Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Rule Book

UNSKILLED ASSISTANCE
If the assisting party does not have a higher charac-
teristic or skill rating, so that using either rating pro-
vides no benefit to the other character, the CM may
add • to the dice pool (representing the fact that the
additional assistance is still providing some benefit).

EXAMPLE: UNSKILLED ASSISTANCE

Later Pash finds himself needing to assist 41 -VEX

in tending to a shipmate's wounds. 41 -VEX has In-

tellect 3 and Medicine 3, while Pash has Intellect

2 and no ranks of Medicine. Pash cannot provide

skilled assistance, so 41-VEX gains one Boost die

on the skill check to reflect Pash's attempts to help,

resulting in the following dice pool: OOOO

ASSISTANCE RESTRICTIONS

The GM may stipulate certain conditions or require-
ments to offer assistance. To assist with tending to an

injury, the assisting character needs to be next to the

person being tended to, or to assist with translating

an ancient holocron, the assisting character may need

access to the holocron.

Generally, only one character can provide assis-

tance at a time. However, the GM may decide that

certain situations accommodate more people. In this

case, only one assisting character can offer his char-

acteristic or skill rating—all other participating char-

acters contribute • to the check.

ASSISTANCE AND TIMING

During combat or structured encounters, when initia-

tive and the order in which people act is more impor-

tant, assistance can be accomplished by performing

the assist maneuver. The assist maneuver allows an

ally to benefit from assistance provided by an en-

gaged ally on his next skill check. Assistance only

lasts until the assisted character's next activation.

For more on the assist maneuver, see Chapter VI:

Conflict and Combat

Other Key Elements

I

n addition to the fundamental concepts discussed

previously in this chapter, there are several other

concepts that inform gameplay, advance the story,

and help PCs overcome adversity. This section de-

scribes a number of these key elements, including

character talents, Destiny Points, Obligation, experi-

ence and development, and derived attributes such

as wound and strain thresholds.

TALENTS

Where skills represent what a character knows, prac-

ticed disciplines, or applied experience to a topic,

talents are a much broader class of special ability. Tal-

ents represent various tricks, techniques, and knacks

characters pick up over their career, or reflect their

sheer determination to get things done. Each talent

is a distinct special ability that provides the character

with an edge in certain situations.

While characteristics and skills are fairly universal—

every character has six characteristics, and everyone

has access to all the skills—talents are far more spe-

cific. Each career is defined by a series of unique tal-

ents bundled together in a format called talent trees.

These talent trees represent the specializations within

each career, and help distinguish characters advanc-

ing along separate career paths.

Talents are divided into several categories and are

either active or passive. Active talents typically require

the player to state that his character is using them.

Some active talents have a cost or requirement associ-

ated with them, such as investing a Destiny Point, suf-

fering strain, or using it as part of an attack action. Oth-

er talents are passive, meaning they are always "on"

and don't need to be activated by the player. Passive

talents either constantly provide their benefit, or are

automatically triggered under certain circumstances.

Some talents belong to a series of related talents.

These may either represent improved versions of

lower level talents, or identical talents taken multiple

times for a cumulative effect. In the former case, an

improved version of a talent completely replaces the

lower level version. In the latter case, the talent is

measured with a series of ranks. The more times that

talent is taken, the more ranks it has, and the greater

the magnitude of its effects.

The majority of talents are specific to a character's

given profession. Talent trees represent the natural

flow of learning and experience that a character gains

throughout adventures. Talent trees are divided up

into five tiers—the higher tiers representing remark-

able abilities. Some talents may appear across mul-

tiple specializations, but at different tiers or costs.

There are also some special talent trees, such as Force

Sensitivity, which are not tied to a specific profession

or career, but function in much the same way.

For a full description of each talent and how they

are used in play, see Chapter IV: Talents.

PLAYING THE GAME

EDGE OF THE EMPIRE