Force Rules

[Jex]

[OOC -  I not sure that anyone would even know that Jex is sensitive, he most likely does not even realize it himself. I suspect that until someone with real skill 'discovers' him, nothing will change for Jex, unless he starts succumbing to the dark side and then one day he will just flip out, or start acting like Trax ...

Craig, by the RAW, the only way to gain Force Powers and skills is to be trained, research very specific knowledge repositories, or certain cultural practices. Is there anything that shows how using the Force originated ... there had to be a first practitioner (or multiple independent first practitioners)]

[GM Craig]

What is the RAW?

Jex would be aware of flashes of intuition he can't explain, feelings and sensations beyond the normal, things he wants seemingly floating of their own accord towards him and the like. It's not something he can control. As he came into his sensitivity late in life, this would mark a transition for him. Without training, it's nothing he can do anything with, per se, but he would be aware of something happening to him, and feel a sense of untapped potential. Unusual feelings, visions, sensations, things levitating, flashes of intuition would have started happening.

It is not that you must have a teacher to learn force skills. Introspection can open up those skills as well.

Here's some rules of thumb:

Force Skills

Characters must be Force-sensitive to learn Force skills.
When characters recieve their first die in a Force skill (control, sense, or alter), they recieve one Force power.

Force Skill. Character Point Cost: Number before the "D." Double character point cost without a teacher. Training Time: One day per Character Point spent if the character has a teacher. Two days per Character Point without a teacher. Training time may be reduced by one day for each additional Character Point spent (minimum of one day).

Force Powers. A Jedi may be taught a new power each time a Force skill is improved one pip. The new power is chosen by the teacher and must use the improved skill (for instance, a Jedi improving control could not learn a power based solely on alter).

A character may be taught a Force power without improving a Force skill, but the character must spend five Character Points.

A power that uses two Force skills counts as two powers when being taught powers.

A Jedi character cannot use a power that has not been learned.

The Lure of the Dark Side. When a character with Dark Side Points uses a Force skill, her skill roll gets a bonus of 1D per Dark Side Point.

A Jedi may refuse this bonus, but the difficulties of all Force powers should be increased by at least one difficulty level to reflect the intense concentration needed to avoid the dark side's temptations.

A character who has gone over to the dark side no longer recieves this bonus.

Intuitive Powers. It is well-known that some beings can push themselves to feats of great strength or endurance. Likewise, Jedi characters, when faced with an incredible challenge, may exhibit powers they had not previously learned.

At the gamemaster's discretion only, characters may be "granted" powers in exceptional circumstances. This reflects the Force's mystic and often unpredictable nature.

Gamemasters may grant the power for "free," require the Jedi to spend a number of Character Points or Force Points to learn the power, or set other conditions. Gamemasters may grant a Jedi a power on a one-time basis to indicate the importance of a particular task, or to "reward" characters who have performed exceptionally well by allowing them to "subconsciously" learn a new power.

The first force-users explored their abilities through introspection and meditation, gradually learning the lore they could teach to others. Jex could do the same thing, with the usual cp costs and time requirements for self-taught skills.

THE BASICS

CONTROL

This skill is largely a character's ability to feel the Force in himself, and use it to augment form and function. This is usually the first Force skill taught to a student of the Force, and sets the ground work for further training in its other aspects.
SENSE

This skill is a characters ability to feel and recognize the Force outside himself. This is usually the next skill taught to a student as it requires a deeper understanding of the Force and its nature. This skill governs many abilities with emotional or perception related abilities.
ALTER

This is usually the final area of learning taught to a student of the Force. It is also considered the most difficult of the three basic skills as it teaches a student to modify, and redistribute the energy of the Force around him. This is by far the most volatile and destructive of the three Force skills.

Note that traditionally, students learned Control first, then Sense, and finally Alter. Force-users operating without the benefit of a teacher might explore things in a different order.

[GM Craig]

Just to clarify, Lightsaber Construction is a physical skill based on the Techical attribute, you don't need force skills to manufacture a lightsabre.

