Dawn of Defiance V - [Mechanics Part 2]

We ended up with a few guest players showing up, so I had to quickly modify the encounters I created on Alderaan to increase the Challenge Level. I had been learning to use the wonderful SAGA Index and the CL calculator to plan the encounters, so it wasn't difficult to enter in a few more droids/clones/stormtroopers to make the encounters at the difficulty I envisioned. This combined with richterbelmont10's NPC statblocks allowed for doing this very easily on the fly. I also like his renditions of stormtroopers / clonetroopers, etc. better as they take full advantage off all the books, something which my players love doing in their min-maxing quest.

Security Droids: One CL4 lead droid (I used the mandalorian charger stats on pg 10), three CL3 heavy droids (I used the Heavy Trooper stats on pg 15, and 6 CL2 super battle droids (pg 7.) Total CL of 8 -4 = 4 vs. APL of 5.5

Chase sequence: Three CL2 speeder bikes (pg 17)

Clone troopers: Two CL4 clonetroopers (I used the mandalorian charger again pg 10), three CR3 heavy clone troopers (pg 15), and 6 CR2 Clone Troopers (pg 8). As one of the Core worlds, and especially one that has strong resistance to the Empire, I figured the Empire would want its most loyal forces onplanet - hence the aging, but still very potent clone troopers.

After leaving Alderaan, I used the module's suggested encounters as guidelines. The biggest change was to change the Nazren to Taung. That was primarily made to incorporate Tex's backstory into the storyline. That also gave me more justification for increasing the difficulty of the imperial patrols since the Taung have a distinguished past of being accomplished warriors - even this far removed from their prime.

Starships: I used it as unmodified as written in the module with the V-wings and the Star Destroyer.

Stormtroopers: Six CR2 Heavy Stormtroopers (pg 6), six CR2 stormtroopers (I used the Clone Trooper stats from pg 8).

Dawn of Defiance V - The First to Strike Part 2

The sound of blasters followed by shouts and screams echoed back through the large doorway opposite the secret tunnel entrance before the heroes had time to fully process their new findings. The young Leia ran back inside the room shouting that the droid guards had suddenly started shooting at her. Punctuating her point, a dozen security droids followed her into the chamber, blasters spitting forth their blue bolts of energy. Acting quickly, the Twi’lek grabbed his blaster from his droid and proceeded to shoot back. The Kel Dor Jedi rushed forward and used the Force to push back several of the mechanical units, while Tex retrieved one of the hidden blaster pistols from Sparktacus. Fearing for her safety, Senator Organa ran to his daughter, shielding her from the hail of blaster fire; but he was caught unawares as his own bodyguard droids likewise turned their weapons on the pair, and wounded the young girl.

Making do with the smuggled weapons, and those taken from the security droids, the group quickly dispatched the rogue robots, only to hear Organa say that his human captain of the guard had detected another trio of droids fleeing on speeders toward the nearest imperial garrison. The captain had managed to block their long-range communicators, but the droids would have to be stopped before the Senator’s meeting with members of the resistance was reported!

Having barely a moment to confirm the Organas’ health, they began pursuit of the droids on some of the fastest royal speeder bikes. Streaking through the crowded airlanes of Aldera and between the spires of various buildings, blaster fire destroyed two of the fleeing speeders, including an impressive single-handed rifle shot by Nai-Keego even as he weaved between the obstacles, the Twi’lek clinging onto the Bothan’s back for dear life.

As they neared the imperial outpost, Senator Organa comm’ed to say that they had finally regained control of the fleeing droid, but that the imperial outpost had seen the firefight. That would raise too many questions, and so the answer he was going to provide was that an insurgent had taken control of some of the militia droids to attack the imperials. As a way of evidence, the remaining droid speeder was guided into the power generator of the outpost, causing an explosion destroying the building. But the dozen clonetroopers outside were already starting to shoot back at the pursuing speeders.

Reaching the clones first as a testimony to his Imperial Academy piloting skills, Nai-Keego landed the speeder with Bob-Nob and he returning fire. The tactic didn’t prove as worthy as planned when the hail of blaster bolts left the Bothan pilot bleeding out. Deciding on a less refined landing, Ehred piloted his speeder bike into a line of the clones, the Force substituting for skill as Sparktacus flew off of the bike with the Jedi in his mechnical arms at the last moment before the collision. In a matter of moments, the remaining clones were dead as the others launched attacks from atop their speeder bikes – alternately shooting down from above and attempting to crush the troops with the bikes themselves.

