Frequently Asked Rules

Topics:

• Character Creation (below)
• Character Advancement
• Judging
• General

Character Creation:

1) Can I select a different template than one provided in the Character Pack for creating my character?
No. The Character Pack is updated periodically to reflect the nature of the ongoing campaign. Some old templates are no longer available, due to changes within the campaign. And new templates are being reviewed all of the time to be added as appropriate. We usually change out one or two templates each year. We do try to keep a good mix of templates with a variety of attributes values.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

2) Can I alter the template attribute dice values?
No. The attribute dice are fixed for the templates during character creation. You can raise attributes later with character points.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

3) Can I change the alien race of the template?
Yes. There is a list of allowable alien races available in the Sparks Judges Handbook. The change will cost from 0 to 3 pips (“+1”) from your initial starting 7D depending on the special abilities of the chosen alien race. If the starting template is an alien, you can still change the race by paying the pip cost listed in the handbook. If you are going from a high pip cost alien to a lower pip cost alien, you still must pay the listed pip cost for the preferred alien (changing to Human is free). The new alien race must fit the minimum and maximum attribute values of the chosen template.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

4) Why are there aliens on the Allowable Alien Races list that cannot fit any of the Character Pack templates due to racial minimum and/or maximum values that don’t fit the template attribute values?
As stated in the answer to question number one, the templates in the character pack are changed from time to time. An alien race may not fit any current templates but may fit one down the line.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

5) If I specialize in a skill, can the bonus +1D go above the 2D maximum added to each skill?
Yes. The base skill can be raised by +2D, then spending 1 pip “+1” the specialization can go up another +1D.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

6) Can I make changes to my character if I don’t like the way that I created it?
Yes. Changes can be made to the character up until the completion of their fourth module played. They can change templates, alien race, the initial 7D expenditure, Force sensitivity (if the template allows), and even their character points spent for updates. The player must contact a judge and mark the changes on an update sheet.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

7) If I had a previous character that died or was retired, what sheet number does my new character start as?
The new character’s sheet number is one half of the previous character’s completed sheets rounded down. {Character X has completed 7 full sheets and retires. Their new character would be sheet 3 for purposes of tiering.}
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

8) Does my character have to be a Rebel?
No. Characters do not have to be official Rebels, but they must be affiliated with the Rebel cause. The characters are considered independent volunteers working with the Rebels to aid their cause. Characters can take it one step further and ‘join-up’ with the Rebel Alliance at any time (notify your gamemaster). All characters must abide by the Rebel Alliance charter to maintain their affiliation. Characters that do ‘join-up’ will advance in rank within the Rebel Alliance and this affords them some benefits such as additional pay and command responsibilities.
Council Approval Date: 6/3/06

9) Can I add any of my starting 7D at character creation to Control, Sense or Alter?
Yes, but only to any Force Skill that started on the template. You cannot add a Force skill at character creation. And it is still limited to a maximum of 2D to be added to the Force skill.
Council Approval Date: 7/30/06

10) Can I add new skills to the template at character creation?
No. Skills can be added after character creation for dead or retired characters (see Death or Retirement rules). Otherwise, skills must be learned from PCs or NPCs in game. This excludes specializations. Specializations can be added to the template at character creation provided no special training is required (i.e. martial art styles with techniques, etc.).
Council Approval Date: 7/30/06

11) Can you modify a starting character after the first event even if you started the new character as part of the Death/Retirement package?
No. This feature is to allow new players to the system a chance to make changes after they learn a little about the system, so they are not rushed into something they will not enjoy. When a character dies or retires, the player is familiar with the system and does not need this period of adjustment.
Council Approval Date: 7/26/08

12) When you are upgrading a character using the character points from the Death/Retirement feature after creating a new character and raising one or more attributes, how many modules do you have to wait to raise another attribute?
The first update lists the bonus character points earned and spent from the Death/Retirement feature, so then you must wait nine more updates (10 total) before raising another attribute. If you did not raise any attributes with the bonus character points, you can raise an attribute at any time and then every ten modules.
Council Approval Date: 7/26/08

13) Can a character use the starting credits or bonus credits (if any chosen) from character Death or Retirement to have modifications made to their starting ship, droids, and/or other equipment?
Yes. One modification attempt may be made per item for each sheet of the new character. The cost of such modifications is double the normal cost if done by anyone other than the player. If the player chooses to make the modifications themselves apply the normal cost, and all failures count towards the number of attempts made by the player. Note that this does not allow new characters of sheet 1 to make any modifications to their gear.
Council Approval Date: 2/28/10

