and SW2R and while the first edition rules give a better boost, they do involve a little more wrangling of dice and pips than SW2R. For the time being, we'll go with the SW2R rules and if they prove to be too ineffective, we'll switch to the first edition rules.

Using Miniatures (Optional)
On the maps, we're going with 1 square per point of Move with each square = 1 meter (3.28 feet). This might mean ships and speeders are actually larger than they appear on the map, but we'll work it out.

I'm going to close this entry out at this point as Blogspot gets cranky if I try to type too much. My next entry will go over the vehicle rules and the fourth entry will cover the Force.

Campaign Rules - Part One: Intro and Character Generation

Like any normal RPG campaign, Medstar-4 has some house rules. Overall, I use a mix of rules from the first edition (SW1E) (including the Star Wars Rules Companion and Star Warriors) and the second edition R&E (SW2R) rulebooks. I have not had a chance to really review the revised, expanded & updated (REUP) rulebook by Womp Rat Press. Before we dive into the rules governing the campaign, I'll preface them with Rule Zero:

Every rule, race, power, technology, variant rule, etc. is subject to change or removal at the discretion of the GM. Even if a game element is initially permitted, if it is later deemed incompatible with the campaign, it will be modified or removed. Any characters (PC or NPC) that use that element may be required to adjust to the change (in other words, grandfathering is not guaranteed). I will attempt to keep this sort of thing to a minimum (if at all), but sometimes this may happen in the process of keeping the rules appropriate to the campaign.

Character Creation

• As this is a Rebellion Era campaign, there can only be two Jedi in the group. Check with the GM about character templates and concepts. You can find additional Force house rules here.
• Character templates - essentially pre-generated characters you can customize - are available. The only thing that needs to be allocated on any given template is 7D for starting skills and specializations (see below). If a certain template interests you but you want to alter it in some way - making a Gambler a Rodian instead of a Human, for example - consult with the GM.
• Scratch-built characters receive 18D for attributes and 7D for starting skills. Non-Force sensitive characters begin with five Character Points and one Force Point. Force-sensitive characters receive five Character Points and two Force Points, as well as the Force attribute.
• Skills specializations may be used in this game; this is something to be determined by the GM and players at the start. You can keep it simple and allocate 1D each to seven different skills, or break down each die into pips (a "pip" being a +1 with 3 "pips" equaling 1D). The scale goes: 1D, 1D+1, 1D+2, 2D, 2D+1, 2D+2, 3D, and so forth. In the event specializations are not used, the GM will adjudicate skill usage accordingly. If a character attempts something they may not be familiar with (a technician trying transplant surgery, for example), the task difficulty may be increased. If the character is particularly good at something (a pilot flying their own modified tramp freighter), the task difficulty might be lowered. If specializations are used, a beginning character may spend 1D of their starting 7D to get three specializations, with 1D going to each specialization. These do not have to be under the same general skill. Starting characters may not have any general skills more than 2D higher than the governing attribute; they may not have any specializations more than 3D higher than the governing attribute.
• Alien characters from templates (Ewok, Rodian Gunner, Wookiee, etc.) are the easiest way to bring aliens into the group. Scratch-built alien characters are subject to GM approval to keep within the canon of the campaign.
• Droid characters are permitted, but are subject to GM approval. Template-based characters start with the stats for an established model presented in Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids, The Rebellion's droid conversion section, the Rancor Pit droid conversion book, or the conversion book for Scavenger's Guide to Droids. Scratch-built droid characters must be created using the rules presented in Cynabar's. Additional equipment and software may be found in the aforementioned links, but those items must have a reference notation and are subject to GM approval.

Replacement Characters
In the event of a character being disabled, killed, turning to the Dark Side, etc., a replacement can be generated either from a template or scratch. A character's experience level is determined by the number of "dice" they have - basically the total of attribute and skill dice, Character Points (5 Character Points = 1D), Force Points (1 Force Point = 1D), "Pips" above starting levels (3 pips = 1D), and dice based on advantages or disadvantages provided by special abilities. The experience levels are as follows:

With regard to skill levels:

• 1D is below Human average for an attribute.
• 2D is Human average for attributes and many skills
• 3D is the average level of training for a Human.
• 4D is equivalent to professional-level training for a Human.
• 5D is considered above average expertise.
• 6D is considered about the best in a city or geographic area. 1 in 100,000 have this level of training.
• 7D means the character is among the best on a continent. This level can be found in 1 in 10,000,000 people.
• 8D means the character is among the best on the planet. This level is found in 1 in 100,000,000 people.
• 9D indicates the character is one of the best in several star systems in the immediate area. Only 1 in a billion people have expertise at this level.
• 10D One of the best in a sector.
• 12D One of the best in a region
• 14D+ Among the best in the galaxy.

