Does Saga Edition make anyone else jones for Star Wars in general?

[The_Gneech]

I ran a Star Wars campaign in the HERO System for several years -- then West End put out their d6 system! So I tried that one a few times, but ended up sticking with HERO.

I liked the previous editions of the d20 Star Wars to some extent, but they always seemed awfully rules-heavy for the fast-and-furious kind of action SW should have. The ship combat in particular tended to give the group headaches. ("Speed categories? Can't I just move X squares?")

This weekend I ran the first session of a "rebooted" game I started in the previous edition that floundered. So far I'm not sure if the new edition is a step up, back, or sideways. We'll have to give it a little time and see. One thing I do know is that it badly needs support material, and better support material than the "Sith tombs as D&D dungeons OR redoing The Maltese Falcon with Hutts over and over and over again" stuff that WotC put out before.

-The Gneech

 

[Flynn]

I have to admit that the new book has gotten me all hyped about Star Wars again. I'm running a One Shot in a few weeks, to give the new rules a try. I do like a lot of what I've seen in the book, and I look forward to seeing some of it integrated into D&D with Unearthed Arcana II, or whatever the next book of variant rules by WOTC will be called. (I know, I know, some of you are thinking that the next book of variant rules will be called Fourth Edition. Well, since it's already been said, please don't worry about making a one-line post in the hopes that you'll come off sounding clever. Let's stick to the thread at hand.)

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Remus Lupin]

The problem with Star Wars as a setting is that the super-important, universe-shaking events have nothing to do with your player characters. Unless you are willing to make major changes to canonical events, the closest you can come to bringing your PCs into the action in the movies is allow them to meet and possibly aid the characters from the movies.

That's one reason why Old Republic and Legacy are such good eras to play in. We know that in the Rise of the Empire, the Clone Wars will start and Anikan Skywalker will become Darth Vader no matter what you do. We know that in the Rebellion Era the Death Star will be destroyed (twice!) but you won't ever get anywhere near it, and Darth Vader will kill the Emperor no matter what you do. In the New Republic, the Vong will invade no matter what. There's a lot more open-endedness to that plot-line, but the major events are still largely out of your control.

On the other hand, the Old Republic has 4,000 years for you to put your characters, and even if you place them in the midst of the Mandalorian War or the Sith War or whatever, there is still so much undefined plot-space that you can craft major events at the interstices of the "canonical" plot.

Because "Legacy" is so new, it is even more open-ended. Plus, I like the numerous factions, as Klaus pointed out, and the overall "darker" more pessimistic tone of the series. There aren't "white hats" vs. "black hats" or at least there aren't ONLY white hats vs. black hats, and that suits my sense of moral ambiguity just fine.

So I think that, depending on the era, Star Wars CAN work well as a setting, as long as you allow your characters to exist in a place where there is enough undefined space that they can really accomplish something.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

BINGO!

The problem with Star Wars as a setting is that the super-important, universe-shaking events have nothing to do with your player characters. Unless you are willing to make major changes to canonical events, the closest you can come to bringing your PCs into the action in the movies is allow them to meet and possibly aid the characters from the movies.

Players in RPGs expect to be a major factor in the campaign world, and this is hard to do in a setting in which the majority of events are published/filmed/etc.

There are, of course, ways to run a Star Wars game that doesn't touch canon, and that's to run a non-Rebel, non-Empire game (if you're playing during the Rebellion era), such as a group of bounty hunters or smugglers. Or during the Prequel era, Jedi on the fringes of the Republic, or as above, bounty hunters or smugglers. But honestly, if you're not going to use Star Wars canon and events of the movies (and to a lesser extent, the official novels), why run a Star Wars game at all?

That is indeed a problem. But if you want cool lightsaber actions or x-wings and star destroyers in your game, you will find it very hard to run another game. That's why you have to find a spot in the universe in which the players can be the world-shakers.

I am currently considering campaign set in the era where the EU placed the Vong invasion, but I won't use the Vong in this campaign. While I thought overall it wasn't all that bad, I don't particularly like the storyline they have described, and that's why I am going with an alterantive idea. I still like the idea of extragalactic threats, and I also like to introduce some organic tech into the mix.

I am not familiar with the Legacy of the Force stuff (yet), so maybe that would be a better place to set my campaign in, but there are some aspects (as far as I heard) that I don't like so much, though I will also steal some of the ideas...

