In every form of Star Wars media, we've seen that multiple Force users have the ability to work together to accomplish greater feats with the Force than one could alone. However, nothing that evokes this exists in the F&D rules as of yet. So here's my suggested addition:

Under the "Assist Maneuver" section in Conflict and Combat, add the following:

"Force Assist-A character with Force Rating of 1 or higher may spend a maneuver to Commit a <Force Die> and choose another character at engaged range that possesses one or more of the same Force Powers as themselves. On the chosen character's next turn, if he/she would roll a Force Power check for a Force Power he/she shares with the character that performed the Force Assist maneuver, he/she may roll an additional Force Die as part of the check.

A character may only simultaneously benefit from a number of Force Assist maneuvers no greater than his/her Force Rating, and if the character that performed the Force Assist maneuver takes damage before the recipient's next turn, the effect is negated."

I feel this addition could facilitate some really cool scenes that there's few ways to replicate beyond house-rules, and open up some interesting strategies from creative groups.

I realized that, if unchecked, the ability to do this might allow a group of novice force users to start throwing starships around, so I built in the same limits as an Aim maneuver (breaks on damage), as well as just how much assistance one person can have at a time. The fact that both characters have to have the same power is also somewhat of a control valve, since huge amounts of assistance would only be possible in groups where multiple people have the same powers and at least one of them would have to have high FR.

Ultimately, I think it would be a worthwhile addition to an already stellar game:)

TCW has several examples of this, e.g.: several Jedi trying to get Cad Bane to talk:

There's also Obi-wan using Move to give Anakin a boost to his force leap in Season 6, but that could be accounted for as separate actions.

I like this rule a lot better than "Everyone pools their force rating". I also like the natural cap. Plus, it encourages the "master" (the person with the highest FR) to take the lead.

OP: Keep comitting the die as an action. No need for taking wounds = breaking concentration; this isn't D&D.

Otherwise, looks good.

OP: Keep comitting the die as an action. No need for taking wounds = breaking concentration; this isn't D&D.

Otherwise, looks good.

Well, I figure given the nature of the Force as an ability that often requires mental focus, it makes sense from a fluff perspective. Aim also breaks on damage if its not used right away. Also, I'm not certain myself whether handing someone a spare Force Die is more like handing them a Boost Die or upgrading their check.

On the subject of making it an action, I had thought about that initially. I think I went with maneuver because that tied it more closely to Assist. But, you're probably right that it should be an action, as that's more in line with how committing a Force Die works in other aspects.

Anyone who likes this idea, feel free to test it as both an action and a maneuver, and with or without the breaking on damage Let us know in this thread. Brainstorming, HOOOOO!

If it is a maneuver, it definitely needs the "breaks on damage" clause. If an action, it probably doesn't. A clause should also be added that un-commits the die on the assister's next turn if it's not used.

I like this, a force assist action is something that usually seems missing from most SW RPG games, and this seems like a great start in that direction.

This sounds like a pretty simple, concise, and worthwhile addition.

On the subject of making it an action, I had thought about that initially. I think I went with maneuver because that tied it more closely to Assist. But, you're probably right that it should be an action, as that's more in line with how committing a Force Die works in other aspects.

It's too good to be a maneuver -- maneuvers are cheap. You should at least give up your action to culminate Force Dice. Probably a DP, too.

It's too good to be a maneuver -- maneuvers are cheap. You should at least give up your action to culminate Force Dice. Probably a DP, too.

Actually, I think that's probably how I'd handle it in general. Compare Highest+Participants to desired effect. Tell players what the actual outcome would be; flip a DP or not for the effect.

It's too good to be a maneuver -- maneuvers are cheap. You should at least give up your action to culminate Force Dice. Probably a DP, too.

Actually, I think that's probably how I'd handle it in general. Compare Highest+Participants to desired effect. Tell players what the actual outcome would be; flip a DP or not for the effect.

It's too good to be a maneuver -- maneuvers are cheap. You should at least give up your action to culminate Force Dice. Probably a DP, too.

