Q: I recently watched Attack of the Clones again, and I couldn't help noticing that Force Lightning doesn't work in the movie the way it does in the rules. For one thing, Obi-Wan blocks it with his lightsaber, which should be impossible, since you have to make a saving throw, and you can't deflect an attack that calls for a saving throw. Then, a few minutes later, Yoda blocks Dooku's Force Lightning with his bare hand, and even shoots it back at Dooku! The rules don't let you do this, so how do you explain that?
A: After we saw Attack of the Clones, we scratched our heads over that scene, too. We'd seen the script for Episode II, but not the dramatic final fight scene -- so we hadn't realized that our rules didn't reflect what happened in that combat! We talked about it and ultimately put together a sort of "house rule" for how to change the Force Lightning skill. Then we put it on the Internet to see what the players thought of it. After lots of discussion and several changes, we decided we needed to change the rules. Here's what we did.
Force Lightning (Int)
Dark Side Force Skill; requires the Force-Sensitive and Alter feats.
You can call upon the Force to blast a target with bolts of energy.
Check: Make a skill check to determine the amount of damage inflicted by Force Lightning.
Result Damage
14 or less No damage
15-19 2d6
20-29 2d8
30+ 2d10
Then make a ranged attack. If your attack hits, the target suffers the listed damage and must attempt a Fortitude save (DC 20). On a failed save, the target is dazed for 1 round. If the save fails by 10 or more, the target is instead dazed for 1d4+1 rounds. A dazed target falls prone as well.
Special: Force Lighting has a range of 10 m.
You can take 10 on this skill but not take 20.
Because Force Lightning utilizes an attack roll, the attack has a threat range (a roll of 20 on a d20) and can be deflected as per the Jedi class ability.
Time: Force Lighting is an Attack Action.
Vitality Point Cost: 6.
Q: Okay, that explains Obi-Wan blocking the lightning with his lightsaber, but that doesn't explain how Yoda threw it back with his bare hand.
A: True, which is why we came up with this rule change for the Jedi's "Block" ability:
Block
This is a modified version of deflect that allows the Jedi to deflect a ranged attack without the use of a lightsaber. If the Jedi does not have some sort of protective gear (such as an armored gauntlet), or an item that can withstand the ranged attack (such as an energy shield or suitably dense material), the Jedi must spend a Force Point to use this ability. (Force Points spent in this way do not add the usual bonus dice to d20 rolls that the Jedi makes in the subsequent round.) Block doesn't allow the Jedi to extend the defense beyond the Jedi's position, and all other rules concerning deflect (defense) and deflect (attack) apply.