14) Can a character use starting or bonus character points and/or skill advancements from character Death or Retirement to learn Force Skills (Control, Sense, Alter)?
No. Force Skills such as Control, Sense, and Alter can be raised, but not added to the character. These Force Skills are treated like advanced skills and cannot be learned as expanded skills utilizing bonus character points from character Death or Retirement.
Council Approval Date: 9/12/09

15) Can a character use starting or bonus character points and/or skill advancements from character Death or Retirement to learn Force powers (telekinesis, etc.)?
Yes. After standard character creation is completed (initial 7D expended), for each two full sheets of the previous character you gain 1 training slot. The training slot can be used to learn one standard skill or one Force power (you must still have the needed prerequisites for the power).
Council Approval Date: 12/31/09

16) Can a character use starting or bonus character points from character Death or Retirement to buy off armor Dexterity penalties?
Yes. Mark these character point expenditures either as part of the Death and Retirement spending update or on the character’s first update sheet. Use the rules as outlined below under Character Advancement FAQ #3.
Council Approval Date: 7/12/10

17) In the Judges Handbook it states that changing the race to Human is free (no pip cost), but on the ‘Alien’ (Alien Force User, Alien Medic) templates the Human is listed as costing 1 pip. Is this correct?
Yes. The Alien templates are there to give the player several options of playing something other than Human at a discounted cost. If the player really wants to play a non-alien, then they can, but it comes with an associated cost of 1 pip (not discounted). For all templates that are not set up to choose from a list of available aliens as an ‘Alien’ template, the cost to change to Human is still free as long as the Human meets the racial attribute restrictions.
Council Approval Date: 10/16/11

18) Why does the Gand race selection list ‘select 5 of the following optional features’?
The Gand racial listing was revised to allow the player to choose 5 optional special skills/abilities for their character. Sparks originally selected 5 of these options as the standard, but now different players can choose different options. According to the Alien Encounters sourcebook Gands have varying special skills and abilities based on which region, clan, or tribe they came from. So, the player can choose 5 of the special skills/abilities from the following list: Martial Arts skill with access to 2 special techniques (must still meet standard martial arts rules – see special note below), Exoskeleton, Eye Shielding, Findsman Ceremonies, Mist Vision, Natural Armor, Regeneration, Reserve Sleep, and Ultraviolet Vision. Also, if the Ammonia Breather penalty special ability is selected, they can choose one additional special skill/ability from the list.

• Special Note – The player has the option of learning Martial arts as a specialization under Strength for attack and under Dexterity for parry as per Sparks rules. The 2 special techniques are both Offensive techniques that may be learned after the required techniques are learned for any Martial Arts style (default of ‘generic’ Martial Arts but can be other learned style) that has techniques with it and the skill is raised an additional 1D to be able to learn a new technique as per the standard rules (i.e. these techniques can be chosen in place of other techniques). Other races and Gands that did not select this special skill will never be able to learn these techniques (the clan/tribe will not share this knowledge with others outside their clan/tribe – which is defined by not choosing this skill).
  • Clarification note about the new Martial Arts Techniques
    • Piercing Touch – provides an armor piercing effect that reduces the physical armor protection by 1D. It does not increase damage just reduce physical protection effect.
    • Striking Mist – same as Silent Strike technique with aesthetic description, but available to Gands that choose this ability with any associated Martial Art even if it does not have Silent Strike.

