.
Okay, welcome to our fine crew: Amon Toph (Pilot), Aralli K'Shein (Mechanic), Hou Wong Xia (Doctor/Martial Artist), Muthax Tos (Face), Tiberius Cairn (Jack of All Trades), and Zagulo Maresh (Slicer)!
I will be posing some questions for you all this afternoon, some will be world-building stuff in reference to your backgrounds, and others will be things like choosing a ship.
As a first order of business, I would like for us to agree on a Captain. Please read each other's characters and backstories, and send me a PM with your top 3 choices (in order) of who you think it should be and why. In the interest of not just having everyone put their own names in, you cannot nominate yourself. You can disqualify yourself if you don't want to be the Captain or think that it won't mesh with your character.
Hey there folks! This is Warforgedman's alias for the campaign. I'll fill it with useful information in a bit. I'm a little under the weather but I'll look through everyone's profile once I take a nap.
Feel better, Tibs!
Here are everyone's posted characters for ease of looking through personalities / backgrounds.
Amon Toph
Aralli K'Shein
Muhax Tos
Hou Wong Xia
Tiberius "Tibs" Carn
Zagulo Maresh
As a big fan of FFG's SWRPG system, I'm curious to see how it will lend itself to PBP.
EDIT - OOPS didn't mean to post in the discussion thread, sorry!
As a big fan of FFG's SWRPG system, I'm curious to see how it will lend itself to PBP.
EDIT - OOPS didn't mean to post in the discussion thread, sorry!
That's alright! You are of course welcome to follow along. I also played a game here already (link) if you want to see another good example.
Boom, done. Ready for space stuff.
Hey there Crayfish, good to see that you got into the game as well! I'm going to be making up some food and reading through the fluff now and I'll have my nominations up soon.
Hey guys! Amon here (or Chess! Yes, you know me too ;)). A pleasure to be here.
Glad to have you here Chess! I don't think we've had the pleasure of playing together yet. I look forward to it.
Greetings from Spain! Wish you all a superb game. Also, I'd like to withdraw Hou Wong from the Captain selection (I don't think he's the leader kind of guy).
Hey, pleasure to have you in the game dude! I'm also going to withdraw from being captain, I've done it twice and don't want to do it again.
Oho, welcome to the game!
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I'm still getting some questions together and waiting for a couple of check-ins and votes on Captain, but I wanted to share something. I made a Google Chrome extension for an older Star Wars game and I just updated it for this one. Basically it replaces the Paizo avatars with the images of characters that you actually chose for yourself. If you want to use it, just install it, and it should work peachy. (It obviously requires Google Chrome). There's an image in the description to give an idea of how it looks!
Wow, this is really snazzy. Thanks Yorick!
It looks cool! I wish I had found a good image online. Does anyone know of any images of a dude with long, grey hair, a piece of leather covering one eye and a metallic/robotic eye covering the other, cyborg style?
That is awesome Yorick, I totally approve of this neat extension. Now everything looks good.
I've tried looking Amon but the options are very...limited for such a specific look.
Glad you like the addon, gang!
@Amon - Yeah it's a bit of a tall order. The closest thing I've found is this. I took the liberty of toying with Photoshop a touch to see if I could make it work. I'm not convinced I did a decent job, so definitely don't feel obligated to use it, but it's yours if you want it. Here
Damn that's cool as hell Yoricks! Yes, it works perfectly. Who cares about the small differences? :) Thanks a ton, let's use it :)
That is super neat Yoricks, more points for using Photoshop to make the AV look the way it did.
I am super excited for this game to take place! Been rereading my background I had made for Tibs and got everything up and running. While we're waiting for the captain poll to be decided, do we want to discuss what kind of ship we have available to us?
There is always the classic YT standby, though part of me is amused by the idea of us having the big, heavy, slow freighter as well. What do you guys think?
Glad you like it, Amon! I'll get the plugin updated.
While we're waiting for the captain poll to be decided, do we want to discuss what kind of ship we have available to us?
