An Open Letter to Fantasy Flight and Cubicle 7 -- Cut the "Foreplay" and Give Us the Good Stuff

[Neonchameleon]

I agree. The more I see from Edge of the Empire the less it looks like a Star Wars game. It is another version of Traveler or Firefly or even Ashen Stars. I'm really surprised on how much that is Star Wars from the movies is not in this book.

I, on the other hand, was delighted to see that it would be Star Wars: A New Hope and not Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I haven't bought it yet because I'm not able to find dice and not buying it without.

But seriously, look at the characters in ANH. Obi Wan is an NPC. Han is a scruffy smuggler on the edge of the Empire, as is Chewie. The only force-using PC is Luke and he's pretty much untrained.

The second book is to be about the Rebellion - i.e. The Empire Strikes Back. The third, the Return of the Jedi, is when the Jedi finally show up as Jedi. This, I don't see as a problem.

And I'd much rather a Star Wars game based on A New Hope and in which Han was a scruffy smuggler who shot first than one based on The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Well, the Star Wars Universe is much bigger than those six movies, though I see your point structurally. My big beef though is this: Suppose I don't want to play Episode IV? Suppose I want to play a game set in the New Republic? Or a Jedi Academy game? I would like to be able to play those out of the box. Episode IV is a wonderful thing, and so is a game based on the tropes of Episode IV, but those aren't the only tropes that one could play with, and it would have been nice if they had constructed the game to cater to a variety of play styles, rather than just one.

But hey, again, if that's your game style and that's what you want to play, this is clearly a game well constructed for that purpose, and more power to you. I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to reevaluate when the other games come out.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

And I'd much rather a Star Wars game based on A New Hope and in which Han was a scruffy smuggler who shot first than one based on The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones.

But which version is it? I'd rather the original Star Wars where Han shoots first, than the revised and expanded Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope where he shoots second.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Well, the Star Wars Universe is much bigger than those six movies, though I see your point structurally. My big beef though is this: Suppose I don't want to play Episode IV? Suppose I want to play a game set in the New Republic? Or a Jedi Academy game? I would like to be able to play those out of the box. Episode IV is a wonderful thing, and so is a game based on the tropes of Episode IV, but those aren't the only tropes that one could play with, and it would have been nice if they had constructed the game to cater to a variety of play styles, rather than just one.

But hey, again, if that's your game style and that's what you want to play, this is clearly a game well constructed for that purpose, and more power to you. I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to reevaluate when the other games come out.

What do you want to do in the New Republic? This is the big question. You'll need book three for a Jedi Academy game - but as there were only a few dozen Jedi in the entire Republic, there's plenty to do in the Republic otherwise. Spies, espionage, smuggling and dodging the law, and anything scoundrel-ish (including, I believe, politics) fit Edge of Empire. Military (whatever sort) are the focus of the second, and the decision is that actually trained Jedi need a book to themselves.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Has FFG hinted at a general release schedule for the second two books? Since the core concepts of the system (skills; the skill resolution scheme; race, talent, equipment, and speciality structure) have already been developed for EotE, I imagine tailoring those for the remaining two theme wouldn't take very long.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Well, military is at least one possible approach (clean up the remnants of the Old Empire), but I would also imagine a greater role for Jedi in the New Republic. Even early on you've got folks like Kyle Katarn and Corran Horn in addition to Luke ( and Mara Jade and an in-training Leia).

But again, I guess what I'm saying is: For your first product, you should give players a basic toolbox that enables them to do whatever they want that fits in the parameters of the universe, and then deepen that with subsequent products. But clearly this is a game design choice that not everyone needs or agrees with, and I'm fine with that.

 

[billd91]

again, I guess what I'm saying is: For your first product, you should give players a basic toolbox that enables them to do whatever they want that fits in the parameters of the universe, and then deepen that with subsequent products. But clearly this is a game design choice that not everyone needs or agrees with, and I'm fine with that.

Whether or not you should provide a toolbox first or not, I think, really depends. That might be appropriate for a revised edition of a game when the previous edition already has campaigns under way. Providing a broad toolbox offers good opportunity to foster adoption. But this is FFG's first entry into the Star Wars RPG world. Starting narrower in focus is a perfectly appropriate way to approach it, particularly tied in with the Episode 4 scope on the fringe. That's how we got into Star Wars the first time, I think it's a reasonable plan for FFG to emulate it with their version of the RPG.

Depending on the nature of the toolbox, starting with one can really be unhelpful. Go check out Traveller 5. I dare you. I double dog dare you.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Well certainly the toolbox has to have the right tools for the game you want to play, and not so many of them that you're overwhelmed. To extend the metaphor a bit, a box of plumbing tools won't help me much if I'm looking to fix my car, and a massive 5-foot rolling toolbox is probably way more than I need. On the other hand, if I need a 3/4" ratchet, then I need a 3/4" ratchet, and it would be nice if I had one available.

 

[Crothian]

I, on the other hand, was delighted to see that it would be Star Wars: A New Hope and not Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I haven't bought it yet because I'm not able to find dice and not buying it without.

The book though is not Star Wars a New Hope. In the movie we clearly have the Rebellion. There are no Sand People, no Jawas, and we have very few races so we can't even do a proper bar scene. The book is limited to a nebulous time in between the trilogies at the edge of Empire space. The type of stories it seems to be designed to tell and based on the short adventures printed so far are what we see in Firefly and Traveler games. There is obviously a place for this and I imagine Star Wars is a big enough name still that it would be hard for it to not be a success. It just wasn't what I was expecting. I wanted more Star Wars options. That doesn't mean I won't play it or even run it. I own the book, I own the dice and I'll buy more. I just want better options in the future since I cannot change the past.

 

[Jhaelen]

Obi Wan is an NPC. [...] The only force-using PC is Luke and he's pretty much untrained.

You got this wrong: Obi Wan was a PC killed early by the DM because he realized, he'd given him too much power, and Luke is the DM's PC.

Anyway, to me the Jedi are the 'focus' of the whole Star Wars universe. If you leave them out what's left is just another Space Opera setting. It's the Jedi that make Star Wars Star Wars.