How many are playing SAGA?

[Stalker0]

Just on the wizard's boards I have seen some various problems with SAGA.

For example, in SAGA, bullrush works automatically (if you hit). There's no opposed roll, you just move the person 5 feet. Its a lot faster, but you already see a mess of problems on the wizard's boards where 2 people with bull (bantha) rush are ping ponging a guy back and forth for continuous AOOs and things like that.

But asides from problems like these (which I'm sure they are learning their mistakes from) people seem generally very happy with SAGA. It encourages mobility, skill use, fast action, and fun. The question to me is whether SAGA rules should be imported into dnd, but how much of it?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I wasn't assuming point-buy since it's not default.

There isn't much point of discussing die-rolled characters in a discussion where balance comes up. You can roll pretty much anything. You should use more reasonably statted characters so your arguments hold more weight.

 

[Tarek]

Involuntary movement does not trigger AOOs, was the last ruling I'd heard.

 

[schporto]

We played last night. This was as a break from our usual DnD 3.5. Nobody had played Star Wars before. Everyone had seen the movies though. We had a book, and borrowed another from a friend. My wife and I made all the characters (5th level). The characters were pretty easy/quick to build. A large part of this was probably the fact that there was only one book to look at.

We took 15 minutes at the start to explain rules and special character options before we started. Most of it was easily picked up. Our group is usually a kick in the door group, and this was a bit of a change as I made them plan, and do some skill checks. These went well, and folks actually enjoyed them (somewhat odd for my group). (I also felt fine handing them a gift event on a silver platter. Someone commented "hey it's just like the movies!")

In an odd move the group willingly separated in an effort for better tactics - and it worked. Once combat started most characters had a good option each round. The noble probably had the worst (least fun) combat options. I'm not convinced combat went faster, BUT each player's turn went faster. To put it differently - the fight lasted the same amount of time as DnD, but each player's turn went by fast. As a GM I was able to use the NPC's powers without working too hard on choosing the best thing to do.

All in all it was a good night.
-cpd

 

[dagger]

We started up a SAGA game last month.

It just feels smooth........we like it.

 

[teach]

Having only played one session of Saga Edition at gencon, I have to say, I had a lot of fun with it.

Talents are great, especially the talents that gave reroll. Seems less crunchy and more heroic than giving straight bonuses. I also like the skills, and also the mechanisms to let any character to attempt cross class skills while still having a chance of success.


As far as things that won't likely have carryover to D&D, I did play with 3 jedi in my group, and they were pretty dominant in the combat, particularly with force slam. It felt like that ability would be better if it scaled a bit with level.

 

[Li Shenron]

I'm not convinced combat went faster, BUT each player's turn went faster. To put it differently - the fight lasted the same amount of time as DnD, but each player's turn went by fast.

Do you mean lasted the same amount or rounds, or real-life time? How many rounds does it usually last on average?

 

[schporto]

Do you mean lasted the same amount or rounds, or real-life time? How many rounds does it usually last on average?

Sorry - same real life time. The number of rounds increased.
-cpd

 

[Henry]

Our experiences with Star Wars Saga Edition:

I've been DM'ing a game for the past couple of months, at approximately one session very two weeks or so, from 1st level to (now) 3rd - they just hit fourth at the end of last session.

Characters at low levels are about as powerful as characters of 4th to 5th level in D&D. It's very, very difficult to "keep a character down" thanks to the per-encounter resources, the second winds, the jedi healing abilities, and so forth. I started the game with them captured, beat to within an inch of their lives, and thrown shackled in a slave-pit; They had recovered about half their hit points and all force powers before the end of the first day, and escaped.

Characters CAN die, however, thanks to the effects of blasters and CL 6 beasts, and in fact two of them would have if not for letting them spend their destiny points to do so at 1st level. However, this party of seven characters beat the living tar out of three CL 6 Nexus (think dire lions, basically) though one did have to use the destiny point to save himself.

They've beaten vulture droid starfighters aboard an Unmodified YT-2400, thanks to the pilot's and gunners exceptional rolls and skill scores, they've shot down scores of battle droids, and taken out opponents with Challenge Levels from 3 to 7. This is before hitting 4th level.

I do expect the power curve to shallow out drastically, however, because abilities do no improve much after that first level boost. In my estimation, their 7th level selves will be maybe twice as powerful as their 1st level selves -- maybe three times as powerful, a drastic change from previous Star Wars d20 versions. They'll have more staying power, thanks to defense and hit points, but actual things they can do? Not that much more. And the enemies will have similar power curves, as they face more and more heroic classed individuals.

 

[Baby Samurai]

My group isn't so much playing Saga, as playing D&D 3.5 (3.75?) with many of the changes from Saga ported over (no iterative attacks, static defences, half CL as bonus to damage, charging is a standard action, withdraw is a move action, skills, no 5 ft. step and some other goodies).

I can say that implementing the combat rules has really added an element of ebb and flow to combat, as opposed to the often stagnant 3.5 combat of sauntering up to your opponent in order to get into a position to full attack and then stand there monotonously hacking away until either you or the enemy drops.