abookfulblockhead
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Posts posted by abookfulblockhead
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Unless you're going for something unconventional like a Drall (Drell? I can never remember which one's which, but they're both weird) or a Weequay, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the species, even at character creation. If you buy the extra 10 XP at the start, you can have a stat spread of 4/3/3/2/2/1. With standard XP, pretty much anyone can start with a 3/3/3/3/2/2 spread. The main differences are which stat you put a 1 in, and a free skill rank or two. Those are really my two standard opening builds. They get you the most Attribute points for your starting XP.
I mean, sure, you could buy talents and skill ranks with your starting XP, but who does that?
What that means is just about any race can be made to fill any roll. It's really up to you how you do it.
dougansf and bradknowles reacted to this -
I'm imagining that somewhere at the far edge of the Outer Rim there is a Jedi - maybe many - maybe some of them have married other Jedi, who have decided to just get out of the way of the history and the Empire and settled down to become farmers or ranchers. Maybe they're helping to make a desert bloom or keeping super-predators at bay. When the time comes, they help their fellow colonists drive off bandits and pirates. And maybe, just maybe, some of them are having kids and they're teaching their kids the things they were taught as children about the Force and the Jedi, the Dark Side and the Light....
Dozens of disparate tiny, agrarian sects of Jedi. And their children coming of age and perhaps having children of their own in the decades between the end of the Clone Wars and the beginning of the war between the Republic and the First Order.
Oh man.... That's a helluva hook. An F&D game could have the party guided to a small village, where they discover a pair of retired Jedi, with kids. There's a whole plot arc's worth of material. Convincing them to teach the party in the ways of the Force, a couple of adventures that explore this training. And then, BAM. Drop an inquisitor on them. Nothing quite says, "Dark side" like murdering an entire family.
Lordbiscuit reacted to this -
Let's face it, the proliferation of Jedi-in-Exile is not a new thing. As far back as Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, we've been finding surviving Jedi Masters in exile. Sure, sometimes they're crazy. Sometimes they've fallen to the dark side. Sometimes they've just had their spirit broken by the fall of the Order and have hung up their spurs.
Besides, everything Obi-Wan and Yoda said about the last of the Jedi was true... from a certain point of view. Y'know, like how Anakin Skywalker is dead, and how Luke was their last hope.
The simple fact is that Luke was the only Jedi who could possibly take down Vader, with the possible exception of Leia. And it's not just a matter of training, or strength in the force, or skill with a lightsaber. It's about destiny. The Force seems to have decided that this whole era would be Skywalker business. A Skywalker would destroy the Jedi, and a Skywalker would save the Jedi. Not all the old masters were dead, but none of them could take Vader. It just wasn't in the stars.
That's my rationalization anyway. I like my force users rare. I don't want every Star Wars story to be about Jedi and the Force. But I don't mind having them scattered around, trying to make their way in the universe. There's a place for Force sensitives, and retired Jedi, and disillusioned masterless Padawans even in the era of the Original Trilogy. That place simply isn't at the forefront of the Galactic civil war. Or if it is, it's not as out in the open Jedi.
Because if they're out in the open, Vader will find you. And he will kill you.
Vigil and bradknowles reacted to this -
There's an episode of clone wars dedicated to a group of younglings travelling to Ilum to find their crystals.
Each of them gets split from the others rather quickly, and the nature of the trails is meant to test their moral shortcomings.
If you're not tied the a specific place, you could build different sessions around individual PCs. With common sources of Kaiber crystals watched carefully by the Empire, the Force might guide PCs to odd planets, with different possible crystals.
As a pointer, I'd recommend looking at "Suns of Fortune". There are at least two entries detailing significant crystal formations. My guess is that's not just idle fluff. The devs are dropping a wink that Jedi might want to stop there. In each case, the crystals are not necessarily easy to acquire.
