A search turned up 235 pages of material, so obviously everything about this forum is super-Cool, but what about the Skill ? Looking for anecdotes of situations where you put this skill to use, beyond the specific talents where it is utilized. Thanks!
What can Cool do for you?
Character was going to seduce an Imperial Moffs son to get info. Made a cool check as she walked into the canteena. Triumph. Everyone in there turned to look, music stopped, glasses were dropped. One liner that I cant remember was spoken. Then the guy was putty in her hands.
It's the default skill determining Initiative, for the initiator. The reactor uses Vigilance.
You could also use it opposed vs Charm or Coercion.
My Gambler/Gunslinger uses it to swindle the locals.
One use I’ve seen is the, “Don’t mind me, I totally belong here” method of hiding in plain sight. You’re not necessarily lying to anyone, or trying to evade their attention. Just projecting this confident look like you belong.
I’ve also thought a bit about the distinction between discipline and cool. I feel like you use Cool for reckless stunts that take raw confidence, whereas discipline is for more practical level-headedness. Playing chicken in a starfighter, barrelling towards an oncoming foe is Cool. Not flipping out when a Star Destroyer begins bombarding your location is discipline.
Likewise, if the frieghter you’re chasing goes barreling into an Asteroid field to try and shake you, I think it would make sense for you to make a cool check before pursuing. Anakin would follow eagerly. Obi-Wan would have a bad feeling.
How a Gunslinger uses Cool:
Language is a bit 1970s oddly enough tho, so it is a bit rude.
Edited by korjikIIRC, some gambling games use Cool as a skill, to reflect your characters poker (Sabacc?) face.
I really haven't found many talents and such to boost cool. As a Gambler, I'm going to see if my GM will allow me to use deception too since that should cover bluffing.
On 2018. 04. 17. at 3:54 AM, Ahrimon said:I really haven't found many talents and such to boost cool. As a Gambler, I'm going to see if my GM will allow me to use deception too since that should cover bluffing.
It is in the Corebook, you can definitelyuse Deception or Cool in gambling
It is, and I just recently noticed it, so Yay! But it's only for generic gambling, the rules for Sabacc list Deception as cheating for some reason. So it's ok to bluff your way through other games, but if you bluff in Sabacc it's cheating... I'm going to chalk that up to another of FFG's poor edits/rules.
4 hours ago, Ahrimon said:It is, and I just recently noticed it, so Yay! But it's only for generic gambling, the rules for Sabacc list Deception as cheating for some reason. So it's ok to bluff your way through other games, but if you bluff in Sabacc it's cheating... I'm going to chalk that up to another of FFG's poor edits/rules.
I think the idea is that Cool is for bluffing, Deception for outright cheating. But I could see a GM allowing the PC to use either for a bluff.
5 hours ago, Ahrimon said:It is, and I just recently noticed it, so Yay! But it's only for generic gambling, the rules for Sabacc list Deception as cheating for some reason. So it's ok to bluff your way through other games, but if you bluff in Sabacc it's cheating... I'm going to chalk that up to another of FFG's poor edits/rules.
Deception is for things like pulling an ace out of your sleave. Cool is for bluffing.
I see more as Skulldugery is for pulling an ace out of your sleeve and deception would be lying aka bluffing. The generic rules for gambling specifically call out deception as bluffing. Part of bluffing could also fall under cool, but cool is more the stone faced card player that your opponent can't read. Deception would be that banter, or perhaps using a false tell, to make the opponent think you have a weak hand.
Lots of skills overlap a bit, but deception shouldn't be cheating IMO.
What can Cool do for you?
Get you Princess Leia
*drops mic*
OT: Honestly I don't see much use for it, as for me, it's almost synonymous with Charm/Deception, in how it would be utilized. It's almost like a measure of reaction, more than a skill to me. Like Samuel L. Jackson said "When you sit down, you do it cool." It's not really anything other than a way of doing something, so I really don't know how to utilize it as a skill. As to me, Cool is just how someone would be doing a Charm or Deception. Are they being cool about it? Thus doing it smooth and slick, maybe making the person in question come away feeling like they just got asked out on a date (and thus in a Cool way)? Or did they just sort of do a verbal runaround and confuse the person into agreeing before really realizing what happened (and thus NOT in a Cool way).
So...yeah *shrugs* I don't really know, I personally consider it kind of extraneous.
On 4/13/2018 at 8:29 PM, abookfulblockhead said:One use I’ve seen is the, “Don’t mind me, I totally belong here” method of hiding in plain sight. You’re not necessarily lying to anyone, or trying to evade their attention. Just projecting this confident look like you belong.
I've had players use it for this.
I've also had players use it for resisting public coercion.
I'm currently reading the EotE Core Rulebook (cover to cover). I don't have the book in front of me right now to reference a specific page, but I know it specifically states that Cool & Vigilance are primarily used for determining initiative. I'm sure this has probably already been stated on here, but just to rehash: Cool if you are prepared or expecting trouble, Vigilance if not. Cool would be the person waiting in ambush, to ensure that they remain calm and still until ready to act. Vigilance is the person getting ambushed, to determine their awareness and caution. The two seem to be in direct opposition or balance, depending on how you look at things.
