INTRODUCTION
Like any role-playing game, the D6 system used by Star Wars Odyssey is used to add an element of "randomness" to game play. Rather than having a character who always succeeds or always fails (or having the rolls decided entirely by the Game Master), using a dice-based system allows SWO to give players a more realistic and immersive feeling to their role-playing.
THE D6 SYSTEM AT A GLANCE
The basic mechanic of SWO is that a player rolls a certain number of dice to complete a task. If the number they roll is higher than the difficulty number of the task, they succeed at the said task.
DIFFICULTY CHECKS
Difficulty checks (or DCs) are assigned by a Game Master during sims. They represent how difficult a task is to complete. The higher the DC is, the more difficult the task. Difficulty numbers are also divided into difficulty levels:
Very Easy: DC 1-5
Easy: DC 6-10
Moderate: DC 11-15
Difficult: DC 16-20
Very Difficult: DC 21-30
Heroic: DC 31 or higher (difficulty levels of Heroic or higher are sometimes described as Heroic +5 [Epic] at DC 36-40, Heroic +10 [Legendary] at DC 41-45, etc.)
SPECIAL CASES
Sometimes, the results of a dice roll can lead to special circumstances. These are triggered by the Wild Die, the first die rolled. The Wild Die is the number displayed furthest to the left when dice are rolled. For example:
A bonus occurs when a 6 is rolled on the Wild Die. When bonuses occur, the Wild Die is displayed in green. When a bonus occurs, a random number is added to the character's total roll. The amount of the bonus is displayed beside the dice roll.
A random complication, more commonly known as an Rcomp, occurs when a 1 is rolled on the Wild Die. In this case, the Wild Die is displayed in red. Random complications are exactly that - some random event happens during the character's attempt at a task, and can be good or bad. When an Rcomp is triggered, the GM rolls a 100-sided die secretly, and applies the results to the character's attempt.
TYPES OF DICE ROLLS
There are two main types of dice rolls used in SWO, known as static rolls and opposed rolls.
CHARACTER SHEETS & DICE CODES
Each character in SWO has a Character Sheet where their stats, equipment and other information needed for sims are recorded. Attributes and skills (explained below) are recorded in one section of the character sheet. Beside each Attribute and Skill is what is known as a dice code. They look like this:
The dice code represents the number of dice that a character may roll to attempt a given task. The more dice a character possesses, the more likely they are to meet higher DCs. Dice codes work as follows: the number before the "D" is the number of six-sided dice that you roll. The number after the D is a fixed number that you add to your roll, known as a "pip". In the dice code shown above, 5D+1, it means that the player would roll five six-sided dice, add up the total, then add 1 to that number.
When reading dice codes, three pips = one die. If you are granted a bonus to your roll or upgrade a skill, the progression is: +1, +2, +1D, repeating at each D (full die). Thus, if you have a roll of 3D+2 and you get a +1 bonus to your roll, your roll becomes 4D instead of 3D+3.
ATTRIBUTES & SKILLS
There are two primary types of stats that are important to Star Wars Odyssey's mechanics system. These are known as "attributes" and "skills".
Attributes
Attributes represent a category of abilities. Attributes can be said to measure a person's natural ability in an area, such as someone who is naturally graceful, strong or intelligent.
The six Attributes are Dexterity (covers tasks requiring agility and coordination), Knowledge (covers tasks requiring "book smarts" and reasoning), Mechanical (covers tasks involving operating mechanical equipment, such as piloting), Perception (covers tasks that involve being able to perceive the environment and interact with others), Strength (covers tasks involving raw muscular power), and Technical (covers tasks requiring a certain level of technical skill, such as operating computers, building or repairing equipment and treating injuries).
Skills
Skills represent a character's ability to accomplish a task in a specific area of expertise. Usually, a skill represents some kind of specific training in an area, whether formal or gained through experience. Examples of skills are Dodge (used to evade attacks in combat), Starfighter Piloting (used to operate starfighters), or Lightsaber Repair (used to build and repair lightsabers).
