While Facebook isn't my social media network of choice, it is the Rancor of social media, and it's hard to ignore. I've started up a Star Wars group for discussing the Fantasy Flight RPGs there, and if anyone would be interesting in joining, it would be great to have you.
 
Thanks for your time!
 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/322960628079080/?fref=nf

Just revisiting this post for the weekend, in case anyone might not have noticed it. So far the community has been fun, and we've got a few people from the boards here to join, so if you are so inclined, please see the link in the original post. Have a great weekend, and may the Force be with you!

Just revisiting this post for the weekend, in case anyone might not have noticed it. So far the community has been fun, and we've got a few people from the boards here to join, so if you are so inclined, please see the link in the original post. Have a great weekend, and may the Force be with you!

While Facebook isn't my social media network of choice, it is the Rancor of social media, and it's hard to ignore. I've started up a Star Wars group for discussing the Fantasy Flight RPGs there, and if anyone would be interesting in joining, it would be great to have you.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

https://www.facebook...079080/?fref=nf

While Facebook isn't my social media network of choice, it is the Rancor of social media, and it's hard to ignore. I've started up a Star Wars group for discussing the Fantasy Flight RPGs there, and if anyone would be interesting in joining, it would be great to have you.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

https://www.facebook...079080/?fref=nf

While Facebook isn't my social media network of choice, it is the Rancor of social media, and it's hard to ignore. I've started up a Star Wars group for discussing the Fantasy Flight RPGs there, and if anyone would be interesting in joining, it would be great to have you.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

https://www.facebook...079080/?fref=nf

While Facebook isn't my social media network of choice, it is the Rancor of social media, and it's hard to ignore. I've started up a Star Wars group for discussing the Fantasy Flight RPGs there, and if anyone would be interesting in joining, it would be great to have you.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

https://www.facebook...079080/?fref=nf

I'd like more cards.  Very convenient to sort through a deck and pull out what I need for a session ahead of time and not be page flippin.

Given that the Star Wars RPGs are broken up by thematic campaigns much like the Warhammer 40000 RPG books are, one common type of book that I haven't seen in any line yet has been an Adversaries/Bestiary book.
 
I would imagine that an Age of Rebellion adversaries book could contain a lot of the elite Stormtrooper units (501st, Nova Troopers, etc), and possibly even include mercenaries and the like that might be locally detrimental to Rebellion forces. There might even be a good argument for putting in local rebel forces that don't answer to Alliance High command.
 
Just curious to see if anyone else, as potential customers, would similarly be interested in this kind of product.
 
Finally, I really, really do not want anyone "Plot Critical" to have stats in these books. No Tarkin, no Vader, etc. If the book wants to introduce it's own generals, elite force commanders, and the like, that would be great.

Given that the Star Wars RPGs are broken up by thematic campaigns much like the Warhammer 40000 RPG books are, one common type of book that I haven't seen in any line yet has been an Adversaries/Bestiary book.
 
I would imagine that an Age of Rebellion adversaries book could contain a lot of the elite Stormtrooper units (501st, Nova Troopers, etc), and possibly even include mercenaries and the like that might be locally detrimental to Rebellion forces. There might even be a good argument for putting in local rebel forces that don't answer to Alliance High command.
 
Just curious to see if anyone else, as potential customers, would similarly be interested in this kind of product.
 
Finally, I really, really do not want anyone "Plot Critical" to have stats in these books. No Tarkin, no Vader, etc. If the book wants to introduce it's own generals, elite force commanders, and the like, that would be great.

The problem with swapping out a droid's skill after you purchase it is that it is very easy to step on the toes of PCs that have worked towards being "that guy" in the party.  It's one thing for a group to buy an astromech because nobody wants to be the mechanic, it's another thing to own PROXY and have him outshine just about anybody in the group because you downloaded the right module.  

I posted a separate thread about how I'd love to see an Age of Rebellion adventure about the Rebels raiding the Maw facility.  I would definitely like to see Daala in charge of it, but I don't think that, if I were in charge of how the adventure developed, I would even mention the relationship with Tarkin.  If Daala gets back into canon one way or another, I'd be happy to leave her Tarkin baggage behind.  
 
I would, however, love to see the adventure I mentioned also have room in it for Daala to escape and become a recurring villain in other adventures. 