I would suggest designing different sessions for each PC. Maybe your advisor receives a treasured crown jewel for successfully negotiating a peace treaty between warring factions. Maybe the Warrior carves a Krayat Dragon Pearl, after carving his way out from the belly of the beast. Maybe the Pathfinder discovers his crystal after helping to protect the natural beauty of a planet. The Starfighter Ace might find his crystal in the depths of an asteroid field.
The challenges should not be strictly physical, or skill based though. Each adventure should test the featured character's resolve and fortitude. Make fear checks a vital part of the adventure. Isolate them. Make them sweat. Put them in a lonely place where they confront their past, either literally or in the form of visions.
Perhaps the Starfighter Ace gets knocked loose into the void of space when he gets out of the cockpit to look for his crystal, and he has to confront the terror of being outside the comfort of his ship. Surviving without his most important tool.. Maybe the gastric juices of a Krayat Dragon induce hallucinations that haunt the character as they try to cut their way free. Maybe the Pathfinder goes on a Vision Quest, guided by the Force to some lonely mountain peak, where he must go for long periods without food, and tame the wilderness. Maybe the Advisor must make peace with an old enemy, someone who wronged her. Brokering the treaty means putting the past behind her.
The other PCs should have stuff to keep them occupied, but the spotlight is on the PC for that session.
I've had this idea for a while, and I think the best way to decide who "goes first" is via a force power check. Every time the PCs are between adventures, have them make a force power check. If someone rolls two white pips, they have a vision guiding them to their crystal. If more than one person has two white pips, make a competitive discipline check. The winner has the next vision.
Of course you don't have to do this. I've just spent a lot of time thinking about this very idea, and this is how I plan to do it.
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I personally love that piece of artwork.
We all know what story is being told here. We've seen this image in countless stories going all the way back to Thermopolae. Sure, in the age of Sparta, there were no laser guns, so a narrow passage might actually become strewn with bodies as the hordes continued to advance. Nevertheless, the image of a narrow walkway piled high with bodies really brings the image of a Jedi Guardian to life. One woman holding the line against the relentless hordes of the Empire.
Let's face it: if the art were realistic, it would feature a pile of stormtrooper bodies on one side of the bridge, and a Jedi on the other side of the bridge. And that image just wouldn't tell the story with the same poetic force. The cool thing about art is that you don't have to be strictly realistic. You can take a little poetic license if it helps you tell a better story.
Besides, in "reality," you don't bring a knife (even a laser knife!) to a gun fight.
kaosoe and Richardbuxton reacted to this -
When I saw the cover, I was wondering if the illustrations weren't getting a little more cartoony.
But then every other image in that article was awesome, so I felt better.
I think that's just a trick of the perspective. Since the image is so small, we don't see the nicks and scratches on the armor, so we're left with an impression of bright blue clone trooper armor, and a bright gren lightsber. If you look at the closeup of the character's face at the top of the page, it seems to fit right in with the art style on the other covers.
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I'm also a fan of the Gozanti. It's the perfect fixer-upper. It has lots of weak weapon systems waiting to be upgraded to something better, and a whole crapload of hard points.
It won't be going up against Neb-B's right away, but with enough time and credits, it could have a lot of nasty little surprises.
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1) When the Jedi Temple fell, one of your PCs left behind a friend, and assumed they were dead. Until now. This friend has fallen to the dark side in their quest for vengeance. How the PC deals with this is up to them.
2) With Ilum essentially a death sentence, the PCs must seek out new sources of lightsaber crystals. The varied natures of the PCs pull them to different planets, guided by the force. Each planet presents its own challenges, testing a PCs talent and resolve before yielding a suitable crystal. (I've had this idea kicking around my head since reading Suns of Fortune. The book details quite a few different natural crystal formations, and getting access to any of these crystal formations presents a very difficult challenge).
Examples include: Tracking an ancient beast, such as a Krayt dragon. Protecting the natural beauty of a planet, including its rare crystal formations. Brokering a peace treaty (and receiving the crystal as a gift).
