Come here to chat about all things FFG Star Wars!

So what do folks think of the FFG version of Star Wars compared to the others, WEG's version for example?

I like both versions a lot better than d20 but for different reasons.

d6 star wars had more crunch and I think it made the Force a lot more versatile and "magical" however I really like FFG's system.

The dice pool instead of having static bonuses makes every roll a bit of a risk, the margins of success gives the GM a lot of nuance when it comes to interpreting results and the system allows for both very specialized characters while not forcing characters to be completely useless in every other scenario.

Finally the product is just leagues above WEG in terms of quality. FFG is definitely investing money in the product while the WEG stuff was pretty cheaply made and didn't have the best editorial staff or publishing behind it.

THAT BEING SAID

WEG did an amazing job of expanding the lore of Star Wars. Between the magazines and their products it revealed all sorts of new areas and species and events. I really enjoyed how books like the Tramp Freighter introduced a whole fleshed out pocket area that you could campaign in.

FFG stuff is fine but in terms of *new* content it's kind of lacking. Mostly it's just rehashing existing stuff which is expected as Star Wars wasn't 40+ years old when it came out so there was a lot more room to do new and different things with it.

I think the perfect union would be using FFG's crunch and bringing WEG's lore into the mainstream.

welp...this might explain why it feels so hard to get an FFG game going here. I had always figured that the new star wars game, especially one as well made as FFG's, would be a big hit on here but compared to D&D or even M&M there doesn't seem to be a lot of interested people...

Yeah.  I rarely see SWFFG games posted.  And I see the same 3 d20/saga games posted a lot, but rarely new SW games in general.  Still, it could be worse.  You could be looking for Shadowrun.

I have found that “planning” games like Shadowrun have a bad track record on PbP. i think the issue is “planning”. A game that is reactionary where the players just react to whatever the GM throws at them is great but as soon as the players have to get proactive everyone goes quiet and drops.

I tried running some awhile ago and eventually vowed never again because without fail I as soon as I presented a mission they would go silent. I would ask them “hey what kind of info do you want to dig up” and just get silence. Finally I would say ‘here is a plan” and they would just accept it like it was the only option.

By then half the players had dropped anyway so I just would pull the plug. Then a couple years later and a new edition rolled out and it was the same story again.

I haven't been in enough to see that happen.  I was in one where the GM was doing a "stable" approach.  He had about 2 dozen players and would assign them on different missions (with their input).  He listed like 6 missions, the players would choose the three they were interested in, and then he'd build teams.  It seemed like it was working okay. I joined kinda late though and the GM lost interest just as the real action was about to start on my first run.  I think I have an idea what the boys mean by blue-balls now. :p

Moving back to SW though, I wonder if the reason the FFG edition isn't as popular is that it is already a little more free-form than the crunchier d20 editions and at that point, somebody wouldn't want to just go all the way?

I sometimes wonder if its because FFG doesn’t do digital products...

The biggest thing I like about the FFG system is that it's a narrative approach with a lot of options and flexibility, yet it still has enough structure to be accessible to people who are used to more "traditional" or numbers-based systems.

I also like that the dice system divorces luck from success. In other systems, I tend to determine results based on how far the roll is from whatever the target is; a really close roll might mean that the hit landed but almost didn't, and a larger difference might mean that they bargained successfully for a sword that the shopkeeper didn't know was enchanted. I haven't played any other systems where there's a defined way to succeed at picking a lock and still find a monster behind the door. (GM fiat, on the other hand . . . )

The last SW game I ran, I had a bunch of players who were coming from GURPS and D&D. They wanted to try something more narrative and cinematic, but (except for the one professional author) weren't enthused about more open-ended things like FATE. They liked that the FFG system let them create distinct characters and specialize or not as they wanted, but also had a pre-determined list of skills and powers so they didn't have to create and define their own. They were skeptical about the pass/fail with extras mechanic, but ended up thinking it worked well to reflect the vagaries of luck. (Fate, the Force, whatever.) You can do that in the d20 or d6 versions, but it requires a lot more work from the GM especially when it's not directly related to the pass/fail.

And as the GM, I really appreciated the included suggestion tables for how to use the luck results. I generally gave the players the option to decide what they meant, but starting off they (except the author) weren't comfortable doing that so I did instead. A few sessions in they were making most of the decisions, some sticking to the table options and some coming up with their own.

I still prefer systemless games, but I like FFGs system enough that if I was going to run something with one, I'd take the trouble of adapting it to whatever setting. As a player I don't mind rule- and number-heavy systems, but I won't run them anymore. Even with electronic aids, I can only keep track of so much. :)

I could probably be persuaded to resurrect my tramp freighter game if there is any interest in it. I was thinking about basically doing an updated version of the Dawn of Defiance d20 campaign or maybe just run a published module.

I’ve tried it in the past though and it just feels like if I am not leading people by the noses everyone goes silent and the game just dies a slow death.

I joined a SW F&D game that immediately died and there were two really active players having fun in the chat so I thought “hey, why not put up a game for just them?” They were super active, multiple posts a day for weeks on an obviously dead game so I figured it was a slam dunk.

Nope.

One player didn’t even make it past charadcter creation stages and the other seemed super eager up until there was a first real challenge to the character, not even a dice based one but a moral quandry) and then they just dropped without a line.

At this point I’m pretty busy with games so I would need to know that players are going to put some effort into moving the game forward. Hmmm...maybe that is something I should take to the community chat...

They sort of do. There’s a combined dice app for all their SW games on iOS and Android ($5, I think), and PDF versions of all the books. They also have companion apps for some of their board games. All of the other digital resources like character or reference sheets that I know of are fan-made, though.

I don’t know if the apps are any good; I use either the roller here or Dicenomicon. For character sheets, I like swsheets.com.

