Okay, kind of a confession--I'm not a big fan of homebrewed stuff. I usually assume that RPG writers and freelancers have some significant behind-the-scenes information that those of us aren't privy to that allows them to make things if not balanced, at least accurate in game terms.

Having said that, there have been a few really good homebrews I've seen and used, and I was kind of inspired by the ISP-6's inclusion in the "Dead in the Water" adventure, and I would like to stat out a few of the mini-rigs to use in my campaign. So does anyone have some good advice for homebrewing characters and ships in the FFG SWRPG?

Okay, kind of a confession--I'm not a big fan of homebrewed stuff. I usually assume that RPG writers and freelancers have some significant behind-the-scenes information that those of us aren't privy to that allows them to make things if not balanced, at least accurate in game terms.

Okay, kind of a confession--I'm not a big fan of homebrewed stuff. I usually assume that RPG writers and freelancers have some significant behind-the-scenes information that those of us aren't privy to that allows them to make things if not balanced, at least accurate in game terms.

They don't. What most designers have is depth and breadth of knowledge concerning the rules, but even then many designers trend towards power creep when it comes to designs later in the product run.

...

Man, just ... I don't even known anymore.

In general, if it looks like the perfect ship to you, then it's probably overpowered It's like designing talent trees; if you make a tree that you just HAVE to have because it's so awesome, then it most likely needs some balancing work done on it. There should always be a give and take when designing your own game components. At the very least, if you make something that's just too cool and you really want it, then make it cost a fortune

Yes, as I said in another thread the other day, with new equipment, new ships, new character abilities, or anything of the sort, the rule of thumb is this:

"If I were a player, would I choose this new equipment/ability/et cetera over a comparable option from the book?"

If the answer is clearly "Yes", then the new option is probably overpowered.

If the answer is clearly "No", then the new option is probably underpowered and should actually be beefed up.

If you're not sure how to answer - the new option and the official choices seem fairly equal - then the new option is probably well balanced.

Yes, as I said in another thread the other day, with new equipment, new ships, new character abilities, or anything of the sort, the rule of thumb is this:

"If I were a player, would I choose this new equipment/ability/et cetera over a comparable option from the book?"

If the answer is clearly "Yes", then the new option is probably overpowered.

If the answer is clearly "No", then the new option is probably underpowered and should actually be beefed up.

If you're not sure how to answer - the new option and the official choices seem fairly equal - then the new option is probably well balanced.

Great minds think alike Either that, or I had read your post, classified it in my brain as "good advice", and forgotten where I had read it from. It happens

Man, just ... I don't even known anymore.

Yes, as I said in another thread the other day, with new equipment, new ships, new character abilities, or anything of the sort, the rule of thumb is this:

"If I were a player, would I choose this new equipment/ability/et cetera over a comparable option from the book?"

If the answer is clearly "Yes", then the new option is probably overpowered.

If the answer is clearly "No", then the new option is probably underpowered and should actually be beefed up.

If you're not sure how to answer - the new option and the official choices seem fairly equal - then the new option is probably well balanced.

Great minds think alike Either that, or I had read your post, classified it in my brain as "good advice", and forgotten where I had read it from. It happens

The only thing I would add is specifically why the would they choose it. Is it for the stats or an aesthetic reason. Otherwise, they already gave a great reasoning tool.

Yes, as I said in another thread the other day, with new equipment, new ships, new character abilities, or anything of the sort, the rule of thumb is this:

"If I were a player, would I choose this new equipment/ability/et cetera over a comparable option from the book?"

If the answer is clearly "Yes", then the new option is probably overpowered.

If the answer is clearly "No", then the new option is probably underpowered and should actually be beefed up.

If you're not sure how to answer - the new option and the official choices seem fairly equal - then the new option is probably well balanced.

Great minds think alike Either that, or I had read your post, classified it in my brain as "good advice", and forgotten where I had read it from. It happens

The only thing I would add is specifically why the would they choose it. Is it for the stats or an aesthetic reason. Otherwise, they already gave a great reasoning tool.

Takeshi, could you let me know what you mean by choosing something for the stats or an aesthetic reason? I think there can be a mix of statistical and aesthetic reasons for someone choosing one piece of equipment over the other, but what direction do you think one should lean when creating a new piece of equipment?

I assume he means that if a new, say, weapon is not mechanically any better than a standard weapon but just way "kEwLeR"; then it's possible that almost everyone would pick it over the standard weapon (for reasons of "awesomeness") yet this wouldn't be a sign of its being unbalanced or overpowered.

Yes, as I said in another thread the other day, with new equipment, new ships, new character abilities, or anything of the sort, the rule of thumb is this:

"If I were a player, would I choose this new equipment/ability/et cetera over a comparable option from the book?"

If the answer is clearly "Yes", then the new option is probably overpowered.

If the answer is clearly "No", then the new option is probably underpowered and should actually be beefed up.

If you're not sure how to answer - the new option and the official choices seem fairly equal - then the new option is probably well balanced.

Maybe if one applied the ion turbine attachment (decreasing the strain and hard points and increasing the cost according to the ion turbine attachment) but then considered that the base stats of the ship... that might be considered balanced... but that seems like the upper limit to me.

I assume he means that if a new, say, weapon is not mechanically any better than a standard weapon but just way "kEwLeR"; then it's possible that almost everyone would pick it over the standard weapon (for reasons of "awesomeness") yet this wouldn't be a sign of its being unbalanced or overpowered.

You mean like a black lightsaber? With identical to normal stats? Personally I'd choose a pure white lightsaber and I made that choice long long before the imperial knights of the legacy era made it popular

What I usually do when designing a ship for a system that doesn't include a set of design rules in the book is look at ships of a similar size and role that exist in the book and use that as a rough guide.

For example I'm designing a sil 6 frigate with two fighter squadrons that's supposed to come out in the early yeas of the Empire. The Nebulon-B is in that size range and carries the amount of fighters I want and is from the right period so I look at it and determine that it has 24 hardpoints worth of weapons so I limit my design to 25 hardpoints worth of weaponry.

Later I for some reason decide to design a ship for the same role only entering production within a couple of decades before the Clone Wars. For the new design I limit myself to 20 hardpoints worth of weapons but if I were creating such a design that was brand new when the Battle of Yavin took place I would limit it to 28 or 30 hardpoints worth of weapons

If I wanted to design a ship for the first role, size and period but decided I wanted it t carry 3 fighter squadrons not 2 I would limit myself to 18 or 19 hardpoints worth of weaponry and so on.