Star Wars Saga

[Donovan Morningfire]

How have Destinies worked out for people? I really like the idea and would like to hear how they have been used.

I haven't used the Destiny bonuses per se as none of my PCs have fulfilled theirs yet, nor do I use the minor benefit/hindrances as they proved to be a bit too much hassle to keep track of at times. Have made full use of Destiny Points, and they certainly do encourage some high-end heroics. Heck, in my current campaign the Jedi Duelist (Jedi 6th) finished off a wounded Sith Lord thanks to a Destiny Point for an auto-crit, and the Jedi Ace spent his last Destiny Point to perform a noble sacrifice to save the Senator's Aide (no Force Points left and took more than enough damage to kill him). Decided posthumously to give him a Rescue Destiny, and since he died fulfilling it he might make an appearance or two as spirit.

 

[Henry]

What were some of them you all had? I think a few more examples for the PCs would benefit here.

Two of the seven PCs have chosen destinies -- one chose redemption (a Jedi), another chose Destruction (an HK-47 Type Medical Droid); the rest opted to let me choose their destinies for them, and I veto or approve the Destiny Point use based on their "secret destiny." There's very little I've denied for destiny point use, but usually it's to avoid a lethal blow, or score a critical on a really tough enemy. The player of the (one of three) Jedi has played one of the best Jedi I've ever seen - full of self-doubt, left the Academy because of the Clone War, but carrying on the traditions better than the Jedi themselves have, and sacrificing himself more than once to preserve innocents. (That guy's been at death's door at least three times) He's also rescued a Witch-of-Dathomir-in-training from the planet, and is teaching her the ways of the Force.

The thing is that Destiny points are few enough, and vague enough in their description of DM permission, that their effects aren't bad at all. Mostly, They do what you would have had to use resurrection magic before in the past in a story-heavy game -- keep the characters in play long enough to tell a story.

 

[Crothian]

Is going non lethal a viable option? One of the players wants to play a Ithorian and not use lethal force. I'm all for letting him try and it would be great if he can do it. But I'm going to have to give him some viable non lethal options.

 

[Henry]

Is going non lethal a viable option? One of the players wants to play a Ithorian and not use lethal force. I'm all for letting him try and it would be great if he can do it. But I'm going to have to give him some viable non lethal options.

Stun grenades -- moves 'em down the condition track, rather than killing 'em. Blasters also have stun settings (this is Star Wars after all) and stunning weaponry all do the same thing. Even Ion grenades use the same rules but for droids instead of people.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Another option could be Jedi consular type with lots and lots of force powers (high Wisdom, High Charisma, multiple force-training feats). Use the non-leathal force powers to get out of sticky situations. If you throw everything into Wisdom and Charisma, you don't need to worry about a high strength or dex (since you don't plan to be fighting much).

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Another option could be Jedi consular type with lots and lots of force powers (high Wisdom, High Charisma, multiple force-training feats). Use the non-leathal force powers to get out of sticky situations. If you throw everything into Wisdom and Charisma, you don't need to worry about a high strength or dex (since you don't plan to be fighting much).

Adept Negotiotor and Master Negotiator are your friends for this sort of build, and several selections of Force Stun. A Force Thrust or two ain't bad for keep away, since it doesn't do damage and the target opposes your UtF check with a Strength check (advantage: Jedi). Just bear in mind the Force Stun goes against Damage Threshold now per the errata, and that you'd either have to multiclass or take the Force Persuasion talent to get Persuasion as a trained skill barring a house rule such as the one Mustrum mentioned about being able to select any extra trained skill from Intelligence regardless of class.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Stun grenades -- moves 'em down the condition track, rather than killing 'em. Blasters also have stun settings (this is Star Wars after all) and stunning weaponry all do the same thing. Even Ion grenades use the same rules but for droids instead of people.

Great against non-heroics or low-level heroics, but after a certain point you're just not doing enough stun damage to overcome their damage threshold, and instead are just trying to get them down to zero as fast as possible.

 

[Henry]

Great against non-heroics or low-level heroics, but after a certain point you're just not doing enough stun damage to overcome their damage threshold, and instead are just trying to get them down to zero as fast as possible.

Devastating Attack should work on Grenades, too, making that 5 points lower. But agreed, Adept Negotiator path is a good one, too.

I had the coolest thing happen in our last game session -- the aforementioned jedi had to fight a duel with a Dathomir Witch which hated Jedi, for the freedom of the other witch from a vow she took. The Witch broke the combat rules by trying to kill him, and he managed to force stun her all the way to unconsciousness, even though he had the means to force grip her to death, and would have had an easier time of it, and he did struggle with the choice in real life, which everyone at the table loved. I gave him an extra destiny point for the great RP.

 

[Blackrat]

Devastating Attack should work on Grenades, too, making that 5 points lower. But agreed, Adept Negotiator path is a good one, too.

I had the coolest thing happen in our last game session -- the aforementioned jedi had to fight a duel with a Dathomir Witch which hated Jedi, for the freedom of the other witch from a vow she took. The Witch broke the combat rules by trying to kill him, and he managed to force stun her all the way to unconsciousness, even though he had the means to force grip her to death, and would have had an easier time of it, and he did struggle with the choice in real life, which everyone at the table loved. I gave him an extra destiny point for the great RP.

Wow, that sounds so cool. I've been dying to play the new SW but my group just isn't going for it. Now I'm just hoping that someone would start a pbp which I would notice soon enough to join.

 

[Max]

Blackrat - A spot appears to have opened up in a Saga game I'm playing in.

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3839994#post3839994

Max