My group started playing Edge when it was first released, back to the Beta. I have almost all of the books in that line, none in AoR or FaD. (So please consider my question with that knowledge) When we started playing I intentionally avoided the chapter on the Force for simplicity/thematic reasons (we were transitioning from Saga Edition and I specifically didn't want a group filled with Jedi wannabes). We played for a couple years and enjoyed it greatly but the game waned, and the group went back to a regular Pathfinder game.

Now we are looking to return to the Star Wars setting and I'm interesting in playing a Force Sensitive Exile PC. (that's why my question seems a few years old) . I've searched the forums for an answer but either have weak search-fu or it isn't there. So please bear with me on that count.

In the section for activating a force power, it says you roll a force die/dice based on your force rating. It later says the power is always successful, even if you don't generate sufficient points with the roll. This confuses me. If someone could please clarify how this works, I would greatly appreciate it. (links are appreciated if the answer is pre-existing)

Take care.

Hello!

To answer your question, from the way the devs have explained it on the Order 66 podcast, it's that even if you decide not to use the power, you always successfully "use the force".

What that means in practice: You attempt to use force move to flip a switch on the wall, closing the doors you can't reach without leaving your cover. You roll your Force Rating of 1. You get 1 darkside result. You choose not to suffer the penalties to use the darkside and the effect of flipping the switch and closing the door does not happen. However, you still "used the force" by rolling your force rating in a force power check.

It's a funny way of saying that every time you make a force power check, you are narratively, successfully using the force.

What it doesn't mean is "every time you make a force power check, you do the thing you wanted to do." You only do the thing you wanted to do if you have spent the cost in force points to activate the power's effects.

Here's another example. You want to pick up a battle droid in engaged range and toss it into another droid in medium range by using the attack upgrade of force move.

You roll your force rating, this time 2 force dice, combined with a discipline check, the difficulty being the silhouette of the object you are moving. You have to

1. succeed on the discipline check as well as

2. spend the appropriate amount of force points to activate the force move base power, the upgrade for silhouette and the upgrade for going past short range.

That would mean 3 force points are needed to be spent. If you fail the discipline check, you are still "using the force" but you are not able to make the attack. You could probably move the target to another area if you fail the attack portion of the roll, as you are still successfully "using the force" and you still generated some force points.

I believe it's a roundabout method of saying that when you make a Force power check, even if you fail to generate enough Force points, you've still spent your action, and cannot do something else instead of use the Force.

Narratively, it could be that you've attempted to use the Force to flip a switch on the far wall, but you don't have enough control or strength to pull it off completely. If you have enough dark side points, but elect not to use them, maybe you've sensed the flow of the dark side and stop what you're doing. You've still called on the Force, spending your action, in either case.

It means you lift your X wing a little bit even though you fail and it sinks back in the swamps of Dagobah.

It doesn't say that the power is always successful, it says that the roll doesn't generate successes. So there is no failing or succeeding on a roll.

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

You look at what pips you have. Any white pips are points you can spend for Force power effects. Generally you discard dark pips, but you can flip a Destiny Point and suffer strain to use dark pips. In later books this causes "conflict" and leads you toward the Dark Side, but EotE doesn't explore that mechanic.

Well, it does say 'A force power is always successfully activated'.

So suppose I roll my single force die for the sense basic power. I get no pips (or a dark side pip). The 'correct' result is - my action is taken, the 'force power is activated' - but I don't actually sense anything. Correct?

Thanks for all the helpful feedback. I haven't posted in a long while but this board is always very welcoming/helpful.

There is light side pips and dark side pips on a force die, you will always roll one or the other... there are no blanks

Yeah, roll sense and land darkside pips, choose not to spend it and you can narrate how you like of the dark side creeping in but you resist the urge. action has been spent for that round.

Maybe your character is searching for a hidden foe and is frustrated, reaches out to the force and finds that they could tap into that frustration to sense things around them. Decides to center themself and opens their eyes to look around normally or give up the pursuit.

I could have sworn there were blanks on that die (We only have used them for rolling obligation...)

And I haven't gotten out the bag with those dice in several months

Thanks again for the clarification!

Since everyone is being helpful on this topic - if I set aside a force die (for the control power, as an example) - that just 'ties up' the die, correct? There is no 'activation roll'?

Correct, there is no roll (which I find a bit odd, because that means you never run the chance of using the dark side when committing force dice). Committing 1 force die effectively lowers your Force Rating by 1 for any other force powers you use until you uncommit the die.

Well, it does say 'A force power is always successfully activated'.

So suppose I roll my single force die for the sense basic power. I get no pips (or a dark side pip). The 'correct' result is - my action is taken, the 'force power is activated' - but I don't actually sense anything. Correct?

So suppose I roll my single force die for the sense basic power. I get no pips (or a dark side pip). The 'correct' result is - my action is taken, the 'force power is activated' - but I don't actually sense anything. Correct?

Or, maybe you do sense something, but it is vague and you can’t figure out what it is.

Or, maybe you sense something, but it’s not the thing you wanted to sense — maybe you were looking to get the surface thoughts of the guy you’re playing Sabacc with, but instead you get the surface thoughts of the space-mouse on the floor next to him.

Whatever happens, you did successfully use the Force, but you didn’t get the result you were looking for.

The other example I would use would be when Luke was hanging upside down in the Wampa cave, and reached for his lightsaber — he made it wiggle on the first attempt, but he couldn’t actually pull it to him on that try.

He had to make another attempt on the next round, which did get him the result he wanted.

Thanks very much for all the clarifying feedback. Happy gaming.

In in a similar position to blaked... Been playing for about a year without using The Force but now one pc has taken the Force Emergent talent tree. So another question... Does your Force Rating determine how many Force dice u roll & therefore how many pips (light or dark) that are generated?

In in a similar position to blaked... Been playing for about a year without using The Force but now one pc has taken the Force Emergent talent tree. So another question... Does your Force Rating determine how many Force dice u roll & therefore how many pips (light or dark) that are generated?

Yes, Force Rating is how many Force dice you roll, and thus potentially how many pips are generated.

Increasing Force Rating tends to be expensive, but the growth in power for the PC tends towards the quadratic, especially once you hit the Force Rating 3 mark, by which point getting at least a couple of light side points is all but assured.

Brilliant, cheers for that

Keep in mind that some powers and talents (such as the control upgrades for Sense) require you to commit one or more of your Force die to that power. This effectively lowers your Force rating for the purposes of determining how many Force dice to roll when activating powers and talents.

In another words, If I have a Force rating of 2, but I commit a Force die to the defensive control upgrade of the Sense power, when I roll my Force dice to move an object using the Move power, I can only roll 1 Force die rating while my second remains committed.