[SWSE] Mass Effect Saga Edition

[Actana]

First, removing the Jedi class forcing all races except Asari and Miraluka to spend 2 Feats in order to learn any powers.

Honestly, this is intentional, since I want biotics to be higher on the feat requirements.

Secondly, The amount of Available powers has been cut by a large margin, with all available Mind-Affecting powers and talents requiring an Asari with the Ardat-Yakshi Feat.

Also intentional. Some powers just don't fit the Mass Effect universe, which makes this more of a setting thing than a balance thing. I did put in additional powers from the game, so they do even out somewhat.

You've got the system removing armor reflex bonuses and turning it into straight DR making it hard for Biotics to do any damage since they have no way of breaking through it.

Armor does come into the way, but it also comes into the way of other characters too. It's entirely possible that I'll add in armor-piercing talents for biotics, though. Also, heavy armor is really expensive and only for higher levels. Plus, I wanted armor to be a bit more useful than in vanilla SWSE, which had almost all armor become obsolete after around level 10 outside a few builds.

Also the fact that all remaining powers who's primary effects aren't damage do not work on anyone with shields. And since shields are almost even with health this leaves many of the powers useless for half the fight.

Agreed, this is a bit of a problem with biotics, but with powers like Pull or Singularity, having some sort of limiting factor with the disabling powers is honestly required. Otherwise it could easily turn into a game of "Biotics start, they win", since it'd be very easy to just spam disabling powers on everyone.

You're also limited in how many powers you can have readied max. You can only hold 2+WIS on your Omni-Tool at a time. Which also includes your max tech modules. In order to have more powers readied you need to spend a Feat to gain the ability to ready a single additional ability. For a char with 18 wisdom you'd need to take that Feat 5 times in order to access all the powers you'd gain from taking Biotic Training a second time.

With the rechargeable powers I wanted to also limit the amount of powers you can have at a time. You are right though, it does feel rather limited. You can relatively quickly change your active powers, and you never really run out of powers either, which is a problem for Force users in SWSE.

But the biggest factor is Tech Modules themselves. They make the already Feat and Talent Intensive Biotic builds completely obsolete and irrelevant.

1. They require no feats at all to take and you can hold as many as you can biotics.

This is something I have received concern about, and I agree. As it stands without acquisition rules there is a discrepancy between the two powers which needs to be fixed. I was originally going to have the tech powers cost money and biotics feats, but I'm not so sure it's the best way to go, and might as well make acquiring both require a feat.

2. Your Primary ability score INT also allows you to increase how many modules you can place in an Omni-Tool by 1 for every modifier point. While Biotics have to split their score away from important WIS and CHA to get more.

Your Int score actually increases the amount of mods you can put on an Omni-tool, not modules. It's a bit of a confusing issue and I should address it. Wisdom is still important to tech users too, and the Omni-tool mods aren't that powerful, except for the additional power slots.

3. There are Tech Modules that perform either exactly the same as or better than all but a handful of Biotic Powers. There are also many more Modules that arent Powers and are significantly more effective with the conversion rules. Most annoyingly of all is that there are more than a few Modules that are exactly the same as Powers that were removed from the game.

While I don't doubt that there are some balance issues, but could you give an example of what you mean?

4. Modules have static cooldowns instead of being expended like Powers. instead of having to spend a turn getting them back. The cooldowns are fairly low and most can be virtualy ignored with the talent that allows you to reduce a number of them's cooldown by 1.

Biotic powers can be recharged with 2 swift actions, which means as long as you're willing to hunker down, you can both recharge and fire off another biotic power in the same round regardless of how expended they are.

For tech powers, the recharge timers are there because the amount of powers you have is limited, and the cooldowns are still fairly substantial in the offensive powers. I can't say I really have recent experience in SWSE combat, but I recall combat rarely lasting more than 5 rounds, purely by the virtue of being a D20 game.

5. Biotics need to spend 3 talents in order to set explosions and detonate them for 1d6 per 2 heroic levels. Modules only need to spend 1 talent from a prestige class in order to do so. Cryo doing a flat 4d6, but reducing DR by 5 for 1 round. Fire doing a Flat 6d6 for primary targets and 4d6 for secondary with targets hit taking 1d6 extra next round. and Tech dealing 4d6. It would take a Biotic 8 levels to beat cryo and tech damage wise and 14 to beat Fire.

This is a good point. Could perhaps make the tech explosions require a talent to operate too (restricting it to level 7+), and maybe lower the biotic explosion requirement to 2 talents (priming/detonating combined, and then self-sufficient detonating).

6. The worst thing about Modules that makes Powers obsolete is the prestige talent that allows you to use modules from 2 Omni-Tools at the same time. Tech specialists can already double the amount of modules they can use since Int and Wis would be their primary scores, but with this they can double it again. For a Biotics user it would take 20-23 Feats to have the same amount of abilities.

The wording might be a bit unclear here. The main use of the dual omni-tool talent is that you can have two persistent powers open at once, and maybe that you can use powers from two omni-tools on the same round. Having two omni-tools I feel should be an entirely viable strategy and not require a talent.

Ranting over.

Feedback was much appreciated, and refreshingly honest too. Thank you.

From what I've played and set up there needs to be a rather large overhaul on Biotics. They currently aren't even viable with conversion rules much less competitive with other styles of play and they are significantly too build intensive in order to even be considered as something someone can dip into for some extra utility.

I proposed some changes here and there in the posts above. Tell me what you think.

Outside of Biotics, Armor needs to be addressed because running into even 2 NPCs with heavy armor at early levels is almost impossible if the team isn't all running with Armor piercing rounds. It loses impact at higher levels, but if NPCs gain DR from any other sources as well it'll cause issues.

That isn't really even supposed to happen. Heavy armor is strictly for higher levels only. I should likely make it a bit more explicit in the rules that putting low level characters against heavy armor is usually a bad idea. It's not entirely unlike putting them against a character with heavy armor in SWSE to begin with. You just can't really deal with that +10 Reflex when you've got a BAB of +2 or something.