With all witnesses to the truth eliminated, the medical droid worked his skill with the Bothan while Senator Organa confirmed that someone had secretly programmed Alderaan’s security droids to be on the watch for known members of the Resistance. It seems that their actions against the Empire had begun to attract notice. Although Senator Organa’s human staff had managed to track down the Imperial agent responsible for programming the droids as well as stop information about the secret meeting from getting out, it was a precarious time, and that they should hasten back to safety before the Imperial reinforcements arrived. Having obtained the information they sought about Nizon, the group left Alderaan quickly, with hyperspace coordinates set for an isolated asteroid en route to Nizon.

At the waypoint, they hid one of the Headhunters, so that only the trained pilots would have to navigate the asteroid field enveloping Nizon. And it was fortunate that they did, for upon reversion into realspace at the Centares system, they were greeted with the terrifying vision of a Venetor-class Star Destoyer emerging from the edges of the dust cloud. As the transport it escorted jumped into hyperspace, it and its V-wing screen turned its attentions toward the newly arrived barge and twin headhunters.

“This is Lieutenant Vykk of the Imperial Armed Forces hailing incoming barge The People’s Champion. You have entered into a restricted system. Please state the reason for your presence.”

“Uhhh…”

“Repeat, this is Lieutenant Vykk of the Imperial Armed Forces. You are in a restricted system. Please state the reason for you presence here.”

“Uhh… we’re here transporting needed supplies for Nizon,” responded the Twi’lek.

“Roger. Transmit authorization code.”

“Uhhh…”

The others scrambled to locate authorization codes in the sailing barge computers to no avail.

“Repeat, transmit authorization code.”

“Uhh… the authorization code is 5… 8…”

At this point, the sensors indicated the V-wings coming into attack formation, and they realized their only chance of survival was to get past the destroyer, through the asteroids, and into Nizon’s atmosphere, where the capital ship could not follow. For the odds of a frontal attack against an Imperial Star Destroyer otherwise were 3,720 to 1.

As Tex drew the attention of four of the V-wings, spiraling his Z-95 through the asteroid field, Bob-Nob fiercely worked on keeping the shields on Nai-Keego’s trainer Headhunter operational from the frequent asteroid collisions – it was almost as if the Bothan thought the goal was to collide with as many as possible on the way to atmo! [Three nat 1’s in a row for the Bothan’s piloting check.] Were it not for the Twi’lek’s skill with machines, they would surely be just more debris in the cloud.

Meanwhile, the barge suffered the loving kisses of the Star Destroyer’s turbolasers. It was only the combined fortune of its occupants that they were not annihilated at once. [First shot against the barge, critical hit with the Heavy Turbolaser battery! 7d10 x20 damage! With only 140 hit points, and DR 15, SR 15, it was unlikely they would have survived. This was the start of the judicious use of Destiny points.] With no choice, they too plowed through the asteroid field, returning fire upon the pair of pursing V-wings. Try as they might, they were only able to score the occasional hit on Lieutenant Vykk piloting the lead V-wing.

Barely making into the atmosphere, the surviving V-wings broke off, unwilling to continue the pursuit without support – though, it became clear through their erratic flying that they were clearly being fed the locations of the larger asteroids and easily able to avoid them. The heroes knew that they couldn’t risk another firefight and so used the dust cloud to hide their battered ships in caves a few kilometers from the only city the sensors indicated. Climbing out of his ship, it was astonishing Tex’s ship had managed to retain any semblance of flight, full of more cracks, holes, and carbon scoring than rivets holding it together. [One hp left, courtesy of yet another 3 on his piloting check – he needed 4’s.]

Collecting their gear, donning breathing masks and wrapping themselves against the ever-constant dust storms, they set out for the city. A few, however, were not as successful with the survival gear, and found the dust collecting in unpleasant areas – with joints and gears irritated by the time they arrived.

As they approached the stone buildings that comprised the edges of the only permanent city on the planet, the outline of a large building being constructed on the overhanging cliffs slowly took shape through the thick dust. Sporadically at first, then with increasing frequency, small groups of Taung appeared, hurrying from building to building; moving with less haste were large patrols of heavily armed troops. Contrary to their concerns, it was not difficult for the heroes to fit in as there were also several other races wandering the streets – searching for more of the increasingly scarce prized adult male specimens that the Imperials preferred…

Taking the time to listen to the talk of the streets, the group learns that the leaders of the Taung willing to stand up to the Imperials have all been rounded up and are being held in a detention center. They also learn that a bounty hunter named Vril has been asking questions about offworlders.

