The 1E D6 Star Wars game has three rule versions.
First. There's the 1E Core rules, as described in the Core Rulebook.
Second. There is the Rules Upgrade. This was a four page set of additional rules that came with all 1E materials in the early days. You can view those four pages
HERE or
EVEN HERE.
Third. There is the Rules Companion. This book of supplemental rules came out during the 1E run, and once it did, the Rules Upgrade was no longer included with 1E purchases. This supplement included and expanded upon the Rules Upgrade.
What this post is about is:
The Rules Upgrade
...from the perspective of a GM who loves vanilla 1E, Core Rulebook style.
(Refer to the Rules Upgrade via one of the links provided above.)
DIFFICULTY NUMBERS
Sure! Use it! But, it's not really a rule change, per se. It's already in the 1E core rulebook but just not spelled out so clearly. There are optional modifiers charts at the back of the book that suggest changing difficulty for this and that. It's the same thing for the GM to modify difficulty for various reasons.
REVISED COMBAT SEQUENCE
From a pure 1E Core Rulebook perspective, this revised sequence is inferior to the original. First, the sequence requires that Reaction skills are declared and rolled at the start of the round, before any actions are resolved. This puts a straight jacket on the easy flow of actions in the very cinematic core rulebook combat sequence. It focuses the game more on dice rolls and less on incredible Space Opera action as described by the GM. In 1E Core, reaction rolls are never declared. A character can use them to "react" to another character trying to harm him. It's up to the player to use a reaction roll, and he doesn't have to decide until he's shot at--this is information that the attacker should not already know (as he does with this revised system).
Second, the revised combat sequence brings to the game the idea of Haste (which is elaborated upon in the Rules Companion). I have never liked the Haste concept as I think it just brings some chunkiness to a swift and clean system, mucking up the works for no real gain.
Third--and I really dislike this--the revised combat system, the damage roll from a hit is separated from the action roll that achieved the hit. This means that all actions in a segment take place, and if a blaster hit is scored on an enemy, the attacker must wait to roll damage after all characters in the combat round have rolled their actions. Then, you go back to the attacker that scored a hit and roll damage. So, if a character is hit, he still gets to perform his actions--all damage is rolled at the end of the sequence. I find this very unwieldy in a game and proof that upgrade rules are not always better rules.
Fourth, under 1E Combat, if a character is hit, the minimum that will happen to him is that he is stunned. That means that he will lose all his actions for the round if he has not yet acted. The hidden benefit to this is that this simple rule makes complicated combats very easy. The blaster bolts start flying, and early on, when people get hit, they can no longer act--thus the combat is streamlined. The new Upgrade Rules, where damage is considered last in a segment, keeps complicated combats rather complicated--because all combatants still act, no matter what, in that combat segment.
NOTE: That the Upgrade Rules also introduce two versions of Dodge: The Combat Dodge and the Full Dodge. The Combat Dodge is a roll of just the Dodge skill. The Full Dodge is what a dodge is in the 1E Core rulebook: You roll your Dodge and add it to the difficulty to hit you. Again, I think this is unnecessary and just complicates a fast moving game.
In 1E, the Dodge (called a Full Dodge in the upgraded sequence) is a powerful defense. It is what keeps the heroes alive. But, the 1E Core Dodge is only good for one segment. As with all multiple skill use, it degrades every time it is used. This, a player will have to balance that fact with skill use to keep his character safe.
And, the way it is used in 1E makes it not necessary to have to fiddle with Character Points (from 2E). The Dodge is weakened with the other options in the Rules Upgrade, which creates the need for Character Points. Simplicity is degraded, and the crunch feeds upon itself. Rules beget more rules. I prefer the quick, sleek fun of core 1E, unburdened by all this unnecessary extra.
More Complication: Look at the combat example given in the Rules Upgrade. It's just, flat-out, more complicated than that used in Core 1E. And, for what gain?
COMBINED ACTIONS
This is an interesting rule. It allows higher blaster attack values at the cost of lower damage rolls. For example, if two Stormtroopers roll an attack a the same target, both roll 3D for the attack. If a hit is scored, the blaster rifles do 5D damage.
This means that either trooper can roll a maximum of 18, and the damage potential for both hits is 5D twice.
With the combined action rule, you use the highest die code for the base then add +1 pip for every die code used in support. In the above example, the roll would be 3D +3. Now, the maximum roll is 21, and the average roll is skewed up 3 points to 13. Damage, though, is for the single weapon. So the likelihood of hitting increases, but damage remains with a single weapon.
This seems like a good rule to add to a game, but I caution you. This rule is very dangerous, and I would not use it.
First, consider that, in 1E, a character's main defense is his Dodge. He rolls his Dodge skill and adds that to his difficulty. Dodge is his armor--it keeps the character alive--it keeps the character from being hit and damaged. The Combined Actions rule is just going to make it easier for your Heroes to get hit.
Think about it. Five stormtroopers round a corner and fire on your PC. They each have Blaster 3D. Your PC rolls his Dodge and gets a total of 20. The PC cannot be hit this first segment (the PC is more vulnerable later in the round as his Dodge will degrade). This keeps the BIG **** HERO ALIVE!!!!
Now, with Combined Actions, those five strormtroopers coordinate fire. The attack roll becomes 3D + 12! The average roll is 22! The maximum roll is 30! We've gone from no possible hit (against the 20 Dodge) to a likely hit!
Think of Luke Skywalker swinging across the Death Star chasm with Princess Leia on his hip and a squad of stormtroopers blasting away at him. Which one of these scenarios better fits that heroic moment? The 1E Core rulebook version, where five stormtroopers start blasting away at our hero, but our hero escapes unharmed (and rather heroically!). Or, the second, combined fire version, where the hero is hit?
'Nuff said. I suggest strongly that you do not use Combined Actions in your 1E game.
STARSHIP COMBAT
As with normal fire combat, the new version of Starship Combat just mucks up the works and complicates an already graceful, fast and fun system in the 1E Core Rulebook. The changes mirror those in ground combat, and I think the Upgrade is not an improvement.