CHAPTER SIX

COMBAT & INJURIES

6 “Combat. You could say I’ve seen my fair share. If
there’s anyone around here who knows how to fight,
it’s me. And you’d best listen to me because when
the blaster bolts start flying, you either do it right
or you end up buried.
“There’s no margin for error and no room for
rookies or cowards. You’d better learn how to han­
dle a blaster. In my line of work, your blaster is
your best — your only — friend.
“Before we go any further, here’s two tips.
“One. Don’t get shot. Yeah, it’s an obvious
one... but you’d be surprised how quickly
people forget in the heat of combat.
You’re better off dodging blaster bolts
and parrying melee weapon attacks
than getting hit. Not too many people
can eat a blaster bolt and walk away
from it...
“Two. Be prepared in case you do get
hurt. Always have a medpac or two... or
three... so you don’t end up dying on the
battlefield. Make sure you know the way
to the nearest bacta tank. Make sure
your friends know the way, too.
“Sure, it sounds grim. That’s why they
call it war, kid.”

COMBAT
Stormtroopers and Rebel troops trade fire in a hail of blaster bolts, as
explosions fill the corridors of Princess Leia’s Rebel blockade runner...
Luke Skywalker, lightsaber held at the ready, charges into battle against Jab­
ba the Hutt’s minions...
These scenarios bring much of the enjoyment to watching the Star Wars
movies, now you can create firefights and lightsaber battles to bring the
same excitement to your players.

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Combat is an important part of the Star Wars trilogy, and

these rules help you run exciting battles in your game. For this blaster pistol, anything that is 3 to 10 meters
away is at short range. (Any target that’s closer than three
meters is at point-blank range.) Any target that’s 11 to 30
Combat is normally fought in five second rounds (as meters away is at medium range. Any target that’s 31 to
outlined in “The Rules”). Each attack in an action uses the 120 meters away is at long range. (This particular blaster
game’s basic rules: pistol can’t hit a target that is farther than 120 meters
away.)
• Determine the difficulty number to hit the target.
• Shooting a target at point-blank range is a Very Easy
• The attacking character rolls his attack skill.
task.
• If the roll is higher than the difficulty number, the
• Shooting a target at short range is an Easy task.
attack hits and causes damage (see “Damage”).
• Shooting a target at medium range is a Moderate task.
Combat should be like the rest of the game: quick and excit­ • Shooting at a target at long range is a Difficult task.
ing. The blaster bolts should fly fast and furious... and while the Just like in the regular rules, once you know the diffi­
rules allow you to measure every attack’s range down to the culty, you have to pick a difficulty number. If the attack
nearest meter, don’t be afraid to “fudge” a little to keep things roll is equal to or greater than the difficulty number, the
going quickly. shot hits; roll damage. (See “Damage.”)
Use your judgment to estimate ranges and difficulty numbers
to hit targets. If you’re fair and consistent — and if the battles
are exciting — your players will forgive minor errors and hesita­ Example: Thannik is shooting a blaster pistol (4D
tions. (If a player argues with one of your decisions, listen, but damage) at a stormtrooper that’s 27 meters away.
your say is final: that’s why you’re the gamemaster.) Thannik uses his blaster: blaster pistol specialization
There are two types of combat: ranged and melee. of 6D; since 27 meters is at medium range for a
blaster pistol, his difficulty is Moderate. The gamemas­
ter picks a difficulty number of 13. Thannik’s attack
RANGED COMBAT roll is 16 — the shot hits. Thannik now gets to roll
Ranged combat covers any weapon that can be used at a dis­ damage against the trooper.
tance, including blasters, grenades and thermal detonators,
Wookiee bowcasters, slugthrowers, bows... even throwing spears Difficulty numbers can be affected by reaction skills and/or
and knives. any number of modifiers (see “Combat Modifiers”).
Every ranged weapon is covered by a specific skill. (Unless
otherwise noted, use the Dexterity attribute if the skill hasn’t Estimating Ranges. Rather than measuring out ranges every
been improved.) round, you can use estimates:

• Blasters use blaster. • Targets that are very close — within three meters of each other
— are at point-blank range. (Very Easy difficulty.)
• Bowcasters use bowcaster.
• Most combat indoors is at short range. (Easy difficulty.) If the
• Primitive slug-throwing guns (submachine guns and such) room is fairly large and the combatants are at opposite ends of
use firearms. it, blaster rifles will still be at short range (Easy difficulty), but
• Grenades and thermal detonators use grenades. blaster pistols will probably be at medium range (Moderate dif­
• Thrown knives, spears, slings and similar weapons use ficulty).
thrown weapons. • Most combat outdoors is at medium range (Moderate difficul­
• Grenade launchers and similar weapons use missile ty). Sometimes, blaster pistols are at long range (Difficult diffi­
weapons. culty), while blaster rifles are still at medium range (Moderate
difficulty).
• Heavier blasters mounted on vehicles use vehicle blasters
• Outdoor combat at great distances is generally at long range
• Large artillery pieces use blaster artillery. (Difficult difficulty).
If in doubt, check the weapon’s description, which lists its
skill (and specialization).

Each ranged weapon’s description lists the damage die

code and several ranges (in meters). Each weapon’s ranges
are different, so check them when combat starts. Here’s a
typical listing for a blaster pistol:
Blaster Pistol: 4D, 3-10/30/120.
(The pistol causes 4D damage; that’s explained under
“Damage.”) The ranges listed are short, medium and long
range.

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Difficulty numbers can be affected by reaction skills and/or

MELEE COMBAT any number of modifiers (see “Combat Modifiers”).
Melee combat covers any hand-to-hand combat
weapon, including lightsabers, vibroblades, vibro-axes and
similar weapons. Most melee attacks use the melee com­
REACTION SKILLS
bat skill (or Dexterity attribute). Lightsabers use the Of course, when someone takes a shot at you or swings
lightsaber skill (or Dexterity attribute). at you with a vibro-ax, you can try to get out of the way
Every melee weapon has a difficulty to use: Very Easy, — that’s where reaction skills come in. (As explained in
Easy, Moderate, Difficulty, Very Difficult or Heroic. (Pick a “The Rules,” you can use a reaction skill at any time.)
specific difficulty number for the attack.) Here are the reaction skills and what they’re used for:
If the attack roll is equal to or greater than the diffi­
• Dodge. Your character dodges to get out of the way of
culty number, the attack hits; roll damage.
any ranged attack: a blaster shot, a bullet, a missile, a
grenade and any similar attack. (If your character doesn’t
Example: Thannik is attacking a stormtrooper with have dodge, you use Dexterity.)
a vibroblade. He hasn’t improved his melee combat
• Melee parry. If someone attacks your character (either
skill, so he just uses his Dexterity attribute of 4D. The
with a brawling attack or when wielding a melee weapon)
vibroblade has a Moderate difficulty to use; the
and your character has a melee weapon (knife, vibro-ax...
gamemaster picks a difficulty number of 14. Thannik’s
even a chair or a mug will do in an emergency!), you use
Dexterity roll is a 12 — his attack misses!
melee parry to get out of the way or block the attack. (If
your character doesn’t have melee parry, you use Dexteri­
Melee combat also includes brawling: any attack made ty.) If your character is defending against someone who is
with a character’s bare hands (or claws or whatever). If unarmed and doesn’t have sharp natural weapons, he gets
the character’s brawling skill hasn’t been improved, roll his a +5 bonus modifier to his melee parry roll.
Strength attribute.
• Brawling parry. If someone attacks your character
Brawling attacks have a difficulty of Very Easy. If the
(either with a brawling attack or when wielding a melee
attack roll is equal to or greater than the difficulty num­
weapon) and your character’s unarmed, you use brawling
ber, the attack hits; roll damage.
parry to get out of the way or block the attack. (If your
character doesn’t have brawling parry, you use Dexterity.)
Example: Thannik doesn’t think he’s going to have If your character is using brawling parry in defending
much luck with the vibroblade because it’s too hard to against someone who is attacking with a weapon or sharp
use, so he drops it and takes a swing at the natural tools, the attacker gets a +10 bonus modifier to
stormtrooper. The brawling difficulty is Very Easy; the his attack roll.
gamemaster picks a difficulty number of five.
• Lightsaber. If someone attacks your character (either
Thannik hasn’t improved his brawling, so he rolls
with a brawling attack or when wielding a melee weapon)
his Strength attribute of 3D+2 and gets a nine.
and your character is wielding a lightsaber, you use the
Crack! Thannik’s fist goes smashing into the
lightsaber skill (or Dexterity attribute) to get out of the
stormtrooper’s helmet. (Whether Thannik causes any
way or block the attack.
damage is another story...)
• Repulsorlift operation (or other vehicle skill). If your
character is driving or piloting a vehicle, you can make a
“vehicle dodge” to get out of the way of enemy fire. Roll
the vehicle’s operation skill: most vehicles use repulsorlift
operation, but there are some other vehicle skills. (If your
character doesn’t have the vehicle’s operation skill, you
use Mechanical.) Vehicle combat is explained in “Move­
ment and Chases.”
• Capital ship piloting, space transports or starfighter
piloting. If your character is piloting a starship, you can
make a “starship dodge” to get out of the way of enemy
fire. Roll the starship’s skill: most starships use either capi­
tal ship piloting, space transports or starfighter piloting.
(They’re all Mechanical skills.) Starship combat is
explained in “Space Travel and Combat.”

