Hello there.

I was wondering something about Shroud.

As stated in the F&D CRB, you can activate Shroud for a Destiny Point to make your Force Powers undetectable by other Jedi/Sith, even with the use of Sense / Seek, for the encounter. That I get. But can we extrapolate that when we DO NOT USE Force Powers (be it using directly, buffing stats with a combined check like enhance and others), we are passively undetectable by those powers too ?

Thanks in advance.

I believe you can be detected for having a Force Rating if your Shroud isn't active., even if you aren't using powers. Sense detecting all living things nearby (plus Range upgrades), and I am sure something stronger in the Force would stick out like a sore thumb.

On 12/20/2020 at 11:01 AM, R0-B0T said:

But can we extrapolate that when we DO NOT USE Force Powers (be it using directly, buffing stats with a combined check like enhance and others), we are passively undetectable by those powers too ?

I don't think you can extrapolate that...

If you're Force sensitive , you can - I know this sounds crazy - sense the Force. At any time.

Not only is there no indication that a Power, nor the use of a Power, is required to detect a Force sensitive or Force power use, but those Powers (Sense and Seek) mention nothing about detecting Force sensitivity specifically in their descriptions anyway.

So, while it's reasonable to assume that because of the fluff description of Sense ("... senses the endless movement of the Living Force..."), that you could see a Force sensitive using that Power, there's nothing that says that's the only way you can sense the Force. Same with Seek, or Foresee, both of which have language in them about revealing secrets and details about things...

What we arrive at, is that sensing the Force is something that is mostly up to the GM to decide how it happens.

Maybe it takes the expenditure of Advantage or Triumph on a Perception or Vigilance check by a Force sensitive?

Maybe it takes the flipping of a Destiny point?

Maybe it's 100% narratively handled, and you just have to say you try, and it happens (so long as you're close enough)? Maybe you don't even have to say you try?

Similar question is; how do you sense a disturbance in the Force? There are no rules for it.

As a GM, I handle it mostly narratively - all you have to do is try (and be close enough), or maybe you don't even have to try if the Force is strong enough in whatever the thing is.

Those elements are largely story telling tools.

And again, isn't that what being Force sensitive is anyway at a most basic level? Being able to sense the Force?

That said, it is certainly something that c/should accompany the appropriate mechanics - like if they didn't have sensing the Force at the top of their mind, but they just happened to use the Sense Power, or spend narrative symbols to "notice a significant detail about the ongoing encounter". Yea, mechanics can lead to that information too.

Point is: don't be too stingy with how you allow N/PCs to sense the Force. This open, narrative approach also makes the Shroud Talent pretty valuable in the right game/timeline.

I only allow Force dice to give the user away when they are rolled or committed. Force abilities that do neither (like the Boosts granted by Uncanny Senses) usually don't register.