The Damage/Armor bonus/penalty system seems like it may cause issues in the future but we're not at a point that i can judge it yet.

I might be reconsidering removing the Shield Strength mechanic to that shields would go down faster and make them a bit less powerful. Opinions?

Will give a more in depth analysis later. starting to run late tonight.

This has been a ton of help already, as I really appreciate well documented feedback from experience.

<tech/biotic snippets>

I'm a bit strapped for time at the moment, so I'm not going to go through these in detail as I feel I'd mostly be repeating myself.

Third, let's talk about the issues with shields and armor. This is admittedly a problem in the system, but it's born out of a desire to remain faithful to the games. In the games, how often did you fight grunts that didn't have shields? Every single fight. I recall armor being even rarer. NPCs don't have to follow all the same rules players do.

NPCs also often have a lot of non-heroic classes, which do not grant shields. This reduces the amount of temporary defenses they get a lot. Looking at the Threats to the Galaxy sourcebook there's a Mercenary, which is a CL 3 enemy. It has 20 hit points and 8 shields (shield strength 0) in the conversion and wears a combat jumpsuit for a DR of 4. His Reflex defense is 13. That's not really terribly powerful for that level.

For a higher level character, lets take the Elite Commando, which is a CL 14 and features only heroic class levels. He has (in the conversion) 110 hit points and 82 shields (shield strength 7). He's wearing battle armor which gives him a DR of 11, and his Reflex is 30. A lot tougher, but also very high level and he's what counts as practically the best of the best.

Keep in mind that weapon damage is also a lot higher in MESE than in SWSE which theoretically should offset the increased HP, but I will admit that I have no idea how it'll interact in practice with biotic powers, the game itself, or anything else.

Recovery is a complicated issue. There are definitely advantages to both systems. With heavy talent investment, Tech is probably better off, but without investing those talents, being able to get back your key powers as soon as they're worth the two swift actions (one if you spend a talent on that particular power) to you has advantages over having to wait a set period of time. I might make Power Mastery let you choose multiple powers scaling with your Charisma modifier (parallel to Tech Mastery). If you know 3.5e, this is essentially Crusader vs. Warblade.

Making Power Mastery like the tech variant is a decent idea, though I feel with the limited amount of powers it'd be a bit too powerful (although, it does only charge that power which makes it a lot less useful in the long run compared to just recharging everything).

I will definitely agree, however, that Tech characters need harder limits on how many Modules they can have. In particular, double omni-tools needs to never be a thing (well, maybe two omni-tools if you could only use the modules/powers from one).

Acquisition rules to Tech powers is certainly a thing that should exist, I am disputing that at all. I might just cave in and make them acquired by feats too.

@Actana: Have you thought about statting up Protheans as a playable race?

At this point, no. They're on the same level as statting out the Yahg, which is to say "if I ever get really bored".


This took quite a bit of time to go through. Thanks for the feedback, both of you. I really appreciate it.

[WarrenZig]

Crazy busy today so i'll try and be quick.

I Don't see how tech is really that limited in multi-classing. Spending a single Feat doesn't seem that limiting since Biotics needs to spend 2 to be able to use powers at all. There are plenty of options for getting into the tech tree.

Recharging wise, being able to get all your powers back as 2 swift (or 1) is great, though not being able to use powers in that same turn effectively spends your turn. For Tech 2-3 round recharge times are nothing, They have such a large suite of abilities to choose from that there's always an effective alternative and the only modules that aren't as effective are persistent modules since they don't start recharging until the effect is over.

As for the Power/Module mixing thing here are some examples.

Biotic Charge and Energy Drain: They do the same damage, with Drain having a DC 30 addition for more damage, Drain doesn't require you to enter melee range, which since melee attacks ignore shields and effectively half your health is something you really don't want to do. especially since melee weapons aren't really a thing in the conversion.

Admittedly Drain only works on shields and synthetics, but they also gain a +1 per die bonus against those targets.

Biotic Orbs and Siege Pulse: Pulse has a 5 higher DC. Orb gives +1 Fort/Will per Orb while Pulse gives +1 DR. While the Fort/Will bonus is very nice the only attacks against those would be from other biotics, while the DR stacks with existing DR and becomes very useful all around. Siege Pulse takes the cake when you notice it's a detonator while orbs isn't. Meaning with Flamer you could effectively deal 3d10+3d8+7d6 damage a turn for up to 4 turns.

For really effective abilities that Biotics doesn't have you have:

Sabotage: Hitting Will defense prevents an enemy from using their weapon for 2 rounds. Extremely useful considering how much damage weapons do, especially when you get to being able to attack multiple times a round.

Drones: These are insanely useful, essentially D&D temp summons that can be modded up to your int mod times. Which adds even more to how well Int and Wis work with Tech. and with the right modules and int. (+5 int mod) you can have something that at level 1 can deal 7d6 dmg to a target and 6d6 to 2 additional targets within 3 squares of them. Completely eclipsing Biotics max damage (aside from Move Object cheese) at any level at level 1.

Get's crazier with the Defense drone with the right upgrades can fry enemies trying to get close to you on their own turn. very reminiscent of 3.5 spiked chains fighter builds.

Being able to have 2 out at level 8 is just insane with only requiring 1 talent.

For Removed Powers that came back as modules i'll just list 1 cause i gotta go.

Neural Shock: This is the exact same as Force Stun but with a 3 round recharge. This ability is incredibly overpowered. especially with how defensive oriented the conversion is. It's entirely possible to take someone with full health, full shields, and heavy armor out with 1 use of this ability. If not KO'd they'd have such massive penalties they're useless.

[Rhaegar14]

Crazy busy today so i'll try and be quick.

I Don't see how tech is really that limited in multi-classing. Spending a single Feat doesn't seem that limiting since Biotics needs to spend 2 to be able to use powers at all. There are plenty of options for getting into the tech tree.

Not before 8th level, and not with full Base Attack Bonus.

