Star Wars First Edition WEG - A Love Story

Love is in the air currently. Star Wars is back, and it's oh, so cool. The original trilogy and the new films are on fans' minds.


As a gamer, it reminds me of that day I walked into my FLGS and saw a brand new hard bound. Star Wars The Roleplaying Game! Published by West End Games. Powered by D6. I picked it up, flipped through it, and fell deeply in love.


I was slight on cash, as this was the late 80's, and I was young. I walked out of the store, looked at my girlfriend, and asked her if I could borrow a few bucks. I couldn't leave without buying the game.


To this day, Star Wars, first edition, is (as I have said many times) what I consider one of the best marriages between mechanics and roleplaying milieu that has ever been created. The rules serve the game--provide atmosphere for the game--like few other game systems.


And, it's so damned simple. The entire game can be taught in minutes. Players need to know NOTHING about the rules. They can learn as they go, and they'll know all they need to know after playing a single game session.


I'm not talking about the rules the D6 Star Wars became afterwards. I'm talking about the basic rules. The First Edition only.


Ya see, the rules were modified several times over the years. I'll admit that I like every incarnation of the game. But, as the modifications came, the game became more complicated. I like crunch, as long as it flows and doesn't bog the game down, and even the crunchiest version of the D6 Star Wars rules flow like oil down a beautiful woman's behind. But, there's just something about that First Edition that holds a special place in my heart.












If you've got that Star Wars mood nagging at you, and you want to put together a quick game, then Star Wars First Edition is your friend. You can find the original rulebook on the net. I've seen it at several places. You can also buy a copy for a reasonable price on eBay. The book is hardback, and it is quite pretty. I love the fake advertisements that WEG placed in the book.


The basic concept is this: Whenever a task is rolled, a number of D6 dice are thrown against a target number. The game only uses D6 dice. Sometimes, a task is rolled against another few or several D6 dice in place of a target.


As with most skill based games, character attributes govern skills. In this game, a skill or attribute is given a die code. When you need to roll, you just roll the die code.










The average code for human attributes is 2D, and humans typically range from 1D to 4D. For example, an average human would have Dexterity 2D. Whenever a test of Dex is necessary in the game, the player rolls 2D6. Simple, right?


Dexterity governs the Blaster skill. So, if a character fires a blaster and doesn't have an improved Blaster skill, the character just rolls on his Dexterity. A human with average Dex but without improved Blaster skill would throw 2D6 when he fires a blaster. If the character has improved the Blaster skill, then he would throw whatever his Blaster skill code happens to be. Maybe the character has Dexterity 2D but Blaster skill is 3D.


Character creation is a simple matter of assigning dice to stats and skills. There are six attributes, with each attribute governing several skills. A character without an improved skill can always throw the dice indicated by the governor attribute--or, he throws the dice code for the improved skill, whichever is higher.












What you see above are the six attributes (in caps) and any improved skill governed by that attribute. If Roark needs to roll his DEX to keep from falling off a ledge, he rolls 3D+1. If Roark fires his Blaster, he rolls 5D+1. If Roark attempts to reprogram an R2 unit, he'd use the Droid Program and Repair skill. But, Roark hasn't improved that skill. Therefore, it defaults to the skill governor, which is, in this case, Technical. Roark would throw 2D+2 on the task. How simple is that?


There are rules for creating droids and aliens as well as various types of humans, but that's an advanced rule. The simple way to go is to use one of the several character templates provided with the game rules. These are characters that are just about complete. All that is needed is some customization. A player is given a number of D6 to add to the template, thereby individualizing the character, and he's ready to go.


At the start of a game with complete newbies (those who have never played a D6 Star Wars Game before), the GM can allow players to pick from a selection of templates. The GM may even throw in some templates that he has created specifically for the adventure. The players pick a template, customize it with the bonus dice, and, boom, character generation and equipment selection is done. And, it's done in like....ten minutes. Boom. All done. Let's play.

