Star Wars Saga Edition [SECR] Preview #4 is Up

[gstommylee]

The next Saga Edition Preview is up
Saga Preview 4

Its about the new combat system with the next preview probably being the 2nd half of the combat

 

[nerfherder]

This week pulls together some of the things we've already seen and puts them in context of the combat system.

First of all the stats:

Trandoshan Mercenary CL 2

Medium Trandoshan nonheroic 6
Init +7; Senses darkvision, Perception +2
Languages Basic, Dosh
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Defenses Ref 15 (flat-footed 13), Fort 10, Will 10; +2 armor, +1 natural
hp 21; Threshold 15; limb regeneration
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Speed 6 squares
Melee unarmed +7 (1d8+3) or
Melee unarmed –3 (1d8+3) and
unarmed –3 (1d8+3) or
Ranged heavy blaster rifle +4 (3d10)
Base Atk +4; Grp +7
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Abilities Str 16, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats Armor Proficiency (light), Improved Damage Threshold, Martial Arts I, Martial Arts II, Toughness, Weapon Proficiency (rifles, simple weapons)
Skills Initiative +7
Possessions blast vest (treat as blast helmet and vest), heavy blaster rifle, comlink

The main rules I've noted:

• Swift actions are going to be important.
• Iterative attacks due to level are gone, but there are exceptions which allow multiple attacks (e.g. two weapons).
• Characters get a bonus to damage equal to half their Heroic levels.
• As already seen, saving throws are replaced by static defense scores, so that the active character always rolls. This preview adds a bit more meat:
  • Defense scores = 10 + heroic level + ability modifier + small bonus due to class.
  • Reflex Defense represents your ability to avoid attacks, including area attacks and hazards that traditionally required Reflex saves.
  • Fortitude Defense represents your general hardiness and ability to resist poison, disease, and environmental hazards. It's also integral to calculating your damage threshold, which equals your Fortitude Defense plus any bonuses provided by armor or the Improved Damage Threshold feat.
  • Will Defense represents your willpower and mental toughness, and is used to resist mind-affecting effects.
  • Armour replaces level bonus to Reflex Defense with its own value. Some armour adds to Threshold. There are feats which tinker with this.
• More details are given about the Condition Track.

 

[Aussiegamer]

So to clear up the rules for FRA they are still allowing some, nice one WOTC.

Surely it would have been more sensible to allow off hand attacks as per double taps or multishot, as a SA.

Did they add another roll for dodge, or reflex defense as they call it, for all attacks? or are these "defences" just FORT, REF and WILL saves under a new name?

 

[iwatt]

Nothing much new this time, but a lot of confirmation to our rampant speculation.

With respect to Swift Actions: pretty clever mechanic. Jedi probably are going to be able to use them to recharge force powers as well.

As a True20 fan, I'm really glad they went with one attack per round. TWF has always been troublesome, but I think I'll wait to see what they propose first before I go into that.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Adding the extremely useful swift action (and the clarification that move and standard actions can be sacced to gain more) is another great change. I'd have preferred a double-action (ie no difference between move and standard) to a move/standard system, but that's not a biggie.

I like how Mighty Swing effectively simulates its counterpart in the minis game. Rapid Shot, on the other hand, doesn't synch with double attack (which looks like it will require two-weapon fighting), which I don't like; still, the double tap mechanic is d20 Modern tried and tested and works well enough.

Defense scaling is very slick. I'm not sold on the armor rules, though; I hope armor is worthwhile and not the Two-Weapon Fighting to unarmored's Power Attack.

The condition track is a BRILLIANT bit of simplification. I'm loving this.

I'm not entirely sold on the death mechanic. It seems like it could be disturbingly random. But then, I don't want game mechanics to cause death under any circumstances, and I knew that wasn't going to be how it went. I'm sad to see there's no mention of the iconic Star Wars limb loss.

 

[Aussiegamer]

defence scaling?

So a fully trained combat pc has the same dodge as a feeble techie? OK

They do have class bonus so if its like modern then bring on the fast class PCs

Same for damage.

 

[Skywalker]

So a fully trained combat pc has the same dodge as a feeble techie? OK

No, as the preview says it looks like Soldiers will have a bonus to Reflex Defence that a techie may not. Add in training in armour, increased HP and other defence feats and talents, I would say fully trained combat pc will be significantly better at avoiding harm than the techie.

 

[Aussiegamer]

the added stuff like hp has nothing to do with my question about the static addition of dodge and damage for level.

Surely those are better assigned at the class selection and not the level only

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

defence scaling?

So a fully trained combat pc has the same dodge as a feeble techie? OK

They do have class bonus so if its like modern then bring on the fast class PCs

Same for damage.

Well, the "feeble techie" would be better suited to the non-heroic class rather than one of the Star Wars heroic classes. Of course, the techie's ability to avoid getting pummeled could also be explained as a strange knack for ducking out of harm's way at the right moment while being distracted by something else. As I've learned from running Mutants & Masterminds, it's not what the bonus is that matters, but the descriptors that counts. Reflex Defense 15 is Reflex Defense 15, whether you're the combat-trained commando that knows to keep his head down, the techie that fortune favors, the lithe martial artist that twists their body out of harm's way, or the Jedi that uses their precognitive abilities to dodge at the just the right moment. By game rules, they've all got a Reflex Defense of 15, but they just have different ways of doing the same exact thing.

 

[Reaper Steve]

Well, I like all these changes, too...I think. I really like how defense scales with level. It neatly protects higher level chars from lower level ones while at the same time placing equal level chars on equal footing (since the BAB will be cancelled by the defense bonus.)
I remember hoping for this when they were designing D&D 3e, so I'm glad I finally got it.

The only bit I'm not sure about is the armor bonus replacing the level bonus. I understand the de-emphasis of armor from a Star Wars game design standpoint, but it just feels forced (sorry, couldn't think of another word.) I think my real beef is that this way of handling armor won't be a good port to D&D.

Why wouldn't a trained warrior continue to benefit from his armor? If anything, I think armor should require high training to be effective. I would make armor have a penalty to attack, defense, and most skills/actions (making it easier to be hit and harder to attack or do most physical actions) at the benefit of some damage reduction. That way