For general discussion and character development. :)
One thing I would like to touch on are the type of adventures you would prefer. A couple of ideas I had was to do something like the old Dawn of Defiance campaign or run a mix of old modules with custom adventures and FFG created ones.. :)
In terms of character creation, anything goes for FFG stuff. I'm open to any type of character including Force users, as long as willing to face the consequences of force use in the Empire. :)
Thoughts?
Let me just dot this for starters while I think about what to build and how. Currently leaning towards a human Sentinel with the Shadow specialisation to start with.
I cant decide, I will either do a scoundrel, mechanic, doctor, scholar (in order of desire) depending on what the group needs and what fits into the campaign.
Hey, where is everyone? Perhaps you should consider PMing those who expressed their interest that there is an OOC thread? They may have missed it. :-)
Anyway, something of a question: Is it correct to say that during character creation raising the characteristics (Brawn, Agility and so on) should take precedence over skill, talents and the like?
Absolutely build stats FIRST. In this system, there is almost no chance to increase your stats from their initial values. Your positive-dice pool is built the same whether your CHAR is higher, or your Ability is higher. Because CHARs apply to more than one Skill, you get more bang for your buck if your CHARs are high-ish, 3 is usually good to start.
It's not really a meta-game thing. The way the dice pools go in this system, you will be consistently disappointed if you never can succeed at anything.
Just something I put together for my game which I think will help those without the books or familiarity with the system. i edited it for this game with the diceroller.
Each letter is a color of a die in this system. Positive dice are: Ability=Green 'G', Proficiency=Yellow 'Y', Boost=Blue 'B'. Negative dice are: Difficulty=Purple 'P', Challenge=Red "R', Setback=Black 'Bk'. The die types are as follows:
Boost and Setback = d6
Ability and Difficulty = d8
Proficiency and Challenge = d12
Force Die is also a d12, we'll get into that later.
Lets use a combat example to illustrate how you build a pool:
Valkyr is firing her blaster rifle at a goon at Medium range. Looking at her skills, we see she has a Ranged(Heavy) Skill of GGYY. Which is 2G and 2Y. How did she get that? Ranged combat is based on Agility, and Valkyr's is a 4. This gives her 4 Ability dice or GGGG. She also has a Ranged (Heavy) skill of 2. This allows her to 'upgrade' two of her Ability dice. Ability dice upgrade from G to Proficiency dice, Y.
With me so far? Not as hard as it sounds once you try it a bit. So Valkyr enhances her raw ability with some skill. It also works in reverse. Lets say she had a lot of practice in Ranged (Heavy), and had a skill of 4. That would give her GGGG. If she had Agility 2, she would upgrade 2 of those, and get GGYY, same as she had before. The system allows you to work both ways: raw ability modded by training, or training modded by raw ability. If you have NO training in a skill, you use your Ability score.
Back to our example: Valkyr has GGYY at Medium range. M range is an average check, adding PP. So she rolls:
Blaster Rifle: GGYY
Diff: 2P
We see Valkyr's positive dice got a Success + Advantage; Advantage; Success; and Success + Advantage. So far she has a total of 3 Successes and 3 Advantage, or 3S, 3A
Now lets look at her Difficulty dice: we have two Threat x2, or 2T
Successes and Failures cancel, and you need at least one Success to...well..Succeed. Advantage and Threat cancels. Looking at our shot, we see Valkyr has 3 Successes and 1 Advantage left over. Her shot hits the goon, and does the weapon damage PLUS 3, one for each Success left over. Now here's where the system gets interesting, and really gets into player involvement in dice results. Valkyr has an Advantage she can use. There is also a table in the Campaign Tab that shows what you can do with them. For our example, lets say that Valkyr decides she is going to use her die to remove Strain. She might write something like:
She grins as her shot hits home, breathing a little easier about this combat. Remove one Strain.
Hopefully this helps some.
DM Ark, you may want to start the Gameplay tab as well, so we can post in and get on our Campaigns page.
So, out of a pool of 115 or 120 starting XP (a human who has chosen either 5 XP and 1000 credits or 10 XP respectively, as per the Morality entry in FaD, at least if I understand it correctly), would you say it would be a good idea to use 90 of those to raise three of the characteristics from 2 to 3 (perhaps Agility, Cunning and Willpower for a Sentinel?) and use the rest 25 or 30 XP on things like skills, talents and Force powers?
I might even set a prime stat at 4. Just depends on your build idea. In my example, Valkyr is an assassin, so she wanted a high Agility right away.
Your comment about Morality has brought up a potential serious snag for DM Ark. Each of the three books has three different mechanics for the characters. EotE has Obligation, AoE has Duty, and FaD has Morality.