Biotic Charge and Energy Drain: They do the same damage, with Drain having a DC 30 addition for more damage, Drain doesn't require you to enter melee range, which since melee attacks ignore shields and effectively half your health is something you really don't want to do. especially since melee weapons aren't really a thing in the conversion.

Emphasis mine. If you don't want to be in melee, you don't have Biotic Charge. But, for example, the Asari Biotic I made at level 10 could hit twice on a full attack for 6d6+4 damage with Adrenaline Rush and Biotic Focus up (Martial Arts I, Empower Weapon Force Adept talent, and Blade Armor get base unarmed damage up to 4d6), and since these are melee attacks they disregard shields (which could be an asset against tough targets). This is a character that WANTS TO BE IN MELEE TO HIT PEOPLE and thus has Biotic Charge. Also, for a less niche example, shotguns are a thing.

I will, however, agree that melee could use a little more love. The limits on Omni-Blades make them very impractical (you can't multiattack with them) and Blade Armor renders every one-handed melee weapon in SWSE obsolete unless you NEED your Armor module to go to something else. Melee with two-handers might be a different story; that aforementioned Biotic was too MAD between the ability scores needed for Biotics and Two-Weapon Fighting to invest anything in Strength. But ultimately, my favorite class in ME3's multiplayer was the N7 Shadow, and that doesn't appear to be a build that works out all that well with the system's current status (I could approximate it, but swords are stylish and I'd have to lose the sword for maximum effectiveness).

Regarding Combat Drones: I definitely don't interpret High Voltage as increasing the damage on the secondary targets of Chain Shock, and I don't foresee many characters starting with 20 Int. Still, extreme examples are useful for showing discrepancies.

On the whole, I'm not disagreeing with you. Tech needs to be reigned in. However, SOME PARTS of it are not as bad as you're making it out to be. This is my only point.

@Actana: Small thing, while I'm thinking about it. The M-11 Suppressor, despite being Tier 3, is strictly inferior to the Tier 2 M-8 Carnifex.

[Tzim]

Really enjoy the thread and the effort you've put into it.

That said, I'd recommend separating biotic and tech readied powers.

For tech powers/modules, the amount readied should really be based off the omni-tool's stats and not the players, since the player isn't "storing" them internally, but in an external device which is covered already by the SWSE computer rules.

Consider that each omni tool has an Intelligence score (as with SWSE computers) in the range of 12-20 (a +1-+5 bonus).

A standard omni tool might have an Intelligence of 12, 14, or 16 Intelligence and grant 1 + omni-tool's Int modifier (total of 2-4 tech modules, depending on what you made available to your players) in readied tech modules. A military grade omni-tool might have a 20 Intelligence, etc.

In essence, it adds an economic and combat reason to acquire higher and higher quality omni tools. You might also add in alternative bonuses based on the "brand" in the form of Gear Templates (KotOR).

On the topic of biotics, the number readied would be determined by the character's Attributes, and I'd suggest making the "biotic potential" feat selectable only at level 1 (or at any level as Asari). In keeping with the lore, which it seems you've tried very hard to do, unless you get your implant at puberty, you don't get an implant. Allow your players to choose from L2 and L3 implants (some special bonus 1/encounter and move -1 persistant step till 8 hours rest or surgery for an L2 and no modifiers for an L3, for example).

[Actana]

Really enjoy the thread and the effort you've put into it.

That said, I'd recommend separating biotic and tech readied powers.

For tech powers/modules, the amount readied should really be based off the omni-tool's stats and not the players, since the player isn't "storing" them internally, but in an external device which is covered already by the SWSE computer rules.

Consider that each omni tool has an Intelligence score (as with SWSE computers) in the range of 12-20 (a +1-+5 bonus).

A standard omni tool might have an Intelligence of 12, 14, or 16 Intelligence and grant 1 + omni-tool's Int modifier (total of 2-4 tech modules, depending on what you made available to your players) in readied tech modules. A military grade omni-tool might have a 20 Intelligence, etc.

In essence, it adds an economic and combat reason to acquire higher and higher quality omni tools. You might also add in alternative bonuses based on the "brand" in the form of Gear Templates (KotOR).

On the topic of biotics, the number readied would be determined by the character's Attributes, and I'd suggest making the "biotic potential" feat selectable only at level 1 (or at any level as Asari). In keeping with the lore, which it seems you've tried very hard to do, unless you get your implant at puberty, you don't get an implant. Allow your players to choose from L2 and L3 implants (some special bonus 1/encounter and move -1 persistant step till 8 hours rest or surgery for an L2 and no modifiers for an L3, for example).

I'm hesitant to make omni-tools have their own stats. It feels like an unnecessary layer of stuff to keep track of, and at the moment without an economy system it's even worse. This might happen at some point, but I highly doubt it'll happen soon. Different brands and types of omni-tools and biotic implants were originally planned, but scrapped for now. Also a thing that I may return to.

Biotics and tech powers are staying in the same storage space, if only because of balance reasons. They're already rather powerful/useful, and if I were to allow a character to have both, it'd turn rather ridiculous. Right now you have to make a choice between what you want to take, which is how I want it. I feel there are enough ways to have many powers readied at the same time already and there's no need to effectively increase that as it is.

For biotics, it's going to be takeable at all levels. I don't like the idea of restricting the feat to level one purely because of fluff reasons. It might break the fluff and while I do try to stick to it as much as I can, I value game mechanics more.


On that note, I've been fairly busy lately so I haven't been able to make the tweaks I've promised to the powers discussed above, but they are certainly on my mind when it comes to the system. Likewise, while I'll try to get the tables fixed as soon as I can, I can't promise anything.

[ThreadOfFate]

Yoooo Actana.

First off, love the system. I like the faithfulness to the games as well as the attempts to mix up things in Saga Edition (which is one of my favorite systems).

I do have some questions though. We've got a game coming up on Sunday, so if you can get to these in time, great! If not, I'll ask my GM for his rulings.

