“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.
Bind, from Force & Destiny and Rise of the Separatists, is one of the telekinetic Force powers, a more specialized version of Move, if you will. It’s a pretty versatile power. You can hold someone in place; inflict conditions, strain, or damage; even duplicate one of the most iconic–and Darkside–Star Wars abilities.
The basic Bind is Short range and costs 1 Force pip to activate, with no multiple activations. Like many Force powers, it has somewhat differing effects, depending upon whether you used any Dark pips or all Light pips. Either way, your target is “immobilized” and “prevent[s] the target from acting” until “the end of [their] next turn.” If you used any Dark pips, the target takes one wound for every Force pip spent on the check. Repeat, Force pip, not Dark pip. So a Bind power check where you spent 3 Light pips and 1 Dark pip and one where you spent 4 Dark pips both inflict 4 wounds. Ouch! The Range & Magnitude upgrades are standard. Range costs only 1 pip to activate, while Magnitude costs 2 pips, and both can be activated more than once.
The three Strength upgrades are identical, For 1 Force pip, you disorient the target/s for 1 round per Strength you possess–and it can be activated multiple times. That’s +1 to +3 Setback to the dice pool of every check they make with a single activation. Even if you only buy one Strength, that’s potentially a lot of Setback if the Force is with you on the Bind check. This is also a pretty benign use of Bind. Narratively, the target is probably struggling to attack or take other actions, but isn’t being hurt.
Both Controls (10 XP each), however, are single activation only, but have different effects. The left hand Control is, in some ways, a variant of the Draw Closer (Niman Disciple) talent. It moves your target 1 range band closer to, or further from, you. There are differences between it and Draw Closer. First, Draw Closer, as it says, can only move a target closer to the wielder, which makes this Control a little more versatile. You could make distance by pushing an opponent away–possibly towards a friend better suited to deal with them, although that depends on said friend being away from you as well. Next, an attack is not part of the power. You’d have to wait until your next turn for that. Here’s where my favorite Force talent, The Force is my Ally, can help. For 2 strain, you can use the talent to activate Bind as a move, and if that brings the target into range of your weapon, you can attack as an action. Finally, since there’s no attack (or any check besides the Bind power check), there is no option to add a Success. The right hand Control inflicts strain equal to your Willpower on the target/s. This is a pretty good option to have, since draining strain is a good way to end a conflict without a lot of bloodshed.
Right below the right hand Control, is a Duration upgrade, although they aren’t connected. Duration is reached via the first and second Strength upgrades. By committing 3 Force dice, you can keep a Bind effect going, while doing other things, that don’t require Force dice. More than likely, unless it’s toward the end of a campaign that’s long-running and/or one started at Heroic/Knight level, your effective FR will be 0 or 1 while using Duration.
Finally, the Mastery upgrade, which needs a successful Discipline vs. Discipline check, made as part of the Bind power check, to effect the target. The Light option (no Dark pips used) staggers the target/s until the end of their next turn. What about when you spend Dark pips? When you spend any Dark pips activating Mastery, the effect is a Critical Injury (!), +10 for every pip spent on the Force power check. Just like with the basic Bind, that’s +10 for each pip, regardless of whether it was Light or Dark. So if you’ve wondered how to represent a Force Choke mechanically, this is the answer. (I guess it could also be narrated as Force Lightning, if that’s how your Darksider rolls.)
What to buy? Your chances of activating Magnitude at FR 2 aren’t great, so you are better off buying Range, Control, &/or Strength until FR 3. Even then, I wouldn’t buy more than one Magnitude, since they are pricey–15/20/25 XP–and can be activated multiple times. Likewise, hold off on Duration, if you want it, to FR 3, since you can’t use it before then. While Range upgrades are inexpensive in terms of XP and pips to activate, I see limited use in buying the third Range, which allows Bind to be used at the Extreme range band. How often will you use that? I have never seen Extreme range come into play, ever (and Long seldom). What about Mastery? Staggering or Criticals make it very effective, but is it worth the opportunity costs? Investing 85-100 XP is comparable to reaching Dedication or Force Rating talents in many trees. Putting all those points in one Force power risks your PC becoming a one-trick pony. This is something to consider with upgrades for any power, especially one like Bind, where most upgrades are a minimum of 15 XP.
Finally, let’s talk more about Conflict and Bind, beyond the automatic Conflict for non-fallen PCs spending Dark pips. Yes, using Dark pips with Mastery will certainly earn you additional Conflict. Probably 10+, since this would almost always be torture or murder. So how else might you gain Conflict when using Bind? First, using Dark pips to activate the basic Bind effect inflicts wounds, which can be “Resorting to violence as the first solution.” Some uses of Bind outside combat or self-defense might count as coercion, threats, or even some form of abuse/torture, especially if the upgrades used inflict conditions or strain. As always, how a GM adjudicates Conflict will depend on staging, in-character dialog, and player description of their PC’s emotion/intent.
But even the most benign ways of wielding Bind can be used for ill. Take the Basic power and the Strength upgrades. All the Force-user is doing is either holding the target in place or making it hard for them to do something. There’s no Conflict in trying to prevent someone from attacking an innocent, programming the navi-comp for Mustafar, or running for the nearest Stormtrooper patrol. But what if your target is trying to keep themselves (or a youngling) from drowning or falling off the catwalk above a bottomless power core? Hindering those actions is not the act of a Paragon.
I think Bind is a very cool and useful Force power, but it’s also a step–maybe many steps–along that infamous Quick and Easy Path. How many steps are there between “I use the Force to capture this First Order Officer so we can take her for questioning by the Resistance leaders” and “I use the Force to literally squeeze the location of Capt. Phasma’s diary out of him”? Meditate on this until next time, and 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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