Episode 75: Piercing Hit

75 installments, and Fragments from the Rim is marching on.  

I’m DarthGM, and this time we’re heading to the Unknown Regions for a Scout Talent that can really ruin a Mandalorian’s day.  On page 21 you’ll find the Scout talent Piercing Hit.  It’s a third-tier talent with three uses in an encounter.  You need to have Acute Senses and Keen Shot talents to take this one, which really flavors this talent for a Sniper build.  However all three of these abilities can be done with either a melee or a ranged attack.

As I said, this talent offers three different uses per encounter, specifically styled towards screwing over opponents that wear armor.  The first is Binding Hit, where your attack dislodges an enemy’s armor to hinder their defenses.  If you hit and damage the target, the target loses Armor bonuses to Reflex Defense and is flat footed until they spend a standard action to adjust the armor.  This is a great attack to help set up a devastating sneak attack or dastardly strike from a Smuggler, or to just really help make a heavily armored opponent easier to hit for your allies.  It’s also great for granting a round of reprieve from the armored character’s attacks, as they have to spend their standard action to reset their armor.  Either they spend the Standard action to reset their armor, or they keep getting pwned by a lack of Armor Bonus and by being Flat-Footed.

The next encounter ability is Blinding Fire.  If your attack hits and deals damage, the target takes a -2 penalty to all attacks until the end of your next turn. Additionally, all other creatures, droids, and vehicles gain concealment against the target until the end of your next turn.  Again, don’t let the name fool you, you can use this ability with a melee attack.  You’re basically smacking the armored villain in the helmet and knocking it off kilter, allowing all your allies, and everyone else for that matter, the opportunity to hide…and set up for another sneaky shot from a smuggler.

Finally, there’s Slowing Shot.  After being hit so hard their breast plate goes off kilter, and then following it up with their helmet getting turned 180 degrees on them, if this doesn’t convince your foe he should just go into combat naked because it would be a lot safer in the long run I don’t know what will.  If you hit and damage the target with Slowing Shot, the target’s speed is reduced to two squares.  Not reduced BY two, reduced TO two squares, until the end of your next turn.  Now you’ve knocked their knee plates off to the side, or caused their thigh plate to slip down and prevent the knee from moving.

In Star Wars, there are plenty of characters that wear armor.  Whether you’re using this talent to mess with stormtroopers, or putting the serious hurt on a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter that’s harassing your party, you can’t go wrong with this talent.  And as someone who occasionally wears full suits of armor, I can attest first hand to the debilitating effects of something, or someone, messing with the fit of your armor.

Until next time, Gamer Nation, 20 side up, one side down.