Mechanically Force Power resistance is:
-None. Target is subject to what is rolled on the Force Power check.
or
-Opposed skill check. The target's skill provides a difficulty for the Combined Force Power check.
For the opposed check either there are specific rules for some powers or on page 195 it gives guidelines for resisting Force Powers in general.
I think it’s a good beginning but a bit lacking for my tastes. I don’t mind giving the GM discretion, but to be fair to the players I think they should be able to rely on more consist rulings when using something so essential to the game as Force Powers.
But my main concern is the rules recommend the wrong mechanic for resisting Force Power checks.
Here are the two main reasons:
1. I’d like to see some mechanics that weaken/lessen Force Power use against Force Users, like we see in the source. I’d like to see more emphasis on duels deciding conflicts, with duels limiting Force Power use. “It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force.”
2. Using only skills as a resistance does not necessarily reflect strength in the Force (as Force Rating does).
My proposal is to add to that sidebar a Basic Power that comes with being Force Sensitive:
The player may commit a number of Force dice up to half his Force Rating (rounded down). Any Force Power Checks directed against him remove a number of Force dice from the pool equal to the number of Force dice committed (to a minimum of 1).
Edit: I think this first proposal is a bit much to manage and limits Force Powers a bit too much so I'm changing what we do to to the following. I'd still like to see a higher Force Rating provide some sort of defense in the game (not just skills) so:
When a Force User must make a combined check using a Force Power that is targeting another character, they must upgrade the difficulty once if the target has a higher Force Rating.
This is minimally disruptive as far as just plugging in and not changing trees and adversaries and all.
Let me explain why.
Buried in that sidebar on page 195 are guidelines that say a Force User generally resists with Discipline. That makes sense if you are going to use a skill. You should not use Yoda’s athletics to oppose a Force Move disarm attempt on him.
Now the problem is that Discipline, while a fine mechanic for determining how good the character is at focus/control/mastery/etc. of his Force power, it is not a reflection of how strong/powerful they are in the Force once they successfully do so (which I see Force Ratting reflecting). So a target with a Force Rating of 2 and a target with a Force Rating of 5 with the same Discipline resist the same. I’d like to see the resistance vary for these two. Just as two Force Users with the same Discipline but one with a Force Rating of 2 and one with a Force Rating of 5 do not use powers at the same level, neither should they resist them at the same level.
Some things I see from this:
1. More tactical options based on a very simple mechanic. Gauging how much to use will be interesting and suspenseful.
2. Force Powers against Force Users will be toned down a bit leading to more duels and fewer quick Force Power takedowns like Influence+Strength.
3. More powerful Force users are better at resisting Force Powers.
Edited by usgrandprix