Yoda and Palpatine (Homebrew)

By masterstrider, in Star Wars: Force and Destiny RPG

I have created a character sheet for Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious and Jedi Master Yoda.

--Enjoy

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VBujp1jEWnZuFX89oKM_YoR-XOS7DYnV/view?usp=sharing

Updated Version 2.0

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1b-VetkBjidD0BNj4pdatmr380m_4wayE

Changes :

Palpatine : FR increased to 7, change Lightsaber skill to 5, change Unleash critical rating reduced to 1, Unleash renamed to Force Lightning .

Yoda : FR increased to 7. 

Updated Version 3.0

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LWiwllqPEalARu5if9uxDimo3hOGJfec

Changes:

Palpatine : FR increased to 7, change Lightsaber skill to 5, change Unleash critical rating reduced to 1, Unleash renamed to Force Lightning , Commit FR to Brawn and Agility removed, introduced Lightsaber Mastery (Cunning), introduced new ability - Unlimited Power (spend 3 strain to add 2 W/B pips), improved Lightsaber damage from 8 to 9, and Crit from 2 to 1, minor formatting changes.

Yoda : FR increased to 7, Commit FR to Brawn and Agility removed, introduced Lightsaber Mastery (Willpower), improved Lightsaber damage from 7 to 8, and Crit from 2 to 1, minor formatting changes.

Edited by masterstrider
7 minutes ago, masterstrider said:

I have created a character sheet for Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious and Jedi Master Yoda.

--Enjoy

Brilliant! Exactly how I statted them as well!

2 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

Brilliant! Exactly how I statted them as well!

Issues with file upload size limits. They're both up now.

1 minute ago, masterstrider said:

Issues with file upload size limits. They're both up now.

Not letting me see the PDF.

Just now, Tramp Graphics said:

Not letting me see the PDF.

Really? *sigh* So difficult to post on this site sometimes!

1 minute ago, masterstrider said:

Really? *sigh* So difficult to post on this site sometimes!

Yep. I get this error:

Quote

Sorry, there is a problem

This attachment is not available. It may have been removed or the person who shared it may not have permission to share it to this location.

Error code: 2C171/1

1 minute ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Yep. I get this error:

Try again? I've reuploaded it.

6 minutes ago, masterstrider said:

Try again? I've reuploaded it.

Nope. Same thing.

2 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Nope. Same thing.

Sharing via a link. Final try? It's a better version too - so there is a plus side!

1 minute ago, masterstrider said:

Sharing via a link. Final try? It's a better version too - so there is a plus side!

Now it works. ?

1 minute ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Now it works. ?

Hallelujah! Thanks for the help!

Edited by masterstrider

Hardly doubt yoda has 2 agility with ataru spec being his main form of choice. Probably has a 4 or 5 cause his age thats why I dont give him 6.

Really well made! Great work.

I might steal these (with some minor adjustments).

10 hours ago, Metalghost said:

Hardly doubt yoda has 2 agility with ataru spec being his main form of choice. Probably has a 4 or 5 cause his age thats why I dont give him 6.

That's likely why the OP gave Yoda enhance. Yoda doesn't move very fast or well until he needs to. In which case, he uses enhance to commit a number of his Force Dice towards his agility.

6 hours ago, kaosoe said:

That's likely why the OP gave Yoda enhance. Yoda doesn't move very fast or well until he needs to. In which case, he uses enhance to commit a number of his Force Dice towards his agility.

Maybe but that will leave allot of force die commited for him to be any good with his lightsaber, and in doing that he will only have 3 to 4 at the most to use for powers, since he has only 7 force die. Most likely if yoda is commiting force die for agility with an agility only of two then he most likely has 4 force die commited to bump him up to 6 agility. He is the best lightsaber duelist (legendary status) and unless he is rolling 6 yellow die then he is just on the same level as count duku and the others.

Still I'm sure yoda's race probably has a natural agility bonus since thats what he prefers. I'm sure in yoda's younger age he probably had a 6 agility and in his old age probably 4, 3 going the lowest. Thats just me though. Remember Yoda needs to be stated to reflect the legendary lightsaber duelest that not even count duku could beat, and duku was a master of all the forms and was a legend himself when it came to lightsaber combat.