1. Does everyone still get Armored Defense for free? If not, does taking said talent allow you to apply your level or armor bonus to Reflex Defense (as normal), and also gain DR from wearing armor? What about getting Armor Proficiency (Light Armor) for free?

2. How do you acquire tech modules? Are they like Biotic Powers in that they require a feat to take, or can you just buy them for some as-of-yet unlisted price, or can you just pick and use them as you desire?

3. If I use barriers instead of shields, does having a tech power that boosts my SR also boost my barriers, and vice-versa? Are shields and barriers functionally interchangeable inside of the system? For instance, if I have 50 BR and I use the Defense Matrix tech power, do I get 65 BR, or 50 BR and 15 SR, or what?

4. What is AR? I assume it is Armor Rating or something similar, but I can't find a definition, so I assume it was phased out in an earlier edit and there are just a few left-over references floating around.

5. Nothing has prices. Are you planning on adding prices soon, or if not, do you have suggested prices for things?

[Actana]

Yoooo Actana.

First off, love the system. I like the faithfulness to the games as well as the attempts to mix up things in Saga Edition (which is one of my favorite systems).

I do have some questions though. We've got a game coming up on Sunday, so if you can get to these in time, great! If not, I'll ask my GM for his rulings.

I have an instant email subscription for the thread, and questions are far quicker and easier to answer than thread revisions. So if you have a question, I can answer it (unless the question is "when are you going to fix the tables?", the answer for that is "soon(tm)" )

1. Does everyone still get Armored Defense for free? If not, does taking said talent allow you to apply your level or armor bonus to Reflex Defense (as normal), and also gain DR from wearing armor? What about getting Armor Proficiency (Light Armor) for free?

Effectively yes (with some change required for prerequisites most likely), it's a common houserule I employ when I play SWSE and as armor does nothing for Reflex defense anymore it makes no sense to not give Armored Defense to everyone. I feel as if I should make this more clear somewhere. Armor proficiency is not given, however.

2. How do you acquire tech modules? Are they like Biotic Powers in that they require a feat to take, or can you just buy them for some as-of-yet unlisted price, or can you just pick and use them as you desire?

As of now it's mostly just free acquisition based on how much your GM allows. I intend to have some costs for them, perhaps as a feat, but we will see.

3. If I use barriers instead of shields, does having a tech power that boosts my SR also boost my barriers, and vice-versa? Are shields and barriers functionally interchangeable inside of the system? For instance, if I have 50 BR and I use the Defense Matrix tech power, do I get 65 BR, or 50 BR and 15 SR, or what?

Reply hazy, ask again later. Not sure what I intend with this: do I keep barriers and shields separate for powers (so that the Barrier power can only be used for barriers and the tech powers can only be used for shields) or not. Unclear, but for now make them entirely interchangeable beyond recharge mechanics.

4. What is AR? I assume it is Armor Rating or something similar, but I can't find a definition, so I assume it was phased out in an earlier edit and there are just a few left-over references floating around.

A holdover, it's the same as the DR armor grants. Thanks for pointing it out, I'll be sure to eliminate it when I do my next revision (which is coming, I swear, along with the new tables).

5. Nothing has prices. Are you planning on adding prices soon, or if not, do you have suggested prices for things?

Prices... Are difficult, but I'll see if I can't establish some guidelines. I was planning on doing them, but it also means I'd have to revise the entire thread, as I don't really have room for more characters in the weapons post.

For now, let's give a rough guideline for weapons:
Tier 1: 500-1000
Tier 2: 1000-3000
Tier 3: 3000-6000
Tier 4: 6000-10000

Tech modules, if they cost something, would range between 1000 and 5000, depending on their power. But I really can't say for that.

Unimportant edit: Testing the new table format... Seems to work perfectly, waiting for admin answer for whether or not it's allowed.

[ThreadOfFate]

Wow, that was fast. Okay, thanks a lot! Again, I love the system, and can appreciate the metric ton of work you've put into it.

[Actana]

Okay then, tables have been restored. In addition, I added in estimate costs for all the weapons. However, this pushed the post it was on well past the forum's maximum character limit, and so I had to clear an entire post for only the statistics, as it pretty much takes up all 50,000 characters almost by itself. Go figure.

That's enough tinkering for today. I also removed mentions of AR in the equipment section. Might still be elsewhere, don't know.


Also, I ran into the problem of tables being too small, and the only width that could be adjusted was that of the first column. Anyone help with this matter?

[ThreadOfFate]

Hi there! Me again. Played a session yesterday. Had a ton of fun. Also have some questions.

1. If an attack beats your damage threshold, but does not break your shields, do you still go down the condition track?

2. You list several damage types, and add that, for instance, fire does more damage to armors. Should we use the effects of, say, incendiary ammo to know just what this extra damage is, or is there some other guideline we should be using?

[Actana]

1. If an attack beats your damage threshold, but does not break your shields, do you still go down the condition track?

Shielded targets should not go down the condition track from damage. I might add in exceptions based on damage type (like electric or the like) and specific talents might still work, but I'll need to return to this. For now, no condition track damage when you're shielded.

2. You list several damage types, and add that, for instance, fire does more damage to armors. Should we use the effects of, say, incendiary ammo to know just what this extra damage is, or is there some other guideline we should be using?

There should be a table indicating the damage types and their effects on different defenses, but that broke during the update. I'll get it up again.

Edit: Table updated. Also added a point where you can only modify a weapon's damage type if it's kinetic. It never really made sense to be able to modify a weapon's damage when the weapon shoots electricity. There's still a talent to be able to use ammo powers on all damage types. Also added a talent that allows you to use them with melee weapons, but will need to expand upon that as the abilities are fairly lackluster for melee weapons given their low damage dice.

I will be returning to damage types and ammo powers eventually to straighten some things out, like the ammo power special abilities and such. But for now the things are as they are.

[FelwynGD]

Thread Necromancy!!!
This conversion is all sorts of awesome but I did send you a pm asking some questions. Mainly how do weapons with the SA/A rate of fire do their automatic fire option if they have less than 10 rounds? Are they only meant to be able to be used with the Burst fire feat or am I missing something?

