Our group got together for our first game recently. None of us had ever played before (though we've all played other RPGs to varying degrees). Our GM did a killer job of creating a great story, and I think we were all jazzed/terrified when we realized we were in the Graveyard.

He's not one to spend an afternoon pouring through rulebooks, which is quiet alright with all of us. I've had something of a tendency to become very rules-familiar in other games, and I think there is a bit of an expectation that I do it for this game too (which I'm happy to do in exchange for not being GM). We're not overly concerned with getting all of the rules just right, but there have been a few questions that came up. I was hoping you might be able to clear them up for me.

1. I'm playing a droid doctor (GH-7 Medical Analysis Unit). Between Medicine and Stim Application, I feel like I have plenty to do in combat, but I essentially never make attack rolls. If I'm not rolling Combat Skills, can I still use the rules for spending Advantage and Triumph in combat (e.g. spend one Advantage to heal a Strain on myself or spend two to gain an immediate extra Maneuver)?

2. This has only come up in theory, but could a check potentially have NO bad dice? For example, if I were making an Easy Medicine check and used the Master Doctor talent (which I don't actually have yet) to downgrade the dice pool by one, would I just be rolling my good dice?

3. Our Force-sensitive Bothan is only rolling 1 Force Die. Does that mean she only has a 5 out of 12 chance of activating any power that requires one Light Side point?

4. Is there a limit to how many times she can try to use her force powers?

I think that's it for now. Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.

1. Yes

2. No, talent description sets easy as minimum.

3.Yes

4. Once per round.

1. Yes.

2. Yes, there are simple checks - checks that don't have negative dice - but It doesn't apply in this case, as the talent sets the lower threshold at Easy. An example of a simple difficulty roll is initiative.

3. Yes, if she only wants to use Light Side points. She can, if she wishes, use Dark Side force points, but she would have to turn over a destiny point each time she uses one, per the rules.

4. Yes. Once per round.

1) yes. Those "rules" are really just examples of what Advantage and Triumph are worth. Totally fine to use them to do those things listed in the majority of circumstances. EXCEPTING things like Inititiave Rolls, since the Advantage and Triumph here are already spoken for more on these below.

2) usually effects that reduce the difficulty will say "to a minimum of 1 [Purple Die]" or something like that. But yes, in theory this is doable. It's called a "Simple" check, and the most common occurrence of this is the initiative rolls.

3) yes and no. She can flip a Destiny point and suffer X strain to convert X dark side pips to white side pips, and "give in to her anger." Or other dark side-type emotion. Problem for Jedi, not always so much a problem for the F-S Exile.

4) Force powers require an action. So that is the general limit, once per round.

Awesome! Thanks for the speedy and helpful response folks.

2. This has only come up in theory, but could a check potentially have NO bad dice? For example, if I were making an Easy Medicine check and used the Master Doctor talent (which I don't actually have yet) to downgrade the dice pool by one, would I just be rolling my good dice?

Make sure you understand the difference between Downgrade and Decrease. Master Doctor decreases the difficulty. Downgrading would suggest turning any reds into purples, but no further than that. Upgrading on the other hand, goes up from turning a green into a yellow, and then after that, a yellow with a green...

Wow I can't believe it took that long for anyone to catch that!

Like Hencook says, I'd suggest you make sure to review the rules about Upgrading/Downgrading vs. Increasing/Decreasing. Will be helpful in discerning other rules.

3. Our Force-sensitive Bothan is only rolling 1 Force Die. Does that mean she only has a 5 out of 12 chance of activating any power that requires one Light Side point?

1 Force Die

Light Prob. Cumulative

2 25.0% 25.0%

1 16.7% 41.7%

0 58.3%

2 Force Dice

Light Prob. Cumulative

4 6.3% 6.3%

3 8.3% 14.6%

2 31.9% 46.5%

1 19.4% 66.0%

0 34.0%

3 Force Dice

Light Prob. Cumulative

6 1.6% 1.6%

5 3.1% 4.7%

4 13.0% 17.7%

3 15.0% 32.8%

2 30.4% 63.1%

1 17.0% 80.2%

0 19.8%

Yup. Force is hard (as it should be, really).

1) yes. Those "rules" are really just examples of what Advantage and Triumph are worth. Totally fine to use them to do those things listed in the majority of circumstances. EXCEPTING things like Inititiave Rolls, since the Advantage and Triumph here are already spoken for more on these below.

I would like to add that there are also examples for what you can spend Advantages, Triumphs, Threat, and Dispair in the long skill descriptions. This does include something for a Triumph on an Inititiave roll with Cool and/or Vigilance. (IIRC it's a free maneuver with a Triumph on Vigilance.)