Making their way through a deserted neighborhood, they hear a scream and round a corner to see a squad of stormtroopers dragging a Taung woman out of a building. Acting quickly, Shroon-Kor and Ehred approach the troops and attempt to convince the leader that she was not the Taung they were looking for. They were not incorrect, but were informed that all adults from the blocks were being collected, and she qualified regardless. When she tried to fight back, and was struck to the ground as a result, Tex stepped out from behind the corner and blasted the trooper. Responding to the sudden ambush with the practiced precision of an occupying force on a warrior world, the stormtroopers loosed fire back. The ignition of the Gungan’s lightsaber dissolved any semblance of restraint as the call of “JEDI! JEDI!” echoed through the squad. At the conclusion of the firefight, Bob-bob’s medical services once again proved their worth in keeping the Gungan from dying on the street – the Padawan’s control of the Force insufficient to block the torrent of blaster fire his lightsaber provoked.

Reuniting the terrified female with her child, all she could say was that the Taung in hiding would rise up against their captors should Sartok be freed. Acting decisively, the heroes quickly hatch a plan to press the attack before the Empire realized what was transpiring was more than an isolated incident.

Dawn of Defiance V: The First to Strike [Mechanics]

The part of the adventure on Alderaan was created to allow a chance at getting some more XP before starting on the next part of Dawn of Defiance Episode V. The PC’s were mostly level 5, or just reached 6, and I felt that mostly level 6 would be better for Episode V. It also gave me a chance to have them re-visit an old friend while giving a cameo to Leia, which I wanted to do at their first meeting, but neglected to do so. That turned out very well as it was a pleasant surprise to them all and gave their characters a hook into the movies.

Mechanic checks to change the transponder on the Glorious Chariot and modify the exterior.

Deception checks to get past Star Destroyer.

Use Computer check to attempt to circumvent weapon locks.

Deception checks to successfully hide the weapons.

Sneak check failed to smuggle weapon past customs.

A single Use Computer check for each character.

Dawn of Defiance V: The First to Strike, Part I

After escaping the clutches of darkness on Almas - albeit, not unscathed, nor completely un-tainted, Shroon-kor and Ehred spend much of their time in meditation with Jedi Master Denia. In the meditations, the difficulty isn't in finding the great suffering throughout the galaxy as the Emperor expands his reach, rather, it is in filtering out the cries of the oppressed to locate the source of the misery.

The sufferings of billions echoes throughout the Force as the Empire extends its grasp and increases its hold. Master Denia allows the two padawan to help access the recovered Jedi holocron, warning that the temptation to draw more from it would be great as it was now infused with the power of the dark side. At first, the clarity of focus that the holocron begins to put into sharper focus the points pain, but both are able to get a clear sense that soon they would be given the chance to aid in permanently throwing off the shackles of the imperial repression!

Along with the sharper focus, comes with it the barely contained rage and fury behind the multitudes. At that point, Denia breaks off the trio's meditations, leaving them all gasping for breath. Looking at the padawan, she says to continue would be dangerous, and at Shroon-kor in particular, saying "and the temptation to yield is stronger in you, I sense. Be mindful of your feelings and thoughts padawan, for your desire to help can turn you into the very monsters we seek to protect against."

With the use of the recovered holocron as a type of focusing crystal, they was able to locate the particular cries of those being enslaved by the Empire in their Sarlaac Project – the Nazren of Nizon. With precious little else to go on, she has tasked the group to investigate.

In the briefing, Captain Verdana of the Resurgence and Admiral Vrath inform the heroes that they have no records of a Nizon, nor any Nazren. The best source of information would be the archives of the Republic, however, their communications with the supporters on Alderaan has been lost. The last communiqués indicated that further electronic contact would be dangerous as they are being monitored – any future contact would have to be in person. With the contact method and passphrase “utini” in hand, they prepare for their departure.

Bob-Nob and the droids successfully changed the transponder on the Glorious Chariot, renaming her The People’s Champion. The exterior was well worked on to appear to be a seasoned transport, but still able to pass as a merchant wealthy enough to have a trio of Headhunter escorts; and modified expertly enough that no damage was sustained by the barge.

Upon arrival in the Alderaanian system, the sight of the multitude of Star Destroyers and fighters stationed around Alderaan made many hearts aboard the convoy skip a few beats (and the droids circuits lose a few hertz). But the fast-talking Twi’lek in the disguised barge was able to get clearance to approach the planet. Upon entry into atmo and being contacted by the Alderaanian air traffic control, they were informed that weapons were detected on the ships, and were asked to hand over the electronic codes so that their weapons could be disabled before approach. Having no other choice, they complied, even though Nai-Keego did his best at trying to circumvent the lock.

