Hi all,

Me and my group of players like the Star Wars setting, we played a lot the WEG incarnation of the game back in the early 90s, and we are enjoying the FFG approach too.

The problem we find is that the published adventures so far does not fit our game style. We like plots with a lot of investigation, side plots and complications (kind of Call of Cthulhu or Warhammer Fantasy); and my players are finding the published adventures kind of too linear and simple.

Sadly, me (the GM) have not too much time anymore to brew my own adventures. I want to ask you if there is out there, published for any of the SW game incarnations (D6, D20 or FFG), an adventure with a complex non linear plot which if possible, includes investigation, social interactions, and / or political plots.

I hope once Force and destiny is released, more focus will be put in such kind of scenarios.

By the way, I don't know about Beyond the Rim or the Jewel of Yavin.

Kind regards,

Yepes

By the way, I don't know about Beyond the Rim or the Jewel of Yavin.

You should really check those out. Good options for both social interaction, combat, puzzle-solving in those.

Jewel of Yavin is a very well constructed adventure, actually. It sets out a problem for the PC group (fix an auction, rob a bank, steal the jewel), and then gives you, the GM, all the information about the obstacles in the way. The client presents the most straightforward method to do it - but even within THAT there's plenty of latitude, and the PCs are welcome to invent their own crazy scheme.

The game assumes they'll rush into the action - but as a GM can easily draw out the planning phase. When I run it, I'll be giving them a week for setup of their plan before execution, then things will start to move very quickly.

What few "scripted encounters" the game presents are actually easily slotted in around anything the players decide to do.

The adventure DOES become a bit more linear in the third act when *SHOCKING TWIST* occurs, but even there there's several options presented to them, and its up to them what their next step is.

Overall, very open and flexible - and a fantastic framework around which a memorable adventure can be built by the GM.

The reason why a lot of the adventures you're probably looking at are so linear is because they tend to be introductions to the system for the GMs and players. Beginner Game adventures, one included in the GM Kit, the ones at the end of the Core Rulebooks, and Under the Black Sun - all are built with the intention of being fast to pick up and get everyone at the table used to the new system.

The big adventure modules on the other hand, are made to be weaved into existing adventures and provide numerous hooks to use in the future to expand campaigns later. They're also about 3 times as large as most other adventures (around 90 pages compared to the 20-30 of those other adventures) - which is important for giving the GM fuller information about the worlds/environments, and allows greater details about the situation that caused the adventure, which lets the GM have an easier time in keeping things more open.

So definitely check out Beyond the Rim and Jewel of Yavin - Yavin probably being more of what you're looking for.

I'll chime in to agree with the crowd. The beginner boxes (both EotE and AoR), are linear...but they're supposed to be. It's how you deal with teaching new dice mechanics and the rules while at the same keeping a story moving forward.

However, both the free PDF add-ons are far more open-ended. I'm currently reading through the AoR followup, and it's great, specifically designed in an open-ended way.

I'd say JoY is more open-ended than BtR, and BtR is more open than most of the other modules I've read for other games, and on par with some of the Warhammer 3rd ed modules (which are great).

If you want to turn to WEG, I found the "Black Sands of Socorro" and "Pirate and Privateers" books to be excellent. Most of the other WEG stuff is ... meh ... but that's just MHO.

In hindsight I can't say I found any of the D20 SW stuff to be very good. I thought it was okay at the time, but I guess my expectations were pretty low.

The reason why a lot of the adventures you're probably looking at are so linear is because they tend to be introductions to the system for the GMs and players. Beginner Game adventures, one included in the GM Kit, the ones at the end of the Core Rulebooks, and Under the Black Sun - all are built with the intention of being fast to pick up and get everyone at the table used to the new system.

I agree and have had experiences like this with other systems.

One game I have a LOT of experience with is FFG's Deathwatch. The modules included in the Core and the First Founding sourcebook, as well as the Free RPG Day ones, are pretty linear, and require a good amount of GM work to run (i.e. make maps and the like). The two stand-alone module trilogies are...well, it's like night and day. They include a lot of options for combat (which is the game's focus) but also politicking, investigation, etc. and include maps for all the places fights are likely to occur. Probably because they are standalone products that have to be bought on their own merit, rather than something included in a sought-after rulebook or given away free.

Same with the Edge and AoR modules, though of course this system is a lot less combat-focused than Deathwatch.