With regard to overall experience:

• Average: This character is truly average, and has probably only had one or two "adventures" in their lifetime, if any. The character has up to 20 dice.
• Novice: This character is a little bit better than average within the 12D attribute range for NPCs. Beginning PCs have 31 dice (18D for attributes, 7D for skills, 1 Force Point, 5 Character Points). Novice characters in general have up to 35 dice.
• Veteran: The veteran character is likely to be good in a few key skills, but weak in others. Veterans usually have 36-75 dice total.
• Superior: A character at this level has had a great deal of experience and has 76 to 150 dice total.
• Master: These characters are the pinnacle of heroism (or villainy). We're talking capabilities on par with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and the Emperor. Such characters have over 150 dice!

Overall, players introducing replacement characters to the group should work with the GM and their fellow players to make sure the incoming characters fit and work well with the group. (EDIT: Some helpful guidelines can be found in this video by Seth Skorkowsky.)

Character Templates
Character templates are the best way to hit the ground running in this game. Below is a breakdown of character templates book-by-book, including books released by the good folks in the various D6 SWRPG communities.

Star Wars RPG 2e R&E/2e R&E GM Screen - As this is a Rebellion era campaign, all templates from these books are open for players. There are two exceptions to this, however. The Rookie New Republic Pilot will just be a Rookie Rebel Pilot with the appropriate background and gear changes (the character's sibling died at Scarif or Yavin and the New Republic uniform is swapped out for a Rebel uniform). The New Republic Bureaucrat template is not allowed.

Classic Heroes - The templates in this book require GM approval before being allowed, especially the Clone Wars Veteran template; I need to work out how to stat up clone troopers more consistently based on the material presented.

The Dark Times - As with Classic Heroes, the templates in this book require GM approval, especially the Renegade Clone template.

Death in the Undercity - The Quarren Miner and Quarren Deep-Hunter are off the table.

Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters - No problems with the Tramp Freighter Captain template.

Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts - The only templates I'll allow as starting characters are the Scout Droid and the Ex-Imperial Scout. The Prospector template is probably best used as a mid- or late-campaign cast replacement. The Corporate Scout is off the table.

Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters - All three templates in this book are off the table.

Galaxy Guide 14: The Dark Side - All templates in this book are off the table.

Heroes & Rogues - All Imperial templates are off the table except for the Space Rescue Corps Officer and Wealthy Physician. These require some changes to their background to fit in with the group. Independent templates need GM approval for use. All of the Rebel templates are allowed, but the New Republic templates are off the table.

Lords of the Expanse/Player's Guide to Tapani - The COMPNOR Military Liaison, ISB Agent, JAN Operative, and Mining Guild Recruiter are off the table. The Corporate Slicer, Freeworlds Artist, Freeworlds Trader, Herglic Archaeologist, and HoloVid Gossip Columnist might work as mid- or late-campaign cast replacements, but that remains to be seen.

Pirates and Privateers - The Veteran Spacer template would work well as a tramp freighter crewmember. The other three templates (Privateer Captain, Alliance Observer, and Boarder) would probably be best as cast replacements later in the campaign if necessary.

Platt's Smugglers Guide - Most of the templates in this book are allowed. The spaceport-related templates (Sludir Crate-Buster, Pack Tracker, and Comm Slicker) are not really a good fit, however.

Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook - Most of the templates in the back of the book are fine. SpecForce Infiltrators, Pathfinders, and Heavy Weapon Specialists might be hard to justify as part of an MSU's personnel, but stranger things have happened (Max Klinger actually became a good company clerk, made sergeant, and stopped wearing dresses by the end of MASH, after all).

Star Wars Adventure Journal - There are some articles which have variations of templates in other books (such as the Outlaw Tech and privateer templates), as well as new templates (the swoop gang templates come to mind). Some templates, like the Naive Youth and Merc Combat Medic, are actually used for NPCs. If you want to use any of those templates, let me know so we can discuss it..

Tales of the Jedi Companion - The templates in this sourcebook are allowed, but will need some tweaking to bring them up to Rebellion-era standards.

Most - if not all - of the templates can be found here as well as some variants and new templates. Please ask me about the new templates (like the Jedi Consular and Guardian templates, for example) if you want to run one of them. Also, per the guidelines given in the first edition rulebook, if you want to change something about a template - swap some dice codes around, change Force powers (the TotJ Jedi templates have powers listed on them), etc., let me know and we'll work it out..

