Tips and Tactics

Masters of Melee

By Owen K.C. Stephens

The Star Wars Roleplaying Game is easy to learn, but it can be

difficult to master. With that in mind, we proudly present "Tips
and Tactics," a monthly online column designed to help you get
the most out of yourStar Wars roleplaying! Each month, Owen
K.C. Stephens (author of Starships of the Galaxy and co-author
of the Rebellion Era Sourcebook and Alien Anthology) will show
you how to use various rules together, suggest new ways to use
old rules, and clarify complex rules.

In the third installment, Owen gives you tips on becoming a

master of melee.

The blaster is often thought of as the universal weapon of Star

Wars. In all its variations, it offers good damage potential and
range in a relatively small and easily carried package. However,
it's possible to build a combat-effective character who
specializes in melee combat instead. Obviously it's fairly common
for Jedi to fight in hand-to-hand combat with lightsabers, but soldiers and scoundrels should seriously
consider melee options as well. That's because soldiers gain enough bonus feats to really maximize
their melee potential, and, for scoundrels, one of the most effective ways to use sneak attack dice is to
flank a target. With a little planning, force pikes and vibro-axes can be just as useful as blasters.

Fighting Feats
Certain feats make fighting in melee much more effective. Anyone with a high attack bonus, especially
those without large damage potentials, should seriously consider taking Power Attack. Not only does it
allow characters to trade accuracy for damage, it leads to the Cleave and Great Cleave feats, which
can grant several extra attacks against lower-level opponents. Similarly, anyone who has good attack
bonus but is low on Defense, such as many soldiers, should pick up Expertise. Jedi in particular can
make great use of these two feats together. A 10th-level Jedi Guardian who burns a Force point would,
on average, gain a +14 bonus to his attack rolls for one round, and with these two feats could then gain
a +9 damage bonus and a +5 Defense bonus while maintaining his normal attack bonus.

Similarly, the Dodge feat should not be overlooked. While not greatly powerful by itself, it leads to the
Mobility and Spring Attack feats. Mobility allows a melee fighter to position himself as he pleases
without being stopped for a round by moving adjacent to other melee fighters. This can be a useful
delaying tactic as well, as a combatant with Mobility can position himself so that other opponents must
pause next to him before reaching some other objective. Under the rules as written, adjacent
opponents would also be unable to fire ranged weapons at an adjacent melee fighter, though many GMs
tend to modify this rule.

Spring Attack is even better, since it allows a melee combatant to move, attack someone, and move
again. The ability to leave cover, attack, and move back into cover can be very useful in any fight,
especially when most other individuals have blasters. Generally, only soldiers can afford to spend
enough feats to get Spring Attack at early or mid levels, but it remains useful to anyone who can pick it
up.

Skill Selection
The most overlooked aspect of designing a melee fighter is skill selection. Getting into melee means
that moving around becomes much more important, and a few extra ranks of Climb, Jump, Move
Silently, and Tumble are rarely a bad idea. Swim can also be useful, though in more limited
circumstances, and a character with a good number or Ride ranks can make an impressive, if unusual,
cavalry warrior.

If you don't have a lot of skill points, select one of these skills and keep it at full ranks. This allows you
to be good at one form of moving around and gives you an opportunity to develop tactics around one
particular skill. Climb and Jump are particularly good for soldiers, and Move Silently is well worth the
cost for a scoundrel. A Force-using character should seriously consider maximizing his ranks of Move
Object, so that eventually he'll be able to move himself with it as a form of flight.

Not as Random or Clumsy as a Blaster

There are many situations where a good melee weapon works better than a blaster, even if it's a force
pike rather than a lightsaber. First, there's no need to worry about where a stray blaster bolt ends up if
it misses its target -- useful for fighting in crowds or on a vehicle that might crash if damaged by stray
fire. Secondly, many melee weapons are a good deal quieter than blasters, which comes in handy when
sneaking around or trying to escape pursuers.

Melee weapons are often taken less seriously by guards and authorities, making them easier to sneak
into secure or civilized areas. For characters with large Strength scores, melee weapons may also do
more damage than most blasters, since they get 1.5 times the character's Strength bonus to damage
when used two-handed. And a character's melee skills and feats assist him even when he's unarmed,
which is especially useful if he takes the Martial Arts feat.

Memorable Heroes
Ultimately, the main reason to use a melee weapon in a Star Wars Roleplaying Gamecampaign is to
have an interesting and unique character. Everyone expects a Wookiee with a bowcaster or a scoundrel
with a hold-out blaster, but a Wookiee with a vibro-ax and a scoundrel with a stun baton strapped to
his boot are a bit more memorable.