One of my players just bought Intense Presence, where he can recover strain equal to his presence rating. Since his presence is at 5 he can recover almost half of his strain with 1 destiny point. This last game there was a pretty large destiny pool so he started, in my eyes, abusing this.

He was just knocked out by a stun bolt from a sniper rifle, his compatriots brought him inside and revived him with a stim pack. After he was back up he used it once to recover strain, then said some smart aleck remark and one of the other PC's kicked him in a *very sensitive area* so he took a few more strain. He then used Intense Presence again twice to fully recover his strain and flipped most of the white destiny points.

Since there was a larger pool I can see why he did this, but he didn't narratively do it, he just said "I'm using Intense Presence, I recover 5 strain." Then after he got kicked he said, "...Fine, I use Intense Presence twice and recover 10 strain."

To me that seems a bit OP and selfish, but what do you guys think? Would you limit how many times he can use it?

The destiny pool mechanic really doesn't work well when the players start using it against one another, which is effectively what happened in the PvP tiff. That's more of a group issue than something specific to Intense Presence though.

As to the initial question, no, it's not overpowered. Getting back 5 strain for a destiny point isn't very cost-effective in most situations (you could probably *prevent* more than that by using one for a narrative effect).

That is true, they shouldn't have started that...but the players in my group don't always make the best decisions because they are tactically a good idea, sometimes they just want to be funny. I get it though, but I worry that we get another good destiny pool and he just starts flipping them utilizing them far too often.

Keep in mind though that this player is one who tends to "make the best build" and min-max more than roleplay. He always wants to buff his main skill (lightsaber) and then buy into as few other things as possible so he can throw everything towards "power."

It can be somewhat frustrating to me because the rest of the group have made their characters more balanced and respect the fact that this campaign was more RP heavy (we discussed this before it started), but this player keeps reverting back to his basic nature.

Now I know "my fun" isn't the same as "your fun" or "his fun," but it is still annoying to have someone buy into a new tree just so they can get Force Rating 3 and bump up yet another skill rating, and get nothing else in the tree. Meanwhile every check that doesn't involve his lightsaber usually fails so he get's annoyed but won't listen to anyone else as to why he needs to make a more well rounded character if he expects to do anything outside of fighting.

#endofrant

It's an entirely circumstantial talent. That specific circumstance that night leaned in favor of the player, but the next game might have a very small pool with no starting light destiny. And not every player with Intense Presence has that high of a Presence, or a small enough strain pool to recover it so quickly in that manner (as strain is a resource most players try to build up ASAP, and Grit is everywhere).

Almost anything, in the wrong hands, can be used to cause damage or be misused. So I don't think it's a problem with the talent, but it simple takes a reasonable person to use it appropriately ("I can" does not mean "I must", as it were).

There's nothing inherently wrong with going for a high force rating by taking multiple specs, or even with being focused on one thing, but he has to accept the fact that he won't be effective at much else, or will be better-suited to a supporting role (you can use Assist to give someone else a boost die even if you're terrible at the job) most of the time.

In case it has been missed: you don't get an increase in Force Rating by taking a new tree - you have to buy your way to the relevant talent(s). The Force-Sensitive Emergent/Exile trees do give you Force Rating 1 if you didn't have any to begin with, but they do NOT increase it if you're already at 1+.

It's also possible that the player and/or group is coming from systems (tabletop or computer) where everything tends to end with a combat scenario (and noncombat skills mostly decide how or when you get to it). That can easily slant a player's view of what is and isn't useful to take or how a character should be built.

There's nothing inherently wrong with going for a high force rating by taking multiple specs, or even with being focused on one thing, but he has to accept the fact that he won't be effective at much else, or will be better-suited to a supporting role (you can use Assist to give someone else a boost die even if you're terrible at the job) most of the time.

In case it has been missed: you don't get an increase in Force Rating by taking a new tree - you have to buy your way to the relevant talent(s). The Force-Sensitive Emergent/Exile trees do give you Force Rating 1 if you didn't have any to begin with, but they do NOT increase it if you're already at 1+.

It's also possible that the player and/or group is coming from systems (tabletop or computer) where everything tends to end with a combat scenario (and noncombat skills mostly decide how or when you get to it). That can easily slant a player's view of what is and isn't useful to take or how a character should be built.

My issue is that this player, let's call him Bob, has played at my table for over 2 years now and knows how things run. He has bought his way down his current tree to get all the beneficial fighting skills, then bought into another tree and skipped 90% of the tree just so he could jump down to the +1 Force Rating that was listed in that skill tree twice.

He is now at 3 Force Rating, has next to no skills besides lightsaber, and we don't always have combat...we have lots of social encounters and puzzles that don't utilize any sort of fighting style. To me that is just selfish and kinda dumb because he can't really help anyone else, he can only decimate enemies up close. While I get that is fun, it doesn't happen often enough to justify spending so much XP on lightsaber and fighting skills...

I'm surprised the other players weren't kind of irritated for him using up the pool that way. In my group there's usually a brief discussion.

You could also start treating it like a stimpack, i.e.: diminishing returns over the course of the day.

One of my players just bought Intense Presence, where he can recover strain equal to his presence rating. Since his presence is at 5 he can recover almost half of his strain with 1 destiny point. This last game there was a pretty large destiny pool so he started, in my eyes, abusing this.

He was just knocked out by a stun bolt from a sniper rifle, his compatriots brought him inside and revived him with a stim pack. After he was back up he used it once to recover strain, then said some smart aleck remark and one of the other PC's kicked him in a *very sensitive area* so he took a few more strain. He then used Intense Presence again twice to fully recover his strain and flipped most of the white destiny points.

