Alliance and Empire Preview 3

Human Force Adept and Stormtrooper on Repulsor Sled

By Gary M. Sarli and Sterling Hershey

In May, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga, Wizards of the Coast is releasing Alliance and Empire, the next great set for the Star Wars Miniatures Game. Today, we'll continue our previews of the new minis with a look at the Human Force Adept and the Stormtrooper on Repulsor Sled.

Human Force Adept

While all Jedi use the Force, not all those who use the Force are Jedi. The Sith are the most notorious examples, but other Force traditions exist, often on isolated worlds scattered throughout the galaxy. To the inhabitants of these worlds, the Force is magical and supernatural, and often called by other names. While primitive species are most likely to follow their own traditions, sophisticated beings find their own paths that might or might not lead them to Jedi or Sith teachings. These adepts are just as strong in the Force and undergo formidable training of their own.

The Human Force Adept is the lowest-cost Force-user in the Star Wars Miniatures Game, and the only non-Unique Force-user in this particular set. Fortunately, this Fringe character can fight for any faction. It also has the most hit points of any unit of equal cost. The Force Adept's high defense score will help it survive long enough to engage enemies in melee combat. Given its low attack score, it might need the extra rounds to succeed.

The Human Force Adept has 3 Force points, but the first point will almost always be spent to power up Force Weapon, which grants an extra 10 points of damage per attack until the end of the skirmish. This leaves 2 points to spend on Force Alter, which should extend the life of the adept or its allies by forcing enemies to reroll attacks.

Star Wars Miniatures Stat Card Preview

Faction: Fringe
Cost: 10
Hit Points: 40
Defense: 15
Attack: +4
Damage: 10
Special Abilities: Melee Attack
Force Powers: Force 3, Force Alter, Force Weapon (Force 1, replaces attacks: +10 Damage until the end of the skirmish)

Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition Statistics

In the Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition, the Force adept has been elevated from a standard class to a prestige class. The old low-level Force adepts have become members of the current standard classes (other than Jedi) with the Force Sensitivity feat. The Human Force Adept presented here is not powerful enough to qualify for the Force adept prestige class, but the statistics reflect the path of a character who is well on the way.

Low-Level Force User

CL 3

Medium Human scout 3
Destiny 1; Force 6
Init +6; Senses Perception +7
Languages Basic

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Defenses Ref 15 (flat-footed 15), Fort 16, Will 15
hp 40; Threshold 16

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Speed 6 squares
Melee quarterstaff +4 (1d6+3) or
Melee quarterstaff –6 (1d6+3) and quarterstaff –6 (1d6+3) or
Ranged by weapon +2
Base Atk +2; Grp +4
Special Actions Equilibrium, Acute Senses
Force Powers Known (Use the Force +12): Battle Strike (2)

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Abilities Str 15, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 13
Talents Equilibrium
Feats Force Sensitivity, Force Training, Shake It Off, Skill Focus (Use the Force), Weapon Proficiency (pistols, rifles, simple weapons)
Skills Endurance +8, Initiative +6, Perception +7, Stealth +6, Survival +7, Use the Force +12
Possessions quarterstaff, credit chip, comlink, basic clothing

Stormtrooper on Repulsor Sled

The Imperial Army commissioned the Aratech 64-Y Swift 3 Repulsor Sled as a response to the increase in swoop gang and pirate activity in the Outer Rim. Swoops could easily outrun the Aratech 74-Z speeder bike used by scout troopers, and their small size allowed them to move through terrain too tight for airspeeders or starfighters.

This repulsor sled, however, was built to match the speed of even the fastest swoops. Unlike the older (and more dangerous) swoops and Podracers, the repulsor sled gets the majority of its thrust from overpowered repulsor generators rather than ion engines. As a result, the sled is much safer and easier to use than its competition. In addition to its front-mounted blaster cannon, the Swift 3 carries a powered drop net that can entangle and ionize a target for easy capture.

In the Star Wars Miniatures Game, the Stormtrooper on Repulsor Sled is an interesting alternative to the Scout Trooper on Speeder Bike. Mobile Attack combined with Speed 12 makes the figure capable of sustained hit and runs, moving into position to make an attack and then getting out of line of sight to prevent an easy counterattack. Flight adds further versatility by allowing it to avoid attacks of opportunity during a hit-and-run strike (or retreat).

Most importantly, the Net Gun adds a new dimension to the strategy of activation control. If your opponent has left several unactivated characters adjacent to one another at the beginning of the round, the Stormtrooper on Repulsor Sled can fly across the battle grid and use its Net Gun on them, leaving an average of half of them activated. With any luck, you'll be able to pull out of harm's way using Mobile Attack, and your opponent will find himself several activations short during the round.

Star Wars Miniatures Game Stat Card Preview

Faction: Imperial
Cost: 14
Hit Points: 20
Defense: 18
Attack: +5
Damage: 20
Special Abilities: Flight, Mobile Attack, Net Gun (Replaces attacks: range 6; target enemy and each character adjacent to that target are considered activated this round; save 11 negates. Huge and larger characters and characters with Mounted Weapon ignore this effect.), Speed 12

Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition Statistics

Aratech 64-Y Swift 3 Repulsor Sled

CL 4

Large ground vehicle (speeder)
Init +10; Senses Perception +8

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Defenses Ref 14 (flat-footed 11), Fort 13; +1 armor
hp 32; DR 5; Threshold 18

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Speed 12 squares (max. velocity 800 km/h)
Ranged medium blaster cannon +7 (see below) or
Ranged drop net +7 (see below)
Fighting Space 2x2; Cover none
Base Atk +5; Grp +13
Atk Options autofire (medium blaster cannon), drop net

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Abilities Str 16, Dex 16, Con --, Int 14, Wis --, Cha --
Skills Initiative +10, Mechanics +8, Perception +8, Pilot +10

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Crew 1 (expert); Passengers none
Cargo 4 kg; Consumables 1 day; Carried Craft none
Payload 1 drop net
Availability Military; Cost 8,000 (1,800 used)

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Drop Net:When you fire this weapon, make an attack roll against all targets in a 2-square-by-2-square area within 12 squares. If you exceed a target’s Reflex Defense, that target takes 6d10 points of ion damage. Additionally, the drop net functions like a net (Saga Edition rulebook, page 130), allowing you to attempt a grab or grapple against all targets successfully attacked by the drop net. Make a single grapple check opposed by all such targets.

Medium blaster cannon (pilot) Atk +7 (+2 autofire); Dmg 3d10 Drop net (pilot) Atk +7; Dmg 6d10 ion (grapple +13)

About the Authors

Sterling Hershey is an architect and freelance game designer. He regularly creates Star Wars Miniatures and Starship Battles scenarios and previews for the Wizards of the Coast website. He also wrote the Scenario Book for the Attack on Endor Scenario Pack. Previously, he authored and contributed to many Star Wars The Roleplaying Game products from West End Games, as well as Star Wars Gamer Magazine. Gaming in a galaxy far, far away is the focus of his starwars.com blog, Delusions of Grandeur. Sterling lives in the Midwest with his wife, Mary.

Gary M. Sarli is a freelance writer and editor whose credits include the Saga Edition Rulebook and Ultimate Adversaries (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), and Power of Faerûn and Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (Dungeons & Dragons). He also moderates on the Wizards.COMmunity message boards as WizO the Hutt, cheerfully feeding Code of Conduct violators to the Sarlacc. Gary recently opened GMSarli Games, an online retailer specializing in non-random miniatures packs designed for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.