Jedi Counseling 102

Saga Edition's Heroic Classes and Q&As on Twin Attack

By Gary M. Sarli

Welcome to the 102nd installment of "Jedi Counseling," our regular column in which we answer your rules questions about the Star Wars Miniatures Game and the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. If you have a question, send it in through the link at the end of this column, and check back here for the official answer.

Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition

Continuing our coverage of the new Star Wars Roleplaying GameSaga Edition hitting shelves in May, this installment of Jedi Counseling is the first of two that examines the heroic classes and provides an overview of the changes you'll see in the new version of the game.

A Touch of Class

As noted in the first Saga Edition preview, the game now has five heroic classes: Jedi, noble, scoundrel, scout, and soldier. Yes, this is a drop from the nine heroic classes in the previous edition, but you're not missing as much as it seems.

First, the Jedi guardian and Jedi consular have been combined into a single class -- Jedi. We decided that the division wasn't necessary given the more flexible talent choices available to each class (see Talents, below). Also, even very thoughtful, meditative Jedi such as Yoda are extremely capable combatants.

Second, the fringer's most notable characteristics have been absorbed by the scout (see Talents, below). We realized that being a "fringer" is really better expressed as a concept -- a character raised on the outskirts of galactic civilization -- than as a separate class. Further, given that both scouts and fringers were oriented toward getting along in the wild, it seemed that those unique characteristics worked better as a talent tree for the scout.

Third, the Force adept, too, is now more of a concept than a separate class. In a way, any non-Jedi can be a Force adept. In addition, the Force adept's name finds its way onto a prestige class for those who devote themselves to an alternative Force tradition.

Finally, the tech specialist also finds some of its defining characteristics allocated to other classes. The scoundrel and the soldier absorb some of the coolest "techie" abilities, and skills such as Mechanics and Use Computer have been expanded to make them better able to capture this character concept.

Overall, the new classes are more flexible for portraying a particular character concept because they can be customized through the selection of skills, feats, and talents. In addition, every class gains at least one new ability (usually a talent or bonus feat) at every level, so you always have something to look forward to when you attain a new level.

Mad Leet Skills

Skills have undergone a good amount of revision, as outlined in Jedi Counseling 100 and in the second Saga Edition preview. Rather than repeat what those articles discuss, we'll focus here on how skills help to define your character concept even as it evolves during a long campaign.

When you start at 1st level, you have a set number of trained skills chosen from your class skill list. These represent the training, education, and experience that went into becoming a 1st-level hero. Your class determines how many trained skills you start with. For example, nobles, who generally have the most cosmopolitan background, have the most trained skills at 1st level (6 plus Intelligence modifier), and most of their class skills are either social or intellectual skills, such as Persuasion and Knowledge.

In contrast, Jedi Padawans live a much more cloistered life and focus their training on the Force, so they start with the fewest number of trained skills (2 plus Intelligence modifier). Don't worry, though -- in Saga Edition, there's only one Force skill (Use the Force), so Jedi don't need as many trained skills to do what they're best known for doing. Also, Use the Force is very flexible, and depending on how you build your character, you might be able to use it in place of other skills.

As outlined in the second Saga Edition preview, your skill bonus is equal to:

1/2 your character level + the relevant ability modifier + 5 if trained

Additionally, any character can take Skill Focus to gain an extra +5 bonus on a given trained skill. Other bonuses come into play at times, but they're external to your character. For example, you gain an equipment bonus on Perception checks from stormtrooper armor, and you gain a circumstance bonus on a skill check if another character assists you. Still, some species abilities and talents allow you to do special things with a skill, such as taking 10 even under pressure or rerolling a failed check.

You can learn new trained skills later on by taking the Skill Training feat, and you can use this feat to become trained in any class skill for any of your classes. For example, a soldier who multiclasses as a scout (gaining Survival as a class skill) could select the Skill Training feat to become trained in Survival.

An Amazing Feat

Every heroic class gains a bonus feat at every even-numbered level. Feats are always available to anyone (at 1st level and at every level divisible by three), but this mechanic helps each class emphasize the feats that are most useful. Most importantly, both Skill Training and Skill Focus are on the bonus feat list for every standard class, so it will never be too hard to match your character's skills to her concept.

Talent Show

Every heroic class gets a talent at 1st level and at every odd-numbered level thereafter. Talents are class-specific, and no heroic class gets the same talents as another class (though some prestige classes might have access to a talent tree from another class). Here's a glimpse at the names of the talent trees for each of the heroic classes.