ETA: I’d do a tramp freighter game. :) I can be slow, though, usually just one IC post a day. It takes me a while to get my words in the right order.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Sun 28 July 2019.

I'll keep that in mind. I need to get a grasp on a new job and keep my current games going.


Flipping through things like GenCon I realize perhaps Star Wars is fading a bit. In my opinion it's now been almost 40 years since a good one was made. The sequel batch of movies are all garbage (but surprisingly for completely different reasons) and while the cartoons are good they're not spectacular and just aren't embedding itself into the zeitgeist of society like superhero movies have thanks to Marvel.

Every other show on television is a DC or Marvel comic come to life and Marvel has like 5 of the top 10 grossing movies of all time. But Star Wars? It is hitting big box office but I'm just not seeing the ripple effect. They're popcorn movies, fire and forget which is a shame because FFG is doing FAN-TASTIC things with the license.

X-Wing miniatures is phenomenal and one of my favorite miniture games of all time because it relies so much more on skill than "pay-to-win".

When I went to a World Tournament one of the top players was just flying 6 basic TIEs but he flew them with such precision they were ALWAYS where they needed to be to just mass fire and demolish his opponents one ship at a time. Oh the new and pricey ships are neat and fun but that game is so much skill and luck of the dice more so than "can you afford all the elite premium ships" to win.

I love the Star Wars FFG is presenting. Again when you look at equipment while the priceir stuff gives you neat options even your basic stuff is deadly in the right hands and your characters start off being perfectly capable of handling most situations.

I recently picked up their Outer Rim game and it is basically the Firefly Boardgame streamlined with a slick Star Wars Edge of the Empire feel to it.

And yet it is getting harder and harder to feel that spark and passion for the franchise like I could 10 years ago. Even though the prequels weren't great movies they were at least Star Wars movies. Except fo a couple of minor nit picky bone head things like midochlorians it didn't ravage star wars too badly but this newest batch. Luke being a jerk, Hyperspace is now a weapon of mass destruction...I just can't handle it anymore :P

Anyhoo sorry about the rant. Not my intention but just airing out some grieveances I guess...

In reply to praguepride (msg # 12):

I've entirely written off the latest movies other than Rogue One for all of the same reasons.

I'm looking for a F&D game to play in but it doesnt seem like their popping up too often. lol
Anybody up for Gming one?

Hi,  Is there a good YouTube video of an actual play or something that shows the dice system clearly?  I have dropped out of a game because nobody was helping me out and I couldn’t adequately figure it out.

For Force & Destiny on the FFG forum there has been a lot of talk recently about the best build being to take the Padawan and spend the points to drill straight to Force +1 then jump to the Knight template after.

What are the best builds for F & D that you’ve done so far?

This means that a GM should really do up a campaign pitch sheet and list the careers and specializations that are available. The Jedi Padawan and Knight specs are meant for the Clone Wars era, but in a Rebellion era game I'd never allow them to start. The same goes for Force Sensitive Outcast - that universal spec is meant to model the Asajj Ventriss' of the Clone Wars and earlier eras. Mechanically, yes, Jedi Padawan to Jedi Knight is optimal, but that's the point - the Jedi of old were powerful and strong.

Using the case of Luke Skywalker, I'd say that he started as Hotshot (in AOR) or maybe a Starfighter Ace (in F&D) with Force Sensitive Emergent to model someone with bunches of potential as a Force user but untrained. When he meets Obi-Wan he picks up the Lightsaber skill but doesn't swap into Padawan yet - he knew Ben a few days at most. So, with maybe just Sense and a few Force talents he putters along in his pilot spec until Empire, when he gets to Dagobah. Training with Yoda lets him spend that pile of XP he's been sitting on. He gets to the middle of Padawan, picks up +1 FR from that and from Force Emergent, and then meets Vader and gets his ass whupped. After losing a hand and surviving Bespin, Yoda acknowledges that he has no more to teach - it's here that Luke moves into Jedi Knight.

If the three original movies were a combined AOR/F&D game, the GM would have had entire control over when Luke gets to move into new specs. GMs, don't be afraid to exercise your authority. Force training to Force Sensitives is like credits to Smugglers - be sparing with it.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:04, Sun 11 Aug 2019.

As for "best builds", make sure that you and your GM are playing the same game. Lots of GMS don't like Force Users, because the Force tends to take over games that originally start as smuggler or X-Wing pilot joints. You'll just frustrate yourself and your GM if you want to play a Saber jockey and he wants to run a game about smugglers or rebel commandos.

That said, if the GM is running a F&D game which will eventually focus on the Force, or an AOR game that has a role for a Luke type, a great way to signal to the GM that you want to play a Jedi-Esque role is to take Niman Disciple or Ataru Striker. Combat wise, Ataru Striker is really strong and lets you fly through the air and fight in very cool ways. Pick up that, grab Force Emergent for a route to the almighty +1 Force rating, and get basic in a few Force powers, and you're on your way to being like Rey from The Force Awakens. I like Niman Disciple because it gives Parry, Reflect and has a +1 Force rating at the end of the tree.

If you want more routes to additional Force rating, see if the GM will let you take one of the other F&D specs. I like Starfighter Ace because it does most of what the AOR Ace spec does, plus some cool talents and a +1 FR at the end of the tree.

Of course, if through RP you get a chance to grab Jedi Padawan or Padawan Survivor - DO IT. Both specs give parry, reflect, +1 FRs and Temple Training, which helps you mod your Lightsaber.

Thanks Coridan. This is definitely some great food for thought. I will look through and consider.
Any feedback on clips for demonstration of dice pools and how to do that?

Send me a PM. I run a game on thursdays EST on Discord and you can watch it in action!

In reply to Jack Starkiller (msg # 15):

I haven’t played much F&D, so I don’t have any input there.

