New Force Powers
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul locked in mortal combat...
Episode I doesn't give us much in the way of "new" powers, but there are still some powers we have seen in the films and read about in the books that West End has yet to define in game terms. What I have tried to do here is put a few such powers on the table, so to speak. Although this page is small for now, I may add more powers as time goes by. This is the one page of this sourcebook that should be checked regularly for updates, and submissions are welcome, provided that the submissions deal strictly with powers displayed in Episode I.
I have also taken the liberty of developing some new powers that, to date, the player and the GM had to figure out how to use on their own using the existing rules, since, unfortunately, there are some holes (Jedi leaping, superspeed, etc.). For the record, these holes can be filled using existing powers (I AM aware of this! Stop writing to tell me this!), but frankly, that gets a little complicated, and these are easier...especially if you don't have access to the Tales of the Jedi Companion. Hopefully, some of these new powers will answer the flood of email I've been getting. :)
New to the Second Edition is the inclusion of a power featured in The Phantom Menace which I have dubbed Induce Tranquility. This power was supposed to have been here for the First Edition, but got lost in the shuffle of notes at some point.
Control Powers
SUPER LEAP
Control Difficulty: Very Easy, modified by distance leapt
Required Powers: None
Time to Use: Instantaneous
Effect: The Jedi can leap much higher than normally physically possible by giving himself a telekinetic "springboard" when leaping. The difficulty for using this power is Very Easy, with one level added to the difficulty for each 5 meters of distance beyond the first five. In other words, a leap of 10 meters has an Easy difficulty; 15 m, Moderate;20 m, Difficult; 25 m, Very Difficult; and 30 m has a Heroic difficulty. Characters using the Super Leap power use their control dice instead of the Jumping skill. The Jumping skill is used only when no Force ability is being called into play.
ENHANCED SPEED
Control Difficulty: Difficult, modified by distance moved beyond normal Move rating
Required Powers: None
Time to Use: Instantaneous
Effect: The Jedi can run much faster than a normal member of his species, up to four times faster than his species' norm. The difficulty for doing this is Difficult for doubling his normal Move rate, Very Difficult for tripling it, and Heroic for quadrupling it. This power takes an intense degree of focus, however, and as such no other power may be "kept up" while using this one.
Control and Sense Powers
MECHA EMPATHY
Control Difficulty: Moderate
Sense Difficulty: Easy, modified by complexity of machine
Required Powers: None
Time to Use: One minute
Effect: The Jedi can "feel" his way around the inner workings of a technological device, seeking out specific malfunctions, learning how to operate the machine on a rudimentary level, and finding imperfections or potential modifications that could improve or enhance the machine's performance at least temporarily (Obi-Wan uses this one to learn how to pilot a Gungan sub, and Anakin uses it to build a powerful podracer from sub-par parts...and eventually to fix it in mid-crisis!). The Sense difficulty for this power is modified by the complexity of the machine; whereas a podracer is a fairly simple (if tough to handle) device, much like a Gungan sub, a droid is more comples, raising the difficulty to Moderate. Hyperdrives and other complex systems have a Sense difficulty of Hard. Successful use of this power enables the Jedi to operate the machine in question as if he had the applicable skill at his default attribute level; in other words, it allows the Jedi to make his dice rolls with no negative modifiers for unskilled operation of otherwise specialized skills. The character can also use this power to enable himself to make Repair skill rolls under circumstances that he would normally be unable to do so, as well as design equipment for practical use with a minimum of quality components.
ENHANCED REFLEXES
Control Difficulty: Moderate
Sense Difficulty: Moderate
Required Powers: None
Time to Use: Instantaneous
Effect: The Jedi can push his reflexes beyond the boundaries of his normal limits. If successful in his use of this power, the Jedi can add his control dice to his Dexterity for any one action attempt. This power may not be used in conjunction with any other power, although it does not interfere with any powers that may be "kept up." If the Jedi uses this power to attack with a weapon, he gains one Dark Side point.
LIFEMERGE
Control Difficulty: Difficult
Sense Difficulty: Difficult
Required Powers: None
Time to Use: Instantaneous
Effect: Unlike other Force powers, a Jedi does not have to learn this power to use it. Instead, any Jedi with a total of 9D or more in Force skills can attempt to use this power...at the moment of his death.