Since there was a larger pool I can see why he did this, but he didn't narratively do it, he just said "I'm using Intense Presence, I recover 5 strain." Then after he got kicked he said, "...Fine, I use Intense Presence twice and recover 10 strain."

To me that seems a bit OP and selfish, but what do you guys think? Would you limit how many times he can use it?

This was after the encounter ended?

This was after the encounter ended?

Yes, he was knocked out so the combat encounter was over. He was coming back from being unconscious when he utilized it 3 times in a period of 2-3 minutes)

Did he use it while he was unconscious? Because he can't, it's an active incidental which means he's got to be able to activate things, unconscious players can't.

In addition the rules are clear, you get one opportunity post encounter to recover Strain on your own, I'd allow it in conjunction with his simple Cool/Discipline check, but not repeatedly. I also certainly not going to let an unconscious PC use any Active Talent period.

Did he use it while he was unconscious? Because he can't, it's an active incidental which means he's got to be able to activate things, unconscious players can't.

In addition the rules are clear, you get one opportunity post encounter to recover Strain on your own, I'd allow it in conjunction with his simple Cool/Discipline check, but not repeatedly. I also certainly not going to let an unconscious PC use any Active Talent period.

Another PC gave him a stim pack to wake him up, so when he used it the first time he was awake...if only just. I think it would be good to limit it to once after a combat encounter or something like that for an instant boost but you can only use it the one time.

He has bought his way down his current tree to get all the beneficial fighting skills, then bought into another tree and skipped 90% of the tree just so he could jump down to the +1 Force Rating that was listed in that skill tree twice.

This character is a Mystic with Makashi Duellist and Seer specs by the sound of it? Sage and Seer specs both get two Force Rating ranks because they don't have Dedication, so there's a definite tradeoff when you take those. Likewise, saber-spec trees like Makashi Duellist generally lack a Force Rating talent. (Niman Disciple is the only one with it, IIRC.)

He is now at 3 Force Rating, has next to no skills besides lightsaber, and we don't always have combat...we have lots of social encounters and puzzles that don't utilize any sort of fighting style. To me that is just selfish and kinda dumb because he can't really help anyone else, he can only decimate enemies up close. While I get that is fun, it doesn't happen often enough to justify spending so much XP on lightsaber and fighting skills...

Force Rating 3 isn't actually very high - it's the point where your Force pool becomes reasonably reliable at generating at least one white pip, but a Force-centric character can and probably will get their FR to 5+ over time.

The system doesn't make it easy to be both Force-heavy and a saber-user early on. If that's his goal and the campaign hasn't reached much beyond knight level XP then hyper-focusing like that is a necessity, but it will leave the character with very little in the way of other options. Consular with Niman Disciple and Sage specs is actually a better combination if someone wants to do an early Force/Saber type and both you and he would have probably been happier with the resulting skill support!

Another PC gave him a stim pack to wake him up, so when he used it the first time he was awake...if only just. I think it would be good to limit it to once after a combat encounter or something like that for an instant boost but you can only use it the one time.

I wouldn't have a problem with someone using it multiple times during an encounter or even between encounters because it's a fairly weak cost/benefit as it stands. It would be nice to have a fitting narrative blurb to accompany the use, though.

Another PC gave him a stim pack to wake him up, so when he used it the first time he was awake...if only just. I think it would be good to limit it to once after a combat encounter or something like that for an instant boost but you can only use it the one time.

Note that a regular stimpack doesn’t help with Strain, only Wounds.

You’d need something else to help you recover Strain.

To me that seems a bit OP and selfish, but what do you guys think? Would you limit how many times he can use it?

In my game, if a player were to start abusing that, I think I would make it a Once per Encounter sort of thing.

... It would be nice to have a fitting narrative blurb to accompany the use, though.

This. So long as you're following RAW or an appropriate house rule, there are only two other things I generally care about as a GM: 1) is it significantly upsetting or bothering the other players? 2) can you justify it. And sometimes I even let point number two stretch a bit if the narrative I've set up is a bit iffy. Example: some flying lizard creatures have attacked the Lambda my group is in. Narratively, they attack by latching on to the ship and tearing into it, but I don't want to say "now you can't shoot them, because your guns don't turn that way", so it's my job to either set up a situation where the creatures end up in the firing arc or I have to stretch some things to let the players return fire. Even if it would make a good story to claim the pilot has to lose them before the gunners can take 'em down.

Still, this system only works if you try to justify everything you're doing. Sometimes, this is difficult (looking at you, Seize the Initiative....), but it's imperative to attempt it. It's way to easy to game this system if all you care about is the numbers and mechanics. I'm not saying everything ends up totally balanced or can't be abused if you try and justify it, but at least then it serves to further the narrative... which, to a point, is why we're playing this game, right?

So, unless it's bothering other players that he's eating up the DP pool, just make him justify every time he uses it. Tell him certain explanations aren't good enough. If he does it enough, he'll have developed actual characterization... perhaps even an in-joke or two. Supply ideas, if necessary. He gets kicked in the soft bits... how does he respond well enough to use his Presence characteristic to shrug off 10 strain (more than he suffered from the kick). What does he do to leverage that situation into feeling even better ? Either he can't justify the use, or it's an epic story. Either way, you get what you want.

And besides... it's not like there aren't ways to get around any abuse of player power you can think of. If he starts relying on it too much, throw something at him that he can't handle. Have him get captured and addicted to... what's the drug, Booster Blue? Like that scene in Criminal Minds where

Then he can't recover strain for the rest of the encounter, and if he doesn't take it, he has problems.

I kid. But really, just find a way to make him spin it so it makes the story richer.