I also believe palpatine was made a little too weak, but thats my point of view. Remember palpatine was the strongest sith to ever exist in his time so he should have a 7 force rating. Also he was a master in all lightsaber forms as well so he should have a 5 in lightsabers.

Edited by Metalghost
8 hours ago, kaosoe said:

That's likely why the OP gave Yoda enhance. Yoda doesn't move very fast or well until he needs to. In which case, he uses enhance to commit a number of his Force Dice towards his agility.

2 hours ago, Metalghost said:

Maybe but that will leave allot of force die commited for him to be any good with his lightsaber, and in doing that he will only have 3 to 4 at the most to use for powers, since he has only 7 force die. Most likely if yoda is commiting force die for agility with an agility only of two then he most likely has 4 force die commited to bump him up to 6 agility. He is the best lightsaber duelist (legendary status) and unless he is rolling 6 yellow die then he is just on the same level as count duku and the others.

Still I'm sure yoda's race probably has a natural agility bonus since thats what he prefers. I'm sure in yoda's younger age he probably had a 6 agility and in his old age probably 4, 3 going the lowest. Thats just me though. Remember Yoda needs to be stated to reflect the legendary lightsaber duelest that not even count duku could beat, and duku was a master of all the forms and was a legend himself when it came to lightsaber combat.

I also believe palpatine was made a little too weak, but thats my point of view. Remember palpatine was the strongest sith to ever exist in his time so he should have a 7 force rating. Also he was a master in all lightsaber forms as well so he should have a 5 in lightsabers.

I agree with @kaosoe here. Yoda would normally only have an Agility of 2, if that. If you look at him under most circumstances, he's very slow and "doddering" requiring a cane to walk, and basically shuffling along. HE's not very agile at all. It's only in lightsaber combat that he becomes a whirling dervish. This strongly suggests heavy use of Enhance in order to boost his Agility to 4 or more for relatively short periods of time.

Very nice indeed. But concerning committed dice, maybe a higher force rating would be appropriate. Not just for enhance ofc, but many force users will always use their sense possibilities for example.

Alternatively give them the mystic signature ability "Unmatched Destiny" introduced in Unlimited Power Sourcebook.

Force Rating of 7, even with committing 2 for lightsaber combat, is still MORE than enough for pretty much any power Yoda would use while fighting with his saber.

14 hours ago, Silim said:

Force Rating of 7, even with committing 2 for lightsaber combat, is still MORE than enough for pretty much any power Yoda would use while fighting with his saber.

Protecting against unleash could use a few dies, though.

For simplicity's sake I would give them each Force Rating 7 (legendary Force user), and give them the Lightsaber Mastery ability from FaD. This would allow them to use their best characteristic for the Lightsaber skill. This would certainly fit more in line with the published versions of iconic characters.

EDIT: Oh, and this would also do away with the commit aspects of the Enhance power.

This would also make them a step above characters like Vader (DoR) and Dooku (RotS; upcoming book), instead of a step below, in both Force ability and fighting prowess.

In addition, Palpatine's Unleash power really should have critical rating of 1 (as in the mastery upgrade), as this is specifically mentioned in the book as being Force Lightning.

This will be the changes I make when I steal these really well-made builds :)

Edited by MasterKazur
Additional information.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the positive and constructive feedback. It is really appreciated. I'll try and address all your comments, but please do hit me up if I miss something.

Re: Palpatines/Yoda's Brawn/Agility of 2; this was set at 2 because they're obviously very frail characters in each of the movies. An alternative build had Brawn and Agility at 4, and giving them Lightsaber Mastery (Cunning for Palpatine and Willpower for Yoda), but they lost the ability to commit Force die to increase Br or Ag. I went with the commit option because mechanically it meant that Yoda/Palpatine either had to commit resources to fighting or using the Force, but not both, which is how it is represented in the films/tv series; and it would have less people asking why they both had Br/Ag 4. Also, committing Force die to Brawn gave them a way to eat blaster damage a bit easier. Being able to crank up their soak to to 7 and still Parry/Reflect made them much more survivable.