Actually, I think that's probably how I'd handle it in general. Compare Highest+Participants to desired effect. Tell players what the actual outcome would be; flip a DP or not for the effect.

I feel that's too loose an interpretation, though, and doesn't really get across what I'm going for here. It also doesn't translate well into "combat time". This is not only for the moments when two people with the Forsee power meditate together during group downtime to commune with the Force, or when the two Move specialists heave open a giant blast door. Codifying it as an Action, and giving some specifics on what it can do lets it also be that sort of split-second moment when the heroes are facing an overwhelming force, and the two with Move coordinate to either blast back a chunk of the bad guys or send a nearby speeder careening in front of them to block them off. It also encourages groups of Force users to use team tactics more and gives some more strategic depth to combat involving them.

I feel like this kind of scene comes up often enough in Star Wars fiction that there should be something concrete you can refer to when it happens in your games.

I don't necessarily agree with spending a Destiny Point just to boost, if it's an Action. However, that does give me an idea.

"When performing a Force Assist Action, the assisting player may flip a Destiny Point to allow the recipient to benefit from one upgrade to that power the assisting player possesses. Choosing a ranked upgrade effectively increases the ranks the recipient possesses by one for that Force Power check."

This is where Destiny Points could come in, for those moments when you need to really swing for the fences.

I feel that's too loose an interpretation, though, and doesn't really get across what I'm going for here.

No, I get it. I'm just not sure I agree with the idea that it should be a "combat time" thing. Most of the examples we have involve non-combat situations and the one example that is (that I know of; Obi-Wan assisting Anakin's Force Jump) has a better interpretation.

you're right in that many of the examples are scenes that would occur outside of structured time in this system. However, so are most of the times I see Assist being used. (I want to help the Mechanic fix the control panel. I want to back up our Smuggler on this Negotiation check, etc) But it still has a structured time counterpart.

However, I feel like there should be a version of "Force Assist" that can be used effectively during structured time, which itself isn't strictly combat but can also be used for chases and high-stakes social encounters, for example.

In addition, while improvisation is a really fun part of being a GM, having stuff like this codified in a way I can always refer to lets me know just where I can bend those rules if an edge case comes up, and gives the players some consistency as to what they can expect out of it.

Well (for once) I'm not going to turn it into an argument. I wouldn't hate it being in the book. I'm just not sure it needs to be that... mechanical.

To be honest I totally hear you on that. It's why I'd like to see it tested out, because if it feels too mechanical in practice, it hasn't done its job of creating that kind of scene. If it's written and executed right, only the GM should see the gears, so to speak, with the players seeing "that one awesome time the Sage and the Sentinel worked together to drop a crane on that assassin droid that had us pinned down".

I'm going to come at this from a different direction.

In the instances where we see multiple force-sensitive individuals come together and "assist" each other in the use of various powers and produce a result that is greater than any of them could do alone, it usually doesn't happen in structured time (i.e. combat).

When we do see them assist each other in structured time it can be explained by the current mechanics: Boost/Setback dice, and a narrative effect on the results of their actions.

Regardless, despite the "time" mode they are in, it takes a great deal of concentration.

Also, there have been instances where an individual doesn't even know how to use a particular power, per se, but their attention and focus does have an effect on the outcome of the action.

So, with that, I would allow my players to concentrate on doing the same thing (Action in structured time) and roll a Discipline check along with their Force Rating in Force dice. As long as their Discipline check is successful, they could "pool" their Force pips results to trigger the powers effect. For each Advantage (or maybe for each two) they generate, they could also add to the pool their upgrades (if any) to what effects they could generate with the power.

