Star Wars Saga RPG Hacks, Part Three (Resources Skill)
Prior Posts:
New Skill: Resources
This a new skill, resources. It is a class skill for the Noble and Officer classes. It also requires some rules adjustments to starting PC credits and item costs.
Resources on your Character Sheet
Balance
An entry called Balance should also be recorded on your character sheet (go ahead and put it in the credits space). This is a bonus or penalty that is measured in increments of +/-5. Your Balance is always applied to your resources skill roll.
Earning Resources
Money or favors earned through play (getting paid for a job, making influential contacts) is considered a bonus to your Balance. These are always applied in increments of 5.
Gifts & Loans
If you give another PC a gift or loan, you take a penalty to your Balance at an equal bonus to the receivers' Balance. It is up to you to decide how the receiver will pay you back, and with any interest (always in increments of 5 points).
Resource Cycle
Your Balance eventually reaches zero. Every resource cycle (a time determined by your group, typically a month or single adventure), if your Balance is below zero, your Balance increases by 5 points. If your Balance is at or above zero, it remains unchanged.
Resources (Cha)
Use this skill to obtain goods and services through credits and favors owed. You can take 10, but not 20.
Purchase
When attempting to purchase an item, you make a resources check versus a DC determined by the Resources Cost to DC chart. If successful, you can purchase the item.
If you fail, you can choose to not purchase the item or purchase the item anyway and take a -5 penalty to your Balance. This penalty is cumulative (e.g., if you fail three resources checks, you are at a -15). Once your penalty exceeds your skill bonus, you cannot make any more purchases. This penalty is recovered regularly through the resources cycle or by earning resources.
If you successfully haggle before making a resources check to purchase, you get a +5 bonus on that resources check (this is a one-time bonus that is not applied to your Balance).
Overspend
You may apply a bonus to your resources test, but you must then take that bonus as a penalty to your Balance if successful. If you fail, you lose double that bonus. You can only apply a bonus of up to half your resources skill (in multiples of five). For example, if your resources skill is at 22, you can Overspend up to +10.
Invest (Trained Only)
Once per resources cycle, if your Balance is at zero or higher, you can invest some of your resources in order to earn more in subsequent resource cycles. The GM must agree that you have the opportunity to invest. You take a penalty to your Balance (up to half your resources skill), but note that you've invested that amount. At the end of every resource cycle you must make a gambling checkagainst the house (see the sidebar at the Scoundrel class).
At any time you can decide pull any amount you like (in multiples of five) fromyour investment and apply it to your Balance. If your investment ever reaches zero, your investment is lost.
Jedi Asceticism: If your PC has more than half her class levels in Jedi or Sith classes, you take a -5 penalty to your resources checks. This penalty is in addition to any existing penalties and cannot be recovered by any means (i.e., you cannot use a resource cycle to remove this penalty).
DCCost of Goods or Services
510
1050
15100
20500
251,000
305,000
3510,000
4050,000
Cost of Goods & Services
When calculating the cost of a good or service for use with the resource system, you take the first two digits of the cost and modify them as per the chart below.
First two digitsReplace with
01-2510
26-7550
76-99100
For example, if a starfighter costs 71,000 credits, the resources system cost is 50,000. If a blaster costs 990 credits, it's resources system cost is 1,000 credits.
Organization Resources
If an organization has spending cash, it is represented by a resources skill. If a PC has authority, she may use the organization's resources skill instead of her own. The entire resource system applies to the organization (both resources skill and Balance). Organizations such as the Empire have immense resources, valued at 100 or more. The Rebellion is less fortunate, relying on charity and gifts with a resource skill of around 60.
Starting Credits
Players start with (1000 x character level) credits to spend on items on character creation. This is the only time credits are spent in the conventional sense; any purchases in-game are made with the resources checks. Costs of items at this time are still calculated using the new method.
Trained
If your PC is trained in the resources skill, you start with (5000 x character level) credits.
Jedi Asceticism
If your PC has more than half her class levels in Jedi or Sith classes, you start with (500 x character level) credits.
Wealth Talent
The wealth talent acts a little differently. With every level gained, your receive a bonus to your Balance of (your character level / 5 (rounding up)) x 5.