I'm altering the ship options. Pray I don't alter them further.
But seriously I'm going to give you 6(!) ships to choose from, only one of which I think is even in the core book (and it's not that turtle thing, either). I want to do something a little bit different than just "It's Slave 1 or the Millennium Falcon but with a different name".
Oooh, ship options. I think we drive an axe-head ship in my regular outside forum adventure. I will go for the coolest looking ship, because appearance is everything in space.
You know, Mr. Toph looks like he has two eye patches. Our pilot has two eye patches!
Don't worry, it's all under control... or not :) buckle up!
Edit: I'll so have a collection of dinosaur figurines! Or banthas.
I'm sure it will be just fine! Missing one eye means that his other eye is sharper and more powerful...right? That's how it works, right?
Hells yeah for more ship options, I am for more than "Freighter, Millenium Falcon, Slave 1" for options.
'll so have a collection of dinosaur figurines! Or banthas.
We're totally NOT naming the ship "Serenity" :P
Zagulo Maresh here! I have family stuff this weekend, so won't be weighing in on the Captain thing immediately. Will try to get my votes in tonight.
Since we have 6, that reduces our base Obligation to 5 (before taking on extra), so adjust accordingly!
Hi guys,
Sorry for the delay - I've had trouble logging in - tried Chrome but it doesn't recognise my password for some reason on the Paizo site. Have swapped back to Firefox for the moment till I work out whats screwing up with Chrome, so I can't see what sounds like a nifty plugin.
Anyway, I'll sort out my profile ASAP and submit a vote for captain.
In the meantime,....
Okay, now that everyone is here, we can get started, and I'll announce the captain once I get final votes in.
SO, NEXT STEPS.
While Star Wars has much of the world built, I still want to do some world-building to establish our place in it.
Edge of the Empire as a setting is between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. While the Death Star has been destroyed, the Imperials are also tightening their grip and working to crush the Rebellion once and for all. You’re all people living on the edges of known space, in the Outer Rim, trying to make a life for yourselves and keep clear of the Empire.
We’ll be running two modules, with the potential for the game to continue after that. First we’ll go through the starter module “Under a Black Sun”, to make sure we’re all familiar with the system and start easy, and then we’ll be jumping up to “The Jewel of Yavin”, which is more advanced.
Since we’re running Black Sun as a prelude, I thought it would be fun to have Black Sun take place as a memory. Essentially we’ll start with you all en route to Cloud City for The Jewel of Yavin mission, and have a flashback that will be the Under a Black Sun mission. This will let us do cool things with timing, consequences, and relationship building.
We’re starting the game with +20 XP over initial characters to reflect a bit of our history. At the end of Black Sun we’ll gain another ~150-180 in preparation for The Jewel of Yavin. Because of that and the spike in XP, let’s assume that the events of our Black Sun flashback took place roughly a year ago.
Because Black Sun will be a flashback, it could theoretically also be before The Battle of Yavin and destruction of the first Death Star, if that’s something you all find interesting, as a backdrop / contrast to where your characters are in Jewel of Yavin. Let me know if that’s a direction that you want to take.
Let’s also suggest (since this will be fitting) that it’s one of the first times that most of you worked together. The mission itself involves infiltrating a Black Sun outpost to retrieve vital data on a bounty hunter who has betrayed a crime family.
A Quick note about teams
One of the times that I played Edge of the Empire as a player, someone else at the table created a smuggler who had a Spice addiction, executed a young family, and sold the rest of us out to the Empire (in the span of about two sessions). I am expecting you all to behave more as a team than that.
Character drama is great, but let’s make sure we’re not having it at the actual expense of other characters. No character is forced to be on this crew and along the same lines, it’s definitely possible to throw troublemakers out of airlocks. Edge of the Empire has a lot of themes of desperation, and you all have people to be hiding from. For most of you, the other people on your ship are all you have.
You don’t have to necessarily like everyone, but you should have each other’s backs.