When using a reaction skill, the character makes the

skill roll. (Don’t forget to add penalties for multiple
actions.) The roll is the attacker’s new difficulty number.
(This difficulty number is in effect for all attacks of that
type made against the character for the rest of the round.)

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COMBAT IS DANGEROUS!
Full Reaction. A character can make a “full reaction.” A
Combat in the Star Wars game is fairly lethal. The key
full reaction — dodge, melee parry, brawling parry,
to survival is not to get hit.
lightsaber, vehicle dodge or starship dodge — can be the
If someone is shooting at your character, you should
only action the character makes in the entire round.
probably think about dodging. If someone comes after
The character rolls his dodge or other reaction skill and
your character with a vibro-ax or lightsaber, it’s probably
adds it to the difficulties of all attacks made against him
a good idea to parry the attack.
that round.
Just like in the movies, most characters that get shot
are seriously injured or killed. You’ve been warned!
Example: Thannik is getting shot at by three
stormtroopers: two are at medium range (Moderate
difficulty, difficulty number 13), while one is at short
Note: A poor reaction skill can actually make it easier to hit a range (Easy difficulty, difficulty number 8). Thannik
character — sometimes people accidentally leap in to the line of decides to make a full dodge and rolls a 27. Now the
fire or move right into someone’s attack! troopers at medium range must roll a 40 to hit, while
the trooper at short range must roll a 35 to hit him.
Example: Thannik is being shot at by a storm-
Unfortunately, later in the round a thug attacks
trooper, so he decides to dodge. The stormtrooper is at
Thannik with a vibro-ax: a melee combat attack, at
short range: Easy difficulty, with a difficulty number
Moderate difficulty with a difficulty number of 12.
of 8. Thannik rolls his dodge of 6D and gets a 27. Now,
Thannik can’t melee parry because he made a full
the stormtrooper must roll a 27 or better to hit
dodge: he has to hope that the thug’s attack misses.
Thannik. Anyone else who shoots at Thannik in this
round must also roll a 27 or better. However, if some­
one makes a brawling attack on Thannik, the difficulty
is still Very Easy (difficulty number of 5); if Thannik COMBAT MODIFIERS
wanted to block the attack, he’d also have to make a There are a number of special combat rules and modi­
brawling parry roll. fiers that gamemasters can include in their games.
One round later, three stormtroopers are going to
Drawing Weapons. It takes one action per item to
shoot at Thannik. Their difficulties are Easy (difficulty
draw a blaster, unsheathe a knife, reload a rifle, or some­
number 6), Easy (difficulty number 8) and Difficult
thing similar. Although this generally does not require a
(difficulty number 17). Thannik decides to dodge and
skill roll, the gamemaster may require one related to the
gets a 14 — now all three troopers must roll a 14 or
weapon in question for particularly stressful situations.
better to hit him.

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one within two meters takes 5D damage; everyone

Drawing and using the weapon in the same round three to four meters away takes 4D damage; everyone
incurs a multiple-action penalty (reduces all other actions five to six meters away takes 3D damage; and every­
in that round by −1D). The gamemaster may add further one seven to 10 meters away takes 2D damage.
modifiers for attempting to retrieve an item from a
restrictive location or ready an unwieldy weapon. Because blast radius weapons are so powerful, you may want
to determine exactly where a shot hits if the attack roll misses:
Setting Weapons on Stun. Most blasters have two set­
you can use the “grenade deviation” rules below.
tings: normal and stun. A character can switch a weapon’s
setting in a round, but it counts as an action (−1D to all
other actions that round). See “Damage” for rules on nor­
mal and stun damage.
GRENADES AND
Fire Control. Some large weapons — like blaster
THERMAL DETONATORS
artillery, blasters on speeder and starship weapons — have When throwing a grenade, the thrower picks a target
fire control. When a character uses a weapon with fire point; you determine the difficulty based on the range.
control, he rolls it and adds it to his attack roll. Add a +5 to +10 modifier to the difficulty if the throw­
er cannot see where he is throwing the grenade (such as
over a wall).
Example: Thannik fires a speeder bike’s laser can­ If the roll is equal to or greater than the difficulty
non. (The weapon normally uses the vehicle blasters number, the grenade hits its target point. If the roll is low­
skill, but since Thannik hasn’t improved the skill, he er it misses; see “Grenade Deviation.”
just uses his Dexterity attribute of 4D.) The laser can­ Grenades have several activators: some are con­
non has a fire control of 2D, so Thannik gets to fire 6D tact-based, some are time-based. If the grenade is con­
to hit his target! tact-based, it will explode when it hits something. If it
uses a timer, it will explode after a set amount of time. If
Ammunition. Many ranged weapons have an ammuni­ the timer is set for less than five seconds, the grenade
tion rating (ammo). When the weapon has fired as many explodes at the end of the round in which it was thrown.
times as its ammo rating, it is out of ammunition and
Grenade Deviation. If the character misses with the
must be reloaded. Unless specified otherwise, reloading
takes one action. grenade throw, the weapon lands somewhere else.
First, roll 1D to determine in which direction it deviates
Fire Rate. Some weapons have a fire rate. If there is no from the target point (see “Grenade Deviation Diagram”).
fire rate, the weapon can be fired as often in a round as You must also determine how far the grenade goes. If
the character wishes. If the fire rate is a simple whole the throw was at point-blank or short range, it deviates
number (like 2 or 4), that is the maximum number of 1D meters. If the throw was at medium range, it deviates
times that the weapon can be fired in a single round. If 2D meters. If the throw was at long range, it deviates 3D
the fire rate is listed as a fraction, it means that the meters.
weapon can only be fired in some rounds.

Example: A repeating blaster with a fire rate of 3

can be fired three times per round. A laser cannon
with a fire rate of 1/2 can be fired once every two GRENADE DEVIATION DIAGRAM
rounds. A weapon with a fire rate of 1/5 can be fired
once every five rounds.

Blast Radius. Some weapons have a blast radius:

everything within the blast radius is affected.

Example: A blaster cannon that causes 4D damage

with a blast radius of five meters is fired. Everything
within five meters of where the blast hits suffers 4D
damage.

Some weapons have several ranges for blast radius —

the further away from the center of the blast, the less
damage the weapon does.

Example: A standard fragmentation grenade has

the following listings: damage: 5D/4D/3D/2D; blast
radius: 0-2/4/6/10. When the grenade explodes, every

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Example: Thannik is cautiously moving

across a battlefield when he sees a grenade
coming in at him. He ducks behind a plasti­
crete wall and waits for the big boom!
There’s no explosion after a second or
two. Whoever threw it must have set the
timer for too long. Peeking out over the wall,
he sees the grenade one meter in front of
him. He jumps up, grabs the grenade and
hurls it as far as he can. Thannik’s Dexterity
roll is a 13 — that’s a Moderate total, which
is medium range for a grenade: 11-20 meters
away. That’s good enough because it means
Thannik isn’t in the blast radius. Of course,
things could have been a lot uglier if the
timer had run out before Thannik threw the
grenade...

