Question about Alter and Environment Effects

By AeroEng42, in Star Wars: Force and Destiny RPG

Hey all! I realize the forums will be shutdown in a few days, so hopefully I can get a quick answer to this question.

I want to build a Seeker character who uses Alter to manipulate the battlefield in ways that are detrimental to enemies but not to me. I know Swift will let me ignore the effects of the base power, but what if I use Alter to create fog or smoke under the Concealment control upgrade? Can I use Outdoorsman to remove the Setback dice created by the environmental concealment in all situations (esp. combat)? If not, Keen-Eyed will still remove the Setback dice for Perception and Vigilance, correct?

What about for party members and allies? Will other talents like Brace allow them to ignore the effects of the concealment?

Thanks in advance!

12 minutes ago, AeroEng42 said:

I want to build a Seeker character who uses Alter to manipulate the battlefield in ways that are detrimental to enemies but not to me. I know Swift will let me ignore the effects of the base power, but what if I use Alter to create fog or smoke under the Concealment control upgrade? Can I use Outdoorsman to remove the Setback dice created by the environmental concealment in all situations (esp. combat)? If not, Keen-Eyed will still remove the Setback dice for Perception and Vigilance, correct?

What about for party members and allies? Will other talents like Brace allow them to ignore the effects of the concealment?

This might dredge up an old argument about whether Brace can be used to remove Setback from darkness, but the short answer is no, not the way you're suggesting.

Brace and Outdoorsman are not intended to allow you to remove Setback due to concealment etc.

Brace specifically states "disruptive physical obstacles" and gives examples like high gravity, unstable surfaces, etc.

Outdoorsman talks about "to move through terrain or to manage terrain and environmental effects." and as a secondary ability reduces overland travel times. When it says "and environmental effects" it is not intended to allow you to ignore darkness or vision-impairing environmental effects, but rather to allow you to remove checks made "to manage ... environmental effects." This would be checks to resist hot or cold or similar things. It also does not allow to remove Setback due to hot or cold. It is specifically referring to checks made to manage those effects.
An example would be you're wandering the wastes of Hoth, and have to make a Hard Resilience check to avoid penalty. Because it's getting dark (heralding a rising cold), the GM adds a Setback to the check. With Outdoorsman, you're able to remove that Setback.

As for the answer to your question, you'd need something like the Tracker Goggles (Tracker's goggles ... remove 2 Setback imposed due to concealment, darkness, or fog and mist...) or a Multi-Optic Sight.

This does sound like a neat concept, however.

If you outfit everybody with the proper Setback-removing equipment, then you can create a preternatural fog over your enemies without penalizing your allies. It's a very cinematic tactic, in my opinion.