We won’t start until probably Wednesday at the earliest, so do take some time to think about these things. Riff off each other and discuss things. Let’s make sure that we’re on the same page with what we want this game to be - both in terms of what our goals are, and what kind of tone we’re going for. Most of all, let’s have fun.
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- Here are the ships to choose from. I’ve possibly gone overboard with options. Figure out which one you all want, and don’t forget to give it a name!
- Who owns it? It doesn’t have to be the Captain (though it could be), it could also be something that Aralli fixed up. that Tibs won gambling, that Zagulo stole by hacking records, etc. Maybe you all pitched in money to actually buy it. Maybe you had a heist where you collectively stole it.
- What do you want the ship to be? Ships have the capacity for upgrades, so between modules we’ll probably toss some things onto it. You don’t have to know now where you’ll want to spend those points, but what would you want in an upgraded or new ship? Something faster? Stronger? Something with more living or cargo space?
- Do you as a crew have any goals? Are you working for a new ship, trying to achieve something, or just trying to keep flying? For those of you with personal goals, such as Muhax wanting to free her people, are the others aware of those goals?
- You escaped your home planet with other survivors, many of whom were killed. Did any of them survive?
- Have you encountered any prejudice because of your mechanical eye?
- Establishing yourself as a pilot on Ord Mandell, have you had any run-ins with the Black Sun before?
- Do you know what became of LE-K42 after your resale?
- What’s your relationship with Jes Herwethe now that you have another crew? Are you in competition with each other, and if so, is it friendly or more as rivals?
- How do you feel about your scars, now, and the role they’ve played in your life?
- Where have you learned medicine / anatomy?
- Have you had any contact with any of your siblings since your parent’s death? Is there any chance of the mafia going after them if they cannot get the money from you?
- What’s your temper like?
- What do you think about the Jedi?
- Have you found yourself at a disadvantage when it comes to bartering, being from a planet that lacks many of the technological marvels of the galaxy? Or is being more exotic something that you’ve been able to use to your advantage?
- Is your family still back on Cathar or were they imprisoned? How did they feel about you leaving?
- What’s Xigg’s weapon of choice?
- When you were defending Arruna Komad against The Black Sun, how far did the confrontation go?
- What are your feelings on the Jedi?
- Why did you begin stealing when your father was already wealthy?
- Do you blame your father for your exile, do you think he was trying to help you?
- As a slicer, what are your feelings on Droids? Are they merely tools, should they have rights, etc.
Hmmm,... So, ships. I kind've like the YV560 (there's a room for everyone and I get a nice big engineering bay. Sort of like the Wayfarer too, although it handles like a piece of %^)&$. Only really necessary if we want to do some trading-type jobs. The YT-1760 looks pretty good too. Might be a bit tight with 6 of us though?
Does the Barloz have 1 gun or 3? There's only 1 dorsal mounted in the text but the image and blueprint both show lateral guns too.
So here's an alias for Aralli. I'll fill in her details soon.
Got Chrome working to log in on my laptop..... Great plugin!
I actually think the ZH-25 might be a better bet. Handling a little worse than the YV-560, but better armor and more cargo space. The YV-560 would be my other choice.
I'm very pleased to announce that our Captain is Muhax Tos.
Does the Barloz have 1 gun or 3? There's only 1 dorsal mounted in the text but the image and blueprint both show lateral guns too.
Just one, I don't think those ones on the side are actually guns, though I'm not sure what else they would be.
The YT-1760 looks pretty good too. Might be a bit tight with 6 of us though?
I made sure that all of the ship options had enough space for all of you, and potentially additional passengers as well.