Landing at the spaceport closest to the Royal Palace, the automated welcome message informed them thusly:

“Welcome to Alderaan. Be aware that the atmosphere contains 23% oxygen, 73% nitrogen. In addition to standard Imperial law, be advised that planetary law prohibits weapons and violence is a capital offense. Alderaan is a peaceful planet. The weather outlook in Aldera is excellent with a small chance for rain. Group temperature is 26.4 degrees.”

A fierce discussion ensued in which it was decided that only a few blasters would be smuggled in after being disassembled and hidden in the droids. They realized that they didn’t have the diplomatic immunity of the Senatorial office unlike their last visit.

Stepping out onto the spaceport, they were greeted with the slightly lower gravity of Alderaan as wel as the refreshing air after weeks of only re-ventilation while ship bound. The B-class protocol droid at immigration welcomed each hero to Alderaan with a cheery “Have a peaceful day!” after “health and biology” scanning cleared their entry – with the exception of the Twi’lek who was found to have “forgotten” to stow his concealed holdout blaster before disembarking from the The People’s Champion.

Taking an abundance of caution the group took multiple cabs and a rented speeder van in a circuitous route to the designated meeting point. On the way, they noticed several garrisons of clone trooper points scattered throughout the city.

The meeting place was at the edge of a busy interplanetary bazaar where locals and newly arrived merchants bartered and traded their wares. A few hours after sending the rendezvous signal, Bob-Nob and the droids were approached by a small figure wearing a hooded robe, which chattered away at them unintelligibly. The only word they could make out was “Utiniii!” while it waved a robed at them. The Huttese speaking Twi’lek realized the creature was speaking Jawa, and with no other option, followed the small humanoid towards an alley in the shadow of the Palace. Again exercising caution, the Kel Dor Jedi knocked over a table full of wares while the others all determined no one was paying undue attention to the Twi’lek and Jawa’s interactions.

In the alley, the Jawa manipulated some hidden controls and a previously hidden narrow doorway slid open from the wall. Ushering the entire group in, the Jawa closed the door behind them and led them through a rock passageway into a large chamber with a conference table and chairs. Settling in, they were unable to get any more information from the Jawa. While the biologics conferred on how to best learn Jawa in a hurry, the droids set about reassembling their smuggled weapons.

Still kicking themselves for not knowing how to speak Jawa, the large door at the other end of the chamber opened and Senator Bail Organa entered flanked by a pair of security droids.

“Ahhh! My friends, it gladdens my heart to see you again. I thank you all for your continue sacrifice in the fight against tyranny. But where are my manners,” turning to those he hadn’t previously met, “I am Senator Bail Organa, and I apologize for the circumstances of our meeting. We’ve noticed that we’ve been under more scrutiny lately, and cannot risk any further electronic communications as the Empire has been monitoring us constantly now. Hence, we’ve had to limit ourselves to these covert meetings. And this here,” he said as he indicated the Jawa, “is my daughter – one of the few who can get around unnoticed through these old secret passageways in the Royal Palace.” As the stunned group looked on, the “Jawa” lowered her robe and removed the face mask to reveal a young girl of perhaps 10 or 11 years. “You did a great job Leia – why don’t you go get dressed and head back upstairs.”

“Now, what is that I can help you with that the Resistance felt the urgency to contact me? I must apologize that we have precious little time before my absence will be noticed.”

Mentioning the need for information about Nizon, the heroes were given a short time on the computer terminals in the conference table to access the Senatorial archives.

One discovered that Nizon was inhabited by the remnants of an ancient race that had scattered into small pockets after they were almost completely annihilated. They were called the Nazren after the planet where they had settled.  Being outside the Galactic Republic, they had no representation within the Senate, and thus, easily exploited by the Empire.

Another discovered that Nizon is the 5^th planet in the Centares system and was able to obtain hyperspace coordinates. He also learned that the Empire has a small presence on the mining world Centares, the 3^rd planet in the system. Throughout the region between these two planets was a dense asteroid field, likely the remains of another planet that was destroyed upon collision with the current 4^th planet. The asteroid field made approaches to the planet difficult, and potentially dangerous.

Lastly, Tex stared in shock at what he discovered. He found a picture of the Nazren and upon opening it, saw his own face staring back at him – for the Nazren were, like him, a remnant of the once-might Taung.

