Characters can use Character Points and Force Points during the game. They may also receive Dark Side Points for committing evil.
Character Points[]
Character Points are a very minor manifestation of the Force that reflect the ability of some individuals to push themselves. Character Points are more plentiful than Force Points, yet much less powerful. There is no limit to the number of Character Points that a character may have.
Character Points may be spent during the game to improve a character's skill or attribute rolls. A player spending one Character Point rolls one extra die and adds it to the skill (or attribute) total. If the roll is a 1,2,3,4 or 5, simply add the roll to the character's total. If the roll is a 6, add six to the total and roll the die again, adding the new roll as well — keep on rolling if you keep on getting sixes. A player can wait until after a skill or attribute roll is made before deciding to spend Character Points, but they must be spent before anyone else takes an action.
(A player cannot spend Character Points in the same round or scene that he spends a Force Point or calls upon the dark side.)
In addition, Character Points can be used to advance skills. See D6 Rules/Character Advancement for more information.
Example: Thannik is haggling with a merchant to get a good price on a new droid. Since Thannik hasn't improved his bargain skill, he uses only his Perception attribute of 3D. Greg rolls a 1,2 and a 2 on his wild die — a 5. Greg wants Thannik to do better, so he decides to spend a Character Point, and rolls a 6. He gets to roll the die again, getting a 4. That boosts his Perception total to 15. Greg tells Bill he's done with this roll. Bill now rolls the merchant's bargain total. Greg can't go back and have Thannik spend another Character Point — he is stuck with the 15 once he says he's done rolling dice.
There are limits to the number of Character Points that can be spent:
- Two to improve a skill or attribute roll.
- Two to increase the damage of an attack. (This often counts as an evil action.)
- Five to improve a specialization roll.
- Five on any use of dodge, melee parry or brawling
parry, parries when using the lightsaber skill, or dodging when piloting a vehicle or starship.
- Five to increase a Strength roll to resist damage.
- A character may not spend Character Points on another character's actions.
Force Points[]
Force Points represent a character doing his or her best to use skill, talent (and luck) to accomplish something. Force Points represent a common and seemingly "subconscious" manifestation of the Force—the player knows that a Force Point is being used, but the character only knows that he's trying his best to be successful.
All player characters begin the game with at least one Force Point; gamemaster characters such as prominent Rebel leaders, Force-users and major villains may have several Force Points.
A player may spend one Force Point in a round; all skills, attributes and special ability die codes are doubled for the rest of that round. Anything that's not part of the character—weapon damage die codes, starship hull die codes and so forth — is not doubled
A character may not spend Character Points in the same round that a Force Point is used.
Example: Thannik is firing his blaster pistol (4D damage) with his blaster: blaster pistol skill of 6D. Greg declares that Thannik is spending a Force Point. Thannik rolls 12D to hit with his blaster skill; however, if Thannik hits, he only rolls the normal 4D damage for the blaster pistol.
- Non-Force-sensitive characters may have a maximum
of five Force Points.
- Force-sensitive characters can have any number of
Force Points.
- Melee Weapons. Melee weapons are unusual, since damage
for the weapon is normally based on the user's Strength, with a bonus for the weapon itself — roll double the Strength, but do not double the weapon's damage.
Example: Thannik, with a Strength of 3D+2, is using a vibro-ax (STR+2D damage). When Greg spends a Force Point and Thannik hits with a weapon, he rolls 6D+4 for his Strength, plus the normal +2D for the weapon.
Getting Force Points Back[]
How Force Points are spent during an adventure determines whether or not the character gets more at the end of the adventure.
Doing Evil. When a character commits evil while spending a Force Point, the character loses the Force Point permanently. The character does receive a Dark Side Point. (See "Dark Side Points.")
Examples of committing evil include:
- Killing a helpless innocent.
- Causing unnecessary, gratuitous injury.
- Killing except in self-defense or the defense of others.
- Using the Force while angry or filled with hate.
(Force-sensitive characters receive Dark Side Points any time they commit evil since they are closely attuned to the ways of the Force — both its light and dark sides. Force-sensitive characters must be very careful or they will be consumed by the dark side.)
Being Unheroic. When a character uses a Force Point to do something that is neither particularly heroic nor evil, the character loses the Force Point permanently. Examples of being unheroic include:
- Using lies or deception for gain or advantage.
- Avoiding danger in a non-heroic situation.
- Saving your life in a non-heroic situation.
- Using the point for power, wealth or other personal
gain.