Skills are grouped under six Attributes. This is where the relationship between natural ability and training becomes easier to see. For example, a character with a high Dexterity moves very fluidly, but may not be a very good fighter - that is, they may not have any training in the Brawling or Martial Arts skills. Likewise, a character might not be very perceptive (with a low Perception score), but very good at talking people into doing what they want (with higher Con or Persuasion scores).
Generally, when attempting a task during a sim, it will be a skill rather than an attribute that a player rolls. Sometimes, however, a Game Master will call for an Attribute roll instead. The Game Master will tell a player which Attribute or Skill they need to roll, although sometimes this is common sense (Blaster to fire a blaster, Dodge to dodge an attack, Starfighter Piloting to fly an X-Wing, etc.)
If the Game Master asks a player to use a skill they are not trained in (i.e. that isn't listed on their character sheet), they may roll their Attribute dice code instead, with a -1D penalty (the player rolls one less dice than the Attribute dice code). For example, the Game Master asks a player to roll the Blaster Artillery skill. The player looks at their Character Sheet and does not have Blaster Artillery listed. Since Blaster Artillery is a Dexterity Skill, the player may roll their Dexterity, minus one die. If the character's Dexterity is 3D+1, the player would roll 2D+1.
SPECIAL ABILITIES & SKILLS
Advanced skills are skills that a character may learn as they progress that grant them new abilities or bonuses to existing ones. They require a certain level of ability in other attributes or skills before they can be learned and used. For example, the Quick Draw Advanced Skill allows a character to draw weapons faster than they normally would, but their Dexterity Attribute must be at a certain level before they can learn this Skill.
Force powers are their own categories of Attributes and Skills. Their detailed descriptions can be found in the Force Powers Database.
Like any role-playing game, the D6 system used by Star Wars Odyssey is used to add an element of "randomness" to game play. Rather than having a character who always succeeds or always fails (or having the rolls decided entirely by the Game Master), using a dice-based system allows SWO to give players a more realistic and immersive feeling to their role-playing.
THE D6 SYSTEM AT A GLANCE
The basic mechanic of SWO is that a player rolls a certain number of dice to complete a task. If the number they roll is higher than the difficulty number of the task, they succeed at the said task.
DIFFICULTY CHECKS
Difficulty checks (or DCs) are assigned by a Game Master during sims. They represent how difficult a task is to complete. The higher the DC is, the more difficult the task. Difficulty numbers are also divided into difficulty levels:
Very Easy: DC 1-5
Easy: DC 6-10
Moderate: DC 11-15
Difficult: DC 16-20
Very Difficult: DC 21-30
Heroic: DC 31 or higher (difficulty levels of Heroic or higher are sometimes described as Heroic +5 [Epic] at DC 36-40, Heroic +10 [Legendary] at DC 41-45, etc.)
SPECIAL CASES
Sometimes, the results of a dice roll can lead to special circumstances. These are triggered by the Wild Die, the first die rolled. The Wild Die is the number displayed furthest to the left when dice are rolled. For example:
The first "3" on this roll is the Wild Die. Depending on what number is rolled on the Wild Die, a character may have one of two things happen: a bonus or a random complication.
A bonus occurs when a 6 is rolled on the Wild Die. When bonuses occur, the Wild Die is displayed in green. When a bonus occurs, a random number is added to the character's total roll. The amount of the bonus is displayed beside the dice roll.
A random complication, more commonly known as an Rcomp, occurs when a 1 is rolled on the Wild Die. In this case, the Wild Die is displayed in red. Random complications are exactly that - some random event happens during the character's attempt at a task, and can be good or bad. When an Rcomp is triggered, the GM rolls a 100-sided die secretly, and applies the results to the character's attempt.
Examples:
- Normal dice roll: Davin: 5D6+1 -- 3 3 2 5 4 +1 -- Total: 18
- Bonus: Davin: 5D6+1 -- 6 5 6 3 4 +1 -- Total: 32 Bonus: 7
- Random Complication (Rcomp): Davin: 5D6+1 -- 1 3 2 3 1 +1 -- Total: 11 Re-roll: 1
TYPES OF DICE ROLLS
There are two main types of dice rolls used in SWO, known as static rolls and opposed rolls.
