I am a first time GM and recently played Edge of the Empire: Beginner Game - Escape from Mos Shuuta for the first time. I think I ruined the scene where the storm troopers were chasing the PCs as they were heading towards Landing Bay Aurek. I was unsure how to evaluate movement on the map - how far can a player move each turn (I said they could essentially run one block each turn)? Also, in my mind I picture a crowded street making it near impossible for stormtroopers to get a shot at the PCs. The PCs pretty much had an easy time of it and I feel like I ran a boring game (although I stuck to the rules as best I could).

Any tips on how to better play combat 'on the run'?

PG 241, Chase. replace "Piloting" with "Athletics."

As for how far they can move on the map, yeah totally up to the GM. This is actually why the game discourages the use of maps and minis, to get away from that line of thinking and focus on the narrative.

For difficulty, it works like this:

Range determines purple.

"Crowded streets" determine setback.

So at medium range they would have a difficulty of 2 purple, and the crowd (being a fairly loose Tatooine crowd, not a Coruscant rush hour crowd) probably only grants 1 black. Occasional Destiny Point stake-raising is perfectly fine.

Try and come up with reasons for at least 1 Setback die on every check, the game runs a little better if you do.

On a side note, if you all had fun, nothing was ruined!

(1) Personally I think your mistake was trying to turn abstract ranges into concrete in a situation where it wasn't super necessary. Force them to spend actions and maneuvers to move or fight back - making that choice is important.

(2) Would stormtroopers care about shooting civilians? Even with blasters on stun?

I guess I play too much X-Wing... maps, minis and range make sense to me, but does not translate well here at all. I think that stuff is really nothing more than an aide... not a strict 'game board' so to speak. I got too caught up in a miniature-game mindset and it kind of killed the momentum. Lesson learned I suppose.

I saw some great tips over on this thread as well - http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/88179-problem-with-running-away/

Thanks for the tips!

I thought I'd toss something else in for you to consider...

At the point the characters decide to foot it, the "combat encounter" effectively ends and the "chase scene" begins. It's going to be difficult (for me, at least) to remember there are clearer defining lines between "scenes" than to which I'm accustomed. The "old school" in me would have considered the combat and chase as being confined within structured time.

Jason Bourne beats up a few unsuspecting guards at the consulate building, jumps from the fire escape, nicks a Mini Cooper, and drags half of France on a wild ride. The moment he jumps from the fire escape, the combat is concluded (structured time ends) and the chase ensues (narrative time resumes). However, both combat and chase are still one escalating encounter.

Just to point out: chase rules still happen in structured time, IIRC.

At what point does structured time end? Is that up to the GM based on when the enemies are no longer chasing?

If you want it to have the feel of a chase, rather than a game of Follow The Leader, I'd say run it in narrative time.

Can combat (or any other) damage occur in narrative format? Examples?

Sure. You can fall or get in a vehicle crash or have something land on your head, and take damage from it.

However, typically damage occurs during structured time because damage is typically the product of combat, which is basically always in structured time. That isn't to say that combat scenes can't occur in narrative time, just that any combat actively involving the players should likely be structured, because the combat rules are designed to facilitate their participation.

Lets say I have a chase scene underway and my PCs want to shoot at a support structure in order to have something heavy fall on a squad of storm troopers. How might I organize a dice pool for that, and how would I determine damage taken if the PC is successful?

In this scenario, what would constitute a shift into structured format? If a PC declares during a chase that they want to shoot right at a trooper, do I immediately switch to structured format? If so, what would cause me to break out into narrative format again?

(1) The relevant dice pool is Agility + (applicable ranged combat skill). Difficulty depends on distance to the target. Might add setbacks if the PC is shooting on the run or whatever. Damage taken would, in some ways, be fiat, but I'd start by determining the Silhouette of whatever is going to crash on the stormtroopers. That would determine an amount of base damage (I think that's covered in the book); if not, think about whether you really need to track wounds of a chunk of building falling on some mooks.

(2) IMO probably and structured time would continue til the fight ended.

Here is a related question:

As the PCs are running through the streets trying to escape a squad of storm troopers, they decide they want to shoot out a support structure that may cause something heavy to fall on and possibly kill the troopers. Does the existence of said support structure and "heavy thing" depend on the PC spending a Destiny Point, or are they allowed to just get creative at any time with regard to environmental detail that was not specifically indicated by the GM?

They don't need to kill the stormtroopers to break off the chase. Say they roll really well on an Athletics check while on the run and generate a Triumph. If it seemed appropriate, I'd allow spending that Triumph to let the PC notice that the support structure is weak and that a well placed blaster shot or two would knock it loose and cause the pursuers to waste time trying to find another way around. No other roll needed--no Ranged Light check or anything. It's automatic. Done.

Back to that Athletics check: Maybe with enough Advantage, the stormtroopers call it off ("Forget it, it's not worth it. We need to return to our post."). Generate any Threat and the stormtroopers pick an alternative strategy ("We know where their ship is parked anyways. Get a squad there on the double!"). Despair might mean the building's owner demands restitution for property damage ("Five hundred credits! Pay up, you ruttish pox-marked wagtail, or there'll be trouble. My brother... He knows people.").

Spending time and brain cells trying to figure out how to roll for damage or how many troopers get killed in the event isn't the point. The point is the narrative. Kill the stormtroopers and the conflict ends. That story ends. Keep them alive and watch as all new avenues open up in your plot for something unexpected and exciting to happen. Now there's suspense. The PCs will always be watching over their shoulders and on-edge, just waiting for the other white laminate jackboot to drop.

That is fantastic input. Thanks!

What about Destiny Points though? How much leeway do I allow PCs to essentially create their surroundings to suit them - should that always require spending Light Side points?

Triumph and advantage is what the players use the color the scene. 1 advantage to notice something important, 1 triumph to do something important.

Using destiny points to make stuff up is more for a way to "retcon" the narrative. So if the players find themselves in a situation that would result in an uneeded slowing of the game, they can spend a destiny point to correct the issue and keep things moving.