So, I was flipping through F&D, trying to further understand this system, and got to Adversaries (the chapter, not the Talent). This brought up three question topics:

1. Is there a cap on group size? A group of Stormtroopers, for instance, being Minions, can "group up", and get Rifle Proficiency Dice for their group attack, equal to their number. Since Skills usually only go up to 5?, do they have to stop there, or can they break this rule, if they had 6, or more?
2. They have a sergeant with them. He says "8 Stormtroopers". So, would that be two groups of Stormtrooper (x4) Squad, or a big group, for him to "lead"? What's he likely to do, leaderwise, that's better than him shooting with his actual skill ranks, and a weapon?
3. Rivals normally can't group up. Say I wanted to reflect something Really powerful, such as a squad of Vader's 501st. For something specific, like this, could they do something similar, for less rolling, if nothing, or would I need say 6 Rivals, each slowing things down, and then also a 501st Sergeant (possibly a Nemesis?), or maybe an Inquisitor accompanying them? Or would they be just better Minions?

Okay, that'll do for now. Please have a good one.

there is not cap on group size. but they only upgrade a pool 5 times. more in the group just means they have a higher dice pool for longer.

You should really give a listen to the NPC Deli Episode of the order 66 podcast. As all of this stuff is discussed in detail.

These are [mostly] straight-forward questions, so...

1. Is there a cap on group size? A group of Stormtroopers, for instance, being Minions, can "group up", and get Rifle Proficiency Dice for their group attack, equal to their number. Since Skills usually only go up to 5?, do they have to stop there, or can they break this rule, if they had 6, or more?

Better minions would be the way to go for grunts. I would think for the 501st grunts, just better attributes should be sufficient, but you could judiciously add some talents in to make it interesting. Just 1 or 2 though, don't go over-board, though, they're still grunts.

A group of rivals will just slow things down. Rivals are typically intended to be minor characters, or enemies that can otherwise pose a threat solo. Nemeses can be entire encounters in their own right, but rarely appear solo. There aren't strong lines separating Rivals and Nemeses, it really depends on what they're being used for. For example, a weaker version of the Imperial Assassin on page 406 could be created as a rival, or a really experienced stormtrooper officer could be a nemesis. /shrug

Hope that helps.

Minion groups actually have ranks in their listed of one for every minion in the group beyond the first. So a group of 4 stormies will have ranged (heavy) 3. And characteristics don't stack either, right? Because minion groups act as 1 individual, so they utilize the static number that a single minion is listed as. I think that's right. So you will never exceed 1 ability/5 proficiency no matter what, and I can't think of any minions with a characteristic of 6.

Start with the minion attribute. then upgrade that pool by the number of minions beyond the first. Per the upgrade rules.

Start with the minion attribute. then upgrade that pool by the number of minions beyond the first. Per the upgrade rules.

Technically, it's the skill rules (pg 27), not the upgrade rules (pp 29-30). e.g. if you had a group of 6 minions with ranged(light) and Agi 2, if you upgraded the roll 5 times, you'd end up with YYYG (wrong), instead of YYGGG (correct).

The difference is you start with the ability score OR the group size minus 1, whichever is higher. Then upgrade by the lower number.

So, with the Stormtroopers, then, having all those extra bodies does nothing to their damage? I suppose a blaster rifle DOES hurt a good deal, in a galaxy where mostly Stormtroopers are the only ones wearing armor, but five Stormtroopers, all shooting rifles, and at the same one target (groups act as one unit, so one attack vs. one target), seem they'd be doing more damage, and being harder to deflect, with a lightsaber, than this, even with legendary Stormtrooper shooting.

I suppose the extra Proficiency dice should create more Successes, and maybe even Triumphs, which can add to damage, but... Oh well, I suppose it does work. Here's hoping the players don't get too surprised when they can't as easily deflect shots from two rivals as they can from a group of eight minions (it's one attack).

I suppose the extra Proficiency dice should create more Successes, and maybe even Triumphs, which can add to damage, but... Oh well, I suppose it does work.

Bingo. If you want to be really mean, you could house-rule that "elite" minion groups can make attacks with "Linked [X]" (Where X is the number of minions in the group - 1), which allows you to score additional hits for 2 adv/per hit, up to X additional hits.