- The Barloz has six individual rooms, each with a single bed. (6 Total)
- The ZH-25 has one room with two beds for crew, and one room with six beds for passengers. (8 Total)
- The Wayfarer has two individual rooms, each with a single bed, and three rooms with two beds each. (8 Total)
- The YV-560 has one room with two beds for crew, and five rooms with single beds for passengers (7 Total)
- The Loronar has four rooms with two beds each. (8 Total)
- The YT-1760 has one room with two beds for crew, and one room with 8 beds for passengers (10 Total)
With the exception of the Barloz, most of you wouldn't have your own room. Depending on the ship, we could probably convert some space into more quarters, if there is a desire for that. Ships in this world are pretty customisable.
I am for the ZH-25 as well, I think it is a pretty neat looking ship and it is a fair enough ship as is. I'm with Zagulo on the secondary choice as well with the YV-560.
Not sure what we should name the ship, are we going to stick with the classic method of "Adjective Animal" for naming it? her? him? I know most refer to the ships as her but hell with it, we're crazy here.
For what I'd like the ship to become, is the next Millenium Falcon essentially. A smuggler's dream, capable of holding its own and able to escape when it can't.
As for who owns the ship, I think it'd be neat for the owner to not be the captain. It leads to interesting interactions when the set up is like that. I'm totally down for winning it in a game of Sabaac, especially if it is a game I cheated in for it :D
Tiberius's goal is to become famous/infamous, to be a legend upon the Rim so much so that when he is introduced, people sigh knowing the trouble they're going to be getting into. Other than that, his initial goal is to just keep flying and not end up in an Imperial prison or a Hutt's holding cell.
I can see Tibs using his connections and streetwise to bring the crew together, looking for a right proper captain to lead the ship and a captain who is a bit more experienced than he is. He's ambitious but he ain't (entirely) stupid. With his previous "encounters" with Black Sun, he'd happily do a job against them.
As for the teamwork thing, I'm always for working together as a team. Like you said, drama is fun but backstabbing isn't (unless it is Vampire or a few other systems). Tibs would never dare rat out another crew member to anyone, that is poor business and makes a bad reputation. And it makes you a dick. :P
Not sure if you wanted the individual questions in spoiler so I'm going to do it anyways.
2) The confrontation between Tibs and the criminals got violent but not deadly. Tibs was still pretty young and untrained but headstrong and got his ass kicked by about five guys. Arruna was able to convince them to leave him alone and that the violence would only draw bad attention to the cantina.
3) Tibs doesn't really know how to feel about the Jedi. He knows what the Empire says about them, the propaganda about how dangerous they are, and he also knows that the Empire is a bunch of xenophobic a++*%%+s. He kind of considers them a legend by now, something you hear about but is long since gone. He doesn't put much stock in them anymore and any one who says they're doing it "for the greater good" is just trying to sell you something.
So what goals do we have as a crew, what ideas do we like? Do we do jobs for anyone? Are we very mercenary? Is there anyone we don't do work for? Tibs would really like to not support the Empire in any way, they're jerks.
The Wayfarer is my first choice, because it reminds me of Trogdor. Its name could be One-Armed Dragon, and it is -huge-! We could store so much stuff in it! And if my home game is any clue to how much stuff just happens to lay around, it'd be the best.
Barloz looks really funny with that radar sticking out in front. So it's not on the top of my lists.
Loronar E-9 Explorer-Class Armed looks like a flying dick through space, which is funny, and not high on my list of ship types.
YT-1760 Small Transport looks to be a cute ship. Cute ships are pretty good for starting out. Probably my second choice.
ZH-25 Questor Light Freighter is my third choice, as far as stylish ships go.
And that's my votes for ships right there, I suppose.
As far as teamwork goes, I have played several evil characters in different parties, even one in my home Edge of the Empire games. There was only one incident that I did play my character as a jerk, and that was when our party's droid, cute little thing, didn't want to paint her armor. The player had wrote her character into a corner, caring only for the ship, and out right refusing much else. But my character had a gun and wasn't a very nice person, so she forced the droid to paint the armor. Nothing too terrible of course, but it did create a tension of violence, possible violence that could happen at any time.
