Break Canon: New Adventures in Known Universes

[Reynard]

I have this secret desire to run a Star Wars game that recasts all the main characters as whatever the players come up with and just drive forward and see what happens.

Known pop-culture universes like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Buffy are fun to play games in. But what happens when you break canon?

This thread is for telling as us how you did that, or how you would like to.

What property? What system? How did or would you change things?

 

[payn]

Not typically my thing but doing a Star Wars sequel canon break is something I’d have fun with. Nobody would join me though as I like FFG gensys above other SW systems.

 

[cbwjm]

I think if I was going to break canon in the Star Wars, I wouldn't recast the main characters, I'd just say "The Rebellion lost, Yavin 4 was lost and the Death Star remains a threat to any who would think of fighting against the might of the Empire".

I think running a star wars game where the dark side not only established itself as the galactic empire but also defeated the rebellion and now they have to pick up the pieces (with brand new heroes, the originals either being killed at the battle of Yavin or going into hiding) would be a fun series.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I ran a Star Wars game where Luke gave in to the dark side and joined his father. They then turned Leia. The Empire continued and the Jedi were totally vanquished.

This was when I was about 16 or so, so it was the West End Games edition.

Most supers games I’ve run in established universes like Marvel or DC have similar elements to them, changing what’s known in some way, using characters in different ways, making continuity our own.

 

[Laurefindel]

Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and Star Trek work really well for this. In many cases, breaking canon is canon with all their official alternate universes/timelines/reboots/what-ifs.

Star Wars is particularly ripe for breaking canon IMO, almost begging for it really with Star Wars stories going in so many different directions and wasting/ignoring/ruining so much characters and plot-lines potential (and I say that as a Star Wars lover).