Here's my first draft of a new Lightsaber Forms implementation for the revised edition of the Star Wars RPG from Wizards of the Coast. Many aspects of these variant rules were inspired by ideas I found on the Wizards. Com forum (particularly this thread: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=449175 ) and on the forum at theforce.net ( particularly in this thread: http://boards.theforce.net/games_rpg_miniatures/b10196/19541996/p1 ). Both threads offer a variety of alternative systems for implementing lightsaber forms, and I recommend that anyone interested in this topic should take a look at them.
The core concept is that Jedi usually know the basics of several forms, while specializing in only a small number. This meant I needed to have a tiered approach to the Forms, with each Form having multiple (usually 3) ranks of familiarity, with each rank providing its own bonuses. I want it to be simple, and I didn't want to use feats (they're too precious to have to devote a half dozen or more just to forms) or prestige classes (which I don't like for Forms for various reasons).
So I was thinking about it, and looking at the classes, and it occurred to me that some of the already existing class features really sound like what you'd expect from the lightsaber forms. For example, all Jedi get the Deflect (Defense) class feature, which sounds like part of what you'd get from "Form 3", as well as Deflect (Attack) which is what "Form 5" is all about (or one of the Form 5 variants, anyway). That resonated with the fact that Jedi typically will learn the basics of several Forms. This led to looking at all the existing class features/special qualities (whatever you call them) from the point of view of Forms. I'd already been thinking about getting rid of the Increase Lightsaber Damage class features (see below) and replacing them with more optional benefits from a list of choices, so it all just came together. Instead of getting a handful of specific class features in specific order like the RAW, lets replace those class features with a more flexible system of a la carte Form benefits.
This system replaces the normal class feature progression in Jedi classes. In any Jedi class or prestige class, the following four class special features no longer exist:
Instead, at each class level where you would have gained one of those features, you will instead get one rank in a Lightsaber Form of your choice. Each Form has its own prerequisites you must meet before taking the first rank in that Form, and there are also two global restrictions:
The Block class feature remains separate from the lightsaber forms, although it is related. Instead, you gain the following version of Block automatically at Jedi level 11 (adjust to suit your taste), although you must have rank 1 of Soresu (Form III) in order to use Block.
Prerequisite: Soresu (Form III) rank 1
Benefit: This ability allows you to protect yourself from attack without the use of a lightsaber. You gain a +2 dodge bonus to Defense for one round. In addition, if you have Soresu (Form III) rank 2, this bonus increases to +4. Similarly, if you know Shien (Form V) rank 1 or rank 2, you can reflect ranged attacks as per those rules. Activating this ability is a reaction that costs you a move action on your next initiative. You must indicate you are using Block when an opponent declares an attack, but before any attack rolls are made. The bonuses from Block can be used in conjunction with Total Defense. If you do not have some form of protective gear (such as an armored gauntlet), or an item that can withstand the ranged attack, you must use a Force point to use this ability (which does not add the usual bonus dice to d20 rolls for the remainder of the round).
I had been planning to significantly reduce the bonuses from the "Increase Lightsaber Damage" class feature even before I started working on this system of Forms. In my game, I'm going to provide a +1 to lightsaber damage every 3 Force levels (round down). If you like the current system of Increase Lightsaber Damage, you can keep it as it is now. Characters will not get to pick a rank in a Form at those levels, however. Instead, you might want to let characters have the option to take a rank in a Form in place of a bonus feat.
Now on to the Forms! In the entries below, unless otherwise noted, all the quotes used in the Form descriptions are taken from the article "The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat" by David West Reynolds, as reprinted at:
http://swg.stratics.com/content/gameplay/professions/jedi/lightsaber_combat.php
Prerequisites: Jedi level 1, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (lightsaber)
Description: "Millennia before the Clone Wars, advanced technology replaced metal swords with energy-beam lightsabers. In this transition the first Form was born. Jedi Masters created Form I from ancient sword-fighting traditions, since the principles of blade combat remained much the same."
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Defense +1 – While wielding a lightsaber, you gain a +1 dodge bonus to Defense. This applies to both melee and ranged attacks. Ranged attacks that do not hit can be considered effectively deflected away.
