I don't disagree with any of this. Definitely, part of the problem in my group was that certain players were only interested in combat.

However, imagine a case where the players are about to run afoul of an imperial customs frigate.

Of course they can decide to take on the Imperial Customs Frigate if they have the skill to do it and for some reason decide to. Granted there are campaign level ramifications for taking hostile military action on Imperial personnel and assets. Even the best of criminals don't operate like mad dogs. Mad dogs attract unwanted attention and get put down eventually. This is why crime syndicates tend to keep under the radar for the most part and bribe law enforcement instead of just wantonly slaughtering them.

If the players decide to make murderhobo decisions, they should face the consequences... unless you want to run a murderhobo game.

The way the game reads in the book is a game where the characters are going from job to job spending most of their money on repairs and upkeep while trying to stay a step ahead of the authorities. However in very short order their skills surpass that notion, which raises two questions for me: why are such skilled characters getting such a meager take on their work, or how did these guys get so far in the underworld so quickly? And as someone else said before, it's not just combat. In your example with the train, at that point the train is easy for the slicer to stop and the ace to pilot, the bomb is easy for the mechanic to disarm, the bomb is easy for the explorer to find, and the enemies are easy for the hired gun to kill. Our group played through Beyond the Rim, and whatever circumstance there was to complicate the narrative, someone in the group had no problem overcoming it in short order.

That is the default starting situation described in the book. You are not beholden to use it as many people have run all manner of campaigns that aren't that in the game's short )so far) lifespan. Success and positions of power are not just about who is the best skilled. It takes a mix of preparedness, skill and luck to achieve great things. If your players can leverage their skills properly and make the right contacts and are careful about the sorts of Obligation they accrue then they can work away from their hand-to-mouth beginnings.

The one thing I do agree is that the core book does not take any space to explain to new GMs the ramifications of the level of XP awards they hand out in this system. I imagine that the sudden power spikes might come as a surprise to GMs who aren't used to evaluating game impacts when they do their read through of the rules. Using the default XP awards, PCs stop being small stakes protagonists in a reasonably short amount of time. It can take some by surprise that ten sessions in the PCs suddenly lay waste to a crime cartel hit squad that the GM thought would have been more than a speed bump.

What are these campaign level ramifications you speak of? As the lowest common denominator of gamer, I'm afraid this is over my head. Could you be more condescending? It might help my understanding of how to better run these games.

Of course they can take on a customs frigate if they have the skills. Of course it will draw attention if they do. But then again it might not, because the slicer will just jam their transmissions and perhaps even reconfigure the ships' transponders.

None of that changes the fact that combat results in nothing like what we see in the movies, but rather something more like the Expendables laying waste to armies of thugs. Realistically (in the context of Star Wars), a group should think that engaging a superior force is a bad idea unless they have some situational advantages. The mechanics of this game encourage players to think otherwise and with good reason. I noticed this in my read through of the rules during the beta and after the game was released. I noticed it while playing as a player and as a GM.

Also, everything you're saying basically boils down to "they can do that, but there might be consequences." The long term consequences of a combat don't make playing through the combat itself any more interesting. The issue isn't about the circumstances or consequences of combat. The issue is about making the combat itself a more exciting and interesting part of the narrative of the game. Plenty of other games accomplish this much more effortlessly. As a fan of Star Wars and many of the mechanics in this system, I want to see this game do it too. I have a hard time believing that the developers didn't consider all this while they were making this game. Perhaps they should put some articles up on the main page with suggestions, examples, and how they keep the game (and in this case, combat encounters) interesting at high levels of experience.

What level xp are these characters? What are their skills/levels? What sort of equipment have they been given access to? What kinds of Careers? What were some of the specific dice pools rolled and the circumstances of what was going on?

I read these sorts of back and forths on these forums but it's a little hard to point out improvements without details. People throw around vague references and things aren't being handled narratively or the game is no challenge, without ever getting into details of what they are, or aren't as the case may be, doing specifically.

