My experience has differed considerably. This game does nothing encourage players to be wary of combat. If anything, the 'easily downed, but usually back up in no time' makes combat about as attractive as in D&D. Stimpacks are healing potions, and a Doctor or Medic is a Cleric that can generally clear away critical hits in no time. Sure you get scratched, but it usually has no lasting effect. This may not appeal to the sensibilities of the players (including the GM), but that's the way the mechanics actually play out.

This is why I limit things like stimpacks. They have a few, surely, but never enough to be complacent. Of course, they've been on the run since the game started. It may be different if they ever get a chance to settle down and go shopping...but I'm probably not going to give them much of a chance...

I'd enjoy seeing criticals be more of a burden and imperative to deal with. Not to make players more wary but only to boost the need of Medics and Doctors to be more skilled and talented.

With a group like the Poster is describing, were it me running the game, I would point out that the group isn't quite geared for direct combat. That, rather than seeing that fact as a disadvantage, they should use the skills they have to avoid combat as much as possible...only go for your blasters if things have gone very, very wrong.

On the other side of that coin, give them some bonuses when they 'Burn Notice' a gadget or plan into being.
If the group does have to get into a fight, they should know that running is always a viable option. Heck, even Han, Luke, and the gang ran like hell in New Hope when they had the chance.

This is why I limit things like stimpacks. They have a few, surely, but never enough to be complacent.

Stimpacks never seemed very Star Warsy to me and today I found out why. They were added into Star Wars in the MMORPG in '04.

This is why I limit things like stimpacks. They have a few, surely, but never enough to be complacent.

Stimpacks never seemed very Star Warsy to me and today I found out why. They were added into Star Wars in the MMORPG in '04.

I don't know how the previous Star Wars RPGs did it, but most videogames AND tabletop RPGs seem to have *some* way of healing people on the fly.

Healing potions, healing spells, medpacks, whatever they are called, there's usually some way to do it, isn't there?

This is why I limit things like stimpacks. They have a few, surely, but never enough to be complacent.

Stimpacks never seemed very Star Warsy to me and today I found out why. They were added into Star Wars in the MMORPG in '04.

You see them being administered in Clone Wars so I don't have an issue with them. I bet Luke woulda jabbed one in his buttocks when he bailed from the Wampa cave if he had one......

I don't know how the previous Star Wars RPGs did it, but most videogames AND tabletop RPGs seem to have *some* way of healing people on the fly.

Healing potions, healing spells, medpacks, whatever they are called, there's usually some way to do it, isn't there?

[Flicks through Call of Cthulhu... shakes head]

I kid! I had more-or-less real world healing in Cyberpunk (you could get nanosurgeons and drugs to enhance healing, but it still took days). My players joked/complained that they were never completely healed. I don't think I'd go back to that.

See, I'm confused by so many people saying that a Doctor can get rid of crits in a few rounds... If I'm not mistaken, can't you only attempt to heal one crit a week? I had a player in my group get 3 crits on him, and it was almost impossible to get them off. He got one taken off normally, then later on the Doctor got a Triumph when attempting first aid on him, which he spent to make another heal check, which I believe is stated as a possible use for one in the book, and then he just had to wait a week in game time for the last one... I mean, I guess if you guys assume full healing between sessions or adventures, it's not that big a deal, but I generally track time.

See, I'm confused by so many people saying that a Doctor can get rid of crits in a few rounds... If I'm not mistaken, can't you only attempt to heal one crit a week? I had a player in my group get 3 crits on him, and it was almost impossible to get them off. He got one taken off normally, then later on the Doctor got a Triumph when attempting first aid on him, which he spent to make another heal check, which I believe is stated as a possible use for one in the book, and then he just had to wait a week in game time for the last one... I mean, I guess if you guys assume full healing between sessions or adventures, it's not that big a deal, but I generally track time.

I thought it was you could only attempt to heal a crit once per week (not one crit per week).

E.g. You've got a crippled arm and a lame leg. You roll for the arm and fail - you have to wait a week before trying to fix the arm again, but you can still attempt to fix the leg.

See, I'm confused by so many people saying that a Doctor can get rid of crits in a few rounds... If I'm not mistaken, can't you only attempt to heal one crit a week? I had a player in my group get 3 crits on him, and it was almost impossible to get them off. He got one taken off normally, then later on the Doctor got a Triumph when attempting first aid on him, which he spent to make another heal check, which I believe is stated as a possible use for one in the book, and then he just had to wait a week in game time for the last one... I mean, I guess if you guys assume full healing between sessions or adventures, it's not that big a deal, but I generally track time.

I thought it was you could only attempt to heal a crit once per week (not one crit per week).

E.g. You've got a crippled arm and a lame leg. You roll for the arm and fail - you have to wait a week before trying to fix the arm again, but you can still attempt to fix the leg.

Oh. Well... I think I'll stick with healing 1 per week. Keeps the fear o' God in 'em.

Something I've been trying to include is possibilities in combat to resolve the combat by other means, shooting an airlock open, blowing up speeders, ammunition crates, gangways breaking, angry bee hive appearing from that rusty speeder.

My party came up with the idea of running a large construction vehicle in the bar where the baddies were supposed to be and crashed a speeder bike into a machine gun entrenchment, or the droid going all C-3PO on those thugs "oh deary, it seem I am lost" and allowed the players to get the drop on them.

The first time, start with something obvious:

Combat near a spaceport? Seems there are some suspicious barrels lying around.

Construction site? That scaffolding looks fragile.

4 Advantage rolled? Something blows up/falls down/awakes/gets hungry/ignites and ends a few stormtroopers. Wild dogs attacking. Angry Correllian Bee hive. Annoyed tennants throwing flower pots.

The first few times you gotta be (really) obvious BUT still make the players feel a sense of achievement, so don't make it too cheap.

This should motivate your players to look for alternative possibilities to end conflicts or circumvent them. And it improves the fun for me as a GM - no boring fights with everyone sitting in cover going pew pew pew and waiting for the next round.

PS: Same tactic works for Battle-Hungry Maniacs. But now Poodoo is blowing up all over their side.