Lit Fantasy Flight Games and the Star Wars TCG

Giovs, yes. I would seek their input on all those rolls, though with clear expectation that you may overrule them. Guys in my group (I'm player, not GM any more) are still learning how it works and will hilariously underplay the negative rolls (threat, despair) and overplay the positives (advantage, triumph).

Remember, they can split up the spend of strain or advantage. For example; I roll an attack with my blaster. I succeed with 3 advantage, but the blaster is crit 5 so I can't spent advantage on a crit (and don't forget, you can't crit if you don't succeed. Net failure or no net success/failure means no crit).

After applying damage, I might decide to spend 2 advantage narrating that one of my shots hit the roof, causing chunks of ferrocrete to fall down on the stormtrooper's cover position. They're forced to abandoned cover. I then spend 1 advantage giving my teammate 1 blue dice for their next attack, because they're rallied by seeing the Stormtroopers exposed.

Or I might spend 3 threat to drop my weapon and 1 threat to take strain as I scramble to reclaim it.

As for death, it's basically incredibly hard to die. It's easy to be knocked out, but that just again leads to RP. So you're fighting the Empire on Bespin, and the party is just flanked and overwhelmed. Everyone is maxed out on strain, or down to 0 wounds.

TPK? Nah. They wake up aboard a Juggernaut tank, being taken to the Imperial Labor Camp on Wobani. Now they have to escape. Easy!

It's just not like d20 where you can get a 24 armour class and be un-hittable and therefore tank a lot of enemies. You don't have a deep hitpoint pool. You're often going to survive 2-3 hits max before going bye byes.

Stimpacks heal 6, then 5, then 4... when used in succession. A day's rest or thereabouts before they heal 6 again.

Medpacks or emergency, I thought, just dispensed stimpacks. But yes, one needs medical skill to use, and you need it + med skill to heal a critical injury.

 

Oh, and Giovs, on the lightsaber front:

All sabers will have Breach 1. This is not the same as pierce 1. Pierce <X> means you ignore soak values equal to the number of X. For example, if I shoot someone with Soak 3, roll 2 success on a heavy blaster pistol, I would do (7 + 2 - 3) damage.

Breach 1 ignores 10 points of soak. So literally you're just giggling your way past Mandalorians, Stormtroopers, and mercenaries. Someone in my group asked why I kept ignoring soak with Pierce 1. When I told them Breach 1 ignored the 10 points, they wanted it on their blaster rifle.

There's rules in the Endless Vigil Sentinel book for Lightsaber construction, but basically you should just use the rules in F&D about getting access to the crystals etc for the saber to eventually move from base 6 dmg to 10 dmg, and Crit 2 to Crit 1. Most of the stuff is rarity 7+, so it's going to be four to five purple on any checks to locate them.

Good luck, in other words!

 

Damn, that thing's powerful! I'm gonna have to make them work really hard to get one. My idea is to have them find their crystal and craft their own ligthsabers using the rules in F&D, but we'll see how they will go about it. I'm planning on bringing an Inquisitor if they don't use their force powers discretly enough, maybe I'll wait untill they have crafted their ligthsabers to do so.

I still have to learn to solve advantages and threats quickly, I'm sure practice will help. Our first session is still half a month away, but I'll make sure I come back here to tell you how it's going!

So far I'm really liking the game system, very unique (at least in comparison to D&D) and I'm sure my players will be as glad as I am that we're not just playing D&D in space, but a whole fresh RPG.

 

Well they still have to be engaged range to use it, and the effect of lighting up a saber is that you're marked as a Jedi. I have an inquisitor out on me and I've used it three times.

Also, for people new to the game, I've posted this before but it's a valuable resource for player and GM alike:

http://www.d20radio.com/main/being-a-better-star-wars-player/

make all your players read it.

This in particular is useful:

Narrate your own dice results.​

Players who really “get” FFG’s Star Wars system learn how to properly narrate their own dice results, instead of letting the GM do it. First of all, you’ve got to have a solid handle and understanding on what the dice mean; the “order of operations” for the dice, if you will. They’re pretty easy to figure out.