However, imagine a case where the players are about to run afoul of an imperial customs frigate. Ordinarily, I would think the best course of action would be to try to outrun them and avoid getting boarded. In this system, I find it more likely that the Hired Gun and Bounty Hunter in the group will repel boarders, launch a counter attack, and capture the enemy ship. After all, they wipe out a couple minion groups per character each round, and recovering from wounds is a stimpack per maneuver. Sure, maybe there's a bomb on board. Maybe the captain of the frigate is the group's pilot's cousin. There's a thousand ways to complicate the situation. Even if it isn't more complicated that an ordinary customs frigate, it should still be a very serious threat. You talk about raising the stakes. Maybe any situation where people start pulling guns should already have high enough stakes for the characters.

My question here would be, "why is your customs frigate crewed solely by minions?" Make every crewmember a nemesis. Or at the very least the 12 stormtroopers that happens to be on board.Getting focus-fired to death two steps through the airlock should make your players a little less gung-ho in the future.

Honestly it sounds to me like part of the problem is in player responsibility and hyperspecialization. Racing to completely capping out combat skills and then complaining that they work as intended is a problem I see a lot with either younger gamers or those coming into the hobby from video games. There's a lot of enjoyment to be had pacing the development of a character, and personally I strive to build well-rounded characters as well, which also mitigates the hyperspecialization problem.

Example: My group's coming up on the 300XP mark - actually, we should pass it tonight. Sure, I could easily have my primary combat skill at 5 by now (and I think we may have 1-2 people who've done that). But to me, that makes no sense for a bounty hunter. How does he catch his prey and maintain his gear? How does he cut his own deals with the underworld? Being beholden to other party members to *always* be available for those tasks breaks immersion for me, so I tend to roll with working on the whole package being solid. Sure, I can't generate the combat totals the Hired Gun can - but I stay alive in combat a lot better than he does by playings smart and not engaging until I've already won, and I have the supporting skills to do that. It's also pretty rewarding to be able to participate in the game no matter where the session goes.

It's a shared responsibility thing. I'm already doing things like planning how to reach Dedication in the Survivalist tree *without* taking Enduring, and forgoing integrating Superior customization into my battle armor, because I'm already the party tank at Soak 7. Modest by many campaigns' standards, but I've no interest in pushing an arms race between my fellow players, my GM, and myself to the point where support weapons need to be involved to threaten my character (and one-shot my allies).

My GM's side of it is to make sure that every once in a while, people need to make rolls that are off-specialization. He doesn't do this often or in a contrived enough fashion to make people feel like they're being cut out of their jobs, but it does happen often enough that it's noticeable when people are throwing nothing but green dice at a task or when they've invested in a rank or two in their supporting skills. He makes it clear people are making a trade-off, and by and large it keeps everyone from feeling that they're stagnating or plateauing, while also allowing the specialists to excel often enough yet still feel their gaps.

However, imagine a case where the players are about to run afoul of an imperial customs frigate. Ordinarily, I would think the best course of action would be to try to outrun them and avoid getting boarded. In this system, I find it more likely that the Hired Gun and Bounty Hunter in the group will repel boarders, launch a counter attack, and capture the enemy ship. After all, they wipe out a couple minion groups per character each round, and recovering from wounds is a stimpack per maneuver. Sure, maybe there's a bomb on board. Maybe the captain of the frigate is the group's pilot's cousin. There's a thousand ways to complicate the situation. Even if it isn't more complicated that an ordinary customs frigate, it should still be a very serious threat. You talk about raising the stakes. Maybe any situation where people start pulling guns should already have high enough stakes for the characters.

My question here would be, "why is your customs frigate crewed solely by minions?" Make every crewmember a nemesis. Or at the very least the 12 stormtroopers that happens to be on board.Getting focus-fired to death two steps through the airlock should make your players a little less gung-ho in the future.

Oh, we now have a customs frigate full of Imperial Sovereign Protectors slumming it, eh? We've gone well beyond implausible opposition and just gone for the ridiculous.

So far, our group is around the 200 XP mark, I have had little trouble challenging the group when it comes to combat encounters. They come close to death often. We have a Bounty Hunter droid (melee), Hired Gun Marauder wookiee (melee and ranged), FS Exile/Smuggler Arkanian Offshoot (pilot/face), and Tech Mechanic Sluissi (pilot/tech/medic). So far the key has been a healthy mix of the following:

- Limiting xp. A given sessions xp ranges from 6 - 20 based on rp, motivations, cool ideas

- A healthy mix of minions and rivals. Some rivals have had a talent or two or three and the Adversary talent. They have yet to face a Nemesis.