For the dice, it’s pretty simple once you start recognizing the symbols instead of needing to look them up. With the game I ran, though, I just suggested people use a roller that would do the counting and canceling-out for them. I stopped using physical dice after having a baby. :) I made a custom set for Dicenomicon when EotE first came out, but since then other people have put up some nice online ones. I like the one at https://rpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com/ if you don’t want to buy FFG’s app.

Hello all,

New to this community and looking forward to discussion here.

Venting - I just left a FFG game because a player character was torturing people for information. IMO, Imperials do torturing, not rebel heroes. I wish we had a session zero so that I'd know about this scumbag villain character. He whined about me shaming him, and I told him consequences for bad actions exist, and this isn't what I'd pay $15 to see on the screen.

Have you folks ever run into this at your tables?

In reply to Coridan (msg # 22):

Not sure how familiar with the extended universe you are. I would just like to point out a few things. Saw Gerrera and the Partisans would have no issue Torturing people for information, SPOILER ABOUT STAR WARS COMIC BOOK

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
In STAR WARS Issues 62 through 66 of the new cannon comics, the Partisians get into a fight with Luke because they are attempting to destroy an entire imperial world in retribution for Jedha

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Also in the movies, SPOILER FOR ROGUE ONE MOVIE

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Cassian Andor out right murdered fellow rebel Tivik to prevent the possibility of him being captured.

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Players have a different opinion of what Star Wars is, they have a different opinion of what heroes are.

People in game and out have a different opinion of what rebellion means. To the empire the rebels are a group of terrorists who murdered several thousand people when they destroyed the death star, The rebellion sees themselves as freedom fighters who will sacrifice much to shuck the yolk of fascism and create a free galaxy. Some are just more willing to cross the line to accomplish their goals
This message was lightly edited by the player at 05:29, Wed 14 Aug 2019.

@Coridan were you the GM or another player?

So I've run "antihero" games and as mentioned Rogue One touches on the fact that sometimes the rebels have to do less-than-heoric things. And that's not even getting into the EU where there are heroic Imperials and evil-as-can-be Rebels.

BUUUUT overall I agree with you. Star Wars has a pretty simple morality system and even the morally ambiguous characters like Lando and Han are good guys, just bad boys if you get my meaning.

If I was the GM and I didn't want my game to go down that route I would just put a stop to it via OOC. I don't necessarily like punishing players in-game for stuff like that. I know some people say "well run with it and make them villains and kick them out of the rebels etc." but I don't like that kind of switch without warning the players.

So, again if it was my game, and someone wants to start torturing them I would stop the session, tell them clearly that A) I don't want to run PCs like that in my game and B) that action would not be acceptable with their rebel allies.

If they insist and make a big stink out of it then I'll say they torture them, get the info they want but are branded a war criminal and I'll be converting the PC into an NPC to run as a villain. They can then roll up a new character who's morality fits better with the rest of the party.

I have played in games where one murder hobo not giving a shit has derailed the entire game and it was miserable for everyone involved. The murder hobo spent the whole time arguing with the GM, the GM kept throwing stuff at us that we didn't want to fight because murder hobo kept murder hoboing and the entire campaign ended because nobody was having fun. I wish the GM had been stronger and just been like "the guards find your character and kill him. Roll up a new character who isn't chaotic evil arsonist or find another group to play with".

As long as there is a session zero where expectations are determined, then I'm fine with it. But my default is what would appear on a Disney screen. For example, Rogue One kind of tells you what you're getting into. Here, I was blindsided. We didn't do a session zero so I took a hard pass. I really don't like torture in RPGs, period, and I could have negotiated on the point, but the horse had left the barn, so to speak.

Right on. There are points where I've stopped play and we've worked things out.

I was a player here, BTW.

Don't normally charge $15 to play a game. Actually, I've never seen this.

The live groups that I've been in have discussed things like tone and expectations beforehand, and I tend to join onlines where character creation is a group activity. There's been the occasional instance, not exclusive to SW, where the group has decided to take a breather and do a oneshot where everyone's a murderhobo or munchkin, but I've never had one crop up in regular games that I recall.

I have seen them fairly regularly in convention games, though, especially when the GM hasn't specifically forbidden them in the schedule desc or at session start. Most times, it's been solved by direct intervention or player consensus.

In reply to borderline_dnd (msg # 27):

I got the impression Coridan was referring to the cost of a movie ticket. As in "I would never pay $15 to see "Heroes" torture people" which is fair.  If I am wrong they can correct me.

Also, I have never seen a G.M. Charge $15 per person to play in their games BUT I do know of of some that host games at FLGS that will charge $5 for a spot at the table. I have also seen it in online games where well known (read:Really experienced) G.M.s will charge $5 for a spot in their game. This is basically to avoid people who have no intention of actually playing sign up taking a spot from someone who actually wants to play.

Side note, The G.M. I know at the FLGS usually uses the money to buy a pizza and some pop during the game. he takes home like $10 for his time and everyone usually leaves happy and full.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:05, Fri 16 Aug 2019.

A buddy of mine is a “paid” GM getting like $10 a week a head. He easily spend 10+ hours prepping and treats it like a job so I don’t have issues with it if he wants to charge.

That could definitely work, in your case it does. It could setup a style of roleplay for both GM and PCs.

Hey all! Avid SWF:FFG fan here and amateur GM. I say amateur because I have never ran a campaign in PBP format, but did run a two year long campaign in EotE with a group of seven players. That game was pretty sandboxy and grand on plots, we met about once a week or every other week and did six hour sessions. So, maybe I'm not an amateur. Anyways, I am looking to see if I can pique some interest on a couple of game ideas I have wanted to spring on people for awhile now. I think that I will post my hook or opening crawl in the Wanted section of this group. I don't want to start diverting a lot of focus to setup for this unless I can get some good commitment, so please let me know what you think or if you want in. I plan on giving players from here first priority when I officially post it as rpol advertisement.