[Actana]

Thread Necromancy!!!
This conversion is all sorts of awesome but I did send you a pm asking some questions. Mainly how do weapons with the SA/A rate of fire do their automatic fire option if they have less than 10 rounds? Are they only meant to be able to be used with the Burst fire feat or am I missing something?

As answered in the PM, it's an oversight but something I may fix if/when I return to working on this. A few ideas floating around as a hotfix: either give a penalty for the weapons that do this (-1 per 2 rounds missing from the 10) or make the guns semi-automatic and give them the Rapid-fire feature.

If possible, I'd like this thread not locked due to necromancy, as though while I'm still not entirely active on working on this, I'm still highly interested and invested in answering any questions and would eventually like to return to it.

[LSWSjr]

G'Day Actana, I'm a big fan of your conversion and I say this as someone who's spent a great deal of time on his own.

With that in mind I thought I'd share some of the mechanics from my version, which you're welcome to incorporate if you want. Personally our last MESE game was using your rules with these additions and it went pretty well

New/Changed Mechanics

The Paragon/Renegade Status Tracker
This tracker replaces the Dark Side tracker from standard Saga Edition games, it now ranges from +10 (Maximum Paragon Status) to -10 (Maximum Renegade Status). For every two points of Paragon or Renegade Status you receive a cumulative +1 insight bonus and - 1 insight penalty to rolls within Lawful and Unlawful society, with Status of 0 giving no modifiers.

Moving up or down the tracker is done by committing acts similar to those listed for increasing your Darkside Score as well as by doing their polar 'good' opposites.

In play example: Nartil is a Turian scout with a Status of -5 (Renegade), this would give them a +2 insight bonus for tracking their target in the slums of Omega, but would also impose a -2 insight penalty to make the same attempt in the Presidium on the Citadel.

Players choose whether to begin play with their status set at +5 (Paragon), at -5 (Renegade), or at 0 (Neutral).


Armor Proficiency and Armored Defense
When selecting a new talent: characters with any Armor Proficiency feat may choose the Armored Defense talent instead; or alternatively, characters with the Armor Proficiency [Heavy] feat may choose the Improved Armored Defense talent instead, provided they meet the prerequisites. This may occur even if they would not normally have access to the Armour Specialist talent tree at that level.


Languages, Linguistics and Noble Starting Feats
Because languages are all almost universally spoken in the Mass Effect universe, the language system instead relates to the ability to understand non-verbal languages (such as military sign language [Alliance]), ancient languages (such as Prothean) and secret/code languages instead. The Linguistic Feat works the same way, but due to the uncommon nature of the languages it relates to, Nobles and/or characters multi-classing into the Noble heroic class, may exchange the Linguistic starting feat with Skill Training in any one Knowledge skill.

Here's a selection:
Ancient Language (Levianthan); Ancient Language (Prothean); Ancient Language (Thorian); and/or
Military Sign Language (Alliance); Military Sign Language (Asari); Military Sign Language (Batarian); Military Sign Language (Quarian); Military Sign Language (Salarian); Military Sign Language (Turian); and/or
Security Codes (Alliance); Security Codes (Cerberus); Security Codes (N7) and/or
Old-Earth Language (French, German, etc), Sign Language (Earth Standard).



New Feats

Analytically Adaptive Combatant
You are able to use your vast intellect to predict the reactions of others in combat.
Prerequisites: Salarian, Intelligence 15.
Benefit: You may use your Intelligence modifier, instead of your Dexterity modifier, for Initiative checks; and additionally you may choose to reroll any Initiative check, but the result of the reroll must be accepted even if it is worse.

Beast Master
You made a career of training Varren for protection and profit.
Prerequisites: Krogan.
Benefit: You gain access to the Korunnai Adept Talent Tree (Clone Wars page 57), and automatically gain the Akk Dog Master talent.

Compact Training
You are well versed in serving your purpose without being seen.
Prerequisites: Drell.
Benefit: Whenever you reroll a Stealth check, you always keep the better result, even if you have multiple reroll abilities.

Disabler
You're as good at sabotaging machines as you are at fixing them.
Prerequisites: Batarian or Quarian, trained in Mechanics.
Benefit: You gain a +10 species bonus to Mechanics checks for Disable Device and Shut Down an Unwilling Droid.

Enkindle This!
You utilise your many tentacles to steady your blaster barrages.
Prerequisites: Hanar, Strength 13+ or Dexterity 17+
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls when using the Rapid Shot, Double Attack, Triple Attack and Collateral Damage feats with Pistols and Rifles.

Extensive Modifications
Either through genetic or cybernetic enhancements you have improved yourself beyond what nature could provide.
Prerequisites: Human.
Benefit: Gain two permanent +1 increases to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and/or Charisma, you may not apply both increases to the same attribute.
Special: If taken after 1st level, there will be fees to pay and treatments to undertake before you gain the benefits of this feat, the specifics of these are left to the GM's discretion. This feat may be taken up to 5 times, however the maximum number of increases to any attribute cannot exceed +3.

Fleet Tech
Your skills make you the pride of the Turian Fleet.
Prerequisites: Turian.
Benefit: You need only spend two swift actions to move a vehicle you occupy +1 step on the condition track. In addition, you automatically succeed on Mechanics checks to reroute power (see Core page 172).
Normal: It takes three swift actions to use the reroute power action.

Geth Enhanced Environmental Suit
Your environmental suit incorporates Geth AI which are helping to develop your immune system.
Prerequisites: Quarian, must be willing to have Geth programs operating your suit's systems.
Benefit: You gain a +5 species bonus to your Fortitude Defense to avoid an infection. You additionally gain a +5 species bonus to the Treat Injury check, and Knowledge [Life Sciences] check, to treat the infection.

