This is a collection of houserules in use.
The following are less "rules" and more ways I try to keep the game moving.
In general, any skill checks rolled will last for the duration of a scene. If you roll a Stealth check to sneak into a castle, you won't need to roll again for each group of guards you pass; unless there's some drastic change in the situation, if you succeed, you won't need to roll Stealth again, and if you fail, you won't be able to roll Stealth again.
The main exception is combat, where things will continue to function rules-as-written; if you're on a cliff face, you need to roll a new Athletics check each time you want to move, etc.
I will usually be telling you the DCs to things ahead of time, as well as including the defensive stats/HP of enemies during combat. This helps speed up combat a bit, and lets you work success/failure into your posts. I don't expect you to pretend you don't know these things, we're just assuming it's somehow obvious in-universe: if an enemy has a Reflex defense too high for you to hit and so you choose to target their Fortitude defense, that's not metagaming, that's your character recognizing they're unlikely to hit with standard attacks.
However! This does go both ways. In exchange for giving you this information, I will be assuming enemies (especially Intelligent ones) can see the same info about you, and they may well make use of it themselves. So don't be surprised if enemies tend to prioritize the lowest defenses of the group, or target whoever has the lowest HP.
This is play-by-post; if everybody left room for everybody else to react anywhere they might possibly react, we could spend weeks or even months on a single conversation. As such, if I feel like I have a good handle on what your characters are going to do in a given circumstance, I may just say "You all do X" to keep things moving. Occasionally I may do that even if I'm not sure it's what your characters would do, if the choice is of little consequence ("You decide to wear blue uniforms instead of red and leave the changing room.").
For your part, I'd like it if you could at least try to go along with these assumptions. Not asking you to do anything that you feel is drastically out of character - if your character would, for whatever reason, never get caught dead in a blue uniform, feel free to note that somewhere and I'll likely retcon it or something. But if there's a world in which your character would wear blue, then I'd just request that you interpret things according to that world, even if, were it all roleplayed out, your character would have been arguing for red. Just help keep the game moving forward.
As a specifically noteworthy subset of assumptions I'll make: if a fight (or other situation, but fights are the most obvious) is clearly trending towards a certain result but is going to take a while to get there, I may just declare the fight over and that result as having been reached. Depending on how certain things looked, I'll sometimes give the group one last decision or roll to sum things up, but otherwise it'll just happen.
For example, the party ambushes a group of a dozen stormtroopers and quickly takes out all but two of them. The remaining two, however, flee, and the party is struggling to catch them. Rather than keep things going round-by-round with everyone continuing the chase until someone gets lucky or unlucky enough to end things, I'll give the group one last roll to try to catch up; on a success, I'll just say you beat the stormtroopers, and on a failure, I'll just say they got away.
Similarly, though, if you're the ones getting ambushed and the fight is heavily against you, I may just declare that you've lost and been captured, no rolls, no nothing. I won't do this if you aren't clearly losing, and I'll usually warn you before I do, so I don't expect any pushback. Especially if I decide things against you, it'd be reasonable if you're a little upset, but please try to understand why it's happening and that the point is to keep the game moving so that you can recover and come back stronger. I'm not doing this to make you lose, I'm doing it because I was sure you were going to lose and I wanted to rip the band-aid off.
It is worth noting I won't use this rule unless I think things are going to take an unnecessarily long time, and I won't use it for any particularly dramatic encounters - if you're fighting the BBEG, we'll roll everything out even if that means a solid week of trading rounds of attack/block/miss. I will also never kill you this way - if your life is on the line, you'll get to fight to the bitter end.
(Despite this massive, several-paragraph wall of text explaining myself, I really don't expect this to happen much, if ever - I just don't want it to be surprising and controversial if it does.)
There are a few changes to the mechanics of the game, whether to make unattractive options more attractive, overpowered options less overpowering, or to make some of the existing mechanics fit the setting better.
We'll be playing with a few changes, mostly to make multiclassing less painful.
There are a few skills that just aren't useful enough to be worth taking, and so are combined to make them more attractive.
Skill Focus is just plain too good at low levels, but also falls behind in usefulness at higher levels.
I'm fine with Armor not being particularly desirable without feat/talent investment, but RAW it's actually detrimental to high-level characters, which seems kind of silly.
Resisting (or embracing) the Dark Side is an important theme of the campaign, and the following rules should make flirting with it more attractive - and falling to it more frightening.
There are three methods of reducing your Dark Side Score:
In an effort to give different Force traditions more of an identity, I've sorted the Force powers into different groups, limiting access to the whole list. Also, some minor nerfs and clarifications for a few powers that bothered me.