So, let's talk about the GM and running a game. Like the movies, this game is all about interesting characters and swashbuckling action. Like most RPGs, this game runs best with GM gifted at telling stories.

Now, you can use a combat grid, miniatures, maps, and things like that...if you want to. The rules certainly allow for it. But, this game really hums with a GM describing all the action for the mind's eye of each player. You don't need maps. You can use them, but you don't need them. The game plays extremely well without them.

Each combat round is about five seconds of time. The GM describes what the players see as combat breaks out. The players each declare what they want to do. The GM then narrates how events play out, pausing to have players roll dice when needed. The GM then continues, incorporating the results of the dice rolls in his narration.

A player can do anything he wants to do within that five seconds of time. A player can say, "I fire at the first stormtrooper to my right, then move to cover behind the crate, peek around and fire two more shots at the closest trooper." It can be done in five seconds, and this game allows for all that in one combat round.

When the GM hears what the player wants to do, he breaks the actions down into game terms.






What does the player above want to do? He wants to fire his blaster (use a skill), move to the crate (Walk or Run), kneel down behind it (change stance), and fire two more shots (two more skill uses).

In this game, every action you take after the first means that your die code is reduced by -1D. If Roark (the character in the OP) fires his blaster once, then he rolls 5D+1. If he fires twice, he rolls 4D+1 for each attack throw.

The Roark Garnet character is not skilled enough to pull off everything this player wants to do. You cannot penalize a task to lower than 1D. The player wants to take three shots with his blaster, in total, plus move. Kneeling is considered part of movement, so it doesn't count as an action. Walking counts as an action. Running counts as two actions. At the minimum, Roark is -3D to his blaster shots (and the movement is not possible because Roark's DEX is only 3D+1.). The player will have to amend his actions to a blaster shot, the move and kneel, and the single final blaster shot (instead of two shots at the end). He can do all of that, taking a total of 3 actions in the five second turn and suffering -2D to any dice rolls.

Still, the player may not get to complete all actions in a round because another character may prevent him from doing so. Those stormtroopers can fire back at him!

The GM, when describing the action, will jump the focus of his description after each action. This is not unlike quick cuts in an action film (like, uh, Star Wars!). The GM will describe the first actions of all characters in the combat round, including the NPCs, then, he will describe the second actions, then the third actions, if any, and so on.

A Simple Example of a Combat Round​

Roark Garnet, Smuggler and opportunist with no love of the Empire, walks into a landing bay and sees a single stormtrooper there. The soldier in white turns, and his mechanical voice emits, "Hey, you there! Halt! This is a restricted pad." His blaster rifle is held at the ready, pointing at Roark.

Player: "Do I see any cover?"

GM: "Yeah, there's a crate about four meters to your right. The trooper is to your left. You would have to kneel behind it for cover."

Player: "Ok, I'm going to fire at the trooper, move to the crate, kneel, then fire two more shots....wait! No, I can't do all of that. I'll just fire one shot from the crate."

GM: "That's three actions, so you're -2D on any rolls."

Player: "Go it."

GM: "You see the trooper raising his blaster rifle. He's firing also. Whoever rolls the highest with his shot gets his shot off first."

Player: Roark's Blaster skill is 5D+2, now reduced to 3D+2. He rolls.

GM: (Doesn't tell player that the stormtrooper's Blaster skill is 3D, and he's only taking one shot) He rolls and beats the player's roll.

GM: As soon as the trooper says his sentence, you flinch and begin to raise your blaster, but the trooper is quicker. He fires his blaster and hits you before you can squeeze off a shot. Damage is 5D vs. Roark's Strength 3D.

GM: Roark takes the bolt in the right shoulder. He spins around, his blaster flying out of his hand, and flies to the ground. His vest is on fire for a moment from the heat of the bolt, but that goes out. Now, smoke and blinding pain throb out of your shoulder. The character is wounded.

Click to expand...

Here, you see the best laid plans of men and mice. The player declared three action but didn't get to execute any of them. The stormtrooper was too quick for Roak. He shot and hit before Roark could act.

