My sons and I just picked up the beginner's game this week during spring break. I ran the game for them as best I could, but understandably ran into a couple of questions I couldn't answer. I did order the core book which might better answer some of this, but that is still a few days away from delivery before I'll even be able to start looking through it.

1) How far away can you start from an enemy and still be able to strike them with a melee weapon? If you're at medium range, can you only get to short range, or, once you're in short range can you consider yourself 'engaged' and hit your enemy by attacking them? I guess one of the issues is that I'm not clear as to whether 'engaged' is a range unto itself, or the result of an action performed at short range.

2) How often should I really come up with a narrative for a roll that results in a +1 advantage/threat? We only played for an hour and a half (and much of that was spent talking about how to play or me reading the instructions) and I already felt like I was struggling to come up with plausible meanings of those rolls. I can't imagine doing that for a couple of hours straight when the game is going at a quicker pace (remember, I'm playing with a 9 and 10 year old, so they won't be contributing to interpretation of the dice rolls as much as most older players would). Thoughts or suggestions?

You have to be engaged to launch a melee/brawl attack. 2 maneuvers from medium to engage a target. Engaged is a quasi range band that falls within short, essentially the physically interact range band. How much narrative you inject or don't is completely your call.

1) Engaged is a sub-category of Short Range (p. 208). It takes a Maneuver to move between Engaged and Short Range (p. 208). So, per that, it would take two Maneuvers to move from Medium Range to Engaged (1 from Medium to Short, 1 for Short to Engaged).

2) You don't always have to come up with a complex narrative, especially for Threat if you want to keep the game moving. "You think you were successful but anxious just in case your plan didn't work. Take Strain" is always valid, if generic. Although if your players generate Advantage, especially in combat, have the table open for them to maybe pick things off of.

It sounds like you're maybe dealing with younger children? If that's the case, then I'd focus more on maintaining good flow of fun at the table and less about being a strict adherent to the rules. Don't let the RAW get in the way of the entertainment.

My sons and I just picked up the beginner's game this week during spring break. I ran the game for them as best I could, but understandably ran into a couple of questions I couldn't answer. I did order the core book which might better answer some of this, but that is still a few days away from delivery before I'll even be able to start looking through it.

1) How far away can you start from an enemy and still be able to strike them with a melee weapon? If you're at medium range, can you only get to short range, or, once you're in short range can you consider yourself 'engaged' and hit your enemy by attacking them? I guess one of the issues is that I'm not clear as to whether 'engaged' is a range unto itself, or the result of an action performed at short range.

2) How often should I really come up with a narrative for a roll that results in a +1 advantage/threat? We only played for an hour and a half (and much of that was spent talking about how to play or me reading the instructions) and I already felt like I was struggling to come up with plausible meanings of those rolls. I can't imagine doing that for a couple of hours straight when the game is going at a quicker pace (remember, I'm playing with a 9 and 10 year old, so they won't be contributing to interpretation of the dice rolls as much as most older players would). Thoughts or suggestions?

1) You could get to them from Medium. Use your free manoeuvre to close the distance to Short. Spend two Strain to get an extra manoeuvre to close to Engaged. Use your action to attack.

2) There's a list of generic stuff you can do with advantages - and the responsibility isn't all on the GM, players can narrate these too.

Advantages Effect Options

==========================================================================================================

1 Recover 1 Strain (this option may be selected multiple times per roll).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Add a Boost die to the next check of the next active, allied character.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notice a single important point in the ongoing conflict, such as the

location of a blast door’s control panel or a weak point on an attack speeder.

==========================================================================================================

2 Activate a weapon quality (Blast, Disorient, Sunder, etc.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perform an immediate free maneuver, as long as this

does not exceed the two maneuvers per turn limit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Add a Boost die to the next check of the any one active, allied character.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Add a Setback die to the next check of any active character.

==========================================================================================================

3 Negate the targeted enemy’s defensive bonuses (such as the defense gained from cover,

equipment, or performing the Guarded Stance maneuver) until the end of the current round.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ignore penalizing environmental effects such as inclement weather, zero

gravity, or similar effects until the end of the active player’s next turn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When dealing damage to a target, have the attack disable the opponent or one piece of gear

rather than dealing wounds or strain. This could include hobbling him temporarily with a

shot to the leg, or disabling his comlink. This should be agreed upon by the player and the

GM, and the effects are up to the GM (although the Critical Injury table is a good resource

to consult for possible effects). The effects should be temporary and not too excessive.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gain +1 melee or ranged defense until the end of the active player’s next turn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Force the target to drop a melee or ranged weapon it is wielding.

==========================================================================================================

Crit Rating (If attack hits and Damage > Soak) Inflict a Critical Injury

==========================================================================================================

Triumph Any one of the above.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upgrade the difficulty of the targeted character’s next check.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upgrade any allied character’s next check, including the current active character.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do something vital, such as shooting the controls to the nearby blast doors to seal them shut.

==========================================================================================================

Triumph x2 When dealing damage to a target, have the attack destroy a piece of equipment the target

is using, such as blowing up his blaster or destroying a personal shield generator.