Example: There is a cluster of five stormtroopers

20 meters away; Thannik decides a grenade will fix COVER
this problem nicely. Twenty meters away is medium Characters are harder to hit when they’ve got cover:
range (Moderate difficulty; difficulty number 14). something that hides them from attackers. In some situa­
Thannik rolls his Dexterity of 4D (since he hasn’t tions, such as thick smoke and fog, these modifiers may
improved grenade) and gets an 11. He missed! also be added to search or Perception difficulties to spot a
Now, the gamemaster has to determine how far hidden character.
away the grenade lands. First, he rolls 1D to determine Add the cover modifier (or modifiers if more than one
the deviation direction and gets a 4 — the grenade applies) to the difficulty to hit the target.
lands short of where Thannik was throwing it. The
grenade was being thrown at medium range, which Cover Modifier
means it deviates 2D meters. The gamemaster rolls and Light smoke +1D
gets a 7 — the grenade falls seven meters short: Thick smoke +2D
Thannik only threw it 13 meters. Very thick smoke +4D
The grenade has a blast radius of 10 meters, though Poor light +1D
— the stormtroopers are between six and 10 meters Moonlit night +2D
away, so they each take 2D damage from the grenade. Complete darkness +4D
Fortunately for Thannik, he’s more than 10 meters
away from the grenade, so he doesn’t take damage.
Example: Thannik is in a dark alley looking for his
target. He spots movement in the back of the alley
Dodging Grenades. Characters can dodge grenades, and sees that it’s the person he’s trying to track down.
but this only means they hit the deck and avoid damage. The target is at medium range (Moderate difficulty;
difficulty number 13), but it’s a moonlit night, which
Example: Thannik decides to throw a grenade at adds +2D to the difficulty. The gamemaster rolls and
two stormtroopers 16 meters away. That’s medium gets a 5. Thannik’s new difficulty is an 18. He rolls a
range (Moderate difficulty; difficulty number 13). 15 — his shot misses.
Thannik rolls his Dexterity and gets a 17 — the
grenade lands where Thannik was aiming. Characters can also hide behind objects — such as walls
The stormtroopers decide to dodge — if they roll an and parked speeders — which provide cover and protec­
18 or higher, the grenade still hits where Thannik was tion (see “Protection”). Add the cover modifier based on
aiming but they manage to hit the deck and take no how much of the target character is covered.
damage. If one of the troopers rolls a 17 or less, he
still takes damage... and since he’s less than three
meters from the grenade, he takes 5D damage. Target is: Modifier
¼ covered +1D
Tossing Grenades Away. Brave characters can try to grab a ½ covered +2D
grenade and throw it away if there’s time left. (Most people set ¾ covered +4D
Fully covered The attacker cannot hit the target
the timer for five seconds so the grenade explodes immediately
directly; attacker must eliminate the
after it lands.)
cover. Damage done to the cover,
The character may pick a specific spot to throw the grenade however, might exceed the Armor
(determine difficulty normally) or can throw it “as far away as Value it provides, and indirectly,
possible” — have the character roll his grenade or Dexterity; the damage the target.
grenade goes as far as the roll will send it.

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Example: Thannik’s target ducks behind a couple The gamemaster decides the bins aren’t too tough
of metal garbage bins and he’s now ½ covered. That’s — he gives them a body strength of 2D and rolls, get­
an extra +2D to the difficulty to hit him. ting a 7. Thannik rolls his heavy blaster pistol’s 5D
The target is still at medium range (Moderate diffi­ damage and gets a 20: that’s a difference of 13 points.
culty, difficulty number 13). The gamemaster rolls 2D The bins are severely damaged.
for the moonlit night (and gets a 10) and another 2D That means that Thannik’s blaster shot hits his tar­
for the garbage bins (and gets a 7): Thannik’s blaster: get, but at −1D damage. Thannik rolls 4D damage
blaster pistol difficulty is a 30! against his target’s Strength...

PROTECTION Armor
Armor protects the wearer from damage. In game
Sturdy objects may provide protection. If the attacker
terms, armor simply adds to a character’s Strength roll
rolled well enough to beat the basic difficulty, but not
when resisting damage. (It doesn’t add to any other
well enough to beat the added cover modifier, that means
Strength rolls, except in the case of armored powersuits
that the shot hit whatever the character was hiding
which may assist in lifting skill checks, see the specific
behind. Roll the attack’s damage against the protection’s
armor’s stat block)
body strength.

Sample Protection Body Strength Example: Thannik’s Strength is 3D+2. He’s wearing
Flimsy wooden door 1D blast armor that adds +1D. He rolls 4D+2 to resist
Standard wooden door 2D damage. However, when he makes a Strength roll to
Standard metal door 3D try to lift a heavy object, he rolls only his Strength of
Reinforced door 4D 3D+2.
Blast door 6D
Armor may provide different levels of protection for different
If the damage roll is lower than the body strength roll, attack types. For example, stormtrooper armor provides +2D
the protection is not damaged at all and the target char­ against physical attacks (bullets, melee weapons, and rocks, for
acter suffers no damage. If the damage roll is equal to or example) but only +1D against energy attacks (blaster bolts and
greater than the protection’s body strength roll, find the lightsabers).
difference on the chart below to see how badly the pro­ Some types of armor are bulky and reduce a character’s Dex­
tection is damaged. terity and all Dexterity skills: stormtrooper armor also fits this
example, as it causes a −1D penalty to Dexterity and all related
Damage Roll ≥ Body skills.
Strength Roll by: Protection is:
0-3 Not seriously damaged Example: Thannik has gotten his hands on a set of
4-8 Lightly damaged stormtrooper armor: it’s +2D physical, +1D energy and
9-12 Heavily damaged −1D to Dexterity and related skills. Thannik’s Strength
13-15 Severely damaged is 3D+2.
16+ Destroyed If Thannik is hit by a blaster bolt — an energy
attack — he rolls 4D+2 to resist damage. If he’s later
A character behind protection may suffer some dam­ clobbered by a vibroblade — a physical attack — he
age depending upon how badly his protection is damaged. rolls 5D+2 to resist damage. However, if he tries to
Subtract dice from the attack’s damage based on the dodge an incoming blaster bolt, he only rolls 5D: his
chart below. normal dodge is 6D but he suffers the −1D penalty to
all Dexterity skills.
Reduce weapon
Protection is: damage by: Armor may not cover the wearer’s entire body; if you use the
Not seriously damaged No damage optional hit location rules, this is important since armor can’t
Lightly damaged −4D protect an area that it’s not covering.
Heavily damaged −2D
Severely damaged −1D Damaged Armor. When someone wearing armor suffers
Destroyed Full weapon damage damage through a protected area, the armor is also damaged.

Injury suffered
by wearer Damage to armor
Example: If Thannik rolls a 30 or higher, he hits his Wounded Lightly damaged (−1 pip)
target directly and rolls full damage. If Thannik rolls a Incapacitated Heavily damaged (−1D)
22 or less, his shot misses completely. If he rolls Mortally wounded Severely damaged (Useless but
may be repaired)
between a 23 and a 29, that means his shot smashes
Killed Destroyed
into the garbage bins. He rolls a 26 — his shot hits the
bins. Armor repairs are discussed in the “Using Repair Skills” sec­
tion in “Attributes and Skills.”

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DAMAGED WEAPONS When targets of the same scale are shooting at each
Weapons can suffer damage in combat, such as when a other, ignore the modifiers; just roll attack dice, dodges,
lightsaber slices through a blaster or vibroweapon, or a weapon and damage die codes normally.
gets dropped, or as a result of a “complication” that leads to a
serious malfunction. It’s when things of a different scale are affecting each
If a weapon is damaged, roll its body strength to resist dam­ other that you use these rules.
age. Most hand weapons — such as blaster pistols, vibro-axes
and so forth — have a body strength of 2D (regardless of how Example: A landspeeder (speeder-scale) is firing at
much damage they cause). an AT-AT (walker-scale). The landspeeder has a modifi­
er of 2D; the AT-AT has a modifier of 4D. The adjusted
Damage Roll ≥ Body modifier is 2D.
Strength Roll by: Weapon is:
0-3 Not seriously damaged
4-8 Lightly damaged Lower Against Higher. When a “lower” scale character
9-12 Heavily damaged or vehicle is shooting at a “higher” scale character or vehi­
13-15 Severely damaged cle:
16+ Destroyed
• The lower scale attacker gets to add the modifier to the
Lightly damaged weapons lose −1D of their damage value. attack roll. If the target makes a dodge (or vehicle dodge
Heavily damaged weapons lose −2D off their damage and or starship dodge), it just rolls its maneuverability (and
add +10 to all difficulties to use in combat. dodge skill).
Severely damaged weapons cannot be used, but may be • The higher scale target adds the modifier to the roll to
repaired. resist damage; the lower scale weapon rolls damage nor­
Destroyed weapons may not be repaired. mally.

Weapon repairs are discussed in the “Using Repair Skills” sec­

Example: The landspeeder fires at the walker. The
tion in “Attributes and Skills.”
landspeeder’s blaster cannon has a fire control of 2D
Note: Damage to ordinary objects can also be covered using and a damage of 3D+1. The walker has no maneuver­
this rule. Pick the object’s body strength and compare the roll to ability (0D) and a body strength of 6D.
the damage roll. Find the result on the chart above. The landspeeder gets to add the adjusted modifier
of 2D to its roll to hit. If the landspeeder hits, the
landspeeder rolls the cannon’s normal damage of
SCALE 3D+1. However, because the walker is a higher scale, it
You may notice that a landspeeder may have a body gets to add the adjusted modifier of 2D to its body
strength of 2D, while a character can have a Strength of strength of 6D: it rolls 8D to resist damage.
4D. Does that mean that the character is tougher than the
landspeeder? No!
Higher Against Lower. When a “higher” scale charac­
The game uses “scales” to show the differences
ter or vehicle is shooting at a “lower” scale character or
between different sizes and types of objects. You add or
vehicle:
subtract dice to attack rolls, dodge rolls and damage rolls
to show these differences. • The higher scale attacker rolls its normal attack roll; the
The scales, from “lowest” to “highest,” are character lower scale target adds the “adjusted modifier” to its
(and creature), speeder, walker, starfighter, capital and dodge roll.
Death Star.
• The higher scale attacker adds the “adjusted modifier” to
The scale modifiers reflect the differences between
its damage roll.
small, fragile targets (like characters) and large, tough tar­
gets (like Star Destroyers).
Example: Assuming the walker survived the blast
(and that’s a pretty safe assumption), the walker’s
Scale Modifier*
commander decides to return fire.
Character —
When the walker fires, it uses its fire control nor­
Speeder 2D
Walker 4D mally. The landspeeder, because it is a lower scale
Starfighter 6D vehicle, adds the adjusted modifier of 2D to its
Capital 12D maneuverability to dodge the attack.
Death Star 24D If the walker hits with its blast, the walker adds the
adjusted modifier of 2D to its normal weapon dam­
* Apply the difference between the two scales: this is age. The landspeeder only rolls its normal body
called the “adjusted modifier.” strength to resist damage.