Of course, I'm sure a creative person could find multiple ways to employ either outside of the initiative system. Some things that come to mind are using Cool in a Contested Check against an antagonist trying to escalate the situation, although Discipline could also be used for that. Another use, would be in a Fear check to remain calm in the face of adversity. Cool, Vigilance, Discipline and some of the other skills seem to be more passive (in that they are employed in reaction to something) vice the more active skills like Piloting, Computers, or any of the Combat Skills (which are employed to do something).
Its main use should be for not looking at explosions
I had a recent use for it in a situation where other social skills didn't apply well.
PC was carrying an illegal package (droid hidden in a suitcase) through customs and the officer's perception check failed, but with a triumph. I ruled this as the officer making a comment about noticing the repulsor fields and saying something about "must be a heavy suitcase".
The PC responded with "yeah it is, fields make it easier". Now that wasn't a blatant lie, sicne the droid *is* heavy, and it wasn't really charming either. So I ruled it as Cool for the PC keeping his composure when presenting that line.
Cool can as he used in some situations for making a fear check, Assuming you had time to "prepare" for it. Also one that hasn't been mentioned , can be used to recover strain.
Similarly I've (as a GM, I'm generally the player) used it to determine of a character can be positively or negatively affect by stress by making a roll before they make another check where appropriate allowing them a boost/setback or to cause/recover strain situation in those key moments
Examples , making an Astrogation check Id allow a cool player to make a cool roll that would then be used to upgrade or boost the Astrogation check or make it quicker with a corresponding penalty of they fail.
The only thing is I wouldn't make a habit of it as you can end up just adding rolls, but on a key difficult roll where keeping your cool matters and the player asks for it, sure , why not as long as they accept the risk of failure, Boosting Cool and Discipline should be rewarded. Essentially it 's a fear check though - so you can follow the same rules (despair upgrades all your checks for encounter, threat causes strain based on failures, failing the check itself adds an encounter long setback etc)
3 hours ago, syrath said:Cool can as he used in some situations for making a fear check, Assuming you had time to "prepare" for it. Also one that hasn't been mentioned , can be used to recover strain.
Similarly I've (as a GM, I'm generally the player) used it to determine of a character can be positively or negatively affect by stress by making a roll before they make another check where appropriate allowing them a boost/setback or to cause/recover strain situation in those key moments
Examples , making an Astrogation check Id allow a cool player to make a cool roll that would then be used to upgrade or boost the Astrogation check or make it quicker with a corresponding penalty of they fail.
The only thing is I wouldn't make a habit of it as you can end up just adding rolls, but on a key difficult roll where keeping your cool matters and the player asks for it, sure , why not as long as they accept the risk of failure, Boosting Cool and Discipline should be rewarded. Essentially it 's a fear check though - so you can follow the same rules (despair upgrades all your checks for encounter, threat causes strain based on failures, failing the check itself adds an encounter long setback etc)
top of my head idea, but what about assigning setback for all the stuff going on and removing one setback per rank of cool? That takes it down to one role, but cool helps out.
4 hours ago, Ahrimon said:top of my head idea, but what about assigning setback for all the stuff going on and removing one setback per rank of cool? That takes it down to one role, but cool helps out.
That sounds like the basis of a good talent type ability, not something I would auto add. One of the reasons I mentioned what I did is because it is already in the rules, fear checks are used in the game and although I don't think it's mentioned in EotE core it is in another that you can use cool in place of discipline some times, This makes sense for a life of death check where fear might be a factor. Fear checks can result in positives as well as negatives.
On 4/18/2018 at 2:19 PM, Ahrimon said:I see more as Skulldugery is for pulling an ace out of your sleeve and deception would be lying aka bluffing. The generic rules for gambling specifically call out deception as bluffing. Part of bluffing could also fall under cool, but cool is more the stone faced card player that your opponent can't read. Deception would be that banter, or perhaps using a false tell, to make the opponent think you have a weak hand.
Lots of skills overlap a bit, but deception shouldn't be cheating IMO.
Cool is the straight up skill for playing Sabacc. Deception would be for pulling the ace out of your sleeve, Skullduggery would be for pulling the ace out of the other player's sleeve.
On 4/13/2018 at 6:55 PM, whafrog said:It's the default skill determining Initiative, for the initiator. The reactor uses Vigilance.
You could also use it opposed vs Charm or Coercion.
Cool is also used for removing Strain at the end of an encounter. Roll Cool unopposed. Each success removes 1 Strain.
Edited by T70 Driver
Well, it's already been necrod so:
How would you use the advantages on a Cool / Discipline check for recovering strain after combat? How would you spend Triumphs?
1 hour ago, Rimsen said:Well, it's already been necrod so:
How would you use the advantages on a Cool / Discipline check for recovering strain after combat? How would you spend Triumphs?
Advantages do not do anything unless you have the hard boiled talent, which lets you heal wounds for advantages.
Regarding triumphs, we have a house rule at my table that players can use triumphs to grant either an additional 2 successes or advantages where there is no other use for triumphs.