So I have my PCs who will be encountering the fallen Jedi nemesis from the core book soon. I was going to give them a chance to talk to him and possibly not have a fight but I have a feeling combat is going to happen.

How do I make it an interesting fight without completely wrecking the PCs? The lightsaber can just destroy everything, I don't want to kill them. Any tips?

Well first off, it's unlikely to kill them, just incapacitate. So step one is to have plan for that. Unless the Jedi has a reason to finish off the players, once they are on the ground he can walk away.

Secondly, do some test rolling. I think you'll find it's entirely possible the players will be able to take him out, especially if he tries to solo the players. Being a Nemesis makes you a little tougher, but you can still be taken out just as easy as if a player were dumb enough to try and take on 4-5 Nemesis by himself.

Thirdly, what's the situation you have in mind? I could see a situation where there's a fight on say platforms and catwalks hanging below Tipoca City where the Jedi toys with the players for a few turns to find out what they are up to before cutting/Moveobjecting the supports and dumping the players into the drink. Ends combat, and is dramatic as heck..

"'You're in over your heads' the robed figure says, before he cuts a support next to him. You feel the platform you're on give out beneath you and gravity take over. You watch the figure grab a small maintenance ladder and climb up into the city as his form shrinks with distance as you fall. Seconds later you hit the water plunging deep. Ok everyone make an athletics vs. PP B check to reach the surface before you run out of air, except Steve since he's a Mon Cal."

I merged a Fallen Jedi nemesis with a force ghost idea - it took a lot of the emphasis off combat and put it on force stuff. So the nemesis was using fear tactics set out in a module to influence and effect the players, tormenting them.

Finally our resident Jedi exile reacted in anger, lashing out at the Fallen Jedi. The battle was short and I used force move to throw the players around while engaging in lightsaber combat with the single Jedi.

It worked really well and was one of our highest drama scenes. The psychological aspects and the cruel and manipulative banter was what really made the experience special. It helped to have Lovecraftian music playing in the background as well.

Darth Vader didn't always engage in violence but he was always terrifying.

All very good ideas. I was actually thinking on using more force powers to just disrupt the PCs a little. The fight is actually taking place in a ruined temple and I'm actually using Roll20's dynamic lighting which could make things very interesting.

All very good ideas. I was actually thinking on using more force powers to just disrupt the PCs a little. The fight is actually taking place in a ruined temple and I'm actually using Roll20's dynamic lighting which could make things very interesting.

That sounds amazing, let us know how it goes! The scene I described happened in the ruins of a Jedi temple as well. I went for a very horror sort of experience with flashlights, ambient noise, and as previously mentioned, Lovecraft orchestral soundtrack.

All very good ideas. I was actually thinking on using more force powers to just disrupt the PCs a little. The fight is actually taking place in a ruined temple and I'm actually using Roll20's dynamic lighting which could make things very interesting.

Post some screenshots of how it looks, it would be interesting to see what you do with this.

Ok everyone make an athletics vs. PP B check to reach the surface before you run out of air, except Steve since he's a Mon Cal."

But yeah, to the OP, consider your PCs' numbers and armaments. The fight could be over before you know it.

And yes, Force powers can make things interesting. If you have the FaD Beta, even moreso

Thanks guys. Yeah I'll post some, it might be a week or so before they actually get to this part.

Note the lightstick is the least worrying thing when fighting seasoned force users.

The fact they're goddamn space wizards, who can throw giant rocks (or people) and mind control people is scary part.

The thing is, with a multiple-vs-one fight, even with Adversary, the multiple are at an advantage simply due to the nature of the action economy. This is the hard part to balance - with minions, you can have a more engaging fight, but 4 v 1 tends to be "the 1 gets KO'd in turn 1" or "the 1 one-shots everyone and wins."

You can mitigate this by giving the baddie a FR of ~3 and the left side of the Sense tree, which will give more upgrades to incoming attack difficulty and more upgrades to his own attacks.

Or go with Move and fling stuff at them.

Don't feel bad if you knock a couple of them out, just have a reason why, if the guy wins, he doesn't just coup-de-grace everyone.