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 6 • COM B AT & IN JURI ES

MODIFIERS FOR ALL ATTACKS

SURPRISE Difficulty
When characters are surprised, their attackers can Attack Situation Modifier
automatically take their first action before the “surprised” Low gravity −1D
side can act. The “surprised” side cannot roll defensive No gravity (zero-G) −2D
skills to dodge or parry this first action. Heavy gravity +3D
The attacker is blind or blinded: +4D
How Do You Figure Out if Someone is Surprised? When The target is blind or blinded or −4D
characters are laying an ambush, simply have each character attacked from behind:
make a sneak roll. When the targets of the ambush come within
range (just a couple of seconds before the ambush is going to be
sprung), roll search or Perception checks for each target charac­
Entangle. A character throws an entangling weapon at her
ter: if they roll equal to or higher than any of the attacker’s
opponent. On a successful firearms, missile weapons, or thrown
sneak rolls, they spot that attacker and will not be surprised by
weapons roll (as appropriate), the end of the weapon wraps
the attack. If none of the characters spot the attackers, the tar­
itself around the target. Unless the weapon is spiked, electrified,
get characters are “surprised.” (Ambushes are a good place to
or enhanced in some other way, it does no damage, but it pre­
use “Secret Checks” as discussed in “The Rules.”)
vents the target from doing any action except for trying to
break free. The target may escape by snapping the bonds or slip­
COMBAT OPTIONS ping free, each of which counts as an action. To break the
weapon, he must make a Strength or lifting roll that meets or
Players sometimes want their characters to do some pretty
beats the damage total of the weapon. To slip free, he needs to
fancy maneuvers during combat. This section offer guidance
roll a Dexterity or acrobatics total equal to or higher than the
with several common ones.
weapon’s damage total.
Acrobatic Tricks. Acrobatics can also enhance brawling and
Escape. To break free from any hold, the character must
melee combat attacks. The character must perform the acrobat­
make a successful opposed Strength or lifting roll versus the
ics trick and the attack on the same turn. The gamemaster
holder’s Strength or lifting. This counts as an action.
determines the exact difficulty of the acrobatics attempt. The
player may add one-half of the difference (rounded up) Group Attack. See the description of the command skill in
between the difficulty and the successful acrobatics roll to the Chapter 3 “Attributes & Skills” for details.
amount of damage done (not to the combat skill roll). One
acrobatics trick roll can affect one attack only. Hit Locations. Hit locations are a special kind of “called shot”
that allows a character to shoot or strike a specific point on his
Breaking Things. Use the demolitions skill guidelines in the target’s body. The table below is used to determine the modifiers
“Attributes & Skills” chapter for determining the effect of dam­ for hitting a target of Human proportions in different areas of
age on items. his body. Note that aiming at an arm or leg actually causes less
damage — this is because the character took extra care to shoot
Called Shots. Attackers can make a “called shot” against a
an area that is “less vital.”
small target, such as a specific part of a target’s body or shoot­
ing a weapon out of a target’s hand. Difficulty Damage
Add +1D to the difficulty for a target 10 to 50 centimeters Hit Location Modifier Modifier
long. Add +4D to the difficulty for a target one to 10 centime­ Head +1D +12
ters long. Add +8D to the difficulty for a target less than a cen­ Heart +4D +12
timeter long. Chest, abdomen 0 0
On a successful attack, he knocks the item out of the target’s Left or right arm +1D −2
hand, grabs the limb, pins the target to a wall, or does +1D (or Left or right leg +1D −1
more, at the gamemaster’s discretion) to the damage roll. The Left or right hand +4D −2
exact result depends on the situation and the player’s intent.
At the gamemaster’s discretion, sufficient damage to a par­
Example: Thannik is using his blaster skill to shoot ticular hit location can affect the target’s ability to use that
at a stormtrooper at medium range (Moderate diffi­ part. Except for blows to the chest, the modifier lasts until the
culty, difficulty number 12). character heals that portion (which typically takes a few days, as
He decides to shoot the blaster out of the trooper’s Wounds are recovered for the body as a whole, not just a specif­
hand: the weapon is about 30 centimeters long, so ic part). When the first aid or (A) medicine skill or a healing
this called shot adds +1D to the difficulty. The effect is applied, it can be specified to repair one particular
gamemaster rolls 1D and gets a 4 — Thannik’s new location.
blaster difficulty is 16. Hit location modifiers are in addition to Wound level modi­
fiers.

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Chest: The character can do no more than passively defend in often used for dueling, characters may also use the “quick draw”
the next round. rules in non-dueling situations.
Foot or leg: −1 to all acrobatics, sneak, movement, and ini­ To quick draw, the character splits his or her blaster skill dice
tiative totals. among two areas: speed draw dice and accuracy dice. To see
who draws and who fires first, each character rolls their speed
Hand or arm: −1 to all acrobatics, brawling, climbing/jump­ draw dice. The character who rolls highest fires first; the charac­
ing, melee combat, missile weapons, pick pocket, thrown ter who fires first then rolls his or her accuracy dice to see if the
weapons, lifting, and other rolls involving the hand or arm. target is hit.
Head: −1 to all Knowledge, Perception, and initiative totals. Characters who want to make multiple shots suffer multiple
action penalties for both their speed draw dice and accuracy
Random Body Hit Location. To determine the precise loca­ dice (for example, for two shots, the character suffers a −1D
tion where a character was hit, roll 2D and consult the chart penalty to speed draw dice, as well as both shots).
below. Of course, the gamemaster could narrow down the loca­ Unlike normal rounds, quick draw duel actions are not simul­
tions further if so desired. taneous. The character who fires first, fires first in “game time:”
the other character may only fire back if they haven’t been
2D Body Location injured by the shots fired at them.
1 Right Arm Any character who is stunned by a quick draw shot loses −3D
2 Left Arm
off all following shots in that round. Any character wounded (or
3-4 Right Leg
worse) by a quick draw shot is in too much pain or too badly
5-6 Left Leg
7-11 Body distracted to return fire.
12 Head
Example: Han Solo and Gallandro are going to
Knockout. This option does half of the normal damage, but it have a “quick draw” duel. Han is using his heavy
can render the target immediately unconscious with a successful blaster pistol, and he has 8D in the skill. Gallandro is
attack. It requires a successful “called shot” to the head using using his blaster pistol, and has 13D in the skill. The
the brawling or melee combat skill. If, after the resistance total duel will be held at a distance of 10 meters, which is
has been subtracted, the target sustains at least two Wound lev­ medium range (Moderate difficulty) for the heavy
els, then he falls unconscious for a number of hours equal to blaster pistol and short range (Easy difficultly) for the
difference between the combat skill total and the combat diffi­ blaster pistol.
culty or until he’s awoken by some external force, whichever The player playing Han decides he will allocate his
comes first. The target, however, receives only half the Wound 8D in the following way: 5D to his speed draw and 3D
levels inflicted (round down). to his accuracy. The gamemaster, playing Gallandro,
will use his 13D in the following manner: 10D to his
Multiple Weapons. Weapons that characters can use with speed draw and 3D to his accuracy.
one hand and in either hand, such as knives or most guns, may The player rolls for Han’s speed draw and gets a 14.
be employed at the same time in the same round. The character The gamemaster rolls for Gallandro and gets a 24. Gal­
incurs a multiple-action penalty. landro draws and fires first. He rolls a nine to hit Han
— more than enough at short range. Han is wounded
Prone and Crouching. Attacking a target that is crouched on and drops his pistol: he won’t be able to fire. He has
the ground adds 1D to the combat difficulty. If the target is lost the duel, but is still lucky enough to be alive.
moving while crouching, then the combat difficulty increases by
+2D, but the defending character’s normal Move, or running roll Characters may “quick draw” against opponents that are try­
is halved. ing to dodge or doing other actions. The character performing
For prone targets, subtract 2D from the combat difficulty the “quick draw” simply rolls their speed draw dice against the
when attacking at Point Blank or Short range, but add 2D to target’s dodge. If the speed draw roll is higher than the dodge,
combat difficulty when attacking at Medium or Long range. the quick drawing character shoots at the target as if he or she
Characters who willingly get low to the ground or make did not dodge at all. As before, a character who is quick drawing
themselves small may get into and out of the position as a free may not do any other actions in that round.
action. However, character forced into that position, such as a
result of being thrown, need to make an effort to stand, which Example: Han Solo is to “quick draw” against a
counts as an action. stormtrooper, who is trying to make a full dodge. Han
splits his 8D in this way: 5D to his speed draw and 3D
Quick Draw. The character uses their blaster skill or appro­ to accuracy. The stormtrooper has a dodge of 4D. The
priate specialization. The weapon to be used must be appropri­ distance between Solo and the stormtrooper is 10
ate for making a “quick draw:” a blaster pistol, hold-out blaster, meters, or medium range (Moderate difficulty) for
or heavy blaster pistol, or throwing knife for example. Han’s heavy blaster pistol.
To quick draw, the character may not do anything else in the Han rolls his speed draw dice and, gets a 17. The
round, including dodge. In other words, characters using a stormtrooper rolls his dodge and gets a 12. Han gets
“quick draw” are easy marks for anyone else. The character may to shoot at the stormtrooper at the Moderate range
make multiple quick draw shots in a round; characters may difficulty only, but he only gets to roll 3D to hit (his
shoot at more than one target, but at an additional −1D penalty accuracy dice). If the stormtrooper’s dodge roll was
per target, in addition to all the other penalties. While most