And that is the feeling that character has held for the entire adventure. But she has never shot any of the crew members, sold them out, betrayed them in any way. Because they are her's, in her twisted little mind. Like dolls on her shelf.
But! Enough about that game. My Catharian business lady is very different and is a very neutral character with her own little happy goals and has no secret connection to the Empire. That would be really terrible, as Cathar is a race that was super attacked by Empire peeps.
It would be very funny if Muhax owned the ship, as I think we're looking at a lot of different freighters as choices. She's never been a captain of a ship, so she would have to hire someone to command a crew, and a crew to command the ship. She has the resources available to handle monetary problems (replacing parts, purchasing upgrades, landing jobs that pay), but would much rather have a Captain leave a sticky note on the outside of her door so she'd be able to work in peace.
She'd be the funniest Captain, with the least bit of knowledge on space travel, but with the most capability of leadership. She's a very neutral and fair person, bound to make sure everyone has what they need to do things properly, keep a little money in her savings for her people, and obtain money, money, money.
Edit: Well, you know, when I was actually writing this, I didn't look up to see the prior posts. But I am pleased to be your captain! Woops, changed my name with the official title and I lost my picture.
She'd be the funniest Captain, with the least bit of knowledge on space travel, but with the most capability of leadership.
Honestly, that's not a bad trait in a Captain - it means that you're forced to trust those around you to know their s$@* and do their best, and they feel empowered that you aren't micromanaging them. And ensuring people get paid will obviously foster the trust on the other side as well.
So excited! Prepare for sticky note Captaining and the ship's budget to be beautiful. She'll find all sorts of jobs in hopes that they would pay, it'd be so much fun.
When it comes to discussing trade, Muhax is very exceptional, but when others start talking about how the most popular item in so and so planet is this, she gets lost, because she doesn't know much about the popular planets. However, it works both ways, as most believe Catharians are barbarians and would often underestimate her in her businessy ways. She likes paperwork and written word, and shies away from fancy gizmos and complex payment plans. She knows how to build trust, naturally.
Her family is on Glides BVB, a swampy planet that is too moist and not the best fishing around. Some of her clan members are imprisoned due to unruly behavior, and some are someone's property. It's a -large- task that she's undertaken, and her family has reluctantly released her to venture, understanding that they won't be able to contact her much (her parents can't work the datapad that Muhax left them very well), but they understand what she is trying to do and love her for it.
I want to pilot them all! My first vote goes to YV, then ZH, then the Explorer.
I have 1000 names to try! But I guess it depends what ship we're going with. This game is very exciting! Thanks for the great work so far Yoricks.
As for team goals, there's the individual goals and the over-arching goals. However, as of right now, I can't think of any other over-arching goal than to make bank, to hire more people, buy more ships (or "find" more ships), and expand into a profitable company.
That is a very general over-arching goal that any business would follow. It may take a little bit of posting to find out if one character has a pretty important goal to accomplish and we could work on that. I don't think we're immediately in the Rebel territory, and the Empire is a dick, but there's likely to be lots of opposing sides that could be joined.
As for jobs, it comes down to ships. Merchant style jobs can still be very easy to do, as most of the ships are freighters. But we'll see!
Truth. Freighters of that size are excellent for smuggling illicit goods or contraband around as well as outrunning Imperial blockades. A few jobs under our belts and some money well spent and whatever ship we take will be sleek and dangerous.
I was going to suggest that you can always add mods to the ship between missions, too. While looking through some of the options I noticed that despite what I had thought before, there isn't a ship modification to increase the handling. That's something that I'd be comfortable houseruling, if you did want to get a freighter class and have it handle a bit better.
You could also go for the option of taking a big freighter and filling it with a couple of fighter ships. Of the starting options, only the Wayfarer is capable of doing that (the hangar upgrade requires a silhouette of 5), but it would be an option.
I'll be honest, I'm not sure which ship I'd choose in your positions. I tried to make all of the options appealing. I think there are two that I could knock out of the running, but I'd be torn between the other four.
