Can I use force move to throw myself?

Question

I'm wondering about force move. Can it be used to throw oneself at a location (or to use it while falling down to throw oneself upwards to a target location)?

As far as I interpret things: There is enhance with jumping which allows you to land coordinatedly. While if move would be used on oneself you COULD theoretically gain the same effect....only that you and the target location get damaged as its just a throw in essence.

The question would be: Would a usage to throw myself and possibly save myself that way from a long fall downwards be according to the rules (including myself getting damaged by hitting the target location according to my own shilouette...thus usually 10 points of damage - soak)? Or is this against the rules?

Answer 1

Move, as written, does not discuss using the power on oneself. It is written from the point-of-view of affecting increasingly larger objects, in increasing numbers, with increasing dexterity, at increasing distances.

The key points in the write-up seem to be the Silhouette of the object, and the Range from the user. Silhouette begins at 0 (smaller than a person) and Range begins at Short.

None of this encourages nor prohibits the use of Move to affect oneself.

Flight and Levitation have appeared to varying degrees within the Expanded Universe/Legends, but do not appear per se (at least not that obviously) within the films. There are reasonable arguments, based solely on observation of a character's movement, for either the ability to or the lack of an ability to affect oneself with Move.

• Luke Skywalker falling after his confrontation with Darth Vader in Cloud City. Is this a use of Move, or is this a function of the shaft itself?
• Kenobi in The Phantom Menace rising up out of the shaft and over Darth Maul. Is this Enhance, or is this Move?
• Kenobi in Attack of the Clones swinging to safety on a cable after fighting with Jango Fett. Is this Enhance, or is it Move?

With no confirmation or refutation in the core rules regarding this, it falls to the GM and group to decide if this is something they wish to use the power to do.

The Force Powers and Narrative sidebar in Chapter 8: The Force, encourages a group to allow for creativity within the scope of the Powers as they are defined, providing that use supports and enhances play, without becoming a source of abuse.

If the group is uncomfortable or dissatisfied with the imagery and idea of a Force User manipulating their own form with Move, they do not need to allow it. Neither do they need to prohibit it because it is not specifically mentioned. It is up to them.

In the given example of falling a long distance, such as down a shaft or from a window, the Force User would not need to 'throw' themselves, but rather attempt to close the range between themselves and something to grab on to. In essence, as they are not grounded, they are pulling on the object without the Control Upgrade to remove it from its mounting, and so are drawn toward it instead of it toward them.

Falling rules would still apply, possibly mitigated by making an Athletics or Coordination check (Chapter 6: Conflict and Combat, Environmental Effects section, Falling). Making such a check well, perhaps with significant Advantage or Triumph, could influence how the scene is narrated, making room for a feature of the environment which enables the Force Sensitive to break their fall more safely.

Answer 2

I must admit I'm not familiar with the SW rules themselves, but my view of the physics behind it would be one of a few options depending on how Force Move works.

1. If Force Move creates force (in the physics sense) with a corresponding backwards force (i.e. when you push against something, it pushes back against you just as hard), then as long as there's something big enough that it doesn't move at all when the user pushes it with Force Move, then the user should be pushed back themselves. This would be true in any situation; using Force Move against an extremely solid and heavy bulwark would cause the user to slide backwards along the floor

2. If Force Move creates force 'magically', with no corresponding backwards force, then option 1 won't work. However, if the laws of physics don't apply to Force Move in this sense, then there shouldn't be a reason why the user can't just generate (in the magical sense) a force that moves themselves rather than some other object (worst case scenario move the clothes you're wearing / equipment you're holding on to)

Given this is a bit of a kludge move compared to enhance, I'd assume the requirements for successfully doing this would be a fair bit higher, and there'd also likely be some damage to the user.

In your example of a long fall down, think about what happens if an elevator hits the floor with you in it - even if you jump at just the right moment, that's not enough force to offset the crushing elevator. Depending on the strength of the user they might be able to do it - but it would be a bit like getting crushed from the top and bottom.

Answer 3

So I looked at the rules for Force Move, and I couldn't see anything wrong with taking that particular action. However that spell used on yourself could be broken within the game, so there will probably be some backlash from the GM and/or the GM ruling that action against you, like having your character be magically exsausted or unfocused, which is fine. If you don't have any reason to prevent that action being taken, by all means go for it. Just make sure you don't break your knees when you land, mages aren't known for their agility.