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 6 • COM B AT & IN JURI ES

higher than Han’s speed draw roll, the stormtrooper Unwieldy Weapon. Melee weapons which are very long (over
would have been able to add his dodge roll to the 60cm is a good rule-of-thumb for gamemaster discretion),
range difficulty (Moderate), making him much harder objects that are hard to throw or grasp, ones relying on technol­
to hit. ogy with which the user is unfamiliar, or any weapons otherwise
difficult to wield may incur a +5 or more modifier to the Diffi ­
Ready a Weapon. It takes one action per item to draw a gun, culty Level. The gamemaster may decide that such factors as
unsheathe a knife, reload a rifle, or something similar. Although experience, strength, and features of the weapon (such as a
this generally does not require a skill roll, the gamemaster may well-balanced sword) lower this modifier.
require one related to the weapon in question for particularly
stressful situations.
Additionally, drawing and using the weapon in the same MARTIAL ARTS
round incurs a multi-action penalty. The gamemaster may add The Star Wars Roleplaying Game has a martial arts skill spe­
further modifiers for attempting to get out an item from a cialization (specialization of brawling), and some gamemasters
restrictive location or ready an unwieldy weapon. may like to keep this loosely defined. However, since some play­
ers may desire their characters to be trained in unarmed combat,
Suppression Fire. Suppression fire is intended to force the a more detailed system of martial arts is provided for in this sec­
enemy into cover, rather than to actually eliminate them — tion.
essentially to suppress the enemy’s ability to return fire. If a For every 1D that a character increases her martial arts skill,
gamemaster wishes, suppression fire may be used to increase an she may pick one of the hand-to-hand techniques described
opponent’s difficulty to hit. The difficulty to hit is increased by below. The character may only pick one hand-to-hand tech­
+1 for every shot fired. nique for every die of skill improvement; increasing a skill by
Repeating blasters (or firearms) are much better suited to this one or two “pips” is not sufficient advancement to select a
than single-fire weapons. Characters using repeating blasters for hand-to-hand technique. Characters whose martial arts skill is
suppression fire add a full level to the opponent’s Difficulty for increased during character creation are eligible to select from
every burst fired. the hand-to-hand techniques

Example: A Twi’lek Spec, Nareel Dre’lara, has a

brawling: martial arts die code of 3D+2. During char­
acter creation, she increases her brawling: martial
arts skill to 5D+2. She may select two hand-to-hand
techniques. After successfully surviving her first mis­
sion, she spends Character Points, increasing her mar­
tial arts die code to 6D. This is not sufficient to select
a new hand-to-hand technique, as she has not
increased the skill by 1D. She may not select a new
hand-to-hand technique until her martial arts die
code is increased to 6D+2. Characters must also
declare which hand-to-hand technique they are using
prior to making the required skill roll (unless otherwise
indicated).

Blindfighting. The character is trained to use senses other

than sight to locate a target.
Difficulty: Very Difficult
Effect: If the character makes the required skill roll and is
within striking distance of the target, she may ignore the effects
of blindness. She cannot see, but can hear or smell a target well
enough to strike. This may be used as a reaction skill.

Disarm. The character is trained to force an opponent to

drop a weapon or object.
Difficulty: Moderate
Effect: If the character’s attack is successful (and is not par­
ried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty
number, the target character is disarmed.

Elbow Smash. The character is trained to deliver a powerful

blow with her elbow.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Effect: The character can add +1D to her damage roll if the
skill roll is successful.

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 COM B AT & I N JURI ES • 6

Flip. The character can throw a target who has grappled her Instant Wound. The character knows how to strike to maxi­
from behind. mum effect, inflicting severe damage on the target.
Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty: Difficult
Effect: A successful skill check indicates that the target is Effect: If the character’s attack is successful (and is not par­
hurled to the ground (provided the attack is not parried or ried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty
dodged). The target suffers 3D damage This technique may be number, the target character suffers a wound. (Effects of the
used as a reaction skill. wound are cumulative.)

Flying Kick. The character is trained to leap in order to deliv­ Multiple Strikes. The character can deliver multiple blows.
er a crushing kick. Difficulty: Moderate
Difficulty: Difficult Effect: The character can make a second attack with no mul­
Effect: The character can add +2D to her damage roll if her tiple action penalties; the second attack inflicts 3D damage.
skill roll exceeds the difficulty number. Failure to beat the diffi­
culty number indicates the character is off-balance and her Nerve Punch. The character knows the location of nerve
opponent may make an additional attack this round with no clusters, striking in such a way as to render a target’s limb numb.
multiple action penalty. Difficulty: Very Difficult
Effect: If successful, the character’s attack renders an oppo­
Foot Sweep. The character trips an opponent. nents limb (arm or leg, specified prior to making the attempt)
Difficulty: Moderate unusable for 3D rounds. Any items held in the affected hand are
Effect: A successful attempt indicates the target is tripped, dropped. If the character beats the difficulty number by 15 or
falling to the ground. The character must remain prone for the more, the target character is rendered unconscious.
remainder of the round.
Power Block. The character is trained to parry attacks in a
Head-Butt. The character can use her head to strike a tar­ manner which inflicts damage.
get, even if she is held, pinned or bound. Difficulty: Moderate
Difficulty: Easy Effect: A successful parry inflicts STR+1D on the target. This
Effect: If the character’s skill roll meets the difficulty number, technique can be used as a reaction skill.
she may use her head to strike the target (inflicting STR+1D
damage). Head-butt can be used if the character is bound or Reversal. The character is trained to turn the tables on an
held, and can be used as a reaction skill. opponent who is attempting to grapple.
Difficulty: Opposed Strength or brawling: martial arts roll
Hold/Grapple. The character is trained to grapple and hold a (whichever is higher).
target immobile. Effect: The character can employ this technique only when
Difficulty: Moderate plus a Strength versus martial arts roll. she is held. If she breaks the opponent’s grip, she may in turn
Effect: The character attempting to grapple with a target hold the target immobile or employ another technique. This
must make a Moderate martial arts roll to hold her opponent. technique may be used as a reaction skill.
For every round the target is held, the character must make a
Strength or lifting roll. If the target beats her martial arts roll Silent Strike. Provided the character can successfully sneak
(or Strength or lifting if she prefers), he breaks free of the hold. up on a target, she can instantly kill him or render him uncon ­
scious.
Instant Knockdown. The character knows how to maximize Difficulty: Difficult
impact, knocking the target to the floor. Effect: The character must be within arm’s reach of the tar­
Difficulty: Moderate get. The character must declare if this is a killing or stunning
Effect: If the characters attack is successful (and is not par­ attack prior to making the attempt. A successful skill roll indi­
ried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty cates the target is neutralized.
number, the target is knocked to the ground. The fallen charac­
ter must either wait one round to stand or suffer multiple Spinning Kick. The character is trained to perform a powerful
action penalties. kick.
Difficulty: Moderate
Instant Stand. The character is trained to negate the effects Effect: The character can add +1D to her damage roll if her
of a fall, and return to a combat-ready position. skill roll exceeds the difficulty number. Failure to beat the diffi­
Difficulty: Moderate culty number indicates the character is off-balance and her
Effect: If a character is tripped or knocked down, she may use opponent may make an additional attack this round with no
this technique to return to a standing position. Successful use of multiple action penalty.
this technique indicates that the character can stand without
suffering a multiple action penalty. Shoulder Throw. The character can throw a target.
Difficulty: Moderate
Instant Stun. The character is trained to strike at critical Effect: A successful skill check indicates that the target is
pressure points, stunning the target. hurled to the ground (provided the attack is not parried or
Difficulty: Moderate dodged), suffering 3D damage.
Effect: If the character’s attack is successful (and is not par­
ried or dodged) and the the skill roll meets the required difficul­
ty number, the target is stunned for one round.

