Combat seems a bit easier too now... no more can Darth Vader pown you with 4 attacks at once
Attacks and Damage
When it comes to the core of combat, not much has changed in Saga Edition. You still make an attack roll, which consists of your base attack bonus, your Strength or Dexterity bonus, and any other bonuses or penalties that apply. You now compare your attack roll result against the Reflex Defense of the target (which replaces the traditional Defense score) and, if successful, you deal your weapon's damage to the target. Little has changed fundamentally about how attacks are resolved.
In an effort to speed up the combat round, we made some changes that affect how any given round goes. First, characters no longer gain multiple attacks as they go up in levels, meaning that a character gets only one attack in a combat round, even at 20th level. There are a few exceptions to this restriction, such as fighting with two weapons, but they have their own balancing mechanisms.
Replacing iterative attacks are feats such as Rapid Shot (which lets a character take a –2 penalty to her ranged attack roll to gain +1 die of damage on her attack) and Mighty Swing (which lets her spend two swift actions to gain +1 die of damage on a melee attack). Since characters get more feats in the Saga Edition rules, many characters will pick up Rapid Shot or Mighty Swing as bonus feats. So, the changes speed up combat by eliminating the resolution of multiple attacks, while still retaining the same effect.
Moreover, all heroic characters gain a bonus on their damage rolls equal to one-half their heroic level.
This represents their general increase in proficiency and helps to ensure that higher-level heroes can consistently kill lower-level nonheroic enemies (such as light stormtroopers) in one shot. Additionally, this means a high-level enemy can challenge a lower-level party of heroes, emphasizing the difference in levels without adding two (or more) rolls per round of combat.
Defend Yourself!
In Saga Edition, saving throws have been replaced by three static defense scores.
* Reflex Defense represents your ability to avoid attacks, including area attacks and hazards that traditionally require Reflex saves. (I like this a LOT personally.... avoiding attacks IS a reflex move)
* Fortitude Defense represents your general hardiness and ability to resist poison, disease, and environmental hazards. It's also integral to calculating your damage threshold, which equals your Fortitude Defense plus any bonuses provided by armor or the Improved Damage Threshold feat.
* Will Defense represents your willpower and mental toughness, and is used to resist mind-affecting effects.
When another character or hazard attempts to affect you negatively in some way, it must make an attack roll or skill check against your relevant defense score. This puts much of the power in the attacker's hands and makes combat more proactive. An enemy can't steal the heroes' thunder by making a really great Reflex save. Instead, it's up to the attacking heroes to overcome their foe's defense score.
A character's defense scores are equal to 10 + her heroic level + the relevant ability modifier. Additionally, each class provides a small bonus to defense scores. For example, the soldier class provides a +1 class bonus to Reflex Defense and a +2 class bonus to Fortitude Defense. A character wearing armor replaces her level bonus to Reflex Defense with the armor's bonus to Reflex Defense, and some suits of armor also provide an equipment bonus to Fortitude Defense. However, a character's level bonus to defenses will quickly outstrip her armor bonus to Reflex Defense, which means that at higher levels, armor is not quite as integral.
Of course, some characters, such as Jango and Boba Fett, might want to wear armor throughout their career. To do so effectively, they'll need to spend character resources. The soldier has an Armor Specialist talent tree that allows him to wear armor, gaining benefits while sacrificing talent slots. For example, here are a pair of talents from this talent tree:
Armored Defense: When calculating your Reflex Defense, you may add either your heroic level or your armor bonus, whichever is higher. You must be proficient with the armor you are wearing to gain this benefit.
Improved Armored Defense: When calculating your Reflex Defense, you may add your heroic level plus one-half your armor bonus (rounded down) or your armor bonus, whichever is higher. You must be proficient with the armor you are wearing to gain this benefit.
Prerequisite: Armored Defense.
This represents their general increase in proficiency and helps to ensure that higher-level heroes can consistently kill lower-level nonheroic enemies (such as light stormtroopers) in one shot. Additionally, this means a high-level enemy can challenge a lower-level party of heroes, emphasizing the difference in levels without adding two (or more) rolls per round of combat.