Being Heroic. When a character uses a Force Point in a heroic fashion, he gets the Point back at the end of the adventure. Examples of being heroic include:
- Exposing yourself to great danger in the name of
good.
- Making sacrifices to help others.
- Taking big risks to help the Rebel Alliance/New
Republic or fight the Empire.
- Fighting other forces of evil, such as crime lords or
any other group that serves the objectives of the dark side.
Being Heroic at the Dramatically Appropriate Moment. When a character spends a Force Point in a heroic way at the dramatically appropriate moment, the character receives the Force Point back at the end of the adventure and gets another one as well.
Dramatically appropriate moments are any time when success is vital to the story. It's the climactic moment of an adventure, where the characters confront the main villain or when they're in dire straits.
The characters' success or failure will decide the outcome of the whole story.
Examples of being heroic at the dramatically appropriate moment include:
- Conquering a more powerful and evil foe
- Saving a city from destruction.
- Preventing the deaths of millions of innocent
people.
In most cases, a dramatically appropriate moment for a character may happen during the climax of an adventure or, at most, one other time during an adventure.
In Star Wars, Luke's destruction of the Death Star was a dramatically appropriate moment. In Return of the Jedi, a dramatically appropriate moment was when Luke confronted the Emperor and refused to become evil — not when he fought the rancor in Jabba's palace.
Not all characters will have a dramatically appropriate moment available to them in every adventure — not even every adventure necessarily has a dramatically appropriate moment.
However, when the character seizes the moment and acts heroically, the rewards can be great.
Doing the Right Thing. How can a character with no Force Points earn them? By being heroic regardless of the risks. If, in your opinion, the character is heroic at the dramatically appropriate time, a character with no Force Points may receive one at the end of the adventure. (Perhaps the Force favors the character and grants a Force Point at the dramatically appropriate moment even if the character begins the game with none.)
Dark Side Points[]
Whenever a character is at risk of receiving a Dark Side Point, the GameMaster should inform the player that his action will give the character a Dark Side Point. The GM will give the player the option of changing his mind. (If he continues on, he has no right to complain if his character is consumed by the dark side.)
When a character gets a Dark Side Point, roll 1D. If the roll is less than the character's number of Dark Side Points, the character has turned to the dark side.
Atonement. A character may cleanse himself of the corrupting influence of the dark side through atonement. The process is difficult and long, and the character must be of the most serious mind while attempting to atone. The character must fast, reflect on the evil of his actions, and renew his commitment to live by the ways of the light.
When a character wishes to atone, he must strictly abide by the tenets of the Jedi code (even if he isn't Force-sensitive). The character must not only be good in action, but he must actively work to prevent evil from occurring. The player must take this process very seriously—the character must make a point of being clearly good in all actions.
A character must atone for two adventures/TPs to remove one Dark Side Point. If the player plays the character appropriately, the GM may remove one Dark Side Point. If the GM feels that the character behaved improperly (for example, you had to repeatedly warn the player that the character is committing evil), then the character hasn't achieved any enlightenment and the Dark Side Point remains.
Temptation. You're encouraged to occasionally use temptation when a character is attempting to atone. When the character is confronting his own personal evil, you may want to suggest things to push the character towards the dark side: "You know, if you kill him, you won't have to worry about what he's going to do a little later on" or "You could get this information so easily if you just tortured him." (Temptations can be considerably more subtle too ... the dark side is quite seductive.)
The GM is effectively playing the role of the dark side of the Force, as its dark whisperings are intended to prevent the redemption of those who have started down the dark path. If the character chooses the clearly evil action, the character receives a Dark Side Point without warning.
Calling Upon the Dark Side. Characters, Force-sensitive or not, may call upon the dark side, especially when angry, aggressive, desperate or otherwise out of balance.
The character automatically receives a Dark Side Point, whether the attempt is successful or not. The character has opened himself up to anger, fear and hate; whether he "benefits" from this anger is irrelevant.
It is easy to call upon the dark side of the Force — at first. If the character is Force-sensitive, the difficulty is Easy. If the character is not Force-sensitive, the difficulty is Moderate. If the actions are not intended to bring harm or pain to other beings, increase the difficulty by two levels (Difficult for Force-sensitives; Very Difficult for non-Force sensitives).
Increase the difficulty by +3 for each additional time the character calls upon the dark side during an adventure. (At the beginning of a new adventure, the difficulty drops back down to Easy for Force-sensitive characters and Moderate for non-sensitives.)
