WEG d6 rules for Phantom Menace

Again, no one says you have to use my stats. These are simply the stats I created. Don't like 'em? Change 'em.

This simply sounded like an interesting discussion and it was. It's not like I'd ever use your stats. I'm a diehard d20 guy and your stats were already covered in the OCRB and the Secrets of Naboo for d20. It was cool, though, to compare those stats with the existing ones. Plus I learned a lot about you in where things were better and worse. One thing became clear before reading any words, you did not like the Naboo aspects of TPM.

 

Actually, there was a lot I didn't like about the movie. The thing that I was totally underwhelmed by was the TF equipment. Unfortunately, the things I did like were totally glossed over, or untouched.

I'd have liked to see the guerilla resistance to TF occupation.
I'd have liked to see what exactly the TF was doing to prisoners.
I'd like to know why the blockade was reduced to a single ship.

But hey, that all gets into another discussion. So long as people are entertained, that's all that matters. I wrote this stuff for humor value during an excruciatingly slow day at work, long before AotC came out, just after I decided I'd never want to have to convert to GMing d20.

 

hey koohi...

nice post... original and all the follow up...

just to let you know.. i too was once like you.. opposed to the very idea of the d20..
.. you see i had been playing d6 since it first came out.. but in the long run... i am happy i switched... the d20 IMHO is easier to run at mid and high levels..

 

Well Koohi one thing to take note of...

1. Its a DROID ARMY which is a major thing but they shouldn't have been that powerful in my mind

Its a build up.

2. The movie was about the Jedi and Anakin, the Trade Federation occupation was just a minor thing

Resistance we'd already seen in the Captain and company (along with Amidala) to some extent

The Gungan battle was a sign of how it really went for them too, same for the attack on Theed

3. The Novelization explains but its a matter of inference

The planet is under the control of the Trade Federation and the blockade is over. The Republic won't involve itself so they withdrew most of their ships

 

DarthAraKul, there are no levels in d6. I've had games where the characters have built up 118 skill-points of improvements to their characters, and they were still futzing it.

The dice can still make a Putz into a hero or a Hero into a putz.

 

Um, I found the official stats posted on the internet, and thought the battle droids and destroyers were way too high.
You're seem a little low. Perhaps a happy medium can be reached? (And I don't mean putting a psychic on prozak).

And, um, if you didn't like the movie, why create stats? Bored?

 

There are NO "official" D6 RPG stats for anything in The Phantom Menace...

 

Too true.

And now after a few years of reflection I must make a confession.

I was a traditionalist for many years to to the d6 system. I had all three editions, collected the sourcebooks like mad, followed the product lines with relish.

It was a sad day indeed when West End lost $$$ on bad shoes and further lost out in accolated funds from SW RPG to keep the shoe business going.

Especially when they fell just prior to Episode 1, which would have generated their revenue a thousand fold...

But I must be objective here.

Like I said, it took me a few years to come to this conclusion, but I can't deny this anymore.

To my fellow fans of the D6 system, I offer you this appology...

However, after careful consideration...

The wizards d20 system IS a better system.

I'll be the first to applaud the simplistic gaming system of d6 rolls opposing each other, and simple difficulty tables.

However, as I grew, so did my story canvas, and to be honest, a GOOD story is WAY to important to slooooooooow down with the rolling of 11-14 D6 per character, per round involving experienced characters...

What took me countless minutes to resolve with the d6 I could address in mere seconds with the d20.

Can a GM address 10 Tie fighters attacking a freighter at once with one roll?

No.

And please, no "Combined number charts" That was a POOR way to resolve it.

Also, who wants to roll 13D6 for one round of force, when 1 die and a quick tally could do the same?

Its ironic. I bought the d20 core book originally, because I wanted to use the conversion chart in the back and design d6 stats for Episode 1 characters and vehicles...

Then I actually read the book, and the rest is history...

 

Can a GM address 10 Tie fighters attacking a freighter at once with one roll?


Actually, yes. The GM decides. You roll the dice, but set your own rules, based on what the player's roll. If the green die is a 3, then that fighter hits. Or, the blue die determines the number of fighters that hit. (These are imperials, so any time they get more than a 50% hit ratio is miraculous)

Also, who wants to roll 13D6 for one round of force, when 1 die and a quick tally could do the same?