Influential Associations
You can use the reputation of your organisation to great effect.
Prerequisites: Belong to an organisation or group with a substantial reputation, either good or ill.
Benefit: You gain a bonus to Persuasion checks depending on a combination of your reputation and that of your group:
• Good Reputation (e.g. the Shepard's Charity Foundation, the Sirta Foundation): gain a bonus to Haggle, Change Attitude, and/or Improvised Communication attempts; this bonus is equal to 5 and your insight modifier Status Tracker as per a Lawful society. For example, if the character had Status -2 (Renegade), the bonus would be +4 (+5 with the -1 insight penalty for a negative Status).
• Bad Reputation (e.g. the Blood Pack, Cerberus): gain a bonus to Bribe, Improvised Communication, and/or Intimidate attempts; this bonus is equal to 5 and your insight modifier Status Tracker as per a Unlawful society. For example, if the character had Status -2 (Renegade), the bonus would be +6 (+5 with the +1 insight bonus for a negative Status).
• Neutral/Mixed Reputation (e.g. the Systems Alliance, the Spectres): you can gain either of the other above bonuses depending on the situation, however the resulting bonus is always halved, and rounded down to the nearest whole number. For example, if the character had Status +8 (Paragon), the bonus to Haggle attempts would by +4 (+5 with the +4 bonus for a positive Status, divided by 2 (4.5), and rounded down to the nearest whole number).
Special: You may take this feat multiple times, each time you take the feat it applies to a different group or organisation you are associated with.
May be taken as a Bonus Feat by Nobles.

In Good Standing
You have proven yourself a loyal and supportive member of your organisation, and they show you the same courtesy.
Prerequisites: Belong to the associated organisation.
Benefit: Members of your organization always start with a Friendly attitude towards you. Additionally, when you participate in an aid another action with a member of your organisation, either as the aider or the aidee, the aid another check may be rerolled, but the result of the reroll must be accepted even if it is worse.
Special: You may take this feat multiple times, each time you take the feat it applies to a different organisation you are associated with.
N7 Special Ops, along with most of the criminal and mercenary groups, cannot be considered an organisation due to their informal and sometimes disorganized nature. The primarly military forces of a species (e.g. the Turian Fleet) cannot be chosen either, due to the scope and implications of such. Exceptable examples included: ExoGeni, N7, the STG, Sirta Foundation, Asari Commandos, the Spectres, Kassa Fabrication, Cerberus, the Corsairs, etc.
May be taken as a Bonus Feat by Nobles.

Pyromaniac
You're an expert at making sure things not currently on fire don't stay that way.
Prerequisites: Vorcha.
Benefit: With weapons that deal Fire damage, you deal +1 damage for every four Character Levels, to all targets.

Rage
You have learnt how to harness your anger to great effect.
Prerequisites: Vorcha.
Benefit: Once per day, the character can fly into a rage as a swift action. While raging, the character temporarily gains a +2 rage bonus on melee attack rolls and melee damage rolls but cannot use skills that require patience and concentration, such as Mechanics, Stealth, Use Biotics, or Use Computers.
A fit of rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 5 + the character's Constitution modifier. At the end of its rage, the character moves -1 persistent step along the condition track (see Conditions, Core page 148). The penalties imposed by this condition persist until the character takes at least 10 minutes to recuperate, during which time the character can't engage in any strenuous activity.
Special: The character counts as having the Rage species trait.

Reformed Terrorist
You made good use of your talents in this time of desperate alliances.
Prerequisites: Batarian, trained in Mechanics.
Benefit: You gain a +5 species bonus to Mechanics checks for Booby Trap and Handle Explosives.

Stout
You are surprisingly tough and resilient, capable of shrugging off injuries that would cripple those of the other clans.
Prerequisites: Volus, Constitution 13.
Benefit: Whenever you use a second wind, you regain a number of additional hit points equal to 5+ your character level.

Tentacle Strikes
You are able to use your weaker tentacles to keep foes distracted.
Prerequisites: Hanar, Martial Arts I.
Benefit: As a Swift Action, you can treat an opponent within reach as flat-footed against your unarmed attacks.
Special: You can effect one additional opponent (maximum 1+Int modifier) within reach for every Martial Arts feat you posses beyond Martial Arts I, including the Training feats listed on page 27 of Galaxy of War.

Unmatched Fortitude
You remain resilient against attacks that target your vitality, making it difficult for enemies to sap your strength.
Prerequisites: Elcor, Constitution 15.
Benefit: Once per encounter, when an attack or skill check equals or exceeds targets your Fortitude Defense, you may force a reroll of the check, but the result of the reroll must be accepted even if it is better.

Wisdom of War
Your slower approach to combat allows you more time to think.
Prerequisites: Elcor or Volus.
Benefit: You gain a +1 species bonus to Intelligence checks and Intelligence related skill checks during combat encounters.



New Talents

Sabotage Talent Tree
Hover Turret: Your turret can now be thrown as an improvised thrown weapon and, activating mid-flight, floats approximately 1 metre above the ground in the square it reaches.
Prerequisite: Blaster Turret I.



Cheers
Rowan/LSWSjr

[Actana]

I'm always super thrilled to see people enjoying the system, and I'll be available for helping in any way you need.

As for the changes, some very interesting stuff there. I'm a bit loathe to start writing up dozens of new feats for the races since it'd take more time than I'd like to use, but there's some very good stuff there. Enkindle This in particular got a good laugh from me. Wholly approved.

I never really put much attention on languages in the conversion, mainly because of the widespread use of universal translators. It never came up in the games and as such I haven't felt the need to include them in the mechanics. However, your list is good for if languages need to be used.

The Paragon/Renegade tracker I wasn't really ever fond of in the game, to be honest. It's too much of a morality meter for me to like it, and I'd prefer not to include it as a major mechanic. As an optional rule, however, it seems quite good (if a tad powerful at higher score amounts).

If I ever get to compiling all the stuff into a pdf or some such (it might still happen, one day), I'd be thrilled to include the material you've written there. With your permission, of course.

