sam
Initiate Douchebag
A Happy Jacks GM
Posts: 41
Preferred Game Systems: Savage Worlds, GURPS, Star Wars: EoE
Currently Playing: I mostly GM.
Currently Running: Star Wars:EoE, Savage Worlds
|
Post by sam on Feb 26, 2013 14:42:14 GMT -8
Hey everyone, I know not everyone likes Star Wars here in the HJ community, but, everyone here loves new and exiting RPG stories and RPG systems. I have found the makings of BOTH! I wanted the fellow Star Wars fans in the HJ community, that don't already know that Fantasy Flight Games has the SW RPG licence and the basic intro box is out now. I just ran the "learn-the-system-as-you-play" adventure from the basic box and it was AMAAZING! If you love the star wars universe and have ever wanted to run RPG adventure in that universe give this a try. You will not be disappointed, I promise. System Highlights: 1.A dice mechanic that drives the narrative with the results of each roll, with ZERO math! The dice have symbols no numbers! 2.A dice mechanic that allows a PC to fail a skill check and still gain some positive effect by adding their own story elements and vice versa. 3.All PCs are involved with the story development even when it's not their turn or on the NPCs turns. Unprecedented collaborative storytelling built-into the mechanics. 4. The game takes place in the outter rim territories during the Empires hay-day, at the end of A New Hope. (The Jedi are thought to be extinct and the Empire rules.) 5. No worries about messing up the cannon, time line or having a duche bag SW guy tell you "that didn't happen" because the PCs play characters who live on the fringe of society. Scoundrels, Smugglers, Scouts, Traders, Bounty Hunters, Starship Pilots, Mechanics, Computer Slicers etc Anyway, there even more unique qualities in this new system, so check it out if you love Star Wars and Love to trying a NEW RPG system. This plays differently than anything I've ever played. Totally fun! www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=224$30 for the intro box. Let me know what you think.
|
|
|
Post by malifer on Feb 26, 2013 20:19:38 GMT -8
I am a fan of Star Wars, Rpgs, and FFG board games (Arkham Horror!). I was looking forward to falling in love with this... I did not like this game. I found it to be a tedious and overly complicated way to play FATE. How many good/bad dice do I need to add to a dice pool to essentially re-create a mechanic another game does with 4 dice? The setting wasn't for me either. I just traded my Beta Rules. That being said a lot of people do like it and wtf do I know?
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 26, 2013 23:50:02 GMT -8
You should try it more. it is pretty fast. Even fairly big combats done pretty fast.
and the ability to have more than success failure axis. IE success failure, good bad things, and story changing events. And not having to do math for adding various modifiers.
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 27, 2013 0:24:47 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by malifer on Feb 27, 2013 5:29:12 GMT -8
- daeglan
I just couldn't get into it. Star Wars is a lot of things to a lot of nerds especially if you're the type that likes the Expanded Universe where there are many series of novels that are specialized (x-wing comes to mind). But for me it is more of a mishmash group of misfits telling crazy heroic space pulp stories. The fringe with group of shady characters is just not where I want to play.
The dice system is okay, but as I have said in other threads I have yet to find a dice pool system I liked. I find them too fiddly. For me it is much less immersive when I have to stop so I can build a pool of dice to roll and then start tallying up all the dice. Yahtzee!
I don't see the need (I did read the designer post) for all these symbol dice if you just trying to make a Narrative game.
FATE does it with 4 dice and Dungeon World does it with 2d6. When it comes time to roll the dice I grab the dice and roll, there is no waiting to see if the GM adds the "Challenge die" or whatever.
Both of these games allow for adding Complications to a Success. Which I think is the new normal for rpgs. The idea of only a simple pass/fail is going away.
I really wanted to like Edge of the Empire. But I just couldn't see why I would choose this system over games I really like.
I'm glad you like it, I'll be okay too as I still have official published and unofficial conversions to play Star Wars.
So like Yoda says "Live Long and Prosper". ;D
|
|
|
Post by ericfromnj on Feb 27, 2013 11:28:29 GMT -8
D6 Forever!!! (OK, I had to say this because me current group is running a D6 Smuggler's game - we plan to give this a try at some slow point in the story.)
|
|
HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
|
Post by HyveMynd on Feb 27, 2013 18:28:21 GMT -8
I am very curious to know how FFG's Star Wars game dice mechanics work. I'm also a little skeptical. As malifer said, FATE seems to do the same thing EotE does with only four +1/0/-1 dice. Also, as a big fan of Apocalypse World and all it's child games, I'm pretty sure I can get the same success/mixed success/failure with regular dice. So my interest has been peaked to browse Edge of the Empire and see what all the hype is about. But not if it costs me $30 to do so.
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 27, 2013 19:07:37 GMT -8
I am very curious to know how FFG's Star Wars game dice mechanics work. I'm also a little skeptical. As malifer said, FATE seems to do the same thing EotE does with only four +1/0/-1 dice. Also, as a big fan of Apocalypse World and all it's child games, I'm pretty sure I can get the same success/mixed success/failure with regular dice. So my interest has been peaked to browse Edge of the Empire and see what all the hype is about. But not if it costs me $30 to do so. Read the article i posted. it should give you the basics.