I can add dice rolls quickly. This isn't a problem for me. Actually, so can all of the players I was gaming with. Mind you, we didn't often have 13d skills to roll, even when there was a jedi in the party.

Is the system superior? Well, that depends on the people involved. Personally, I find the feats, force power descriptions, and skills set up in 3rd ed to be a major pain. I also prefer the chaos of the Wild Die, and that wookies could be 1.5 times as strong as a human, as opposed to 110% in d20. I also like the lack of convoluted initiative: everything happens at once (1st ed). I don't worry about facing, threatened squares, or any of the rest of that combat system. I also only need 1 type of die.

The end result is, what can you do faster and easier. I'll be sticking with d6.

I think I found the site Magellan was refering to. It gave battledroids something like 5d blaster and 7d dodge. Like storm troopers, the battledroids didn't hit squat, and certainly showed no signs of dodging.

 

Koohii is a dying breed it seems. Like the WW2 vets who still remember the good times, he is finding himself more and more in a world where systems which are, in his mind, obviously inferior to those of the past are being taken and praised. A hand goes out to you, for you take the harder road not because it is hard but because you believe it to be smart.
/Lifetime Achievement Award speech

Anyway, Digital did profess what probably was the clincher in my decision to purchase and play any more D6 products beyond Star Wars 1st edition. I'm a decently smart guy and can do math pretty well, but it's such a pain in the behind to add the numbers on a half-dozen die when I could simply look at one die and add a single modifier.

...but set your own rules, based on what the player's roll. If the green die is a 3, then that fighter hits. Or, the blue die determines the number of fighters that hit. (These are imperials, so any time they get more than a 50% hit ratio is miraculous)

Two disagreements with that. 1. Whatever makes it so the GM can both follow the written rules and do so simply is a good thing. Making up your own rules should only be done when there is something that a character should be able to do but can't, such as the Force Jump rule (which was added in the Hero's Guide). When a rule has to be made to simplify what should be a fairly easy concept, there's a problem.

And the second problem, which BTW is a total tangent since this is an EP1 thread, is when did Stormtroopers and Imperials overall get a reputation for bad aim? The stormtrooper battles in the movies really exemplify good aim, actually. The troopers on the Death Star would obviously be an exception, but would anyone send their good troops to a place where they're not ever actually supposed to see combat? Earlier in the movie, they mowed through the rebel troops with only a couple of casualties. Most hits appeared to be one shot one kill.

In TESB, they were under orders to not hit the heroes since Vader wanted them alive. In ROTJ, one stormtrooper snaps up, takes a shot from 30+ feet away, and misses a 4 inch target (Leia's arm) by barely two inches. Let's see anyone else do that.

Imperials, especially Imperials since there are so many kinds, should be as capable as they logically would be. A stormtrooper battalion that is never logically supposed to enter combat should logically be fairly inexperienced. A battalion that was sent down to fight known good fighters should be fairly good. The Revised edition has 4th, 8th, and 12th level Stormtroopers.

 

D20 vs D6

D20 has a modern system. D6 was designed to be really simple (it became simpler with each edition)

D20 is rigid with classes. D6 was freeform with point spent everywhere.

D20 low powered characters are waaay to weak. D6 powerful characters are waaay to strong.

D20 is a cruel system, it is not designed particularly for full on heroic action. D6 is a 'luvvy' system, heroics are supported but it's easier just to gun down 15 troopers in a single action.

D20 has no heart. d6 had heart.

Don't use either of them.

"What?" - Vader

Go find a copy of TORG. It's a modern, complex freeform gaming system that is optomised for heroic action. Low powered characters are tough, high powered characters aren't unstoppable. The system rewards heroic, cool action, by making taunts, tricks and maneuvering vital to combat against dangerous foes whilst just shooting works fine for low level goons.

But first edition Star Wars, read the sections on "what is star wars gaming" and space-opera. Then use the TORg system (combination of magic and miracles works nicely for the Force, limit the spells and give lightsabres 8 + mind damage).

Even better, go buy Lace and Steel, and nick the fencing rules in there for lightsabre combat, I'll be posting up a conversion chart for how to use the cards with the TORg system at some stage, it is beautiful to watch.

 

Please see my comments re: D6 vs D20 in the "Newbie RPG" thread.

Then please don't continue it here.

Thanks!

 

But it's so cathartic! Vive la TORG