So a game focusing on the little people, as it were? I could get into that. I'm assuming folks wouldn't be able to play Jedi or Sith-- what about Force-sensitives?

Nope, everybody would start as small fries. Smuggler that never broke a blockade. Diplomat that never got out from behind the desk. Thug that never did anything but be a bouncer. I want to have a huge game on character development, mostly because of twists I have planned. No Force classes, not even the exile/sensitive/emergent. I have big plans to take this game and make a story that grows based on character choice, this means rewards based on roleplay. Or consequences.

Examples of my style of GM: My longest campaign involved the PC group staging a coup on a space station and ousting the administrator in charge. Then most missions thereafter were about building up this base of operations and running their own smugggling/crime ring from it, while dealing with trade from Imperials. One encounter involved their Jawa Mechanic rolling a stun grenade around a corner between unsuspecting troopers. His roll was kinda silly, he failed but with an insane amount of advantage. The result was the grenade was undetected, but inert. Essentially he forgot to arm it. So instead of ignoring it, he RP'ed hard. His little Jawa buddy ran up and slid between the legs of a trooper to manually detonate it while screaming "Utini!" So the rest of that encounter the Aqualish Thug was stuck carrying around an unconscious Jawa.

Another: Swoop race at the end of a particularly difficult story arc. The swoop race was mayhem, a brawl ensued in the observer booth, one PC gambled away all the party's creds and ship, the racer rolled 2 Triumphs and 2 Despairs for the final stretch. Result: He won, but lost both of his legs in a crash that skirted him across the line. BUT, his buddy that gambled had one a favor from a patron that covered all medical costs for him to get cybernetic legs and then incurred some substantial Obligation to pay off.

I am all about story development and characters. I have my own plot goals, but those don't take precedence over the narrative that we work out together. I  have plenty of other awesome examples from my past games.

Sounds pretty cool.  I'm definitely interested.

In reply to armlessbaby (msg # 34):

That sounds like fun. I'd likely be down for joining a game like that depending on the system you're using.

It would definitely be set in SW:FFG. I like to run my campaigns in evolving arcs. So it would start in just Edge of the Empire careers and specializations, and then maybe roll into Age of Rebellion or Force and Destiny with players using a modified version of the knight-level XP rules.

In reply to armlessbaby (msg # 37):

Sounds pretty awesome to me as well. I would not mind applying for a slot in your game if it's going to be a thing.

Seems like there's a whole group just in this community for you. :)

In reply to Roir (msg # 39):

Sounds great for me. I am going to iron out some of the starting points and I will get out an advertisement for you guys in the next couple days. Keep your peepers peeled.

Hey all! Game is made and requesting players. Please let me know if I messed anything up! I am still new to the forum thing and can't tell if I did the advertisement and RTJ right.

link to another game

EDIT: I can't get hyperlink format to work correctly...
This message was last edited by the player at 03:30, Thu 29 Aug 2019.

Hmm, the auto-linking doesn't seem to be working for me either. I saw another post earlier with unlinked urls, too; must be a site issue. I don't believe a regular <a> tag will work if you're not a GM.

Is it Shattered Lines? I couldn't cut-and-paste from mobile, but I found it by searching for "armless" in the Browse/Search Games options. On my stickylist now, have to think up a character.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:12, Sat 31 Aug 2019.

In reply to seraphmoon (msg # 42):

Correct. Title is "Shattered Lines"

Hoping to have some good apps to read this weekend.

I believe the problem is that you are trying to link to the other rpol site.

He's new. I don't think he knows of the original.

Try this: link to another game

Nope checking on the other site doesn't show the link properly.
But I would suspect that if you link it from the original site, it would work.

In reply to borderline_dnd (msg # 46):

I tried to use the URL. I tried using <a href> formatting. Nothing.

Also, when you go to the advertisement or game description. Does it show my Shattered Lines intro and then the part about Corellia?
This message was last edited by the player at 10:55, Thu 29 Aug 2019.

In reply to armlessbaby (msg # 47):

The autolink works if you're on rpol.net-- looks like it's just r.rpol.net that's broken. Definitely worth a post in the Dev forum about.

Think I'm going to go with a Twi'lek gun bunny. Will start working up a background when I'm done putting my computer back together; if I had to do it on mobile, I'd miss the deadline. :)

Made an educated fool with a scalpel in his hand.

In reply to armlessbaby (msg # 47):

It's good to hear that you others have ideas for characters already in armlessbaby's game. I had several initially, but knowing what others are interested in will help me narrow down my own.

I'm also keeping a running table tracker with characters that have applied so that everyone is aware. It's in one of the notice topics.

I popped in a Twi'lek, explorer/trader. I want to play him as a kind of damaged/haunted face. I see him as having a real talent in social situations but the reality is he hates them. Like in public he is all smiles and handshakes but in private he is brooding and depressed.

It all stems from his back story. The way I see the story in my head, it is easy for any of the players to find out what is wrong with him. It should also help the GM with positive and negative interaction modifiers, depending if A) the person I am speaking to knows about the situation. B) If they feel sorry for me. C) They think I am a heartless monster.

OK. If you're going to go with a face, that helps narrows it down for me. :) I was looking at Gambler, Politico, and Performer, all with a side of Gunslinger, in large part because I've never played with those specs before. Politico's definitely a face spec and Performer leans that way pretty strongly, so I'll save those for another character. :) I've got to spend this weekend in my yard so the city doesn't fine me, but I'll start playing around with a Gambler/Gunslinger build when that's done.

