Tried to do a search, as I am sure this has been covered, but the search function wont let me search for such a short word.

Aim allows you to aim twice, if you do it in two consecutive maneuvres, to gain 2 Boost.

Does this all have to be within a players turn? (As in, they have to spend strain to get a secon Maneuvre?)

Or can they Aim twice in one turn, and get the benefit the next turn, on the condition that the next combat check is actually to fire or attack? (And I suppose, not distracted?)

Cheers

You can aim on turns before the actual combat check, however if anything would disturb the character, they lose the boost die. I don't think getting shot at will do it unless advantage is spent by the attacker. The aiming character moving or taking other maneuvers/actions would though.

Additionally, you can only benefit from aiming twice.

Yep, got the limit on Twice.

Just checking if you could carry it from turn to turn.

I think I would allow a character to 'continue to aim' if they do nothing else in a turn, to carry it into turns even later. Still limited to 2 boost. In cases where they might be staking out a target.

Yep, got the limit on Twice.

Just checking if you could carry it from turn to turn.

I think I would allow a character to 'continue to aim' if they do nothing else in a turn, to carry it into turns even later. Still limited to 2 boost. In cases where they might be staking out a target.

I'm away from book, but I don't think anything requires you to make that combat check by a certain point. So your allowance there is right in line with the rules. Character aims (possibly twice) and as long as they don't do anything to disrupt that, the next time they make the combat check they get boost dice, whether it is 1 turn or 5 turns later.

You can aim on turns before the actual combat check, however if anything would disturb the character, they lose the boost die. I don't think getting shot at will do it unless advantage is spent by the attacker. The aiming character moving or taking other maneuvers/actions would though.

I believe the wording there is specific about taking damage. So if you are shot at, but take no wounds you can hold the Aim, but if you take a wound, you lose your Aim.

Yep, got the limit on Twice.

Just checking if you could carry it from turn to turn.

I think I would allow a character to 'continue to aim' if they do nothing else in a turn, to carry it into turns even later. Still limited to 2 boost. In cases where they might be staking out a target.

I don't allow it because really focusing on aiming in real life means the shot needs to occur very shortly. You're holding your breath and limiting body movement in order to land the most accurate shot possible, and that isn't a state someone can stay in indefinitely. Aiming doesn't just mean pointing the gun at a target.

Yep, got the limit on Twice.

Just checking if you could carry it from turn to turn.

I think I would allow a character to 'continue to aim' if they do nothing else in a turn, to carry it into turns even later. Still limited to 2 boost. In cases where they might be staking out a target.

I don't allow it because really focusing on aiming in real life means the shot needs to occur very shortly. You're holding your breath and limiting body movement in order to land the most accurate shot possible, and that isn't a state someone can stay in indefinitely. Aiming doesn't just mean pointing the gun at a target.

With keeping the limit at two Boosts, he is effectively doing the same thing. If the PC wants to narrate how he spends a few hours watching the target through his scope, learning his movements, calculating the shot, waiting for some cronies to leave the area, that's fine. Then as he gets ready to finally make the shot, he Maneuvers into position, Aims once, Aims twice, and rolls his Attack. Whether he takes one round or five is mechanically insignificant because the benefit is the same.

Yep, got the limit on Twice.

Just checking if you could carry it from turn to turn.

I think I would allow a character to 'continue to aim' if they do nothing else in a turn, to carry it into turns even later. Still limited to 2 boost. In cases where they might be staking out a target.

I don't allow it because really focusing on aiming in real life means the shot needs to occur very shortly. You're holding your breath and limiting body movement in order to land the most accurate shot possible, and that isn't a state someone can stay in indefinitely. Aiming doesn't just mean pointing the gun at a target.

With keeping the limit at two Boosts, he is effectively doing the same thing. If the PC wants to narrate how he spends a few hours watching the target through his scope, learning his movements, calculating the shot, waiting for some cronies to leave the area, that's fine. Then as he gets ready to finally make the shot, he Maneuvers into position, Aims once, Aims twice, and rolls his Attack. Whether he takes one round or five is mechanically insignificant because the benefit is the same.

You as the GM could however allow the PC to roll a Survival Check to gain the best ambush position and any resulting Advantages/Triumphs can be spent on additional Boost Dice from that roll to the Attack.

Yep, got the limit on Twice.

Just checking if you could carry it from turn to turn.

I think I would allow a character to 'continue to aim' if they do nothing else in a turn, to carry it into turns even later. Still limited to 2 boost. In cases where they might be staking out a target.

I don't allow it because really focusing on aiming in real life means the shot needs to occur very shortly. You're holding your breath and limiting body movement in order to land the most accurate shot possible, and that isn't a state someone can stay in indefinitely. Aiming doesn't just mean pointing the gun at a target.

