The choice to swap out the dice is made before the roll. No one disputes that. However, even the wording of the talent says that the additional Successes or Advantages to the result. The result isn’t determined until after the roll. So you remove the dice before the roll then add your choice of symbols (in any combination) to the result after the roll. This is because you need to know the result to know what symbols to add based upon what you need. Every talent which adds additional Successes or Advantages ( regardless of where they come from) add them to the result of a roll, they don’t get added before the roll. You choose to swap out the Boost dice before the roll, you choose what combination of Success and Advantage symbols you want to add to the result after the roll.

I will when I have access to my books. I’m at work.

You choose whether to swap out the dice before the roll. You choose what symbol you want after the roll. Otherwise you might choose the wrong symbol. The point of talents like this is to choose the symbol you need most rather than relying upon luck. Clanker Killer isn’t the only talent that allows you to swap out Boost dice for a choice between Successes or Advantages, there are others. All work on the same premise. You choose to swap the dice first, roll, then make the choice to add Successes or Advantage depending upon what’s most useful as a result of the roll. So, for example, I choose to swap out boost dice on a given check, for the symbol of my choice, then I roll. If the roll comes up with net Successes but one or more net Threats, I can choose to add Advantages to counter those Threats, or, if I need Successess in order to succeed, but have plenty of Advantages, I can add Successes. That is what makes these talents useful. By contrast, if I had to choose between Successes or Advantages first, I could end up with no Advantages to counter any rolled Threats, or not enough Successes to succeed, but an excess of Advantages. The point of these talents is to allow you to choose the symbols you need when you need it. It’s the precedent for all talents which allow you To swap dice for Successes or Advantages. That is what makes them useful. It is the ability to choose Successes or Advantages depending upon what you need rather than relying upon luck. If you’re forced to choose between the Successes or Advantages before rolling, only to not need what you chose, then those symbols are essentially wasted. Force talents spend LSPs or DSPs on Successes or Advantages. Other talents swap out dice. In every case the choice between added Successes or added Advantages takes place after the roll but before effects are applied, but the choice to swap out Boost dice takes place before the dice are rolled.

Every talent or Force power which adds Successes or Advantages applies them after the roll. That is the precedent. No talent requires you to choose between added Successes or added Advantages before rolling. You do have to chose to swap the dice first however. The reason for this is simple: if your base roll has no net Successes, or has net failures, you can add Successes to the roll in order to succeed at the task. If the base roll is already successful, you can instead add Advantages to the roll to get narrative boons. That is the whole point of talents like this.

That’s because it is. Atin packs already have a built in limiter: diminishing returns on repeated uses within any given day.

Exactly.

It should also be noted that the quote from ESB, which the OP referred to does not say that a small ship can’t have a cloaking device. The quote by Captain Needa was, “They can’t have disappeared! No ship that small has a cloaking device!” That does not mean that they can’t. It’s just prohibitively expensive to do so.

It’s a really good skill because it does cover all forms of perception. You perceive subtle changes in a person’s mannerisms, facial expressions, body language, etc. this is no different than perceiving a subtle clue in your surroundings, such as a faint footprint in the dirt. So, I’m not implying that Perception should still be used for active insight into people’s moods. I’m flat out saying it. Perception is the ideal skill for that purpose.

You have heard of “human perception”?

You can add all of them provided you succeed at the Mechanics checks required for each.

Yes, that is the rule. Each mod adds to the existing mods, it doesn’t replace them. Mods which can be installed multiple times increase the bonus granted by one for each additional time that mod is installed in the attachment. So, for example, the Mephite crystal has three +1 to damage mods. If you install all three of them the weapon’s damage is increased by +3. The rules for modding attachments are on page 192 of the F&D CRB.

The only difference between the utility belt and the weapon sling attachment, aside from the sling being attached to the weapon, is that the utility belt adds to the character’s Encumbrance threshold whereas the weapon sling attachment reduces the encumbrance of the weapon itself. Secondly, the utility belt explicitly states that it also covers gun belts and many include integral holsters. A weapon sling also does not cover a full harness, often required for larger weapons, a “utility belt” can cover that, though it better falls under the LBE (Load Bearing Equipment). This is because the harness is worn, and then the weapon is attached to it (not it attached to the weapon) and it is not slung over one shoulder. Utility belts also include bandoliers. Once again, you could clip the weapon to a bandolier in order to help reduce the load of carrying it. These pieces of gear increase a character’s encumbrance threshold because they allow the character to attach or store the items to their person in such a way that the items weight and mass is redistributed in such a manner that it becomes easier to carry.

Not really. As I said above. The utility belt also covers a sling or other weight bearing harness which takes some of the load from the weapon it’s attached to when slung over the shoulder, which would be necessary when firing an LRB.

Yes, because the utility belt is covering for the encumbrance of the other gear being carried. It also covers the sling/harness which the blaster is suspended from.

A utility belt won’t since it only increases a person’s encumbrance threshold by one. A light repeating blaster has a much higher encumbrance than one.

Except that’s pretty much already covered in how the RAW handles it with how much the pack, LBE, or Utility belt adds to your encumbrance threshold.

The problem is that by your house rule, the ease with which a soldier wearing a ruck sack and all his great would become heavily encumbered. Your rule complicates things way more than necessary. Also remember that modern ruck sacks and Expanded LBEs are designed with multiple attachment points with which to attach even more gear to the outside of the pack, without increasing the encumbrance of the pack much, if at all. This includes significantly larger items which could never fit inside the pack proper.

I was in the army and I disagree with your assessment. When properly worn, a fully loaded rucksack is relatively easy to carry we used to march over ten kilometers with a 40+ pound ruck sack on our backs. It did not slow us down. Infantry Soldiers often fight with that much or more gear on, with very little negative effect. That is what the LBE and ruck sack are designed to do, make it easy to carry a lot of gear. Every day I wear a pack loaded with over 20 pounds of books, and ride a bike over 15 miles a day round trip with it on my back, with little to no negative effect. I agree with Elias, this is unnecessary and overly complicated for this system.

There are two options. The first is to spend twenty of your starting XP on Nightsister as a second specialization. The second is to wait until you have earned twenty XP during game play (likely after one or two sessions, depending upon how stingy the GM chooses to be) and buy the spec as a second spec. You cannot start with it as your primary spec. You can buy it with starting XP but at the cost of raising an attribute. Those are your options.

The only issue there is that, by RAW, any individual Minion group must consist of like members. In other words, they must all have the same stats, the same specific species or droid type, the same weapon loadout, etc. they have to be identical. A Minion group cannot be a “ mixed group”.

Hey! I resemble that remark! 😝

And many of us feel you aren’t putting nearly enough emphasis on who the instigating party is. Who the acting party is is of vital importance.

Exactly.

Yes, it would. All ships have a transponder code which is constantly broadcast. This provides all pertinent information on the ship, including name, make, model, serial/ship identification number, owner, and the like.

Yes. It’s a proper name. Always capitalize a proper name.