Revised Threat Generation Process

Okay, this should be my last post on this topic for some time. I've given the matter some careful thought and revised some of the values. The updated process for generating a Threat is given below. Since it's too long to re-read the whole thing, I'll note that the changes are to points 2, 3, 4, and 7, and mostly involve just small tweaks to the numbers - only the attack mode modifiers (#2) and the hit points (#7) have had a significant change made.

Last night I revised the stat-blocks that I had already generated and then compared my go-to Threat (the vanilla Stormtrooper) with the version from the SWSE core rulebook. The result was close enough for me to be happy with. So hopefully this is good to go...

1. Choose the threat's level, role, type, and dominant attack.
2. Determine the creature's attack mode modifiers. These are (4 + level)/8 for the two non-dominant attacks and (16 + level)/8 for the dominant attack. Round all fractions down.
3. Assign Defences. Ref is 10 + level + Ranged modifier. Fort is 10 + level + Melee modifier. Will is 10 + level + Force modifier. If the threat is a Soldier, add +2 to Ref; if a Brute or Artillery then subtract 2 from Ref. At this point, you may wish to add points to one defence and subtract them from another on a 1-for-1 basis. It is recommended that you add or subtract no more than 2 points to any single defence, and that you do so to increase the disparity between best and worst defences rather than equalise them. The threat's Damage Threshold equals its Fort defence.
4. Determine hit bonuses. There is one of these for each attack mode, equal to 4 + level + the appropriate modifier. For Artillery, increase the Ranged hit bonus by +1.
5. Determine the damage for attacks. The base average damage should be 8 + level. This should be increased by +25% for a single-use effect, increased by +25% if the threat is a Brute, decreased by -25% if the attack affects multiple targets, decreased by -25% if the attack also drives the target down the condition track, and reduced by -50% for a minion. For all creatures except minions, this should then be converted into a dice range + modifier. For example, if the base average damage is 10, this could become 1d8+6. (Note that, when counting dice ranges, any leftover fractions should be assume to round down.)
6. From the hit bonuses and base damage values, assign some specific attacks. Most creatures should have at least one 'standard' attack, and probably at least one special attack, probably a per-encounter attack.
7. Determine hit points. Minions have 1 hit point, but don't take damage on a miss. Otherwise, the base hit points are 20 + (5 * level). For Brutes, increase this by 25%; for Artillery or Lurkers, reduce it by 25%. Elites have double hit points; Solos have quadruple hit points. Finally, round all fractions down.
8. Determine Initiative. This is (level / 2) + Ranged bonus. Increase by +2 for Soldiers or Skirmishers, or by +4 for Lurkers.
9. Determine Perception. This is (level / 2) + Force bonus. If appropriate, assign low-light or darkvision to the threat.
10. Assign a skills bonus. This should equal (level/2) + 2. Note that Initiative and Perception are skills, but are handled separately, as indicated above. Note also that the Use the Force skill does not affect the threat's Force-based attacks, if any.
11. At this point, you may wish to assign a few trained skills to the threat. In most cases, this shouldn't need to be done. However, if the threat is particularly noted for some skill, this should be done. It should also probably be done for solo and elite creatures. For trained skills, add +5 to the bonus for those skills. For elite threats, you may wish to assign a skill focus, increasing a single skill by a further +5 (over and above the 'trained' bonus). For solo threats, you may wish to add two different skill focuses. You may wish to increase Initiative and/or Perception in any of these stages; if so, increase the appropriate modifier.
12. At this point, all the cold, numeric data has been determined for the threat. You should now look to flesh the threat out to make it more interesting. This may involve adding one or more special powers to the creature. Minions should usually have a single special power related to its role. Otherwise, Brutes and Artillery should have 0-1 powers, Soldiers and Skirmishers should have 1-2 powers, and Lurkers and Controllers should have 2-3 powers. Leaders should have one extra power, Elites should have one extra power, and Solos should have two extra powers. (Thus, a Solo Controller Leader could have as many as 6 powers!)
13. Assign equipment, descriptive text, or similar to the creature.