2) Extended Defense – While wielding a lightsaber, you can extend your Shii-Cho 1 (Defense +1), Soresu 1 and 2 (Defense +2 or +4), and Shien 1 and 2 (Reflect and Improved Reflect) abilities to protect other characters. To benefit, the other characters must be within reach, or you must be directly between the attacker and the target. All rules associated with the specific abilities apply, the only difference is that you can extend the abilities to help those nearby.
3) Disarming Strike - You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when attempting to disarm a foe, or attack a held object.
Design Notes: As the basic Form that all Jedi must learn, all the other Forms will require at least one rank in Shii-Cho as a prerequisite. This Form provides a few general benefits, that are fairly middle-of-the-road or situationally useful.
Prerequisites: Force level 3, Shii-Cho 1, BAB 7, Weapon Focus (lightsaber)
Description: "The ultimate refinement of lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat became Form II, advancing the precision of blade manipulation to its finest possible degree and producing the greatest dueling masters the galaxy has ever seen."
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Defense +2 (Melee) – While wielding a lightsaber, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to Defense against melee attacks.
2) Attack +2 (Melee) – While wielding a lightsaber, you gain a +2 attack bonus on attacks against a foe who is using a melee weapon.
3) Improved Feint – You can feint in melee combat as move action, and you have a +2 bonus on any roll to make or resist feints.
Limitations: Makashi is a very precise and restricted Form that applies only in melee combat, and also cannot be easily combined with several other Forms. You cannot use any Makashi benefits in the same round that you use any features of Ataru (Form IV), Djem So (Form V-a), Reverse Shien (Form V-b), Juyo (Form VII), or Vaapad (Form VII-a).
Design Notes: Pretty straight-forward, with higher requirements than most of the other Forms, and a nice mastery ability at rank 3 that I feel fits in well with the duelist approach. The base attack bonus requirement (instead of just using a higher Force level requirement) is to represent that a Soldier/Jedi could theoretically pick this up relatively early in his Jedi career by building on the combat skills he learned in his other class(es). It also guarantees a Jedi Guardian can get into this Form faster than a Consular.
Prerequisites: Force level 3, Shii-Cho 1
Description: "The third great lightsaber discipline was first developed in response to the advancement of blaster technology in the galaxy… Over the centuries it has transcended this origin to become a highly refined expression of non-aggressive Jedi philosophy. Form III maximizes defensive protection in a style characterized by tight, efficient movements that expose minimal target area compared to the relatively open style of some of the other Forms."
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Defense +2 – While wielding a lightsaber, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to Defense against all attacks for one round. Activating this ability is a reaction that costs you a move action on your next initiative. You must indicate you are using Soresu when an opponent declares an attack, but before any attack rolls are made. The bonuses from Soresu can be used in conjunction with Total Defense.
2) Defense +4 – When using Soresu (including sacrificing a move action), your Soresu dodge bonus improves to +4.
3) Counterattack – Once per round, when using Soresu (and sacrificing a move action), you can make an Attack of Opportunity against any one foe who misses his attack against you. You must be able to attack that foe, so he must either be within reach or the attack must be a ranged attack that you can Reflect. This can only be done once per round, even if you can make multiple attacks of opportunity.
Limitations: This is a defensive and low mobility style, requiring you to give up a move action to gain the benefits, as described above. You cannot use any of these abilities in the same round that you use abilities from Ataru (Form IV), Djem So (Form V-a), Juyo (Form VII) or Vaapad (Form VII-a).
Design Notes: This Form fills the role of the original Deflect (Defense) class features. Most Jedi will take Soresu rank 1 at some point fairly early in their career. The max bonus is the approximately the same as what you could get in the RAW (depending on prestige class choices), but comes from two ranks instead of four separate +1 features. It also applies against both ranged and melee attacks, as per the Form description. I still think that is balanced because you are giving up a move action and losing the ability to make a full attack, which we find to be a really significant drawback. Regarding this Form's final rank, many of the additional sources make it clear that the Form encourages the practitioner to fight defensively while waiting for the enemy to make a mistake, and then take advantage with a counterstrike. The rank 3 ability is therefore similar to the Agile Riposte feat, although with the limitation that you have to be sacrificing a move action in order to have access to it.
