Shien – Rebounding Defense
Lightsaber FormUniversal- Cost
- 2 FP
- Activation
- Reaction
- Range
- Varies
- Recommended Lv
- Lv 10+
Effect
When you successfully Deflect a ranged energy attack, you may enhance the redirection with precise Shien technique as part of the same reaction. Choose one of the following benefits: • (1) Increase the redirected attack's range to 60 ft and ignore half-cover when choosing your target; • (2) Make the redirected attack with Advantage; • (3) After making the redirected attack, you may immediately redirect a second beam toward a different target within 30 ft — this second redirection uses the same attack roll but deals half damage. Shien does not reduce the cumulative penalty to Deflect checks and may only be used once per reaction.
At the Table
A Knight pinned behind a crate by two battle droids snaps her blade up and Deflects the first bolt — then spends 2 FP to enhance the redirect with Shien (it's a Reaction, on top of the Deflect itself). She picks option 3: her redirected beam drops the lead droid, then immediately rebounds off her blade to a second droid within 30 ft, using the same attack roll for half damage. Two bolts fired, two droids smoking — and since this is a Reaction, her turn is still hers. (Remember: at LVL 10+ only, and it can't ease that stacking penalty on the Deflect checks.)
In the Lore
Shien is a defensive expression of Form V, the aggressive counterattack philosophy of lightsaber combat developed by Form III (Soresu) practitioners who wanted to answer a blaster bolt with more than patience — turning a deflected shot back on the shooter. In Legends, Form V splits into the blaster-redirecting Shien variant and the blade-dueling Djem So, and its "strength defeats strength" ethos is most associated with Anakin Skywalker. The form's signature reversed grip is famously Ahsoka Tano's, who wields her blades in the Shien hold across The Clone Wars. Because it favors overwhelming an opponent rather than out-waiting one, Form V tends to draw Jedi toward boldness and aggression — a tension the order long debated.