Force Wizard’s Got Talents – Part 11 (Magus & Prophet Specializations)

September 26, 2022 Linda Whitson Astral Projections, Force Wizard 0

“Force Wizard’s Got Talents” is my series on the Force talents, from all of the FFG Star Wars lines.

Welcome back, padawans and disciples. In Part 11, we look at the remaining Force talents in the Mystic career, both from Unlimited Power: Magus and Prophet.
Before we begin, a warning. Students dedicated to the Lightside – as well as those who are eager to embrace the power of the Darkside – should be extra mindful that both unique Magus Force talents, as well as the Prophet’s Improved Overwhelming Aura, are auto-Conflict talents.

Abbreviations
F&D = Force and Destiny
FR = Force Rating
FT = Force Talent
RAW = Rules As Written
UP = Unlimited Power

MAGUS

Channel Agony (Ranked; 10 or 20 XP)

Trigger Warning: The description and mechanics of Channel Agony have a strong Self-Harm vibe in my opinion. Given this, I advise your group discusses how to handle this FT without making anyone feel uncomfortable or unsafe. This might mean using a “safe gaming” tool such as Lines and Veils. TTRPG Safety Toolkit and Sly Fourish both have basic explanations of Lines and Veils.)

  • Unique to Magus.
  • This is an Active (Incidental) FT.
  • This is an auto-Conflict FT.
  • Both the Magus tree and the text aren’t clear as to how you use Channel Agony, but it allows you to add Dark Force pips to check results when Force dice are part of the pool.
  • Roll the Force dice as part of the usual activation of the power. Then, once that’s done, you can opt to use the talent to give yourself one (or more depending on ranks) Dark pips to add to the Force power check results.
  • Suffer Wounds up to twice your ranks in Channel Agony to add 1 Dark pip/ 2 Wounds to the results. With all 3 ranks you may take up to 6 Wounds for +3 Dark pips to spend.
  • Donovan Morningfire’s comment (Fantasy Flight Games forum archive) on Channel Agony best explains its usefulness: “Yes, it’s a hefty cost, but it’s also the simple fact that it’s bonus Force points which at the lower end of the XP scale is quite a boon when you’re only rolling one Force die, even more so if you’re fully intending to go dark side with your PC.”

Power Of Darkness (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to Magus.
  • This is an Active (Maneuver) FT.
  • This is an auto-Conflict FT.
  • The wielder increases their Wound and Strain Thresholds by 1 each for every Dark Destiny Point in the pool.
  • Usable once/session and lasts until the end of the current encounter.
  • Per RAW, no Destiny Points are flipped when using the talent.
  • Pretty good value, since it increases your PC’s staying power. And since it ups your Strain Threshold, don’t hesitate to use it in non-combat encounters if NPCs use abilities that affect Strain, such as Scathing Tirade talent or the basic Influence Force power.

PROPHET

Overwhelming Aura (Ranked; 5 or 15XP)

  • Unique to Prophet.
  • This is an Active FT (Maneuver).
  • Note that while this isn’t an auto-Conflict FT, the Improved version (see below) is.
  • Commit Force dice < FR or < Overwhelming Aura ranks.
  • Suffer 1 Strain.
  • Add +1 Advantage per committed Force die to all social checks.
  • Additionally, all opponents in Short range add +1 Threat per committed Force die to all of their social checks.
  • This is a “Two for the price of one” talent. You affect both your own and others’ social checks with one Maneuver, no choosing between the effects, which adds value.

Improved Overwhelming Aura (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to Prophet.
  • This is a Passive FT.
  • Unlike the basic version of Overwhelming Aura, this is an auto-Conflict FT, likely due to how it interacts with Fear checks.
  • Characters affected by Overwhelming Aura (which means within Short range of the wielder) add 1 Failure to Fear check results, if the check was forced by the user of Overwhelming Aura.
  • If the Fear check was caused by another, the affected character adds 1 Success to the check results. So this FT can help allies in some cases.

Font of Power (Unranked; 25 XP)

  • Unique to Prophet.
  • This is an Active (Action) FT.
  • Usable once/session and lasts until the end of the current encounter.
  • Font of Power aids your allies, or strictly by RAW, any character who is aligned (the RAW term) to the same aspect of the Force as you are. Which means you risk aiding a character who is opposed to you personally or your current goal.
  • Per RAW, Font of Power doesn’t affect you.
  • This is another FT where the talent tree text is unclear. Thankfully the full text (UP, p. 32) is much better.
  • If you are a Light side Force user (Morality >30), when another Force user within Medium range rolls a Force die, they add 1 Light pip to the result.
  • If you are a Dark side Force user (Morality <30), when another Force user within Medium range rolls a Force die, they add 1 Dark pip to the result.
  • One thing RAW leaves unclear is if it is just 1 Force pip added or 1 for each Force die rolled. Since this is a 25XP FT, once/session, and there is some risk of aiding an enemy, I think adding one pip/Force die is a reasonable GM interpretation.

 

Credit: Thanks to my good friend Donovan Morningfire for clarification on the Channel Agony talent.

The next two installments will cover the Seeker Career Force talents, in F&D and Savage Spirits. May the Force be with you always, padawans and disciples.

 

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Linda Whitson

Contributing Writer & Copy Editor at D20 Radio
Linda Whitson is a long-time RPGer, amateur musician & artist, & an officer in the Rebel Legion Star Wars costuming club. Linda met her husband in an AD&D game and they have 2 teenagers, an anime fangirl daughter and a son who plays on his university's quidditch team. She is the Lead Mod of D20 Radio's forums and Copy Editor for the blog. Linda can be reached at GMLinda@d20radio.com

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