THE STAR WARS ROLEPLAYING GAME: REVISED • EXPANDED • UPDATED ! 99

 6 • COM B AT & IN JURI ES

Weapon Block. The character is trained to parry melee

attacks even when she does not possess a melee weapon. For brawling attacks, the attacker rolls his Strength.
Difficulty: Opposed martial arts versus melee combat roll Some creatures have natural weapons, such as claws,
Effect: If the character makes the required difficulty roll she which may cause “STR+1D” or “STR+1D+2” — roll the
successfully blocks a melee attack. Strength and add the die code as indicated.

The target character rolls Strength to resist damage. If

Martial Arts Options
the character’s Strength roll is higher than the damage
Should gamemasters feel that martial arts are a destabilizing roll, there’s no effect. If the damage roll is higher, find the
element in a campaign, the following are options to lessen the difference on the “Character Damage Chart.”
effects of this skill system.
• Basic Moves: Gamemasters can limit characters to the follow­
ing hand-to-hand techniques (which must be learned before
any other techniques may be acquired): punch (inflicts Strength
CHARACTER DAMAGE CHART
+ 1D damage); kick inflicts Strength + 2D damage); weapon Damage Roll ≥
block (allows the character to block a melee attack, opposed Strength Roll By: Effect
martial arts versus melee combat roll). 1-3 Stunned
• Character Points: Character Points cannot be used during 4-8 Wounded
martial arts skill rolls (though, Force Points can). 9-12 Incapacitated
13-15 Mortally Wounded
• Martial Arts Styles: Using the above system, it is unlikely that
16+ Killed
a character will ever possess all of the hand-to-hand techniques.
(On the average, an extremely advanced character will likely
only possess 10-12 of the hand-to-hand techniques.) However, Example: Thannik fires his blaster pistol (which
gamemasters can limit the number of techniques a character does 4D damage) and hits a bounty hunter with a
can possess by developing martial arts “style packages.” The Strength of 3D+2. Thannik’s damage roll is a 9, while
gamemaster may decide that only six of the techniques are the bounty hunter rolls an 11 — the bounty hunter
available to “K’tara martial arts,” and players must select from shrugs off the blast with no injury.
that list. Learning a technique from outside a style costs 10 In the next round, Thannik hits again. This time his
Character Points and takes three weeks of training. blaster damage roll is a 16. The bounty hunter’s
Strength roll to resist damage is a 12; that’s a differ­
• Parrying: To speed the combat procedure (and to more accu­
ence of four points. The bounty hunter is Wounded.
rately reflect the deadly nature of martial arts), trained combat­
Later on, Thannik is attacking a thug with a vibro-
ants can use brawling: martial arts to both parry and attack.
ax (STR+2D). If Thannik hits, he rolls his Strength of
They may not however use brawling parry to make a brawling
3D+2 plus an extra 2D for a total of 5D+2 damage!
attack.
• Using Martial Arts “Untrained”: Gamemasters may allow
Stunned characters suffer a penalty of −1D to skill and
characters to conduct certain martial arts techniques
attribute rolls for the rest of the round and for the next
“untrained”. For instance a character who wishes to
round. A stun no longer penalizes a character after the
“Grapple/Hold” a target, but does not have the brawling: mar­
second round, but it is still “affecting” him for half an
tial arts specialty, may do so (at gamemaster discretion) at two
hour unless the character rests for one minute.
Difficulty Levels higher. In this case as a Difficult maneuver. If
If a character is being “affected” from a number of
the character has the martial arts specialty, but does not have
stuns equal to the number before the “D” for the charac­
the particular technique, then the roll may be made at one Dif­
ter’s Strength, the character is knocked unconscious for
ficulty Level higher.
2D minutes. A character making an Easy first aid total can
Some techniques, however, are highly specialized and a char­
revive an unconscious character.
acter would not be eligible to perform them due to the special
training required (for example, Silent Strike). This is of course Wounded characters fall prone and can take no actions
subject to gamemaster discretion, and should be discussed with for the rest of the round. The character suffers a penalty
players prior to using the martial arts system. of −1D to skill and attribute rolls until he heals (through
medpacs or natural rest). A character who is wounded a
second time is wounded twice.
DAMAGE A character who’s wounded twice falls prone and can
When an attack hits, the attacker rolls damage. take no actions for the rest of the round. The character
Ranged weapons normally do a set amount of damage: suffers a penalty of −2D to all skill and attribute rolls until
for example, a blaster rifle does 5D damage. he is healed. A wounded twice character who is wounded
A melee weapon might have a damage code of STR+1D again is incapacitated.
— that means, the attacker rolls his Strength and adds one An incapacitated character falls prone and is knocked
extra die for damage. (If there’s a maximum listed — such unconscious for 10D minutes. The character can’t do any­
as “maximum 6D” — that’s the maximum damage for the thing until healed. An incapacitated character who is
weapon regardless of the user’s Strength.) wounded or incapacitated again becomes mortally
wounded.

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 COM B AT & I N JURI ES • 6

This is not necessarily an evil action deserving a Dark Side

A character making a Moderate first aid total can Point — some would say this is more merciful than killing some­
revive an incapacitated character. The incapacitated char­ one (although that’s up for debate). In addition to the severe
acter is now awake, but is groggy, cannot use skills, and injury, the target character is wounded, wounded twice or inca­
can only move at half his “cautious” rate. (See “Movement pacitated (gamemaster’s option).
and Chases.”)
Massive Damage Option. If a character incurs two Wound
A mortally wounded character falls prone and is
levels within a single round, not only do the normal modifiers
unconscious. The character can’t do anything until healed.
for the greatest level apply, the character also can do nothing
The character may die — at the end of each round, roll 2D.
but defend or run away on the next two rounds. In either of
If the roll is less than the number of rounds that the char­
these rounds, the character may make an Easy stamina or
acter has been mortally wounded, the character dies. A
willpower attempt, as an action, to try to recover from the blow
mortally wounded character who is incapacitated or mor­
and shake off the penalty. If this is declared as a multi-action
tally wounded again is killed.
for the round, then the character takes the multi-action penalty.
A character making a Moderate first aid total can “sta­
If not, and the stamina or willpower roll is successful, the char­
bilize” a mortally wounded character. The character is still
acter may act as normal in the next round.
mortally wounded but will survive if a medpac or bacta
tank is used on him within one hour (Moderate first aid Descriptive Damage. So a character has a couple of Wound
total); otherwise, he dies. (This is different from healing a levels — so what? What does that mean in descriptive terms? It
character with a medpac; see “Healing.”) depends on what caused the harm. The following list supplies
A killed character is... killed. Start rolling up a new some general guidelines for describing what might have hap­
character. pened to the character’s body when he was hurt.
Stunned: Moderate bruise or minor sprain; laceration; muscle
Example: A stormtrooper is hit in combat. His
tear; minor dislocation of joint.
Strength roll is an 11 and the damage roll is a 15 — Wounded: Severe abrasion or sprain; deep laceration; torn
he’s wounded. The trooper suffers a wound, falls ligaments; major dislocation or minor break.
prone, can’t act for the rest of the round and is at Wounded Twice: Broken bone; gaping wound; ripped carti­
−1D to all actions until he’s healed. If he’s wounded lage and muscle; concussion.
again, he’s at −2D to all actions until he heals. If this
trooper is wounded again, he becomes incapacitated. Incapacitated: Multiple fracture; laceration in vital area;
Another stormtrooper — he’s still uninjured — is hit heavy concussion.
in combat: his Strength roll is a 9, while the damage Mortally Wounded: Above options combined with multiple
roll is a 19. This trooper is incapacitated and is internal injuries.
knocked unconscious. Dead: Broken neck; punctured lung; eviscerated.
Increasing Resistance. Character Points or Force Points can These are just a few examples. Really interested gamemasters
be used to increase a character’s Strength to resist damage. can come up with charts, tables, or detailed descriptions of
damage for those players who absolutely must know.
Stun Damage. Weapons set for stun roll
damage normally, but treat any result more
serious than “stunned” as “unconscious for 2D
minutes.” (Unless specifically stated otherwise,
all character-scale blasters can be set for stun
damage.)

Example: Thannik is hit by a “stun” bolt from

a stormtrooper’s blaster rifle. The stormtrooper
rolls a 22 for damage and Thannik’s Strength
roll is an 11. That would normally be an inca­
pacitated result, but since the weapon is set for
stun, Thannik is knocked unconscious for 2D
minutes.