I'm going to be taking over an Age of Rebellion game soon, and I was thinking of having the PCs be Rebel agents sent to a system trying to drum up an insurgency against the local Imperials, and I came up with some thoughts on how to model managing the insurgency itself.
 
Obviously, the first step is to know that there is an insurgency/rebellion that is local that you can work with to achieve your goals.  These missions are going to be a bit more standard, between tracking down, meeting with, negotiating with, and proving to your allies that you can help.

Insurgency Phase

So my idea is to have an "insurgency phase" at the beginning of the session.  In this phase, the PCs will talk to the insurgent cell, and make a leadership check to make sure they will do what they are asked to do, and a Knowledge War to plan an operation.

The difficulty will be based on the "Threat Level" of the local Imperials.  It will start low, so it won't be too hard to pull of simple actions.  

I also wanted to track how long before the insurgency has enough momentum to topple the local Imperials, and the Imperials are weak enough for the final push.  To this end, I want to track "victory points."

I also want different actions to do different things, and to have those actions be assigned when the Leadership check is made.  For example:

Gather Supplies:  1 victory point if successful, threat level increases by 1 if unsuccessful.

Free Political Prisoners:  2 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 2 if unsuccessful.

Covertly Eliminate Corporate Assets:  3 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 3 if unsuccessful.

Covertly Eliminate Imperial Assets:  4 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 3 if unsuccessful, by 1 even if successful.

Overtly Take Out Corporate Asset:  4 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 3 if unsuccessful, by 1 even if successful.

Overtly Take out Imperial Asset:  5 victory points if successful, threat level goes up by 4 if successful, 2 if successful.

If the previous insurgent action was a failure, there is a setback die to the check.  If the insurgency attempts the same action for two insurgency actions in a row, you gain a setback die.  For each PC that doesn't participate in the Insurgency Action, the action takes a setback die.

I'm thinking about 100 victory points means the planet/system is ready to turn and you can move to your end game, which will be more standard adventures again.  Once you take care of the insurgency action for the session, the PCs will still have a normal mission, possibly one that will help to ease the threat level before the next insurgency action is taken.

Each PC that takes part in the insurgency action makes a one roll combat check to see how they came out, which will likely affect them through the rest of the session on the "normal" mission.  The one roll combat check doesn't need to be a combat check, however, just something that would make sense for what the character is doing to contribute to the mission as a whole.  

Advantages might grant additional victory points, while a triumph on the Warfare check might yield a new asset that the party can use in their other missions.  Threats on an unsuccessful check might erase victory points, and Despair might mean that members of the insurgency challenge the PCs violently, or a stealth squad of Imperials is waiting in the headquarters, or a bounty hunter has tracked them down, and this has to be dealt with before moving into the "normal" mission for the evening.

Threat Level

Threat level would start out at an appropriate level for the level of occupation on a world.  If the Imperials are fairly certain they have a firm grip on the world, it might only start out at 2.  

Once threat level reaches 5, each additional threat level actually upgrades the check.  So a threat level 10 mission would require five red dice in opposition.  Threat levels above 10 add setback dice for each level, so for a threat level 12 mission, you would roll five red dice and two black ones.

More Consequences

The other thing I'm thinking of doing is having the PCs make a fear check if they fail the insurgency phase, to reflect their shaken confidence in light of the overall insurgency goals, which would then affect them during their "normal" mission for the night.

I'm going to be taking over an Age of Rebellion game soon, and I was thinking of having the PCs be Rebel agents sent to a system trying to drum up an insurgency against the local Imperials, and I came up with some thoughts on how to model managing the insurgency itself.
 
Obviously, the first step is to know that there is an insurgency/rebellion that is local that you can work with to achieve your goals.  These missions are going to be a bit more standard, between tracking down, meeting with, negotiating with, and proving to your allies that you can help.

Insurgency Phase

So my idea is to have an "insurgency phase" at the beginning of the session.  In this phase, the PCs will talk to the insurgent cell, and make a leadership check to make sure they will do what they are asked to do, and a Knowledge War to plan an operation.

The difficulty will be based on the "Threat Level" of the local Imperials.  It will start low, so it won't be too hard to pull of simple actions.  