 EDIT: Back in 2016, I was inspired to create a new template, the Guardian of the Whills. Here are the images of both the template and the blank character sheet.

 

Character Skills

Medstar-4 uses a hybrid of the two skill lists in SW1E and SW2R. While the second edition did expand character skills, it did so a bit haphazardly. Essentially, what I've done is pruned and reorganized the skill list so it has the simplicity of the first edition skills but retains the skill specializations. Advanced skills, which seemed to work a bit backwards to me, are not used. Instead, they're just treated as skill specializations. Where necessary, I've renamed skills to better define them and prevent confusion. The specializations shown are examples only; many other specializations could (and do) exist.

Here's the list of skills and specializations as it currently stands:

DEXTERITY

• Archaic Weapons - Black powder pistols, matchlocks, muskets, slugthrowers, Wookiee bowcasters, etc.
• Armor Weapons - Armor-based weapons (wrist lasers, flamethrowers, personal deflector shields, etc.)
• Blaster - Blaster pistol, blaster rifle, etc.
• Dodge
• Grenade
• Heavy Weapon - Vehicle weapons, blaster artillery, repeating blasters, etc.
• Lightsaber - Type of lightsaber (greatsaber, lightstaff, etc.) or lightsaber form (Form Zero, Shii-Cho, etc.)
• Melee - Swords, knives, axes, vibroblades, etc.
• Pickpocket

KNOWLEDGE

• Alien Races - Specific species
• Bureaucracy - Specific planetary or administrative government or branch within it
• Business - Specific field of business, corporation, trade guild, etc.
• Cultures - Planetary or social group
• Languages - Specific language or dialect
• Planetary Systems - Specific system or world
• Scholar - Specific field of study, such as law, Jedi lore, xenoarchaeology, etc.
• Streetwise - Specific planet or criminal organization
• Survival - Specific environment
• Tactics - Squad, fleet, capital ship, ground assault, etc.
• Technology - Specific type of technology, such as droids, speeders, starships
• Value - Specific market or type of goods
• Willpower

MECHANICAL

• Astrogation - Specific trade route, region, or system
• Beast Riding - Specific creature
• Communications - Type of device (subspace radio, comlink, etc.)
• Ground Vehicle Ops. - Type or model of ground vehicle
• Jet Pack Ops. - Jet or rocket pack
• Hover Vehicle Ops. - Type or model of hover vehicle
• Powersuit Ops. - Type of suit (spacetrooper armor, servo-lifter, etc.)
• Repulsorlift Ops. - Type or model of repulsorlift
• Sensors - Type of sensor (hand scanner, starship sensor, etc.)
• Starship Gunnery - Type of ship or weapon type (concussion missiles, ion cannons, capital ship gunnery, etc.)
• Starship Piloting - Type or model of ship (capital, starfighter, X-Wing fighter, aerofighter, etc.)
• Starship Shields - Type of shield system (capital ship, starfighter, etc.)

PERCEPTION

• Bargain – Specific market or type of goods
• Command – Specific troop type or group
• Con – Disguise, fast-talk
• Forgery – Specific item
• Gambling – Specific game
• Hide – Camouflage
• Intimidation – Interrogation, bullying
• Investigation – Particular city or urban area
• Persuasion – Debate, storytelling, flirting, oration
• Search – Tracking
• Sneak – Specific terrain type

STRENGTH

• Brawling – Boxing, martial art style
• Climbing/Jumping – Climbing, jumping
• Lifting
• Stamina
• Swimming

TECHNICAL

• Armor Repair – Armor type (stormtrooper, bounty hunter, etc.)
• Blaster Repair – Blaster pistol, blaster rifle, etc.
• Computer Programming/Repair – Specific computer system or type
• Demolition – Target type (building, wall, bridge, etc.)
• Droid Programming/Repair – Specific droid type or class
• Ground Vehicle Repair – Specific vehicle type
• Hover Vehicle Repair – Specific vehicle type
• Medicine – First aid, trauma surgery, xenobiology, genetics, psychology, etc.
• Repulsorlift Repair – Type of repulsorlift vehicle
• Security – Security system type
• Starship Repair – Specific ship type, model or individual ship
• Weapon Repair – Archaic weapon type, melee weapon type, etc.

FORCE

• Control
• Sense
• Alter

The Force attribute is something I picked up from a house rule article in the Adventurer's Journal #4. As noted earlier in this post, you can find the Force house rules for this game here. In the next part we'll go over general rules for combining actions, combat, etc.