[Sasaisen]

Any thoughts on vehicle stats, particularly on whether and how to convert shields and armor? I have some statblocks I'd be willing to contribute, but I'm curious on how you'd planned to handle it.

Also, just to clarify, is your Con modifier intended to apply to your shields, or do you just get the dice?

Also also, you may want to consider switching "Shield Strength" and "Shield Rating". Having SR be equivalent to "HP but with shields" instead of "DR but with shields" is a little confusing, especially considering the latter is how it's used in vanilla SAGA.

Also also also, Mandalorian Military Training cannot be taken as a Turian bonus feat -- the prerequisite is another feat that in turn requires BAB +4.

[Actana]

Any thoughts on vehicle stats, particularly on whether and how to convert shields and armor? I have some statblocks I'd be willing to contribute, but I'm curious on how you'd planned to handle it.

Quite honestly, not really. Vehicles were never too big of a part in the ME games, and as such I had very little intention to create rules for converting them. It shouldn't be too difficult, but at the moment nothing is planned for such a thing.

Also, just to clarify, is your Con modifier intended to apply to your shields, or do you just get the dice?

No, you don't add your Con modifier (or any other modifier for that matter) to your shields. This is entirely intentional.

Also also, you may want to consider switching "Shield Strength" and "Shield Rating". Having SR be equivalent to "HP but with shields" instead of "DR but with shields" is a little confusing, especially considering the latter is how it's used in vanilla SAGA.

The names of things has always been a pain for me, and if I ever do get around to converting the whole ruleset to a more solid format (pdf or the like), I'll likely go through the names of everything to check things are as clear and unambiguous as they can.

Also also also, Mandalorian Military Training cannot be taken as a Turian bonus feat -- the prerequisite is another feat that in turn requires BAB +4.

That is an excellent point, and I seem to recall noticing it myself some while ago.


I will note that while I will offer any support for people playing this conversion, active work on the system is on indefinite hold. So any changes requested or errors pointed out may or may not happen, depending on their size and effort required.

[ThreadOfFate]

Is there any chance you could post the armor statblocks again, if you have them saved?

[Actana]

I'm not entirely sure where I put the armor stats after I removed them (in fact, I only now realized that the armors were missing), but most armors in SWSE are still entirely usable in the conversion so it's not a huge deal. Quarians suffer a bit since they had specific armors, but other than that there's not much to them. However, I managed to find some version of the armors that were made, but I can't remember if they're new or since updated. I do recall not making too many changes to the armor system though, so they should be okay.

Spoiler: Specific Armor statblock

Show

Armor	Reflex	Fort	Max Dex	Speed	Weight	Availability
Quarian light suit	+4	+4	+4	-	3kg	Rare
Collector armor	+6	+2	+5	-	10kg	Illegal, Rare
Inferno armor	+6	+2	+3	4	16kg	Illegal
N7 armor	+8	+3	+3	4	20kg	Military, Rare
Quarian military suit	+6	+6	+4	4	6kg	Rare
Blood Dragon armor	+10	+2	+1	4	30kg	Restricted, Rare
Cerberus assault armor	+10	+4	+1	3	35kg	Illegal
N7 Defender armor	+11	+4	+2	4	25kg	Military, Rare
Reckoner Knight armor	+9	+2	+2	4	25kg	Restricted, Rare
Terminus assault armor	+10	+3	+1	6	30kg	Restricted, Rare

Spoiler: Specific Armor descriptions

Show

Specific armors
Blood Dragon armor
Originally created for Earth's Urban Combat Championship league, this set of armor has undergone as much or more field testing than those of modern military. It uses a unique, proprietary power cell costs as much as a EUCC rookie's contract. The armor's microframe computer adapts to any top-tier omni-tool, kinetic barrier, or biotic amp, giving breathtaking and error-free performance. The chest and shoulder piece bears the logo of the Edmonton Blood Dragons, and the inside of the armor bears the signatures of the entire team.
Blood Dragon armor is powered, and comes with a helmet package, improved shield generators and omni-tool adaption modules, along with a single extra modification slot.

Cerberus Assault armor
Cerberus assault armor is designed for shock troops, who are expected to turn the tide of battle against creatures or forces that would decimate normal soldiers. The troops demanded three things in its design: shields and armor thick enough to last against a superior foe, and compartments for extra thermal clips or other items. The only drawback of the armor is its weight, which the troops carry as a point of pride. They have a saying: “Out of shape going in, in shape coming out.”
Cerberus Assault armor comes equipped with a helmet package, rangefinding, 2 slots of integrated equipment and the repulsorlift (generally used for landings) modifications

Collector armor
The Collectors' chitinous armor is flexible and even tougher than ballistic fibers. Its organic construction allows it to be self-healing, and the muscle-like tissue that assists movement ensures it is comfortable to wear despite its weight. This suit was originally adapted out of salvaged Collector technology by Cerberus, and is incredibly difficult to find on the galactic market.
The Collector armor features a unique healing and metabolism bolstering mechanism, healing the wearer 1hp/minute and grants a +2 equipment bonus to strength, dexterity and constitution.

Inferno armor
Built specifically for Cerberus field officers, the Inferno armor has a VI dedicated to recognizing signs of stress and medical trauma. This application helps assess soldiers, but can be useful in any high risk situations. The Inferno's microframe computer also manages biotic amp and omni-tool power, and microservos help the wearer's movements to counteract the armor's weight.
Inferno armor comes equipped with a helmet package and omni-tool adaption modules, as well as reducing the recharge time of tech and biotic powers by 1.

