Combination of Skills

By Lambalazar, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

My other topic had me think of another issue. Since using skills is an action, and you only get one per turn.....

If I'm using Coordination to walk along a narrow edge, but I'm trying to avoid detection, doesn't that mean I can't make a Stealth check, and the enemy would be able to spot me? Sorry if this ends up being really simple, I just like getting situations cleared up before I start a campaign.

In this case, you're not really in "combat speed," so I'd have you roll Coordination to not fall off, first, then Stealth against the enemy's Perception.

Even if it were during combat, though, I'd rule that your main action is the Coordination roll to not fall. The Stealth check is more of a reaction against the opponent's ability to spot you; if I were the GM, I'd still have the player roll against the enemy's Perception (rather than have the enemy roll Perception against Stealth) because it's more fun that way.

In this case, you're not really in "combat speed," so I'd have you roll Coordination to not fall off, first, then Stealth against the enemy's Perception.

Even if it were during combat, though, I'd rule that your main action is the Coordination roll to not fall. The Stealth check is more of a reaction against the opponent's ability to spot you; if I were the GM, I'd still have the player roll against the enemy's Perception (rather than have the enemy roll Perception against Stealth) because it's more fun that way.

Somewhat agreed, but I still feel iffy about having what would be an action be a reaction. Seems to go against a lot of the mechanic. I don't know how else you'd do it, though.

If it makes narrative sense, do it! This is the kind of thing where the narrative makes sense in your head but the rules don't match. In a battle between those two concepts, the rules should yield first. To a certain degree at least.

I would just come up with a way to blend the two, like using the lower of each's stat and skill to build the die pool, or introducing difficulty dice, setback dice, and/or strain cost. Here's an example: (Using letters in place of die colors)

For instance, let's say the normal difficulty is 2 to cross the ledge. You have the following stats:

Agility 4

Stealth 2

Coordination 1

Vs. the Stormtrooper patrol's Vigilance Pool of G, Y (which turns into P,R)

I would have them use G,G,G,Y (only one proficiency die because Coordination is only 1) and P,P,R for their pool. Notice the extra difficulty die. It's harder to maintain stealth when movement is restricted, and control balance when you are concerned with staying hidden also. I might also call for a Strain cost if for instance the patrol is already aware and searching for them. Things are much more stressful when the enemy is actively seeking your doom.

I am quite excited at how easily this game let's me create tension. Just call for strain costs, or reach for more Purple and Black dice. You will know a daring action is suitably tense by the look in your player's eyes. :D

Edited by Mark It Zero

If it makes narrative sense, do it! This is the kind of thing where the narrative makes sense in your head but the rules don't match. In a battle between those two concepts, the rules should yield first. To a certain degree at least.

True. The book always seems to push how open it leaves narrative. Just stuck in my d20 days where everything was set. Haha. I like this creativity and improvisational thing.

In this case, you're not really in "combat speed," so I'd have you roll Coordination to not fall off, first, then Stealth against the enemy's Perception.

Even if it were during combat, though, I'd rule that your main action is the Coordination roll to not fall. The Stealth check is more of a reaction against the opponent's ability to spot you; if I were the GM, I'd still have the player roll against the enemy's Perception (rather than have the enemy roll Perception against Stealth) because it's more fun that way.

Somewhat agreed, but I still feel iffy about having what would be an action be a reaction. Seems to go against a lot of the mechanic. I don't know how else you'd do it, though.

I wouldn't say it goes against the mechanics that much. But I had another idea that might work better, and reducing rolling:

Build a pool using your ranks in Coordination and your ranks in Stealth (instead of skill and characteristic; so if you had 3 in Stealth and 2 in Coordination you'd be rolling 2 Yellow, 1 Green). That way you're sort of splitting the difference between how sneaky you can be while also not tripping or falling.

The GM, of course, can adjust difficulty and add setback dice as necessary to fit the situation.

In this case, you're not really in "combat speed," so I'd have you roll Coordination to not fall off, first, then Stealth against the enemy's Perception.