3) An Imperial vault is said to be impregnable. But they never anticipated a heist planned by force-sensitives.
4) A PC lost something important. They want to find it again.
5) A prisoner is being held at a high-security prison. The Alliance (or other relevant group) has stolen a cloaking-capable vessel that could reach the station undetected. The downside? The cloak is double-blind. Without an active sensor suit, only a force-sensitive could guide the vessel to the station without colliding with the dense asteroids surrounding the station.
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Thank you everyone for your advice, though i was hoping to find ideas from within Star Wars, I suppose they have gotten to Jedi Focused to have anything other than force sensitives. Unless you want to copy the Fetts, or Rogue Squadron. I suppose I'll just have to look at, and send others, to other series for inspiration, sense the source matiral clearly doesn't have it.
I definitely see where you're coming from. I've been burned out on Force sensitives for a long time. That said, I never felt like Star Wars was lacking in non-jedi material. Just that it often didn't take front and center.
If you're looking for stories centered around non-Jedi, I recommend "Tales From the Mos Eisely Cantina". It basically takes all those weird aliens and one-line characters from the Cantina in Mos Eisely, and tells a short story around each of them. Not a Jedi in sight.
It's basically, "Edge of the Empire: A Primer."
bradknowles and MILLANDSON reacted to this -
Thank you for the informative responses, people!
I'm inclined to treat the squad(ron) as one entity, because of the increase in silhouette and the ability to have a squadmate take the hit. It seems funny to me to have an enemy say, "I don't shoot at the squad, I shoot at PC Hammer!" and then have a squad member get hit. But if I'm missing anything, I'm all ears.
Well, it's basically giving PCs access to an ability similar to "Imperial Valor", for enemies like Imperial Moffs. When Nemeses use that ability, it's basically skinned as, "You shoot at the big important commander guy, but your shot goes wide and hits one of his bodyguards instead."
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If you want your game to work, it's unwise to take wookieepedia at face value. It's a good source for basic info, but it has a bad habit of misjudging scale, overstating capability, misattributing information, and making every weapon, starship, and device sound like the second coming of the chosen one.
You were supposed to balance the game, not break it!
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One thing I immediately noticed is that "Spur" can essentially turn Banthas into fast attack units.
Just strap a howdah with a repeating blaster onto its back, spur it into the middle of an infantry batallion, open up with the repeating blaster, then jet off to short range.
In fact, compared to a speeder bike, Banthas are far better combat "vehicles". Translated to vehicle scale, Banthas have more "hull trauma" and one point of "armor", compared to speeder bikes.
Sure, I wouldn't pit it against a repulsortank, but it stands up fairly well against vehicles that only mount personal-scale weapons.
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From the wording in the book, it feels like only PC astromechs can fire the guns. There is a list of actions: "Damage control, Plot course, etc". Gunnery is not actually on that list. However, there is then a footnote which states: "PC astromechs are allowed to make Gunnery Checks if a weapon system is available".
In the NPC astromechs sidebar, it notes: "the pilot may spend 3 advantage or 1 triumph to gain the benefit of one successful astromech mneuver or action from the included list."
It's a really weird way of wording it. But that seems to indicate to me that NPC astromechs cannot be used to score free hits with torpedoes.
I'd be open to alternative readings, but that seems the most balance way of approaching the problem.
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I like the basic idea. I've adapted the concept in various ways for different purposes.
In particular, I think they work well when you have two large capital ships, like a Mon Cal Cruiser and a Star Destroy duking it out.
I essentially treat starfighter squadrons as their own "weapon bank", and allow them to use barrage rules, treating each individual fighter as one "gun". It simplifies the combat by tracking fewer minion groups, and helps stafighters contribute to capital ship combat in a more meaningful way.
Besides, I'm not going to write up a backstory for all 36 fighter pilots aboard a Mon Cal. There's enough minions there that I feel okay tossing them away as ablative plot armor.
