Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Rule Book

UPGRADING AND DOWNGRADING

ABILITY AND DIFFICULTY

Certain rules may call for a player to upgrade or

downgrade the ability or difficulty of a dice pool.

For example, the Dodge talent allows characters

to upgrade the difficulty of a combat check by

a certain value. Upgrading or downgrading the

ability of a pool refers to upgrading Ability dice

0 into Proficiency dice # or downgrading Pro-

ficiency dice # to Ability dice <>. Likewise, up-

grading or downgrading the difficulty of a pool

refers to upgrading Difficulty dice 0 into Chal-

lenge dice O, or downgrading Challenge dice O

into Difficulty dice<>.

those decisions, as well as common sense based on how
the scene and action have been described. See the Pos-
itive Dice and Negative Dice sidebar on page 9
for examples of the types of situations that may warrant
the addition of Boost or Setback dice.

EXAMPLE: ADDING • AND •

For example, in the computer terminal slicing

example used previously, the scene may have

been described to reflect the character attempt-

ing the task while under heavy fire from enemy

forces (a disadvantage) and after suffering a

broken wrist (a disadvantage). Fortunately, the

character acquired a fragment of the terminal's

passcode algorithms earlier (an advantage).

Based on how the scene has been set up and

described, the GM adds two Setback dice and

one Boost die (• • •) to the pool.

UPGRADING AND DOWNGRADING DICE

In addition to dice being added to the pool, some game
effects improve a weaker die into a more potent die, or
turn a potent die into a weaker die. Improving a die is
called upgrading. Weakening a die is called downgrad-
ing. Upgrading and downgrading dice most often occurs
when one of the participants invests a Destiny point into
a skill check. Certain talents or special abilities may also
allow a character to upgrade or downgrade dice.

UPGRADING DICE

Upgrading dice is a mechanic specific to Ability dice

and Difficulty dice. These are the only two types of

dice that can be upgraded. When an Ability die 4} is

upgraded, it is converted into a Proficiency die O.

When a Difficulty die • is upgraded, it is converted

into a Challenge die#.

When a special talent or effect calls for one or

more dice to be upgraded, the player first deter-

mines how many dice are to be upgraded. Once he

determines this, he removes that number of Abil-

ity dice 4f or Difficulty dice 4f from the pool and

replaces them with an equal number of either Pro-

ficiency dice O or Challenge dice #. When an ef-

fect requires a character to upgrade dice, the rules

always state whether Ability dice 4r or Difficulty dice

4) are being upgraded.

UPGRADING MORE DICE THAN AVAILABLE

There may be situations in which a player needs to

upgrade Ability dice into Proficiency dice, but there

are no more Ability dice remaining in the pool. In this

case, the player performs the following steps. First, he

determines how many dice upgrades remain. Then,

using one upgrade, he adds one additional Ability die

4} to the pool. If any upgrade opportunities remain,

he then upgrades the newly added Ability die 4} into

a Proficiency die O. This process is repeated until all

potential upgrades have been applied.

Likewise, if a player needs to upgrade Difficulty dice

into Challenge dice but there are no more Difficulty

dice remaining, the same process is followed. First,

one additional Difficulty die 4f is added, then if there

are any more upgrades remaining, the Difficulty die 4f

is upgraded into a Challenge die #, and so on.

DOWNGRADING DICE

Downgrading dice is also a specific mechanic, and

applies only to Proficiency dice and Challenge dice.

When a Proficiency die O is downgraded, it becomes

INCREASE, UPGRADE, DR ADD?

T

here may come times when the GM is un-

sure whether a situation should have the dif-

ficulty level increased or whether dice should

be added or upgraded. The difficulty should be

set based on the task itself, not on the circum-

stances surrounding that specific attempt at

the task. In general, once set, the difficulty lev-

el remains the same, regardless of who, what,

when, or why that particular task is attempted.

Upgrading (or downgrading) dice is not usually

necessary unless a specific rule or ability calls

for it. These situations are defined by the indi-

vidual abilities, and are generally not applied

arbitrarily by the GM.

If the circumstances for this particular execu-

tion of the task are unique, then the GM may

decide the task warrants the addition of Boost

or Setback dice. Added dice should reflect

the elements that make this attempt distinct

or special. As a general rule, if the GM feels

that a skill check has distinct factors that would

modify the outcome, he should consider using

Boost and Setback dice.

PLAYING THE GAME

'EDGE OF THE EMPIRE