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 27, 2013 19:15:51 GMT -8
- daeglan I just couldn't get into it. Star Wars is a lot of things to a lot of nerds especially if you're the type that likes the Expanded Universe where there are many series of novels that are specialized (x-wing comes to mind). But for me it is more of a mishmash group of misfits telling crazy heroic space pulp stories. The fringe with group of shady characters is just not where I want to play. The dice system is okay, but as I have said in other threads I have yet to find a dice pool system I liked. I find them too fiddly. For me it is much less immersive when I have to stop so I can build a pool of dice to roll and then start tallying up all the dice. Yahtzee! I don't see the need (I did read the designer post) for all these symbol dice if you just trying to make a Narrative game. FATE does it with 4 dice and Dungeon World does it with 2d6. When it comes time to roll the dice I grab the dice and roll, there is no waiting to see if the GM adds the "Challenge die" or whatever. Both of these games allow for adding Complications to a Success. Which I think is the new normal for rpgs. The idea of only a simple pass/fail is going away. I really wanted to like Edge of the Empire. But I just couldn't see why I would choose this system over games I really like. I'm glad you like it, I'll be okay too as I still have official published and unofficial conversions to play Star Wars. So like Yoda says "Live Long and Prosper". ;D Gives you more results than success failure. None of the other systems you mention give you more than success failure. And why are you limiting you self. Just because the part they are currently presenting is the fringe part.
|
|
HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
|
Post by HyveMynd on Feb 27, 2013 20:08:36 GMT -8
So I read the articles, and yeah the dice mechanics do look cool. They also look a bit too complex and restrictive for my tastes. I'm not dumping on them here, mind you. But if you're measuring all those axes (pass/fail, advantage/disadvantage, and critical consequences) and assigning them all levels, (minor, moderate, major, etc.) then all those possible results are going to have to be qualified. What is a minor success? How is it different from a major success? What are some examples of minor, moderate, and major advantages/disadvantages, and how do you rate them?
Maybe I'm wrong, but I imagine a GM might have trouble fitting the dice results into the current fiction. So the character fails, but with a major positive advantage, and a minor negative critical effect. That seems pretty specific. Apocalypse World games do nearly the same thing, but all that advantage/disadvantage, critical consequence stuff is handled by the fiction. It feel much more organic and natural to me.
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 27, 2013 22:23:45 GMT -8
Advantages are decided by the player. Threats are decided by the GM. Triumphs get player input. Despairs are on the GM.
As to measuring them. no different then any other system. The GM should do what feels right. and I am sure the final release with go into far more detail on the guidelines. The Beta is a little thin on that. But then it is a beta. Testing mechanics not a final product.
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 27, 2013 23:00:55 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by malifer on Feb 28, 2013 4:15:49 GMT -8
And why are you limiting you self. Just because the part they are currently presenting is the fringe part. Limiting myself...true I have plenty of older Rpg Supplements to pull from and use, but I just don't see they need. I don't hate everything about this game, it's that nothing makes me want to play it. Gives you more results than success failure. None of the other systems you mention give you more than success failure. FATE and Dungeon World both contain the same variables as EotE just faster and with less dice. Pass/Fail, Advantage/Setback, Critical Consequences - I can get all of these in both of those games. Complications to success and failure come up often, making a hard choice to succeed is normal in Dungeon World. I also pointed to FATE because during character creation a negative Aspect is similar to EtoE Obligations. I'm not dumping on them here, mind you. But if you're measuring all those axes (pass/fail, advantage/disadvantage, and critical consequences) and assigning them all levels, (minor, moderate, major, etc.) then all those possible results are going to have to be qualified. What is a minor success? How is it different from a major success? What are some examples of minor, moderate, and major advantages/disadvantages, and how do you rate them? This is why I say that is overly complicated, not just because of the symbol dice. But sometimes too many options is too much. "the dice system for Edge of the Empire has the potential to deliver more than 250 Terminal Outcomes." Okay Han Solo is running down the corridor firing his blaster wildly as a squad of Storm Troopers chase him and Chewie. Quick as you can come up with 250 outcomes. Do they get caught? shot? escape? shot and escape? caught and shot? Umm...I'm out. Which one of these is minor? which one is major? should I add that Chewie twists his ankle? If you like the game, great! I just have other systems that emulate this just as well for me.
|
|
HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
|
Post by HyveMynd on Feb 28, 2013 17:57:04 GMT -8
Yeah. Malifer neatly summed up my exact thoughts. There are other games that provide the players with more than just success/fail outcomes. EotE has done that too, just in a different, and I would say more mechanical way. Apocalypse World-based games indicate when those things happen, but largely leave their nature and intensity up to the GM and the fiction.
Again, I'm not saying the three sets of symbols in EotE are a bad mechanic. I've just been trained to "let the fiction decide" after running/playing so many AW games. Maybe the symbols are great for some people, but to me they feel as if they're railroading the story.
|
|
|
Post by daeglan on Feb 28, 2013 18:13:59 GMT -8
Yeah. Malifer neatly summed up my exact thoughts. There are other games that provide the players with more than just success/fail outcomes. EotE has done that too, just in a different, and I would say more mechanical way. Apocalypse World-based games indicate when those things happen, but largely leave their nature and intensity up to the GM and the fiction. Again, I'm not saying the three sets of symbols in EotE are a bad mechanic. I've just been trained to "let the fiction decide" after running/playing so many AW games. Maybe the symbols are great for some people, but to me they feel as if they're railroading the story. The fiction does still decide. The dice just point in directions and intensity.
|
|