These are RP mechanics that can drive a story, but don't have to. If you are going to allow all three books to be used, then my suggestion would be to just pick one subset and run with it. You could call it whatever you want. Here is Obligation from EotE in my campaign:
So Obligation is a fluctuating 'currency' for lack of a better term. Here's how it works:
At the start of each 'session' (I'll have to work out what that means in pbp terms) I roll percentile dice. The target number is the total of the group's Obligation, in this case, 50. In addition, each PC's Obligation is divided up, so Valkyr has 1-10, Rae 11-20, etc. If I roll under 50, the Obligation triggers, and depending on what I roll, whose Obligation triggers. So, if I rolled a 16, using our example, Rae's Obligation triggers.
Now this doesn't automatically mean something directly happens in the story. The base mechanic is that Rae feels the pressure of her Obligation, whether through rumors, or a bounty hunter sighting, whatever. Her Strain threshold drops by two for that session. But wait, there's more! As her Fringer companions, you also know she's under some stress, so all of your Strain thresholds drop by one. We all know though, that stress can be a killer, so If I roll doubles and trigger the Obligation, all of the above penalties double!
And yet...more...
Your total group Obligation also acts as a reputation of sorts. The higher your Obligation, the easier it is to deal with underworld elements. They trust you, have heard of you etc. The downside is that the law-abiding side of life has a harder time dealing with you. The reverse is also true. So its a balancing act, depending on what you want to do in that situation. As always, good RP can mitigate some of this.
If your Obligation ever exceeds 100, you are so busy dealing with it that you can't spend xp until you get back below 100.
This could be tricky for a mixed group using two or even three systems.
Just to get the ball rolling, here is a preliminary draft of the Sentinel I am considering.
Sorry, I have been distracted trying to set up a home game.
A little something to help inspire. :)
***************
Questionnaire
Adapted for Star Wars from work by Floyd C. Wesel of “A Wolveshead Rules Engendering”
• Your name is? (Why is your name this? How’d you get it? Any nicknames or titles?)
• What do you look like? (How old are you and how old do you appear to be?)
• What is your style and attitude? (How do you dress and talk? Are you cultured or back birth?)
• Do you have any quirks we should know about?
• What kind of impression do you think you first make?
• Where do you hail from? (Where were you born? Where did you grow up? What was your childhood and youth like? What does your family think about you?)
• What is your best quality as a person? (What is your worst quality as a person?)
• Describe your personality in only two words.
• Describe your favorite and least favorite things (food, drinks, books, music, assault rifles, ect.).
• They say you can judge a man by the enemies he makes and the friends that he keeps. Who is your nemesis and who are you allies?
• What is your romantic life like? (Orientation? A Virgin? Has there been “a great love”?)
• What do you fear? (Do you have reoccurring nightmares or dreams?)
• Who do you look up to? (If there isn’t anyone now, was there someone in the past?)
• What offer would be irresistible enough for you to betray your friends or crewmates?
• What principle matters to you most?
• What is your most treasured possession? Why?
• Who do you value most in all the ‘Verse?
• What are your ambitions? (What are your social, professional and romantic goals? What do you wish you could do that you can’t?)
• Where do you picture yourself 20 years from now?
• What other kinds of work have you done to pay the bills?
• What are your political and religious beliefs, if you have any? (Do you have any prejudices?)
• What were you doing during the Battle of Yavin? (How has the rebellion affected you? Have you served in the conflict? Which side? Did you lose anyone you cared about?
• Do you have any hobbies? (How do you pass the time away?)
• What event in your life that you did are you most proud of? Most shameful of?
• What have you been doing the last few months?
• If you the player could give your character a piece of advice, what would it be?
Another item for thought is who would play your character if this were on the Big/TV screen? :)
A couple of questions.
Character creation is as described in the books or are there any changes or house rules we should know about?
Also, a valid point that Old Guy GM raised is whether we will be using Obligation, Duty, Morality or all three depending on which one fits the character better. For example, Morality seems to have certain mechanical effects for a Force user. Still, although I have made my character using Morality, I am sure I can change to one of the others if need be, although I am not sure how that will affect the mechanics about the Light and Dark Side associated with the Force and its users if or when it comes to that.
Regarding the second part of my previous post and Old Guy GM's relevant point, I have found a thread about it. The problem they are talking about there is a little extreme, but the thread itself and the comments and suggestions in it may prove useful nevertheless. The link is below.
Good questions. :)
No, no changes to character creation. I do ask that the players do fall under the 'good guys' banner though. They can still be edgy, but overall on the good side. :)
One thing I thought about is giving 5 bonus XP for details on a Friendly, Neutral or Unfriendly NPC with a connection to your character up to 15XP max. I'll also offer 5XP for a good background with possible hooks/connections I or anyone else could use. :)
I'll read that over, thanks Castor. :) In my mind, the Force Users should have Morality and one or both of Obligation/Duty. Non-Force Users are able to choose from Obligation and/or Duty. XP or Funds can only be gained from one of your selections, not all three. :)
Does anyone have any thoughts on what they've found to be difficulties or things they've enjoyed from previous games?
