Who Should Make The Next Star Wars TTRPG, And What Should It Look Like?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Also, let's remember that Appendix N isn't exactly full of shopping adventures, but that doesn't have any effect on how much shopping is a part of D&D.

Matt Mercer, catching strays on ENWorld as always.

If you have an RPG where players get to explore the Star Wars universe and there are no fun sci fi gadgets in it, you've really managed to drop the ball somewhere. The question of whether players get to buy it or have to quest for it is just another debate over agency.

Well, there's shopping and there's shopping.

Maybe for OT era Star Wars, and Outer Rim adventures generally, shopping should consist of a randomly generated table of what's available and haggling is a key part of acquiring it.

Actually walking into a shop and them having everything, with a clearly marked price, and being able to buy it with credits and then leave, should probably be a luxury reserved for the central worlds which are also much more under the eye of the local government, which would be trouble for all sorts of Star Wars characters.

 

[Reynard]

Matt Mercer, catching strays on ENWorld as always.

Well, there's shopping and there's shopping.

Maybe for OT era Star Wars, and Outer Rim adventures generally, shopping should consist of a randomly generated table of what's available and haggling is a key part of acquiring it.

Actually walking into a shop and them having everything, with a clearly marked price, and being able to buy it with credits and then leave, should probably be a luxury reserved for the central worlds which are also much more under the eye of the local government, which would be trouble for all sorts of Star Wars characters.

There are definitely WalMarts on Coruscant, but everything you buy gets registered with Imperial Customs.

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

He's wrong. Owen and luke buy two droids from travelling merchant Jawas.

Ah ha!

There are definitely WalMarts on Coruscant, but everything you buy gets registered with Imperial Customs.

Dark side detergent - Vader approved!

 

[Reynard]

Ah ha!

Dark side detergent - Vader approved!

The scrubbing bubbles are little stormtroopers.

 

[Deset Gled]

Maybe for OT era Star Wars, and Outer Rim adventures generally, shopping should consist of a randomly generated table of what's available and haggling is a key part of acquiring it.

I get using randomization when on the fly. But for a lot a planets, I would think that what is available at shops does a lot of defining the local setting.

Alderaan: No "weapons" for sale at all. But succeeding at a few social checks will get you an introduction to the shady mechanic who will sell you a fusion cutter with the safety features turned off.

Naboo: The only place you can buy those portable shield generators for anything resembling a reasonable price.

Geonosis: "Hey, why is there a pile of lightsabers in this pawn shop?"

Random shop on the corner: "Ooh, a Stokli stick! But we're nowhere near Manress. Wait, didn't that bounty hunter that chased us at Sluis Van use one of these? Wait a minute..."

 

[JConstantine]

Well, there's shopping and there's shopping.

Maybe for OT era Star Wars, and Outer Rim adventures generally, shopping should consist of a randomly generated table of what's available and haggling is a key part of acquiring it.

Actually walking into a shop and them having everything, with a clearly marked price, and being able to buy it with credits and then leave, should probably be a luxury reserved for the central worlds which are also much more under the eye of the local government, which would be trouble for all sorts of Star Wars characters.

FFGSW handles it in a way that's close to what you're suggesting:
Items have a set rarity, and you roll Negotiation to determine price and availability. Its availability is based on that rarity, modified by the location (luxury goods more likely in Core worlds, less in Outer Rim; illicit goods more likely in Outer Rim, etc.), Success on the roll means its available and Advantage can be spent to reduce the asking price.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I get using randomization when on the fly. But for a lot a planets, I would think that what is available at shops does a lot of defining the local setting.

Alderaan: No "weapons" for sale at all. But succeeding at a few social checks will get you an introduction to the shady mechanic who will sell you a fusion cutter with the safety features turned off.

Naboo: The only place you can buy those portable shield generators for anything resembling a reasonable price.

Geonosis: "Hey, why is there a pile of lightsabers in this pawn shop?"

Random shop on the corner: "Ooh, a Stokli stick! But we're nowhere near Manress. Wait, didn't that bounty hunter that chased us at Sluis Van use one of these? Wait a minute..."

I definitely agree that different planets should have different tables of what's available. Maybe there would be core list for "civilized worlds," or whatever, and then you'd tweak it as listed above.

But I don't think Tatooine should ever have a standard list of what's available. And even then, its random table would be full of stuff that would be of middling use to anyone other than moisture farmers.

 

[Reynard]

I definitely agree that different planets should have different tables of what's available. Maybe there would be core list for "civilized worlds," or whatever, and then you'd tweak it as listed above.

But I don't think Tatooine should ever have a standard list of what's available. And even then, its random table would be full of stuff that would be of middling use to anyone other than moisture farmers.

it occurs to me that I don't know why Tatooine, or at least Mos Eisly, is considered a haven for smugglers and other criminals. Is it just because the planet is off the Empire's usual patrol routes? Why is Jabba there? Why is Han Solo hanging around?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

it occurs to me that I don't know why Tatooine, or at least Mos Eisly, is considered a haven for smugglers and other criminals. Is it just because the planet is off the Empire's usual patrol routes? Why is Jabba there? Why is Han Solo hanging around?

Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's like Death Valley being a big hub for smuggling. (Well, more specifically places nearby, like Ridgecrest or Trona, where even the most developed are in the middle of nowhere and not exactly a natural place to visit on the way to somewhere else.)

 

[ART!]

Geonosis: "Hey, why is there a pile of lightsabers in this pawn shop?"

One has to assume Han bought, traded, and otherwise obtained all the parts for his upgrades on the Falcon.