Even if it were during combat, though, I'd rule that your main action is the Coordination roll to not fall. The Stealth check is more of a reaction against the opponent's ability to spot you; if I were the GM, I'd still have the player roll against the enemy's Perception (rather than have the enemy roll Perception against Stealth) because it's more fun that way.

I like that idea. It makes a lot of sense to me to have them roll it as a reaction.

Out of combat it doesn't matter. The character could be trying to cross a cable without being seen. Combat would only start if he fell or was spotted. Each skill could be rolled seperately. In combat though, if you were already hidden, then there would only be the need for a Coordination check. I would allow the Steath check if you started hidden, though, because you are basically continuing an action. If you are trying to hide while crossing a cable in the middle of combat, then I have to ask how you plan to do such a thing?

Out of combat it doesn't matter. The character could be trying to cross a cable without being seen. Combat would only start if he fell or was spotted. Each skill could be rolled seperately. In combat though, if you were already hidden, then there would only be the need for a Coordination check. I would allow the Steath check if you started hidden, though, because you are basically continuing an action. If you are trying to hide while crossing a cable in the middle of combat, then I have to ask how you plan to do such a thing?

For me, I'd only be trying to cross in combat if I was trying to flank and such. I'd just be continuing a stealth check from the previous turn, staying hidden while I'm crossing a beam or ledge behind or to the side of them while my group continues their attack.

I like Mark It Zero's idea - a bit like two-weapon fighting, same basic principle. I like it. I will test it next time the situation comes up.

This to me is like another question I saw about a wookiee grabing a droid and throwing it, being spread over 2 combat rounds (the grab then the throw), while that maybe d20's way, it's not very cinematic.

As a GM I would decide what is more important, being spotted or falling, if the character falls the Stormtrooper will see the player for sure, so for me the athletics check is more important, if that roll fails or generates enough threat then give the trooper a roll to spot the character. I guess what I'm saying is don't punish the player for describing what he is doing, work with it and use the dice to fill in the blanks.

This to me is like another question I saw about a wookiee grabing a droid and throwing it, being spread over 2 combat rounds (the grab then the throw), while that maybe d20's way, it's not very cinematic.

As a GM I would decide what is more important, being spotted or falling, if the character falls the Stormtrooper will see the player for sure, so for me the athletics check is more important, if that roll fails or generates enough threat then give the trooper a roll to spot the character. I guess what I'm saying is don't punish the player for describing what he is doing, work with it and use the dice to fill in the blanks.

Well put!

I like Mark It Zero's idea - a bit like two-weapon fighting, same basic principle. I like it. I will test it next time the situation comes up.

I like to limit every turn to as few rolls as possible for the sake of pacing. If I can mash together a die pool in short order that fairly adjudicates both actions. I came up with that example completely on the fly but here's one I had to come up with in play that ended up working well.

A player wanted to run across tabletops in the Cantina, while popping off a shot at her Gamorean pursuers.

AG 4, Coordination 1

AG 4, Ranged (heavy) 2

Her normal Coordination pool would have been G,G,G,Y, P, P (I ruled the tables were fairly sturdy because her description was fun. 2 Difficulty)

Her normal pool for Ranged (Heavy) was G,G,Y,Y,P,P.

She ended up rolling G,G,G,Y,P,P,P,B (Only one Proficiency die since Brawn/Athletics was the lower pool. One extra difficulty for the shot. No stress this time, the action was difficult enough. I also added the Boost die to encourage future colorful description.)

Her dice weren't kind. The tally came up 0 Successes, 2 Threat, 1 Triumph. I ruled her shot went wide, as a weakened table collapsed underneath her. Fortunately, thanks to the Triumph, she was able to maintain her composure, and slip down behind the tipped over table for cover. So in the end it kinda looked like she meant to do that, AND she had full cover from her opponents for a turn.

Really fun to play out. Quite fast to adjudicate.

As for the Strain loss option, I would reserve that for actions done under duress, or when failure has obvious dramatic consequences built in. This action was done for shock and awe, the PC was feeling pretty confident, and wanted to give the Gamoreans something to think about.