I also wanted to track how long before the insurgency has enough momentum to topple the local Imperials, and the Imperials are weak enough for the final push.  To this end, I want to track "victory points."

I also want different actions to do different things, and to have those actions be assigned when the Leadership check is made.  For example:

Gather Supplies:  1 victory point if successful, threat level increases by 1 if unsuccessful.

Free Political Prisoners:  2 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 2 if unsuccessful.

Covertly Eliminate Corporate Assets:  3 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 3 if unsuccessful.

Covertly Eliminate Imperial Assets:  4 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 3 if unsuccessful, by 1 even if successful.

Overtly Take Out Corporate Asset:  4 victory points if successful, threat level increases by 3 if unsuccessful, by 1 even if successful.

Overtly Take out Imperial Asset:  5 victory points if successful, threat level goes up by 4 if successful, 2 if successful.

If the previous insurgent action was a failure, there is a setback die to the check.  If the insurgency attempts the same action for two insurgency actions in a row, you gain a setback die.  For each PC that doesn't participate in the Insurgency Action, the action takes a setback die.

I'm thinking about 100 victory points means the planet/system is ready to turn and you can move to your end game, which will be more standard adventures again.  Once you take care of the insurgency action for the session, the PCs will still have a normal mission, possibly one that will help to ease the threat level before the next insurgency action is taken.

Each PC that takes part in the insurgency action makes a one roll combat check to see how they came out, which will likely affect them through the rest of the session on the "normal" mission.  The one roll combat check doesn't need to be a combat check, however, just something that would make sense for what the character is doing to contribute to the mission as a whole.  

Advantages might grant additional victory points, while a triumph on the Warfare check might yield a new asset that the party can use in their other missions.  Threats on an unsuccessful check might erase victory points, and Despair might mean that members of the insurgency challenge the PCs violently, or a stealth squad of Imperials is waiting in the headquarters, or a bounty hunter has tracked them down, and this has to be dealt with before moving into the "normal" mission for the evening.

Threat Level

Threat level would start out at an appropriate level for the level of occupation on a world.  If the Imperials are fairly certain they have a firm grip on the world, it might only start out at 2.  

Once threat level reaches 5, each additional threat level actually upgrades the check.  So a threat level 10 mission would require five red dice in opposition.  Threat levels above 10 add setback dice for each level, so for a threat level 12 mission, you would roll five red dice and two black ones.

More Consequences

The other thing I'm thinking of doing is having the PCs make a fear check if they fail the insurgency phase, to reflect their shaken confidence in light of the overall insurgency goals, which would then affect them during their "normal" mission for the night.

I really like this idea. I would leave the checks at the beginning of the session to be assigning assets for the rebels. Then, for higher profile missions, the pcs will take it on. It would be tough to balance the missions so that the possibility of failure is real an I'd doesn't mean a tpk.
Let us know how it goes!

Nah, the game doesn't work that way. Since Star Wars runs off the "complete the story to get XP" advancement mechanic NPCs are built to reflect a role in the story. Try and make it work using some kind of system like you'd find in "players kill stuff to get XP" systems and you'll just give yourself a headache.
 
If you need something that isn't in the book the GM is expected to just make it based on whatever he thinks it should be.
 
In EotE/AoR the entire list of stat blocks in the Adversaries chapter is just code for "Here's a bunch of stuff you'd probably end up making anyway, so save a little time and just use/modify these." The Stormtroopers aren't armored minions with blaster rifles based on some kind of balance mechanic, they are armored minions with blaster rifles because Stormtroopers are armored minions with blaster rifles.

Actually, the approval process for WotC's Star Wars books (at least by the time of Saga Edition) was generally pretty quick, with much of the time needed for approvals already accounted for in the book's development.  The only timing issue WotC had was with the Force Unleashed Campaign Guide, and that wasn't approvals but rather the book being part of the whole multi-media tie-in for the Force Unleashed video game, which got delayed due to LucasArts' inability to met their deadlines.  The main reason there weren't a lot of Star Wars sourcebooks under the various WotC systems was that Star Wars was a secondary license for them, and thus didn't get the kind of attention that fans felt it deserved.
 
And while we've just heard about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole "Legends" set-up wasn't something that those who needed to know (such as FFG) weren't on some level already aware of.  Even then, I'm sure there will still be an approvals process, as that's the norm for any licensed product.
 
