Jedi Counseling 15: Dark Side Points

By JD Wiker

Star Wars Roleplaying Game designer JD Wiker is back with more answers to your questions about a game set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. This latest installment of "Jedi Counseling" addresses questions about Gungan weapons, the lethality of explosives (or the lack thereof), and why having a Dark Side Point isn't all that much fun . . .

Have a question for the counselor? See the link at the end of the column!

Q: My character has 5 Dark Side Points and 4 Force Points. I know I can spend only one Force Point in a single round. But if I spend a Force Point at one point in the round, can I spend a Dark Side Point later in the same round?

A: No. That's a common misperception about Dark Side Points. You cannot spend Dark Side Points. Dark Side Points are a means of measuring how evil a character has become. They are not just "evil Force Points."

Twelve Dark Side Points I sense in you, Dooku!

Q: In a recent installment of Jedi Counseling, you stated that Jedi cannot determine how many Dark Side Points a character has. However, in Episode II, Yoda says to Count Dooku, "The dark side I sense in you." Also, in Dark Journey, a novel in The New Jedi Order series, some of the characters can sense that Jaina Solo is slipping to the dark side, even though she gives no indication other than being a bit grumpy. How do you account for this?

A: Being able to sense whether or not someone is evil and being able to determine their game stats are two different things. And I'd disagree that Jaina gives no other indication than being "a bit grumpy." As I recall, she's described at the end of Star by Star as having "eyes filled with hate," and she eagerly attacks enemies, rather than simply defending against them. She becomes cold and ruthless, and even without the Force, I'd have to say that anyone can recognize the change from the Jaina of the Young Jedi Knights series of books to the post-Star by Star Jaina as being a negative change.

Q: My character is 8th level and has a Reputation score of 7. He tries to attract some followers and ends up with a 2nd-level tech specialist, a 2nd-level scout, a 4th-level diplomat, and a few 1st-level thugs.

Do those followers gain experience? And, if so, what happens if their total levels exceed my character's Reputation score? Would some of them leave his service? Or would he just be unable to attract more followers? The easiest solution seems to be that followers either don't gain experience, or they gain it at a reduced rate.

A: Followers do gain experience, but, as you suggest, they only get half of what the rest of the heroes get. When calculating experience, include the follower(s) when you divide by the number of heroes, then cut the followers' share in half, and divide up the remaining half among the heroes.

Followers gaining experience at this rate aren't terribly likely to add a level before the hero's Reputation goes up. But if they do, yes, they'll take their leave of his service.

Q: Can you use a lightsaber to deflect an attack that scores a critical hit?

A: No. If it's scored a critical hit, then, by definition, it's already hit you.

If you mean, "Can you use a lightsaber to deflect an attack that scores a threat?" (a natural 20 on the attack roll), the answer is still no. A roll of 20 always hits.

Q: My fellow gamers and I think that it's kind of odd that a thermal detonator or a fragmentation grenade has almost no chance of killing someone outright. There is no critical roll on the damage, and a hit does damage to vitality first. Have we missed something in the rules, or do you have any suggestions to make this a little more realistic?

A: If I may be so bold, it sounds to me like you've missed something in the spirit of the setting.

Thermal detonators, fragmentation grenades, and other explosives are meant to be lethal to ordinary people -- that is, people who don't have vitality points. That includes diplomats, experts, thugs, and, of course, commoners.

Heroes, though, are meant to survive most of that kind of stuff. They're heroes. The Star Wars Roleplaying Game wouldn't be any fun if one fragmentation grenade could kill any character, every time.

Is it realistic? No, and it shouldn't be, because that's not in the heroic spirit of Star Wars. Does that mean your game can't be more lethal? No. All it means is that the base game doesn't need to be all that lethal. Feel free to create any house rule you like.

Just remember that any rule that makes vitality points meaningless makes heroes no different from ordinary people, and that's really diverging from the reason why most people play roleplaying games.

Q: Under the description of the Profession skill in the revised core rulebook, an example is given of how a character with 5 or more ranks in an appropriate Profession can get a synergy bonus on other skill checks. Does that work both ways? For example, if a character has 5 or more ranks of Repair, can he get a synergy bonus on Profession (mechanic) skill checks? What if he also has 5 ranks in Craft (starships)? How about Knowledge (systems engineering)?

A: It all depends on whether or not your GM is willing to give you the bonus. All synergy bonuses in Star Wars are at the discretion of the GM. The example under Profession is merely a suggestion, not a rule.

Q: If a character had them all, could he get a +6 total synergy bonus on his Profession (mechanic) skill checks? That equates to an extra 600 credits per week of dedicated work . . .

A: Yes, he could -- again, if the GM allows it. Synergy bonuses are one of the few bonus types that stack, as noted in the sidebar on page 260.

Q: How exactly do Gungan energy balls work? In Secrets of Naboo, it says that energy balls deal stun damage to organic beings and disable droids for a few minutes. But I can't find a DC for the stun attack; all I can find is the damage.

A: Gungan energy balls work much the same way that ion pistols work against droids, except that there is no choice to set the energy ball to "stun." It shocks organic beings, and damages the circuits of droids. So use the listed damage (in the core rulebook) for damage to droids, and let organic beings have a Fortitude save (DC 13) to avoid being stunned for 1d4 rounds.

Q: I want my character to use the Gungan force shield, but I don't understand how the shield works. There's a rule about a +4 bonus when an attack is coming from the fire arc the shield is facing, but I didn't think that concepts like "fire arcs" applied to characters.

A: The Gungan energy shield should give a +2 Defense bonus. Don't worry about fire arcs; that part of the rules was written before it was decided that the d20 rules would not use "fire arcs."

Q: What's the difference between the special initiative actions "delay" and "ready"? They sound the same, except that with one you have to declare what you're going to do in advance, and with the other, you don't. I don't understand why anyone would ever ready an action instead of just delaying.

A: The primary difference is that readying an action lets you act before something happens, and delaying lets you act after it happens. Let me explain.

Let's say you have a delayed action; you want to wait until someone comes through a hatchway before you shoot them. But not only must you wait until that person has come through the hatchway, you also must wait until that person has done whatever else he or she was planning to do (including firing at you). Delaying means you wait until a certain point in the initiative order to declare that you want to act, so you have to wait until the person on the current initiative has finished his actions before you jump in.

But if you had a readied action to shoot anyone who comes through the hatchway, you'd get the opportunity the moment the person appeared -- before he had a chance to finish his move, and certainly before he had a chance to fire at you. Here, you effectively get to take an action in the middle of someone else's action (or, rather, just before).

There are other differences, of course. Now that you have a better grasp on the main distinction, look at the delay and ready rules again. You should be able to spot the other differences fairly easily.

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