Re: Lightsaber Mastery; It's a bit hard to explain but in play-testing Lightsaber Mastery didn't work very well. When they were fighting each other it was fine. But when they fought anyone with less than FR4, the fights became unmanageable. Having the option to throw 7 Force die and fight at full strength was very overpowered. Yoda basically become untouchable. However if you take away his ability to use Protect as a maneuver with Improved the Force is my Ally, he couldn't survive against the damage of Unleash . It's a fine balance, but eventually I decided against it. However, if you'd like to test it out and send me through your findings, I would be happy to hear how it worked out.

Re: Force Rating; I actually agree that Force Rating 7 would be more appropriate. This will be updated in future versions. I tried to keep it in line with Anakin Skywalker, who was meant to have prodigious potential, if not lesser control and mastery. Also, given there is much lore that claims when Anakin became Vader he lost much of his Force potential, it would not be unreasonable to think that true masters like Yoda and Palpatine could possess 7-9 ranks in Force Rating. Feel free to adjust for your own games as you need.

Re: Palaptine's Unleash; You're correct in saying that he probably should have a Crit 1 for Unleash . I will make the change in future updates. I will also rename it to Force Lightning .

Re: Palpatines Lightsaber Ability; I will update this to Lightsaber 5. After re-watching much of the Clone Wars series, I agree, he is quite the formidable warrior.

Re: Unmatched Destiny; both characters have the option to re-roll 1 Force die per round, so it is already built in.

Re: Metalghost "Palpatine is too weak" comment; I actually disagree. Palpatine can dish out a heck of a lot of damage with Unleash . I've done upwards of 30pts in one round. Sure against opponents with high Discipline his damage goes down since Unleash is an opposed roll, but he can still switch to using his lightsaber. He also has Scathing Tirade, which is used to drain the Strain of enemies he's fighting against. So even someone like Yoda using Protect every round will eventually run out of strain and need to start hitting hard in melee to get the best of him.

An updated version has been posted. V2.0.

TL:DR changes;

Palpatine : FR increased to 7, change Lightsaber to 5, Unleash critical rating reduced to 1.

Yoda : FR increased to 7.

Edited by masterstrider
9 hours ago, masterstrider said:

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the positive and constructive feedback. It is really appreciated. I'll try and address all your comments, but please do hit me up if I miss something.

Re: Palpatines/Yoda's Brawn/Agility of 2; this was set at 2 because they're obviously very frail characters in each of the movies. An alternative build had Brawn and Agility at 4, and giving them Lightsaber Mastery (Cunning for Palpatine and Willpower for Yoda), but they lost the ability to commit Force die to increase Br or Ag. I went with the commit option because mechanically it meant that Yoda/Palpatine either had to commit resources to fighting or using the Force, but not both, which is how it is represented in the films/tv series; and it would have less people asking why they both had Br/Ag 4. Also, committing Force die to Brawn gave them a way to eat blaster damage a bit easier. Being able to crank up their soak to to 7 and still Parry/Reflect made them much more survivable.

Re: Lightsaber Mastery; It's a bit hard to explain but in play-testing Lightsaber Mastery didn't work very well. When they were fighting each other it was fine. But when they fought anyone with less than FR4, the fights became unmanageable. Having the option to throw 7 Force die and fight at full strength was very overpowered. Yoda basically become untouchable. However if you take away his ability to use Protect as a maneuver with Improved the Force is my Ally, he couldn't survive against the damage of Unleash . It's a fine balance, but eventually I decided against it. However, if you'd like to test it out and send me through your findings, I would be happy to hear how it worked out.

Re: Force Rating; I actually agree that Force Rating 7 would be more appropriate. This will be updated in future versions. I tried to keep it in line with Anakin Skywalker, who was meant to have prodigious potential, if not lesser control and mastery. Also, given there is much lore that claims when Anakin became Vader he lost much of his Force potential, it would not be unreasonable to think that true masters like Yoda and Palpatine could possess 7-9 ranks in Force Rating. Feel free to adjust for your own games as you need.

Re: Palaptine's Unleash; You're correct in saying that he probably should have a Crit 1 for Unleash . I will make the change in future updates. I will also rename it to Force Lightning .