Besides, you want to see an example of horrid approvals process, you don't have to look much further than BioWare and their extensive delays the approval of Set 3 for Green Ronin's Dragon Age RPG.  Granted some of the delays have been on GR's part, but when they've had to wait nearly a year to hear back from BioWare... yeah, sometimes dealing with licensed properties can suck.  Cubicle7 apparently had similarly issues with their One Ring RPG in dealing with the Tolkien estate (including having to yank PDF copies off their online store and PDF retailers such as DriveThruRPG).

Yeah, it'd be pretty cool to see an AoR adventure based around a daring raid to the Maw, particularly if the Alliance brass gets wind of Tarkin having his own personal "think tank" and wanting to shut that down before the Emperor gets his wrinkled mitts on whatever devious weapons of mass destruction they've come up with after the Death Star went kaplooey.

I just wanted to thank you for putting the time and effort into creating this, and to lament that I didn't find it sooner than I did when running my EotE game.  I'm using it for my Age of Rebellion character now that I'm on the other side of the screen, and I'm sure I'll give the GM tools a workout again soon enough.

I will iterate what other have said about upgrades.  I am not saying that they are always a bad use of points, but definitely can waste them quickly, especially if you don't have a plan on how to get synergy out of them.  Also when you are just getting started, it can be more difficult to use expensive (highly upgraded) effectively. 
 
That being said, I would recommend a Han Shot First list. 
 
Han Solo + Millennium Falcon Title + Gunner (or Luke if you don't have the card)
Then take two more ships probably X-wings, but if you can fit a B-wing in there too that is great.
 
This is how you fly the HSF list.  First thing is that Han's action every turn is Evade (every turn!) Han's ability combines really nicely with gunner, you will probably hit every turn.  Secondly Han does not charge in.  If you get Han surrounded and fired upon by the whole other force he dies quickly.  Ideally you want Han to be trading fire with only one (or possibly two) ships per turn. 
 
The other two ships have two primary objectives, 1 if they can draw fire away from the Falcon, then they have done their job.  If they get ignored they need to come in and smack you enemy's ships hard as punishment for ignoring them.  This is why I like X-wings. 
 
This list will not surprise any of you more experienced opponents, after TIE Swarm it is probably the most well known and discussed list in the game.  It isn't unbeatable by any means, but it is a good list to start with.  The 360 firing arc of the Falcon along with its terrible offensive power is very forgiving to new players.

A squad of 3 X-Wings and a B-Wing (XXXB), in a non-ridiculous setup should work well!
You can also try a YT-1300 with an X-Wing and a B-Wing.
Go easy on the upgrades - especially torpedoes.

I've only gotten to actually play X-Wing once. I really enjoyed it, I've made several purchases, and I want to play more, but the only way I usually have to do this is to sign up for tournaments.
In an effort to not make a total fool out of myself, I'm hoping to narrow my focus on what I should be bringing to the table.
So far I have three X-Wings, a YT-1300, an A-Wing, a B-Wing, and a HWK-290. I'm not above buying another model or two, maybe, but I'd like to make the most of what I currently have.
Thanks in advance, and I look forward to getting a chance to play this game a bit more and sharpen my own insticts for what I should be doing.

Yeah, the upgrades are where I get option locked a lot of times. I don't want to forgo an obvioius upgrade, but I'd rather have a solid force running lean than loading up something that gets wiped off the board.

I've had a grand total of one session, but there were quite a few humorous moments.
The rest of the group has already been playing for a while, so I was accidentally awakened from a stasis pod in the middle of a daemon encounter.  The second the pod opened, the library had an . . . incident, there was a bit of a quake, and my grand introduction was to fall flat on my face in front of the daemon.
Also, the apothecary's first action in the fight against the daemon was to throw a camo tarp over it's head.  
Apparently our assault marine only ever gets hit in the right leg.  The GM even joked, when he took a hit this week that he got hit in the right leg before he looked at the dice, and the player asked "really," and it turned out he actually did, indeed get hit in the right leg, once again.
And I was merciless to our Blackshield, because when he wanted to fall back and get a better position, I asked if his chapter were the Ferrets, hiding up the invisible pant leg of destiny to hide from greatness . . . at which point he tried to prove his valor by ramming our foes with a cycle.