What's Your Favorite System for Star Wars

[innerdude]

I'm actually somewhat looking for information in this same vein myself.

At some point in the next year, I'm going to run a Star Wars campaign, but am debating between one of three systems to use: Savage Worlds, FFG SW/Genesys, or WEG d6 2e.

I have a very good grasp of how Savage Worlds would work, except for the Jedi-related material. Without the Jedi influence, it would be a very good system out of the box to replicate a "Solo: A Star Wars Story" feel, with lots of high action + intrigue. Creating the Jedi material would mostly be tweaking the arcane background information and setting limits on powers + power improvements, and finding some appropriate "Dark Side / Light Side" mechanic that would work with the setting.

But even though I'm comfortable with Savage Worlds and generally enjoy running the system, I'd rather push the group toward the FFG/Genesys system. I already own the core Genesys book + 3 sets of dice. I'd need to add an extra d6 for the Force power and use a conversion chart, but that would only be applicable in a handful of situations. For force use / Jedi-based stuff, I'd pick up Force and Destiny as a supplement.

The only reason I'm not strongly advocating for this is that I already sprung Dungeon World on them last year as a new system and it did NOT go well, plus our current GM switched from Savage Worlds to GURPS, and it's also not going well. I think there would be some resistance to trying yet another different system, when everyone knows Savage Worlds very well and enjoys playing it.

The WEG d6 option is mostly there because it would be a chance to try something "old school," and I think I'd enjoy it even if it was only temporary, but I've heard that the power curve for PCs breaks the game pretty rapidly, especially for Jedi characters.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

Speaking as someone who's played WEG, Saga Edition and Edge of the Empire...

Scum and Villainy (the Blades in the Dark-derived space opera game). WEG a close second.

I like the simplicity of using d6s, and I like the core mechanics of both.

 

[Arnwolf666]

WEG 2nd edition. Captures the feel of the movies better than any. Followed by the d20 Star Wars. Saga Star Wars was very good, very playable.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

WEG 2nd edition. Captures the feel of the movies better than any. Followed by the d20 Star Wars. Saga Star Wars was very good, very playable.

Saga...might not fit the feel of the films for me, but as a system it felt like the right level of compromise between D&D 3.5 and 4th. 4th Edition (which I also liked) might have appealed to more people if it had been more like Saga.

 

[billd91]

I never played the WEG version. I did play both d20 editions, Saga Edition, and I've played Fantasy Flight's Star Wars RPGs. I really liked both Saga Edition and the Fantasy Flight versions and would recommend from any of them. Fantasy Flight's games have the advantage of being still available in stores, if that's an issue.

 

[Ancalagon]

Has anyone tried this home brewed 5e star wars?

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[aramis erak]

As for Fate... I think, yeah, you could do Star Wars with it.

But, The Force is laid out for us in the canon as fairly... systematic. Lots of people able to do pretty much the same things. And that works well in the canon. But while Fate can do magic powers okay, it isn't really built to do magic systems.

For fans of Fate, they can make it work...
Same is true of the true fans of just about any universal system.
The reason I think FAE is a better choice than, say, Fate Core, is because the force can be just another approach to use. After all, the uses of the force tend to be pretty "convenient" in the fiction. So, using the force to do it? Force approach, and an enabling "Jedi" or "Sith" aspect, and suitable narration...

No enabling aspect? it's limited to subtle uses.

It's quite doable... if everyone playing is on board with the setting limitations.

(which is pretty true of just about any generic engine or suitable genre-engine.)

 

[aramis erak]

I'd need to add an extra d6 for the Force power and use a conversion chart, but that would only be applicable in a handful of situations. For force use / Jedi-based stuff, I'd pick up Force and Destiny as a supplement.

Force uses a d12, not a d6.

And it sounds like you don't have Star Wars - the differences are in char gen, advancement, and paranormal abilities, plus the FFG-SW corebooks each have different thematic abilities. And they are profound differences.

Porting in F&D powers is going to be simple even if you intend to use the Genesys char gen and advancement, but you'll need to understand the way the advancement trees work in SW vs Genesys.

Also, while the symbols on the dice are different in appearance, yes, indeed, they are the same names and distribution as on the SW dice.

The mechanics of play, however, are nearly identical, so there's not a lot to relearn, but there a few differences.

 

[Umbran]

For fans of Fate, they can make it work...
Same is true of the true fans of just about any universal system.

Yes. It could be done. But "can" and "should" are not the same thing.

I'm a "choose the right tool for the job" kind of guy. I can, at need, use a hammer to drive a screw, sure. I can make that work... but it does mean extra work, and the results might be functional, but not very pretty. Why would I do that when I have several very efficient powered tools that do the job better, and with much less effort on my part?

Pure cussedness on my part is one answer. Being super-enamored of my hammer is another. But I don't know if those are really good reasons to do it. If you just like the challenge, sure, go ahead.

The reason I think FAE is a better choice than, say, Fate Core, is because the force can be just another approach to use. After all, the uses of the force tend to be pretty "convenient" in the fiction. So, using the force to do it? Force approach, and an enabling "Jedi" or "Sith" aspect, and suitable narration...

No enabling aspect? it's limited to subtle uses.

I think you'd find some balance issues with that - the "Force User" enabling aspect is really easy to get, and has few down sides. It becomes a catch-all that must be minded by the GM for overuse.

 

[aramis erak]

I think you'd find some balance issues with that - the "Force User" enabling aspect is really easy to get, and has few down sides. It becomes a catch-all that must be minded by the GM for overuse.

If you have a force training feat, you are readily compelled by the GM to adhere to your training.

With a group willingly selecting Fate Accelerated, the issue isn't likely to exist, as most Fate fans are willing to adhere to setting limits.

And a Dark Side user can rapidly turn into a variation on body-horror, as the GM compels ever more gruesome fates for the character's enemies. The character turning into a puppet of the dark side.