Another thought: For "ramping up" your minion groups, you could also adjust the gear they carry: Give them improved armor (soak values, defense) or weapons (Heavy blaster rifles with auto-fire, grenades, etc). Giving minions auto-fire or low crit weapons will give your players a nasty surprise.

So, with the Stormtroopers, then, having all those extra bodies does nothing to their damage? I suppose a blaster rifle DOES hurt a good deal, in a galaxy where mostly Stormtroopers are the only ones wearing armor, but five Stormtroopers, all shooting rifles, and at the same one target (groups act as one unit, so one attack vs. one target), seem they'd be doing more damage, and being harder to deflect, with a lightsaber, than this, even with legendary Stormtrooper shooting.

I suppose the extra Proficiency dice should create more Successes, and maybe even Triumphs, which can add to damage, but... Oh well, I suppose it does work. Here's hoping the players don't get too surprised when they can't as easily deflect shots from two rivals as they can from a group of eight minions (it's one attack).

You can also give the group Deadly Accuracy (Heavy Ranged), thus giving them a bonus to damage that will reduce over time as the group dwindles.

• Is there a cap on group size? A group of Stormtroopers, for instance, being Minions, can "group up", and get Rifle Proficiency Dice for their group attack, equal to their number. Since Skills usually only go up to 5?, do they have to stop there, or can they break this rule, if they had 6, or more?

No real cap. details well covered above.

They have a sergeant with them. He says "8 Stormtroopers". So, would that be two groups of Stormtrooper (x4) Squad, or a big group, for him to "lead"? What's he likely to do, leaderwise, that's better than him shooting with his actual skill ranks, and a weapon?

Any mix is good. Remember it's about the specific encounter design, not what Wookieepedia says. An "accurate" 8 man squad is only good if the players won't get greased by it.

That said, some of my favorite configurations are:

Two 3-man teams, a Sgt. and a Rival level "Veteran trooper" with a special weapon.

One 5-man team, a Sgt. and a Pair of troopers with special weapons.

Four 2-man teams and no Sgt.

It's worth mentioning I don't always use the book configuration. While some things are always present (armor, utility belt, extra ammo), specific details I mix and match regularly. Some troopers carry grenades, climbing gear, binders, ascension guns, flares, medkits/stimpacks, and so on. The Sgt. may carry a standard E-11 over a heavy rifle. Weapons specialists can carry repeaters, or grenade launchers, flamethrowers, missile launcher, heavy repeaters, ect. It's all up to the encounter.

Tactics are also a matter of encounter design. So the Sgt. shouldn't have any specific thing he always does every time. Consider the situation, maybe he orders a group to take cover or move, so they can shoot better next turn. Maybe he aims and fires himself targeting an especially dangerous looking player. It's all dependent on the encounter.

Rivals normally can't group up. Say I wanted to reflect something Really powerful, such as a squad of Vader's 501st. For something specific, like this, could they do something similar, for less rolling, if nothing, or would I need say 6 Rivals, each slowing things down, and then also a 501st Sergeant (possibly a Nemesis?), or maybe an Inquisitor accompanying them? Or would they be just better Minions?

It depends on what you want and how you want to roll it. But you've got options. I'd largely keep them minions, and just use them better.

-Give the troopers improved gear and place them in scenarios that allow them to leverage it. Helmet packages and bad weather, armor seals and chemical weapons, foregrips in close quarters.

-Develop the unit tactics more then usual. Flank, stay mobile, use terrain. Make synergistic choices to superstack bonuses like having a repeating blaster team fire and use Advantage to add a boost to a minion group, have the Sgt. go next and add a boost to the same group, have the group aim and fire. Give a special weapons team a weapon perfect for the environment. Jungle? Pulse Rifle. A bunker? Flamethrower. Vehicles? Missiles.

-Take the Sgt. or Create a "Veteran Sgt." statblock at the Rival level, including a decent Leadership check. Squad him with a good sized minion group using the squad rules. Leverage things like mission specialty, and Squad attacks to take the Vet's stats to the next level while making him hard as heck to KO.

- If it's a special mission team (think Republic Commando) then yeah, just keep them small and make them all rivals. An encounter against 4 tough, well equipped, rivals will say "Elite" and make the player not want to engage 8 later.