Prerequisites: Force level 5, Shii-Cho 1, Enhance Ability 4 ranks, Tumble 4 ranks
Description: "Form IV is the most acrobatic Form, heavily emphasizing Jedi abilities to run, jump and spin in phenomenal ways by using the Force. Masters of Form IV incorporate all of the ways in which the Force helps them go beyond what is physically possible."
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) When using the Enhance Ability skill, apply one half the listed Force bonus to your Jump and Tumble skills, as well as to the chosen ability. For example, if you roll an Enhance Ability total of 22, it would provide a +4 to either Strength or Dexterity, and provide an additional +2 to both Jump and Tumble.
2) Acrobatic Charge - When making a Charge action, you do not suffer the -2 Defense penalty and are not restricted to moving in a straight line, but can follow any path, including making acrobatic flips, jumps and turns, as long as you meet the total distance limitations (minimum of 4m, max of twice speed). You do not have to stop as soon as you are in striking range, although if you do not stop you will provoke an attack of opportunity as per normal. As always, a Tumble check can avoid provoking the AoO, with the standard DC of 25 or 15 depending on whether you enter the same square as someone else, or simply move around them.
3) Surrounded by One – A true Form IV master learns how to surround an opponent by himself. When using the Acrobatic Charge and circling your foe, you gain the normal +2 attack bonus for Flanking, as if the target had multiple opponents, in addition to the Charge bonus.
Limitations: The flamboyant and acrobatic moves of this style are incompatible with the precision required for Makashi (Form II), the tight defenses of Soresu (Form III), or the powerful blows of Djem So (Form V-a), so you cannot use abilities from any of those styles in the same round.
Design Notes: I think the selection of abilities here really matches the original description of the Form, as well as what we see in the movies. Rather than the arguably unbalanced version in the Hero's, this design really encourages the Ataru master to make the maneuvers we see in the movies. In effect Acrobatic Charge is a +2 to hit at the cost of giving up a full attack action, and Surrounded by One just improves it further. The net effect is some great mobility options and a +4 to hit, but at the cost of not taking full attacks.
Notes on Form VThere seems to be some contradictory info about the names of three separate versions of "Form V" combat styles, or even if there are actually two or three variants. From what I can tell from second-hand research (I haven't read everything Star Wars-related and don't have most of the materials dealing with Forms) the two most common styles associated with Form 5 are a "blaster reflection" style and a "melee power attack" style. The "blaster reflection" style may be the oldest, and I think it is called Shien in the KotOR sources, while the "melee power attack" style is called Djem So. Apparently the RotS novel clarifies that these are definitely two separate styles (and Anakin has learned both), although they are both considered "Form V". Further complicating it, there is a rare variant third style used by Adi Gallia, Nikkos Tyris and some of the Jensaari, that utilizes a reverse grip (the lightsaber blade comes out the bottom of the fist, instead of out the top) that is also considered a variant of Form V. Although the printed Hero's Guide didn't give names to the forms, this third variant is named in the Hero's Guide Web Enhancement 3, where it is identified as "Shien", which I think is misleading and contradicts KotOR. As far as I can tell, it is a variant of the older Shien, which is actually the base "blaster reflection" Form V style. Yet another confusing element is the picture on page 52 of the Hero's Guide that shows Luminara Unduli (not Adi Gallia) using the reverse grip, and the caption identifies it as Form V.
For my purposes, I have arbitrarily decided on the following convention: the traditional Form V is called "Shien", and deals with redirecting incoming attacks and using an opponent's strength against them. "Djem So" will be a common variant, Form V-a, which focuses on melee power. "Reverse Shien" (for lack of an official name) will be the uncommon variant, Form V-b, that makes use of the reverse handed grip. If you disagree with the naming convention, or think Shien and Djem So should be combined into a single style, feel free to change it. I think my version works well for our group, but make no claims that this division is "official". |
Prerequisites: Force level 3, Shii-Cho 1
Description: "… Form V arose alongside Form IV to address a need for greater power among the Jedi… A Form III master might be undefeatable, but neither could he necessarily overcome his enemy… This Form exploits the ability of the lightsaber to block a blaster bolt and turns this defensive move into an offensive attack by deflecting the bolt deliberately towards an opponent."
