Topics:
- Character Creation
- Character Advancement (below)
- Judging
- General
Character Advancement:
1) Can I spend the starting 5 character points on advancement?
Yes. But as a new character it is recommended to keep some available character points in case you get into a tough spot.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06
2) How do you learn specializations after character creation?
First, you must know the base skill the specialization is coming from. If the specialization would require special training (ie. most Brawling specializations like Spec Force Martial Arts, Shockboxing, etc.), then you must find a trainer. The trainer may be a Player Character during any event, unless noted otherwise, or Non-Player Character during Seminars and Interactives for most specializations. There are a few exceptions, like Spec Force Martial Arts, that can only be learned by Non-Player Characters and these can have other requirements. Second, if the specialization would not require dedicated training, then the player just needs to have access to any required equipment (ie. specific ship type, or specific weapon, etc.). Once these requirements are met, the player can add the specialization to their skill list at the value of the base skill and begin raising it at half cost rounded up.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06
3) Can you buy off an armor’s dexterity penalty? If so, how?
Yes. We are using an old rule from first edition that allows a character to spend character points to buy off an armor’s dexterity penalty. The cost is 4 character points per pip (3 base plus 1 for 1D penalty) for a 1D Dexterity penalty and 5 character points per pip (3 base plus 2 for 2D penalty) for 2D down to 1D and so on. Also, only one pip of penalty can be bought off per event. This rule customizes that armor for that character. Anyone else putting on the armor would still suffer the Dexterity penalty. This rule is the character training or getting used to the armor, not modification to the armor itself. This modification is listed as a Special Ability for the character by specific armor type.
{For example, Jax has heavy armor with a –2D Dexterity penalty. It would take 6 events and have a cost of 27 character points (5+5+5+4+4+4 = 27) to buy off the penalty completely.}
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06
4) How do you learn languages in Sparks?
We use all of the second edition revised and expanded options listed in the rulebook; 5D in the language specialization (must have 1 pip raised in the specialization) and/or 10 Difficult Language rolls in play means the character is fluent in the language. In Sparks we also use the rule that for every +1D the language skill is above the Knowledge attribute the character can choose a language they were studying as they raised their language skill to be fluent in.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06
5) Certain characters have integrated the clone era into their background, but what is the limit of any implied game effect (I knew so and so, I was at such and such event, etc.)?
Any ‘name dropping’ (NPCs, locations, etc. that may be personally known) should be considered only an aesthetic with no actual game benefit or bonus (I knew him, so I gain some bonus). There can be knowledge gained with successful use of appropriate skills (Scholar specializations or fields of study – history, etc.).
Council Approval Date: 6/10/13
6) Can Sparks Player Characters learn Sith Alchemy?
Player Characters cannot learn the Sith Alchemy ability from any source. They can learn about it with Scholar various lore’s or Profession to gain a technical understanding of Sith Alchemy but can never use that knowledge to actually practice the Sith Alchemy ability.
Council Approval Date: 1/5/19
7) Does the skill specialization (s)Con – Imperial exist in Sparks? General clarification and limitations of skill specializations.
Con Specializations:
- Fast Talking: Used to quickly and convincingly lie to 'Anyone' (typically opposed)
- Disguise: Used to make 'Any' kind of disguise (difficulty can be fixed or opposed in varying circumstances)
- Any Specific Faction or Group (i.e. Imperial, Rebellion, Black Sun, etc.): Used to do general Con rolls (fast talking, disguise, etc.) associated with ONLY that group
So, (s)Con - Imperial is the simple specialization
We have even had a few Sparks characters with (s)Con – Rebellion.
Now for the other stuff you could have:
- (s)Forgery - Imperial
- (s)Tactics - Imperial
- (s)Bureaucracy - Imperial
Considerations:
(1) What if the Imperial officer was trained from some other home military and does not use standard Imperial protocols or have general Imperial knowledge?
- The roll would still be (s)Con - Imperial, but the judge can at any time add bonuses to either side. So, in this case the Imperial in question could get +1D, +2D, usually capping at +5D for bonuses.
