The Force is one of the most important parts of Star Wars. As Obi-Wan explained in A New Hope, the Force is an energy field created by all living things that binds the galaxy together. The Force is more than just another magic system in another generic fantasy setting -- it's a metaphysical and religious power that impacts and flows through the entirety of the Star Wars franchise. Considering how important the Force is to the setting, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game makes sure to integrate it as an essential part of play.
While not every character will be able to wield the force, its inclusion is essential to make sure players are immersed in the Star Wars universe. The Force in the SWRPG is distinct from the magic systems of most other TTRPGs. The Force mechanics in the game overlap with each other intricately that explaining how they work is a complex task, but the best place to start is with the Force Die.
How to Use the Force Die and Destiny Tokens in SWRPG
The Force Die is a white 12-sided die that has black and white pips on its facets. Seven of the faces show black pips with six of them showing a single pip and one of them showing two pips. The remaining five faces have white pips, with three of the sides showing two pips and two sides only having one. At the beginning of every session of play, each player rolls the Force Die once to generate that session's pool of Destiny Tokens. Each black pip will add one dark side Destiny Token while each White Pip adds one light side Destiny Token. Destiny Tokens are flipped throughout gameplay with light side tokens being used by the players to give themselves boons and dark side tokens allowing the GM to provide additional challenges.
Whenever someone uses a Force Power in the SWRPG, they roll Force Dice equal to their Force Rating to see if they succeed and by what measure. A single white pip on the Force Die will usually be enough to use the most basic version of Force Powers but will require additional pips to unlock additional features. While the basic rules count black pips as failures, in Force and Destiny a character can flip a destiny point, gain conflict and take strain to use a black pip for their Force Power.
How to Become Force-Sensitive in SWRPG
Almost any character can become Force-sensitive through normal play and advancement. The only requirement to use a Force Power is to have the prerequisite Force Rating on their character sheet. A character's Force Rating represents their connection and power with the Force and determines how many Force Dice they can roll when attempting to use a Force Power. There are two ways to acquire a Force Rating -- the first is through character creation and the second is through advancement.
All the Careers in Force and Destiny, as well as the Jedi Career from the two Clone Wars sourcebooks, start the player character with one Force Rating at the cost of skill bonuses. Otherwise, a character needs to spend XP on a new Specialization that gets them a Force Rating. Once a Force-Sensitive Specialization is acquired, the player can advance down the talent tree to eventually gain additional Force Ratings.
How to Use the Force in SWRPG
Once a character has a Force Rating, they can start to take Force Powers as another advancement. Force Powers work very differently in the SWRPG compared to magic in other TTRPGs. Unlike spells in Dungeons & Dragons which are organized into schools and are available based on class and level, Force Powers need to be individually purchased with XP. There are only 20 Force Powers in the SWRPG, but together they cover all the main powers seen in the films, tv shows and games.
Each Force Power has a basic version that describes what the power can do and how many pips on the Force Die are needed to fuel it. Like specialization, each Force Power also comes with an advancement tree. The more XP a player spends on a Force Power, the more powerful or versatile it becomes with the need for additional Force Die pips to get the full effect.
How Morality Figures into SWRPG
Morality is the unique background feature introduced in Force and Destiny for characters tied to the Force. Morality represents a character's overall trend towards the light or dark side of the Force. When characters tap into the dark side or commit immoral actions, they gain conflict points based on how severe the action was as determined by the GM. At the end of a session, or when the GM and player feel it is appropriate, the player rolls a d10 and subtracts the conflict from the result of the dice. The resulting number is then added to the character's Morality score.
A score of 50 is considered to be centered, 75 is deemed a light side paragon, and 25 is a dark side paragon. If a player's morality ever reaches 25 they are considered to have fallen to the Dark Side and can now use dark side pips on the Force Die instead of light side pips. The only way to return to the light side is to hit 75 morality, representing how it's harder to redeem oneself from the dark side than simply avoiding it in the first place.