You do need them to really use it effectively, but anyone can pick up a sabre and use it as a Dex-based skill.

[Jex]

What is the RAW?

Rules as written ... Obviously I either read the wrong rules or misread the right rules 

[GM Craig]

The first "D" in your force skills costs 10 cp. After they, they level up like any skill would. Spend 10 cp and you get 1D in Control, Sense, or Alter. After that, they level up like any other skill. Training time is required, though you can still add pips on any skill you have used in the course of an adventure.

Every time you add a pip to a force skill, you learn one power based on that skill. You can also use CP's to buy a skill, and under exceptional circumstances, you can push your limits with a Force Point and learn a new power that way. Serendipity may also award one, and I might give you one from time to time.

If you're looking for a Jedi Knight archetype (Luke, Qui-Gon, Mace Windu), focus on Control and Sense (in that order). If you're looking for more of a mystic / sorcerer archetype (Yoda, the older Obi-Wan), focus on Sense and Alter. A Sith Sorcerer would focus on Alter and Sense.

I'll post a list of Force Powers at some point. The RAW leave some pretty big holes that I'll be filling in here and there.

[Jex]

So if I want to develop a Force Skill for Jex, it would cost 10CP or 20CP if there is no teacher( it seems that for everything else without a teacher the cost is doubled)?

[GM Craig]

You know, something seems wrong there.

Something in the back of my mind tells me when you buy force sensitivity, you get 1D in each of the three skills, but my memory isn't what it used to be.

I'll dig out my books tonight and go over the rules. Let me get back to you.

[GM Craig]

So if I want to develop a Force Skill for Jex, it would cost 10CP or 20CP if there is no teacher( it seems that for everything else without a teacher the cost is doubled)?

Off the top of my head:

You're buying the first D as an attribute, no "double cost" applies there that I am aware of, so you can learn a force skill of 1D for 10cp. But again, let me check the rulebook. I'm running this based on 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded.

[Trax]

From the d6 core rule book;

Learning a Force skill requires one week of intensive study and costs 10 Character Points. (The training time may be reduced one day per additional Character Point spent; the minimum training time is one day.)  The character gets the skill at 1D. (The character is also taught one Force power pertaining to the skill)

[Jex]

Force Skills

Teachers. A teacher must have at least 3D in
the Force skill to be taught; the teacher's skill
level must exceed the student's skill level.
A Jedi student must have a teacher to learn a Force
skill. Learning a Force skill requires one week of inten-
sive study and costs 10 Character Points. (The training
time may be reduced one day per additional Character
Point spent; the minimum training time is one day.)
The character gets the skill at ID. (The character is
also taught one Force power pertaining to the skill; see
"Force Powers.")
A Jedi student will most often be taught control first,
although some teachers begin instruction with the
sense skill. Alter is usually taught last.
Example: Ana wants to learn the control skill.
After finding a teacher, she goes through a week
of intensive study and training, and spends 10
Character Points. Ana receives control at ID and
learns one control Force power.

Use the following rules when improving Force skills:
Force skills (Control, sense and alter). Character
Point cost: To improve a Force skill by one pip costs a
number of Character Points equal to the current num-
ber before the "D." Double the Character Point cost
without a teacher. Training Time: Characters with a
teacher must train one day for each Character Point
spent; two days per Character Point without a teacher.

I think it would be reasonable in the absence of a teacher to double or more the cost to gain a force skill, possibly modify this depending on whether they have some other form of structure (old texts, cultural teachings etc...) or if they just figure it out on their own. Figuring it out on their own should be possible but expensive in CP and time (maybe even x3 or x4 normal cost), and I think it would also be reasonable to limit the Force powers learned to those that require only single Force skills, ie the hedge wizard idea, self taught in the most basic of forms, not capable of the more esoteric manifestations ...