- Credits are scarce. Their Black Sun employer doesn't like them much. I also nickle and dime them as often as I can.

- Enemies spread out. As often as they can.

- Use destiny points to upgrade difficulty frequently.

- Use Despair to negate whatever advantage they have in the current combat. Situational, but usually brings things down a notch or two.

Thus far they have had some difficulties with encounters. Someone gets seriously wounded every combat encounter. Plus the bad guys have only had pistols or heavy pistols so far, or a vibroknife here and there.

This game is far more lethal than we all realized and the players now think twice before getting into a combat situation.

Honestly it sounds to me like part of the problem is in player responsibility and hyperspecialization.

Overspecialization becomes more of a thing the larger the party. With 4 or 5 party members, it's pretty easy since other party member can fill any gaps in the skill range. With only 2 or 3, it becomes less attractive when you've got to sort of multi-class so that the party can handle all the challenges. Consider how Han Solo is a pilot, gunfighter, mechanic and the face.

All I know is when anyone claims they can't challenge their players I want hear specifics on the xp level of these characters, the equipment they've been given, the specifics of the scenario in question, the selection of level of Difficulty, and their dice pool for Skill X.

As the lowest common denominator of gamer, I'm afraid this is over my head. Could you be more condescending? It might help my understanding of how to better run these games.

That was not directed at you, but a commentary on gaming groups that run combats without regard to context for the combats other than just an exercise in wankery. Are you self-identifying with that group?

The story and narrative comes from context.

The long term consequences of a combat don't make playing through the combat itself any more interesting. The issue isn't about the circumstances or consequences of combat. The issue is about making the combat itself a more exciting and interesting part of the narrative of the game.

Actually, the circumstances and consequences of combat do make the combat itself more interesting.

Devoid of context, Luke fighting Vader on the second death star is just two guys swinging laser swords at each other and Luke simply kills Vader at the end.

The circumstances that the Emperor wanted him there and engineered events to force father and son to fight in an attempt to get Luke to fall to the Dark Side. The terrible truth becomes apparent to Luke as he realises Vader's severed arms are cybernetic and looks to his own replaced hand. He then refuses to slay Vader and stands by his commitment to the ways of the Jedi even if it means he may die by doing so as the Emperor then attacks him.

The relationships and circumstances going into that duel informed what actions the characters take beyond just "I make a Lightsaber check to attack."

Perhaps check out this article as a primer on injecting higher stakes to your scenes via context.

Actually, the circumstances and consequences of combat do make the combat itself more interesting.

I think you missed my point. From the way I'm seeing it, there are multiple things that make combat more interesting. I should've made that more clear. One is as you say the circumstances and consequences. Another is mechanics of the game. Circumstances and consequences aren't the issue. I've got that covered. Mechanics are the issue. It's not even so much about difficulty, but that's part of it. Many combats against what should be reasonable enemies for the characters are over in one round, perhaps even one action, whether it's the players gunning down the npcs or vice versa. It would be nice to see characters not get hosed so quickly so that everyone can get a few actions in, the nemesis has a few rounds to mock the pc's while trading fire with them, and complications can start to pop up. The game accomplishes this with many other challenges which I routinely use. A slicer trying to crack into an Imperial database could have several rounds dueling with an Imperial IT expert. A Colonist could spend several rounds of tense charm, deception, and negotiation checks trying to negotiate with an npc to further the group's cause. The Hired Gun only gets one action to fight it out with his nemesis.

For specifics, the hired gun in the party had about 300 xp. He had Agility 5, Ranged Heavy 3, and two ranks in True Aim. Say he's shooting at someone or a group of someones at Medium range, in cover, with Adversary 1. That's a Red, a Purple, and a black. If he uses autofire, add a purple. If he moves to short range, remove a purple. If he aims, add a blue and two upgrades. So you're looking at something like 5 yellow and 1-2 blue vs. a red, a purple, and a black. I understand there are various ways to make that more difficult. I also don't want to make it too difficult for other players that still enjoy shooting their blasters but aren't as focused in combat.

Thanks to every one who's replied to this (weirdly appearing/clone/ not got a clue how it appeared) thread.

I totally understand there are many ways to challenge playing in many ways in and around combat, I guess I posted this thread in a hope someone else may have come up with an idea on how to 'fix' the issues with it.