+1 for Beyond the Rim. It's the most open published adventure I've ever read. It has a ton of info on how to work it into your campaign, how to work in obligation and motivation, subplots, future campaign jumping points, and more. It's fantastic.

I'm really pleased with the published adventures so far. Sure, stuff like "Escape from Mos Shuuta" was very simple and linear, but then it came with the Beginners' Bos (sort of a clue there). Beyond the Rim was very good, and although I haven't put my players through Jewel of Yavin yet I think it looks very promising indeed.

Are they as flexible and open as an adventure you've written yourself? Probably not, but then the published adventures have to be written so as to appeal to as many people as possible. Your group may love open investigation adventures, but that's not the case for everyone. I think the published stuff (again, beginner adventures notwithstanding) have hit a very balanced middle ground.

"Debts to pay" with EotE GM screen is a nice "Dungeon crawl" adventure. and it can be run in a single session.

The only D20 adventure that looked interesting to me was "Triple threat" more of a bounty hunter/assassination mission which has a finale as 3 groups try to kill eachother in the middle of a sandstorm, would work real well with the EotE and some homebrew special rules for the sandstorm

Thanks, I will check BtR and JoY.

If your up for a fairly simple conversion, check out the classic Traveller adventure "Murder on Arcturus Station". It is a murder investigation/social combat masterpiece. The adventure is a toolkit to build the murder mystery. The party=investigators, one victim, 9 suspects. You can pick it up on eBay or rpgnow for $3.

I'll chime in to agree with the crowd. The beginner boxes (both EotE and AoR), are linear...but they're supposed to be. It's how you deal with teaching new dice mechanics and the rules while at the same keeping a story moving forward.

I have been thinking a bit about what you and other said about this. Mmmmm I decided not to agree

On one hand, it is good that the system has one (or two, ok!) easy adventures just to teach the system. But in the EotE case, all the adventures I have read (besides BtR and JoY which I have not read yet) are just linear plots (I am not saying they are boring). This sets a bit the mood of the game in my opinion, or more precisely, this was telling me that this is the mood the writers want to give to the game, so I was a bit "afraid".

If you go to one shot short scenrios for other game, like Warhammer Fatnasy you will find of course linear plots, but for example, in the case of Warhammer 3, the scenario in the Game Master book has a complex non-linear plot full of possible outcomes. This to me says, we the designers want to give this game this flavour.

Whatever! Each one can do with the engine what he wants to do, if I would have more time...****!

Yepes,

P.S: I already got myself a copy of BtR and JoY

You say "all the adventures you've read", but there aren't that many in total, and they are only two showcase adventures so far (BtR and JoY). The stuff that was given out at free RPG day, and the one in the gamemaster shield, are bound to be more limited. If you haven't read through Long Arm of the Hutt or Operation:Shadowpoint, then "all the adventures" is a pretty small pool, and will naturally skew your impression because of the nature of their purpose.

I think we can expect more along the lines of WFRP 3 from this team. I have a feeling their SW marketing focus shifted from that of WFRP, hoping to rope in people who'd never played an RPG before on the strength of the SW brand. They had to win over new people who've never played, and the old guard Saga players who are suspicious of odd dice. It's a delicate balancing act. Going forward I'd expect more complicated and open stuff.

Best advice I can offer here is to take what you like and ditch what you don't. Make them your own.

If your up for a fairly simple conversion, check out the classic Traveller adventure "Murder on Arcturus Station". It is a murder investigation/social combat masterpiece. The adventure is a toolkit to build the murder mystery. The party=investigators, one victim, 9 suspects. You can pick it up on eBay or rpgnow for $3.

+1 for "Murder on Arcturus Station". I plan on using this with my Star Wars RPG group. It's easily adaptable to any game system and presents a story that with proper prep time should make for a fun think of detective work by the PCs.

If your up for a fairly simple conversion, check out the classic Traveller adventure "Murder on Arcturus Station". It is a murder investigation/social combat masterpiece. The adventure is a toolkit to build the murder mystery. The party=investigators, one victim, 9 suspects. You can pick it up on eBay or rpgnow for $3.

+1 for "Murder on Arcturus Station". I plan on using this with my Star Wars RPG group. It's easily adaptable to any game system and presents a story that with proper prep time should make for a fun think of detective work by the PCs.

+2, I just bought it (super cheap download) and it's great so far. There seems to be quite a bit of the old Traveller stuff that can be adapted.