At the moment the Jedi knows death is imminent (just after a fatal wound, or just before it), the Jedi calms his mind and body (Difficult control roll), preparing to surrender his mortal shell. The Jedi then reaches out with his mind, tracing the ebb and flow of the Force around him and through him (Difficult sense roll). Upon succeeding at both rolls, the Jedi's spirit exits his body and becomes one with the Force. His body fades into nothingness, its raw matter converted into energy, once again united in harmony with the Force.
Jedi who pass in this fashion do not completely die. The Jedi can make a number of visitations to his close friends and associates equal to the number of Force points he had upon death. The duration of each visitation is euqal to a combined sense, alter, and control roll, expressed in minutes. In this fashion, a player who knows his character is about to die can ensure that death will mean something, as he can manifest to important persons in later sessions and warn them of impending disaster, or offer wisdom and teaching. At the GMs discretion, and based on the power level of the Jedi when he died, only Force-sensitive characters may witness the visitation. After death, the Jedi cannot influence the material world in any way beyond what is stated here...his energies no longer flow in that direction.
Control and Alter Powers
INDUCE TRANQUILITY
Control Difficulty: Moderate
Alter Difficulty: Moderate, modified by agitation of target character; modified by relationship
Required Powers: none
Time to Use: Instantaneous
Effect: With this power, a Jedi can induce a state of enhanced calm in another being, even to the point of inducing near-sleep in another sentient. The user simply reaches out in the Force to the opposing mind, and calms it through waves of almost-dreamlike reassurance. The affected person is generally quieted emotionally, but the Jedi can also intensify use of the power to induce a near-vegetative state that lasts for up to a half-an-hour. Jedi healers have been known to make frequent use of this power when treating casualties in times if war, usually in conjunction with Control Another's Pain. A Jedi can direct this power at up to three characters at once, provided those characters are within 5 meters of one another, and cannot see the Jedi (use of this power on a group is normally only possible from a hiding spot near the targets), hence this is a very useful power for a Jedi attempting to get into a guarded facility with a minimum of attention. Characters "awakening" from the state of induced tranquility are often somewhat confused, but not usually aware that they have been manipulated in any way.
Qui-Gon Jinn uses this power on Jar Jar Binks during the journey in the Gungan sub in Epsiode I.
Control, Sense, and Alter Powers
MECHA MANIPULATION
Control Difficulty: Moderate
Sense Difficulty: Moderate, modified by complexity of machine
Alter Difficulty: Moderate, modified by complexity of machine
Required Powers: Mecha empathy
Time to Use: One minute
Effect: The Jedi can physically manipulate the internal workings of a technological device to effect repairs upon it (Anakin Solo uses this power frequently in the books; I have included it here because of its close connection to the Mecha empathy power). The Jedi must lay hands upon the object to effect repairs; the amount of time that the repairs will last is based upon how far over the Alter difficulty the Jedi rolls: the repairs last 3D minutes for a margin of up to 5, 1D hours for a margin of 6-10, 3D hours for a margin of 11-20, and permanent for a margin of 21 or greater.
MIMIC ANOTHER POWER
Control Difficulty: Moderate
Sense Difficulty: Moderate, modified by proximity and relationship as they apply
Alter Difficulty: Moderate, modified by proximity and relationship as they apply
Required Powers: None
Time to Use: Based on original power
Effect: The Jedi can mimic, to a minor degree, any other Force power, operating largely by an intuitive sense of how he thinks such an effect could be generated...basically, he makes an educated guess based on what he already knows of the Force. Only minor effects can be duplicated in this fashion (altering the roll of a die when you do not possess the Telekinesis power, for example). This power is designed as a last ditch effort for those moments when you just don't have the power you really need at the moment. Many Jedi refer to this power as the art of "Force Tricks," and in later years it becomes very popular among charlatans and false Jedi who like to claim great power, although they have very little real ability. Force users unaware of their potential often use this power and never even know it. This power can be pushed to create greater effects, but use of the power in this fashion nets the Jedi a Dark Side point, as the Dark Side lends power to the Jedi even as it seduces him.
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