My biggest problem is yes I can 'write' around the problems facing me with my extremely tough group

7 players, 1 brutal wookie marauder, droid assassin, human armour master, slicer, mechanic, pilot and now thug faceman

but as others have said my group is hyper specialised as well, as none wants to step on others toes, and with dangerous covernets the wookie can now kill any number of minions in a couple of rounds...

I am an experianced GM I have been running games for over 35 years...my main issue is why should I have to constantly think out of the box to challenge my players.. the system should scale well and this one doesn't.. that being said I do like to think out of the box, but everyone likes a rest and contantly having to do it is a drain and we do this hobby for enjoyment and relaxing ...

Let me get this straight I love this system I think the narrative dice are brilliant and the skill system amazing... I have introduced many many people to rpgs through this system.. it is easy intuitive and fun..... at low exp

I think if I ever run this system again, cos as it stand there will be no season 2 for me, I will be scrapping the exp example in the book and give a max of 5 a session... or just running short running camapgin in it where none of the system holes will appear...

I think if I ever run this system again, cos as it stand there will be no season 2 for me, I will be scrapping the exp example in the book and give a max of 5 a session... or just running short running camapgin in it where none of the system holes will appear...

I'm on my second campaign and while I started the characters at a higher start point (300 XP past the usual starting XP with some limits on how it can be spent), I've reduced the XP awarded down to only 10 XP per session. My players don't mind a bit, and it lets me have a little more notice on when certain talents (including signature abilities) might be coming into play.

However, imagine a case where the players are about to run afoul of an imperial customs frigate. Ordinarily, I would think the best course of action would be to try to outrun them and avoid getting boarded. In this system, I find it more likely that the Hired Gun and Bounty Hunter in the group will repel boarders, launch a counter attack, and capture the enemy ship. After all, they wipe out a couple minion groups per character each round, and recovering from wounds is a stimpack per maneuver. Sure, maybe there's a bomb on board. Maybe the captain of the frigate is the group's pilot's cousin. There's a thousand ways to complicate the situation. Even if it isn't more complicated that an ordinary customs frigate, it should still be a very serious threat. You talk about raising the stakes. Maybe any situation where people start pulling guns should already have high enough stakes for the characters.

My question here would be, "why is your customs frigate crewed solely by minions?" Make every crewmember a nemesis. Or at the very least the 12 stormtroopers that happens to be on board.Getting focus-fired to death two steps through the airlock should make your players a little less gung-ho in the future.

Oh, we now have a customs frigate full of Imperial Sovereign Protectors slumming it, eh? We've gone well beyond implausible opposition and just gone for the ridiculous.

That is a blatant and deliberate misinterpretation of what I said. Why do you have to make them Sovereign Protectors in order to make them stronger? You take basic stormtroopers, upgrade them to nemesis rank and give them some good combat talents like True Aim, Side Step, Dodge and maybe even Lethal Accuracy. That is in no way the same as making them Sovereign Protectors; it means they're regular stormtroopers who have seen a lot of action, earned a lot of XP and levelled up. You know, just like players do.

However, imagine a case where the players are about to run afoul of an imperial customs frigate. Ordinarily, I would think the best course of action would be to try to outrun them and avoid getting boarded. In this system, I find it more likely that the Hired Gun and Bounty Hunter in the group will repel boarders, launch a counter attack, and capture the enemy ship. After all, they wipe out a couple minion groups per character each round, and recovering from wounds is a stimpack per maneuver. Sure, maybe there's a bomb on board. Maybe the captain of the frigate is the group's pilot's cousin. There's a thousand ways to complicate the situation. Even if it isn't more complicated that an ordinary customs frigate, it should still be a very serious threat. You talk about raising the stakes. Maybe any situation where people start pulling guns should already have high enough stakes for the characters.

My question here would be, "why is your customs frigate crewed solely by minions?" Make every crewmember a nemesis. Or at the very least the 12 stormtroopers that happens to be on board.Getting focus-fired to death two steps through the airlock should make your players a little less gung-ho in the future.

Oh, we now have a customs frigate full of Imperial Sovereign Protectors slumming it, eh? We've gone well beyond implausible opposition and just gone for the ridiculous.