Hey All! I just wanted to say thanks for all the support thus far, it has been awesome. I just hope I can raise awareness to the SWFFG games and really bring it to life in my own. If it takes off like I want then you all, as a community, can come to expect some more games from me to start opening. I currently have interest from about 10 rpol users, so that's really cool for me as a first time GM. You guys are great! I don't think this website does any award system like mythweavers and others, but with the cast this might have we'd be in the running. ;)

Can't wait to see if more people pop in for an application. Might make me open a second game sooner.

Hi all, just wanted to pop into the Community Chat to say hey.

I may already know some of you from WEG Star Wars D6 games on RPOL over the last couple of years.

Still getting the hang of FFG (am a player in an ongoing CW-era game that is my first with the system), but SW (both new canon *and* old) is my jam.

Glad to be here, and looking forward to gaming w/ ya.

I have to say I really want to run a SW game but I've had nothing but poor luck getting a game off the ground. Inevitably half the players seem to drop. It's hard not to take it personally like maybe I'm not suited to running a game :(

I think it's the nature of play by post.  I've been on RPOL for at least 10 years now and I've seen the revolving door of players pretty constantly.

I completely understand the feeling. Its hard to keep a play by post going. rotating players, long periods of time of inactivity, etc. Just keep plugging away. You'll find the right group and develope the right skills for it. Im still in process as well.

In reply to Willis (msg # 57):

So you have any games open now?

I have one I'm setting up but it will likely be after the holidays before I have the time to run it.

I am thinking about starting up a Star Wars game. I enjoy running them and I have more experience now dealing with players dropping but I would like to take a quick informal poll to see what people are interested in. The greater the interest, the larger the pool of players and the easier it is to either get high quality posters up front or have a larger pool to pick from for replacements.

1. What system of game?
   - Force & Destiny
   - Edge of the Empire
   - Age of Rebellion
   
   
2. What style of play?
   - Tramp Freighter
   - Rebel Agents
   - Imperial Agents
   - Bounty Hunters
   
   
3. What kind of setting?
   - Outer Rim
   - Core Worlds
   
   
4. Overall focus?
   - Stealth & Subterfuge
   - Action & Combat
   - Diplomacy & Negotiation
   - Logistics & Planning

Those four items combine to help me roadmap out a game so let me know what your thoughts are!

Hmmm, choices...choices...


[olist]- Force & Destiny
- Edge of the Empire
- Age of Rebellion

Easy one any and all in any combination. The only real question is how Force accessible/focused you want. I personally think even at low levels it adds a lot even in non focused games. Having the F&D careers mostly doesn't change that much in the way a game runs, it is the Force powers.

[*] What style of play?
- Tramp Freighter
- Rebel Agents
- Imperial Agents
- Bounty Hunters

I think the first 2 are easier to do. It is a bit harder not to get'that guy' in the last two styles, if only because the focus tends to be darker. That said all 4 or combinations are a blast, though personally I put #3 last.

[*] What kind of setting?
- Outer Rim
- Core Worlds

Mix and Match as needed by the game flow? If a dedicated focus is needed I like the Outer Rim the most, though high stakes gambling and diplomacy in the Core is fun as well. Probably a 75% prefference for the Outer Rim to get that exotic old west feel.

[*] Overall focus?
- Stealth & Subterfuge
- Action & Combat
- Diplomacy & Negotiation
- Logistics & Planning

Hmmm, pretty much in the order I would put them. Logistics and Planning can be a little slow especially on PbP.

My responses:

What system of game?
- Force & Destiny
- Edge of the Empire
- Age of Rebellion

The system is all the same with character differences like obligation.

What style of play?
- Tramp Freighter
- Rebel Agents
- Imperial Agents
- Bounty Hunters

I'm all for Agents.  Rebel or Imperial it sort of depends on the time the game is set and if you are going toward Force Awakens or using the old expanded universe.

What kind of setting?
- Outer Rim
- Core Worlds

I'm a big fan of mixing it up.  There are good reasons to go to both.

Overall focus?
- Stealth & Subterfuge
- Action & Combat
- Diplomacy & Negotiation
- Logistics & Planning

Again it depends on Rebel or imperial agents and core or outer rim.  This also could benefit from a mix and depends on time period and the time line to to follow.
The game I was planning to set up for my friends at the table was going to be Imperial Agents.  Set about 6-7 years after Endor.  The idea was to mix of Disney and Legends and let the characters shape which way it would go.
I'm familiar with Crimson Empire, The Thrawn Trilogy and some of the history that leads to The Force Awakens.  The idea was to let the characters help shape the galaxy and see if it goes toward Forming Bastian and the Imperial Remnant with Palleon, siding with Snoke and bringing about the First Order or aiding on of the other warlords like Isard or Daala.

A post Endor game around the chaos of the break up of the Empire would be interesting. I could see a lot of parallels between that and the fall of the old Republic.

The big concern that I have is that the Empire is the ultimate GM bad guy tool. You always have to look over your shoulder and while defeating a couple ties or stormtroopers is fine there is always the sense that the weight of the empire will crush you like a bug.

With that gone it changes the whole background of the game. Edge of the Empire is supposed to be dark and gritty, at least that is the tone I get but lifting the general oppression of the Empire floods the galaxy with optimism and hope so it kind of clashes, tone wise.

There is definitely opportunity for nuance though. I like to draw analogies to the real world so while the Nazi regime being overthrown was a good thing it was replaced with the cold war tension so if you were in germany you went from one brutal dictator to another while in the background all the news is talking about how everything is a-okay because Hitler and the Nazis are defeated.


What about a reverse Firefly game? The players are ex-Imperial agents or troopers or pilots trying to survive after the collapse. You're criminals now, forced off the grid for [INSERT AWFUL THING FROM YOUR BACKGROUND] and you all have this horrible secret damocles sword hanging over your head.

