Force Wizard’s Got Talents – Part 14: Artisan, Shadow, and Shien Expert Specializations

January 16, 2023 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. Greetings, padawans and disciples. In Part 14, we move on to the Sentinel career, beginning with Force talents from the Artisan, Shadow, and Shien Expert specializations appearing in Force & Destiny.

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

ARTISAN

Intuitive Improvements (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to the Artisan spec.
  • This is a Passive talent.
  • When you make a check to craft or repair an item, you may add Force dice < to your FR to the pool.
  • Spend 2 Force pips to add +1 Hard Points (F&D, pp. 165 and 191) to the item, to a maximum of +2 Hard Points.
  • A given item may only be improved by means of this FT once. (F&D, p. 145)

SHADOW

Now You See Me (Unranked; 20 XP)

  • Unique to the Shadow spec.
  • This is an Active talent (Action).
  • Usable once per session.
  • Range: Medium.
  • Make a Hard Difficulty (3 purple) Deception check.
  • If successful, NPCs equal to character’s Cunning forget any interactions they had with the character during the past 30 minutes.
  • Read the “fine print” – the entry in the Talents chapter – not just the tree’s box, for this FT. The text (F&D, pp. 148-9) has additional options, at GM’s discretion, to spend Threat and Despair by giving affected NPCs “unpleasant side effects.”
  • Now You See Me would work well with the Influence power’s Basic and/or 10XP Control upgrade.

Shroud (Unranked; 15 XP)

  • This is an Active Talent (Incidental).
  • Also: Hermit (Sav).
  • Once per session.
  • Spend one Destiny Point to become undetectable by Force powers (e.g., Sense) until the end of the current encounter.
  • The wielder’s own use of Force powers will also become undetectable. But read the fine print in the full Shroud entry on p. 151 for guidance on the limits of this usage!
  • A must-have FT for any campaign with Inquisitor (or powerful Sith, in earlier eras) villains.
  • The 1 Destiny Point cost is worth it to be able to hide yourself and use of your Force powers. Speaking of cost, 15XP is a bargain for such a useful ability.

SHIEN EXPERT

Shien Technique (Unranked; 10XP)

  • Every “Lightsaber Form” spec has its own Technique FT, allowing the Force user to substitute a specific Characteristic for Brawn.
  • For Shien Expert, it’s Cunning.

Counterstrike (Unranked; 15XP)

  • Unique to the Shien Expert spec.
  • This is a Passive talent.
  • When an attack misses the character, and has Despair or 2 Threat, the Shien expert may upgrade their next Lightsaber (Cunning) check against the unsuccessful attacker.
  • There is a discrepancy between the Shien Expert tree and the text on p. 141 (F&D). The FT box says “…during encounter once,” while the text says, “…during his next turn once.” GMs decide which one to use and let your players know. Personally, I don’t see much difference between the two options. However, encounter does allow the PC more flexibility on when to make that Counterstrike.

Disruptive Strike (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to the Shien Expert spec.
  • This is an Active talent (Action).
  • Make a Lightsaber (Cunning) combat check vs. one engaged opponent, adding Force dice < to your FR to the pool.
  • May spend 1 Force pip to add 1 Failure to the result of that opponent’s next combat check made in the current encounter.
  • No limit on the number of Force pips you can spend adding Failures, per RAW.
  • Another must-have 25XP FT.

Djem So Deflection (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to the Shien Expert spec.
  • This is an Active talent (Incidental, Out-of-turn).
  • After using the Reflect FT, may perform a Move maneuver as an out-of-turn incidental.
  • Only permitted Move maneuvers are close distance to/engage with an opponent.
  • Djem So Deflection is usable once/round.
  • Good, solid FT.

Supreme Reflect (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to the Shien Expert spec.
  • This is a Passive talent.
  • If you didn’t make a combat check the previous turn, using Reflect costs 1 Strain, instead of the usual 3 Strain.
  • In my opinion, this is a “Your mileage may vary” talent. It’s value depends a lot on how you play the character. If your PC tries to avoid combat, Supreme Reflect is a must-have. If your PC attacks oftener than not, you may not get as much use out of it.

Next time, we’ll look at the Shadow specs from Endless Vigil, Investigator, Racer, & Sentry. May the Force be with you always in 2023, 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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