Self-taught would gain a Force power, in fact the manifestation of that power is what has probably initialed the entire process. How is this for an example:

1. Person begins noticing the world around in a different way. They do not understand this - Gaining Force-sensitivity
2. Over time events (Force Powers) begin happening randomly, during periods of intense concentration/emotion that cannot be explained ie. being in the zone, but maybe somewhat more intense than that.
3. A period (fairly long) of introspection at the end of which they have taught themselves to somewhat control these events - Gaining first Force skill, and Force power.
4. Upgrading these powers/skills would then follow the RAW for non-teacher upgrades
5. New Force skills and powers would require longer periods of introspection again (you may wish to have a accelerated learning curve the more they teach themselves)

[GM Craig]

Ken's been busy, so some of this may be repetitive.

Force-Sensitive
A character who is not Force-sensitive may choose to become Force-sensitive for 20 Character Points. (There is no training time requirement.)

The character receives one extra Force Point immediately, and must now play under the guidelines for Force-sensitive characters.

I think that and the stuff Trax posted about covers it. The rule book says you must have a teacher to learn Force skills, though the term "Teacher" has a variety of definitions. I'll allow you to take force skills without a teacher, at double cost.

So, no teacher, you can learn a force skill at 1D for 20cp, and it takes 40 days to learn it. Thereafter, the force skill is treated like any other skill, including double costs for not having a teacher.

Now that you're force sensitive, you're subject to some rules (which you were mostly following anyway).

The Responsible Use of Power
A Jedi acts from wisdom, using persuasion and counsel over violence and Force powers. Force powers are to be used to serve the interests of the light. Using the Force for personal aggrandizement, for personal power or wealth, for convenience when other means would be more prudent ? all of these traits are of the dark side.

A Call to Action
A Jedi cannot allow evil to occur by inaction ? a Jedi who voluntarily stands by and allows evil to be committed is encouraging the forces of darkness. Jedi are also bound by the actions of those around them. It is not acceptable for a Jedi to associate with those who wilfully choose to commit evil.

When a Jedi is confronted by a situation where evil is being committed, the Jedi must act to prevent that evil. There are a variety of means at the Jedi's disposal ? persuasion, creating a distraction, armed action or simple mind tricks ? but intervention is necessary.

Failure to follow those rules will earn you dark side points. If you're ever in a position where you will earn a dark side point, I'll warn you and give you a chance to edit your actions. However, if you ever earned your first dark side point, you will never again receive any warnings about dark side points.

Any time you earn a dark side point, I roll a d6. If I roll lower than your total dark side points, your character turns to the dark side and becomes a dark side character.

The Force grows from life, and a Jedi must act to preserve life. Sometimes that means taking lives, but never more than necessary, and a Jedi should consider other options when they can. It's not just about good and evil, it's about preserving life in all it's forms.

I think that covers everything. If you have any questions, let me know.

[Jex]

Okay, so how do we learn Force powers then, same way double cost?

[GM Craig]

You get one force power with your first D. After that, you'll automatically learn a force power every time you add a pip.

Beyond the ones you learn every time you add a pip to your force skills, you can spend 5 cp to learn a new force power (10 without a teacher) and practice it for 5 days (20 without a teacher).

At least at first (until you hit 6D), it'll be more efficient to learn the powers by learning pips, but you're probably going to want to keep learning them through pips anyway, except for exceptional circumstances.

I also might award you a power, and you might be able to "extend" yourself with a force point during an adventure and learn a power that way. Say, in an adventure, Niil is down in a pit and about to die in a fiery explosion, but you don't have the telekinesis power. You might be able to extend your limits, burn a force point and gain the telekinesis power to save him.

Make sense?

[Jex]

...Say, in an adventure, Niil is down in a pit and about to die in a fiery explosion, but you don't have the telekinesis power. You might be able to extend your limits, burn a force point and gain the telekinesis power to save him....

Alternatively we could just embrace the Dark Side, and use our Force Points to feed the flames ....

[GM Craig]

Yes, that's always an option. I just assumed you would have been aware of it.

It's like saying a canary is yellow, the yellow part is redundant.