For example: There's Hurlaan and Jessan. Hurlaan has Move with two strength upgrades, and one range upgrade, and Jessan has Move with a single strength upgrade. Hurlaan has an FR of two, and Jessan has an FR of one. Escaping from an Imperial installation chased by a squad of stormtroopers they cut through the hanger bay, and instead of confronting the squad they try to seal the entrance by toppling a silhouette three starfighter at medium range in front of it. Hurlaan leads the action with Jessan lending her assistance (next initiative slot, maybe). Hurlaan generates and applies three lightside pips triggering the power and his range and strength upgrades... not enough but close. Jessan is successful at her Discipline check, and can assist Hurlaan. However, she generated only one darkside pip, but two advantage on her Discipline check. They need to topple that starfighter, so Jessan applies that darkside pip to the pool and with that two advantage triggers her strength upgrade.

I would then award them both a conflict.

0.02 ;-j

EDIT: forgot about a pip for the basic power.

There's some stuff I like about adding a Discipline check on the part of the assister. Though it should probably be just the assister that makes the check.

So something like:

Action: Force Assist

Multiple Force users can pool their efforts to accomplish feats with the Force that they could not alone. A character using Force Assist rolls an Easy Discipline check with one <Force Die>. Success allows another character of the assister's choice to add that <Force Die>'s result to their next Force Power check using a power that both characters possess. <2 advantage> can be spent to allow the assisted character to use 1 upgrade the that power the assisting character possesses. <Triumph> can be spent to add an additional <Force Point> to the roll.

The character using Force Assist may roll <Force Die> equal to his/her Force Rating as part of this check, but each additional <Force Die> increases the difficulty by one.

I'm going to come at this from a different direction.

In the instances where we see multiple force-sensitive individuals come together and "assist" each other in the use of various powers and produce a result that is greater than any of them could do alone, it usually doesn't happen in structured time (i.e. combat).

When we do see them assist each other in structured time it can be explained by the current mechanics: Boost/Setback dice, and a narrative effect on the results of their actions.

Regardless, despite the "time" mode they are in, it takes a great deal of concentration.

Also, there have been instances where an individual doesn't even know how to use a particular power, per se, but their attention and focus does have an effect on the outcome of the action.

So, with that, I would allow my players to concentrate on doing the same thing (Action in structured time) and roll a Discipline check along with their Force Rating in Force dice. As long as their Discipline check is successful, they could "pool" their Force pips results to trigger the powers effect. For each Advantage (or maybe for each two) they generate, they could also add to the pool their upgrades (if any) to what effects they could generate with the power.

For example: There's Hurlaan and Jessan. Hurlaan has Move with two strength upgrades, and one range upgrade, and Jessan has Move with a single strength upgrade. Hurlaan has an FR of two, and Jessan has an FR of one. Escaping from an Imperial installation chased by a squad of stormtroopers they cut through the hanger bay, and instead of confronting the squad they try to seal the entrance by toppling a silhouette three starfighter at medium range in front of it. Hurlaan leads the action with Jessan lending her assistance (next initiative slot, maybe). Hurlaan generates and applies three lightside pips triggering the power and his range and strength upgrades... not enough but close. Jessan is successful at her Discipline check, and can assist Hurlaan. However, she generated only one darkside pip, but two advantage on her Discipline check. They need to topple that starfighter, so Jessan applies that darkside pip to the pool and with that two advantage triggers her strength upgrade.

I would then award them both a conflict.

0.02 ;-j

EDIT: forgot about a pip for the basic power.

Rise of the Old Masters, the latest episode of Star Wars Rebels, has a really good example of both two force users combining their power to accomplish something in combat, and one force user helping another even though he doesn't really know what he's doing.

Rise of the Old Masters, the latest episode of Star Wars Rebels, has a really good example of both two force users combining their power to accomplish something in combat, and one force user helping another even though he doesn't really know what he's doing.

You realize you just posted a spoiler for an episode that hasn't even aired yet?

Rise of the Old Masters, the latest episode of Star Wars Rebels, has a really good example of both two force users combining their power to accomplish something in combat, and one force user helping another even though he doesn't really know what he's doing.

You realize you just posted a spoiler for an episode that hasn't even aired yet?

Eh its vague enough that it scarcely counts as a spoiler. At any rate, I'd like to hear how the various suggested takes on this shake out in play, and my home group has exactly zero Force-users, so I put it out to the forum-goers.