With keeping the limit at two Boosts, he is effectively doing the same thing. If the PC wants to narrate how he spends a few hours watching the target through his scope, learning his movements, calculating the shot, waiting for some cronies to leave the area, that's fine. Then as he gets ready to finally make the shot, he Maneuvers into position, Aims once, Aims twice, and rolls his Attack. Whether he takes one round or five is mechanically insignificant because the benefit is the same.

We aren't talking about narration though, we are discussing a mechanical aspect of combat.

Questions been answered

Thanks guys.

While 'holding the aim' might not be 'realistic' per real world standards, I wouldn't allow them to sit on it forever. I was specifically thinking a few rounds, maybe a minute 'in game', but just needed to check if the rules supported that or not.

I doubt it will come up, but in the game I am running in a few weeks, I can see it as a possibility.

But thanks for the input guys

Note that you must aim and then attack. You can't take any other actions or maneuvers in between, besides aiming and attacking. This removes any cheese factor...you can only aim up to twice, and then your next thing you to must be to attack, or else you lose the benefit of the aim maneuvers. So at most, it's a round-and-a-half.

(Although I suppose you could throw the Precise Aim talent in there at the top of round one for greater effect...so maybe two rounds at the very most if you consider that to be aiming as well!)

And aiming doesn't have to just be "holding your breath" and all that. Maintaining rigid posture, squinting down the barrel, etc...

The rules give us a short description: "a character can use the Aim maneuver to steady a weapon or line up a hit before attacking..." and this can have many different actual effects. It is simply taking a little time and effort to make your next attack count.

So it doesn't really interfere with realism. Aiming, after all, can be done in melee combat, and I should hope you're not holding your breath when that goes on. Aiming is simply the name given to the mechanical effect that can have many actual narrative applications.

Note that you must aim and then attack. You can't take any other actions or maneuvers in between, besides aiming and attacking. This removes any cheese factor...you can only aim up to twice, and then your next thing you to must be to attack, or else you lose the benefit of the aim maneuvers. So at most, it's a round-and-a-half.

Also remember all Skill Checks are considered Actions even Perception rolls...

Note that you must aim and then attack. You can't take any other actions or maneuvers in between, besides aiming and attacking. This removes any cheese factor...you can only aim up to twice, and then your next thing you to must be to attack, or else you lose the benefit of the aim maneuvers. So at most, it's a round-and-a-half.

Also remember all Skill Checks are considered Actions even Perception rolls...

In general, yes. There are several talents that have you make checks that are maneuvers. Though those would still interrupt the aim, so it is a moot point, really.

Note that you must aim and then attack. You can't take any other actions or maneuvers in between, besides aiming and attacking. This removes any cheese factor...you can only aim up to twice, and then your next thing you to must be to attack, or else you lose the benefit of the aim maneuvers. So at most, it's a round-and-a-half.

(Although I suppose you could throw the Precise Aim talent in there at the top of round one for greater effect...so maybe two rounds at the very most if you consider that to be aiming as well!)

And aiming doesn't have to just be "holding your breath" and all that. Maintaining rigid posture, squinting down the barrel, etc...

The rules give us a short description: "a character can use the Aim maneuver to steady a weapon or line up a hit before attacking..." and this can have many different actual effects. It is simply taking a little time and effort to make your next attack count.

So it doesn't really interfere with realism. Aiming, after all, can be done in melee combat, and I should hope you're not holding your breath when that goes on. Aiming is simply the name given to the mechanical effect that can have many actual narrative applications.

If you're not holding your breath you're not steadying the weapon.

If you're not holding your breath you're not steadying the weapon.

Good aiming can involve taking a few breaths while lining up your shot, and then holding your breath at an exhale at the point where you actually pull the trigger. But that's just my own (limited) experience with semiautomatic handguns. I'm assuming different methods of control can be applied to other varieties of weaponry. And we're talking about an even greater variety of tech in the space opera setting of Star Wars.

But the real (rhetorical) question is, "can you line up a hit without holding your breath?"

Answer: Of course, you can. My point was that aiming is not just holding your breath. It can involve any number of things. That (IMO) is why, in the game, you can expend the extra effort of a second maneuver to aim better.

(I found this WikiHow on how to aim a rifle)

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TL;DR: RAW good. No change. *shakes head vehemently*

If you're not holding your breath you're not steadying the weapon.

In the RAW Star Wars universe, holding your breath seems to be irrelevant. The description of the Aim maneuver says nothing about it. Are you suggesting a droid can't aim? What about a lungless Gand? In your universe, you are certainly free to house-rule whatever you want, of course.

...you can only aim up to twice, and then your next thing you to must be to attack...

I do not see this restriction anywhere. There does not appear to be a limit to the number of consecutive times Aim can be performed, only on the benefit it gives you. When you attack, look at the last two things you've done. If they're Aim, then you get two boost dice. If a GM wants to impose a limit on how many Aim maneuvers a character could conceivably perform in a row, that's up to the GM, but nothing in the rules restrict it.

