“Force Wizard” is my series on the Force & Destiny Careers’ Signature Abilities.
Both Signature Abilities (SAs) for the Seeker career, in Savage Spirits, are intended to help you gain the prize in your hunts. In the case of Unexpected Demise (I am calling it Demise, for short, today), the SA almost guarantees the hunt will be deadly for your quarry.
The Base Demise SA, which lasts 2 rounds, is two-pronged, a rarity. For 2 flipped Destiny Points (DPs) and a successful Hard Perception check you gain one Triumph on your next combat check. The combat checks don’t have to be successful; I double-checked the fine print. Perception is an unusual skill to activate an SA and I like the idea that a finely-honed mundane skill is key to using Demise.
But that’s not all, folks! During those 2 rounds, if you choose to inflict a Critical on a Rival NPC, they are treated as a minion and incapacitated. No chance of rolling a result that barely slows down a tough opponent. Be mindful, this doesn’t work on a Nemesis.
Demise doesn’t have any unique upgrades; all of them are common to other SAs. The text explicitly states that upgrades that appear more than once (Duration, Reduce Setback) do stack. Both of those have the usual effect. Duration (one 10XP, two 15XP instances) adds 1 round per upgrade to give the wielder up to 5 rounds of Demise. Reduce Setback (two 10XP instances) removes 1 Setback per upgrade to combat checks while the SA is active.
Reduce Difficulty is the fourth and last of the 10XP upgrades. The Hard Perception check to activate Demise becomes Average, as usual.
This leaves two 15XP upgrades. The Destiny upgrade reduces the activation cost to 1 DP. Change Skill is an upgrade that doesn’t appear as often in SA trees. In Demise, Change Skill lets the wielder use Discipline in place of Perception in the activation pool. The difficulty is Hard or Average, depending on whether you’ve bought Reduce Difficulty, of course.
What to buy? Even though none of the upgrades are unique to Demise, they are all pretty handy for taking out a BBEG. If you don’t want to buy all/most of the tree, I suggest the 10XP Duration plus the Destiny linked below it (25XP total). This will buy you a little more time to end your foe/s, and of course your friends will appreciate having an extra DP they can flip to pull off something cool.
If you want to dive deeper into the SA, Reduce Difficulty and/or Reduce Setback will make taking down your quarry at the end of the hunt easier. You might also consider at least one more Duration, so you have staying power to fight longer at this level. Remember, unlike Fated Duel, Unexpected Demise isn’t just for single combat! If one foe goes down while Demise is active (or you get tag-teamed), you can go on to the next and still have the benefits.
Finally, Change Skill is ideal for a PC whose Discipline and/or Willpower is better than their Perception and/or Cunning, which isn’t uncommon for Force users, particularly those who are into Force powers. I think the fluff (“ready the mind and calmly perform the perfect strike”), gives the SA a whole different flavor than with Perception. Also note that both the tree and text say, “can use Discipline…” so I think you can change back and forth. But check with your GM ahead of time, so you are both on the same page.
Is Unexpected Demise for you? Obviously Demise is primarily aimed at Ataru Strikers (F&D), Hunters (F&D), and Executioners (Savage Spirits). None of them are strangers to taking life, and many – but not all – prefer to do so quickly, without toying with their quarry. It seems an unlikely choice for the remaining specializations but only at first glance.
Take Hermits (Savage Spirits), who usually dwell alone, in isolated areas, often with many threats that need to be taken out swiftly before they can take out the Hermit. Or anyone or anything under their protection. Sometimes there is a Darksider or other adversary so evil or deadly, that the Force may will the Hermit leave their isolated existence to take it out, possibly joining with other beings to do so.
Sometimes you and your companions cannot flee fast enough or far enough away, even with a Pathfinder or Navigator’s gifts, to escape a powerful being or creature set on your capture or death. Then, like the Hermit above, a Pathfinder (F&D) or Navigator (Savage Spirits) might find themselves in a situation where Kill or Be Killed (or let innocents be killed) is the only choice they have left. (Whatever the PC’s specialization, this is a good way for a GM to set up for possible Conflict.)
Next month, I’ll go over Unmatched Pursuit, the second Seeker SA. Until then, may the Force be with you always!
Linda Whitson
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