Edge of the Empire Book

TABLE 3-1: FEAR GUIDELINES

Minimally Afraid Easy(4)) Somewhat overmatched in combat; a minimally dangerous creature; a minor threat to one's safety.

Moderately Afraid Average [4)4))

Obviously overmatched in combat; a dangerously

aggressive creature; a credible threat to one's safety

and minimal threat to one's life.

Very Afraid Hard (4)4)4))

Battlefield combat; a pack of aggressive creatures;

a major threat to one's safety and moderate fear for

one's life.

Mortally Afraid Daunting (4444)

Terrifyingly intense combat; confronting a large and

dangerous creature such as a rancor; overwhelming

fear for one's life.

Utterly Terrified Formidable (444 44

A hopeless and utterly terrifying situation; combat

against things incomprehensible to one's mind; being

chased by a pack of rancors; fear so crippling that

sanity cracks.

Confronting something reputed

to be dangerous.^1 difficulty upgrade

Confronting a Sith warrior, or an Imperial Intelligence

agent; Negotiating with Jabba the Hutt.

Confronting something known to

be dangerous and very rare.^2 difficulty upgrades Being trapped in the gullet of a Sarlacc.

Confronting something known

to be extremely dangerous and

unique.

3 difficulty upgrades Fighting Darth Vader.

loved one might be required to make more checks to

reflect his ongoing concern and stress.

Typically, the effects of fear are determined by the

results of a Discipline check. However, if the character

has had time to prepare for the situation, and is not

taken by surprise, the CM may allow the character to

use a Cool check instead.

DETERMINING FEAR DIFFICULTY

The difficulty of a fear check is a combination of

circumstance and the individual experiencing the

fear. No two people respond the same way to a

frightening situation. Where an untrained civilian

might freeze in fear when a fight breaks out, a

trained soldier may act with confidence and effec-

tiveness. This is not to say that the solider is nec-

essarily unafraid; it simply means that he is better

able to deal with the fear.

Example circumstances and difficulties are shown

in Table 9-1: Fear Guidelines. The difficulty is ini-

tially set reflecting a frightening situation for a person

without prior experience in the events in question.

The difficulty of the check can also be upgraded, de-

pending on the circumstances at hand. Upgrades usu-

ally depend on the circumstances of the check or the

details of the creature or character causing the fear.

For example, confronting a grim warrior in black ar-

mor and carrying a lightsaber could at the very least

be a Daunting (4 • • •) check. However, know-

ing that the warrior is Darth Vader, who hunted down

and killed the Jedi and is a Dark Lord of the Sith, can

upgrade the difficulty of the check three times. The

CM may add • to represent other aspects of the situ-

ation, such as surprise. The CM may also add • and

other beneficial dice if the character's resolve is sup-

ported by powerful allies or other beneficial aids.

EFFECTS OF FEAR

The CM should interpret the results of the dice

pool. Some creatures or talents may dictate the re-

sults of a fear check they specifically trigger. The

GM may also create additional effects. <§) and O

carry effects regardless of success and failure. If

multiple fear checks are needed, >§> and O of later

rolls may cancel out effects from earlier rolls.

Suggested minimum failure effects are:

• Failure: The character adds • to each action he
  takes during the encounter.


• Threat: The character suffers a number of strain
  equal to the number of Failures. If the check gen-
  erates <§> <§> <§> or more, the character can be
  staggered for his first turn, instead.


• Despair: The character is incredibly frightened
  and increases the difficulty of all checks until the
  end of the encounter by one.

THE GAME MASTER

EDGE OF THE EMPIRE