You could try to land with one of the warlords and resume your old work but that might mean more of [INSERT AWFUL WAR CRIME] so maybe you decide to just try and exist on the fringe outside of the Empire and the Republic which typically means dealing with Hutts and Black Sun which isn't great either.

Hmmm.... gears are churning...

In reply to praguepride (msg # 64):

 Now that sounds interesting. I was in a game based around an Imperial warship. We had players as ground pounder, Tie fighter pilots, ect. I rp'd the Leader of the Scouts. Much fun.

 If anyone decides to attempt this, please let me know. Thanks

I got the impression from the Thrawn books that a large part of the galaxy remained effectively under Empire control even after Endor despite the death of the Emperor.  Is that the case?

So no promises just yet but IF I run it, it would be set around ABY 9-10. So smack dab in the middle of the X-Wing series books.

Post Thrawn. Possibly Post-Isard. Definitely pre-clone Emperor. I think that is a sweet spot of the Empire in complete collapse, at least the public perception is at least. Thrawn was the great hope and that has been dealt with so now all that appears to be left is mopping up the remaining warlords...

Anyway gears are still turning...

 Gears still turning? ;)

Yeah... I'm kind of unsure at this point. I was really excited for it at first but I'm having a hard time envisioning how the game would play out.

So you have a group of ex-Imperials but what would they do? I can't help but think it would just end up being the same as any other tramp freighter game just with less sympathetic characters.

If the set up isn't going to dramatically impact the game then other than the general time period/setting what is the point of making the characters be ex-imperials? If you want a more law enforcement heavy game they could be any kind of criminal and the end effect is the same and if they're just a group of criminals then it is the same as any other setup.

Anyway I'm still thinking about it. I do want to run another SW game but I'm just waiting for the right kind of inspiration to ignite the GMing passion in me.

There is the meat of the matter. The characters are not Ex-imperials, but are still of the Empire. Information might be fragmented with wild rumors flying all over the place. The Emperor is no more. The emperor was wounded and spirited away to a secret base. The entire thing is Rebellion propaganda, or from other agencies that wish to oppose the lawful government.

 The group might be on some remote outpost, and news is slow in coming. But when regular imperial communications cease, or are garbled, the group must set out to establish contact with the nearest imperial base, ship, etc.

 Reestablishing contact could be an adventure in of itself. After that, they group could be used to reestablish imperial authority on the frontier to let it be known the empire is still in control.” Show the flag” as it were. Perhaps put down a rebellion or two.

 That is just off the top of my head.

I'm definitely down for playing in this if it gets off the ground.  Let me know.

Yeah. I might just throw up a typical "scum of the outer rim" game. Maybe run through a published adventure module. I like how FFG runs their adventures. While the adventures are fairly linear they do a good job of setting the scene and surrounding NPCs so it isn't too hard to go off the rails.

I'd be down for that too.  I've never actually gotten to play.  As long as the game has been out, I'm still a total newbie.

Me too.  I have had someone attempt to walk me through difficulties and dice rolling.  I think I get it, but I’m not sure.

So for you two, do you think you'd rather have a game where the PCs start out separately and get thrown together in game or just announce pre game "this is how you all know one another"

I've done it both ways. Pros and cons to each.

I've done both ways as well.  I think it's good sometimes for people to play solo for a bit to get a handle on their character before they get thrown into a group.  They have to learn to rely on themselves that way.

I'd be interested as well if you did this.

Given how long Play-by-Post games take, I think just starting knowing each other is perfectly fine.

As a side discussion I was thinking about how to run a proper dark side game. I don't like the "at 0 morality the player becomes an NPC" because that is purely an old school "good guys only" perspective. Here are my thoughts on running a dark side force game that is pretty lore friendly, imo.

---

If I were to create custom rules what I would do is have tiers of dark side use. At tier 1 you can only use basic powers with dark side (so just the top row for force powers) but you can spend dark side and light side points freely. Powers are weak but reliable. (Note this is for a jedi falling to the dark side so they have training in both paths).

Then to elevate to the next tier you have to drop your conflict down to 1-21. This unlocks the second row but adds in the RAW where you now take strain to use light side points.

The next tier is 0. Using light side points now costs x2 strain but it unlocks the third row of abilities for force powers. At this point you can still claw your way back to the light side without GM/Story Fiat by doing good deeds but you are still tracking your conflict per session so you need to cool it with the dark side points to claw back.

The final tier, that unlocks the last 2 rows is really just players choice and GM story quests. Once they decide to unlock the tier 4 the light side is forever cut off to them. They cannot spend light side points and they cannot turn back to the light without GM/Story fiat. This is equivalent to the old school Atonement spell where you have to go on a quest. I would also impose black dice on their skill checks whenever they are not doing anything "evil" to represent the dark side of the force clouding their mind. Not overboard with it, just a single black die, constantly unless they are committing acts of evil. This represents the long term drawback of that earlier easy power.

And yeah, that's how I would do the dark side as custom rules. I'll repost this over there as well.

I'd be down for this. Not too keen on playing Imperials, but I can get behind scoundrels and scumbags. :) I even have a concept ready; was looking through Fly Casual a while back and thought the Gunslinger spec looked pretty fun. Could come up with other ideas, though.

Let me know if you set something up.  I really just want to play.

Last call for anyone here looking to get ahead of the line. I'll be posting the general W-P tomorrow.

I'm definitely interested.

Link is the community Players Wanted thread.

Hello folks! Recent addition to this community, I've been in and out of RPOL for years. Started SW roleplaying with West End Games' revised edition, played both the 3.25e and Saga editions, but am enjoying the EotE rendition best. Also an EU Legends fanboy who rejects the new 'canon'. RP wise I enjoy playing support chars and tend to focus on utility/ versatility but have never really gotten to be the 'star' of a show.