Most Force powers have been assigned additional descriptors, which may be referenced or interacted with by some new feats and abilities. The full list of descriptors and the powers that have them are given below.
Powers marked with an asterisk are Exotic, and cannot be selected without use of the Exotic Force User feat or another ability that specifically grants access to them.
Alter Powers
Control Powers
Sense Powers
Telekinetic Powers
Mind-Affecting Powers
Light Side Powers
Dark Side Powers
Lightsaber Form Powers
Not really a "change," but it's worth noting given how I've split Force Sensitivity into several feats: anyone capable of selecting any Force talents can also select talents from the Light Side, Dark Side, or Guardian Spirit Force talent trees (though they still must have a Dark Side Score of 0 to select Light Side talents, or 1 or higher to select Dark Side talents).
A character may have no more than 3 Destiny Points at a time, and may only spend a maximum of 1 Destiny Point in a single encounter.
Also, I just wanted to note: I am aware of the shenanigans one can get up to by fully exploiting abilities to move enemies down the condition track. I have no specific fixes planned or even considered, and by all means, if you want to make a build that focuses on it go for it. Just know that if things ever get to a point where they seem abusive, I may step in and adjust the way some abilities stack… or I may just start using them against you, too.
I will let you automatically retrain any abilities I nerf mid-game.
The following are a few additional rules we're using.
Leveling up requires a full day of training, study, and/or meditation. Even if you get enough XP to advance a level, you won't actually advance until you take the time to study.
When leveling up, you can spend any Force Points to retrain (as described below), with no additional time required. This retraining can happen before or after gaining the level. Two examples:
A character could spend one of their leftover Force Points to retrain a feat that allows them to qualify for a prestige class, then immediately gain a level in that prestige class - but if they were out of Force Points, they could not spend one of their new Force Points to do so.
Alternatively, a Soldier could gain a level of Scoundrel, then immediately spend two of their new Force Points to retrain some of their Soldier skills into Scoundrel skills - but they would have to use their new Force Points to do so, even if they had several Force Points left over from their Soldier level.
Instead of rolling for hit points, assume the average result and round up. So instead of rolling 1d6 + Con, you would get 4 + Con HP.
You can spend an hour and a single Force Point to do any one of the following:
You can spend a Force Point as a Swift action to speak authoritatively with a trained Knowledge skill. Simply state a fact about a topic covered by the skill and attempt a check at a DC determined on the table below. If you succeed, the fact is indeed true and is now truth in the game world. If you fail, then the fact is false, or the opposite may even be true. Alternately, the fact may be true, but you believe it false on second thought. The GM adjudicates the result of a failure.
Your statement of fact may not contradict the rules or established canonical information; for example, you may not state that droids are vulnerable to mind-affecting effects or that all Rodians were wiped out by a mysterious plague ten years ago. You should use your ability to speak authoritatively to advance the plot and contribute to the story, not to derail adventures or create ridiculous situations.
| DC | Level of Specificity | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Common Knowledge | There's a colonized moon in this system called Demotos. |
| 15 | An Interesting Fact | Demotos has a large Imperial garrison because of an uprising last year. |
| 20 | Uncommon Facts | A cult in Demotos believes a lost king will soon return to free them. |
| 25 | Obscure | Three centuries ago, a Sith Lord named Darth Eradicus swore beyond death to reclaim Demotos. |
| 30 | Extremely Obscure | Darth Eradicus's staff can be used to empower a Force-User's ability to channel lightning, and can even summon thunderstorms. |
| 35 | Obscure Specifics | Livia, a baker on Demotos, found the staff but doesn't know what it is. |
| 40 | Extremely Obscure Specifics | The staff is possessed by Darth Eradicus's spirit, who seeks revenge against the philosophical descendants of the Jedi that slayed him. |
The following are some new classes, items, and the like that you have access to.
| LIGHTSABERS | COST | DAMAGE | STUN DMG | WEIGHT | TYPE | AVAILABILITY |
| Medium | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightsaber, Inquisitor | 9,500 | 2d8/2d8 | — | 1.5 kg | Energy and slashing | Rare |
The Inquisitor lightsaber, also known as a double-bladed spinning lightsaber, is a specially-designed lightsaber model used by the Inquisitorius, a group of dark side adepts who enforce the will of the Galactic Empire. It is capable of both single and double blades, and is capable of spinning in a circular motion when both blades are emitted.