Star Wars: Dawn of Defiance Campaign

Ten years after the rise of the Empire, the known galaxy in gripped by the tyranny of the Emperor Palpatine. The Jedi Knights, the once great order, has not only failed to protect the Republic, but has been decimated by the Emperor’s servant Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith hunts down and kills those Jedi who managed to survive in hiding. But the oppressed have begun to organize, and with the covert support of Senators who seek a return of the Republic, the Resistance begins to take form. This is the story of some who are ushering in the Dawn of Defiance.

This is the blog about my Dawn of Defiance Campaign run in the Star Wars universe set about a decade before the events of Star Wars IV: A New Hope (9 BBY). The campaign uses the Star Wars Saga Edition rules published by Wizards of the Coast and was written as a set of 10 connected adventure modules by the authors of the system and release as free downloads.

They are mostly well written, and I am running them with my home gaming group of more than 2 decades. I have also made changes (as always 8-) which I will periodically post along with their adventures. Without further ado, the protagonists.

Shroon-kor: A male Kel-dor Jedi padawan with great promise, and great struggles. Down 8 hp before Vital Transfer. XP: 15,750

Ehred: A female human Jedi padawan. Contemplative and determined to stay far from the darkness of her Dathomiri bretheren. XP: 18,750

Tex: Taung warrior. Rescued from slavers by Jedi, lost wife and sons. XP: 18,750

Bob-Nob: A Twi’lek who supports the Resistance, in return for their credits. With a knack for robotics, he is never far from his support droids. XP: 17,750

Bob-bob: A medical droid, Bob-Nob’s programming has been altered for “proactive protection.” XP: 13,750

TS “Sparktacus”: A former mining droid, he searches for his master. Currently damaged by Stormtroopers, and not fully repaired (hard to do). XP: 17,750

Nai-Keego: Not all are cut out for the Imperial Navy, even if you have the skills if you happen to be non-human. A Bothan pilot, Nai-Keego joined up with the Resistance, taking along with him his trainer Z-95.

@~46 hp after Medpac. XP: 16,750

Har-har: A Gungun Jedi, who has recently joined up with the Resistance. @ 23 hp after Vital Transfer. XP: 12,750

[Game Notes]

Campaign Changes

1. The game starts at year 9 BBY. This is 10 years after Order 66. This allows the Jedi characters to conceivably be around 18-20 years of age, as they had just started their apprenticeships before their masters were killed.
2. I plan to for PCs to be about level 16 at the end of the campaign. The d20 rules really start to break down past that point. Even the creators of the game acknowledge that (specifically, Rodney stated the difficulty of writing the last few modules of the campaign to be sufficiently challenging and still manageable.)

House Rules in Effect (and when they started)

a.     Roll stats rather than set

b.     May re-roll hp with Force Point

c.      Droids get Syntax Points (basically, Force Points)

d.     Using Force Point to avoid death costs ALL Force Points (Part 4)

e.     PC’s only get 1 Destiny Point per character level PLAYED (Part 4)

f.      Use the Force changed multiple times. Currently, Skill Focus only available to Knight Prestige class.

g.     Extra talents at base class levels 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, & 16. **Note, 1^st level Talents must be from different trees. Also, this 1^st bonus talent is not obtained when multi-classing into another class (just as not all starting feats are received.)

h.     Force Powers take 1 step longer to use. Practiced Force User Talent to reduce back one-step.

i.       Can only learn Force Powers with a teacher.

j.       Vital Transfer can’t be used to heal Vital Transfer (Part 4)

k.     Block and Deflect are one Talent

l.       Lightsabers deal 2d12 damage

m.   Movement: Diagonals cost 1.5 squares as D&D 3.5 (Part 3)

n.     Starship: Can flee a Dogfight as free action, but gives every opponent free critical attack from full attack. (Part 5)

Misc

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

I just finished watching episode 2 in preparation for running the next part of my Star Wars Dawn of Defiance Campaign. I had been working on the encounters as we gear up for our next session, and over this past weekend, I had an opportunity to visit some friends in Indianapolis. During the visit, my old Star Wars Old Republic game group was getting together to go see the re-release of The Phantom Menace in 3D - so, as much as I didn't want to give any more money to Lucas, I wanted to share the experience with them. It was fun reminiscing about waiting in lines for 9 hours at the original release and whispering to my friends as the MANY kids in the theatre ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the spectacle - but, I still couldn't help cringe at each mention of the midiclorians, and the "will of the Force".