Enough about me, though. I applied to praguepride's open game, but my real love is Force-sensitive characters. I have tried playing several concepts but none have made it very far before games folded, so most of them are only at or barely beyond the concept phase. (For those curious - a Sorceress of Tund, a Zeison Sha adept, and a Luke Skywalker wannabe.) But otherwise I've got a bounty hunter, a Mandalorian, an archaeologist character also concepted out, and am pretty flexible as long as I don't have to be either the diplomat or the Han Solo clone.

I've no problem playing in low- or no-Force games, though, so if anyone needs to fill a vacant spot to keep the story moving, hit me up!

Submitted my character to Prague’s game.  Hopefully it’s up to snuff.

It’s not midnight here yet, so I’m not late.

Most of the links on the Useful Links thread don't work anymore.

Thanks for the update. I have fixed the broken links.

Speaking of baby yoda just heard that Mandalorian Season 2 actually wrapped up filming pre-quarantine so it should be on track for an October 2020 release!

I know it's not FFG Star Wars related but it's still the best thing to happen to Star Wars in quite some time.

I've heard that it might be delayed.  Filming was done, but post-process takes longer on work from home machines than the super computers used in the offices.  I heard December, so not huge delays...  Also, my source isn't like somebody inside, so it could be somebody pulling from their rear.  Fair warning.

That's perfectly fair. While there are ways to remotely tap into the clusters used for processing it does slow things down in some ways.

I'm running two Star Wars games and making lots of players very happy. I would also like to play one.

I would be happy to play a published adventure, or a custom one. I would most like an Edge of the Empire game, perhaps about mercenaries or bounty hunters. I would also be happy with an AoR game.

Anyone looking for players?

I would like an AoR game.

FFG Forum talks about how sharpshooter is broken.  What have your experiences with it been?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Tue 02 June 2020.

I haven't seen anything about that yet. What XP level are you playing at? Star Wars breaks down a lot once you get to very high levels. There are some insane combos all around so once you're hitting tier 4 in multiple careers things get kinda bonkers.

FFG is finally releasing compendiums for items and vehicles! I don't know if I necessarily want to shill out the money for it just yet but having that stuff collected into one spot will be very handy.

Exceptionally happy if the do an electronic version.

Agreed. It is a little indulgent though online because there are websites that record everything like that:

Items:
https://community.fantasyfligh...tem-master-list-v95/

Adversaries:
http://swa.stoogoff.com/#0-0-0

Character Sheet Generator:
https://community.fantasyfligh...character-generator/

Could you add those to the useful links post so they don't get lost in the chatter?

Good call!

Has anyone played the "Jewel of Yavin" adventure module on rpol or in other forms. Thoughts, criticisms or ideas for GM?

I've run it in a tabletop version. Well more accurately I used the raw parts to set up an adventure of my own.

It's fine, all things considered, just a bit complicated. If you've never run a heist game before then, in my experience, it is VERY different than a regular mission. The following thoughts are advice about how to run a heist in general as opposed to anything specific to this module

1) Put a time limit on it. Unless you know your players put them on a pretty tight timeline as otherwise I've seen groups just grind to a halt because they just sit back and plan and plan and plan or run off and explore this idea or that without ever committing to an attack line. Experience players tend to be able to just pick a plan and run with it but I've seen even experienced groups spend 2 full sessions (a total of 8 hours!!!) just sitting there and planning and planning only for one of the first rolls in the actual heist to be botched causing them to have to improvise and wing it.

Again if you know your players you can adjust accordingly but my view is that roleplaying tends to bring creative types into a room and if you ask a random group of six players to come up with a plan you end up with 4-5 different plans that can take them hours to form a consensus on.

Some groups love the planning session but in my experience what you end up with is 1-2 players who want to ask 8 zillion questions and plan everything to the nth degree and then 4-5 players who quickly get bored and just want to get on with it. It's something you'll have to learn as a GM to monitor and gauge the energy in the room but I've found putting a tight deadline on things both in game and in real time helps keep things moving.

Remember you can always fudge the time scale and give them extra time if they're having fun and things are moving but in my opinion I put the players on a fairly generous timeframe (1 hour to plan, 3 in-game days to get things ready) and they end up not needing any of it, or if they do that creates extra tension and drama.

2) Be prepared to go WAY off the rails. The real appeal of a heist game is that the players can flex their creativity so the last thing you want to do is to just sit there and say "no...no...no...". If you want to stick perfectly to the script then don't bother letting them plan. Just have their contact GIVE them the plan and you can proceed through it like a typical adventure.

3) Jewel of Yavin has a lot of notable NPCs to keep track of. There are several social scenes and a lot of important dialogues/encounters so make sure you do some prep work. Again you need to be prepared to go waaaay off script so make sure you're comfortable with all the NPCs in the room.

4) Expect the unexpected. One of the best bits of advice I have ever heard is if you're playing this in-person, feel free to call a break to get your thoughts in order. Heck even call the session early if you have to so you can prep properly when things go sideways.

Online is a bit easier because you can take more time and things develop slowly but feel free to "lock" a thread if players are going way off the reservation and just mention via OOC that you need some time to properly prepare a response. I've had that happen where I need a couple of days to figure out what is going on but the PCs are just rapidly posting and things just keep spinning and spinning.

In other games on here I have had to hit stop AND rewind. It sucks because it does nullify some player posts but sometimes things spiral and you as the GM need to take back control of your game.