- You can also vary these bonuses if this particular group (planet, garrison, etc.) has special protocols or information. For example, (s)Con - Imperial would work in Sparks #19 (no spoilers), but the Imperials in question should get loosely +/- +1D for troops, +2D low officers, +3D for command officers, +4D for Base commander, because they are a special faction of Imperials which is COMPNOR trained. So, they have the Imperial training and hangups, but also specialized additional training and protocol or security more unique to them.
- So, most of the 'more specific' variants you are looking for are simple bonuses on one side or the other. Now if they chose (s)Con - COMPNOR then the added bonuses goes away, but this cannot then go back and be used for Imperial in general (or you could with a reverse of the bonuses; the Imperial gets bonuses for not being COMPNOR).
(2) As mentioned, the reverse is true to. What if the Imperial follows strict protocol and 'never' deviates?
- In this case the PC would get the appropriate bonus (+1D to +5D)
(3) Say you are involving multiple skills (Forgery and Con)?
- Require a roll for both. So, you could roll (s)Forgery - Imperial (or just Forgery) or (s)Con - Imperial (or just Imperial).
The specializations are what is listed and are often factions or groups. The intricacies and varying uniqueness basically just become bonuses for the NPC or the PC.
Expanding on this with things like (s)Dodge – Energy Weapons:
It has been mentioned that some players are trying to use this specialization to dodge all energy damage attacks (grenades, missiles, shockboxing gloves, etc.). That is not what this specialization does. Energy Weapons has needed to be more clearly defined for a while, apparently. The ruling has always limited this to ranged strictly energy weapons (i.e. no hybrids like bowcasters) of some type: blaster, blaster artillery, fire lance, flux disintegrator, pulse-wave weapons, tensor weapons, and vehicle blaster. I have always excluded: archaic guns, bowcaster, flamethrower, stun or other grenades, lightsaber, any melee combat weapon, missile weapon, and any brawling weapon. Note that this cannot be so general as (s)Dodge – Energy as that is too broad.
General Rule of Thumb for Specializations:
They should never crossover to another general skill. They have to be narrower than the base skill. Some may only have a single potential focus and others could branch across a few, but it must be more limited than the base skill. Factions, groups, individuals, or even specific situations or stimuli could be potential specializations.
Council Approval Date: 8/29/20
8) Do specializations learned for free (languages, scholar areas of expertise) increase when the base skill is increased?
Specializations cannot be raised by raising the base skill. The only way to raise them other than raising them directly is raising the base attribute. Raising the skill does not raise the base specialization. For Scholar, they are areas of expertise, so they aren’t specific specializations, so they are all tied to your base scholar, but they reduce the difficulty when they fit your area of expertise (so Scholar: Chemistry is better than just Scholar if you need a chemistry roll). Similarly, languages learned by raising the base Languages skill by increasing it +1D more than their Knowledge attribute are NOT specializations. These languages are just added to their known list. Also, note that raising the attribute will raise the Languages skill, but increasing the attribute by +1D does not add a language to the known list. Once a specialization for a specific language is learned by accepting special training (as in a module perk) or by spending character points on it to increase it, then it is no longer raised when the base Languages skill is increased. It still increases when the attribute is raised.
Council Approval Date: 5/1/21
9) Can I use excluded modules for training if excluded for in game reasons and not author, editing, pulled, etc.?
The 'giving up' for training or Force stuff has to be you choosing to "lose out" on something that you "CAN" play. Giving up something that you cannot do for ANY reason is not giving anything up. You are sacrificing something for something. Sacrificing nothing gets you nothing.
Council Approval Date: 7/17/21
10) How does the event a character dies in count toward replay? The handbook states the event doesn't count toward the sheet total, by that logic does it count as "not played"? Could the D&R character replay that event (assuming other replay criteria are met of course)?
You actually fill out an update sheet to indicate the module you died in, so it does count as played (no replay). Also, it may have an important spoiler for any Replay character…maybe. It does not count for the D&R, because you did not finish it. It falls through the cracks if you will.
Council Approval Date: 1/7/23
