You’re strapped in the party’s trusty (or not!) ship, returning to the Rebel base, or your hideout, after a “blue milk run” that really was a blue milk run for a change. The kegs of Correllian ale and Whyren’s Reserve have been breached. Next thing you know–an Imp task force drops out of hyperspace. The GM asks for a “Hard Piloting (space) check. Upgraded once…plus 2 Setback because you all said you’re drinking.”
I recall, when Star Wars Saga Edition was released, Wizards of the Coast tried to convince players that they didn’t need a bunch of the related trained skills and talents, to have a good chance of doing a given action in the game. Although I enjoyed the system, I never quite believed that (and neither did a lot of other SWSE fans), especially when it came to space combat. The same can happen in the FFG games. Heck, even when there is a good pilot and/or gunner in the party, other players can get bored fast. Sure, just about anyone can occupy a turret and have an okay chance of hitting a minion TIE flight, or a bunch of Stormtroopers in a hangar. But what if there isn’t an unoccupied turret? Or the players just want to do something, anything, else for the next few rounds besides making Gunnery checks?
Of course the Additional Starship & Vehicle Actions tables in the core FFG books (p. 237, Table 7-7 in EotE) are good places to start. Some of these are ideal for characters in other careers who may not have an obviously-useful trained skill, but do have a medium to high value in the associated ability score. Fire Discipline (Action) can be called pretty effectively by a PC with a 3+ Presence, even if they don’t have the Leadership and/or Discipline skills trained. If your ship is in a really tight spot, and the astromech is literally putting out fires, your best bet may be to let the doctor, archaeologist, etc., deal with the navicomp so you can jump out of trouble. Heck, C3PO can deal with ship’s systems and if he can, then anybody can. Leia trying to repair the Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back might be another movie example of this.
Books for other SWRPG systems can also be helpful. For example, Galaxy at War, from the Star Wars Saga Edition line, includes an adventure, “Operation: First Breach,” which has a skill challenge type encounter–a crash landing. Some example checks (in FFGSW terms) are go-tos like Mechanics to partly repair thrusters, making for an easier landing. But others are more unusual: Medicine checks to prepare emergency gear or a Move Force power check to help hold the ship together.
Speaking of using the Force–it’s not just for firing proton torpedoes. There are lots of other Force talents and abilities that can help out. Sense Advantage removes 2 Setback from an NPC’s check once per session. Choose your moment wisely, young Padawan, and you may be able to put an enemy gunner off their game–and aim!–keeping the ship together just long enough…If your PC is in the pilot or gunner position–give yourself 2 Boost with the Sense Danger talent. My Seer PC got a great roll once using the Force to assist, the GM allowed the narration of her levitated, legs crossed, above her acceleration couch, in spite of the pilot’s maneuvers! It was so much fun, it inspired me to pick up the Battle Meditation power.
I don’t have any Force Sensitive PCs with Signature Abilities, to try out SAs in space combat, but I believe there are a few that could be useful in space combat. The Mystic’s Prophecy SA is a possible, at least with the Shared Revelation upgrade. Other Prophecy upgrades might be helpful. It would also depend on your GM’s buy-in for using it in ship combats. The Seeker Unmatched Pursuit SA, however specifies that it can be used with vehicle chases. There are probably others as well, but these 2 stood out to me.
But there have to be other tricks! So I once more “crowdsourced” with the D20 Radio Facebook friends, several of whom had a few more Star Wars-y suggestions. Thomas Nelson Kjar points out that squabbling and backseat driving “during a firefight is very Star Wars.” Zeke Pinheiro reminds us that cargo doesn’t always stay put–especially if it’s a Hutt crimelord’s vornskyrs. Hmm, those might be good ways for a GM to spend Despairs…And I have to include Zeke’s account of providing cargo trouble: “Last night I ran a game that involved the PCs carrying unstable coaxium. I added a mechanic where the stability of the volatile fuel was represented by a janga tower, for every threat rolled over 1 the players had to pull that many blocks.” That’s one way to keep your players engaged!
Jimmy Anderson calls out hacking enemy ship’s systems, covered in Additional Starship & Vehicle Actions, as is spoofing missiles, another Computers-based action. Meanwhile, Joel Olson suggests letting the face PCs do what they do best–only via the comms. Distracting, misdirecting, and intimidating the enemy this way is depicted in the animated series. Scathing Tirade, Inspiring Rhetoric, and other face talents could be used. Joel suggests adding 1+ Setback dice to the pool, for doing so over the radio.
I think I will end this with one more piece of GMing advice from Jimmy, applicable to many types of encounters: “My main suggestion would be that if your players have something they want to try, let them! If they can’t think of anything at all, don’t point them at the book. Ask them to picture themselves in that position. They don’t have the stick and they don’t have a gun. What would they WANT to do? Blow something up? Then spot the enemy and leadership or perception to help the gunner get boost/upgrades.”
Anyone else have some cool ways to help out in space combat?
Linda Whitson
Latest posts by Linda Whitson (see all)
- Astral Projections – The Ripperdoc Is In - May 8, 2023