• Blue/Black: All about environmental and other circumstantial bonuses and penalties.
• Yellow/Red: Are all about advanced training and extenuating circumstances.
• Green/Purple: Are all about base ability or difficulty.

 

I've not been playing Destiny but it's got a huge following and a loyal fanbase.

Anyway, I know you guys also like FFG art, so...

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/1/11/spirit-of-rebellion/



And here's Director Orson Jello Krennic



And Emperor "Really, you let that two bit hack call me Sheev?" Palpatine:



If you are interested in a dice/card game that's easier (apparently) to learn and play than a CCG, here's a tutorial:
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/11/18/join-me/

 

I'll make sure to pass that link to my players!

 

I'm currently playing in a game with people on their first run, including GM. I've been able to assist the GM, but he indicated he wants to wrap the campaign up by about April. After that point I asked did he want me to run something and he play in it. He said sure.

I'm going Age of Rebellion, and I have a concept for a party.

Normally I don't mind a more organic process, whereby the players all come up with what they want in order to really allow personalisation. However, of late, I've had 3 games where that approach is unhealthy and leads to chaos. There's no synergy, and no real basis for trust or comradeship.

I'm therefore, to an extent, taking some of the choice away. The "what" of what players get is going to be pre-determined; the who of it, as in the personality, is up to players.

What sparked this for me is some art in Age of Rebellion. A woman in the foreground looks mournfully at a holo of her family. But behind her is a woman with short blond hair talking to some troops. Has a kind of Tasha Yar/Starbuck vibe to her.

I'd wanted for some time to have a party with the rapport and interplay Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon from Band of Brothers and now I had an image of this commando and her intelligence officer sidekick who, like Winter, end up in charge of a small force of Rebel specialists during the war. I also rather liked what Ian Fleming imagined for his No 30 Commandos - smash and grab raids, where sabotage was equally about destruction as it was about intelligence grab.

So as follows:

Capt Yara Faal - Female Human Soldier Commando



Lt Aiden Renthal - Male Human Spy Infiltrator



Lts Faal and Renthal both served as part of an Alliance commando squadron. On route back from a mission they were to have 2 days R&R at a Rebel base on World X (please help me with suggestions Lit; I need a small world with modest importance that was sympathetic enough to the Rebels but would be ripe for an ambitious Imperial governor to try to conquer. Something semi-arid, so like the fringes of the Gobi Desert). The base is basically little more than an outpost and a safehouse for Rebels to move through. However, the sector governor- ambitious out of proportion to his intellect, decides he wants to take on this Rebel base alone.

Only having a handful of Star Destroyers at his command, none of them Imperial I or II class, he sends a Gladiator I class to attack. The garrison is literally the 24 troops of the PC's company, plus maybe 30 others - mostly pilots for the 2 Gallofree Transports (3 if you include what the PCs and their comrades arrived on) and the 4 X-Wings, 2 T47 airspeeders.

The long and short, and this will be background, is that with the leadership team struck dead in an TIE Bombing run (before the X-Wings shot them down) Lt Faal takes command and is able to destroy a natural rock bridge that the Imperials would have otherwise been able to use for their AT-AT and AT-STs to help in the assault. This requires the Empire to land closer to the base, and deploy troops a few kilometres away. Using the base's natural defences, the Rebels hold out long enough to disassemble the base computers to the transport and evacuate everyone.

Impressed with the resolve and tactical acumen Yara shows, she is promoted to Captain and given an assignment by General Madine; form a small commando unit tasked with infiltrating Imperial held worlds and furthering the Alliance cause. To that end she recruits:

Saavabeck - Male Wookie Engineer Saboteur


An escapee from Imperial Slavery, Saava saw that his purpose in life was to repay the Empire's kindness. Adept at breaking things, blowing them up, and otherwise crippling the machines of War, it's best if you think of Saava as a kind of Inglorious Basterd.

Davett Krendo - Male Human Diplomat Agitator



The only one in the party to understand Saava, Davett is an expert in stirring up whatever grievances people have on Imperial Occupied worlds. Rebellion is not just about skulking the shadows and firing blasters; it's about mobilising a people to stand up to tyranny.

