Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Rule Book

RELATIVE POSITIONING

pecause of the narrative, abstract way in which

Ddistance is measured, both the players and

Game Master must be aware of how positioning

relative to two or more targets is measured. Once

combat begins, the Game Master will tell each play-

er where he is relative to the opponents—it is then

up to the player to track his range relative to those

opponents as the battle progresses.

For example, during a battle within a huge hangar

bay. the characters are ambushed by four storm-

troopers—two approach from one side and two on

the other—considered at the medium range band

to the characters. During their turns, the characters

split up to attack. Two of the players move towards

one group of stormtroopers, getting within short

range, and the other group moves to the opposite

set of stormtroopers. Both groups of characters are

now within short range to their specific targets, but

medium range to the other group of targets.

The difference between personal and planetary

ranges of scale should be considered separately. At

a planetary scale, two starships attacking each oth-

er at short range does not translate to being short

at a personal range—the distance is considered

far past extreme for a personal range, even with

Ranged (Heavy) weapons. Similarly, two docked

ships are considered engaged at a planetary scale,

but a gun battle on the surface of either ship utilizes

the personal range bands where characters may be

at long or even extreme range from each other.

range can talk comfortably without raising their voices.
Moving to another spot within short range is usually
easy to do and generally only requires one maneuver.

MEDIUM RANGE

Medium range can be up to several dozen meters away.
More reliable pistols can reach to medium range. Few
thrown weapons can reach this far. Two people in medi-
um range of each other need to talk loudly to hear each
other. Moving from short range to medium range takes
little exertion, and generally requires one maneuver.

LONG RANGE

Long range is further than a few dozen meters. Blaster

rifles, mounted weapons, and weapons that use the

Gunnery skill can reliably reach this far without too much

trouble. Two people in long range of each other need

to yell loudly to hear each other. Moving from medium

range to long range requires two maneuvers, as it is more

time consuming than moving between medium range

and short range. This means that in most cases, a char-

acter cannot close the distance between short and long

range in a single round, as it would take three maneuvers

(one for short to medium, two for medium to long).

EXTREME RANGE

Extreme range is the farthest range at which two targets

can interact. High-tech sniper weaponry and some ve-

hicle-mounted armaments may reach out to this range.

Two people at extreme range may not be able to hear

each other even if they shout. Moving between long

range and extreme range can be time-consuming and

exerting, and requires two maneuvers. This means that

in most cases, a character can move the entire distance

between long and extreme range in a single round, but

will suffer strain or give up his action to do so.

PLANETARY SCALE

RANGES

The distances and range bands presented here are

based on the personal scale for characters. Starships

and vehicles may use these range bands, or much larger

range bands, based on the needs of the story. On a plan-

et's surface, these range bands may suffice, while in the

depths of outer space in the midst of a heated starship

battle, the range bands represent much larger distances

and positions. See the starship section for more details

on planetary and starship-based ranges and distances.

A good guideline is that the close range on planetary

scale picks up where the extreme range of personal scale

ends—it's the next step in ranged bands. However, the

scale is so much bigger that a single person could never

use maneuvers to move next to a target that's "close"

to him on a planetary scale—the distance may be up

to several kilometers and take hours of walking. Further

range bands on a planetary scale would be even more

extreme. Planetary scale ranges are explained further

on page 238 in Chapter VII: Starships and Vehicles

CUSTOM SKILLS IN COMBAT

S

ome players may have characters that use cus-

tom combat skills. This is acceptable within the

game (as long as the GM is fine with it). However,

many of the rules in this chapter are written with

the five basic combat skills in mind, and do not

mention custom combat skills specifically. Thus,

players need to determine beforehand whether

these skills are used to make ranged attacks or

close combat attacks. Ideally, they should deter-

mine what existing skill their new, custom skill is

most similar to, and apply the same modifiers to

their new skill that apply to the original skill.