Note that the game doesn't bother with initiative rolls. No, the GM simple goes around the table in the most dramatic and logical fashion describing each character's first action as if the players were watching an space action movie. It doesn't really matter who goes first until a point at which one character affects the actions of another. At that point, just let the task rolls dice. The higher task roll means that action takes place first.

In the case of the above, the stormtrooper fired before Roark could act. The trooper's attack roll was higher. Thus, Roark's blaster attack never happened. The stormtrooper fired, and Roark went down.

But, there's another type of action I haven't mentioned yet. It's called a Reaction. Some skills are Reaction Skills and can only be used when triggered. When they are triggered, they reduce skill use (from that point forward) just like any other skill.

Dodge is a reaction skill. It is used to get out of the way of incoming blaster fire. The target number, based on Range, for the stormtrooper to hit Roark was 10. The trooper, with his 3D skill, rolled 10 exactly, which indicates that Roark is hit and wounded. Blasters are powerful in this game. Roark wasn't killed (but could have been), but he sure was knocked down and hurt bad when he took the hit.

When the trooper fired, Roark could then declare a reaction skill use. Reaction skills can be declared immediately when they are triggered. In this case, Roark's Dodge is 4D+1. But, remember that Roark was -2D to all skill uses. Thus, the player could roll 2D+1 vs. the trooper's attack throw of 10. If successful, Roark dodges out of the way of the trooper's incoming fire. If he fails, he's hit (so Roark has nothing to lose).

The player throws 2D+1 and gets an 11.

This means the trooper misses.

GM: "The bolt jets over your right shoulder. It was so close that you could feel the heat from the thing as it barely missed you."

But now, the player has just used another skill. He is now -3D to all tasks, and he cannot change the tasks he declared. He can either do them or not. This makes movement impossible as the character doesn't have enough dice to move. Thus, Roark is -3D on his first action--his blaster shot at the trooper (that he can now re-roll because of the successful Dodge).

Roark's turn would end right there because he can't move with a -3D penalty (he's got 3D+1 DEX). So, the player will know that his character can perform a maximum of three actions and still be able to move. To be safe, in future combat rounds, he may only want to declare one or two actions. That way, he's got room for a Reaction skill and can still perform the rest of this declared actions.

NOTES

Think tactically about how many actions you declare.

Other characters, or reaction skills, may preempt you from carrying out all declared actions in a combat round.

Each action you take after the first lowers any dice code by -1D.

Running lowers die codes by -1D.

Dropping stance is counted as part of movement, but standing up or rising from a kneel is counted as an action.

Whenever rolling against movement, roll the Dexterity code (Stromtrooper Blaster vs. Character DEX to decide if blaster fire happens before or after movement).

Pulling a holstered weapon (drawing) can be done in the same action as the attack, but apply -1D to the code.
​

I'm with you. D6 Star Wars was the best RPG system ever made. It is both light and easy to learn. What I love about it is that anyone who has played it at least once can also GM a game. Everything you learn as a player in terms of mechanics is all the GM needs as well, which is different from a lot of other games.

This is a character template. The hardback rulebook comes with 24 of these. The GM can create custom templates for a specific adventure, if he wants. They're not hard to make, and they don't take a lot of time. And, they are a huge time saver when starting a game.

Templates are also found in other WEG D6 Star Wars game publications. The one below is from a book called Heroes and Rogues.






To customize the template, a player is given 7D to spread around to any skills. The attributes remain as shown on the template. Equipment is already picked for the character, but the GM should be encouraged to entertain any reasonable equipment requests by players. Star Wars characters don't carry a lot of gear, anyway.

