Star Wars Saga, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[Plane Sailing]

Wasn't there something about regaining force points between fights, though?

No, that was about regaining your force -powers-

e.g. the Jensaarai Defenders force 'suite' is battle strike (2), Force slam, surge.

Each of these powers can be used once, and then can't be used again until the Jensaaria recovers outside combat or rolls a natural 20 when he 'uses the force'. (he's actually paid for 2 uses of battle strike)

Cheers

 

[Remathilis]

Something I got a big beef with is the inequity between certain classes. You look at how things pan out and tell me if anybody gets the short end of the stick:

HIT DICE
Noble, Scoundrel--d6
Scout--d8
Jedi, Soldier--d10

SKILLS TRAINED
Jedi--2
Soldier--3
Scoundrel--4
Scout--5
Noble--6

BAB
Noble, Scoundrel, Scout--Tops out at +15
Jedi, Soldier--Tops out at +20

Jedi: Best Bab, Best HP, Worst Skills
Solider: Best Bab, Best HP, Second Worst Skills
Scout: Worst Bab, Medium Hp, Second Best Skills
Noble: Worst Bab, Worst Hp, Best Skills
Scoundrel: Worst Bab, Worst Hp, Medium Skills

I see your point (scoundrel and scout should switch skills) but that doesn't take into account talents and class skills (or starting defenses) that make scoundrels very useful.

 

[drothgery]

Wasn't there something about regaining force points between fights, though?

There's a Force Technique that lets you get one back at the end of an encounter (and it can be taken more than once). The 'first-level' force-using PrCs -- Jedi Knight, Force Adept, and Sith Apprentice -- all grant Force Techniques every other level.

 

[Samurai]

I'm an old WEG SW fan. Some people don't see that there is much changed between Saga and the other d20 versions. I say, you arn't looking close enough to find all the stuff.

The biggest: Damage & the condition track. This is the greatest thing to happen to d20 since it was invented.

You get to raise two stats 1 point every fourth instead of 1, one point

The skill system: no more ranks (that the rpg gods). Love the "trained" skill rule. Consolidated skills, simple is better IMO. Almost all skills can be attempted untrained, big plus in my book. I like that you have to use a feat to get more trained skills.

Force: using a "use the force skill" is very cool and keeps is simple , plus you automatically get some powers just by selecting it. The Powers are almost perfect.

Destiny: I like it, though it seems a littl forced. NPI.

The NPC generation and Droid section rock on toast. Again, much more simple yet robust.

really, I could not be happier with Saga. WotC managed to convert an old WEG d6 fan.

There are some other huge changes that you haven't mentioned, such as adding 1/2 your character level to damage, and saving throws getting a 1 time class bonus (that can be exchanged for a better one if you multiclass or take a prestige class, but you don't add the class bonuses together), and instead you add your character level to all of your saving throws.

Also, Initiative is now a skill, Defense/AC is now a saving throw, etc. Lots of major changes here...

 

[JEL]

The only part of the game I don't care for are the aliens. Greedo was a bounty hunter so all Rodians must be bounty hunters! Some Bothans are mentioned as spies (how do we even know Bothan is a species?), so all Bothans must be spies! I realize it's a legacy from WEG, but it's lame and they should have broken from it. I'd be tempted to just treat aliens as humans in funny masks (which is pretty much how they're handles in the films), if/when I run the game.

 

[Odhanan]

I received the book two days ago. I have actually read about 130 pages of it. So far, I just can't answer to the "Good, Bad and Ugly" criteria, because I like (almost) everything I'm reading.

 

[Turjan]

I received the book two days ago. I have actually read about 130 pages of it. So far, I just can't answer to the "Good, Bad and Ugly" criteria, because I like (almost) everything I'm reading.

Neither can I. Although the long list of errata that I saw on the WotC board is a bit sad. Of course, there will always be errata. That's what you get from buying first printings .

 

[Shalimar]

The only part of the game I don't care for are the aliens. Greedo was a bounty hunter so all Rodians must be bounty hunters! Some Bothans are mentioned as spies (how do we even know Bothan is a species?), so all Bothans must be spies! I realize it's a legacy from WEG, but it's lame and they should have broken from it. I'd be tempted to just treat aliens as humans in funny masks (which is pretty much how they're handles in the films), if/when I run the game.

The movies aren't the sole data source for the rpg, they have never been. When further data is availible that fills in more info then just the movies, it is used. Star Wars has a wealth of information availible at this point from novels, comic books, and video games. With the exception of the infinities line all of those sources are official parts of the Star Wars universe.

The Bothans weren't a military power due to the Empire's oppression so they adapted to the situation and became spies as an alternative path to power. Not all Bothans are members of the Bothan spynet but it is the pride of their species due to its role in bringing down the Empire and ending the opression of non-humans across the galaxy. In later Eras like the NJO era the Bothans began to build up militarily and were creating new classes of capital ships and were a major part of the New Repubic Military.

The movies could never flesh out everything we see in passing since the story of Star Wars follows a specific group of protagonists, its left to the Expanded Universe to flesh out and the EU does the job admirably.

 

[JEL]

The movies aren't the sole data source for the rpg, they have never been. When further data is availible that fills in more info then just the movies, it is used. Star Wars has a wealth of information availible at this point from novels, comic books, and video games. With the exception of the infinities line all of those sources are official parts of the Star Wars universe.

I'm pretty sure we can blame WEG for being the source for a lot of the dumb alien stuff. Thankfully, I'm not bound by the bad fan fic that is the EU.

 

[Shalimar]

The Bothans have been featured pretty heavily in the EU, and no not all of it is bad. The majority is on par with or superior to the movies. There are definitely some stinkers but its not hard to wade through and find the gems like the Thrawn trilogy, the Rogue Squadron series, Legacy of the Force series, etc.