- Static rolls are when a character rolls their dice against a fixed difficulty number, decided by the Game Master. For example, the character might be attempting to climb a rock face. The Game Master sets the DC at 15, which the player must roll equal to or higher than for their character to succeed.
- Opposed rolls are when two or more characters are competing to reach their goals. This is most common in combat situations, where one character is attempting to strike another character, and the second character is attempting to avoid being struck. In this case, each character makes their roll, and whoever rolls higher succeeds. If the rolls are tied, success is given to the defender.
CHARACTER SHEETS & DICE CODES
Each character in SWO has a Character Sheet where their stats, equipment and other information needed for sims are recorded. Attributes and skills (explained below) are recorded in one section of the character sheet. Beside each Attribute and Skill is what is known as a dice code. They look like this:
Dodge 5D+1
The dice code represents the number of dice that a character may roll to attempt a given task. The more dice a character possesses, the more likely they are to meet higher DCs. Dice codes work as follows: the number before the "D" is the number of six-sided dice that you roll. The number after the D is a fixed number that you add to your roll, known as a "pip". In the dice code shown above, 5D+1, it means that the player would roll five six-sided dice, add up the total, then add 1 to that number.
When reading dice codes, three pips = one die. If you are granted a bonus to your roll or upgrade a skill, the progression is: +1, +2, +1D, repeating at each D (full die). Thus, if you have a roll of 3D+2 and you get a +1 bonus to your roll, your roll becomes 4D instead of 3D+3.
ATTRIBUTES & SKILLS
There are two primary types of stats that are important to Star Wars Odyssey's mechanics system. These are known as "attributes" and "skills".
Attributes
Attributes represent a category of abilities. Attributes can be said to measure a person's natural ability in an area, such as someone who is naturally graceful, strong or intelligent.
The six Attributes are Dexterity (covers tasks requiring agility and coordination), Knowledge (covers tasks requiring "book smarts" and reasoning), Mechanical (covers tasks involving operating mechanical equipment, such as piloting), Perception (covers tasks that involve being able to perceive the environment and interact with others), Strength (covers tasks involving raw muscular power), and Technical (covers tasks requiring a certain level of technical skill, such as operating computers, building or repairing equipment and treating injuries).
Skills
Skills represent a character's ability to accomplish a task in a specific area of expertise. Usually, a skill represents some kind of specific training in an area, whether formal or gained through experience. Examples of skills are Dodge (used to evade attacks in combat), Starfighter Piloting (used to operate starfighters), or Lightsaber Repair (used to build and repair lightsabers).
Skills are grouped under six Attributes. This is where the relationship between natural ability and training becomes easier to see. For example, a character with a high Dexterity moves very fluidly, but may not be a very good fighter - that is, they may not have any training in the Brawling or Martial Arts skills. Likewise, a character might not be very perceptive (with a low Perception score), but very good at talking people into doing what they want (with higher Con or Persuasion scores).
Generally, when attempting a task during a sim, it will be a skill rather than an attribute that a player rolls. Sometimes, however, a Game Master will call for an Attribute roll instead. The Game Master will tell a player which Attribute or Skill they need to roll, although sometimes this is common sense (Blaster to fire a blaster, Dodge to dodge an attack, Starfighter Piloting to fly an X-Wing, etc.)
If the Game Master asks a player to use a skill they are not trained in (i.e. that isn't listed on their character sheet), they may roll their Attribute dice code instead, with a -1D penalty (the player rolls one less dice than the Attribute dice code). For example, the Game Master asks a player to roll the Blaster Artillery skill. The player looks at their Character Sheet and does not have Blaster Artillery listed. Since Blaster Artillery is a Dexterity Skill, the player may roll their Dexterity, minus one die. If the character's Dexterity is 3D+1, the player would roll 2D+1.
SPECIAL ABILITIES & SKILLS
Advanced skills are skills that a character may learn as they progress that grant them new abilities or bonuses to existing ones. They require a certain level of ability in other attributes or skills before they can be learned and used. For example, the Quick Draw Advanced Skill allows a character to draw weapons faster than they normally would, but their Dexterity Attribute must be at a certain level before they can learn this Skill.
Force powers are their own categories of Attributes and Skills. Their detailed descriptions can be found in the Force Powers Database.