To improve a skill, consider the governor attribute as the base die code, then add to it. For example, if we want to improve the Blaster skill for the character below, we can add 1D making her Blaster skill 4D+1. That's 3D+1 base (from the Dexterity code) plus 1 die. No skill can be improved more than 2D. Of the bonus dice given to improve skills, a single die can be broken down into pips. 1D can be exchanged for +1 to three different skills. Or, the single die can improve two separate skills by +1 to one skill and +2 to another. When breaking a die into pips, remember the dice progression shown in the OP. For example, if we break a dice down into three +1 modifiers, we could at 1 pip to the Space Transports skill (under Mechanical), making it Space Transports 4D. The second pip we could apply to Swimming (a Strength skill), making it 2D+1. The third pip we could apply to the Languages skill (under Knowledge), making it Languages 2D+2.

One of the great things about this game for GMs is that, once the GM has a feel for the game, he can make up NPC stats in a millisecond. This is great for those golden impromptu roleplaying moments.

The players are in a cantina on Jakku. For color, and off the top of his head, the GM describes the scene, including this large, four limbed, pink-skinned alien wearing a burnt orange spacer's tunic with a helmet ring, a chest strap with a blaster holster, two stubby legs with no feet, pseudo-pod arms with no fingers, and a featureless bald head with wide eyes and three short pose-able pseudo-pods extending off of it.


It's a visual the GM made up on the spot--not thinking twice about much more about the character. The alien was just part of the atmosphere from the GM's description until...a player says, "I'm going to walk up to that alien with the pink-ish skin that you described."

Through the roleplay encounter, the alien gets miffed at the player's character, and a fight breaks out. All of a sudden, you need stats for this character.

Well, in this game, it's easy-cheesy. Human average is 2D on stats. Use that as you base. You only need stats that you need immediately in the game. You don't have to create an entire template for this alien. If it's a bar brawl, then you just need this alien's STRENGTH and Brawling skill, if improved. You might also need his DEXTERITY and Brawling Parry skill (reaction skill). If it's a gunfight, then you'll need the alien's STRENGTH and DEXTERITY plus maybe the Blaster and Dodge skill.

The alien looks thick and hefty, so let's give him a quick 4D for STRENGTH. We can never improve a skill more than 2D at character creation, so we know his Brawling skill cannot be more than 6D. We'll give him 5D+1 for the heck of it.

STRENGTH 4D
Brawling 5D+1

For DEX, I'm thinking those pseudo-pods are pretty dexterous. I imagine them thinning themselves down to the size of a pencil or bloating to the size of a hammer head. The weapon is a normal human weapon, so the pods can easily grip it and use it. That's a high DEX. I'm going 4D+2 as a base. And, let's add 2D for Blaster. But, I don't see the Dodge or Brawling Parry skill being improved for him.

DEXTERITY 4D+2

Boom. Boom. Boom. What we need is done, done, done. This guy is up and rolling as a character in no time flat. It takes much longer to read this post than it does to stat out what you need with a quickie NPC.

And, if its a known Star Wars race, it's even quicker because the templates are already there for you. Just decide on any important skill improvements that you need at that moment, and you're done.

Quick and slick.

The other quick-n-easy thing about the game is the damage system. There are no hit points to track! Your character's Strength rating is also his ability to brush off wound effects. Whenever your character is hit, weapon damage is rolled against Strength code.




Stuns do not stack. A character can only be stunned once during a round. If a character is shot and stunned while suffering from a stun, the character is still stunned and suffers the same effect.

Wounded characters that are wounded again become Incapacitated. Incapacitated characters who are wounded or incapacitated again are mortally wounded. Like the stun, a mortally wounded character cannot be wounded further. A mortally wounded character who is wounded, incapacitated, or mortally wounded again is still just mortally wounded.

Armor improves the Strength roll when rolling against damage. For example stormtrooper armor increases STR by 1D with regards to damage (and it also reduces DEX and DEX based skills by 1D due to restriction of movement). A standard stormtrooper has STR 2D, but when shot with a blaster, he rolls 3D to brush off the damage.

