Hey everyone,

My group is extremely new to RPG games and we really want to dive into EoE, thanks to the beginner game we played over New Years break! I have purchased and read through most of the Edge of the Empire core book and the rest of the group is coming up with cool characters and backgrounds.

However they brought up a question that I am not sure how to answer. They were wondering if it was possible to keep characters all the way through the three games? The idea is we would start with EoE being smugglers and such going through the campaigns provided by FFG and perhaps our own scenarios when they come up. Then their characters would be drafted into the Rebellion and go through the scenarios of Age of Rebellion and such. Finally they would all somehow have been dormant force users and discover their new force abilities throughout Force and Destiny.

If this is at all possible, and if so, how far ahead should we plan and experience given per scenario, etc so they are not just over kill for anything that comes their way? Or are we thinking too much and should just stick to Edge of the Empire before we start thinking of the future?

Thanks for any advice and your assistance.

It is definitely possible, though probably a little too convenient and easy for some. The setting of the game in particular makes it rough to be out and open jedi/force users if following the lore closely. That is all up to you and your friends though.

Something to keep in mind is that the Force and Destiny specializations do not award force ratings off the bat, so your characters will need to take one of the Force specializations in either Edge of the Empire or Age of Rebellion in order to get that force rating, which allows the use of the force powers. Just a bit more of an XP sink.

Additionally, taking an advanced character and adding in Force and lightsabers would make for some very powerful PCs. I don't have much experience with high level play, but it is something you will have to work at to manage.

The simple answer is yes indeed.

The longer reply:

If you start with a EoE character you can very easily spend your XP to buy into a AoR/FaD specialisation. I think if I were in your shoes, I would start with EoE transition into AoR as you plan. You can add the duty mechanic found in AoR without trouble. Your players can chose AoR specialisations by spending XP or may just keep going with the EoE specialisation(s) they have.

With FaD I would be inclined to ask any players that want to use force powers buy Force Sensitive and just use it as a bookmark for a future FaD career. This discounts the career by 10 points, but you could consider this a trade-off with not having the starting equipment from FaD and some of the perks that FaD allows starting characters. Then when you get FaD give that player the ability to swap his specialisation and talents out and perhaps at this time he can find a mentor to help teach him and get his Lightsaber. I would not be inclined to give him his lightsaber until I had FaD, which could also provide some justification for the 10xp he gets.

Any Force Ability Trees you get along the way, the 3 in EoE and the 2 extra in AoR are all repeated in FaD so he will just keep those.

I'd be cautious planning that kind of progression at the very start. If you and the players definitely want to move that way, then certainly. The three games aren't really designed to be consecutive. In my opinion, they're all basically the same game, just with three different settings.

Edge of the Empire is the nitty gritty, back-alley, just trying to get along and make a cred or two kind of campaign.

Age of Rebellion is for the characters that want to be good guys and take on the evil Empire, whether they make a living at it or not doesn't matter. It is also likely to be more combat-focused then an Edge of the Empire campaign.

Force and Destiny seems to be aimed at galaxy-renowned heroes. The other two campaigns can be for the little guys, the Greedos, the underground docs, the cantina owners, freighter captains or grunts in a commando squad. But to be an open force-user in this era means you're a huge target. So, either you're up to that level of conflict, or you're already dead.

Or, to use another, perhaps more slippery analogy:

Edge of the Empire is all the beings in the background at the cantina.
Age of Rebellion is Rogue Squadron.
Force and Destiny is the Jedi Academy.

Yeah the games are 100% compatible, but the "progression" angle is I little tricky. I think everyone will be happier in the long run if they start with the spec that best matches the direction they want to go. That'll also allow you to get more of your moneys worth out of each book.

Thanks everyone for your input and contributions. I think for now we are going to concentrate on Edge of the Empire as there is a lot of content available so far. Since I don't have any of the other books, I'm not sure on all the differences, so if we decide to keep going we'll see what happens then.

We had our first session tonight and started the campaign that came in the core book. I have to say it was slow with a lot of rules look up, but a lot of fun! Felt very much like Star Wars, which is great

We had our first session tonight and started the campaign that came in the core book. I have to say it was slow with a lot of rules look up, but a lot of fun! Felt very much like Star Wars, which is great

Welcome to the wonderful world of A New System! Hell, we've been playing for a year now and I *STILL* have to look stuff up all the time - and the Vehicle combat stuff is still a mystery to me.