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Reflect - While wielding a lightsaber, you can reflect blaster bolts at a target of your choice. This is an Attack of Opportunity at your full attack bonus, and is provoked by any blaster shot that misses by 10 or more points, but would hit a Defense of 5 (ie, hits your square). The reflected bolt has its range increment reduced to 1/3rd normal.
2) Improved Reflect – When using Reflect, any blaster bolt that misses you by 5 or more but would still hit a Defense of 5, provokes the AoO. In addition, the range increment of the reflected bolt is only half normal, not 1/3rd.
3) Improved Reflexes – When using Soresu (and sacrificing a move action), you gain the ability to make two additional attacks of opportunity that round (so 3 total, or 3+Dex mod with Combat Reflexes). You can still only make one AoO per target per provocation, however. You must have at least 1 rank of Soresu before taking rank 3 of Shien.
Limitations: None, although the rank 3 ability is closely tied to Soresu (Form III) and does require you to give up a move action as per that Form.
Design Notes: The first rank of this Form takes the place of the original Deflect (Attack) class feature, and the later ones build upon it. I would expect all Jedi to take at least the first rank of this, and in most cases it will be in their first few Jedi levels. As for the mechanics, I prefer to use the Attack of Opportunity system that already exists, rather than the Deflect (Attack) approach from the RCR that allows (Jedi Level / 2) uses per round. I always thought half your level per round was pretty excessive. If you prefer the RCR version, I'd recommend that the first rank gives you the -4 attack penalty and can be used up to Jedi Level / 4 (round up) uses per round, while rank 2 reduces the attack penalty to -2, and rank 3 increases the number of uses to Jedi Level / 2.
Prerequisites: Force level 5, Shii-Cho 1, Shien 1, Power Attack
Description: "Form V focuses on strength and lightsaber attack moves… A dedication to the power and strength necessary to defeat an enemy characterizes the philosophy of Form V, which some Jedi describe as the maxim 'peace through superior firepower.' "
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Mighty Strike – Your focused power lets your lightsaber attack overcome any defense. By drawing on your emotions, you can gain a bonus on all your melee attack rolls this round. This is a free action. You can gain a +1 bonus without risk. However, you can choose to use a higher bonus of +2, +3 or +4, but you must make a Will saving throw against a DC of 5 times the bonus or gain a DSP. For example, if you choose to give yourself a +2 bonus, the save DC would be 10, while a +4 bonus would have a save DC of 20. This should be roleplayed to whatever extent your gaming group prefers, but you should only use the higher bonuses when your character is faced with a very emotional situation. Characters who have fallen to the Dark Side and are already considered Dark do not need to make a Will Save and do not get DSP, but are limited to a maximum bonus of +2. NOTE: The GM may always assign a DSP regardless of the saving throw result if the attack itself, without any bonus, would normally have caused a DSP. The save is only relevant if the action itself wasn't a transgression, but the use of aggressive emotions may have made it so.
2) Improved Bantha Rush – As per the feat, you do not provoke an AoO when using your lightsaber to force a foe to move back (either by forcing him to retreat with broad, powerful strokes, or locking blades and overpowering another duelist).
3) Devastating Strike – As a full round attack action, you can make a single attack that will do double damage. This provokes an attack of opportunity. It can be combined with a Mighty Strike.
Limitations: In addition to the inherent dangers of Mighty Strike, the focused power of this Form is not compatible with the precise style of Makashi (Form II), the defensive stance of Soresu (Form III), or the acrobatic Ataru (Form IV). You may not use abilities from those Forms in the same round as you use an ability of Djem So.