DAMAGE OPTIONS
Severe Injuries. As an optional rule, a character
who causes enough damage to kill another character
has the option of causing a serious, permanent injury
instead. (For example, a limb could be severed or a
body part injured so badly that it could never be
used again.)

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 6 • COM B AT & IN JURI ES

MISCELLANEOUS DAMAGE A character who is wounded twice must rest for three days
before rolling to heal.
Here is a small selection of various other harmful things that
players may encounter during their adventures. Generally, no Strength
attack roll is necessary for any of these to affect a character, Roll Result
though a such roll would be required if a person could somehow 2-4 Character worsens to incapacitated
attack with it. The gamemaster determines what, if any, benefit 5-6 Character remains wounded twice
armor and similar protection provides. 7+ Character improves to wounded
Some equipment may even increase the damage! Damage is
otherwise determined as per the combat rules. Incapacitated characters must rest for two weeks before
Except falling, all damage is done per round of close contact. making a healing roll.
The gamemaster may decide that certain types in certain situa­
tions also affect characters at a distance. Strength
Roll Result
MISCELLANEOUS DAMAGE 2-6 Character worsens to mortally wounded
7-8 Character remains incapacitated
Type Damage 9+ Character improves to wounded twice
Food Poisoning (very severe case) 4D
Cold (extreme) 1D Mortally wounded characters must rest for one month (35
General Poison (fatal dose)* 8D+2 standard days) before making a healing roll.
Electricity (standard wall outlet) 1D
Strength
Electricity (major power line) 9D
Roll Result
Falling (3-6 meters ) 2D 2-6 Character dies
Falling (7-12 meters ) 3D 7-8 Character remains mortally wounded
Falling (13-18 meters ) 4D 9+ Character improves to incapacitated
Falling (19-30 meters ) 5D
Example: Thannik is incapacitated and is healing
Falling (31-50 meters ) 7D
naturally. After resting 2 weeks, he makes a Strength
Falling (51+ meters ) 9D
roll for a 10 — he improves to wounded twice. To heal
Fire (torch-size) 1D
from wounded twice to wounded, he must rest for
Industrial Acid (undiluted) 2D+1
another 3 days before making a healing roll.
Radiation (intense) 3D
* See optional poison rules on page 103. Medpacs
A standard medpac contains a combination of healing
medicines, syntheflesh, coagulants, body chemistry boosters,
HEALING adrenaline drugs, and computer diagnostic hardware to treat
seriously injured individuals. Medpacs are very common around
Characters can heal in many ways, but the three most the galaxy and can be found aboard most starships, in most
common methods of healing are natural healing, medpacs buildings and homes... and anyone who thinks he might get into
and bacta tanks (also known as rejuvenation tanks). a battle is advised to carry a couple, too.
Natural Healing
A character can heal naturally, but this process is both A first aid (or Technical) roll is needed to use a medpac.
slower and much riskier than bacta healing. The character The difficulty depends upon the severity of the patient’s
must rest a specified amount of time and then can make a injury:
healing roll: roll the character’s full Strength and find the
result on the chart related to the character’s current Degree of Injury Difficulty
Wound Level to see if the character heals. Stunned, unconscious Very Easy
Healing characters can do doing virtually nothing but Wounded, wounded twice Easy
rest. A character who tries to work, exercise or adventure Incapacitated Moderate
must subtract −1D from his Strength when he makes his Mortally wounded Difficult
healing roll. Any character who opts to “take it easy” and
do virtually nothing for twice the necessary time may add If the first aid roll is successful, the patient heals one
+1D to his Strength roll to heal. level: stunned and wounded characters are fully healed;
unconscious characters are revived; wounded twice char­
A wounded character must rest for three standard days acters improve to wounded; incapacitated characters
before rolling to heal. improve to wounded twice; mortally wounded characters
improve to incapacitated.
Strength If the first aid roll is unsuccessful, the character’s con­
Roll Result dition remains the same. If the first aid roll misses the
2-4 Character worsens to wounded twice
5-6 Character remains wounded
7+ Character is fully healed

102 ! THE STAR WARS ROLEPLAYING GAME: REVISED • EXPANDED • UPDATED

 COM B AT & I N JURI ES • 6

difficulty by more than 10 points, the medpac has pushed

the injured character’s body to its limit, and no more med­
pacs can be used on him for a full standard day (24 hour
period).
Multiple medpacs can be used on a character within a
single day, but increase the first aid difficulty one level for
each additional use.

Example: Thannik has been wounded twice. The

first time a medpac is used on him, the first aid diffi­
culty is Easy. If a second medpac is used on him in the
same day, the first aid difficulty increases to Moder­
ate.

A medpac is fully expended when it’s used — someone who

expects to heal several people must carry multiple medpacs.
A character can use a medpac on himself, but he suffers an
extra −1D penalty (in addition to any other penalties, such as
for being injured).

Example: Thannik having been wounded twice

(−2D to all actions) wants to use a medpac to heal
Surgery
himself (that’s an additional −1D penalty, for a total
Surgery is only required if the gamemaster deems the injury
penalty of −3D). Unfortunately his Technical is only
to require it (mangled appendage, internal bleeding, severe
2D — he can’t use the medpac on himself.
burns), and/or there is no access to a bacta tank. Most charac­
Bacta Tanks ters will only under go surgery in order to repair a major inter­
Bacta is a specially formulated treatment liquid which pro­ nal injury, removal of a foreign body (cancer, slug), or to attach
motes rapid healing and acts as a disinfectant. The attending a cybernetic body part. The surgeon must be trained in the (A)
physician can use the bacta tank’s computers to add skin-con­ medicine skill to perform surgery. Additionally the surgeon must
tact medicines to the bacta fluid, inject medicines into the have access to a surgery kit and medical facility.
patient’s bloodstream, or dispense medicines orally. Characters Surgery fully heals a patient on a successful (A) medicine roll.
must have the (A) medicine skill to use a bacta tank. On most The base difficulty is Easy modified at gamemaster discretion,
planets, only licensed doctors can administer bacta treatments. based on the complexity and conditions of the surgery. Surgeries
performed “in the field” without the appropriate sterile environ­
ment, surgical rooms or staff should significantly increase the
A Very Easy (A) medicine skill is necessary to use a bac­ Difficulty Level. Healing time is 1D days for Wounded patients,
ta tank — regardless of the wound level. If the roll is 3D days for Incapacitated and 6D days for Mortally Wounded. If
made, the character will heal — it’s just a matter of time. the roll fails, the patient’s injury worsens two levels.
A character attempting to use a bacta tank without the
(A) medicine skill must make a Heroic first aid or Techni­ Medicines
cal roll. If the roll fails, the patient’s injury worsens two There are many different medicines in the galaxy, ranging
levels. (Wounded patients worsen to incapacitated; from mass-produced pharmaceuticals to “local cures” known
wounded twice patients worsen to mortally wounded; an only on remote planets. Each medicine has different game
incapacitated or mortally wounded patient is killed.) effects. Some may add a bonus to a character’s first aid or (A)
The character’s healing time depends on the severity of medicine skill; others may allow a patient to heal faster; still
his injuries. others may only affect certain injuries or diseases and provide
no help for others.
Character is: Treatment Time:
Wounded
Incapacitated
1D hours
4D hours POISON (OPTIONAL)
Mortally wounded 1D days Mixing a poison calculated to kill a member of the charac­
ter’s own species doesn’t take a lot of training. If the target is
the same species as the poisoner, the poisoner must make an
Example: Thannik has been mortally wounded, but Easy alien species roll and a Moderate first aid roll (or a Very
his friends quickly get him to a bacta tank. The doctor Easy (A) medicine roll). If both rolls are successful, the poisoner
needs to make a Very Easy (A) medicine roll and suc­ has concocted a liquid poison which does 10+1D6 damage to
ceeds. The gamemaster rolls 1D and gets a four. Four the target in 1D6 minutes (when it is ingested). If either roll
days later, Thannik emerges from the bacta tank fully fails, the poison is completely ineffective.
healed.