Re: Palpatines Lightsaber Ability; I will update this to Lightsaber 5. After re-watching much of the Clone Wars series, I agree, he is quite the formidable warrior.

Re: Unmatched Destiny; both characters have the option to re-roll 1 Force die per round, so it is already built in.

Re: Metalghost "Palpatine is too weak" comment; I actually disagree. Palpatine can dish out a heck of a lot of damage with Unleash . I've done upwards of 30pts in one round. Sure against opponents with high Discipline his damage goes down since Unleash is an opposed roll, but he can still switch to using his lightsaber. He also has Scathing Tirade, which is used to drain the Strain of enemies he's fighting against. So even someone like Yoda using Protect every round will eventually run out of strain and need to start hitting hard in melee to get the best of him.

An updated version has been posted. V2.0.

TL:DR changes;

Palpatine : FR increased to 7, change Lightsaber to 5, Unleash critical rating reduced to 1.

Yoda : FR increased to 7.

This all makes good sense, and if it works for your game it’s all the better :)

However, please consider the fact that Vader Rolls 5 yellow for lightsaber, and possesses many talents and abiltities to make him formidable beyond just this. In addition, he rolls 6 force dice. From the looks of the Rise of the Seperatists previews, Dooku seems to be somewhat simmilarly built and ranked.

Your builds (with the current commit force Dice being a part of the stats) effectively makes Yoda and Palpatine weaker than Vader and Dooku, as they would first have to spend an action to commit the dice, and would then roll with either 5 yellows and a green for combat, and 4 force dice—or 5 yellow (like vader), and 5 force dice.

The lightsaber Masters talent exists not only to enhance the simplicity, but in this case also serves to build a character more “correctly” to their abilties in the source materiale, and line up better with the official stat blocks for other characters.

However, these are just my two cents :) your builds are VERY good.

BTW, the beta version had the descriptions for what each force rank meant (which I’m told the developers still use for their official builds). 3-5 is various degrees of knighthood and 6 is a master, while 7 is legendary (technically also a master).

52 minutes ago, MasterKazur said:

This all makes good sense, and if it works for your game it’s all the better :)

However, please consider the fact that Vader Rolls 5 yellow for lightsaber, and possesses many talents and abiltities to make him formidable beyond just this. In addition, he rolls 6 force dice. From the looks of the Rise of the Seperatists previews, Dooku seems to be somewhat simmilarly built and ranked.

Your builds (with the current commit force Dice being a part of the stats) effectively makes Yoda and Palpatine weaker than Vader and Dooku, as they would first have to spend an action to commit the dice, and would then roll with either 5 yellows and a green for combat, and 4 force dice—or 5 yellow (like vader), and 5 force dice.

The lightsaber Masters talent exists not only to enhance the simplicity, but in this case also serves to build a character more “correctly” to their abilities in the source material, and line up better with the official stat blocks for other characters.

However, these are just my two cents :) your builds are VERY good.

BTW, the beta version had the descriptions for what each force rank meant (which I’m told the developers still use for their official builds). 3-5 is various degrees of knighthood and 6 is a master, while 7 is legendary (technically also a master). 

I made Version 3.0 to include your suggested changes. I still think this will be quite overpowered, but if people want that, who am I to judge?

I know a little something about Vader 😄 . The one in the book was heavily influenced by one I designed 12 months earlier on the forums

I think it's safe to say that they used my original concept as the template and made tweaks to it.

Regardless, I am glad you enjoy the builds!

3 hours ago, masterstrider said:

I made Version 3.0 to include your suggested changes. I still think this will be quite overpowered, but if people want that, who am I to judge?

I know a little something about Vader 😄 . The one in the book was heavily influenced by one I designed 12 months earlier on the forums

I think it's safe to say that they used my original concept as the template and made tweaks to it.

Regardless, I am glad you enjoy the builds!

Nice! You’ve got some talent, that’s for sure.

In fairness, when Yoda is dueling, he does very little beyond lightsaber attacks and countering his opponents abilities. I'm in favor of the OP's stats.

In the end, this thread is a good reminder on why stat blocks for main characters are a foolish idea.