Design Notes: This is one of the Forms that I am most ambivalent about. I think the abilities "feel" right for the Form, but I'm not sure about how balanced they are. I'm also debating whether Improved Bantha Rush should be rank 1 and Might Strike rank 2, or vice versa. I originally had an ability called Improved Power Attack at rank 1, instead of Mighty Strike, which increased the damage bonus from Power Attack by 50% (round down, so if the attack penalty was -5, the damage bonus would be +7). I also considered making rank 1 a version of Increase Lightsaber Damage, adding +1d8 to the base lightsaber damage. I think either of those options for rank 1 would be a bit more straight-forward (and easier to balance, without worrying about DSP) than Mighty Strike, but I think that Mighty Strike fits some of what we see in the movies, like the duel between Anakin and Dooku in RotS, and between Luke and Vader in RotJ. A big bonus to hit would help explain how the less experienced fighter was able to take the offensive when they got riled up, but there are other ways to do it as well (including Force Points of course) so I'm still debating this, and it is quite possible I may end up tweaking this Form once I give it some more thought.
Prerequisites: Force level 5, Shii-Cho 1, Shien 1
Description: "He had his left hand on the hilt fairly close to the shimmering blade, but the blade itself extended out and down from the lower edge of his hand toward the ground. His right hand rode the lightsaber's pommel. Holding the blade out away from his body, with his right hand at the level of his chin, he could waggle the blade back and forth in a triangle of coverage that would ward him well. This triangle style … favored a man who was quick, and would combine sweeping strikes at my legs with a flick of the wrist cut that would open me from groin to chin." (quoted from pp 335-336 of "I, Jedi" by Michael Stackpole)
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Defense +2 – While wielding a lightsaber in a reverse grip, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to Defense. This applies to both melee and ranged attacks.
2) Lightning Strike – While attacking with a lightsaber in a reverse grip, you can attack very quickly (although not with great power, see the limitations below) with a simple flick of the wrist. You gain a +2 bonus to melee attacks.
3) Zone of Control – While wielding a lightsaber in a reverse grip, your sweeping strikes and lightning responses mean your enemies are always at risk. Any feats or special qualities your opponents have that negate attacks of opportunity are unusable against you. For example, if your foe can normally attempt to disarm or trip without provoking an AoO, they still provoke one if they attempt it against you.
Limitations: This style is not well suited for powerful blows. When wielding a lightsaber in a reverse grip, you do not add your Strength bonus to damage, and you cannot use Power Attack or abilities that require it, including Djem So (Form V-a). In addition, it is incompatible with the traditional dueling styles of Makashi (Form II).
Design Notes: This one is another tough Form to stat up. It's an alternate Form V, an aggressive Form with some defensive elements as well. It is at best a mediocre form against a traditional (or "boring") foe, where the lack of Strength bonus and Power Attack/Djem SO/Cleave/etc. and the moderately high prereqs all help balance the good defense and attack bonus from ranks 1 and 2. However, a master of this form can be really devastating against any foe who is built around special maneuvers like Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, etc. I'm not sure if that makes it too good in those limited cases, and not good enough otherwise. This one probably needs more tweaking.
(This form appears to really be named Niman. The Hero's Guide Web Enhancement #3 incorrectly used that name for the dual saber style, Jar'Kai.)
Prerequisites: Force level 3, Shii-Cho 1
Description: "This Form balances the emphases of other Forms with overall moderation, in keeping with the Jedi quest to achieve true harmony and justice without resorting to the rule of power. It is considered the 'diplomat's Form' because it is less intensive in its demands than the other disciplines, allowing the Jedi to spend more time developing their skills in perception, political strategy, and negotiation."
Benefit: Unlike the other Forms, you can take this Form any number of times. Each time, you gain bonus skill points that you can spend to improve any Int, Wis or Cha-based skills you choose. When you pick a rank of Niman, you gain bonus skill points equal to 2 + the rank gained. For example, the first rank of Niman provides 3 bonus skill points, the second rank provides 4 more, the third rank provides 5 more, etc.
Limitations: None, unless you count reduced combat effectiveness.
Design Notes: In effect, I interpret this Form description as saying that the Jedi can pick up the basics of the other Forms using some of their Lightsaber Form slots, but will "sacrifice" a few of the Lightsaber Form slots in favor of some more non-combat abilities, represented by some extra skill points. In effect, they're making themselves more well rounded at the cost of giving up some good combat capabilities.