The character rolls either his control Force skill or Perception attribute when calling upon the dark side. A character who successfully calls upon the dark side receives a Force Point which must be spent immediately — this is in addition to any other Force Points which have been spent that round.
This option is not open to characters who refuse to believe in the existence of the Force, including many Imperial troops and officers.
Favors. A very few individuals are "favored" by the dark side of the Force. This favor is fickle, but powerful. Occasionally, these characters will be "given" Force Points by the dark side. These characters are either very powerful servants of evil (like the Emperor) or characters the dark side is actively and desperately trying to recruit. (For example, Luke at the end of Return of the Jedi.)
If the Force Point is not used immediately, it fades away and the character suffers no harm. Characters who use these Force Points automatically receive a Dark Side Point. (Some characters will no doubt argue that they used the Force Point to bring about good. That is mere justification — the means is as important as the end.)
These Force Points are normally offered when a character is desperate, fearing for his life, and has no hope — when the character is most vulnerable.
Dark Side Characters[]
The dark side seduces individuals with promises of power, but once someone takes up the darkness, the only rewards are pain and helplessness. The dark side controls her, rather than her controlling it.
Playing a dark side character can be a lonely, challenging undertaking. Some groups use Imperial characters. A dark side character would naturally be much more appropriate to this type of group. However, such characters shouldn't have it easy: they get what they deserve. Not only will a dark side character face dangerous foes who embrace the light, but other, more powerful dark side characters (such as Dark Jedi) may try to control or kill the player character. A dark side character who is being played in an immature manner is going to have a very short life span.
Rules. Characters who have turned to the dark side must use the following rules.
- A character consumed by the dark side retains all Force
Points and Character Points.
- Force Points. A dark side character only receives Force
Points when spending Force Points while committing evil at the dramatically appropriate time. The Force Point is returned at the end of the adventure and the character gains another.
Any other time a dark side character spends a Force Point, it is lost, even if spent while committing evil. The dark side requires greater and greater evil to fulfill its needs.
- Character Points. Characters consumed by the dark side no
longer receive Character Points for adventuring. Instead, they receive one Character Point every time they receive one Dark Side Point.
- Dark Side Points. Dark side characters receive Dark Side
Points for committing or actively bringing about evil actions.
Examples of this include when Darth Vader strangles the Rebel soldier in the first scene of Star Wars; when Darth Vader orders the torture of Princess Leia; and when Grand Moff Tarkin orders the destruction of Alderaan.
- Calling Upon the Dark Side. Dark side characters may call
upon the dark side to get Force Points.
The difficulty is Easy the first time the dark side is called upon in an adventure; add two difficulty levels if the action will not bring pain or harm to other beings. Increase the difficulty by one level for each additional time in an adventure the character calls upon the dark side.
It Demands More Than it Gives. If a character fails in an attempt to call upon the dark side, it demands something of her. The dark side's corrupting influence is dominating the character.
Roll 1D — the character must lose that number of Character Points or the dark side will "take" 1D from either an attribute or Force skill (character's choice as to which attribute or Force skill). If any attribute or skill is reduced to OD, the character is consumed by the dark side and dies.
Returning to the Light. Dark side characters can return to the light, but it's not easy — the dark side is never eager to release those it has enslaved.
Such a character must truly begin to believe in the light, forsaking the path of darkness. The influence of others — particularly Jedi of the light — may cause a dark side character to have a "moment of doubt."
A dark side character must prove her commitment to the light by spending a Force Point in a selfless manner at a dramatically appropriate time. Often, this requires the character to make a heroic sacrifice, such as risking certain death in defense of the innocent and good. (As gamemaster, you have final say over whether the character is redeemed—the effort must be sincere and the character must show that she will not lapse back onto the path of darkness.)
When a character is redeemed, the dark side exacts a final toll: she loses all Force Points and Character Points. The character's Dark Side Point total drops to five.
The character is now part of the light (and earns Force Points and Character Points normally), but the presence of the Dark Side Points indicates the character's precarious position. The character should atone to remove her Dark Side Points or even the slightest transgressions can send her back on the path of darkness.
(The dark side will not be so "giving" for a character who returns. You can use special rules to reflect the almost punitive conditions the character will face. Perhaps the dark side takes ID from an attribute or Force skill as soon as the character returns to the darkness. The character may also find it much more difficulty to earn Force Points and Character Points and slowly be consumed by the dark side.)