N7 armor
The N7 armor is the standard-issue body armor given to N7 operatives. Highly resilient, modular and adaptive, it is one of the Alliance's most reliable armors available. When the wearer fires a weapon, the suit's computers divert energy from the main power cell to the gun's kinetic coils, offering an extra punch. The armor also comes with an injection system built into the suit and neural-linked bio-monitors that help adjust the wearer's breathing rate and adrenaline levels.
The Defender Armor is a variation on the N7 Special Forces’ combat gear, built to protect soldiers in long-running engagements where reinforcements may be sparse. The Defender's storage compartments are designed to hold spare thermal clips, while capacitors throughout the armor provide extra power to shields during critical moments in battle.
Both N7 armor comes equipped with a helmet package and 2 integrated equipment slots as well as 2 extra modification slots. The armor's sophisticated targeting VI also grants +1 to attack and damage with ranged weapons.
As a full-round action, the wearer can use the medigel systems built into the armor. The medigel and the suit's built-in diagnostic gear grant the wearer effective Treat Injury +10 skill for self-treatment. The bonus overcomes the -5 penalty for self-administration, resulting in a +5 bonus.
The Defender variant also comes equipped with improved shield generators and 5 integrated equipment slots (instead of 2).

Quarian environmental suits
The most distinguishing feature of quarian biology is their weak immune system, compounded by centuries of living in sterile environments. As a result, all quarians by necessity dress in highly sophisticated enviro-suits, to protect them from disease or infection if they are injured. Their suits can be compartmentalized in the event of a tear or similar breach to prevent the spread of contaminants (similar to a ship sealing off bulkheads in the event of a hull breach).
Quarian suits are extremely modifiable, having 5 modification slots by default.

Reckoner Knight armor
The Reckoner-Knight armor was originally worn by the winners of Earth's Urban Combat Championship 2186, the Rhode Island Knights. A military-grade version of this equipment was presented to longtime Knight fans at the Alliance's Rhode Island base, in thanks for their passionate (and vocal) support during the EUCC championship matches. Beneath this armor's medieval-gothic facade lie a host of biofeedback systems intended to monitor the wearer's health and combat performance. Micro-servos maximize damage done in close-quarters combat, while a beefed-up power cell feeds energy into weapons systems to increase projectile velocity. Befitting gear originally designed for a full-contact sport, a sophisticated shield system also offers the wearer solid protection from incoming attacks.
Reckoner Knight armor comes equipped with improved shield generators and grants a +3 to all damage dealt as well as 2 modification slots.

Terminus Assault armor
The Terminus Armor is environmentally sealed with an independent air supply for use in space and extreme planetary conditions. Its on onboard microframe computer runs a suite of battle management software. To prevent detection by passive thermal sensors, body heat is channeled to the base of the feet and dispersed into the ground.
Terminus Assault armor comes equipped with helmet package, improved vacuum seals and 2 modification slots. The armor's kinetic power management software also increases the wearer's speed, resulting in no loss of speed when wearing the armor.

[darkknight799]

Rules questions if you have the time:
Can you detonate your own tech powers or do you need 2 people to do that?
Do cool downs on drones start the round after you use it or after the drone goes down?

Thanks

[Actana]

This is certainly a blast from the past. I'll do what I can to help.

Rules questions if you have the time:
Can you detonate your own tech powers or do you need 2 people to do that?
Do cool downs on drones start the round after you use it or after the drone goes down?

Thanks

As far as I remember, the intention was that Tech detonations are easier to do but not as powerful. This is a "maybe, leaning towards yes." Depending on my mood, though, it might well be "no". I'd need a bit more playtesting and feedback to figure if it'd be balanced and fun/interesting before making any hard rulings.

Cooldowns should start after the drone goes down. Otherwise there's very little point to the CD.

[darkknight799]

This is certainly a blast from the past. I'll do what I can to help.



As far as I remember, the intention was that Tech detonations are easier to do but not as powerful. This is a "maybe, leaning towards yes." Depending on my mood, though, it might well be "no". I'd need a bit more playtesting and feedback to figure if it'd be balanced and fun/interesting before making any hard rulings.

Cooldowns should start after the drone goes down. Otherwise there's very little point to the CD.

Our play group is about to test it. I will love to provide feedback. I have a bunch of theories I have dropped to my group like power tiring etc.

Yeah I could see self tech detonate going either way.

The reason I asked the drone question is:
Each module has a predetermined recharge time. Once a character has used a tech module,
they cannot activate the same module until the recharge time has passed. A module with the
[persistent] keyword begins its recharge only once the module's effect ends. A single omni-tool cannot sustain more than one persistent effect, such as Flamer or Tactical Cloak.

That being said Drone are [Familiar] Not [Familiar] [persistent]. I thought it worked as you said though.

[Gallows]

Hello I want to tell you that already love your work!

I am planning on playtesting this, but I have some problems:

How do you obtain tech powers? Is there a limit for them? (I am talking about powers known, not prepared in the omnitool). Surely you have been asked this question yet but this gave me some some problems at character creation.

I do not think that you can have as many you want, since it will be broken as hell, and making a feat that gives you powers would not make sence since it is not something you learn (unlike biotic powers). So i was thinking "maybe buying them?", but then i thought "the starting money is too low".

Well I think I made my point so here is what i was thinking:

Why no both?

Putting a credit value to each power (or at least each kind of power) and adding a feat that gives you credits to spend ONLY on tech powers (that only can be used on character creation of course). That way you can have a limit (your credits, of course) and somethig solid to stand on at character creation.

I am just brainstorming here and i hope it helps.

[Actana]

(Funny how these instant email notifications on the thread work.)

Truth be told, I never got around to making rules for obtaining tech powers. They are, quite honestly, one of the few big things the game lacks.

An easy solution would be to just use feats, similar to biotics. It's probably the best option at the moment. Money is something I planned on doing, but never got around to researching how much they should cost since not all powers are technically equal (both in power and rarity). In addition, I'd likely add some sort of "you start with X amount of powers" somewhere too, to give lower level characters something to use.

As far as obtaining as many tech powers as you want, if I recall my own work correctly (it's been a while) there's still the limit of how many active powers you can have in an omni-tool at any given time, reducing game breaking versatility by a bit. I can't recall how long it takes to recalibrate powers, but it's something at least. With the limit in place, I saw no need to add in an absolute limit for powers known.


That said, I'm not hugely planning on working on anything in regard to the system, but I'm always super happy to see people using and liking the system and am always happy to give out support for how I intended to make things work.