• Jedi: Jedi Guardian, Jedi Consular, Jedi Sentinel, Lightsaber Combat
• Noble: Influence, Inspiration, Leadership, Lineage
• Scoundrel: Fortune, Misfortune, Slicer, Spacer
• Scout: Awareness, Camouflage, Fringer, Survivor
• Soldier: Armor Specialist, Brawler, Commando, Weapon Specialist

Each of these talent trees is meant to help you flesh out a particular character concept in whatever way best fits your needs. For example, a soldier who is a military sniper might use a lot from the Commando and Weapon Specialist talent trees, while one who is an enforcer for a crime lord might prefer talents from the Armor Specialist and Brawler trees. Similarly, a noble of royal descent who serves in the Senate might prefer the Influence and Lineage talent trees, but one who is a military officer might get more use out of talents from the Inspiration and Leadership trees. The number of combinations for any given class is virtually limitless, and you can always multiclass for even more variety.

Next Time

In the next installment of Jedi Counseling, we'll continue our preview of the heroic classes by focusing on offensive and defensive statistics, providing a glimpse of the combat mechanics you'll see in the Saga Edition.

Star Wars Miniatures Questions

We continue taking questions about miniatures from the Bounty Hunters set, focusing here on some of the more unusual interactions of Twin Attack.

Q: Does Twin Attack stack with Double Attack, giving four attacks, or two attacks against two different targets?

A: Yes, but you could direct all four attacks against the same target if you wished. This answer also applies if a character has Triple Attack (producing a total of six attacks) or Quadruple Attack (producing a total of eight attacks), with each pair of attacks being directed at a single target.

Q: Can you use Twin Attack with Extra Attack, such as that granted by a Gonk Droid or General Windu?

A: Yes. It works exactly the same as with Double Attack, Triple Attack, and Quadruple Attack, above, in that it produces another pair of attacks that must be directed against the same target. In fact, this answer applies on any ability that grants additional attacks, such as the Lightsaber Sweep example in the Bounty Hunters rule insert.

Q: Does Twin Attack apply on an attack of opportunity?

A: Yes. You may make one pair of attacks against the character that provokes the attack of opportunity.

Q: Can you use Twin Attack on an immediate attack granted by a commander effect, such as that of the Imperial Officer?

A: Yes. As above, you may make a pair of attacks directed against a single target. If multiple effects allow you to make multiple immediate attacks (whether from commander effects, attacks of opportunity, or any other source), you make one pair of attacks for each immediate attack you are granted.

Q: How about this: Let's say an ISP Speeder (which has Twin Attack) is under Mon Mothma's commander effect, which grants the ability to make one immediate attack at +10 Damage when defeated. If the ISP Speeder is defeated, it will make a pair of attacks against a single target, according to the previous answer. However, will it get the +10 Damage on both attacks or on only one attack?

A: The ISP Speeder will get the +10 Damage on only one of the two attacks. This is a little tricky, but any modifiers that adjust a single attack (such as Mon Mothma's commander effect, which is described as producing one attack at +10 Damage) will affect only one of the two attacks produced by Twin Attack. After all, they are separate attacks.

In contrast, any modifiers that apply to the character itself, such as a commander effect that grants a follower +10 Damage at all times, will apply on both attacks.

Q: If you combine fire with the first attack of a Twin Attack, do you also get the +4 on the second attack?

A: No, for the reasons described above. The two attacks produced by Twin Attack are separate attacks, so combined fire provides a benefit to only one of them. However, one or more different characters could potentially combine fire on the second attack if you wished.

Note that this logic applies to an ability such as Spotter as well. Both the bonus on the attack roll and the bonus to Damage apply to only one of the attacks.

Q: Let's say a character with Twin Attack attacks Prince Xizor. If Xizor's Pheromones cancel the first attack, can the second still be made against him?

A: Yes. As with the logic above, the two attacks are resolved separately, so something that affects the first attack won't necessarily affect the second.

Q: Is it possible for a character with Bodyguard to take damage from only one of the two attacks produced by Twin Attack?

A: Yes, again following the logic above. Transferring the damage from one attack does not require transferring the damage from the second attack.

Q: All right, here's a stumper: How would Twin Attack interact with Draw Fire? Would it affect only one of the two attacks?

A: No. Both attacks produced by Twin Attack would be diverted to the character that used Draw Fire. This is different from Bodyguard (or any other ability that modifies how a particular attack is resolved) because Draw Fire actually forces you to change targets. Since both attacks in Twin Attack must be made against the same target, both attacks are diverted to the new target if Draw Fire is used successfully.

Q: If you defeat the target with the first attack, can you choose a different target for the second attack?

A: No, the second attack is lost because both attacks must be made against the same target.

Q:What if your target ceases to be a legal target between the two attacks produced by Twin Attack?

A: If, for some reason, the target ceases to be a legal target after the first attack, the second attack is lost, just as it would be if the target were defeated.

About the Author

Gary M. Sarli is a freelance designer, developer, and editor whose credits include the Saga Edition rulebook and Ultimate Adversaries (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) and Power of Faerûn and Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (Dungeons & Dragons). He also moderates on the Wizards.COMmunity message boards as WizO the Hutt, cheerfully feeding Code of Conduct violators to the Sarlacc. Gary recently opened GMSarli Games, an online retailer specializing in non-random miniatures packs designed for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.