Lit Fantasy Flight Games and the Star Wars TCG

Ooh, more nice artwork. And huh, that probably is a statue of Darth Malgus, I love it when they add in references like that for the major fans (as most people might not recognize that as Malgus, especially as SWTOR got rid of him after launch, despite how high profile he was leading up to the game). It makes sense as Malgus helped conquer the world back during the Great Galactic War, his journal entry excerpt in the Book of Sith is set during the campaign to take that world.

Hm, for artwork like that seriously tempted by this book, though usually I stick to the ones with more background (the core books, the Corellian one, etc.).

 

Much better:



GrandAdmiralJello

Looks like someone used the Imperial Palace as the basis for this pic:





--Adm. Nick

 

That pic made me think of the Imp Palace too.

 

The Arda I adventure looks fantastic.

Amusing to read the writer's statement:

"The adventure begins on the world of Arda I, an Outer Rim planet previously mentioned only in passing. This was both exciting and daunting; apart from some stunning artwork that FFG planned to use in the book, I had no real constraints on what the planet was like. This meant I could really dive into its design."

It's like he doesn't even realize the LEU is non-canon...

 

I don't think FFG cared about canon before the Legends announcement. Remember the lead designer was claiming it was non canon before the announcement. I think they operate off a gestalt view of the franchise.

 

I think they cared about canon in having a "rich background" to draw from, rather than starting from scratch, and keeping their universe consistent (else why include the galaxy map?). But I agree that they do have a broader view - I'm wondering if, for example, the inevitable appearance of Kessel is going to go with the updated Rebels version (I'm betting that they will).

 

That's what I mean, if something isn't canon they're still going to use it for background material.

 

The point of the quote was this, though - the writer did feel constrained to keep it consistent with what had been previously established in the EU.

So they're apparently not following the lead of CWAS.

 

Pity; the Canon's gotten so silly that you're better off, IMO, not adhering to it

 

I disagree, but I'm biased for a number of reasons: my love of pseudo-scholarship regarding Star Wars - and maps in general, that a few of my ideas made it into canon, and this planet.

 

Yes but the other hand holds a number of silly and contorted attempts to reconcile things like, who stole the death star plans (there's modules! It was diveded up so Kyle and Bria and some random Twi'lek could all steal bits!); why there was an A-Wing in Droids (erm, um, it's um... oh yes, it's an identical-in-every-way ship called something else!) etc.

 

Honestly, that's how I view it anyways. Like my old sig quote said: "Reality can rarely be explained without contradictions".

A precursor to the A-Wing in Droids, though? That's really a big stretch? Compared to other franchises, Star Wars is relatively tame. But if that's what we have to accept to get things like the Essential Atlas instead of guidebook heavy on photographs and short on text and actual information, so be it.

 

All someone had to do was draw a line in the sand, instead of taking the mechanics for inclusion in kids sports (there's no first place, you all get a medal for participating yay!) and applying it to canon. "Yep, we appreciate there's multiple accounts in books/games etc of how the Death Star plans were stolen; the official canon position is Kyle did it. Everything else is non-canon".

"That was an A-Wing in droids"

etc

Because the problem was you had these mallets, crates full of square pegs, a room full of round holes, and Leland et all smashing stuff that doesn't fit together.

The best part of an RPG is being able to say "this is the stuff that's fromt he EU that's canon for this game, and anything else isn't unless you get case-by-case approval for it from your GM".

 

Or there's multiple pieces that cover different sections of the massive battlestation, and the Alliance has to make a coordinated assault to get the information assembled - which the PCs can participate in.
I'm sorry, but I find lasers shooting at odd angles during the cantina scene in ANH much, much harder to swallow than multiple copies of the Death Star plans. Certainly it's easier to explain.

I'm not sure why "That wasn't an A-Wing in droids" isn't the same thing - certainly I'm surprised that you didn't go with "it's not canon".

In any case, since the incredible detailing in FFG's supplements so far have been dependent on inclusivism, I think it's the preferred route, especially with FASA's Star Trek as a counter example.