Zavonen Jin - Male Duros Ace Pilot


The group's vehicle expert. He doesn't really care for any of the finer details - if he's given a place to go, he'll go. (this is mostly because of the player's stubborn refusal to contemplate Star Wars lore. Like wanting to "invent" stuff that doesn't exist, such as a reflective personal shield. Like you know. A lightsaber/shield...)

I will probably run Onslaught at Arda, mostly because I don't think the party is ready - yet - for standalone adventures or my GM'ing style. But I have most of a campaign written to follow that - at least this way they can get their interplay downpat before starting.

So - anything you'd add/change?

 

Might I recommend either Sevarcos or Aargonar?

 

I think they're a bit too desert. For reference, this is the imagery I have in mind:





Also, for the main BBEG/villain...

I make no secret of my disdain for the post-prequels/Del Rey EU. I found a critique which noted they "prequelised" the OT main characters, making them like the PT itself (including PT characters) - shallow spectacle. Space ninjas who flip out, not people with interesting motives. And they stopped really telling stories without the Big Three, and taking risks - 100ish year old Pellaeon? Please.

Thrawn Trilogy, X-Wing though? Loved those. Human villains, not space monkey aliens or sith lords. And then when the classicist Star Wars resurgence, heralded by FFG, was given its own film with Rogue One, we got a proper WEG villain in Orson Krennic.

So, to that end - no Force users. No super weapons. Just an Imperial Moff intent on developing a biological agent capable of species-specific genocide. Think the Turian genophage from Mass Effect; the idea of targeting Bothans or Mon Calamari (also, in my campaign, it's not Dac. That's a silly name) as punishment for ideas "above their station" in aiding the Rebellion. I want to see if the player playing Saava can rise to the RP challenge of hearing this genophage proposed for the Wookies...

 

It's way too Dune to work for what's being proposed, but major props for the Sevarcos reference.

 

Yes the idea I have basically is that the world is in proximity to a major trade route and/or hyperspace lane, but in and of itself not really significant. No really valuable resources, minimalist industry - some agricultural exports, maybe. Hides, meats, and maybe in addition some quality art works. But otherwise you wouldn't really tend to notice which way the planet went in the war.

The Rebels didn't station too many troops there, as it wasn't a core world. It was a data post/repository. The players don't know this, but it will become important; not only is Yara "the hero of the battle of <world>", but the Empire is using its remoteness as the location for a lab testing the genophage. Similar to how Eadu is largely unremarkable, its inhabitants living one life and the Empire's facility being something else entirely.

EDIT: Also intend to work Agent Blaise from "Imperial Assault" into it, because shake harder, boy!

 

Well, it sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what the world is like anyway. In the past, I've made a few planets of my own for campaigns, using little more than what you've sketched out there. If you're trying to come up with a name, might I suggest going on Wikipedia and looking at ancient settlements? That's where most of the names I used for created planets (Vorbas and Kalhu being two examples) came from.

EDIT: Also, having a new world that isn't tied to canon might get your players more invested as they can be "the heroes." Then again, they might want "recognizable" locations.

 

Ender Sai there is a world in the Lahara sector in the fanon thread that that might work for you if you have no problem with fanon

 

Yeah I feel like I might need to make it up, because the imagery I have is pretty vivid. I am deliberately challenging some of the players, and I hope for the right reasons.

Example: the Wookie, Saava. The guy who will be playing him currently plays the - and I kid you not - beginner game smuggler Pash. Except he's Dr Pash "Indiana" Archer, Agent 007. He wants to be the hero, he think he's the leader, and not only is he not seen this way, he has no leadership skills to speak of. Not much of a team player. By focussing him and relying on the two Rebel officer characters as a chain of command, he's structurally compelled to be a team player and rely upon someone else for social checks. Since he also thinks he's better than my Shien expert with like 50XP in Influence, and the dedicated Face character, at negotiation it stops him from hogging limelight at every single turn.

