So, eventually I plan to run EoE, using the core book, but starting with Escape from Mos Shuuta and Long Arm of the Hutt.

Now things I do know:

The group all know each other.

They have worked together for a while.

They have been doing something for Teemo, and have screwed up.

They only have equipment they are physically carrying at the start of the adventure.

This is why they are running at the start of the adventure.

Things I need to work out:

WHAT were they doing?

HOW did they screw up?

WHY don’t they have their own ship? (Which is why they are going to steal the Fang)

(Did they even have a ship?)

How long have they been working for Teemo? (Not long, as they don’t know Shuuta that well, but long enough to have a basic knowledge of Teemos power, influence and palace (As stated in Long Arm)

Any input welcomed.

RD

Have you tried asking your players these questions?

Not yet, my players have not yet created characters, and I dont know when we will start.

But I dont trust my players to come up with something that works. They will be looking to me for this information, or they will come up with someone to give them a huge advantage later.

Not trusting your players is a bad sign. I wouldn't try to answer these questions for my players. If they are unwilling to put in a little work on these things themselves, then that would be another bad sign.

Perhaps.

2 of them are long time players... both tend toward munchkins.

2 are newer, less that way inclined, but one of them can be abit... stupid.

1 is erratic to say the least.

1 (if she plays) is ... not someone I know very well. But apparently can be abit disruptive.

The first two certainly, can be difficult..

When we tried to play D20 Star Wars (under another GM), one created a Force User (Despite the GM saying no Jedi (This was taken literally), who was essentially invisible to normal light spectrums.

The other created a Free Astromech, of Nobility (Cash), with a Voice Coder (No Binary), and a Body Guard (For Combat), who was a killer Pilot, Mechanic, and Slicer.

When we tried to play D20 Star Wars (under another GM), one created a Force User (Despite the GM saying no Jedi (This was taken literally), who was essentially invisible to normal light spectrums.

The other created a Free Astromech, of Nobility (Cash), with a Voice Coder (No Binary), and a Body Guard (For Combat), who was a killer Pilot, Mechanic, and Slicer.

Sounds like you've played with GMs who are afraid to reject character sheets. Which is the GM's prerogative if he feels a certain build will be disruptive.

Ive played with a player who will kick up an absolute **** storm if he cannot do what he wants, when he wants, and will argue constantly until he proves himself right, or you give up from exhaustion.

Ive played with a player who will kick up an absolute **** storm if he cannot do what he wants, when he wants, and will argue constantly until he proves himself right, or you give up from exhaustion.

Or point to the door and bid them a good evening.....

Ive played with a player who will kick up an absolute **** storm if he cannot do what he wants, when he wants, and will argue constantly until he proves himself right, or you give up from exhaustion.

Or point to the door and bid them a good evening.....

I agree, and I'd suggest adding in an airhorn to block out his arguments for comedy!

Ive played with a player who will kick up an absolute **** storm if he cannot do what he wants, when he wants, and will argue constantly until he proves himself right, or you give up from exhaustion.

Yeah, that's the kind of person who should be flat-out told "with this attitude, you're no longer welcome to play at this table. So you can either adjust it and stop making a scene, or leave."

Sounds like your home group is...frustrating to play with. I feel for ya.

Sometimes I would like to eject him, but he is a good friend... and I am the relative newcomer to the group. (Except one other, who is the boyfriend of one of the other members)

I wouldnt feel comfortable asking him not to play, since this is a group ive been welcomed into, rather than created.

Additionally, he was the one who showed me EotE to start with, and was the first to show interest in playing it.

Sometimes I would like to eject him, but he is a good friend... and I am the relative newcomer to the group. (Except one other, who is the boyfriend of one of the other members)

I wouldnt feel comfortable asking him not to play, since this is a group ive been welcomed into, rather than created.

So stop GM-ing. If he's actually a good friend and not a self absorbed tool when he asks tell him.

The conversations have been had, but he always comes back to the same kind of thing.

He is out current GM, playing Savage Worlds, Neccesary Evil. And in our last session our party of 6 went up against 50 bad guys. I was incapacitated in the first round, and am reliant on drawing a Joker from a deck of cards before i can ROLL to wake up.

And he sees no problem in this.

Dunno what to tell you then, he is just gonna be how he is gonna be I would imagine. I wouldn't GM though.

I think it's fair the GM has fun. They put in time to tell a story and as a player I like to meet their expectations of how I should be acting. Stick to my motivations, play a character like a person and not a video game, that sort of thing.

Dunno what to tell you then, he is just gonna be how he is gonna be I would imagine. I wouldn't GM though.

