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Fourth and final normal attribute for Star Wars #lego This one is Tech.
Main Attribute
Tech – Tech is an important part of the Star Wars universe. Buildings, gear, and vehicles need to be put together and reinvented as well as smashed into bricks and studs. Characters need to be able to use their creations as well. Tech-based characters will be able to operate vehicles, computers, and complex systems as well as create new things from component parts.
Tech Skills
Pilot – A good pilot can fly anything, from landspeeders to tramp freighters and every snub fighter in between. Skilled pilots learn to maneuver for best advantage in combat, dodge obstacles, and slip past blockades. Pilot is the action skill used to maneuver vehicles in and out of combat and through obstacle courses. Pilot is opposed by Pilot.
Build – Building new things out of basic bricks and studs is a foundational part of Lego stories. Master Builders know how to take the pieces of their world and transform them into something weird and wonderful. Build is the effect skill used to make gear, vehicles, and scenery. Build resists Smash.
Systems – Starships and space stations both use complex information handling systems to provide security and keep order. Systems is the action skill used to change the way something works without smashing and rebuilding it, and it is the skill used to run scanners and hack into computers. Systems is opposed by Systems.
Operations – Putting things together is one thing. Making it all work together is something else entirely. Master Builders need to be adept not only at using their own creations but in puzzling out the workings of mysterious objects. Operations is the effect skill used with a vehicle to resist damage and in the usage or disabling of a machine. Operations resists vehicle damage.
Anakin Skywalker is a character with a high Tech score. Anakin has been known to build droids and podracers from scraps and misfit parts. He’s never met an engine he couldn’t tinker with, and even though Master Obi-Wan hates flying, even he acknowledges that Anakin is the best starfighter pilot in the galaxy.
Third attribute and skills for Star Wars #lego The third main attribute is Wit.
Main Attribute
Wit – Wit describes a character’s charisma, attention to detail, and people skills. Most interactions with animals and other characters will depend on how they use their wits. Witty characters understand not only the relationships between others but how all things are connected.
Wit Skills
Bluster – Characters employ bluster to talk their way into and out of trouble, bluff their way through a blockade or a card game, and convince others that things aren’t quite the way they might seem to be. These characters are able to keep their cool under pressure and answer every question in a cool and collected manner. Bluster is the action skill used when two characters attempt to influence each other’s decisions and actions, or when one character attempts to influence a crowd. Bluster is opposed by Bluster.
Charm – Smooth operators seem to blend into any surrounding with ease and comfort. Charming characters have a strong personality and are able to more effectively exert their will on both crowds and individuals. Charm is the effect skill used when drawing a reaction from another character, either charming or frightening. Charm is resisted by Courage.
Courage – Heroes know what they believe and why they believe it. They have the courage of their convictions and the self-confidence that comes from a secure knowledge of their place in the world. Courage is the effect skill used to resist attempts to charm or frighten a character’s actions. Courage resists Charm.
Search – Adventures can depend on finding lost objects and spotting hidden items. Searching an area lets a character spot anything that is out of place or unusual. Search is the action skill used to locate hidden objects or people. Search is opposed by Sneak or by Thievery.
Han Solo is a character with a high Wit score. Even Princess Leia admits that Han has more courage than common sense. His combination of self-confidence and a winning smile inspires others to believe in his potential. He may or may not be quite as skilled at Sabacc as he thinks he is, but he still manages to talk his way out of trouble … every time.
Second attribute for Star Wars #lego write-up. The second physical attribute is Agility.
Main Attribute
Agility – Agility describes a character’s ability to move with speed and balance, their hand-eye coordination, and the ability to move smoothly and surely. Agile characters are great at getting into difficult places and manipulating fine components.
Agility Skills
Acrobat – An acrobat can jump higher, run faster, and dodge quicker than unskilled characters. They are light on their feet and use that mobility to their best advantage. A skilled acrobat can leap over obstacles, soar between handholds, and duck under cover. Acrobat is the effect skill used to dodge an attack, cross difficult terrain, and perform athletic feats.
