Fwurg

[Brend]

By now, we have had a few issue with force powers affecting others (such as Telekinesis rank 3: How does this work, of Force power proposal: Life Energy Manipulation). It is unclear how this should be handled, and there are little to no guidelines on the topic for STs.

The problem here is that Jedi should be capable of affecting others with Force Powers, but this shouldn't result in Padawans suddenly winning from Masters because they have invested in two ranks of Life Energy Manipulation and are now capable of making the Master fall asleep.

We need guidelines on who can affect who, and how opposed checks work. In this post, I give some definitions so we can discuss the topic. I will talk about the following concepts, as they are linked to each other:

• Affectable Opponents: how do we determine whether you are allowed to affect someone
• Helpless/Weak Opponents: how do we determine what weak opponent is (with which you can do what you want)
• Opposed Checks: if you are allowed to affect someone, these are the checks made against that character, usually to affect them

In this post, when I say 'affected adversely' this holds for any power that affects someone else against their will, even if the Power is beneficial in nature. Furthermore, I will use 'N-ring operative' or 'N-ring opponent' as shorthand for "someone who needs be overcome on N rings to be disabled in combat", also when I say 'Jedi' I really mean '3-ring force user'.

Since these three concepts are inextracably linked to each other, I will propose guidelines and alternatives in separate posts.

Affectable Opponents

I define 'Affectable Opponent' as: "An opponent that can be affected adversely by this Force Power"

It stands to reason that a Padawan should not be capable of affecting a Master through the Force. Not even if that padawan has specialised in a single Power to the utmost of their ability. However, there should be a gray area where a weaker Jedi can confront a more powerful Jedi without immediate cancellation of their Powers.

Helpless/Weak Opponents

I define 'Helpless/Weak Opponent' as: "An opponent that can offer no resistance to being affected adversely by the Force Power"

Jedi (and other 3-ring operatives) are immensely powerful beings, so powerful in fact, that a normal 1-ring person stands no chance of even resisting the Jedi. The more powerful the Jedi is, the easier it is to affect those far below them, and for immensely powerful Jedi, the classification of 'helpless opponent' should eventually extend to other, much weaker, 3-ring operatives.

Opposed Checks

I define 'Opposed Check' as: "A check taken to affect another character that resists the effect of the Power"

The nature of the game is PvE (Player versus Environment), but even in the environment there are distinct characters that can be affected. The opposed check comes into play if the two characters fall in the same 'grey area' of power levels, such that they should reasonably be able to affect one another.