I would definitely not mind writing up some fluff for my character, such as a description, a background and some people from his past or even present. I would do so even without the potential incentive, but I would certainly not look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak if you do decide to reward us in such a way. :-)
Late to the party, but I was directed here after missing the note that the thread changed. Sorry for the delay!
I think that the biggest challenge and also the most enjoyable thing I've experienced so far go hand-in-hand. Typically, players tend to railroad themselves into the "D20 Mindset" with actions and ideas, but this isn't that kind of system! Be creative, be outlandish, and lay it all out. The worst thing that can happen is the GM says "no", but usually it'll be "yes, and..."
Quickly catching up on the thread it appears that the party so far is:
Rann, Human Sentinel (F. Castor)
...and that's it so far. Is that correct?
I'll have a character ready tonite. Expect a soldier type, heavy on the combat, some piloting.
I'll have a character ready tonite. Expect a soldier type, heavy on the combat, some piloting.
Nice! I was thinking along the lines if a theif/street rat Force Sensitive. It's been a concept I've had forever, but now looks like an Ezra clone...curse you, Disney!
I'll work it up and maybe an alternative character as well, I'm looking forward to seeing how the group shapes up.
I'll have a character ready tonite. Expect a soldier type, heavy on the combat, some piloting.
Sounds good, I was hoping there would at least be one heavy hitter. :)
Nice! I was thinking along the lines if a theif/street rat Force Sensitive. It's been a concept I've had forever, but now looks like an Ezra clone...curse you, Disney!
I'll work it up and maybe an alternative character as well, I'm looking forward to seeing how the group shapes up.
I Know, Right? Seems like that was a common concept, probably why Disney came up with it too. :)
Looks like shaping up to an interesting group. :)
Nice! I was thinking along the lines if a theif/street rat Force Sensitive. It's been a concept I've had forever, but now looks like an Ezra clone...curse you, Disney!
The folks at Disney aren't dumb, they know good characters.
If you want to play an 'Ezra', then play it. There's a reason once upon a time everyone wanted to play a dual-scimitar wielding dark elf ranger. It was a cool character. Go with your concept, and have fun!
OGGM, I completely agree. :)
BTW, who has not used Oggdude's Character Generator for their characters? :) I believe this last release or the release before has it including everything through Fly Casual, so it's a good resource. I've had no problems at all so far with it.
BTW, who has not used Oggdude's Character Generator for their characters? :) I believe this last release or the release before has it including everything through Fly Casual, so it's a good resource. I've had no problems at all so far with it.
I love the OCG. It's been a staple in my home games, and having nice PDF outputs make it so easy go track your dice pools. (Also, it's a super handy GM tool in that you can see what skills your PCs may have setback-reducing talents for at a glance. Great reminder to stack on the Black so they can remove 'em!)
Never tried it, will give it a go tonite.
EDIT: Annnnnd it looks like the link is shut down.
Try this direct link to the web install for the OCG:
http://copy.com/tArOKJad4XukGYYv/Deploy/SWCharGen/Setup.exe
It has worked better for me than the dropbox version...
Ok, was hoping to use that speed up the process, so it may not be up tonight.
No rush. :)I know how it goes :)
Are you allowing us to use species from the Unofficial Species Menagerie? I'm looking to play a Cathar, but I'm happy to just play an official race if you're concerned about balance. I believe that they're mostly balanced well, but that's up to your discretion.
I'll still work up a couple characters using and not using the extra species, just to help move us along.
Alright then. The Sentinel is more or less ready. His fluff, meaning a desription, a background and a few NPCs, is all finished. As for his crunch, it is basically done, except for his Obligation value (not sure how much he starts with, but his starting XP and/or Funds come from his Morality) and any changes that may come due to any bonus XP you may or may not throw our way at character creation.
Also, may I ask what the date is at the start of the campaign as far as BBY and ABY are concerned?
BtDS...
Between the Death Stars...
Thank you. :-)
I brought my FaD Beta to work with me today, and looking it over I realized that the Shadow is basically just a Force-using Thief/Spy! I'm not sure if I should keep going with my less-developed Force user with the same niche, so I'll draft an alternative as well.
First draft was a Cathar Thief/Force Emergent who was specializing in Stealth. Having multiple stealthers wouldn't be a BAD thing, but I was even going to pick the same Force power to start... so I feel that we'd basically have clones mechanically.
