Force Wizard’s Got Talents – Part 12 (Pathfinder, Hermit, and Navigator Specializations)

October 17, 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 12, we look at Force talents for the Seeker career, from three specializations: Pathfinder (F&D), Hunter (Sav), & Navigator (Sav) .

Abbreviations
F&D = Force and Destiny
FR = Force Rating
FT = Force Talent
RAW = Rules as written
Sav = Savage Spirits

Before we begin, a note on Pathfinder and Hermit: I suggest players who want to make the most of an animal companion consider buying into both the Pathfinder and Hermit specializations, as not all the talents affecting a long-term animal companion are in both. Pathfinder alone offers the Animal Empathy and Shared Pain FTs. Hermit has the Improved Animal Bond and Harass FTs. Hermit also has the only instance of the 10XP normal talent, Menace (Sav, p.31), which adds another way for an animal companion to assist their bonded character.

PATHFINDER

Animal Bond (Unranked; 10 or 15XP)

  • Also: Hermit (Sav).
  • This is a Passive talent.
  • Your animal companion’s size is limited by your FR. Its Silhouette equals your FR/2, rounded down. Your companion stays with you as long as the bond lasts.
  • A bond **cannot** be formed during structured encounters. So, no, you cannot nab the crimelord’s or Sithlord’s pampered pet this way.
  • During an encounter, you can spend a Maneuver to direct your companion to perform an Action and a Maneuver.
  • Animal Bond is much cheaper via the Hermit spec (see below), costing 15 XP to reach it, compared to 45XP for the shortest Pathfinder route. (Is that a pun?)
  • Familiarity with the Animal Bond entry in the F&D Talents chapter (pp. 138 – 139) is essential for both GM and player. This is where you’ll find most of the information on using the talent and adjudicating the animal companion’s actions. I have covered only a few details here.

Animal Empathy (Unranked; 15XP)

  • Unique to Pathfinder.
  • This is a Passive talent.
  • Add Force dice < your FR to the pool, for checks to tame, handle, train, etc. animals.
  • Spend resulting Force pips to add Success/es or Advantage/s (your choice) to the results, on a one to one basis.
  • Spend however many pips, Light and/or Dark, you wish. This is subject to the usual rules for spending Force pips. (F&D, pp. 280-281).

Mental Bond (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to Pathfinder.
  • This is an Active (Action) FT.
  • Range for Mental Bond is Extreme (personal).
  • Commit 1 Force die.
  • Wielder may communicate with their companion animal, including seeing/hearing what the creature sees/hears.
  • Wielder may also direct their companion, per the Animal Bond FT.

Quick Movement (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to Pathfinder.
  • This is an Active (Incidental) FT.
  • No RAW limit on how often Quick Movement can be taken.
  • Suffer 2 Strain and add Force dice < your FR to any check pool except Force power checks.
  • Spend 2 Light or Dark Force pips from that check to perform a free Move Maneuver once the check is done.
  • Yes! You can make up to three Maneuvers in a turn with this FT.
  • With no frequency limitation (e.g., once/session, once/encounter), only 20 XP cost, and a non munchkin-way to get around the 2 Maneuvers/turn limit, this is a Must-Have. Just keep an eye on your Strain.

Share Pain (Unranked: 25XP)

  • Unique to Pathfinder.
  • This is an Active (out of turn Incidental) FT.
  • When your Animal Bond companion suffers Wounds, you may halve, rounded up, the Wounds suffered.
  • In exchange, you take Wounds equal to half the original amount your animal companion took.
  • Somewhat situational, but a great talent for a Paragon (or would-be Paragon). Even better roleplay opportunity (like any of the animal companion FTs) for a PC struggling to redeem themselves from the Darkside.

HERMIT

Force Connection (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to Hermit.
  • This is a Passive talent.
  • Add Force dice < your FR to the pool, for Knowledge: Xenology and Survival checks only.
  • Spend resulting Force pips to add Success/es or Advantage/s (your choice) to the results, on a one to one basis.

Harass (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to Hermit.
  • This is an Active (incidental) FT.
  • When your bonded animal companion successfully attacks an opponent, you may choose to upgrade the difficulty of the target’s next check once in place of the companion’s attack doing damage.
  • “This can stack if multiple creatures perform this action on the same target.” (Sav, p. 30) While RAW doesn’t say so, I think the “multiple creatures” must all be bonded animal companions – but double check with your GM.

Improved Animal Bond (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to Hermit.
  • This is a Passive FT.
  • When using a Maneuver to direct your bonded companion, you may suffer 1 strain to add 1 Boost die to the animal’s next check.

Survival of the Fittest (Unranked: 15XP)

  • Unique to Hermit.
  • This is an Active (Incidental) FT.
  • Usable once/session.
  • When making a single check, the PC may treat their FR as being equal to their Survival ranks.
  • A pretty solid utility FT, since there is no limit on the type of check (combat, Force power, etc.) by RAW.
  • Will be useful for the better part of even long campaigns, since it generally takes longer to increase FR than skill ranks.

NAVIGATOR

Holistic Navigation (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to the Navigator specialization.
  • This is an Active (Incidental) FT.
  • Provides two new ways to affect an Astrogation skill check by spending a Destiny Point.
  • 1. Remove one Despair. Or,
  • 2. Remove Threat equal to ranks in Perception.

Intuitive Navigation (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to the Navigator specialization.
  • This is a Passive FT.
  • Usable with Astrogation or Knowledge: Outer Rim checks only.
  • Add Force dice < your FR to the pool.
  • Spend resulting Force pips to add Success/es or Advantage/s (your choice) to the results, on a one to one basis.
  • A good value, although requiring a Destiny Point might be seen as a slight drawback. There are only a handful and there may be better ways of using them in a given encounter. If your group prefers to hoard those Destiny Points, this might not be the best FT choice for you.

In Part 13 we’ll look at the remaining three Seeker specs, Ataru Striker (F&D), Executioner (Sav), & Hunter (F&D). Until then, 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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