“Force Wizard” is my series on the Force powers in Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars RPG lines. It is primarily aimed at new players/GMs, and more experienced players playing a Force-sensitive character for the first time. I will discuss using each power in play and suggest what upgrades to pick up, and when to buy them. (Be mindful–upgrades that require Force pips are useless if you can’t possibly roll enough pips.) I may also discuss how powers have been used/viewed in Canon and Legends/Expanded Universe sources. Today we look at Foresee, found in the Age of Rebellion and Force & Destiny core books.
Foreseeing has a very storied role in Star Wars. It has played a large part in the Star Wars saga since Luke rushed from Dagobah to Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. Like many Force Powers, Foresee has 2 different upgrade paths, or uses, in more practical terms. The first, similar to Sense, allows you–and potentially your allies–to boost combat effectiveness, specifically Initiative and Defenses. The earliest Control allows you to include a Foresee power check with your Initiative check, spending Force pips for additional Successes, which will make you popular with the party. The Control below this grants +2 Ranged and Melee Defense for Round 1. That Control upgrade at the bottom allows a free maneuver before the first combat round, costing 1 pip. This is the only upgrade that can’t be activated multiple times.
The Magnitude and Range upgrades–all with multiple activation possible–apply to these 3 Controls. Magnitude adds a number of engaged allies equal to Magnitude ranks to be affected by the Control you’re activating, and Range increases the distance, as usual. Also as usual, If you have 1 Magnitude you can use the Control on 2 allies if you spend 2 Force pips, and so on. When any Control is combined with these upgrades it gives the whole party more power, especially in the first round. So take advantage of these upgrades as soon as you have the Force Rating to make it worthwhile, probably FR 2-3.
Now on to the really fun–and interesting Foresee path–the one dealing with visions. Why is it so much fun? First because the GM can use them to drive the current plot, or transition to a side plot or whole new arc. GMs are advised to provide an alternate way for players to get needed information, and a PC with Foresee might be one of those alternates. To help you in this, remember that “Vague” is a key part of the base power. You are giving your player vague details, no matter how precise they might seem, which means they could be about practically anything.
Take the image of an outraged woman in uniform. Maybe this IS an upcoming confrontation with her at Secret Research Base–the mission this session. But maybe she and her son the Disaffected Imperial Academy Star Cadet will have an argument–and he will be the one complicating things. Heck, maybe she is an ISB agent who will see her homeworld at the top of the latest Base Delta Zero Schedule and she will defect. Any of these could affect the PCs and/or their mission. Which one do you want it to be? Or maybe the seer PC and his sister are walking someplace–are they exploring a Jedi cache, being marched in front of a firing squad, or just shopping for supplies? And even if it’s the simple shopping trip, your players can’t tell from the vision if it’s going to stay simple and safe…
Second, Roleplaying Goodness. In the campaign I play in, that includes a PC with Foresee, we get a lot of good roleplaying out of his visions. His reactions to the visions, both in the moment and later, when they color how he interacts with the rest of us, are great. So is the RP when our PCs learn about his latest foreseeing. Some of these can be pretty intense. Of course, YMMV, depending on how much your group and the Foreseer’s player are into RP.
While Luke’s impulsive response to his ESB vision of his endangered friends worked out okay, that isn’t always or often the case. Changing one’s plans, in an attempt to avert the future seen in a vision, thus bringing it to pass, is a classic trope. This is especially true when someone not only tries to change that future, but uses a Nuclear Option to do so. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin, understandably frightened by visions of Padme dying in childbed, decides that the best (only?) way to prevent it is to break (yet another) Jedi taboo and embrace Sith lore–leading to him causing her death.
Much of the plot of the Legends’ Knights of the Old Republic graphic novels is driven by the Taris Jedi Masters’ interpretation of, and reaction to, a vision of a red-armored marauder. These vaunted seers cannot see any interpretations or solutions other than, “One of our padawans is going to turn into this Sith mass murderer, because all our padawans have red space suits, and we can make sure this doesn’t happen by killing all but one, and framing the survivor!” So, when you seek a vision, take care how you, and the rest of the party, deal with it.
Now that I’ve given you all these advantages and Cautionary Tales about Foresee visions, how do the mechanics for this righthand path work? First the basic power allows you to get “vague hints” of your personal future–but only up to 1 day in advance. The Duration and Strength upgrades (2 each in the tree) expand the timeframe and details respectively.
Duration is increased by 1 day for each upgrade you possess, for 1 Force pip. Strength gains you “specific details” up to your number of upgrades, again at the cost of 1 pip. Both of these can be activated as many times as you have pips–and want to spend them. Using some dark pips might be the inspiration for more roleplaying, in addition to the mechanical effects of spending Dark pips.
GMs remember, even multiple specific details don’t mean you have to give away everything. Take the outraged woman in my above vision. The specific details are: she’s wearing an ISB uniform; a young-sounding male voice yells, “No way!” and a glimpse of a hand holding an orange-labeled ampoule. The woman could be a Rebel in disguise, the voice could be a youth who just inherited uncle’s ship, and that ampoule could hold anything from hair dye to just-reconstituted bota. Just make the detail/s whatever fits the story you’re telling and, above all, is fun.
One final note. There are some similarities between Foresee and Warde’s Foresight from Chronicles of the Gatekeeper, but neither the respective basic powers nor upgrades work identically. For example, the base Warde’s power focuses on a single other being and is very short term (I’d say the current encounter), while Foresee focuses on the seer’s future within a day, at a minimum. I will cover the differences more extensively in my future Warde’s Foresight article, but I wanted players and GMs to be aware that there were differences, and to read extra-carefully.
Next time, I take a look at Battle Meditation, from F&D. Until then, May the Force Be With You Always!
Force Wizard Index (Book/s)
Alter (Unlimited Power)
Battle Meditation (F&D)
Bind (F&D, Rise of the Separatists)
Conjure (Unlimited Power)
Ebb/Flow (Disciples of Harmony)
Endure (Knights of Fate)
Enhance (AoR, F&D, Rise of the Separatists)
Farsight (Savage Spirits)
Foresee (AoR, F&D)
Heal/Harm (F&D)
Imbue (Disciples of Harmony)
Influence (EotE, F&D)
Jerserra’s Influence (Ghosts of Dathomir)
Manipulate (Endless Vigil)
Misdirect (F&D)
Move (AoR, EotE, F&D)
Protect / Unleash (F&D) – Part 1 (Intro & Protect) and Part 2 (Unleash)
Seek (F&D)
Sense (EotE, F&D)
Suppress (Keeping the Peace)
Warde’s Foresight (Chronicles of the Gatekeeper)
Linda Whitson
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