Shoot – Blasters, bowcasters, stunners, and other guns all use the shooting skill. Skilled shooters draw faster and aim better than their opponents. They learn to anticipate a target’s movement and place shots both for best damage and to create other effects. Shoot is the action skill used to fire a weapon of any kind, including ship weapons.
Sneak – Sneaking around, hiding out, and getting into places unseen is the province of sneaky characters. Characters who sneak learn to take advantage of concealment, blend into the environment, and go unnoticed in general. Sneak is the action skill used to move through or into an area without being observed or tripping alarms and sensors.
Thievery – Thieves are legendary for their light fingers and ability to undo knots and escape traps. Skilled thieves can manipulate gaming cards, control the roll of the dice, and pick pockets through misdirection and sleight of hand. Thievery is the effect skill to determine how well a character performs precision actions of all kinds.
Darth Maul is a character with a high Agility score. Whether he is leaping from catwalks or ledges, Maul isn’t bothered by heights or treacherous footing. Even on crowded Coruscant, Maul throws on a hood and slips by in the shadows. And why merely cross a room when you can somersault across it?
BTW – I’m unhappy with “Thievery” as a skill title. It doesn’t convey a whimsical feel to me. I want to keep it simple, so “Legerdemain” is out. I almost went with “Sleight of Hand” but that felt too limiting. Thoughts?
This site is (ideally) an SRD so it should support all versions! Personally, it depends on the type of game I’m in for whether I want a slimmer skill list or something more robust. I like Mini Six quite a lot. My Star Wars Lego build is based on Mini Six. It mostly depends on the tone of the game.
Good to see you, Gary!
In the very first D6 System book, the Rules As Written required every GM to first decide what attributes and skills they wanted to use in the game and how those attributes and skills would be linked. It didn’t even provide a “standard” list, just a list from which to choose.
The main rules are solid and don’t need to change, but I’m dissatisfied with the attribute and skill lists of Adventure/Fantasy/Space. So I’m working on an alternate build!
Why not use Swords & Wizardry, Castles & Crusades, etc? Those are excellent systems with thriving communities. I run a weekly Castles & Crusades game already! But I like the way OpenD6 handles interactions and I want to do more with it. It is my feeling that as long as the basic interactive structure of the game is the same (Making Actions, etc) then changing the skills around – even their use – does not depart from OpenD6.
Have you seen the work that Womp Rat Press did in putting together Star Wars REUP? It essentially converts all of the Star Wars material to the Space rules, complete with advantages, disadvantages, and special abilities.
You can find it at http://d6holocron.com/downloads/gbooks.html
among other places.I’ve always like the Star Wars scale rules, never cared much for the current system of assigning a number to scale and using the difference between things to modify rolls. It just doesn’t … “taste” … right….
All of this addresses tactical combat on the skirmish field. It makes our attribute, skill and specialization list:
Strength
* Brawling – parry, disarm, knockdown, grapple
* Melee – weapon
* Athletics – lift/crushDexterity
* Shooting – weapon
* Acrobatics – dodge, take cover
* Stealth – hide, take coverConstitution
* Stamina
* RecoverWisdom
* InsightCharisma
* Charm
* Con – feint
* Command
* IntimidateTricks
“Tricks” are ways to manipulate an opponent or an ally so that they take action or do not take action. Sun Tzu says that all warfare is based on deception, but that doesn’t seem to suit this context. Rather than forcing a position or stance – which would be a physical action – the goal here is to cause the opponent/ally to use their action to adopt it.
What actions do we want to provoke? Mathematically, we are seeking to: enhance defense, enhance offense, or control actions. Savage Worlds allows only two tricks: taunt, intimidate; 5e doesn’t leave room for any kind of tricks like this.