Perhaps I've missed something - I am still somewhat new to this system - but I can not find either of these above-mentioned restrictions. They sound like reasonable house rules, and I'm sure many GMs will likely employ them, but I don't see them anywhere.

P.S.: Also, it seems that a few people assume that Aim is only being used with ranged weapons. The Aim maneuver can be used in the midst of a frenetic melee combat... with a melee weapon. (or brawling, for that matter)

NOTE: Multi-edit messed up the first quote somehow. Is there a way to edit the real post, instead of a "pretty" version? Thanks, bradknowles!

Rules as written, aim once, aim twice, attack. As long as those things are done in that order, it doesn't matter how much time passes between each part; as long as the character does nothing else and is not disturbed by outside forces, he will get the mechanical benefits of the aim.

Outside of that, anything here is a house rule. Please note, some of these "house rules" are reasonable. I am merely pointing out they are not required by the book.

NOTE: Multi-edit messed up the first quote somehow. Is there a way to edit the real post, instead of a "pretty" version?

When you hit the “Quote” or “Edit” buttons, the icon at the far left of the toolbar at the top of the text edit area is a toggle switch. If that is in the “up” position, then you’re going to be editing in WYSIWYG mode. If you flip that toggle switch down, you can edit in ASCII text mode with BBCode tags displayed. That will let you move text around the various tags, so that you can get things looking the way you want.

When you’re done, there should be a “Preview” button or a “More Reply Options” button that you can hit, so that you can see what it would look like. Or, you could flip the toggle switch back to the upwards position.

Given a PC has to use their maneuvers within their turn in the combat round, and the fact the devs have already said you can't hold actions from round to round, I'm not sure how you hold maneuvers for modifying an action from round to round if you can't hold the action they're modifying. The rule for maneuvers seems pretty clear when it states you're allowed maneuvers during your turn in a given round, seems clear enough those maneuvers are to be used during your turn, since it says you get them to use, during your turn.

I submitted the rule question.

Given a PC has to use their maneuvers within their turn in the combat round, and the fact the devs have already said you can't hold actions from round to round, I'm not sure how you hold maneuvers for modifying an action from round to round if you can't hold the action they're modifying. The rule for maneuvers seems pretty clear when it states you're allowed maneuvers during your turn in a given round, seems clear enough those maneuvers are to be used during your turn, since it says you get them to use, during your turn.

I submitted the rule question.

I'm nearly positive it has been answered before that an aim maneuver can be carried over round to round. If it cannot, then I will edit the above. I have been operating on that knowledge previously.

Just to be "that guy". Firearm instructors do not teach you to hold your breath when squeezing the trigger, they teach you to pause your breathing. If you would ask someone to hold their breath, they would inhale deeply, then hold it. If you then took a shot or double tapped, exhaled, then breathed deeply again, your lungs would actually be filled with a slightly increased amount of air than the last breath, leaving your arms in a slightly different position. Usually making your shots go higher. Instead, you exhale normally, then quit breathing on a natural pause. Instructors call this the Natural Pause breathing technique. It is very effective as it leaves your body in an almost exact position when you fire. I have scored expert and even a perfect a time or two in the M-16/M-4 rifles, and the 9MM pistol during military training. Never once have I been taught to or used hold your breath.

And for the record I go with RAW/RAI on this. I do allow PCs to take an action, then as a maneuver start to aim. The following round, assuming they take no damage, they can then spend a maneuver to continue to aim, then take their action to attack, be it ranged or melee.

I normally agree with 2P51 with about everything, but I don't on this one.

If you're not holding your breath you're not steadying the weapon.

In the RAW Star Wars universe, holding your breath seems to be irrelevant. The description of the Aim maneuver says nothing about it. Are you suggesting a droid can't aim? What about a lungless Gand? In your universe, you are certainly free to house-rule whatever you want, of course.

...you can only aim up to twice, and then your next thing you to must be to attack...

I do not see this restriction anywhere. There does not appear to be a limit to the number of consecutive times Aim can be performed, only on the benefit it gives you. When you attack, look at the last two things you've done. If they're Aim, then you get two boost dice. If a GM wants to impose a limit on how many Aim maneuvers a character could conceivably perform in a row, that's up to the GM, but nothing in the rules restrict it.

I suppose that's fair.

I would probably get really annoyed if one of my fellow PCs just did that from round to round, though

I would probably get really annoyed if one of my fellow PCs just did that from round to round, though

Yeah, and maybe shoot them or something.

I would probably get really annoyed if one of my fellow PCs just did that from round to round, though

Yeah, and maybe shoot them or something.

But would he aim first? How many times? How long would he wait after aiming before shooting? How long could he wait? I think this is a crucial question we need to discuss and answer.