That is a blatant and deliberate misinterpretation of what I said. Why do you have to make them Sovereign Protectors in order to make them stronger? You take basic stormtroopers, upgrade them to nemesis rank and give them some good combat talents like True Aim, Side Step, Dodge and maybe even Lethal Accuracy. That is in no way the same as making them Sovereign Protectors; it means they're regular stormtroopers who have seen a lot of action, earned a lot of XP and levelled up. You know, just like players do.

You're suggesting putting in a dozen (or more) nemesis-level opponents onto a customs ship. Then you say that they're just 'experienced stormtroopers' that have somehow leveled-up to such a high point. This reeks of video games where even the mooks have to be 'level appropriate' and it really doesn't fit in with Star Wars all that well. There are elite formations of stormtroopers, but you're not going to find them just hanging out on a customs ship.

And as for Sovereign Protectors, you're correct that they are not the same, However, since you've now inflated stormtroopers up to Nemesis-level adversaries, where do you go from there?

Thanks to every one who's replied to this (weirdly appearing/clone/ not got a clue how it appeared) thread.

I totally understand there are many ways to challenge playing in many ways in and around combat, I guess I posted this thread in a hope someone else may have come up with an idea on how to 'fix' the issues with it.

My biggest problem is yes I can 'write' around the problems facing me with my extremely tough group

7 players, 1 brutal wookie marauder, droid assassin, human armour master, slicer, mechanic, pilot and now thug faceman

but as others have said my group is hyper specialised as well, as none wants to step on others toes, and with dangerous covernets the wookie can now kill any number of minions in a couple of rounds...

I am an experianced GM I have been running games for over 35 years...my main issue is why should I have to constantly think out of the box to challenge my players.. the system should scale well and this one doesn't.. that being said I do like to think out of the box, but everyone likes a rest and contantly having to do it is a drain and we do this hobby for enjoyment and relaxing ...

Let me get this straight I love this system I think the narrative dice are brilliant and the skill system amazing... I have introduced many many people to rpgs through this system.. it is easy intuitive and fun..... at low exp

I think if I ever run this system again, cos as it stand there will be no season 2 for me, I will be scrapping the exp example in the book and give a max of 5 a session... or just running short running camapgin in it where none of the system holes will appear...

Actually, the circumstances and consequences of combat do make the combat itself more interesting.

I think you missed my point. From the way I'm seeing it, there are multiple things that make combat more interesting. I should've made that more clear. One is as you say the circumstances and consequences. Another is mechanics of the game. Circumstances and consequences aren't the issue. I've got that covered. Mechanics are the issue. It's not even so much about difficulty, but that's part of it. Many combats against what should be reasonable enemies for the characters are over in one round, perhaps even one action, whether it's the players gunning down the npcs or vice versa. It would be nice to see characters not get hosed so quickly so that everyone can get a few actions in, the nemesis has a few rounds to mock the pc's while trading fire with them, and complications can start to pop up. The game accomplishes this with many other challenges which I routinely use. A slicer trying to crack into an Imperial database could have several rounds dueling with an Imperial IT expert. A Colonist could spend several rounds of tense charm, deception, and negotiation checks trying to negotiate with an npc to further the group's cause. The Hired Gun only gets one action to fight it out with his nemesis.

For specifics, the hired gun in the party had about 300 xp. He had Agility 5, Ranged Heavy 3, and two ranks in True Aim. Say he's shooting at someone or a group of someones at Medium range, in cover, with Adversary 1. That's a Red, a Purple, and a black. If he uses autofire, add a purple. If he moves to short range, remove a purple. If he aims, add a blue and two upgrades. So you're looking at something like 5 yellow and 1-2 blue vs. a red, a purple, and a black. I understand there are various ways to make that more difficult. I also don't want to make it too difficult for other players that still enjoy shooting their blasters but aren't as focused in combat.

Don't deploy minions grouped. Whether the HG has auto fire or not, he will not be able to address all targets in one round. Keep them at different ranges as well to over complicate his auto fire roll. Don't put the Nemesis out front. Use other aspects of weapons and combat that don't just pivot around fire, add damage, apply soak, repeat. Use things like Ensnare and Stagger to cause the HG issues.