In general, a skill that boosts another skill does so by making an action and then adding one-half of the success or failure to the boosted skill. (see “charm” skill examples in the main rules) The bonus/penalty is then applied to the very next use of the skill. Charm, Con, and Intimidate are the rulebook examples. Command should be added to these for use on allies. I think that covers the offense/defense portion nicely.
But what about forced actions? This is a pass/fail check instead of graduated check. I think it still works out. The four skills are based on reaction (charm, intimidate) and relationship (con, command).
Movement
Movement has its own place on the skirmish board. It gets a little sticky when dividing movement into skills, though. Here, I think the 5e definitions help out quite a bit. To summarize and adapt: Strength-Athletics allows you to overcome perceived obstacles and unusual terrain, involving climbing, jumping, running, and swimming; Dexterity-Acrobatics allows you to react to unperceived obstacles and unusual circumstances in terrain. For purposes of defending in combat, it is the “reaction” part that I wish to emphasize.
Defensive movement has works in combat by: using/creating cover, using/creating concealment, or moving unpredictably. Concealment matches Stealth. Cover can be used by either Stealth or Acrobatics. Unpredictable movement (dodging) matches well with Acrobatics.
This makes the combat movement skills: Dexterity-Stealth (take cover, hide) and Dexterity-Acrobatics (take cover, dodge). It also means that Strength-Athletics may apply to battlefield terrain, but is not used to directly, defensively influence the opponent’s roll.
I should summarize my thought process on attributes before going further. Strength = applied force. Dexterity = applied movement. Constitution = applied endurance. Intelligence = applied analysis of information. Wisdom = applied judgement of perspective. Charisma = applied personal influence. Also, the relationship of skills to attributes is such that you only ever roll/reference an attribute directly if you do not have training in a given skill.
Back to combat. Roll to damage, roll to resist.
In the current system, Lift is used to determine Strength damage, which is added to most melee weapons to determine the final damage code. I really want to subsume all of those kinds of feats of strength under a single skill – Athletics – which would be used not only to determine Strength damage but also for generic activities based on applied strength but not necessarily related to movement, which is the purview of Dexterity and Acrobatics.
In the same way, resistance is determined based on the Constitution-Stamina skill, which I think is just fine.
Roll to hit, roll to defend.
Brawling is unarmed fighting. It can be specialized into areas like grappling, disarm, knockdown, etc. It is a Tier 2 trait under Strength.
Melee is weapon combat. It can be specialized into specific weapons. It is a Tier 2 trait under Strength.
Shooting ought to be setting specific, e.g. guns vs bows. It can be specialized for different weapons. It is a Tier 2 trait under Desxterity.
Throwing was overlooked, but it can a skill both for combat and general use. Outside of really specialized use like in sports, I don’t think it broad enough to have different specializations itself, though you certainly don’t throw a knife the way you throw a rock. I want to put knife throwing as a function of Melee-Knife and make Throwing a specialization of Strength-Athletics.
Dodge as a defense strikes me as a way to use other movement skills. I want to make it a specialization of Dexterity-Acrobatics or Dexterity-Stealth, or both. Two different types of dodge.
I want to treat parry the same way, making it a specialization of Melee, which would make blocking a specialization of Brawling.
I have always felt the main part of the game is a tabletop skirmish game. That’s the roots of the hobby, right? So the first action I want to support is combat.
The basic system actions involved are: to hit, to defend, to damage, to resist. Tangentially, we also have movement, psychological tricks, and creating modifiers like cover and concealment. Movement and modifiers fall within the realm of defensive actions, but tricks can affect others, so I would classify them as both attack and defense. Blending “mental” and physical actions merits an article by itself but some crossover is important, and I think Savage Worlds provides an excellent example. My primary purpose is to apply the rule of tiers to assign combat skills.
With this in mind:
Attack skils: brawling, melee, shooting
Defense skills: dodge, parry
Damage skills: by weapon, weapon + attribute, attribute alone
Resist skills: by armor, armor + stamina, stamina alone
Movement skills: hide, run, climb, jump
Tricks: feint, provoke, dissuade
