I'm ready for a new Star Wars RPG

[Greg K]

Is it a game about arkham horror? That is the only black stars rise I see when searching…

When he said pbta, I thought he might have heard the name Black Stars Rise and mistook it for Black Star as I don't see much, if any, pbta influence in Black Star. 2d6+stat vs a set target for success or failure, mechanic for mixed success, players only roll the dice are all things I have seen before in other games before pbta.

 

[dbm]

My personal opinion is that there are some properties that are now so well documented in other media or fan wikis that the need for an official RPG is much reduced. I would put Star Wars, Star Trek and even Warhammer (of both flavours) in that category.

Star Wars is pulp action at its heart so Savage Worlds would be very easy to use as the engine to run a game in that milieu.

 

[Bill Zebub]

IP question: if no money ever trades hands is it legit to use characters/settings that are under copyright? In other words, is fan fiction actually legal, or do IP holders just turn a blind eye to it?

It would be fun to create an awesome Star Wars RPG and just give it away.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I wonder if a way to balance Jedi is by giving each class its own distinctive superpower, but with flavor that makes only the Force seem like an actual superpower? E.g.:

Jedi: the Force.
Smuggler: Lucky. (Blaster shots miss you. Pursuers happen to turn the wrong way. You guess the password.)
Droid: Overlooked (Enemies tend to ignore you) Nerveless (Instead of taking HP you lose your sub-functions, but your other functions are unimpaired. Also you can almost always be repaired.)

Etc.

In other words, the Jedi's superpower is an in-game, literal superpower. The Smuggler's superpower is a narrative superpower: the player can use a resource that basically makes the story go their way, even if there's no in-game explanation for it. (Yes, I know some people will HATE that idea....)

UPDATE: In fact, maybe all classes except Jedi get the ability to affect the story this way, although with different flavor/specifics. E.g., droids can "find a data port" even if the GM didn't put one there.

 

[johnmarron]

If I were to run a Star Wars game these days, I would use Broken Compass/Outgunned. I'm actually considering doing a "Star Wars Like" using Outgunned using the Rebel Moon setting once it comes out.

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is one of those threads where most people are going to come in and sing the praises of their favorite system and insist it is perfect for Star Wars. I suspect we will read the word "Cortex" a lot.

I think the best bet for a new Star Wars game would be a bespoke system built from the ground up for the tone and cinematic action of modern Star Wars (rather than clinging to the OT or Prequels).

That said, I think a 5E Star Wars crowd funding campaign would break every RPG crowd funding campaign record ever. It isn't the best fit, but it would surely be popular.

There's already a 5e Star Wars out there (unofficial, but awesome, and officialdom is severely overrated). In any case, Edge has been sitting on FFG's game for years at this point without doing anything with it beyond a few reprints, and there's no real sign they're going to either do more, or pass off the IP, so a new official game may very well be a moot point for quite a while yet.

Modern Star Wars (assuming you are talking the sequel trilogy) is not a good base for any RPG I would be interested in. Bad worldbuilding, too much emphasis on action sequences and set pieces, sketchy plots, and not enough respect paid to the history of the franchise. I could potentially get behind something themed on the recent TV shows (all of which bring something valuable to Star Wars in various degrees), but the sequel films? No thanks.

Of course, I don't want a narrative game for anything really. They're not fun for me.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Honestly what I would love...in addition to a purpose-built system that solved the Jedi/non-Jedi problem...is for it to be a low-crunch, rules-light game. I'd love to play it with kids ages 8-12 who love Star Wars.

Not me. Star Wars simply has too much in it for a rules light game to capture its totality without everything feeling the same mechanically. Every Star Wars RPG at least got that right.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I wonder if a way to balance Jedi is by giving each class its own distinctive superpower, but with flavor that makes only the Force seem like an actual superpower? E.g.:

Jedi: the Force.
Smuggler: Lucky. (Blaster shots miss you. Pursuers happen to turn the wrong way. You guess the password.)
Droid: Overlooked (Enemies tend to ignore you) Nerveless (Instead of taking HP you lose your sub-functions, but your other functions are unimpaired. Also you can almost always be repaired.)

Etc.

In other words, the Jedi's superpower is an in-game, literal superpower. The Smuggler's superpower is a narrative superpower: the player can use a resource that basically makes the story go their way, even if there's no in-game explanation for it. (Yes, I know some people will HATE that idea....)

UPDATE: In fact, maybe all classes except Jedi get the ability to affect the story this way, although with different flavor/specifics. E.g., droids can "find a data port" even if the GM didn't put one there.

I'm definitely one of the people who HATES that idea. I especially hope nothing like that becomes the public face of Star Wars roleplaying, because people tend to follow the leader on stuff like this, no matter where the path leads.

 

[Dioltach]

You can get a long way with d20 Modern/Future. You might need to reskin some of the skills and FX, but otherwise it's not a bad match.

Of course it depends what flavour of SW you want. Andor, the Mandalorian, Obi Wan or The Phantom Menace?

 

[TreChriron]

For 5e fans, it looks like a lot of the work is done already... Star Wars 5e