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 6 • COM B AT & IN JURI ES

Knowing what kills other species is not as intuitive. When ILLNESS/DISEASE CHART
attempting to poison members of other species, the poisoner
must make a Moderate first aid roll (or a Very Easy (A) medicine Illness/
roll) as above. He must also make an alien species roll and check Disease Level Damage Effects * Duration
on the following table to establish the poison’s effectiveness. If Mild Inflicts 2D of damage every 1D days
the first aid roll falls, the poison is ineffective. twelve hours
Moderate Inflicts 2D of damage every 1D days
Skill six hours
Result Effect Severe Inflicts 3D of damage every 1D days
≤8 Poison is ineffective three hours
9-11 5+1D6 damage to target after ten minutes Very Severe Inflicts 4D of damage every 3D days
12-15 10+1D6 damage to target after five minutes half hour
16+ 15+1D6 damage to target occurs Extreme 5D of damage every ten 5D days
immediately minutes
The character trying to mix the poison must make his skill * Note: Armor bonuses do not apply to Strength rolls to resist
checks with the assistance of the gamemaster. The poisoner will damage from contaminated water.
have no idea how it will affect another character until it is
administered. Poison can only he administered in food, drink, or
through a medpac injection. The poison cannot be turned into a ILLNESS/DISEASE RESULTS
gaseous or contact poison.
When a poison begins to take effect, roll the damage, and Stunned (Roll 1D)
allow the target character to make a Strength roll. If the charac­
ter beats or equals the poison’s damage, his body successfully 1 Blurred Vision: −1D to vision-based search checks, −1D to
resists the toxin, and the poison has no further effect. If he fails, any Dexterity skill rolls that-require the use of sight:
calculate the total damage of the poison. It does not take effect blaster, melee combat, dodge and so on).
immediately, however. The victim takes one Wound every turn, 2 Painful Stomach Cramps: Movement is reduced by 2.
until he has either taken the full damage or is dead. Each turn, 3 Low-grade Fever: −1D to sneak and hide when attempting
he may attempt to beat the poison again (but don’t forget the to avoid from heat sensors.
−1 penalty to all attributes and skill scores for each wound tak­
en). If successful, the character defeats the poison. If not, he 4 Rash: Creates a distracting itch, −1D to Perception and relat­
continues to take damage. ed skills.
A Moderate (A) medicine or difficult first aid roll allows a 5 Dizziness: −1D to Dexterity and Mechanical and related
person analyzing a poison to identify a specific type of poison or skills.
a counteractive agent. These poisons are rather exotic, and those 6 Extreme Hunger: −1D to Strength and related skills.
making their rolls can establish that these toxins are not used by
amateurs. Once the poison is identified, the character may use First Wound (Roll 1D)
the poison kit or the contents of a medpac to neutralize the
poison (the difficulty of the skill roll is equal to the poison’s 1 Minor Infection: Pick any two results from the “stunned”
damage when using (A) medicine, and the damage +5 when effects.
using first aid). 2 Hallucinations: Characters experience visual or auditory hal­
lucinations. Visual hallucinations (seeing spots, for exam­

ILLNESS AND DISEASE ple) reduce all vision-based attribute and skill checks by
−1D. Auditory hallucination (ringing in the ears or other
As the characters travel from world to world, and interact such difficulty) reduces hearing-based attribute and skill
with various aliens, foods, and beverages, they are likely to checks by −1D.
encounter contagious illness or disease at some point. Use the 3 Vomiting: Character must make a Very Difficult stamina
guidelines on the “Illness/Disease” chart to determine the seri­ check to prevent vomiting. The attack lasts for 1D min­
ousness of a contracted illness. utes, and reduces all skills and attributes by −1D for 3D
These results do not necessarily inflict normal damage, how­ hours.
ever. Calculate the would level as normal, gamemasters may
4 Attention Deficit: Character must make a Moderate Percep­
choose — or roll 1D to randomly select — from the following
tion roll to access short-term memory: recent orders,
optional results in lieu of the regular damage penalties.
weather updates and so forth.
Note that, unless indicated otherwise, only one of the penal­
ties should be selected, and the effects of the illness last for the 5 Loss of Judgment: Character has difficulty making snap
duration (indicated above) or until medical treatment is decisions or interpreting orders, all Perception, Knowledge
received; the base difficulties for healing the damage caused by and related difficulties increase by one level.
illness are a Difficult (A) medicine or Very Difficult first aid roll, 6 Allergic Reaction: Character has difficulty breathing or sud­
unless stated otherwise. (Only one first aid or (A) medicine denly must sneeze for 3D minutes, −1D to sneak or hide
attempt can be made per day to counteract the illness’ effects.) for duration of allergic reaction.

104 ! THE STAR WARS ROLEPLAYING GAME: REVISED • EXPANDED • UPDATED

 COM B AT & I N JURI ES • 6

Second Wound (Roll 1D) Mortally Wounded (Roll 1D)

1 Infection: Pick any two results from the “stunned” effects, 1 Catastrophic Infection: Pick one “stunned” effect, one “first
and one item from the “first wound” effects. wound” effect, one “second wound” effect, and one
2 Internal Bruising/Bleeding: Character suffers a −2D penalty “incapacitated” effect.
to Strength to resist damage and must receive medical 2 Organ Failure: Movement reduced to 0, character requires
attention before the illness’ effects wear off; failure to immediate medical attention or will die in 5D hours.
receive treatment results in the character’s death. 3 Psychosis/Dementia: Perception, Knowledge, Technical, and
3 Fear: A Difficult willpower roll must be made every round Mechanical attributes and skills are reduced to 1D for
that an affected character is engaged in combat. Failure effect duration. The character suffers no permanent men­
to make the required willpower roll indicates the charac­ tal damage, recovering completely alter the effect’s dura­
ter’s nerve breaks and he or she begins a blind retreat in a tion has elapsed.
randomly determined direction, Multiple-action penalties 4 Paralysis: Character is rendered completely immobile,
apply when making the willpower roll. though he or she remains conscious. If the character does
4 Increased Aggression: Character must make a Moderate not receive medical attention, the paralysis becomes per­
willpower roll to refrain from attacking any nearby target manent after the effect duration elapses.
— friend or foe; character may not use sneak during this 5 Blindness: Difficulty for any vision-based skill or attribute
attack. checks are increased by five difficulty levels. If medical
5 Paranoia: The affected character believes he or she is the treatment is not received before the contamination
subject of a conspiracy. Character must make a Moderate effect’s time has elapsed, the blindness is permanent.
Perception roll to refrain from attacking fellow party 6 Tremors/Convulsions: Character experiences seizures.
members. All multiple-action penalties apply. Seizures inflict the character’s Strength +1D damage.
6 Extreme Dehydration: Character is exceptionally thirsty, During the seizure and for 1D rounds after, the charac­
experiences dizziness, light-headedness, fatigue, and may ter’s skills are all reduced by −3D (minimum of 0D).
lapse into unconsciousness. Character suffers a −2D Strength is not affected for the purposes of resisting
penalty to all attribute and skill checks and movement is damage, and in this case armor bonuses apply.
reduced to 5.
Death (Roll 1D)
Incapacitated (Roll 1D) 1 Permanent Psychosis/Dementia: Character’s Perception,
1 Major Infection: Pick any two results from the “first wound” Knowledge, Technical, and Mechanical attributes and
effects, and one item from the “second wound” effects. skills are permanently reduced to 1D and cannot be
2 Extreme Paranoia: The affected character believes he or she advanced.
is the subject of a conspiracy. Character must make a Dif­ 2 Nerve Damage: Character suffers a loss of motor control.
ficult Perception roll to refrain from attacking fellow par­ Dexterity and related skills are all permanently reduced to
ty members. All multiple-action penalties apply. 1D and cannot be improved.
3 Respiratory Ailment: Character has extreme difficulty 3 Coma: Character lapses into a coma for the effect duration.
breathing. Movement is reduced to 2. If bacta treatment All attributes and skills are reduced to 0D, and movement
is not received before the effect’s duration has elapsed, is reduced to 0. Character must receive a Moderate first
the character suffocates. aid roll (or an Easy (A) medicine roll) once per day or will
4 Stupor: All attributes and skills reduced to 1D for the entire lapse into systemic shutdown (see below). If the character
effect duration unless the character receives immediate is stabilized, he or she awakens after the effect duration
medical attention (Heroic first aid or Very Difficult (A) has elapsed.
medicine roll). 4 Tissue Liquefaction: The character’s skin tissues breakdown,
5 Blackouts: If a character rolls a “1” on the Wild Die during causing extreme pain, bleeding and — if medical treat­
any attribute or skill checks, he or she experiences a ment (a Very Difficult (A) medicine roll) is not received
blackout for 1D rounds. During the blackout the charac­ before the effect duration elapses — Death. Character’s
ter falls prone and cannot move, see or hear. attributes, skills and movement are all reduced to 0D.

6 Partial Paralysis: Character loses the use of a limb (at 5 Systemic Shutdown: Character has suffered irreversible.
gamemaster’s discretion or use the “Random Hit Location” physical damage and cannot survive without permanent
chart). Paralysis in a leg reduces movement to 5. Paralysis medical attention (life-support apparatus and so on). All
in an arm reduces dexterity by −2D. attributes and skills reduced to 0D. In the field, the char­
acter can be stabilized by a Heroic first aid or Very Diffi­
cult (A) medicine roll; if the character does not receive
the required medical attention, death occurs after the
effect’s duration has elapsed.
6 Death: Character dies immediately, unless he or she is placed
into a life-support system or bacta immersion: If removed
from bacta or life-support, death is instantaneous.

THE STAR WARS ROLEPLAYING GAME: REVISED • EXPANDED • UPDATED ! 105