With both blades ignited, an Inquisitor lightsaber is a double weapon. You can attack with both ends of the weapon as a full-round action, but both attack rolls take a -10 penalty (Although certain feats and talents can reduce these penalties). Unlike most double weapons, an Inquisitor lightsaber can be used in one hand - indeed, it must, and cannot be used two-handed. This does not grant extra attacks; however, it does mean that your other hand is free to be used for other things.
An Inquisitor lightsaber requires two special energy cells to operate (The cost of each is ten times the price of an ordinary Energy Cell, but it lasts almost indefinitely).
| EXOTIC WEAPONS | COST | DAMAGE | STUN DMG | WEIGHT | TYPE | AVAILABILITY |
| Medium | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Bow | 1,000 | 2d6 | — | 1.5 kg | Energy and piercing | Rare |
An energy bow is a type of bow whose string and arrows are made of energy rather than a solid material. The string is as dangerous to the touch as the arrows are; only a protective fingerguard near the center allows it to be drawn at all.
Like a traditional bow, the wielder's Strength modifier applies to damage dealt with an energy bow. An energy bow creates its own arrows as it is drawn, requiring a specialized power pack to do so (the cost of which is twice the price of an ordinary energy cell). After 50 shots, the power pack must be replaced.
Energy bows are treated as Simple Weapons for the purposes of determining range.
You are Force-sensitive, allowing you to call on The Force and learn to draw on its powers.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You can select any Force powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Force Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Force Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You have learned some advanced Force techniques to use in combination with your mastered weapon.
Prerequisites: Trained in the Use the Force skill
Benefit: You add to your Force Power Suite a number of common Force Powers equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier (Minimum 1). By default, you can only select Rebuke, but some feats grant access to additional Force powers.
Special: You can take this Feat more than once. Each time you take this Feat, you add to your Force Power Suite a number of new Force powers equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier.
One of your Skills is particularly well honed.
Effect: Choose one skill in which you are trained. You gain a competence bonus on all skill checks made with that skill equal to half your character level, rounded up.
Special: This feat may be selected multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take this Feat, it applies to a different trained skill.
You are a quick study, picking up new skills easily.
Benefit: You treat all skills (except Use the Force) as class skills. You can spend a Force point to treat a skill as trained for the duration of a single check, except that you do not gain the normal +5 bonus to the check.
You are Force-sensitive, and can manipulate the elements with the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid, Shaper of Kro Var
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You can select Alter, Control, and Sense powers with the Force Training feat, and you treat Combustion, Cryokinesis, and Convection as common powers.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Force Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Force Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You are Force-sensitive, and have enhanced control of your own body via the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You add Move Object or Mind Trick to your Force Power Suite. You can select Alter, Mind-Affecting, and Telekinetic powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting an Alter Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Alter Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You are used to exploring new methodologies and training techniques.
Benefit: Whenever you retrain, you are considered to have spent twice as many Force points as you actually did.
Special: Retraining this feat (either to gain it or to remove it) costs a Destiny point, instead of a Force point.
You are Force-sensitive, and have enhanced control of your own body via the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You always succeed at Use the Force checks made to enter a Force Trance. You add enhance_body to your Force Power Suite, and add it again each time you select the Force Training feat. You can select Control powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Control Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Control Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You are Force-sensitive, and in harmony with the Light Side of the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You can select Light Side powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, you never gain Dark Side points for Minor transgressions, and you can spend a Force point to learn your current Dark Side score.
Finally, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Light Side talent instead. You do not need to have a Dark Side Score of 0 to select talents from the Light Side talent tree, and you retain all such talents so long as you are not fully Dark.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You have mastered an unusual Force power.
Prerequisites: Wisdom 13
Benefit: Choose a single exotic Force power. You may select that power with the Force Training feat, and you add one copy of it to your Force power suite.
You have trained in several Force-based combat techniques.
Prerequisite: Trained in Use the Force
Benefit: You add to your Force Power Suite a number of Lightsaber Form Force Powers equal to 1 + the number of times you have taken the Force Training feat.
In addition, if your Base Attack Bonus is +8 or higher, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Lightsaber Forms talent instead.
You are Force-sensitive, and can move objects with the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You add Move Object to your Force Power Suite, and add it again each time you select the Force Training feat. You can select Telekinetic powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting an Alter Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Alter Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You are Force-sensitive, and can alter others' senses and thoughts with the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You gain a +2 insight bonus to Use the Force checks made to use Telepathy. You add Mind Trick to your Force Power Suite, and add it again each time you select the Force Training feat. You can select Mind-Affecting powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting an Alter Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Alter Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You are Force-sensitive, and have enhanced perception through the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You gain a +5 bonus to Use the Force checks made to Sense Force. You add Farseeing to your Force Power Suite, and add it again each time you select the Force Training feat. You can select Sense powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Sense Talent instead. You must meet the prerequisites of the Sense Talent to select it.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You are Force-sensitive, and in tune with the Dark Side of the Force.