In regards to others that aren't as good as your HG, sorry, but there is no game system where you are ever going to be able to have realistic scenarios where Joe Gun is tricked out head to toe for combat, high levels, and the scenario challenges him and other players that are mediocre are going to have a shot. That situation is the same in every system. The HG is either not going to be challenged or everyone else needs to kick it up a notch with their combat skills to have more parity in the group. Different players of vastly different levels of xp or combat capability don't work together well in any system.

Thanks to every one who's replied to this (weirdly appearing/clone/ not got a clue how it appeared) thread.

I totally understand there are many ways to challenge playing in many ways in and around combat, I guess I posted this thread in a hope someone else may have come up with an idea on how to 'fix' the issues with it.

My biggest problem is yes I can 'write' around the problems facing me with my extremely tough group

7 players, 1 brutal wookie marauder, droid assassin, human armour master, slicer, mechanic, pilot and now thug faceman

but as others have said my group is hyper specialised as well, as none wants to step on others toes, and with dangerous covernets the wookie can now kill any number of minions in a couple of rounds...

I am an experianced GM I have been running games for over 35 years...my main issue is why should I have to constantly think out of the box to challenge my players.. the system should scale well and this one doesn't.. that being said I do like to think out of the box, but everyone likes a rest and contantly having to do it is a drain and we do this hobby for enjoyment and relaxing ...

Let me get this straight I love this system I think the narrative dice are brilliant and the skill system amazing... I have introduced many many people to rpgs through this system.. it is easy intuitive and fun..... at low exp

I think if I ever run this system again, cos as it stand there will be no season 2 for me, I will be scrapping the exp example in the book and give a max of 5 a session... or just running short running camapgin in it where none of the system holes will appear...

I've been playing games since D&D came out as well. Still waiting for what you mean by not scaling well. Can't make suggestions at fixing what you think is broken without details about what you are talking about.

You're suggesting putting in a dozen (or more) nemesis-level opponents onto a customs ship. Then you say that they're just 'experienced stormtroopers' that have somehow leveled-up to such a high point. This reeks of video games where even the mooks have to be 'level appropriate' and it really doesn't fit in with Star Wars all that well. There are elite formations of stormtroopers, but you're not going to find them just hanging out on a customs ship.

And as for Sovereign Protectors, you're correct that they are not the same, However, since you've now inflated stormtroopers up to Nemesis-level adversaries, where do you go from there?

And once again you are misrepresenting what I said. I never advocated making all stormtroopers nemeses; I said make THOSE stormtroopers nemeses.

The brilliant thing about stormtroopers is that they all look the same. If a GM is tired of his players feeling so powerful they consistently charge head-first into everything, confident that they can kill anything they come up against, it's a great idea to occasionally having some particularly tough stormtroopers in the mix. That way, every time they encounter stormtroopers they have to stop and consider their strategy, because what if these are the kind that hurts?

And if anyone is getting too "video-gamey" here it certainly isn't me. You talk as if all stormtroopers everywhere always have to be exactly as statted in the book. What sort of boring setting is that? There isn't a single RPG out there that doesn't offer enemies of varying power levels specifically to challenge more experienced players. The Monstrous Manual from D&D is nothing but page after page of increasingly powerful enemies. And nowhere in the MM does it say that all Goblins have to be level 1.

Whatever happened to just making encounters level appropriate for the group in the encounter? There is always going to have to be a certain meta game aspect to RPGs. However do the level 1 characters know not to wander into the level 10 dungeon otherwise? Someone tell me also what RPG system there is where you can have a lvl 1 sissy paired with a lvl 10 homicidal maniac in an encounter scaled for the maniac and not kill the sissy every time?

Don't deploy minions grouped. Whether the HG has auto fire or not, he will not be able to address all targets in one round. Keep them at different ranges as well to over complicate his auto fire roll. Don't put the Nemesis out front. Use other aspects of weapons and combat that don't just pivot around fire, add damage, apply soak, repeat. Use things like Ensnare and Stagger to cause the HG issues.

In regards to others that aren't as good as your HG, sorry, but there is no game system where you are ever going to be able to have realistic scenarios where Joe Gun is tricked out head to toe for combat, high levels, and the scenario challenges him and other players that are mediocre are going to have a shot. That situation is the same in every system. The HG is either not going to be challenged or everyone else needs to kick it up a notch with their combat skills to have more parity in the group. Different players of vastly different levels of xp or combat capability don't work together well in any system.