 

[Someone]

That's one reason why Old Republic and Legacy are such good eras to play in. We know that in the Rise of the Empire, the Clone Wars will start and Anikan Skywalker will become Darth Vader no matter what you do. We know that in the Rebellion Era the Death Star will be destroyed (twice!) but you won't ever get anywhere near it, and Darth Vader will kill the Emperor no matter what you do. In the New Republic, the Vong will invade no matter what.

Why? what's the problem in altering the canon timeline once the PCs appear in scene? Even the X-Wing game did that when the player's pilot (not Luke) destroyed the Death Star.

 

[pawsplay]

The problem with Star Wars as a setting is that the super-important, universe-shaking events have nothing to do with your player characters.

That hasn't been a huge problem for me. My players haven't gotten to destroy the Death Star, but they have taken out three Star Destroyers, taken over an Imperial prison planet, hired a pirate fleet to cover the relocation to Hoth, assassinated an Imperial moff, and broken the Imperial blockade of Mon Calamari. They also prevented a couple of hired guns from assassinating Luke Skywalker shortly after the destruction of the Death Star. The Force using character had a brush with the Imperial inquisition, and while briefly detained, faced Darth Vader, who attempted to turn him (the character later escaped, sans lightsaber, but without succumbing to the Dark Side).

I think it's valuable to remember that the Galaxy is a big place, and that in any war, there are dozens of events that could be turning points in the conflict. Sure, the PCs don't get to destroy the Death Star, but isn't destroying a pair of prototype Super Star Destroyers, or a TIE Advanced production facility, really just as good? Later on, you can make the players smile when you mention that the Executor had to deploy without new armaments after being rushed to production, or that the Empire had begun work on the TIE/In project after production of the TIE Advanced became impractical.

 

[Henry]

I don't really consider myself a big Star Wars geek... I mean, I like it, but I haven't actually seen any of the movies since they were in theaters (the special editions that came out in 1997, in the case of the original trilogy) and I've never read any of the books or anything... Only other stuff Star Wars stuff I've partook of were video games. But now I can't stop thinking about it. I'm even debating picking up Star Wars minis, which is an additiction I absolutely cannot afford!

This happen to anyone else?

Ironically, Just yesterday I borrowed my friend's Prequel I-III DVD's and watched some last night. We played our first SWSE game yesterday (a one-shot I prepared) and it went VERY well. We all enjoyed it a lot, and the Jedi were taking down battle droids left and right. It must have gotten to me, because I watched the scenes of Obi-wan and Qui-Gonn cleaning house on battle droids last night.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Why? what's the problem in altering the canon timeline once the PCs appear in scene? Even the X-Wing game did that when the player's pilot (not Luke) destroyed the Death Star.

That's fine with me. If you want to change cannon, I have no quarrel. My point is that, in the context of the canonical universe, there are still whole eras to be fleshed out where Characters can make a splash WITHOUT having to change canon.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Were I to run a SWSE game, I would have no trouble at all ditching the entire EU post-RotJ. There wasn't anything in there that I've read the I'd feel compelled to include if it interfered with a good campaign.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

That's fine with me. If you want to change cannon, I have no quarrel. My point is that, in the context of the canonical universe, there are still whole eras to be fleshed out where Characters can make a splash WITHOUT having to change canon.

Truthfully, though, the Old Republic era is a LOT more defined than people give it credit for. Its mostly come in the form of comics, but the major events of the time, just like the Rise of the Empire, Rebellion, and NJO Eras ARE well defined and the players are known.

The only era really 'empty', as it were, is Legacy, but that's because they story hasn't even been finished. Of course, even Legacy has some limits if you're really sticking to canon. The biggest one being that everyone wants to play an Imperial Knight...when there are only about 10-15 in the entire galaxy.

Honestly, as has been said, the galaxy is HUGE. So you can't destroy the Death Star. There are so many other things to do in ALL of the Eras that I feel anyone that thinks there's nothing for players to do that's important just isn't trying or doesn't want to try. That especially goes for the Clone Wars, the Rebellion, and the Vong Wars...which were galaxy spanning WARS, of which we only ever saw a tiny part.

Oh, and as for the original question, I don't have Saga yet but I've given it a good look through and I like it. However, I'm too much of a Star Wars fan already. The urge to run the games and such is always there.