But, it gives him a role to play. I remember one of my earliest WEG games had a massive fight in Mos Eisley, with the Empire. A Stouker concussion (9D!) from the Dark Forces games was used to detonate the power plant of a V35, creating enough of an explosion to literally cripple an AT-ST's legs. That was well over 20 years ago , but obviously Rogue One brought that imagery to a head with the Jedha fight. The Wookie, being a saboteur, can be the one to, when the party attacks Imperials on the streets, rig mines that will detonate on the imps without affecting civilians. He's also responsible for ensuring no armour is deployed against the team. He's relied upon, in other words, which will give him a moment to shine.

Similarly, the agitator will be played by a guy playing a Klatooinian hired gun. The guy's obligation is to the Hutts, as he was a Hutt slave/grunt who escaped. But when I try to liberate slaves as per my Justice morality, he's like "meh, money". It's perplexing to me and the GM and one other (good) player; the guy is a good roleplayer, but his character is basically against type in the worst way possible. So being someone passionate about the cause, and having to RP scathing tirade, has to play to that script. And if we're having the party about to stage an uprising so they can break into the ISB office and steal some data tapes, he can be the one using Incite Rebellion to:

Once per session, may take an Incite Rebellion action; make a HARD Coercion check to cause a number of beings up to ranks in Coercion to become rebellious for the encounter.

Whilst the Commando and Saboteur lay the trap for the Stormtroopers inevitably sent to crush the protests, and the Infiltrator slips inside.

The big issue for me I think is that EOTE has no overarching cause, so the players are either worse than Hutts, or trying to be the crew of the Serenity without realising it's only Jayne who is amoral scum. Mal has his own conscience, and when he tries to bury it Zoe speaks for it to a point. Otherwise you have Wash, Inara, Kaylee and Book to do that for him. A party of Jaynes is mayhem with a side serve of havoc.

 

Ah yes, nothing like forcing players to mix it up by taking them out of their comfort zones...speaking of which, I think I might have to see if my gaming group would be interested in an FFG campaign of some kind. As much of a WEG fanboy as I am (as if the username wasn't a hint ), they're worse.

 

Oh it was.

If they're new to this system - and have a lot of d20 experience - consider doing the assigned class role. For example, the infiltrator - he's thinking a bit like Sam Fisher, I'm saying "No, it's more Daniel Craig Bond." The talents are heavily about melee combat, for example.

Expectation and reality don't always align, and with a narrative dice system you'll end up with all sorts of confusion.

 

I've always been torn on how practical it is to try and MAKE people improve their roleplaying.

 

It's more that they're literally conditioned by d20 sessions. One of the best bits of advice the article I posted 2 pages ago said quite openly - ditch the skill sheets. And last session the players are trying to rescue me on an ISD from an Inquisitor and they manage to slip into an empty barracks before a patrol comes past. They succeed a stealth check but get disadvantage - so the Imperials hear something, just not the party. The Pash smuggler guys was the one who went to roll stealth because (after me) he had the best skill. I was like, no, the ring-in Rebel Commando player or the de facto leader (the trader face character) should do it, citing that list.

The GM told me if I hadn't said it he would have.

They're not bad roleplayers, but they need to be pushed out of D20itis to make the most here.

 

I found my location...

 

Barons Hed? I take it the proximity to Sullust isn't a concern?

 

Is that Sulon?

 

Yup!

 

Yep. And this way we can have events which lead to the Empire controlling it circa Dark Forces II!

EDIT: Did you see the backstory I was talking about, JoinTheSchwarz?

 

So, I'm going to be running a game for some folks new to roleplaying, and it'll be set during the Mandalorian wars. I would like to get some sort of plot going that puts the characters on the run, similar to Zayne Carrick's predicament in the KotOR comics, but I'm struggling to find something to put them in that situation.

One of my characters is a Mandalorian padawan who's disobeyed the council to fight in the war, so I'm thinking some of the players will be part of a team fighting for the Republic. I don't know if I directly want to frame them for something, that might be a bit too derivative of the comics. Anyone have any ideas of what could go wrong, putting them on the run from most factions of the galaxy?

 

I'm curious how you're doing that with FFG.