Prerequisites: Force level 11, Shii-Cho 1, Ataru 2, Shien 1, Djem So 2, Improved Critical (lightsaber)
Description: "Only high-level masters of multiple Forms can achieve and control the ultimate discipline known as Form VII… Form VII employs bold, direct movements, more open and kinetic than Form V but not so elaborate in appearance as Form IV. In addition to very advanced Force-assisted jumps and movements, Form VII tactics overwhelm opponents with seemingly unconnected staccato sequences, making the Form highly unpredictable in battle."
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Unpredictable Attack – Your unpredictable fighting style is hard for opponents to defend against. You receive a +2 bonus to all melee attack rolls with your lightsaber against targets who have not lost their dodge bonus to defense and are not flat-footed or helpless. Against unmoving objects, or targets who have lost their dodge bonus, or are flat-footed or helpless, you gain no benefit (since they are not trying to predict your movements anyway).
2) Unstoppable Critical – Your foe cannot predict your attacks, so if you manage to get through their guard you are more likely to wound them. When confirming a critical hit with a lightsaber, you get a +2 bonus on the attack roll.
3) Deadly Strike – Your lightsaber's critical strike threat range is increased by 1.
Limitations: This Form is not merely difficult to master, but also risky to use. It draws upon the emotions and passions of the user, even more than Form V, but it "masters it more fully" so the risk is more controlled. At the end of any scene where this Form is used, the character must make a single DC 15 Will Save or gain one DSP point (or Transgression if using that variant rule). Characters who have fallen to the Dark Side do not need to save, and do not gain DSP from using this Form. This Form is not compatible with the precise dueling style of Makashi (Form II) or the defensive, low-mobility stance of Soresu (Form III) and cannot be used in the same round with those abilities.
Design Notes: A powerful follow-on to the Djem So Form, a Juyo master is very dangerous. Given the high prerequisites, and the penalties for using it, I think it is pretty well balanced.
Prerequisites: Force level 13, Shii-Cho 1, Ataru 2, Shien 1, Djem So 2, Juyo 3, Improved Critical (lightsaber)
Description: Vaapad is very closely related to Juyo, and in effect just takes it one step further. It channels even stronger and darker urges, with correspondingly increased risk.
Benefit: This form has only one rank, providing the following ability:
1) Improved Deadly Strike – Your lightsaber's critical strike threat range is increased by an additional +1 (for a total of +3, with Improved Critical and Juyo rank 3).
Limitations: As per Juyo, but the Will Save DC is increased to 20.
Design Notes: This one is something of a cop-out with a simple extension/improvement to Juyo. I'm not entirely sure what else to do with Vaapad, though, since most of the decriptions for Form VII seem to apply equally to Juyo, not just Vaapad.
Prerequisites: Force level 3, Shii-Cho 1
Description: None official, as far as I could find.
Benefit: You can take three ranks in this Form, gaining the following abilities in order:
1) Improved Parry – While wielding two lightsabers, or a double-bladed lightsaber, you receive a +1 dodge bonus to Defense. If you have the Off-Hand Parry feat (from Hero's Guide), the benefits stack.
2) Dual Saber Expertise – While wielding two lightsabers, or a double-bladed lightsaber, the attack penalties for two weapon fighting are halved after taking into consideration any modifiers like using a light weapon or having feats like Two Weapon Fighting and Ambidexterity.
3) Simultaneous Strike – When using two lightsabers and making a standard attack action, you can make one attack with each blade. All the normal penalties for two weapon fighting apply.
Limitations: None.
Design Notes: The first two ranks are pretty straight forward. For rank 2, I wanted to avoid the option of making the off-hand lightsaber count as light, since that would be wasted for anyone using small lightsabers or double-bladed lightsabers. Instead, I went for the "halving penalty" that is similar in benefit if using a full-sized lightsaber in the off-hand, but still provides a reduced benefit for those who are already using a light off-hand weapon. Not sure about the third rank though.