Specialties & Save Points
Specialties
Every avatar gets to pick two specialties.
Each specialty represents the Ability to re-roll an 8. So if an 8 comes up on the die, it is counted as a success and then re-rolled. This means that 8s can result in additional successes. You can only re-roll as many 8s as you have active specialties. As a prerequisite for taking a specialty, the avatar must have a score of at least 2 in the Ability.
Specialties must be specific to a certain degree. If the avatar wants to have the Shooting Ability as a specialty, he has to specify a special maneuver or weapon. Sniping or auto-fire are examples of maneuvers that can be used as specialties.
Carbines or shotguns can also be used as a specialty. This means that an avatar can have multiple specialties within the same Ability and can buy the same specialty multiple times to heighten the re-roll chance with that specialty. Re-rolled dice are exempt from botches. No more than four specialties can be active during the same roll, which means that no more than four re-rolls can be made at any one time.
Example: Gith has rifles and sniping as specialties. He’s using a rifle to snipe a guard, which means that both of his specialties are active. He rolls and scores two 8s and one 7. The 8s are re-rolled since two specialties are active. The re-roll results in a 5 and another 8, one additional success. Since he has no more specialties active for the roll, the 8 isn’t re-rolled but counts as a normal success.
In cases where the player spends the point to succeed with a certain series of actions, he gets to narrate the result. Always remember that the point only can be spent in a way that’s reasonable for the avatar and entertaining (ultimately decided by the AI). A player may spend a point to have his avatar (not even familiar with the Piloting Ability) crash- land a ship in order to keep everyone alive, while the point couldn’t be spent for him to fly the thing in zigzag and kill off two following fighters. On the other hand, a skilled pilot might spend the save point to pull off the above action. It’s all about balance, tactics and entertainment value.
Example 1 (save point spent after the fact): The operative, Eric Starkwood, has encountered a problem. While he tried to circumvent the security system on a SES lab, he failed and tripped the alarm. Guards will be swarming any minute. The player says that he wants to spend a save point after the fact. The AI approves and the game skips back to the moment just before he started to work on the security panel.
Example 2 (save point spent for automatic success): Lee Wei has a shot starboard engine, his fighter is on fire and his weapon systems are malfunctioning. His only chance is to shake off the fighter following him. They’re flying through all kinds of debris. The player of Lee Wei says that he wishes to spend a save point to kill off/incapacitate his opponent by using his surroundings. The AI allows it and the player narrates how he lures his opponent into the debris, sends some of it spinning by winging it with fire and it crashes into his opponent, who loses his course and one of his engines.
Each specialty represents the Ability to re-roll an 8. So if an 8 comes up on the die, it is counted as a success and then re-rolled. This means that 8s can result in additional successes. You can only re-roll as many 8s as you have active specialties. As a prerequisite for taking a specialty, the avatar must have a score of at least 2 in the Ability.
Specialties must be specific to a certain degree. If the avatar wants to have the Shooting Ability as a specialty, he has to specify a special maneuver or weapon. Sniping or auto-fire are examples of maneuvers that can be used as specialties.
Carbines or shotguns can also be used as a specialty. This means that an avatar can have multiple specialties within the same Ability and can buy the same specialty multiple times to heighten the re-roll chance with that specialty. Re-rolled dice are exempt from botches. No more than four specialties can be active during the same roll, which means that no more than four re-rolls can be made at any one time.
Example: Gith has rifles and sniping as specialties. He’s using a rifle to snipe a guard, which means that both of his specialties are active. He rolls and scores two 8s and one 7. The 8s are re-rolled since two specialties are active. The re-roll results in a 5 and another 8, one additional success. Since he has no more specialties active for the roll, the 8 isn’t re-rolled but counts as a normal success.
Save Points
Each avatar begins the game with three save points. These can be spent during play in one of two ways. They can be spent to guarantee success in a crucial moment or after the fact in order to get a do-over (you have to spend the point immediately after the failure) if the avatar was killed, suffered severe damage, or fails in a way that will have a profoundly negative effect.In cases where the player spends the point to succeed with a certain series of actions, he gets to narrate the result. Always remember that the point only can be spent in a way that’s reasonable for the avatar and entertaining (ultimately decided by the AI). A player may spend a point to have his avatar (not even familiar with the Piloting Ability) crash- land a ship in order to keep everyone alive, while the point couldn’t be spent for him to fly the thing in zigzag and kill off two following fighters. On the other hand, a skilled pilot might spend the save point to pull off the above action. It’s all about balance, tactics and entertainment value.
Example 1 (save point spent after the fact): The operative, Eric Starkwood, has encountered a problem. While he tried to circumvent the security system on a SES lab, he failed and tripped the alarm. Guards will be swarming any minute. The player says that he wants to spend a save point after the fact. The AI approves and the game skips back to the moment just before he started to work on the security panel.
Example 2 (save point spent for automatic success): Lee Wei has a shot starboard engine, his fighter is on fire and his weapon systems are malfunctioning. His only chance is to shake off the fighter following him. They’re flying through all kinds of debris. The player of Lee Wei says that he wishes to spend a save point to kill off/incapacitate his opponent by using his surroundings. The AI allows it and the player narrates how he lures his opponent into the debris, sends some of it spinning by winging it with fire and it crashes into his opponent, who loses his course and one of his engines.
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