Force Rules and "Wise Teacher" rules

Ok, so you may recall my Force Point rules from earlier, as well as the after-action.

One thing I am definitely doing away with on reflection? The idea that your Dark Side score innately adds to your Use the Force Checks. It worked well in d6 (where I got the idea from), but I think the "free force point whenever you're willing to embrace the Dark Side" is a much more effective lure. Thinking on it, however, I do have a slight change to make.

If you succumb to the Dark Side, things switch around. Instead of 1 red chip and 3 (or 4, with the feat) Blue, you will gain 3 (or 4; just take that as a given, now) reds and 1 blue. Spending a blue? That lowers your DS score by 1. But you can have as many of those as you want, provided it's in the service of the light side of the Force. If your side "switches" during a game, you don't "reset" until the next game... so if you go Dark, you can delve REALLY deep into the Dark but, likewise, it's possible to expunge a lot of Dark Side points at a heroically appropriate moment.

I'll post that on the Giant; there's likely some problems that need checking on my idea.





But, the Wise Teacher Rules. You know, where you have a wise old teacher who's adventuring with everyone else, and you wonder why in the heck he's a wise old teacher if he's level 1 like the rest of them? This may be your Kreia/Darth Trayas, your Jolee Bindos, or keep your Obi-Wan Kenobis in line when you're adventuring with farm boys. This may also work when playing other d20 games, especially with the popular "make your character old for the stat boost" trick.

To play a Wise Teacher, you must start at least 1 age category older than everyone in the party not playing a Wise Teacher, with the attendant alterations to your attributes; minimum age category is Old. Furthermore, you have to decide how far your character got before "retiring"; it's suggested that it be at least 5 levels ahead of the starting party level, but no more than 10. You must plan out the complete advancement for those levels, complete with feats, talents, and class selections. As you advance, you cannot vary from this until you exceed your "old level."

As a Wise Teacher, you begin at the same level as the party, but with all the feats your character "learned" in that time; if you were once 10th level, you'll have the feats of a 10th level character at 1st level. However, there are some restrictions upon this. First of all, you have none of the advanced talents and class features you once had; you have the talents and class features of a 1st level character. If a feat you select is dependent upon a certain attack bonus, level, class feature or talent, you do not gain access to this feat until you possess that bonus again... you don't need to seek out a trainer, but you can't use it until you're ready. Secondly, you forgo all attribute improvements during this time; if you are a retired 10th level character, you will not get an attribute improvement at 4th or 8th level. You had those points once; they're lost, completely. Furthermore, your maximum result on any HD is half; even if you have a Constitution bonus remaining, you can get no better than half the die size on any given HD. This debility continues even after you've exceeded your old level.

I get the feeling this is still a bit powerful; those bonus feats can really add up, especially in SAGA.