5) Figure out what happens if the PCs fail. If things go really really wrong the PCs might be thrown in jail or make some powerful enemies. They might not get the jewel in the end as it isn't an easy scenario to pull off a clean sweep, so to speak, especially when you throw luck of the dice into it. Try and figure out fun ways that they can fail if things are heading in that direction so it doesn't feel like a total wash. Maybe they get tossed in jail but they make some good connections. Hell have Lando spring them and offer them a job :D

I have an idea for a campaign that I suggest calling Star Wars: Dirty Dozen. Could also be known as Star Wars: the filthy thirteen or Star Wars: suicide squad. It's hardly an original idea, but it's still good.

Imagine an imperial Commander trying to accomplish a seemingly impossible objective. They have limited resources and they can't afford to fail. So instead of risking a valuable crack team of Commandos or a company of Stormtroopers, they instead look in The Stockade. A group of deserters, looters, and other troublemakers are gathered together to perform one impossible task. This is their last chance to earn clemency for their crimes, so they hardly have a choice. It's up to these Misfits to accomplish their goal and hopefully survive. Naturally, if they succeed, they have nothing better to look forward to than more near-suicide missions. Unless they find a way to break the chains...

This would allow a game on the Empire's side of things without the PC's having to play bad guys. It would also explain why the Empire, with seemingly infinite resources, is so stingy with the party's equipment.

Since these characters would in theory be members of the military, I feel that age of rebellion would be an ideal game system. The careers and specializations are types of soldiers.

I would run this game myself, only I'm already running three Star Wars games, one of each type, and that is enough. I would contribute if invited.

Any Star Wars games starting up in the near future?  Looking to play again.

 Ditto

I’m thinking about starting one but I want more experience with the system and RPoL first. Maybe in a month or so I will put it together.

I've been looking for a partner, specifically a Bash Brother, for a game where I run Dawn of Defiance using FFG. They would both be Iconic and Knight Level. I would be playing the other alongside the player.

I swear the thing is cursed or something. I've only ever seen the end of the first part and like half of the second. I've never spoiled myself on the rest and been in like half a dozen games that always fizzled out. Looking to take fate into my own hands

In reply to zeone3000 (msg # 107):

Did you ever find someone?

I did not, but I found someone to fun a solo game in exchange for another.

I have yet to get the "I run one, you run one" exchange to work but I don't think it is so much the format just more about how hard it is to get a long time running game going.

Does anyone know if Edge Studio is actually going to reprint any of the core rulebooks? I recently found FFG Star Wars (precious experience with WEG and WotC) and would like to give it a try but can only find very expensive used copies online.

I saw that FFG closed their roleplaying division and transfered to Edge Studios, but the last news story was from 2020 saying they were going to reprint and publish new material and haven't seen anything more recent.

In reply to Passer24 (msg # 111):

Near as I can tell, they announced a bunch of reprints back in March, but about 3 weeks ago, they announced production problems on a product they're actively supporting (Rokugan stuff), so while I believe they're in the pipeline, I wouldn't anticipate seeing the reprints before year's end.

In reply to Lillykins (msg # 112):

Thank you.

I guess I'll have to wait a little longer. I was able to find a new copy of the EoE starter game from a used bookseller for a normal price and picked that up.

Good evening (at least where I am currently).

I am looking for a team of DMs to help run a truly epic SW universe. If anyone remembers, there was an attempt at this sort of thing a while back. I can’t remember the name of the game but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

In short, I would like to run a campaign with multiple teams, much like the movies/shows that have multiple plots all running simultaneously but also all tied to the main storyline. It could include the crew of a rebel ship, a group of criminals, a team of explorers, a squad of imperial operatives, a political entourage, etc. each run by a GM specific to their respective stories. Working together to move the main plot along.

Any interest?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:36, Tue 29 Nov 2022.

I'm definitely interested. I'm not as great anymore about daily updates but I can help provide a lot of support. Plot lines, NPC generation, occasional updates (~3/week) and I also do a lot of AI art generation so I can help provide cool graphics and backgrounds (although specific alien races aren't in my wheelhouse just yet...)

In reply to praguepride (msg # 115):

Thats awesome! Custom artwork would definitely add to the feel of everything. And i think updating 3/week would work perfectly fine for most people. Especially if there is a lot of original, pre-generated content to pull from (which is a goal of mine to create and avail to the group of GM's).

I am tentatively interested - the collaboration can help folks keep each other interested, and recent forays into solo roleplay has refreshed my interest in FFG's system.

Happy holidays! here's to another year!

In reply to That_1_Guy (msg # 114):

I'm interested in joining if this team was put together/

In reply to praguepride (msg # 118):

Happy holidays!

Thanks for letting me chat! Does anyone have an opening for a player in EotE?

Good Morning (or afternoon, or night, depending on your timezone),

Was away for the holidays and back now. Still interested in working on the collaborative star wars eote/aor/f&d compaign. Let me know if youre into it and I'll add you so we can get started on some ideas and infrastructure....

Just checking in. Still looking for more GM's to help with this collaboration. There have been some awesome ideas concerning plotlines and themes so far. Let me know if you're interested in helping to build this out.

link to another game

Sorry for the link going to the cast instead of the main page. Heres the right one.
link to another game

So Digital Corridor is a group of VFX artists that make really cool videos for Youtube.

They decided to make a video last year about a new twist on the lightsaber, reworking the whole idea from the ground up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAzY28C8Syc

It's a really neat video and figured I'd share it here.

edit: One commentator pointed out that during the "montage" the student demonstrates lightsaber style combat from all 3 trilogies and how they would work in the real world. The original trilogy were wild swings focused mainly on big offensive strikes with little regard for defense. The sequelogy is all about "looking good" with the student pausing to almost pose for the camera during the clash and then the last part is the prequelogy with lots of spins and flashy showmanship.

Contrast those three with the first and last section where it demonstrates choreography based on fencing and kenjutsu principles and not whatever the heck hollywood thinks sword fighting is.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:41, Mon 13 Mar 2023.