I think it's fair the GM has fun. They put in time to tell a story and as a player I like to meet their expectations of how I should be acting. Stick to my motivations, play a character like a person and not a video game, that sort of thing.

The downside of that is that I dont get to run Star Wars.

If you aren't having fun does it matter?

You might research game ideas with zero combat. Not sure how they'll react but if there is no room for killing maybe that would help.

Be honest with your players. Explain to them the kind of game you want to run and you want them to play characters a little more traditional. Reason with them that you are new (I got that impression, if I am wrong, sorry), and that you need a more grounded game this time around.

I agree with what the others are trying to say in that you need your players to be reasonable with the kind of game you are trying to run.

It might be considered a jerk move, but for the first session, hand them a stack of pre-mades that you personally rolled up and throw them in the adventure. They might surprise you and like them. Come up with a neat backstory for each of them, and put in bits that you would like to see in any backstory that they would hand you.

Things I need to work out:

What were they doing?

If you were using the pregens from the beginner box set one was a bountyhunter who was trying to rescue her sister the reason for why she was working for Teemo.

The Smuggler crashed his last ship and this is his one chance to escape Teemo's wrath ala Jabba and Han...

The droid was helping the wookie to escape a long as it was brought along I think it was the link between the smuggler and the others as its the medic...

The Wookie was a gladiator slave and of course wants his/her freedom

The scout is a former rebel who naturally wants out from under Teemo's thumb

Don't remember the rest only that they take the brief chance to escape certain death or other nasty fate and head for the cantina as a rest point before attempting to steal the Fang and by that I mean check their plans get rid of who or whatever is chasing them and so forth...

How did they screw up?

Doesn't necessarily have to screw up but let the players resolve that one!

Why don't they have their own ship?

The Smuggler crashed his and the Bountyhunter only gets access to hers whilst Teemo makes sure she doesn't make a run for it so her best chance is knowing where her sister is escape with the others with said ship and in return for her help they help her rescue her sister first...

How long have they been working for Teemo?

You can ask them that after all it gives them a common purpose and a link to each other maybe give them a bonus destiny point if they come up with a good story explaining when they were enslaved by Teemo and how they met each other...

What characters are they using if not the pre-gens?

What characters are they using if not the pre-gens?

We havn't created characters yet, I don't even know when we will play, or if we even play... the idea was pitched by the troublesome player, and another was very interested but then a new player joined the group, and she voiced a particular disinterest in Star Wars. Plus I hear she can be disruptive as well.

If they are all new to this game, and possibly disruptive, I would not have a chargen session, just use the included PCs. Then explain that "session zero" is going to be a bit on rails and the main purpose is to learn the game quickly. Then end the session before they steal the ship. That way you don't have to do all this extra work for nothing. If they like it then they can either keep the pre-mades (modified to fit the full rules), or they can create new characters. The new characters could also be running from Teemo, part of another group that split from the first, and they join up to take off on the ship.

If they create new characters, their past is completely up to them...that's their job as players. If they don't want to do it, then you could roll randomly on the chart, or they have Obligation for something they don't remember because they have amnesia. Makes it kind of tough to get rid of, but that's their problem...until they start to "remember".

You seem to spend a lot of time in prep, which is great, but you don't have to take on the full burden yourself, nor do you need to have every detail in place before you begin. It's helpful to have or develop a strategy or tools to "reveal the unknown" as you need it, especially when the players go in unexpected directions or ask questions about things you haven't planned for.

We havn't created characters yet, I don't even know when we will play, or if we even play... the idea was pitched by the troublesome player, and another was very interested but then a new player joined the group, and she voiced a particular disinterest in Star Wars. Plus I hear she can be disruptive as well.

I definitely think you need to talk to the "troublesome" player. Ideally with support from the other regulars of the group. A lot of times people go along with and tolerate it to avoid conflict, and you may all have the same exasperated feelings about him but just don't know it since you've never talked about it. If just you brings up the problem it can look personal; if you and two other people all say it's a problem, it's less likely to be taken that way - or at least he might see that hey people do have a problem, it's not all just one person who's annoyed.

I would have a conversation with the new player. See why she isn't interested in Star Wars. Maybe even try to help her think of things in RPGs she likes, and show her how they can be applied to Star Wars. It may very well be that she thinks there's not much there to interest her because she's not aware of all the possible play options and is worried she'll be stuck playing Leia when that's not her interest. The EU can actually be great for this if she wants to play a female character but is worried that it will devolve into "slave Leia time" - there are a lot of strong and interesting women on both Alliance and Imperial sides...Ysanne Isard, Daala, Mara Jade, Teneniel Djo, Tenel Ka, Jaina Solo, Qwi Xux, etc.

