Jedi Counseling 27: "We Loot the Bodies!"

By JD Wiker

Can you loot a stormtrooper's body? Sure. Should you? Maybe not. In this installment of "Jedi Counseling," Star Wars Roleplaying Game designer JD Wiker gives tips on stopping heroes from robbing corpses. He also looks at increasing levels for allies and villains, playing beyond 20th level, and the proper use of various skills and feats.

Have a question for the counselor? See the link at the end of the column!

Q: In my campaign, after the heroes kill an enemy, they loot the body. Normally, this would be perfectly fine, but it's reached the point where they're fighting over who gets what and so on. Now it seems like the players are more interested in looting Gamemaster characters than in completing the mission. At first I tried giving Dark Side Points. Then I started saying some of the equipment was destroyed. Do you have any suggestions?

Something like this might be motivating your players to loot. Are you letting them sell the looted gear for full price? Cut prices drastically. Conversely, are they always short on credits? Give them enough credits to buy whatever they want.

Do they sometimes need lots of equipment (weapons and such) to defeat your opponents? Give them foes they don't need the best weapons to defeat.

Are they transferring a similar mentality from a different game -- looting in Star Wars because it's standard operating procedure in Dungeons & Dragons, for example? Dock them experience points.

'Hey, gimme that! I'm not dead!'

I'm also guessing that they might have started fighting over the loot about the time that you started declaring that equipment was destroyed: It told them that free equipment was limited, so they had better call "bagsies" on it. It doesn't sound like they're too terribly upset about getting Dark Side Points for fighting among themselves, so, again, experience point penalties might be a better choice. A player can live with DSPs, but stretching out that long haul from level to level is less palatable.

That probably won't stop them from finding creative ways to snatch up all the useful gear, though, so you might need to exercise a few tricks to break them of the habit. For example, put them in situations where hanging around to loot is a bad idea because more stormtroopers (or battle droids, or whatever) are always going to arrive before the heroes finish their looting. Or give them a time limit: The ship's reactor core is going to explode in so many rounds, and if they spend that time looting, they won't make it to the escape pods.

In the long run, you'll probably find it easier to come up with ways to punish them for looting, but they'll also find ways to get around the punishments (or they just won't care). So the trick is really to figure out what it is about your campaign that makes them believe looting is a good idea, and remove it.

Q: When using the Kinetic Combat feat, is the weapon used considered unattended for saves against Drain Energy and attacking the item?

A: No, the item is considered "held," despite the fact that it's not in your actual hands. The same goes for objects you pick up using Move Object.

Q: When using Kinetic Combat, does the square the weapon is in threaten the area, and can you make attacks of opportunity?

A: No and no. Kinetic Combat is really just a way of attacking at a distance with a melee weapon.

Q: In the Star Wars movies and books, Yoda and other Jedi refer to the Force as an energy field that surrounds, penetrates, and binds the galaxy together. Force Grip uses this field to compress lines of energy around vital organs, allowing the character to choke a hero or a villain. So could Dissipate Energy be used to convert that energy into vitality if the target character failed his saving throw and therefore took the damage as wound points instead of vitality?

A: Well, no, but I can see how you might come to that conclusion. The meaning of "energy" in the Dissipate Energy feat is very specific: It refers to damage of the "energy" type, as opposed to damage of the "physical" type. Force Grip specifically states that the damage caused is physical damage, so Dissipate Energy won't help against it.

Q: When it comes to recurring Gamemaster characters that last more or less throughout an entire campaign (some friends, some foes), how quickly would you suggest they advance in level in comparison to the player characters? Should they advance one level for every level the players gain, so that they continue to be a threat (or a useful ally)? Should I allow the heroes to "catch up" in levels so that they can finally defeat that pesky villain? The former seems more or less realistic, while the latter seems more fun and dramatic. What do you think?

A: Really, it depends on what you want out of your villains. You can make a villain "recurring" by making him tough, smart, or just plain better than his opponents. (With particularly good or lucky players, it sometimes takes all three.) Just so long as he lasts until you're ready to let them defeat him, without you arbitrarily "saving" the villain from time to time. So the trick is to decide whether he starts out more or less invincible (and the heroes eventually reach his level and kick him to the curb) or whether he's a challenge commensurate with their abilities, and he just keeps getting better -- until you're ready to let them kick him to the curb. If you choose the latter option, you just have to come up with some activity that the villain's been up to between encounters with the heroes, something that gives him the experience to stay one step ahead of them.

With allies, it's a bit different. You can go the "fixed-level" route with an ally (in which case, the heroes eventually outstrip his abilities, which is perfectly fine), or you can have the ally just keep creeping up in levels (perhaps by awarding him the same general experience you award the heroes).

In either case, remember that this is Star Wars, and what you're aiming at is a level of cinematic excitement, rather than realistic bookkeeping. You needn't worry too much about using a consistent system for both villains and allies, so long as the heroes eventually get to outshine both.

Q: If a character has the scout ability Uncanny Dodge (retains his Dexterity bonus to Defense, regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by a hidden attacker) and then takes the elite trooper prestige class -- which also grants Uncanny Dodge -- does the ability stack, like it does in Dungeons & Dragons? Does it become Uncanny Dodge (can't be flanked), or is this just the same bonus?

A: Just as in Dungeons & Dragons, the two abilities stack, granting what is effectively "improved" uncanny dodge.

Q: Does the Quick Draw feat apply to multiple weapons? And if so, does the size of the weapon matter?

A: Quick Draw doesn't specify that you can only draw one weapon per round. Since it's a free action with Quick Draw, and you can perform as many free actions in a round as the GM deems reasonable, then yes, it's reasonable to assume that you could draw two weapons in the same round using Quick Draw.

As GM, though, I personally would stipulate that you can, at best, "fill your hands" with weapons using this tactic. So, a two-handed, Medium-sized character could draw two Medium or smaller weapons, or one Large weapon, using Quick Draw.

Q: I asked you a question in "Jedi Counseling" #20about the skill Sever Force, from the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, and you explained that Dark Side Points can't be spent like Force Points can. Thanks, but I think you might have misunderstood. My point was that the character in question had managed to reduce his Dark Side Points to less than half his Wisdom score. Now that he's no longer tainted, does that mean that he's no longer under the effects of Sever Force?

A: Sorry I misunderstood. Yes, you've got it right. Once the character drops his Dark Side Points to less than half his Wisdom score, he is no longer required to make Will saves to use the Force; he can use the Force normally again.

Q: Can you use the Redirect Attack feat from Hero's Guide to redirect an attack back at the original attacker, since he is adjacent to you and within reach of the attacker (himself)?

A: No. The wording of the feat should probably point out that the original attacker is not a valid target.

Q: Can a character recover vitality points while his wound points are not at maximum?

A: Yes.

Q: What is the ruling for characters who reach 20th level? Is there play beyond 20th level, or is it the end of the campaign?

A: The campaign ends only when the group wants it to end. Although there are no official rules for taking characters beyond 20th level, it's not all that difficult to extrapolate from Table 3-1: Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits. However, there aren't any rules for class abilities beyond 20th level (nor are there likely to be any), so if you want to keep gaining class abilities, 21st level would be a good time to think about multiclassing.

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