This to me is like another question I saw about a wookiee grabing a droid and throwing it, being spread over 2 combat rounds (the grab then the throw), while that maybe d20's way, it's not very cinematic.

As a GM I would decide what is more important, being spotted or falling, if the character falls the Stormtrooper will see the player for sure, so for me the athletics check is more important, if that roll fails or generates enough threat then give the trooper a roll to spot the character. I guess what I'm saying is don't punish the player for describing what he is doing, work with it and use the dice to fill in the blanks.

This is also a good way of doing it - you could, if you deem both the balance and being spotted issue as equally important roll a coordination opposed by the stormtroopers perception (whichever is the most difficult), that way you have covered the potential spot/listen check if too many threats are rolled, into the original roll.

If it was a situation where the player has been rolling stealth in general to avoid enemies, and now he has to cross the beam as part of that, I'd just do the coordination check, and add a few setback or red dice depending on the situation, to reflect the added difficulty for trying to do it quietly. I might also give him boost dice if he has a really high stealth skill. Maybe 1 boost dice for every 2 ranks in stealth. Success means he makes it across. Failure means he falls, is hanging by his hands or something, while threat might indicate he made a small noise or moved some dirt that fell, prompting an enemy perception check, while a despair would indicate that they know he is up there now.

You would roll a coordination check and the enemy would make an opposed perception check against your stealth.

That's one way of handlig it within the strict wording of the one action rule.

I like Mark It Zero's idea - a bit like two-weapon fighting, same basic principle. I like it. I will test it next time the situation comes up.

I like to limit every turn to as few rolls as possible for the sake of pacing. If I can mash together a die pool in short order that fairly adjudicates both actions. I came up with that example completely on the fly but here's one I had to come up with in play that ended up working well.

A player wanted to run across tabletops in the Cantina, while popping off a shot at her Gamorean pursuers.

AG 4, Coordination 1

AG 4, Ranged (heavy) 2

Her normal Coordination pool would have been G,G,G,Y, P, P (I ruled the tables were fairly sturdy because her description was fun. 2 Difficulty)

Her normal pool for Ranged (Heavy) was G,G,Y,Y,P,P.

She ended up rolling G,G,G,Y,P,P,P,B (Only one Proficiency die since Brawn/Athletics was the lower pool. One extra difficulty for the shot. No stress this time, the action was difficult enough. I also added the Boost die to encourage future colorful description.)

Her dice weren't kind. The tally came up 0 Successes, 2 Threat, 1 Triumph. I ruled her shot went wide, as a weakened table collapsed underneath her. Fortunately, thanks to the Triumph, she was able to maintain her composure, and slip down behind the tipped over table for cover. So in the end it kinda looked like she meant to do that, AND she had full cover from her opponents for a turn.

Really fun to play out. Quite fast to adjudicate.

As for the Strain loss option, I would reserve that for actions done under duress, or when failure has obvious dramatic consequences built in. This action was done for shock and awe, the PC was feeling pretty confident, and wanted to give the Gamoreans something to think about.

That is awesome!!! :D

That is awesome!!! :D

Edited by Mark It Zero

My other topic had me think of another issue. Since using skills is an action, and you only get one per turn.....

If I'm using Coordination to walk along a narrow edge, but I'm trying to avoid detection, doesn't that mean I can't make a Stealth check, and the enemy would be able to spot me? Sorry if this ends up being really simple, I just like getting situations cleared up before I start a campaign.

Edited by kaelith

My other topic had me think of another issue. Since using skills is an action, and you only get one per turn.....

If I'm using Coordination to walk along a narrow edge, but I'm trying to avoid detection, doesn't that mean I can't make a Stealth check, and the enemy would be able to spot me? Sorry if this ends up being really simple, I just like getting situations cleared up before I start a campaign.

Isn't the coordination check just part of a maneuver while moving...? Like an athletics swim check?

Yes, but so is Stealth, hence the one action per turn, two actions necessary to perform my action conundrum.