If you watch the Star Wars movies, you'll notice that, when a blaster hits, it does quite a bit of damage. Blasters aren't lasers. They fire super-heated gas. That is, gas that is heated to a plasma state. This plasma bolt erupts from the weapon with a hell of a kick and had a ton of kinetic energy when it hits. Even a graze will knock a man off his feat. Wounds are typically not very bloody because the bolt cauterizes it and burns/evaporates/boils blood away. If you get stunned by one of these weapons, it hurts, though temporarily. And, there may be some superficial damage (burned clothes, a hole in armor). But, you survive! When you get wounded, all of your ability diminishes. Any wounding after that, and you're practically toast. You'll either wake up, or you won't.

Armor is a great thing to wear, if you can get it. The thing is, armor comes with a cost to mobility. As with the stormtroopers: Is it worth it to gain 1D in STR vs. damage but also suffer -1D to all DEX checks and all DEX based skill checks? Some say yes. Some say no. And armor still is not going to make you impervious. It's just going to help a bit against taking damage.

We can assume that Luke Skywalker is a brand new character at the start of A New Hope. He's a 19 year old kid. There's even a template for this type of character in the rulebook (called, believe it not, "Kid"). We can also assume that the story of A New Hope is one complete adventure.

So, the questions becomes, "How did a beginning character avoid Darth Vader and blow up the Death Star?"

There are two answers to this. The first answer is to point out that this is a skill based game and not a level based game like D&D. Characters that come out of character generation are much more competent and closer in expertise to the extremely experience characters. That is to say a Star Wars character, straight out of character generation (template customization) is a much stronger character than a 1st level character in D&D.

But, the real answer is that Luke is strong in the Force. In game terms, when it came time to make that incredible shot to take out the Death Star, Luke blew a Force Point.

Every player character (and some important NPCs) start the game with a Force Point. When these points are spent, every attribute or skill check the character makes during the combat round is made with all die codes doubled. That is to say, if Luke had Starship Gunnery 4D (and Mechanical attribute 3D) as a newly generated character (1D put into the skill because his backstory has him bulls-eyeing womp rats in his T-16 over in Beggar's Canyon), then he's throwing a whipping 8D when a Force Point was blow (plus, he gets some bonuses from the X-Wing Fire Control). He's got plenty of room to do other actions, like pilot the X-Wing (Starship Piloting) and make reaction skill throws to outmaneuver Vader's incoming fire (also Starship Piloting) and still make the extremely high target number needed to hit the exhaust port at the end of the trench on the Death Star.



The "points" used in First Edition are Skill Points. These are simply a method of adding experience to the character. At the end of each adventure, Force Points and Skill Points are awarded. Force Points are awarded for heroic character actions during the game. Skill Points are awarded for attaining goals and excellent roleplaying. In between adventures, players can spend skill points to increase a character's skills. Attributes can be increased too, but it is very costly. Even the big names, like Vader and Luke, if you look at the published stats for those characters, never increased their original attributes--only their skills.

In the famous scene from the Mos Eisley cantina that has been altered in different versions of the film, the PC Han Solo faces the GM's NPCs Greedo. In the original version, in game terms, where Han shoots first, and there is only one shot fired between the two, Han would make a Con skill roll (governed by Perception) against Greedo's raw Perception attribute. He's successful, so Han can pull his blaster from his holster, under the table, without Greedo noticing the movement. Alternatively, Han's Con roll can be rolled against a difficulty rating chose by the GM. In this case, I'd call for a 20+ (Difficult) throw. This is done while roleplaying the the situation between player and GM.

At the point where Greedo asks for the bribe to look the other way and not turn Solo in, or kill him, in order to get Jabba's bounty, the player says, "OK, I'm tired of this dude. My blaster is out, under the table. I'm going to blast him.

Range is point blank. That's a throw of 5+ to hit. Han, with his dice codes, only making one shot, is not going to miss. It's impossible for him to miss--unless Greedo uses his Dodge skill.

Han making the shot triggers the use of that reaction skill. Greedo is better off just declaring the one action. That way, he uses his full Dodge skill. Greedo's Dodge has to be higher than Solo's attack throw.

It isn't. Greedo is hit.

