I have a question for those who have access to the AoR beta: How (if at all) is demolitions handled in the game. I don't mean mines or grenades, but setting charges to blow something up. I understand from the Order 66 podcast that there isn't a demolition skill, but does the rules adress this in any way? And if so, how?

I'm interested in this too. Demolitions could easily be a skill added by the GM (it's as different from other skills as Lightsaber is from Melee), but it could also go off of Mechanics or even something like Knowledge (Education) for all of the science involved in precise demolitions.

Same. I'm interested in a infiltrator/saboteur. Get in, blow stuff up, leave but I can't find a very concrete set of rules for demolitions. I mean, my GM and I can house-rule it or just come up with something off the cuff. Light-Ranged + intelligence instead of agility makes sense to a certain degree but it feels... lacking.

From the Debts to Pay adventure from EotE - Mechanics is used for demolitions, and Skulduggery is used for figuring out where to place it for traps, to bring down a building, etc.

I've let my players use Mechanics if they want to strategically and tactically use demolitions and detonite to close up a bunker, bring down parts of a building or just a door... whereas Skulduggery is more about gaining access or stopping pursuit in my mind, a bit more of a blunt object when it comes to demolition, more for sabotage to destroy and ruin stuff, whereas mechanics would leave stuff "useful". It's hard to explain. Kind of like Millandson says really.

Depending on what they want to do the difficulty of the check could be easier with Mechanics than Skulduggery, or the other way around, but generally I'd let these overlap somewhat when it comes to demolition.

I'm still waiting to order the AoR beta... I wantz it!

For the "Shadows of a Black Sun" module for Free RPG Day, there was a point in there where there was an explosive that the PCs could disarm. The module explained that it was a Cool check to disarm the bomb. I kind of like this approach, at least for disarming, it reminds me of the old 90s action movie where the protagonist is looming over a mess of wires and an LED display is counting down to 0. He's sweating profusely over whether to cut the red wire or the blue wire. I like that train of thought.

Sure you can use mechanics and other such skills for making a bomb, but once the bomb is made, it really just takes some care to set it correctly. But then again, I'm approaching this from a movie perspective with no real-life experience to draw from.

Knowing where best to place a bomb could be a different monster all together.

Without an actual demolition skill using Mechanical sounds good for breaching a wall or demolishing a structure. Skulduggery might be good for more precision-style explosives and traps. And Cool... hadn't thought of that one, but it would make sense in some contexts.

Without an actual demolition skill using Mechanical sounds good for breaching a wall or demolishing a structure. Skulduggery might be good for more precision-style explosives and traps. And Cool... hadn't thought of that one, but it would make sense in some contexts.

Great idea.

In the order 66 podcast they said that gunnery is the skill used to lay mines, i assume laying charges would be the same. There are also talents that let you affect the blast as well,iirc there was one mentioned elsewhere that allows you to exclude an ally from a blast for example.

Gunnery makes sense, in an odd way. Particularly, perhaps, if trying to breach the hull of a ship during a boarding, but under other circumstances too perhaps.

I guess it depends on context and particularly how the character narrates his attempt? Difficulty could also vary with skill used, like with so much else in this game...

I don't like the fact that the Mechanics skill is responsible for a lot of things that were separate under WEG system. Mechanics can repair ships, vehicles, weapons and allow setting/disarming explosives. Too much for one skill. The same was with D20.

As a GM I prefer to have Demolition as a separate skill, to arm/disarm explosives, make them work in special way or to create improvised explosive device.

If you think of gunnery as a ​heavy weapon skill it makes sense.

I'm pleased FFG had the foresight to include a sizable block in their character sheets for custom skills. Demolitions sounds like a good custom skill to me.