Not sure exactly what Old Guy GM is going for with his Soldier type, but I was considering maybe making a Nautolan Commando to go with the Emergent tree for an enhanced soldier to compliment him. I'll wait to see his specialty and then build around it. I'd even be willing to have a tied-in back story if you'd like to be squadmates or some such.
DM Ark, from the opening crawl it seems that we're focusing more on being Rebels or sympathizers. Is that the case, or are we just taking the higher bid in a more Edge-style game? Just trying to make a character with the correct mindset. Thanks in advance.
Arannis will mostly be focusing on Agility and Cunning and relevant skills, that much is true. I have pictured him as an agile fighter/rogue or swashbuckler sort of guy, if I were to use Pathfinder terms.
As far as Force powers are concerned, I do plan on having him gain more of them as he progresses, though I do prefer the more iconic ones such as Sense, Enhance and Move, maybe even Influence, though not necessarily in that order.
And on the subject of Specialisations and Talents, I suppose it will depend on whether he will get the chance to eventually wield a lightsaber or not; if he does get to, I am looking primarily towards Shien Expert and, if we do manage to get that far, Niman Disciple. If not, I may delve into other Careers' Specialisation trees, we will see.
I was thinking of a Chiss commando. Lt. Kara Savyn, 3rd Imperial Commando...formerly of the 3rd Commando. All combat, all the time. The problem is no piloting in the soldier career. We definitely need someone in both space and planetary. I may take a second career at start just to set for some piloting.
I'd be happy to make a pilot. I've always wanted a Starfighter pilot, so wouldn't be a stretch to also be the Wheelman. Options include: Smuggler, Explorer,Ace, or even the Starfighter Ace from FaD if we don't mind more full-on Force users.
I'll dig into the options a bit.
DM Ark, from the opening crawl it seems that we're focusing more on being Rebels or sympathizers. Is that the case, or are we just taking the higher bid in a more Edge-style game? Just trying to make a character with the correct mindset. Thanks in advance.
I see it as in the beginning, the Empire, in one way or another, has rubbed you the wrong way. So that even if you're not outright a 100% member of the Rebellion, you can understand why they do what they do (and especially if those rumors of Alderaan being destroyed by the Empire themselves and not Terrorist Rebels like they say are true). And to that end, their money and goods are as good as anyone else's when it comes to deals. :)
I can shape the adventures however you want. You all are the Stars, and as the director, I'm here to guide you through the story. :)
Are you allowing us to use species from the Unofficial Species Menagerie? I'm looking to play a Cathar, but I'm happy to just play an official race if you're concerned about balance. I believe that they're mostly balanced well, but that's up to your discretion.
Not sure if you saw this question, but wanted to double-check!
Sorry, I did miss that. :(
USM is fine, as all the races I've seen are fairly well balanced too. :)
Got started, here is where I am so far.
I need a background and an NPC, looking for the extra xp! Should finish tomorrow.
Oh, the picture looks awesome! Times like these I wish we could import our own avatars when we create a character profile.
Working on that. You can't see it, but my game has just that going on. One of the players set it up. I don't know if he will do that for us or not, I've asked. It did require having an extension activated in Chrome.
EDIT: The other option is moving to another board like Myth-Weavers, which most people here don't like to do.
Blue FemShep! I'm digging it.
I'm putting together a Hotshot, because the best pilots are the "reckless abandon" types. He might cause more problems than he solves, but that's what his buddies are for! Plus, he'll always have some slick new move to try out during the daring escape scene... If he doesn't get everyone killed first!
I'll have the crunch up soon.
First, sorry for the double post. Okay now that we've settled that, I was inspired by the Blue FemShep, so here we go!
Jan'Tar Shen
Male Zeltron Hotshot
Image Here
He'll fly you into the hot zone, chat up the locals, be sure to get us into trouble... but he's also quite capable of making a quick getaway from any situation he can't talk himself out of.
All I have left to do is purchase equipment and actually make the alias page for him, but other than that he's ready to go. I'll work up a background for him this weekend and get that posted as well.
Looking forward to this game!
Ok, finished, near as I can tell. I copied Rann's format, just to keep it common.
A couple of questions or three for our esteemed GM (I may or may not be sucking up a bit... :-P), if I may:
1) Have you decided on whether or not we are getting bonus XP to start with?
2) What should my character's starting Obligation be (its numeric value, that is)?
3) His XP and/or Funds are derived from Morality, by the way. I have chosen the +10 starting XP option, meaning that he begins with 120 XP and 500 credits if I understand things correctly?
And since it says to roll 1d100 to add to any remaining starting funds (in my case, 25 credits), I may as well do it here, I suppose:
Also, I am flattered that you have used my format as a template, Old Guy GM, even if it is just for the sake of keeping character profiles/sheets more or less alike. :-)