We should tally up the votes so far and look at what our options are for the running. Also, how will sessions work? Because the Entrepreneur gets money every session, but since this is a forum, sessions don't usually occur more than once.
Vote Tally yo;
YV, then ZH, then the Explorer.
YV560, Wayfarer too, The YT-1760
ZH-25, The YV-560.
ZH-25, YV-560.
The Wayfarer, YT-1760 Small Transport, ZH-25 Questor Light Freighter
Our doctor hasn't voted yet, I believe. But so far, we have:
4 for the YV560.
4 for the ZH-25
2 for the Wayfarer
2 for the YT-1760
1 for the Explorer.
OK, so this post got eaten TWICE, so its a bit shorter than it would have been.
Do you know what became of LE-K42 after your resale?
No, he remained at Bisu's 'establishment' when she was sold on. As far as she knows he's still there.
What’s your relationship with Jes Herwethe now that you have another crew? Are you in competition with each other, and if so, is it friendly or more as rivals?
Aralli was never really a member of his crew.... just a stowaway. Jes did, however, help her escape, for which she's grateful and feels indebted since he could have turned her in or abandoned her. Instead, he left her with some clothes, a few credits and the blaster she still carries (so that she might "last more than a few seconds". She's run into him on a few occasions since they parted and have a broadly friendly relationship.
How do you feel about your scars, now, and the role they’ve played in your life?
She sees the scars, which run over the right side of her jaw and her right lek, as the price she had to pay for avoiding the fate of ending up as a dancer and prostitute. - She doesn't like them, but doesn't really try to hide them either.
Goals:
Aralli isn't out for money. Instead she just wants to stay free. She travels so that she can avoid the Hutt bounty hunters and to see the galaxy and find new, cool, technology she can play with.
Also, how will sessions work? Because the Entrepreneur gets money every session, but since this is a forum, sessions don't usually occur more than once.
Yeah - a lot of moves are 1/session. We'll handle it as plot-based milestones. It'll be somewhat free form and flexible.
We should tally up the votes so far and look at what our options are for the running.
It might make sense to give votes "weight" which is how I did it for the Captain. First choice is 3 points, second choice is 2 points, third is 1 point. It makes it a bit more nuanced. And in the circumstance where someone only gives 2 votes because they can't decide, they're both worth 2 points.
It doesn't necessarily change the "outcome" at this stage, but when votes are close (as the ZH and YV-560 are likely to be), it can be helpful to drill down an additional level.
OK, so this post got eaten TWICE, so its a bit shorter than it would have been.
Yeah, the forums have been running like garbage all weekend, and were down for most of today.
1. Zagulo started stealing out of boredom. Wealthy, workaholic father + highly talented mind = slicer. Since Duros don't strike me as being big on extracurricular activities like sports, he didn't have much else to do.
2. He thinks his father was just trying to save the family name by removing an embarrassment. As far as he's concerned, by exiling him his father can claim he's off being successful somewhere and not be around to contradict him.
3. Droids are...complex. On the one hand, they are machines and tools with a set purpose. On the other, many have been given processing power and AI programming that allows them to think like sentient beings. Zagulo isn't sure about rights, but they can be more than tools.
I'm fine with Muhax owning the ship. It doesn't quite make sense for Zagulo to own it.
It might make sense to give votes "weight" which is how I did it for the Captain. First choice is 3 points, second choice is 2 points, third is 1 point. It makes it a bit more nuanced. And in the circumstance where someone only gives 2 votes because they can't decide, they're both worth 2 points.
So on that basis:
YV: 3+3+2+2+0 = 10
ZH: 2+0+2+2+1 = 7
Wayfarer: 0 +2+0+0+3 = 5
YT: 0+1+0+0+2 = 3
Explorer: 1+0+0+0+0 = 1
Barloz: 0+0+0+0+0 = 0
So (depending on how the doc votes), its between the YV and the ZH...
I'd be happy with either. Maybe the extra space would be useful??