The best part of an RPG is assembling canon to be used as a toolkit for gamemasters - and playing in a world with a consistent background is the hallmark of good gaming.

 

I only recall one shot under the table in the Cantina, sorry.

But if you want your PCs to steal death star plans, it shouldn't be the insultingly stupid "oh, but you steal the decks containing barracks and the gift shop! Only 14 more plan sets to collect!

No, your PCs should do it and your canon should be that your PCs stole the plans. Not part of the plans.

Honestly, it's almost a terror of "but if we make a judgement call, then not everything is included". It's a lot like finding six different jigsaw puzzles in a basement and, as they're all missing pieces, you force them together to create a kaleidoscope of bad ideas, wasted time, and things that just do not mesh.

 

afaik the Death Star 2 plans only got stolen once so I guess they're ripe to be stolen a few more times

 

There is also a Marvel comic story where it happens so at least twice.

 

Then make them the Heroes of Yavin. Or go kill the Emperor.

I mean, you can do it, if you want. But you know that any future products aren't going to include your group's story.

A judgement call was made. Sometimes what is said is throw out - I know Kube-McDowell was adamant that Coruscant was not a completely covered city-world, but that's been cast aside (even before the PT). Much of Saxton's personal canon has been overwritten, no matter what he got in print. And so on. I get that you're not happy with these particular decisions, but that really isn't different from them picking one particular story, saying that the others are completely non-canon, and someone saying "But I liked the other one, it was the better story".
But throwing out canon in general - I mean, your citations make the case for canon. If Chee was more concerned overall with continuity rather than just the movies and TV shows, maybe we wouldn't have multiple stories covering the same thing. Because the alternative is something like the Clone Wars now, which is an unreadable mess that they've essentially washed their hands of - other than making an official 'episode order', they've used the whole Legends/NEU declaration to bury ever having to deal with it.

Like I said, if having some instances like this is the price for having, say, the detailed galaxy map in the main rulebooks, I'm for it. But I think we're really on the same page here. It sounds like you're not talking about making Star Wars an abstract, post-modern RPG with a fluid, ever-changing background, you prefer a single canonical choice from multiple contradictory sources, rather than an inclusivist blending of those sources.

 

I'm not, per se. I guess I'm arguing that I think Leland at all really needed to be better as at making a judgement call about what was and wasn't be canon rather than applying for an exemption from disbelief for all eternity (it was too great to qualify for a suspension of disbelief alone). Obviously stuff like planet (esp the one-terrain-type planets that bug Saxton so much! ), races, species, key people etc stays. But where we take two points that contradict, and fairly flaccid, stupid solution is found instead of just going "yeah, look, we didn't really manage this too well; Example X is canon, Example Y isn't. Deal with it" they twisted themselves, the canon, and us into a pretzel shape and hoped for the best.

So, in terms of an RPG, I guess what I want is tot hem to do what Leland avoided (because he's conflict averse/lazy/a big softie at heart) and just note that the Death Star plans were stolen. Not by whom, which means yes - your PCs could be the heroes of Yavin. Look to JK as the example; self-contained story that didn't need major characters or events to exist. That's what I mean.

 

Like I said, I think we're on the same page, even if we disagree on a few points.

(And if it had been up to me - yes, I would've picked one of the Death Star plan stories and stuck with that one as canon )

 

I mean, the concept - conceit - of splitting the plans up assumes so much but none of it is especially helpful. Like, what, if you want to check the plans you have to faff about going all over the galaxy to collate the pieces? Whatever!

 

Kyle Katarn.

He found the Death Star Plans, and then went and distributed fakes everywhere, to allow other people to feel a sense of achievement, because he is Kyle Katarn, and he is awesome like that, not wanting to take all the credit himself, but masking his divine power in order to help boost the spirits of other Rebels and help the Rebellion to grow.

All stories canonised by canonising just the one. Easy.

 

That sounds like the kind of humility a peerless operator like Katarn would have.

I plan on having my PCs steal death star plans and participate in the battle of Hoth. It will be the first time any game, in any format, has attempted this.