Prerequisite: Cannot be a Droid
Benefit: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a Class Skill for you. You can select Dark Side powers with the Force Training feat.
In addition, you can select the Dark Side powers granted to you at 2, 4, 8, and 16 Dark Side points, instead of the GM selecting them. If fully Dark, you do not take a -5 penalty to Use the Force checks that are not at least minor transgressions.
Finally, whenever you gain a Talent, you have the option of selecting a Dark Side talent instead. You do not need to have a Dark Side Score of 1 or higher to select talents from the Dark Side talent tree.
Normal: You can't make Use the Force checks or select Force Talents unless you have the Force Sensitivity Feat.
You can channel the Force into yourself, enable great feats of might and agility. Time: Reaction. Target: You.
Make a Use the Force check. The result of the check determines the following effect, if any:
| DC | Effect |
|---|---|
| 10 | You gain a +2 Force bonus on a single Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution-based ability or skill check. |
| 15 | You gain a +5 Force bonus on a single Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution-based ability or skill check, or a +2 bonus to your Reflex or Fortitude defense against a single attack. |
| 20 | You gain a +10 Force bonus on a single Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution-based ability or skill check, or a +4 bonus to your Reflex or Fortitude defense against a single attack. |
| 25 | You gain a +20 Force bonus on a single Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution-based ability or skill check, or a +6 bonus to your Reflex or Fortitude defense against a single attack. |
You blast an enemy with deadly arcs of Force energy. Time: Standard Action. Target: One target in line of sight and within 6 squares of user.
Make a Use the Force check. The result of the check determines the following effect, if any:
| DC | Effect |
|---|---|
| 15 | If your Use the Force check equals or exceeds the higher of target’s Reflex Defense and Fortitude Defense, the target takes 4d6 points of Force damage, and moves -1 step along the Condition Track. If it equals or exceeds one of the target's Reflex Defense and Fortitude defense, the target takes 4d6 damage, but does not move along the Condition Track. Otherwise, the target takes half damage and does not move along the Condition Track. |
| 20 | If your Use the Force check equals or exceeds the higher of target’s Reflex Defense and Fortitude Defense, the target takes 6d6 points of Force damage, and moves -1 step along the Condition Track. If it equals or exceeds one of the target's Reflex Defense and Fortitude defense, the target takes 6d6 damage, but does not move along the Condition Track. Otherwise, the target takes half damage and does not move along the Condition Track. |
| 25 | If your Use the Force check equals or exceeds the higher of target’s Reflex Defense and Fortitude Defense, the target takes 8d6 points of Force damage, and moves -1 step along the Condition Track. If it equals or exceeds one of the target's Reflex Defense and Fortitude defense, the target takes 8d6 damage, but does not move along the Condition Track. Otherwise, the target takes half damage and does not move along the Condition Track. |
You treat all Force powers as common rarity, and may retrain any Exotic Force User feats you have for free.
You can retrain your Force powers as a full-round action. You cannot replace any Force powers that are currently expended.
The following talents begin to the Alter talent tree.
Once per encounter, you can expend a Telekinetic Force power to use any other Telekinetic Force power in your Force power suite without expending it - even if the power you're using has already been expended. Additionally, you don't need to spend any Force points to retrain Telekinetic Force powers into other Telekinetic Force powers.
There are a few rules in the game that are a bit ambiguous or have gaps; these are my rulings on how they work.
The Illusion talent has no maximum range, but requires line of sight. Illusions that leave your line of sight remain in existence, but cannot be concentrated on (see below). Note that the Illusion Bond talent grants you line of sight to a humanoid illusion at all times after it is made, making it a potent scouting tool.
Illusions can only actively respond to their environment if you are concentrating on them as a Standard action; otherwise, they remain relatively static (though not perfectly motionless - an illusion of a person will still shift and breathe, an illusion of a blinking light will still blink, etc.).
If you are concentrating on an illusion that is attacked, it can attempt to dodge; its Reflex defense is equal to 10 + half your heroic level + your Charisma modifier; larger or smaller illusions also take the appropriate size penalty or gain the appropriate size bonus. Illusions have no Fortitude or Will defense, and opponents who target either are always considered to have "hit," and thus learn the true nature of the illusions.