Hi, one question I couldn't find an answer in the book: How often can I use my force abilitys? I could imagine that an ability like "Move" is just an action, so try every round until you succeed. But for excample "mindreading" would be strange.... u just throw until u finaly can read the thoughts of the guy who wants to sell u this used ship. Would u allow such checks just once per negotiation?

Taking a note from Qui-Gon I would judge that yes, they could keep trying as he did against Watto. But as a GM I would probably either raise or upgrade the difficulty after each failed check if it's something that would be opposed by a living being.

Possibly Qui-Gon's seemingly multiple attempts was just a narrative flavor for a single failed check. I tend to narrate the failure as a character's best effort under the given circumstances and I do not allow them to reroll unless the circumstances have changed. Maybe they failed to influence them, but if you give them some of your juma juice to lower their guard, you've tweaked the circumstances. Try again.

Keep in mind that each check represents a certain amount of time spent, so if they're under a time crunch, they may not have the time to keep trying until they succeed.

Ultimately it's the GM's call. Use your discretion and be consistent with whatever method you choose.

That's a very good point. I think I like your judgment better than mine. Fortunately I haven't had any Force Sensitive characters in my campaign (yet) so I haven't thought about all the inherent intricacies that much (yet).

Segulah, listen to kaosoe. Unless your GM disagrees, then listen to them. For they are the judge, fortune-giver, and eventual downfall of your character.

But for excample "mindreading" would be strange.... u just throw until u finaly can read the thoughts of the guy who wants to sell u this used ship. Would u allow such checks just once per negotiation?

This actually falls less into Force specific and more into "Can I just keep rolling a check over and over till I get it?" The GM will make the call, with the deciding factor usually being "If you can just reroll till you get it, why make the check at all?"

In a lot of cases one check is you're only hope.

Even then a success won't always mean what you hoped it would simply because you can't hinge an adventure on a single check. Watto's negotiation for example was the catalyst for Anakin and the Podrace encounter that made up much of Act 2. Succeeding with Watto might have done something useful, like had Watto cut right to "If you can helpa me rigga da podrace... then I might get to feeling a little more charitable." but the GM wouldn't have had to say "OK he changes his mind and agrees to take Republic Credits!"

Ghostofman is on the right track here. Generally a single roll is the end result. Keep in mind that an attempt can take a varying amount of in-game time so a failure really represents a full range of attempts but you just roll once.

I allow multiple attempts only if the situation changes enough to warrant it such as using a different Skill or Ability to tackle the problem from a different angle or if something happens that re-sets the encounter in some way.

I will also allow a PC to make a second attempt on a Failure by using a Destiny Point, but I often up the difficulty more.

The important thing though is to make sure that you aren't creating plot bottlenecks by having the advancement of the story hinge on a roll. Better to make sure that the PCs get the minimum information or "past the locked door" rather than force a roll that they can fail and bring the story to a halt. By doing this Player's will feel more comfortable failing occasionally.

Also as a note, remember the Sense power's ability to read thoughts is actually super limited. Surface thoughts only, you can't go digging through the other guy's tapioca for what ever you want.

Just because you're successful in reading the surface thoughts of the shady used ship dealer doesn't mean you'll get anything of value in relation to determining what they guy is up to or how to get a better deal.

-Man I could really go for a frozen zaka plum.

-I don't think I've ever needed to pee this bad in my life

-Butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts

-Yeah that's right, you lift that sexy eyebrow at me... yeah that's hot...

-*Peter Griffin Theme Music

-vacant emptiness... he's not blocking you, there's just not that much going on.

In regards to Sense and the "read surface thoughts" Control Upgrade, I'd say this would be the perfect time for an opposed check, with the Force user rolling their choice of either Perception or Discipline vs. the target's choice of Deception or Discipline. If anything, the Control Upgrade reads a fairly similar to Leglimancy from the Potter series, which as defined by Snape isn't true mind-reading, but picking up surface details and putting them together, something that takes a lot of skill to accomplish, with Dumbledore and particularly Voldemort being very skilled at it.

I'd still say it's a single roll, particularly since when the PCs are not in combat the default for a "round" is something like 5 minutes. So for the Qui-Gon example, him trying to use Influence would be a single check, but it was narrated as him making an additional attempt, perhaps with the GM exercising GM fiat to have Watto be "immune" to the mind trick.

Also as a note... you ... go digging through the other ... butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts

Yeah that's right, you lift that sexy eyebrow at me... yeah that's hot...

/Outofcontext

Also as a note, remember the Sense power's ability to read thoughts is actually super limited. Surface thoughts only, you can't go digging through the other guy's tapioca for what ever you want.

Just because you're successful in reading the surface thoughts of the shady used ship dealer doesn't mean you'll get anything of value in relation to determining what they guy is up to or how to get a better deal.

-Man I could really go for a frozen zaka plum.

-I don't think I've ever needed to pee this bad in my life

-Butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts butts

-Yeah that's right, you lift that sexy eyebrow at me... yeah that's hot...

-*Peter Griffin Theme Music

-vacant emptiness... he's not blocking you, there's just not that much going on.

I don't know if it was as funny to read but hearing my computer say "buts buts buts buts buts buts buts" just made me laugh so hard. Then my brother told me it said "butts butts butts butts" and the thought of someone walking around with that going on in their head made me laugh AGAIN!!!

Mr. Jedi will never find my mind empty because I will always, at the very least, be thinking "butts butts butts butts butts butts butts" from now on!

In regards to Sense and the "read surface thoughts" Control Upgrade, I'd say this would be the perfect time for an opposed check, with the Force user rolling their choice of either Perception or Discipline vs. the target's choice of Deception or Discipline. If anything, the Control Upgrade reads a fairly similar to Leglimancy from the Potter series, which as defined by Snape isn't true mind-reading, but picking up surface details and putting them together, something that takes a lot of skill to accomplish, with Dumbledore and particularly Voldemort being very skilled at it.

I'd still say it's a single roll, particularly since when the PCs are not in combat the default for a "round" is something like 5 minutes. So for the Qui-Gon example, him trying to use Influence would be a single check, but it was narrated as him making an additional attempt, perhaps with the GM exercising GM fiat to have Watto be "immune" to the mind trick.

i agree, but i am not sure about deception (and, to a lesser degree, perception). to me that would indicate that the person deceiving is aware the are being read. a liar's thoughts are read as easily as everyone else's if he isn't aware someone is peeking. if not discipline, i'd go with cool.

imo perception is more about the physical world, discipline as an "attack" skill seems perfect.

a dark side force user might also be able to use coercion to dig a little deeper, as a form of mental torture.

I’ve always thought that Sense would be well-paired with actively asking questions of the target. Even if they know you’re reading their thoughts and they don’t want to expose the information, they may not be able to help themselves thinking about it when you ask.

Then you get into a nice competition of Discipline versus Cool or Discipline — can they keep saying “butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, delicious butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, wonderful butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, butts, …” in their head long enough to make you give up and go away?

Mr. Jedi will never find my mind empty because I will always, at the very least, be thinking "butts butts butts butts butts butts butts" from now on!

You might have found your calling... as a proctologist.

Funny enough. The "How often can I use the force" question is sort of answered in the Force and Destiny Beginner Box.

The story calls for point in which the PCs must use the force to get out of a specific situation. The adventure allows them to perform multiple attempts but the situation changes if they fail the first time.

butts!