Damage done by Han's heavy blaster pistol is a whopping 5D. Han's roll must have been at least twice Greedo's Strength roll (against the damage) because the Rodian flopped head first onto the table, immobile. He's either incapacitated, or he's dead or dying (Mortal Wound delivered by three times Greedo's STR roll).



Han and Greedo at the Mos Eisley cantina.



Now, in the edited version, where Greedo fires first, the mechanics are a slight bit different.

Han still succeeds at a Con throw to ease his DL-44 out of its holster without the Rodian noticing. And, this is still done between player and GM while the two are roleplaying the scene.

Player (roleplaying Han): "Yeah, but this time I've got the money."

GM (roleplaying Greedo): "If you give it to me, I might forget I found you."

Player: "I don't have it with me. Tell Jabba--"

GM (cutting him off): "Jabba's through with you."

Player: I'm through with this fruitcake. I'm going to try to pull my blaster out of my holster, under the table, without Greedo seeing me.

GM: OK. That's a Con roll. (Behind the screen, the GM rolls Greedo's Perception attribute and ends up with a low total. The GM sees that the player's roll is higher). You got you DL-44 out.

Player: I point it right at his gut.

GM (continuing to roleplay): "He has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser."

Player: "Even I get boarded sometimes. You think I had a choice?"

GM "You can tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship."

Player: "Over my dead body."

GM "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

Player. That's it! The dude is toast! I say, "Yes, I bet you have." And, I let him have it under the table. Pow!

GM: Greedo already has his gun on you. He's going to shoot at you, too. Range is point blank for both of you. Only a 5+ is needed to it. Easy pickings. But both of you can try a Dodge.

Roll your attack. (Player rolls his Blaster skill.)

Behind the screen, the GM rolls Greedo's Blaster skill. The PC, Han Solo, has the higher roll.

The Rodian fires at you, and you squeeze the trigger a split second later. But Greedo is distracted--probably by the movement of your arm under the table. His shot goes wide, missing your head by inches. Your shot, though, catches him square in the gut. Roll damage.

It's all in the story telling. The GM interprets the dice throws and narrates the a visual for the player, keeping the action exciting and the game fun. This time, instead of saying that Han shot first, the GM made the scene more exciting by telling the player (who did not see Greedo's attack roll and has no idea who shot first until the GM describes the scene) that Greedo's shot went off first--but missed. It's the same result, told in a slightly different manner.

This brings us to...the Force!

The thing to remember is: This game is designed to capture the feel of the original trilogy, where the Jedi have been hunted to extinction. I think it works fine, but some say it doesn't play as well in the prequel (Episode I-III) era. Again, I disagree. There is a sourcebook called Tales of the Jedi Companion that not only ties in with the Old Republic and the Tales comics but also shows the game in an era when Jedi were a-plenty. Again, I think the game works well within an era of Jedi, but I've seen some argue that the d20 version of the game is a better rule system for prequel era play.

But, because WEG's D6 Star Wars game was written for the original trilogy setting and during the New Republic (now deemed the Legends setting, for the time just after Episode VI), the game is now very relevant again due to the new movies. Again, Jedi are all but extinct, and many think them mythological.





The game has three Force skills, and these are not like ordinary skills. They are a mixture of attribute and skill. Notice any of the character templates in the book that feature characters with Force skills. If a character has a Force skill, then one of his attributes is lowered.

For example, all non-Force using character templates have 18D total in attributes, with no attribute lower than 1D or higher than 4D (except the Wookiee template where STR is 5D but total attributes are still 18D).

Characers that have Force skills on their template have 1D in each Force skill, but in each case, the character's attributes are dropped by a like amount.




Add all that up and you get 18D. Add up just the attributes, and you get 15D. The three Force skills are, obviously, called Control, Sense, and Alter.

Here's another one...






This template only has one Force skill. Thus there are 17D in attributes and 1D for the Force skill.

