Battle meditation



Battle meditation was a manifestation of the Force which instilled in the meditator's allies a greater morale in battle and reduced the enemy's will to fight. Using the Force, one could coordinate entire fleets of ships, allowing them to perform at maximum efficiency, acting as one to counter every enemy move quickly and effectively.

This Force power was first made famous by the ancient Jedi Odan-Urr, Arca Jeth, and Nomi Sunrider. It was also practiced by Bastila Shan, as well as later Jedi Council members Yoda, Yarael Poof, and Oppo Rancisis, who used it in both the Stark Hyperspace War and the Clone Wars.

Battle meditation was not merely province of the light side; Emperor Palpatine and Grand Admiral Nial Declann had also mastered this technique, and used it to great effect in the Battle of Endor. Following Palpatine's death, the shock of the sudden removal of this influence threw the Imperial Navy into chaos and allowed the Rebel fleet to defeat them. One thousand years earlier, Lord Kaan also used battle meditation during the New Sith Wars.

SW1 House Rules
Control difficulty: Very Easy: 1-2 targets; Easy: 3-20 targets; Moderate: 21-100 targets; Difficult: 101-1,000 targets; Very Difficult: 1,001-10,000 targets; Heroic: 10,001+ targets.

Sense difficulty: Very Easy: 1-2 targets; Easy: 3-20 targets; Moderate: 21-100 targets; Difficult: 101-1,000 targets; Very Difficult: 1,001-10,000 targets; Heroic: 10,001+ targets.

Alter difficulty: Very Easy: 1-2 targets; Easy: 3-20 targets; Moderate: 21-100 targets; Difficult: 101-1,000 targets; Very Difficult: 1,001-10,000 targets; Heroic: 10,001+ targets.

This power may be kept "up."

Time to Use: 5 minutes.

This power has two possible effects. A Jedi may force enemies to turn on each other, or, the Jedi may strengthen his/her allies and, at the same time, weaken his/her enemies. The Jedi may only use this power on or after the first round of combat, and s/he must state which effect will be used. If attempting to turn enemies against each other: the Jedi's highest skill roll is the difficulty number that the targets must beat to avoid the effect. Failure means that they must attack each other for as long as the power remains in effect. If attempting to change the tide of battles: The Jedi.s enemies lose 1D for every 4D in the Jedi's highest Force skill in a specified attribute; the Jedi's allies receive a bonus of likewise amount in a specified attribute. The use of this power requires a quiet, safe location from which to concentrate and reach a state of calm (or rage).

Official D6 Rules
Control Difficulty: Varies based on the number of targeted individuals.

Number of Individuals                 Difficulty 1-2                                   Very Easy 3-20                                  Easy 21-100                                Moderate 101-1000                              Difficult 1001-10,000                           Very Difficult 10,001+                               Heroic

Sense Difficulty: Varies based on the number of targeted invidiuals. Number of Individuals                 Difficulty 1-2                                   Very Easy 3-20                                  Easy 21-100                                Moderate 101-1000                              Difficult 1001-10,000                           Very Difficult 10,001+                               Heroic

Alter Difficulty: Varies based on the number of targeted invidiuals. Number of Individuals                 Difficulty 1-2                                   Very Easy 3-20                                  Easy 21-100                                Moderate 101-1000                              Difficult 1001-10,000                           Very Difficult 10,001+                               Heroic

Battle meditation has two possible effects. The Jedi can force her adversaries to abandon their assault and turn on each other, or she can alter the tide of the battle, streghtening her allies and at the same time weakening her enemies. Before intiating the power the Jedi must state which effect she wishes to use.

The targets of this power must have intitiated combat for the effects to take hold. In game terms, a Jed may only use this power effectively on or after the first round of combat, not before. Enemies are defined as those who seek to oppose the Jedi's immediate goal (rescuing a prisoner, defeating a group of dark siders, et cetera); allies are defined as those who seek to uphold and forward the Jedi's goal.

When attempting to turn attackers against each other, the Jedi's highest skill roll (control, sense or alter) to activate the skill becomes the difficulty the targets must beat to avoid the effect. Otherwise they immediately see their allies as the "true" enemy and attack. The Jedi must maintain the effect each round for the combatants to continue fighting. Once the power is dropped, its effects wear off instantly.

On a successful roll to change the balance of the battle in the Jedi's allies' favor (The power's second function), the Jedi's enemies lose 1D for every 4D she has in her best Force skill, in a skill determined by the Jedi (i.e., Strength, Dexterity, et cetera) to a minimum of 1D, w hile her allies receive a bonus of the same value ot an attribute of her choosing.

Example: A Jedi and three of his Jedi Knight companions are battling a dozen Sith minions - followers of Darth Malign. Seeing the tide of the engagement turning in the Sith's favor, Luke decides to use his battle meditation power to help his allies overcome their enemies. Since he has a control of 1D+1, a sense of 2D+1, and an alter of 1D, he may increase one skill of all of his companions (he chooses Dexterity in this case) by 2D+1 (the highest of the three), and decrease one skill of all of her opponents by 2D+1 (he chooses Strength), to a minimum of 1D, until he drops the power. While the Jedi continues to maintain the power, his allies have a 2D+1 bonus to Dexterity (and all of its skills) and her enemies all have a 2D+1 penalty to Strength (and all of its skills).

Enhanced Coordination
The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook refers to Battle Meditation as Enhanced Coordination to refer to the power used by Joruus C'boath to coordinate the Empire's fleets and troops. It is slightly different than battle meditation in terms of mechanics, although they are the same in nature:

The use of this power allows a Jedi to coordinate the activities of a group in order to increase the group's effectiveness at a given task. This power was often used by Emperor Palpatine to increase the fighting ability of his troops, mentally driving them on and supplementing their will to fight.

This power may only be used on targets who are in agreement with the intent of the Jedi (such as, "to defeat the Rebellion"). It does not grant the Jedi mental control over the affected troops.

Instead, this power links all of the troops on a subconscious level, allowing them to fight more proficiently and with better organization. If the power is successfully called upon, the Jedi picks three specific Dexterity, Mechanical, or Strength skills. All troops receive a bonus of 1D for every 3D (rounded down) that they have in the given skills.

Example: Aleister Vadim is using enhanced coordination. He picks capital ship gunnery, capital ship piloting, and capital ship shields as the three skills. If the troops have 2D+2 or less in the skill, they receive no bonus. If the have 3D to 5D+2 in the skill, they receive +1D to their skill while the power is in effect. If they have 6D to 8D+2 in the skill, they receiev +2D to the skill while it is in effect.