Lightsaber Edge in Star Wars Saga

[Felon]

I'm actually quite content with lightsabers simply ignoring DR. That gives them the edge when cutting through barriers, not to mention the barrels of blasters (which I got to do today when our first session convened). It was the only non-lethal option I had, which makes for a peculiar situation when I'm trying to be the guy to advise temperance. It worked though.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Yes, Saga edition has done a great job in balancing out non-Jedi with their Jedi counterparts...but when you get right down to what the movies show, that's not necessarily accurate. Lightsabers are overpowered and especially crazy in the hands of the Jedi.

That's because all Jedi (and Sith) in the prequel films are at least three levels higher than all non-Jedi in those same films. Except Jango Fett, who sliced through Jedi until he met one that was more than three levels above him, Mace Windu.

Jedi were the trouble shooters of the galaxy. By the time they were 15, they had been to a couple dozen planets, fought at least five minor skirmishes, and if they were attached to an important master had fought at least one major battle. That's a lot of battle experience, not to mention RP and plot experience, long before they become Jedi Knights. That will put them at a higher level than the non-Jedi they meet on any given planet, allowing them to be vastly crazier in both what they attempt and in what they succeed at.

That's why Jedi were so bad-ass in the source material. They were the galaxy's most active bad-asses, going from one mess to another, solving it all with a combination of wit, force, and Force that suited their personal style. Improving on their abilities and learning new things all along the way.

 

[ValhallaGH]

I'm actually quite content with lightsabers simply ignoring DR. That gives them the edge when cutting through barriers, not to mention the barrels of blasters (which I got to do today when our first session convened). It was the only non-lethal option I had, which makes for a peculiar situation when I'm trying to be the guy to advise temperance. It worked though.

Nicely done, sir.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

It was the only non-lethal option I had, which makes for a peculiar situation when I'm trying to be the guy to advise temperance. It worked though.

You know, it'd be wonderful if the disarming rules didn't make it so hard to pull off a successful disarm, as that would certainly be a great non-lethal option *roll eyes*

Not a shot at you Felon, but more at the devs for making it so bloody difficult to actually disarm someone, to the point you almost have to roll a natural 20 to pull it off at lower levels. I know they wanted to keep it from being as easily abused as it could be in D&D (or so I've heard; I never bothered with that tactic myself), but I think they went a little too far. I've found reducing the Reflex Bonus from +10 to +5 makes disarming a more viable tactic without it becoming overpowering.

 

[Felon]

I hadn't looked at the disarm option, mainly because I know how disarms rules have an annoying tendency to have the disarmed weapon simply drop in the target's square for simplicity's sake. While I've never seen a player disarm a bad guy only to have the bad guy simply pick the weapon back up and shoot the PC dead, I don't have any plans to be the source of future anecdotes.

I gotta say, the rules for attacking objects don't make any sense whatsoever. Objects have hardness, HP, and a massive damage threshhold--but the massive damage threshhold is usually much greater than a given object's combined hardness and HP, so the object will be disabled from HP loss long before it moves to the bottom of the condition track. Does anyone get how that's supposed to work?

 

[Klaus]

You know, it'd be wonderful if the disarming rules didn't make it so hard to pull off a successful disarm, as that would certainly be a great non-lethal option *roll eyes*

Not a shot at you Felon, but more at the devs for making it so bloody difficult to actually disarm someone, to the point you almost have to roll a natural 20 to pull it off at lower levels. I know they wanted to keep it from being as easily abused as it could be in D&D (or so I've heard; I never bothered with that tactic myself), but I think they went a little too far. I've found reducing the Reflex Bonus from +10 to +5 makes disarming a more viable tactic without it becoming overpowering.

House Rule time: if you are Forse Sensitive and wielding a lightsaber, and deal enough damage to an armed opponent to kill him, you can spend a Force point to destroy his weapon instead. The enemy is unharmed by the attack.

Kinda like that Jedi Knight talent, but without harming the opponent (I actually think that option should be open to all characters, to spend a Force point to avoid killing someone... it's got a cost already).

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Kinda like that Jedi Knight talent, but without harming the opponent (I actually think that option should be open to all characters, to spend a Force point to avoid killing someone... it's got a cost already).

Speaking of, Gary Sarli posted that at one time there was an option that would allow a player to mimic the Severing Strike talent that worked as follows:

- Declare intent to using attacking to maim instead of kill
- Make attack roll with -5 penalty
- Reduce damage rolled by half
- If remaining damage is enough to exceed the target's threshold and reduce them to zero hit points, they become maimed as per the Severing Strike talent.

It was decided to be too clunky, and subsequently dropped from the corebook, but it is an "official" house rule for those want to be a little less lethal when attacking someone.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

I hadn't looked at the disarm option, mainly because I know how disarms rules have an annoying tendency to have the disarmed weapon simply drop in the target's square for simplicity's sake. While I've never seen a player disarm a bad guy only to have the bad guy simply pick the weapon back up and shoot the PC dead, I don't have any plans to be the source of future anecdotes.

Don't have the book handy, but I would think reaching down to scoop up a dropped weapon would provoke an Attack of Opportunity.

 

[Felon]

Don't have the book handy, but I would think reaching down to scoop up a dropped weapon would provoke an Attack of Opportunity.

It does indeed, but if that attack misses, I imagine the disarmer looks all the more foolish. Just whack the weapon.

 

[ardentmoth]

comparing the hard numbers (damage only, not likely amount of skill or finesse, not to mention force-sensitivity) between saber and blaster is like comparing the hard numbers between weed and booze. It doesn't work, quit trying.