Anyways, with that background, and swinging by the Disc Replay to pick up a copy of Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 1, I thought it would flow well to watch Attack of the Clones again since I hadn't seen it since the original theatrical release; so I picked up a DVD of that as well.

Well, I gotta say that my opinion of it hasn't changed. The lines were so bad (especially between Anakin and Padame!!!), the storyline so contrived at times, the "wise" Jedi so clueless, and the directing so bad that it made excellent actors into bland cardboard actors, that I couldn't help muttering and spouting off how just plain DUMB the lines were... and I thank my poor wife for putting up with me as she quietly read her kindle next to me (I was wearing earphones).

It was especially appalling as I decided to prolong the pain and watch some of the deleted scenes and featurettes.What particularly struck me, and pushed me over the edge to write this tonight instead of waiting until the morning, were the interviews with Natalie Portman. Now, she's been one of my favorite actors since I saw her in The Professional when it came out - and it was quite telling when SHE HAD MORE EMOTION IN HER FACE DURING THOSE 45 SECONDS THAN THE ENTIRE MOVIE PUT TOGETHER.

The greatest tragedy in my opinion (and there are quite a few in the prequels)? Every action sequence is a reminder of how much cooler this whole triology could have been if Lucas had been content to let someone else write the lines and direct, and he went hands off after the initial vision... kinda like for Empire - the best of the saga.

So, I hope my players appreciate the pain I put myself through to give them a good time and immerse them in the Star Wars Universe.

Star Wars Saga Edition Use the Force Fix

For the most part, I like the newest incarnation of the Star Wars RPG put out by Wizards of the Coast - the Saga Edition. However, the main thing that bugs me about it is the way the Force works. By having Use the Force (UTF) as a skill, its (usuaully) starts at an absurdly high level for what I feel a 1st-level Jedi should be able to do. Plus, it doesn't get a whole lot better as the character advances (a 20th-level Sith Lord only has ~10 more over that of a 1st-level - compare a 20th level Soldier with a 1st). Over the years, I've tried to come up with some fixes for it.

I've listed below some possibilities and have link to a table showing what a "typical" progression would look like.

1) Easy1: UTF cannot be a Trained skill until achieving a level of Jedi Knight/Sith Apprentice. A pre-requisite for the Feat Skill Focus (UTF) is a level in Jedi Master/Sith Lord. This significantly lowers the UTF for lower-level Jedi characters, but has the same maximum as the books. The problem is there are large bumps upon attained the Prestige Classes (not necessarily bad, as getting trained and taking skill focus for other skills does the same thing).

2) Easy2: A pre-requisite for the Feat Skill Focus (UTF) is a level of Jedi Knigh/Sith Apprentice. Similar to Easy1, but not as drastic a measure. This is what we are using in our current Dawn of Defiance Campaign.

3) Feel1: UTF is not a skill. Rather, it is a special check that is available to characters with the Force Sensitive Feat. The check is = character level + Cha mod + 1 per force-user level (ie. Jedi, Jedi Knight, Sith Lord, etc.) This leads to an extremely high final UTF at the higher levels.

4) Feel2: Same as Feel1, but the progression is only +1/2 per force-user level. This lowerls the maximum as compared to Feel1, but still leads to high UTF at levels 15+

5) Feel3: Similar to Feel1 & Feel2, but the check is = 1/2 character level + Cha mod + 1 per force-user level. This keeps the skill mechanic of adding +1/2 per character level. The same difficulty with high UTF at levels 15+

6) Mike1: UTF is a skill, but change the Feat Skill Focus (UTF) bonus to be a maximum provided by the level-based skill bonus, with a maximum of +5 at level 10.

7) Mike2: As Mike1, but the Skill Focus (UTF) bonus is equal to the Cha mod.

8) Mike3: A combination of Mike1 and Mike2, where the Skill Focus (UTF) bonus is capped at the lower of the level-based skill bonus or Cha mod.

I'd be interested to hear about other suggestions. My favorite at this time is Feel3; partially because it gives a good progression and follows the skill mechanic. A +33 is very high for a 20th level force-user, but I am of the opinion that the game really starts to break down past 16th level, and I don't plan on running games past that level. In addition, I don't see that as being a complete negative, as I would expect an equivalently leveled gun-fighter to have ~+28 on to-hit rolls and defenses to be around the same.

Link to the table. The light blue is what I expect most optimized force-user UTF will be with core rules, and the light green is where the various optional rules meet the inflection point as compared to that light blue column.