He's a marauder, and yes i can out range him lots but this sort of thing don't work in every situation.

as for spread the minions about a bit. it doesn't matter he has the new signature ability from dangerous covenents.. He kills EVERY minion in the scene in two rounds, after spending some destiny..

I've been playing games since D&D came out as well. Still waiting for what you mean by not scaling well. Can't make suggestions at fixing what you think is broken without details about what you are talking about.

Ok everyone always hits.. this is the main problem with high xp parties.. they have little or no chance to miss and when they hit they kill what ever they hit..

The wookie again because he is an extreme get a base +70 to every crit.. his axe has a crit rating of 1 and superior quality so he more often than not crits multiple times against anyone he swings for.. he crit kills more often than removing wounds... now he seriously work for this Ax.. it took most of the season for him to cobble together the mods and get them fitted so I don't mind him having funwith it as he worked for it... this really isnt my problem

the problem is their normal pool for an average character is YYGGBB (YYYGBB for combat focused and the wookie is YYYYYBB), against a normal medium range shot is PPB if they are in cover.. this will hit every normal rival.. now an extremely dangerous nemesis has RRPBB, now these should be one offs, but hitting this guy is no problem for the wookie or the other combat characters.. the wookie would quite often and has quite often one shotted such a foe..

In combat where everyone always hits and damage is always very high it is who ever hits first wins and takes out the opponents.. it is a fine balance.. between tough fight and tpk..

this is what i mean ... high exp combat is boring. everyone always hits, defenses are lmost seen to be pointless as poeple try to get the first hit in, make it a good one and take out the opposition...

He's a marauder, and yes i can out range him lots but this sort of thing don't work in every situation.

as for spread the minions about a bit. it doesn't matter he has the new signature ability from dangerous covenents.. He kills EVERY minion in the scene in two rounds, after spending some destiny..

Ok everyone always hits.. this is the main problem with high xp parties.. they have little or no chance to miss and when they hit they kill what ever they hit..

The wookie again because he is an extreme get a base +70 to every crit.. his axe has a crit rating of 1 and superior quality so he more often than not crits multiple times against anyone he swings for.. he crit kills more often than removing wounds... now he seriously work for this Ax.. it took most of the season for him to cobble together the mods and get them fitted so I don't mind him having funwith it as he worked for it... this really isnt my problem

the problem is their normal pool for an average character is YYGGBB (YYYGBB for combat focused and the wookie is YYYYYBB), against a normal medium range shot is PPB if they are in cover.. this will hit every normal rival.. now an extremely dangerous nemesis has RRPBB, now these should be one offs, but hitting this guy is no problem for the wookie or the other combat characters.. the wookie would quite often and has quite often one shotted such a foe..

In combat where everyone always hits and damage is always very high it is who ever hits first wins and takes out the opponents.. it is a fine balance.. between tough fight and tpk..

this is what i mean ... high exp combat is boring. everyone always hits, defenses are lmost seen to be pointless as poeple try to get the first hit in, make it a good one and take out the opposition...

Ok for starters the Signature Ability is no big deal since that is A) Only usable once per session and B) subject to GM approval to be used. So you have full control over that.

You're right, it is easy to hit and kill, that's why splitting up minions is precisely the option to use. You don't balance encounters though the 'to hit' portion of the mechanics in the game. You balance it through 'how many there are' portion of the mechanics.

Initiative is more important, that's why it is also a balancing tool for control of Joe Gun's, in particular Marauders. In addition countering with a Nemesis with ranks of Improved Stunning Blow or a weapon with Concussive effect can be a very easy way to lock up a Marauder for quite some time. There are also a number of very effective Ensnare options.

If you aren't using Setbacks as much as possible for whatever effects you can think up it's tough to start without it feeling contrived, but there is a reason for the black dice and balance is one of them. That's why there are so many 'remove Setback die' Talents. The devs wanted them incorporated liberally in game play.

I also view the Adversary Talent in terms of levels. No different than the type of monster you upgrade to when playing D&D to provide more challenge to higher level players.

Totally understand peoples points of view, but my bench mark for high exp combat is Jango Fett vs Obi-Wan

Currently that combat would be completely and utterly and totally one sided.. Jango would never miss... Obi Wan would die...

Does this represent what happened in the film... no..

