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TFU states that once per encounter that the independent droid may activate this and gain a +1 bonus to a defense of his choice. How long does this last? One round? The whole encounter?

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Kotasen in Awaypt's EotE PbP
Guest on Star Wars Saga Edition AP podcast, Threat Detected

Although the errata may clarify it I'm going to say that because you use it as a Reaction it only works for the event you are activating it in response to. At best I'd say it lasts until the start of your next turn.

I'll go the other way, since it is a "once an encounter" power, it remains in effect for the remainder of the encounter.

I believe this specifically was discussed back inthe episode covering the Droids handbook and the Independent Droid PrC.....

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FULONGAMER aka Johannes M. Bowers
http://thelostholocronpodcast.info/
It's not My planet Monkey-boy! / I Waste Him With My Bowcaster!
THIS is my LIGHT-Stick!, The next one of you Furry Tree-Hugger Yub-Yub Primitives EVEN TOUCHES me...//FZOOOK!//

I've gotta disagree with you. Yeah, it's a once per encounter ability, but it's one that can let you turn a lethal hit into a total miss. Even the Elite Trooper doesn't have it that good, at best getting an extra round before they drop. Letting the Independent Droid keep the bonus all encounter feels really powerful to me. I'd be willing to let the droid keep it for a round, but nothing beyond that.

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If that were the case then why wouldn't it just be listed as a flat bonus to all of the droid's defenses? Ok, I guess you need to state which defense score is getting the boost but most of the time (I'd say 90%+) it will be going for REF Defense and if I can just "turn it on" at "the start" of an encounter and have it remain why wouldn't I? When one encounter ends I just restart the ability with the new encounter.

It is only to one of the defenses, and believe it or not there ARE times when even Droids must endure viable WILL or FORT attacks, not jusr REF. You can't switch it between defenses, it is only a measly +1 and you are stuck with your choice for the whole encounter. Rather than "Ding - pop +1 REF at the begenning of any encounter because I feel like it" you should SAVE this for the revelation of a threat that you may need that +1 (and anything else you can get) to overcome.

Is it any worse than the Dodge bonus? which can be declared and redeclared constantly throughout a combat reassigning it to different threats each round?

I say no, yeah, it is a flat bonus, but it is miniscule, your choice is persistent, and it (properly used) allows for coverage of a droid's "soft spot" (WILL and FORT).

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FULONGAMER aka Johannes M. Bowers
http://thelostholocronpodcast.info/
It's not My planet Monkey-boy! / I Waste Him With My Bowcaster!
THIS is my LIGHT-Stick!, The next one of you Furry Tree-Hugger Yub-Yub Primitives EVEN TOUCHES me...//FZOOOK!//

It starts as a +1 bonus but then it grows until it's +5 at 10th-level. That's a +5 bonus that will stack with everything else unless I'm missing something else that gives a morale bonus to defense. Now I probably wouldn't take that class to 10th-level but getting +4 for 8th level or +2 for 4th would both be pretty good additions to push a defense score into the stratosphere.

I know there are some times when a droid would need to make a FORT or WILL save but I'd hardly say they are any weaker then anyone else's would be. Droids may not have CON scores but they do get to use their STR modifier in place of it when determining FORT. As for WILL Defense I could point out that Independent Droid grants the +4 class bonus to that defense. Even if those defense scores are 'soft spots' for a droid the basic droid immunities will mean they get targetted less often then they would on an organic creature.

Now I can agree with the idea that this is held until you "need" it but that's the whole point of it being a one shot ability. If I wait to determine my "need" and then it lasts the rest of the encounter, however long that may be, I'm hard pressed to find a "need" that would be better then cutting my chances of getting hit by the overwhelming majority of the attacks made.

The errata clarifies this officially. The corrected text is:

Once per encounter, you can grant yourself a morale bonus to any defense score (your choice) against a single skill check or attack roll as a reaction.

So yes, it's only against the thing you're reacting to.

Thanks, Darth Pseudonym. I had completely forgotten to research any errata which may have been released for this book.

Still...I am tempted to go with FULON's recommendations.

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Kotasen in Awaypt's EotE PbP
Guest on Star Wars Saga Edition AP podcast, Threat Detected

I wouldn't. I don't think Fulon noticed that the bonus increases every other level. While a simple +1 may not be worth much, a +2 or +3 permanent bonus to one of your defenses is pretty major, and +4 or +5 is simply broken.

Thanks for pointing out the errata as well DarthP. I know I have them saved some where and FUCG is old enough to have it but I didn't go digging around for it to find what I figured was a pretty obvious answer.

Angelicdoctor, of course you "want" to follow Fulon's suggestion because it takes the ability and makes it immensely more powerful. You take a one time (per encounter) event and stretch it out over who knows how many more uses its power is going to be so much greater.

I am tempted but not necessarily wanting to go with FULON's suggestion. My son is running the Independent Droid PC in my campaign so I am leaning towards FULON's recommendation for my son's sake. I think what I will do is playtest the recommendation for a few encounters before I make a definitive decision.

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Secede or Die!

Kotasen in Awaypt's EotE PbP
Guest on Star Wars Saga Edition AP podcast, Threat Detected

I'd suggest keeping it to the errata'd version, simply because this is the only prestige class that can be entered as early as 4th level, so being able to get an encounter-long boost to any Defense score that early in a character's career, on top of all the other mechanical perks that you get just from being a droid, falls under the "way too good to be true" category.

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This.

Comparing a CL 13 droid (say noble 3/Independent Droid 10) with a CL 13 Bounty Hunter (say Scout 7/Bounty Hunter 6), the droid would get a choice of +5 morale bonus to ANY defense as a reaction vs. the Bounty Hunter getting a +3 to Reflex Defense and attacks against ONE target for the encounter. If you allowed the droid this encounter-long bonus, it would grossly outshine the Bounty Hunter since the bonus would be against everyone and would be granted as a reaction (basically for free) vs. the Bounty Hunter having to spend a full-round action to gain the bonus only against one target.

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Thanks for all the suggestions, however, realizing that the player in question is only nine and usually forgets to add in modifiers like Point Blank Shot or to use Devastating Attack, I don't believe there will be much game breaking going on.

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Secede or Die!

Kotasen in Awaypt's EotE PbP
Guest on Star Wars Saga Edition AP podcast, Threat Detected