Alternate rules for Morality and the Force

description:

The morality rules, as written, are very nitpicky. The GM has to expend additional effort to track
exactly how selfish an action or use of the Force is and inform the player before taking that action that
they will accrue Conflict points. The way it is designed is easily exploitable, as one can essentially
“start down the dark path” by committing murder and then being passive for a couple sessions
afterwards to recoup the lost Morality. The system rewards players for exploiting it. The proposed rules
are to alter use of the Force and Morality to better represent the easily seductive and corrupting nature
of the Dark Side.

Premise: Removal of the Morality scale, removal of Conflict Points, removal of strain cost for using the
Dark Side of the Force. Retain the Destiny Point flip for using the Dark Side.

Whenever a player character uses Dark Side Force Points to fuel their Force Powers or takes an action
considered worthy of Conflict in the normal rules, the player flips a Light Destiny to Dark. After the
action is resolved, the player rolls an opposed Discipline vs Discipline check, with the difficulty being
the inverse of their Discipline skill. This represents the struggle between one’s Light and Dark sides.

Success allows the player to retain control of themselves.

Failure puts the player at the mercy of the Dark Side of the Force, allowing the GM to flip a Destiny
Point, at any point during the session, to stagger the character for 1 round.

If despair is rolled, the GM can take an action on the player’s behalf instead of staggering their
character. The action should be especially dark and selfish, showing the corrupting nature of using the
Dark Side. After the action is resolved, the player again rolls an opposed Discipline check as described
above. The results are the same as the initial roll, either allowing the character to break free from the
Dark Side’s hold temporarily, or they continue further down the dark path.

For a Dark Side Force User, the rules are the same but reversed. Instead of resisting the Dark Side, they
are momentarily stricken with grief and regret from their actions if they fail a check. When the GM
flips a Destiny Point to affect them, they are under the effects of the Staggered condition for 1 round as
they contemplate their actions. This happens whenever the Dark Side Force User uses Light Side points
to fuel their Force Powers or when they accomplish selfless actions.

Despair on top of failure means the GM can instead allow the Light Side to motivate the character
towards doing good.