For the munchkins, well, this system can be min-maxed. But it's not that easy to do it from chargen and still be effective at other things. And with rules like Scathing Tirade even a hard-killing battle-Wookiee can be reduced to tears from a stream of invective from a poncy politician. I'd just encourage them to think of roles beyond combat. And if they optimize for combat you are under no obligation to give them nothing but combat; they'll either evolve or be bored.

I would have a conversation with the new player. See why she isn't interested in Star Wars. Maybe even try to help her think of things in RPGs she likes, and show her how they can be applied to Star Wars.

My current crop isn't interested in Star Wars, but they love the game. I made it clear at the outset they didn't have to know anything about the SW universe to play in it, which is good, because for them, "hutt" is what you say when you want the football...

To address a couple of points:

My players would NEVER agree to using PreGens, they simply wouldnt, and if I tried to enforce such a thing, even as a tester, they would kick up a fuss on the basis they had no interest in playing characters they didnt create, and just screw about.

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Yes, I do spend alot of time trying to prep... probably too much, but my improv is not great, so I like to feel comfortable by having as many questions answered before hand... I know this isnt possible for everything, and I know they will go in directions I couldnt have forseen, but it gives me comfort to have as much prepared as I can (probably to my detriment, and evidenced by numbers of posts based on group background and setting details)

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As for the 'troublesome player', the conversations have been had, a number of times, and it never works. He is (as i recently learned) similar to a 'Not Fun Guys' trope, a Rules Lawyer, Scrub, God Modder type or at least bits of them all.

He can, and has, created characters that get around every single loop hole going, appears min-maxed without appearing so, and has an inherent understanding of how rules work and how to make them work best for him. And his interpretation is ALWAYS right (even when wrong). and can justify every single action he takes.

Yes, I make him sound like the nightmare player you would probably suggest ditching, but he is a good friend, and has been part of the group alot longer than I have... so that is really not much of an option (The last time I was GMing, it all exploded so badly that he did leave the group... but every single bit of enthusiasm I had for GMing vanished as a result of that altercation)

(And he has owned the EotE rules alot longer than I have - So I can see him doing a force character and somehow managing to be as powerful as Vader at FS2, and not hearing anything otherwise)

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As for the player with little interest, I think one of her Ex's bored her to tears with Star Wars, her initial reaction to a suggestion of a SW RP was "Urrrrrrgh......" shes also voiced a dislike for guns (her current character in our current game wont use them), which can be abit of a crippler in SW really.

I simply would not GM for that group. Friends or not, it does not sound worth the headache and the inevitable arguments. That altercation that happened before, I would expect that to happen again, and I wouldn't put myself in that position. Gaming is supposed to be fun, not a second job that occupies a lot of time and doesn't have an enjoyable payoff.

shes also voiced a dislike for guns (her current character in our current game wont use them), which can be abit of a crippler in SW really.

This is actually the easiest thing in your post to work around and possibly fix. Meleeists are extremely viable in Edge, even without lightsabers.

And if she was burned by Star Wars RP in the past, I would bet it was either WEG or d20, neither of which is near as narrative a game, which can be quite a bit more fun than a rules-heavy one.

Yes, I do spend alot of time trying to prep... probably too much, but my improv is not great, so I like to feel comfortable by having as many questions answered before hand... I know this isnt possible for everything, and I know they will go in directions I couldnt have forseen, but it gives me comfort to have as much prepared as I can (probably to my detriment, and evidenced by numbers of posts based on group background and setting details)

Well, there's never too much prep I certainly wasn't trying to be critical and hope you didn't take it that way. Stop me if I go on about it too much, but it's just that I used to not be very good at improve and sort of grew into it to the point where I can now pretty much run an entire session with only a few notes I hope to hit. It's kind of empowering, especially when the players *think* you had it all planned. I definitely feel more comfortable with more prep, but so often things take an unexpected turn and I had to learn how to handle it better.

The trick was finding tools to aid the improve. This could be anything from random encounter charts or having lists of set pieces to pull out depending on where the PCs went. Sometimes I still use these but often I find it simpler and more effective to find the motive at the heart of the encounter. The only thing that drives a story are characters and their motives. New NPCs I didn't plan for require a single question to get the improv ball rolling: "What do they want?" Then pick a single word or phrase that pops to mind (love, money, pride, to walk their Ack Dog in peace) and roll a percentage to gauge the intensity.

I guess all I'm saying is there are a lot of tools to help improve one's improv, finding one that works best for you can be very rewarding.