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Initially, I found it weird that Vader took out a rebel command ship using only starfgither grade laser cannons.
Then I remembered: you know what else got blown up by starfighter grade lasers cannons? The Executor. Heck, how many times across the various games have we all stripped down a Star Destroyer's shield generators from the cockpit of an X-Wing? It happens almost embarassingly often, second only to the Walker Tow-Cable takedown.
Certainly in the X-Wing and TIE Fighter video games, it's not overly difficult to take down a CR-90, even if you don't resort to warheads. Even this scenario: a single TIE Advanced against a half dozen corvettes and a squadron of A-Wings feels like the kind of mission you might fly in those games.
Plus, let's remember that the entire Alliance order of battle revolves around starfighter strikes against overwhelming odds. Vader just played the Rebels' game better than the Rebels. That makes sense. Anakin was one of the most talented (and reckless) pilots in the galaxy, and while he may have dropped the snarky banter, it's obvious he hasn't lost his edge in the cockpit.
That reversal maneuver? It's the kind of thing only Anakin would do. And watching Vader do it in utter silence was delightfully chilling to me.
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I think the Hot Shot's spec skills, much like many AoR specs, are poorly designed. Gunnery should be a part of that spec. They need to approach the specialization trees as if the character doesn't have the Career. If a farm boy goes into the Hot Shot spec then they should have access to the top four skills that spec would need. Coordination isn't one of those skills. If they had thought in this manner to begin with we wouldn't need the Basic Training spec tree.
I'm withholding judgment until I see just what the Hotshot talents are. I suspect there will be a certain element of "general recklessness", an talents that may apply to more than just piloting. In that case, Coordination might fit perfectly well, letting the Hotshot be just as nimble and daring on the ground as in the air. Especially since Agility is the most important characteristic for any Ace character.
Besides, the three specs in the Core book all give Gunner, plus Riggers are getting it too. Plus, with Driver and Pilot both completely doubling down on their parent career skills, Aces are kinda starved for breadth. More career skills is a welcome addition in my opinion.
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I know some people have speculated whether the Hotshot spec would make starfighters more survivable. Personally, I'm more curious about the Rigger. My guess is that it'll have some talents along the lines of "Tinkerer" (add a hardpoint) or "Jury Rigged" (pick from a list of generic bonuses), only applied to ships.
With an extra harpoint, PCs can increase the armour on a starfighter. I could also see a talent which increases the trauma threshold on vehicles. Together, they might not enough to make PCs feel totally secure, but it would help make starfighters more than just "vape bait".
What will Vader's stats look like?....
in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG
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I seem to recall Vader appeared in the Rebellion day module, "Rescue at Glare Peak". It did not stat Vader. The whole premise of the module is that Vader is coming, and you'd better haul ass out of there. Because his stats? If Vader catches you, you die.
I'm okay with this. I mean, I'm not saying in every adventure, Vader's arrival should necessarily herald the party's death. But if it fits the theme of the adventure, then sure. I don't mind extrapolating Vader into a purely narrative entity. The PCs should have opportunity to escape, and if they play smart, hopefully they will. If not, then Vader kills them. Let's face it: getting killed by Darth Vader actually sounds like a lot of fun.
If you want to do an "Inglourious Basterds" rendition of Star Wars, and have an alternate universe where an Alliance SpecOps team assassinates Vader? Then by all means, stat him up, and let 'er rip. Ideally he should kill a few PCs before they bring him down, but make it doable.
I'd rather the stat blocks remain homebrew considerations though. As people have said, official stat blocks lead to the, "If you stat it, they will kill it" mentality. I want to have that mystery available to me. I can build a Vader. No problem there. But if he gets made "official" I lose that mysteriousness. Even if I tell my players, "I'm not going by the Vader in the rules", the official stat block still creates a benchmark, and instills a certain, "We can take him" confidence. If there's no official stats for him, then the PCs have absolutely no idea what to expect. And that's a very powerful thing.