Force Wizard’s Got Talents – Part 16: Aggressor, Shi-Cho Knight, & Starfighter Ace

January 30, 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 16, we finish the F&D core book specializations with the Aggressor, Shi-Cho Knight, and Starfighter Ace Force talents from the Warrior career.

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

AGGRESSOR

Against All Odds (Unranked; 25XP)

  • Unique to the Aggressor spec.
  • This is an Active talent (Action) and is once/session.
  • Only usable when the PC is incapacitated due to exceeding their Wound Threshold. You read that right, it’s an exception to the No Actions When Incapacitated rule, set down in RAW even (F&D, p. 138).
  • Make a Hard (3 Difficulty) Resilience check, adding Force dice equal to your FR to the pool. Note the slightly different wording from most “add Force dice” talents.
  • Spend Success to heal Wounds, on a 1 to 1 basis. You may spend Force pips to add Success to the result.
  • A Must Have 25XP FT. Go straight down the right hand column, and spend a total of 75XP – 3 or 4 sessions’ worth, in my experience – and it’s yours. And that’s not all, folks! It’s is one of the 2 attachment points for the Unmatched Ferocity Signature Ability, if you love the Darth Maul trope. The only downside for any Aggressor is that Against All Odds isn’t linked to Dedication.

Terrify (Unranked; 15XP)

  • Unique to the Aggressor spec.
  • This is an Auto-Conflict FT.
  • This is an Active talent (Action).
  • Range: Medium (personal).
  • Make a Hard (Difficulty 3) Coercion check, adding Force dice < your FR to the pool.
  • Disorient, until the end of the next round, 1 target per Success.
  • Spend 2 Advantage to extend duration an additional round for all targets.
  • The wielder may spend 1 Force pip to Immobilize 1 affected target. Note this is 1 target per Force pip by RAW.
  • This talent, and Improved Terrify (below), synergize with ranks in the Prey on the Weak normal talent (F&D, pp. 99 and 149), also in the Aggressor tree. It adds +1 damage/rank of Prey on the Weak.
  • If you prefer the “make ’em back down/runaway/surrender, no unnecesary killing” Aggressor trope, Terrify and Improved Terrify (and their related Prey on the Weak instances) are relatively easy to go around. But this will mean longer, costlier paths to Dedication, especially if you are avoiding Prey on the Weak.

Improved Terrify (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to the Aggressor spec.
  • This is a Passive FT.
  • No, Improved Terrify isn’t an Auto-Conflict talent.
  • Reduce the Coercion check Difficulty to 2/Average.
  • The wielder may spend 1 Triumph to Stagger a target until the end of the next round. Like the Immobilize affect, the Stagger affect is 1 target per Triumph by RAW. There’s nothing in RAW about extending the duration of the Stagger effect, so the GM is free to deny it.

SHI-CHO KNIGHT

(Note: This is the only so-called “Lightsaber Form” spec that doesn’t allow the Force user to substitute another Characteristic for Brawn. Shi-Cho is said to be the original or foundation Form, which was traditionally the first form all Jedi Initiates and Padawans learned. But that doesn’t make this a “lesser” spec. Not only does it have the cool Sarlacc Sweep, it has good FTs from other “Lightsaber Form” specs, and some great non-Force talents, from Second Wind to Natural Blademaster to Parry. About the only thing it doesn’t offer your “saber monkey” PC is Reflect.)

Sarlacc Sweep (Unranked; 20XP)

  • This is an Active FT (Action).
  • Unique to the Shi-Cho Knight spec.
  • Make a Lightsaber combat check against a single Engaged target, increasing the Difficulty by +1.
  • Spend 2 Advantage to hit 1 additional Engaged target. May repeat for each Engaged target – but you spend 2 more Advantage for each.
  • This FT has important “Fine print” not included in the Shi-Cho Knight tree: The character must go for the Engaged target with the highest Defense and Difficulty first. Your GM gets to pick which you target first if two have the same Difficulties and Defenses (F&D, p. 151).
  • This FT makes for cool narration that can take out, or at least keep busy, multiple opponents. A bargain at 20XP, as well as a straight shot down from the 5XP Second Wind.

STARFIGHTER ACE

(Note: Some Starfighter Aces may want to buy into the Sentinel career’s Racer spec to get a third instance of Intuitive Evasion (covered at the link). However, that’s a hefty XP cost. Sticking with 2 ranks and picking up some of the non-FT Racer talents usable with vehicles/starships might be a better idea for Aces interested in Racer.)

Intuitive Strike (Unranked; 20XP)

  • Unique to the Starfighter Ace spec.
  • This is a Passive FT.
  • Applies to combat checks with a vehicle weapon.
  • Add Force dice < your FR to the pool.
  • Spend 2 Force pips to add Success or Advantage to the result. It’s your choice which one.

Next time, Part 17, will cover the Warrior specializations from Knights of Fate (Colossus, Juyo Berserker, and Steel Hand Adept). 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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