Special Note & Trivia: WEG's line of Star Wars RPG products considered closely other Star Wars materials at the time: the original Marvel comics from the 70's and 80's, the Dark Horse comics from the 90's, and the series of novels that began to hit the shelves at bookstores, starting with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. The game line featured supplemental works like the Dark Empire Sourcebook (tied to the Dark Horse comic) and the Truce at Bakura Sourcebook (tied to the novel by Kathy Tyers). Zahn, when writing that first trilogy of Extended Universe novels, used WEG's sourcebook as research material for his story. You will see vehicle designs, like the Interdictor Crusier, that first showed up in WEG's game, used in his novels (and has now become a Star Wars staple vehicle). For years, the WEG game books were used by authors and computer game designers as part of the Star Wars Universe Bible--something they read to familiarize themselves with details of the Star Wars Universe (since all there was to go on was what we see in the original trilogy of movies).

Typically, licensed universes have a big influence on rpgs, but in WEG's case, the opposite was also true. WEG's game books have had a wide and deep influence on many things created for Star Wars even long after WEG closed its doors.

Some of the more curious templates provided in the First Edition game book are taken from characters that appeared in the early Marvel Star Wars comics. If you read those stories (Clicky. And, Clicky.) you will see...a story featuring a quixotic Jedi...a kid...an Ewok...and some other characters familiar as templates.

You'll slap your head and say, "Oh! THAT'S where they got the idea for the Quixotic Jedi...."





I said above that the three Force skills are part attribute and part skill. They're part attribute in that you initially get them like you do an attribute, as I've illustrated above. They're part skill in that you can use Skill Bonus dice to increase your Force skills (these creation dice cannot be used to increase normal attributes). The catch is that Force skills cost double to improve. The Force is a strong ally for a character who is trained in its use. But that expertise comes at a price--a price in lower attributes (that effect all skills governed by the attribute) and less points for general skill improvement.

During the game, Force skills can be improved with Skill Points, just like other skills. But, Force Skills cannot be improved automatically, like regular skills. A teacher must be found (usually another Force user, but maybe something like a holocron or other Jedi learning device). And, in a universe where the Jedi are near extinct, finding training in most GM's Star Wars universes is a very hard--usually story related--job to accomplish.

Even with a master to teach a pupil, the master is limited to what he knows. He cannot teach a Force skill that he does not know, and he can teach Force Powers (different uses of the skill) only to the level that he knows. And, this all costs Skill Points. Lots and lots of skill points that, if spent in this manner, reduces advancement of the character in other areas (i.e. his Blaster skill will not improve as fast as his non-Force using cohorts).

It's a beautiful system. Very balanced.





The Dark Side, of course, plays a part in the game. Whenever a character, especially a Force user, acts in a manner attractive to the Dark Side (this is at the GM's discretion--guidelines are provided in the rulebook), the character gets a Dark Side Point. This indicates that the character has taken a step or two down the road to the Dark Side. Once a character gets two Dark Side Points, the GM rolls 1D. If the result is less than the number of Dark Side Points (rolls a 1 on 1D6 if the character has 2 Dark Side Points, rolls 1 or 2 if 3 Dark Side Points, and so on), the character completes the transition and turns to the Dark Side.

A Dark Side character is normally taken away from the player at this point, becoming an NPC for the GM to use as an enemy against the other players. Losing the character is big penalty to players who think it is fun to dabble with the Dark Side. I think this is a brilliant way to encourage players to play "in character" and want to be on the side of the Light Side. But, a creative GM and player could make for an interesting game allowing a player to secretly fall to the Dark Side without the knowledge of the other players.

The longest D6 Star Wars game I ran lasted seven real years. It took place over 3 game years, following some Rebels who joined the Alliance just after the destruction of the Death Star, ending just before the events shown in The Empire Strikes Back. There was a character in that group of PCs targeted by the Dark Side, and the player and I had so much fun with this. The player didn't want to fall to the Dark Side, but I would entangle him in moral situations where there is no Light Side answer. For example, the player would find himself in a situation where he had a choice to murder his Light Side master to keep the NPC from being tortured into telling the location of the Rebel Base. If he kills his master, the character stops the Imperials from overrunning the base, buying the Rebels time to escape. But, the character also gains a Dark Side point for the act of murdering his master in cold blood. Or, the character lets his master live and doesn't gain a Dark Side point, but the entire adventure fails because the player allows the Imperials to wipe out the Rebels.

