The Star Wars Roleplay system requires custom polyhedral dice. The beta version of the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire softcover rulebook came with a sheet of stickers to convert 14 ordinary polyhedral dice of the right size to Star Wars dice.
The custom dice enable results on two axes. Success / Failure determines how effective the skill check was while Advantage / Threat and Triumph / Despair determine how lucky the attempt was. Normally only one success on the pass–fail axis is needed to succeed. There are both positive and negative types of dice, which can be added to a skill check roll to represent advantages or disadvantages.
The Dice[]
There are seven types of narrative dice:
- Three Positive Dice
- The Force Die
- Three Negative Dice
Positive[]
Boost (Blue)[]
The boost die is a positive dice which is added when conditions are favorable to the completion of a task, such as having relevant information or a particular knack for it (from a talent or prior result). It has six sides (d6) and is often referred to as the 'blue die'.
Ability (Green)[]
The ability die is the most basic of the positive dice, setting the basic ability of a character to complete a task. It has eight sides (d8) and is often referred to as the 'green die'.
Proficiency (Yellow)[]
The proficiency die is the pinnacle of positive dice and granted when a character is proficient in the skill required to complete a task. This is an upgrade to their ability and sometimes represents a particularly good setup or outside assistance. It has twelve sides (d12) and is often referred to as the 'yellow die'.
This die is notable for being the only positive die with a Triumph result.
Force (White)[]
The Force die represents the flow of the Force in the Star Wars narrative. All games use this to assemble the Destiny Point pool. Characters with sensitivity to the Force will roll this die to determine the nature of the Force available to them in the moment. It has twelve sides (d12) and is sometimes referred to as the 'white die'.
It is notable that unlike the other dice, this one has no blank faces. The Force die exemplifies the words of Yoda to Luke on Dagobah, that the dark side is not more powerful (as there are the same number of dark and light points across its faces) but that it is faster and easier (as more faces have dark points).
Negative[]
Setback (Black)[]
The setback die is a negative dice which is added when conditions are unfavorable to the completion of a task (a setback), such as operating under pressure or climbing a wall in pouring rain. It has six sides (d6) and is often referred to as the 'black die'.
Difficulty (Purple)[]
The difficulty die is the most basic of the negative dice, setting the difficulty of a check. It has eight sides (d8) and is often referred to as the 'purple die'.
Standard Difficulties[]
- Simple (–)
- Easy (one die)
- Average (two dice)
- Hard (three dice)
- Daunting (four dice)
- Formidable (five dice)
- Impossible (five dice), used when the difficulty would exceed Formidable and must be by the permission of the Game Master and spending a Destiny Point.
Expanded Difficulty Options[]
The expanded difficulty options are homebrew and based on common house rules. There is no evidence to suggest that the developers intended for characters to be permitted to attempt a constructed pool that would exceed a base difficulty of Formidable, even if such checks can occur in normal play derived from profiles and the game mechanic.
While the rules suggest that any difficulty exceeding more than five dice is rendered impossible, this is not an uncommon occurrence and many players and GMs have sought to allow for continuous scaling difficulty beyond Formidable without using the Impossible metric. One method requires that any difficulty that would exceed five dice begin to apply upgrades to the check (which will eventually allow for more than five difficulty dice on the check).
Alternatively, these are some suggested 'difficulty' names for simply increasing the number of dice as listed:
- Punishing (six dice)
- Inconceivable (seven dice)
- Unfathomable (eight dice)
- Impossible (eight dice), used as in the standard difficulty list.
Challenge (Red)[]
The challenge die is the pinnacle of negative dice and granted when a task is challenging. This is an upgrade to the difficulty and typically represents a greater risk to the task or a skilled opponent being subdued. It has twelve sides (d12) and is often referred to as the 'red die'.
This die is notable for being the only positive die with a Despair result.
The Symbols[]
The faces of the narrative dice have symbols which enable the construction of a narrative. The ultimate result pool is assembled by cancelling out the equivalent positive and negative results (except for Force points, Triumphs, and Despairs).
Success symbol
Success[]
The success symbol is used to determine the basic result of a character's attempt, the degree of success. Often, additional success results beyond the first will amplify the effect or reduce the time required to complete the task (if the task is a binary pass/fail type). This symbol is sometimes referred to as an explosion or positive spikey.
Advantage symbol
Advantage[]
The advantage symbol is used to determine secondary beneficial effects of a character's attempt at a task (what advantages they get). Often, additional advantage results provide greater beneficial effects as a result of the check, or blunt the consequences of failing. This symbol is sometimes referred to as a pip in a wreath or wings.
Triumph[]
Triumph symbol
The "Critical Success"
The triumph symbol is used to determine secondary beneficial effects that may be particularly notable or an exceptionally successful completion of a task (a triumphant one). A face containing the triumph symbol also counts as a success symbol (which can be cancelled by a failure), but the triumph symbol itself cannot be cancelled out. This symbol is sometimes referred to as a starburst in a circle or little 'jedi' emblem.
Failure symbol
Failure[]
The failure symbol cancels out the success symbol in order to determine whether a check has succeeded or not. Notably, there doesn't need to be a failure symbol left in the pool for the check to fail, only the lack of success symbols. This symbol is sometimes referred to as a caltrop or negative spikey.
Threat symbol
Threat[]
The threat symbol is used to determine secondary detrimental effects of a character's attempt at a task (what threatens them in the aftermath). Often, additional threat results will represent greater detrimental effects as a result of the check, or reduce the effectiveness of their success. This symbol is sometimes referred to as a pip on the central facet of a faceted circle or little 'imperial' emblem.
Despair[]
Despair symbol
The "Critical Failure"
The despair symbol is used to determine secondary detrimental effects that may be particularly notable or an exceptionally poor failure at the attempted check (causing despair). A face containing the despair symbol also counts as a failure symbol (which can be cancelled by a success), but the despair symbol itself cannot be cancelled out. This symbol is sometimes referred to as a caltrop in a circle.
Light Point[]
The light point, also referred to as the white pip, represents the availability of the light side for a Force sensitive to draw from (or a positive will to the Force for the players to draw on for their Destiny).
Dark Point[]
The dark point, also referred to as the black pip, represents the availability of the dark side for a Force sensitive to draw from (or a oppositional will of the Force to the characters, for the Game Master to draw on for their Destiny).
Accessories[]
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Dice (January, 2013): A set containing 1 white Force die, 3 green Ability dice, 2 yellow Proficiency dice, 2 blue Boost dice, 3 purple Difficulty dice, 1 red Challenge die, 2 black Setback dice, and a set of 4 Destiny Tokens.
Star Wars Roleplaying Dice (July, 2014): A set containing 1 white Force die, 3 green Ability dice, 2 yellow Proficiency dice, 2 blue Boost dice, 3 purple Difficulty dice, 1 red Challenge die, 2 black Setback dice, and a set of 4 Destiny Tokens.
Dice Rollers[]
If your group lacks the physical dice, there are a range of apps and online resources available to enable rolling for the narrative system. The Star Wars RPG homebrew community has a great resource here.