Admittedly this doesn't take into account any new rules they come out with in force and destiny for light saber combat and i guess blocking...

It will be interesting to see what they come up with.. but I want a system that represents the film combat.. not one I have to narrative to represent the films....

Currently that combat would be completely and utterly and totally one sided.. Jango would never miss... Obi Wan would die...

I get the sentiment, but "Currently" makes that a bad example. Until Force and Destiny is released trying to work out to how their fight would resolve in the FFG system is a bad idea (and even then, for some people ).

I'm trying to think of a fight between high-xp guys who aren't Force users in the films... Nope (these films really love those psychic guys with plasma-swords). Something in the Clone Wars cartoon, perhaps?

the problem is their normal pool for an average character is YYGGBB (YYYGBB for combat focused and the wookie is YYYYYBB), against a normal medium range shot is PPB if they are in cover.. this will hit every normal rival.. now an extremely dangerous nemesis has RRPBB, now these should be one offs, but hitting this guy is no problem for the wookie or the other combat characters.. the wookie would quite often and has quite often one shotted such a foe..

Go to the thread at http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/108337-dice-probability-generator/ and download the programs linked from there. You'll get a much better idea of what the real probabilities are for things.

For example, last night my Wookiee Maurader was swinging his nice new vibro-axes with Mono-molecular Blades and Balanced Hilts (which is what the GM has ruled allows me to use a pair of what are normally two-handed weapons), and with all available mods to the attachments, so with Frenzied Attack he's PPPPADCBB on the swing with the first weapon, and if that hits then he gets an extra BB to help determine the damage. If you run the stats, the actual probability of getting one success is:

$ ruby dicecalculator.rb -D:PPPPADCBB

++++RESULTS for Dice Pool: PPPPADCBB++++
Total Chance of Success: 93.07%
Total Chance of Advantage: 89.43%
Total Chance of Threat: 3.94%
Total Chance of Failure Symbol: 2.19%
Total Triumph Chance: 29.39%
Total Despair Chance: 8.33%
+++++++++++++++

However, to allow the second weapon to hit, I need two Advantage. Here's the probability of that:

$ ruby dicecalculator.rb -D:PPPPADCBB -T:SAA

++++RESULTS for Dice Pool: PPPPADCBB++++
Total Chance of Success: 93.07%
Total Chance of Advantage: 89.43%
Total Chance of Threat: 3.94%
Total Chance of Failure Symbol: 2.19%
Total Chance of Reaching Target (SAA): 71.09%
Total Triumph Chance: 29.39%
Total Despair Chance: 8.33%
+++++++++++++++

Now, give me some setback dice, maybe because we're on a desert planet and it's windy and there's lots of sand blowing around, and the probability of hitting with both weapons goes down pretty dramatically:

$ ruby dicecalculator.rb -D:PPPPADCBBSS -T:SAA

++++RESULTS for Dice Pool: PPPPADCBBSS++++
Total Chance of Success: 85.77%
Total Chance of Advantage: 81.19%
Total Chance of Threat: 8.91%
Total Chance of Failure Symbol: 5.93%
Total Chance of Reaching Target (SAA): 53.87%
Total Triumph Chance: 29.39%
Total Despair Chance: 8.33%
+++++++++++++++

With regards to how that combat turned out, I actually got a Triumph and a good deal of success on the first attack, but not enough advantage to allow the second weapon to hit. So, we agreed that I disarmed him with the Triumph and very seriously injured his arm -- and the aggressor lost his counter-attack. Then our Klatoonian Heavy fired his LRB, and did considerably more damage than I had with my vibro-axe. Another player got in an attack with Blast Knuckles and nearly knocked himself out with all the Strain that he took. I swung again, and this time I got enough Advantage for both vibro-axes to hit and for one of them to get a successful critical, and the agressor went down.

But that bugger was pretty nasty. If I hadn't gotten a Triumph on that first attack, he most certainly would have seriously injured my Wookiee or killed at least one or two party members, and that was a whole party of us against just one aggressor. Now we're stuck in their city with hundreds of them coming after us, and we're holed up in a house that we have barricaded as best we can -- and we're all about to die.

Shouldn't there be another purple in there for using two weapons?

To say nothing of using the second Boost die when the rules say one weapon is used to determine the success of the attack, or dual wielding a pair of two handed weapons 6.5 feet long.