I would describe dreams the character would have--the Dark Side calling to him. Torturing him with this Dark Side stuff was delightful. The player ate it up. He loved the moral dilemmas that would come his way (maneuvered, of course, by the Dark Side, in the game).

In the prequels, Anakin gains a Dark Side point when he wipes out the village of Sandpeople who took his mother on Tatooine in Episode II. The one Dark Side point is not enough to turn him, but it sure sets him down that path. And, he is haunted with dreams--premonitions of Padme's death--the Dark Side pulling at him. And that was years--hell, decades--after I had tortured my player using the same techniques in that long running Star Wars game.

In my game, the character that was being taunted by the Dark Side is noticed by none other than Darth Vader himself. Vader senses him through the Force and eventually seeks him out with an eye towards making the character his apprentice. Again, this is us gaming decades before Episode I came out. The character eventually succumbs to the Dark Side. This is about two-thirds through our seven year campaign. And, for the last couple of years, I used the character as Darth Vader's new apprentice and the main villain facing the PCs. The game turned out to be damn cool because the villain that the players were playing against turned out to be one of their own--a character that they had adventured with for four or five real years!

Man, that was a good game. Lots of good memories. When I see those players, we still talk about some of the events that took place during that campaign, even now, all these years later.





The three Force skills are used just like normal skills. You roll the die code for the Force skill to see if an effect happens.

Force skills have powers. You can think of a power as you would a normal skill as each power is tied to one or more Force skills in the same way a normal skill is tied to an attribute as a governor. The difference is two-fold: More than one Force skill can govern a power, and powers don't have die codes like normal skills. When a power is used, the die code for the Force skill is used.

For example, the Quixotic Jedi (above) has 1D in the Sense Force. Life Sense is a power governed by Sense. Vader used it in A New Hope on the Death Star. Remember this scene?

Vader: He is here....

Tarkin: Obi-wan Kenobi! What makes you think so?

Vader: A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master.

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The base difficulty for this power 5+, but the throw is also modified by proximity to the target and relationship to the target (a table of modifiers is provided in the game). The character must know the power to use it. He must have learned it from a master or some other method. Think of powers like spells in D&D, and think of Force Skills like Schools of Magic in D&D. In order to use the power, the character must know the power and roll the required number using the die code of the Force skill. In this case, the character must roll 1D, looking for a result of 5+, with the roll modified by proximity and relationship.

Some powers use more than one Force skill as a governor. Look at the Alien Student of the Force template above. That character has 1D in all three Force skills: Control, Alter, and Sense.

Remember the scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Luke is training with Yoda but has a vision that Han, Chewbacca, and Leia are in trouble on Bespin?

Luke: I saw...I saw a city in the clouds.

Yoda: Mmm. Friends you have there.

Luke: They were in pain.

Yoda: It is the future you see.

Luke: Future? Will they die?

Yoda: Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.

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This use of the Force is a power called Farseeing, and it is a power of two Force Skills, Control and Sense. To use the power (if the character knows it), the character rolls both a Control task and a Sense task, both with modifiers for differing circumstances.

Note that if a player wants to use a Force power that he doesn't have, then the character must learn it. But, the GM, for story purposes, can invoke the will of the Force and grant one-time uses of a power (but the character must still make the required throws). This is what happened to Luke on Degobah. Yoda didn't teach him the Farseeing power. In fact, Yoda might have prevented it in order to keep Luke focused on his training. But, the Force stepped in anyway, giving Luke a vision, allowing him to use the Farseeing power. Luke was puzzled after its use and asked Yoda questions about what he had seen. Yoda, I'm sure, recognized that Luke had just used the Farseeing power without knowing what he had done.

The Force will work in mysterious ways.