Star Wars Saga Edition: Character Building
What to Expect in the New Star Wars Role Playing Game
Dec 19, 2008
This article is intended for gamers familiar with the d20 system and its Star Wars Variations.If you are new to role playing games, start with What are Role Playing Games? or visit the blog Welcome to Role Playing.
Every time a revised system comes out, there are people that love it, people that hate it, and people that don't understand it. Even though Saga Edition has been out for over a year, there are still plenty of long time gamers that haven't been introduced to it. So before you decide to spend your Christmas money, here is a brief review of Star Wars Saga Edition character generation.
Character Basics in Saga Edition
Generating basic abilities is probably the only part of character generation that was left unchanged in Saga Edition. Most of the available alien species are the same, though there are some variations in ability modifications. There are only 5 starting classes: Jedi, Noble, Scoundrel, Scout and Soldier.
New Character Traits: Talents
One of the biggest changes to character gen is the addition of Talents. Talents are special class dependent abilities that provide special advantages to characters. Characters get one Talent at first level of each class, and a new Talent every other class level after that.
Skills In the new Star Wars RPG
The skill mechanics have been completely written. There are no skill levels. A character is either trained in a skill, or untrained. A character starts game trained in a number of skills based on a combination of class and Intelligence, these must be class skills. After character gen, new trained skills can be added in two ways: by increasing the character's Intelligence trait, or by taking the feat: Skill Training. This Feat can be taken for a non-class skill. Skill Training gives a +5 bonus to the skill check.
- Knowledge - the knowledge skill can now be used untrained for 'general knowledge,' basically any knowledge check with a DC of 10 or lower can be taken unchanged. Knowledge checks with a DC of 15 or higher can require training in that Knowledge skill.
- Mechanics - mechanics is now the only skill that cannot be used untrained.
Character Feats
The mechanics of gaining Feats are essentially unchanged, but the Feats themselves have been rewritten, some Feats have been removed, and new ones added. Make sure to read a Feat description before taking it, even if it is a Feat from the old d20 system - several familiar feats will have very different effects.
- Armor Training - There is no longer Armor Training (Powered), and light and medium armor are a detriment to high level character - characters get a defense bonus based on character level or armor rating.
- Force Training - Instead of several force Feats, there is now a single Feat: Force Training. Taking this Feat lets a character learn Force Powers. The number of Force Powers is based on the character's Wisdom.
Building High Level Characters
There is no longer a short cut system for designing high level characters, the only way to design a high level character is to start at level 1 and build up level by level.
Check back for more articles introducing the new features of Saga Edition.
Star Wars and all associated terms and characters are copyrighted, rights held by LucasFilms.
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