Who Should Make The Next Star Wars TTRPG, And What Should It Look Like?

[Reynard]

You've said you run a lot of con games, right? I expect that affects your experience as much as others are affected by theirs. Con games are as I'm sure you know quite a different experience from a home campaign.

I'm not sure of the relevance here. I only brought it up because it exposes me to a lot of people that want to play a Star Wars RPG. My experienmce does not line up with the assumption that RPG Star Wars fans are any more or less concerned about the details than any other Star Wars fan. As others have pointed out, it is one of the biggest fandoms in the world. It is multitudes.

And I don't think that RPG fans can be described as "concerned about the details" broadly, either. I have played with too may people who don't even know how their character works to believe that malarky.

 

[GungHo]

Now, Star trek fans...

No Klingon clerics... ever.

 

[Reynard]

No Klingon clerics... ever.

Klingons: half Cimmerian, half samurai.

 

[TwoSix]

I wonder why you think that. I have played Star Wars RPGs with a LOT of people (I run Star Wars games at cons a lot) and I can't say they strike me as any more interested in details than anyone else.

Just my general impression over the years. As a broad generality, gamers who are interested in a media property like books that give a fair amount of specificity about the property.

It doesn't have to be incredibly detailed; even if you were using a PbtA chassis for a Star Wars game, I think most fans would prefer a specific "Dathomir Witch" playbook over a generic "Force User" one.

 

[Reynard]

It doesn't have to be incredibly detailed; even if you were using a PbtA chassis for a Star Wars game, I think most fans would prefer a specific "Dathomir Witch" playbook over a generic "Force User" one.

Oh, that I agree with for sure. There's vibes AND details there.

 

[Kannik]

I will join in with the crowd noting we've been playing under a system of my own devising, and it's been going swimmingly!

I also second the idea of a Cortex Prime based ruleset -- which would be a serious and great way to get that system into the spotlight! We've played games under Cortex that would match the operatic and cinematic feel of Star Wars, including its focus on the characters (and their relationships, motivations, temptations, etc). And between individual tests, Contests, Challenges, and full on Combat there's a lot of options to use the resolution system that best fits the moment.

Also would be keen on a Lancer-like idea (though not necessarily exactly how Lancer does it out of encounters) of a distinction between out-of-combat happenings and a more granular/tactical set of things for when the blaster bolts or the starships (or both!) start flying. (With a non-tactical/more narrative combat option for those tables who might not want to run that or for when it's not necessary.)

A system based on WEG's D6 but updated with the advances of 20+ years and geared to be more cinematic and less granular would also pique my interest. (D6 is very much one of my foundational gaming touchstones and influenced my system.)

Cortex would top my list though.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Just my general impression over the years. As a broad generality, gamers who are interested in a media property like books that give a fair amount of specificity about the property.

It doesn't have to be incredibly detailed; even if you were using a PbtA chassis for a Star Wars game, I think most fans would prefer a specific "Dathomir Witch" playbook over a generic "Force User" one.

For me, the best part of any RPG book regarding a property is the detail, both in mechanical modeling of the aspects of the setting and in setting lore. Details about the locations, people, things, and history is a big part of why I'm here, and modeling these things out in game mechanics is a great pleasure for me.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think the worst problem with licensed games is that the license periodically gets pulled and sold off to some other company and a game dies not because it's time has come, but because some suit who doesn't understand or care about ttrpgs hears a pitch they like. It's bad enough to have non-licensed ttrpgs periodically replaced with vaguely similar sequel games called editions, but at least those tend to more consistently happen when the game has run its course and take elements from the game before.

In any case I finally got around to buying some Fantasy Flights Star Wars products, thankfully and extraordinarily kept available through Edge reprints. I haven't got around to playing it yet, but I very much doubt I'll find anything so objectionable in it that I will immediately urge for it to be replaced swiftly with a ground up new game. And it will be hard to get invested in that new game when it comes, knowing that it is only a matter of a few years before another ground up new game replaces it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think the worst problem with licensed games is that the license periodically gets pulled and sold off to some other company and a game dies not because it's time has come, but because some suit who doesn't understand or care about ttrpgs hears a pitch they like. It's bad enough to have non-licensed ttrpgs periodically replaced with vaguely similar sequel games called editions, but at least those tend to more consistently happen when the game has run its course and take elements from the game before.

In any case I finally got around to buying some Fantasy Flights Star Wars products, thankfully and extraordinarily kept available through Edge reprints. I haven't got around to playing it yet, but I very much doubt I'll find anything so objectionable in it that I will immediately urge for it to be replaced swiftly with a ground up new game. And it will be hard to get invested in that new game when it comes, knowing that it is only a matter of a few years before another ground up new game replaces it.

Agree about the issue with licensed games. Still sore about FASERIP here.

 

[Parmandur]

My gut feeling is that a Star Wars game should lean in a neotrad direction. Creating a specific character concept is really important in a Star Wars game, and people into Star Wars are also people for whom details generally matter. They want a carbine to feel different from a blaster pistol in play, and see a mechanical difference between Soresu and Ataru lightsaber forms.

Also, most Star Wars characters tend to be variations on a theme (soldier, bounty hunter, mechanic, pilot, Jedi, droid, etc.), and there's an appreciable difference in capability between powerful characters (Darth Vader, the Mandalorian) and common mooks. It's definitely the genre where the hoary old class/level system is actually pretty fitting.

If I had to look for a current game that has a lot of character build options but also leans towards allowing drama and big plot moments, I'd use Fabula Ultima as a base template for a Star Wars game.

I think you are quite right, which is why I think the Cosmere/Plotweaver system is a solid fit. Also solves the Jedi/Protocol Droid power gap elegantly.