Council Approval Date: 6/10/13

19) Clarification on the Doctor template oath to cause no harm?
Assuming the concept for the +1D First Aid is for the oath to cause no harm taken by many doctors:
a. Does this apply to non-sentient creatures (animals)?
In real life doctors experiment on animals all the time to come up with cures to aid humanity. This would be intent as well. One sign of a sociopath is killing animals for no reason. If your reasoning was 'for the greater good' or cannot be helped to save lives, then you are good.
b. Does this apply to droids?
No. Not all droids are sentient, only a few who haven't been wiped regularly.
c. Does this apply to ‘stun’ damage? Such as blasters set on stun, stun gauntlets, stun vests, etc. (Is the word ‘Wound’ literal or figurative?).
In general stun weapons do not do permanent damage, so they would be ruled out as harm. Stun weapons are the 'humane' way for someone to stop a 'bad guy' specifically without harming them. But the intent rule applies here as well. Stunning someone on the edge of the cliff after the GM warns that he could fall to his death, then you could be in trouble as you were warned that your action 'could' cause harm (kind of like a DSP when you are warned). Also note that the 'maiming' rule ONLY helps reduce a dead to Mortal Wound or Mortal Wound to Incapacitated. You could not hit someone and cause a Wound and then 'reduce' it to a "Stun" (fatigue) result. This would be a wounding hit. It is recommended to avoid anything that did direct damage as your 'window' is very small. You would be fine with stun only weapons (stun pistol, etc.). Even stun gauntlets or stun baton "could" inflict physical damage (i.e. on a '1' for the wild die the punch or baton may cause physical damage), so probably best to watch those types of items. But this is up to you how you walk that fine line.
d. If it’s truly an accident? (not evil gm application of unintended consequences)
The do no harm vow means intentionally do no harm. If accidents are to be included there would be a lot less doctors in the real world. I have never heard of a doctor losing his license for an accident as it was unintentional (unless he has a bunch of them and is ruled incompetent as a physician).
Council Approval Date: 10/31/15

20) Is it correct that at creation a Gand can only learn the "nonspecific" martial arts style and they just have access to the 2 additional techniques? Or does selecting that special ability allow them to pick any of the styles available at creation?
You can pick any MA style that (1) has techniques, and (2) does not have special training/timing requirements that cannot be met at character creation (i.e. Teras Kesai - extra time and no techniques; Barabel - only from guild; Bothan - only from Bothan Military Academy; Cryshok - must be Cryshok, etc.). You can learn Specforce, but then you have to start as a member of the Rebel Alliance. It would be prudent to check with the Council for any of these before proceeding. Basically, things that require a story interaction or timing that cannot be accounted for at character creation would not be an option.
Just reviewing the listings in the Sparks Judges Handbook these are the ones that appear possible at Character Creation:
- Generic
- Specforce (must start as a Rebel)
- Sholan Kha
- Alchaka
There may be others that would need to be approved for use.
I 'bolded' the two parts that remind me that you can pick other techniques. Basically, you have some training from the past, but cannot circumvent requirements for joining groups not available at character creation (requires PI or character interaction).
Gand
The Gand racial listing was revised to allow the player to choose 5 optional special skills/abilities for their character. Sparks originally selected 5 of these options as the standard, but now different players can choose different options. According to the Alien Encounters sourcebook Gands have varying special skills and abilities based on which region, clan, or tribe they came from. So the player can choose 5 of the special skills/abilities from the following list: Martial Arts skill with access to 2 special techniques (must still meet standard martial arts rules – see special note below), Exoskeleton, Eye Shielding, Findsman Ceremonies, Mist Vision, Natural Armor, Regeneration, Reserve Sleep, and Ultraviolet Vision. Also, if the Ammonia Breather penalty special ability is selected, they can choose one additional special skill/ability from the list.

• Special Note – The player has the option of learning Martial arts as a specialization under Strength for attack and under Dexterity for parry as per Sparks rules. The 2 special techniques are both Offensive techniques that may be learned after the required techniques are learned for any Martial Arts style (default of ‘generic’ Martial Arts but can be other learned style) that has techniques with it and the skill is raised an additional 1D to be able to learn a new technique as per the standard rules (i.e. these techniques can be chosen in place of other techniques). Other races and Gands that did not select this special skill will never be able to learn these techniques (the clan/tribe will not share this knowledge with others outside their clan/tribe – which is defined by not choosing this skill).
  • Clarification note about the new Martial Arts Techniques
    • Piercing Touch – provides an armor piercing effect that reduces the physical armor protection by 1D. It does not increase damage just reduce physical protection effect.
    • Striking Mist – same as Silent Strike technique with aesthetic description, but available to Gands that choose this ability with any associated Martial Art even if it does not have Silent Strike.

Council Approval Date: 1/8/22

21) If a template starts with a specialization and the player decides to put some of his/her starting dice into the specialization, does it raise double…like 2D for every 1D starting dice… or is it just what it is and a less than optimal assignment of starting dice?
When you specialize, the first pip (+1) gets you 1D of skill. After that it is pip for pip with a maximum of 2D to be added to the skill. So, you could get a final result of 3D by spending 2D+1 (1 pip, then 2D). Only that first pip gets you a bonus 1D. After that it is like a normal separate skill for increase with character creation dice. The cost after character creation is as always half rounded up.
Council Approval Date: 1/8/22