Character LevelWealth Talent Bonus
1-5+5
6-10+10
11-15+15
16-20+20
- Star Wars Saga RPG Hacks, Part One (Abstract Combat)
- Star Wars Saga RPG Hacks, Part Two (Story Points)
New Skill: Resources
This a new skill, resources. It is a class skill for the Noble and Officer classes. It also requires some rules adjustments to starting PC credits and item costs.
Resources on your Character Sheet
Balance
An entry called Balance should also be recorded on your character sheet (go ahead and put it in the credits space). This is a bonus or penalty that is measured in increments of +/-5. Your Balance is always applied to your resources skill roll.
Earning Resources
Money or favors earned through play (getting paid for a job, making influential contacts) is considered a bonus to your Balance. These are always applied in increments of 5.
Gifts & Loans
If you give another PC a gift or loan, you take a penalty to your Balance at an equal bonus to the receivers' Balance. It is up to you to decide how the receiver will pay you back, and with any interest (always in increments of 5 points).
Resource Cycle
Your Balance eventually reaches zero. Every resource cycle (a time determined by your group, typically a month or single adventure), if your Balance is below zero, your Balance increases by 5 points. If your Balance is at or above zero, it remains unchanged.
Resources (Cha)
Use this skill to obtain goods and services through credits and favors owed. You can take 10, but not 20.
Purchase
When attempting to purchase an item, you make a resources check versus a DC determined by the Resources Cost to DC chart. If successful, you can purchase the item.
If you fail, you can choose to not purchase the item or purchase the item anyway and take a -5 penalty to your Balance. This penalty is cumulative (e.g., if you fail three resources checks, you are at a -15). Once your penalty exceeds your skill bonus, you cannot make any more purchases. This penalty is recovered regularly through the resources cycle or by earning resources.
If you successfully haggle before making a resources check to purchase, you get a +5 bonus on that resources check (this is a one-time bonus that is not applied to your Balance).
Overspend
You may apply a bonus to your resources test, but you must then take that bonus as a penalty to your Balance if successful. If you fail, you lose double that bonus. You can only apply a bonus of up to half your resources skill (in multiples of five). For example, if your resources skill is at 22, you can Overspend up to +10.
Invest (Trained Only)
Once per resources cycle, if your Balance is at zero or higher, you can invest some of your resources in order to earn more in subsequent resource cycles. The GM must agree that you have the opportunity to invest. You take a penalty to your Balance (up to half your resources skill), but note that you've invested that amount. At the end of every resource cycle you must make a gambling checkagainst the house (see the sidebar at the Scoundrel class).
At any time you can decide pull any amount you like (in multiples of five) fromyour investment and apply it to your Balance. If your investment ever reaches zero, your investment is lost.
Jedi Asceticism: If your PC has more than half her class levels in Jedi or Sith classes, you take a -5 penalty to your resources checks. This penalty is in addition to any existing penalties and cannot be recovered by any means (i.e., you cannot use a resource cycle to remove this penalty).
DCCost of Goods or Services
510
1050
15100
20500
251,000
305,000
3510,000
4050,000
Cost of Goods & Services
When calculating the cost of a good or service for use with the resource system, you take the first two digits of the cost and modify them as per the chart below.
First two digitsReplace with
01-2510
26-7550
76-99100
For example, if a starfighter costs 71,000 credits, the resources system cost is 50,000. If a blaster costs 990 credits, it's resources system cost is 1,000 credits.
Organization Resources
If an organization has spending cash, it is represented by a resources skill. If a PC has authority, she may use the organization's resources skill instead of her own. The entire resource system applies to the organization (both resources skill and Balance). Organizations such as the Empire have immense resources, valued at 100 or more. The Rebellion is less fortunate, relying on charity and gifts with a resource skill of around 60.
Starting Credits
Players start with (1000 x character level) credits to spend on items on character creation. This is the only time credits are spent in the conventional sense; any purchases in-game are made with the resources checks. Costs of items at this time are still calculated using the new method.
Trained
If your PC is trained in the resources skill, you start with (5000 x character level) credits.
Jedi Asceticism
If your PC has more than half her class levels in Jedi or Sith classes, you start with (500 x character level) credits.
Wealth Talent
The wealth talent acts a little differently. With every level gained, your receive a bonus to your Balance of (your character level / 5 (rounding up)) x 5.
Character LevelWealth Talent Bonus
1-5+5
6-10+10
11-15+15
16-20+20