Thanks everyone for your input and contributions. I think for now we are going to concentrate on Edge of the Empire as there is a lot of content available so far. Since I don't have any of the other books, I'm not sure on all the differences, so if we decide to keep going we'll see what happens then.

There are no real differences between the books, only different careers and a different tone or setting. You can easily start with, say, a Smuggler, and later on buy a new specialization from one of the other books, like an AoR Infiltrator. Character development is intended to be cross-compatible.

We had our first session tonight and started the campaign that came in the core book. I have to say it was slow with a lot of rules look up, but a lot of fun! Felt very much like Star Wars, which is great

Welcome to the wonderful world of A New System! Hell, we've been playing for a year now and I *STILL* have to look stuff up all the time - and the Vehicle combat stuff is still a mystery to me.

Haha thanks! I look forward to trying to wrap my head around vehicle combat! I started to reread the book again and marking pages that we will most likely need to return to again. It's a bumpy start, but hey as long as everyone is engaged, having fun and keep coming back, then that's all that matters.

Thanks everyone for your input and contributions. I think for now we are going to concentrate on Edge of the Empire as there is a lot of content available so far. Since I don't have any of the other books, I'm not sure on all the differences, so if we decide to keep going we'll see what happens then.

There are no real differences between the books, only different careers and a different tone or setting. You can easily start with, say, a Smuggler, and later on buy a new specialization from one of the other books, like an AoR Infiltrator. Character development is intended to be cross-compatible.

That's exactly what I was hoping for, thanks! We'll see how EoE turns out and if they like their characters enough to keep going then we will buy into specializations in AoR. I also like the idea Amanal stated about prebuying into force before FaD and provide a side story into meeting a master and gaining one's lightsaber.

So many ideas, so many stories! This is going to be a great game!

Thanks everyone for your input and contributions. I think for now we are going to concentrate on Edge of the Empire as there is a lot of content available so far. Since I don't have any of the other books, I'm not sure on all the differences, so if we decide to keep going we'll see what happens then.

There are no real differences between the books, only different careers and a different tone or setting. You can easily start with, say, a Smuggler, and later on buy a new specialization from one of the other books, like an AoR Infiltrator. Character development is intended to be cross-compatible.

That's exactly what I was hoping for, thanks! We'll see how EoE turns out and if they like their characters enough to keep going then we will buy into specializations in AoR. I also like the idea Amanal stated about prebuying into force before FaD and provide a side story into meeting a master and gaining one's lightsaber.

So many ideas, so many stories! This is going to be a great game!

Yeah Edge and Age play pretty nice together, it's then trying to integrate FaD that'll get a little weird. Not broken, or nonfunctional in any way, just slightly limited when it comes to application.

See in the Force section of Edge you've got that "Exile" tree, and there's a similar "Emergent" tree in Age, each one give a character a Force Rating of 1 (note it's not +1, it's 1, so you can't take both to get an instant FR2).

The catch is in FaD you get that initial FR1 from the Career (the thing you pick at creation only) and not the Specialization (the "class" that you can always buy more of later). Wouldn't be a big deal if all those Specs didn't also include talents that require FR1+. So if you start as an Edge or Age character to be able to utilize the Fad Specs, you're going to have to get Exile or Emergent too.

That's why I mentioned the "getting your money's worth" thing. To have a well rounded "Jedi" character in this system you typically need to take a minimum of 2 specs: A base Spec that'll get you skills, talents, and an FR+1 option, and a Lightsaber Spec. Combined you get skills, abilities and lightsaber awesomeness.

If you're importing a character form Age and/or Edge that character will come with a Base spec, AND a spec that'll have FR+1. So all that leaves them is a Lightsaber Spec and they are there. So essentially all those other Specs will likely be wasted.

That's also something to mention. You've noticed that all the Specs in the EotE core book cover all the typical player roles (techie, face, shooty, wheelman, sneaky sneak, ect). Age and FaD while designed to be 100% compatible with Edge, are also designed to be playable as their own line. So in every book you'll find all those same roles available. So if you run a "progression" campaign, be advised that your players may take the option to hyper-focus. Taking somthing like "Pilot" from Edge, "Gunner" or Squadron Leader from Age, (Exile or Emergent in there somewhere) and "Starfighter Ace" from FaD, resulting in an Uber-pilot... Which isn't a bad thing, I'm just saying that some of these ranked talents that give a "Boost per Rank" can really start to pile up, so come Endgame don't be afraid to lay on the hurt.

I’m not convinced that a lightsaber spec is required. I’ve got a Mystic Advisor/Seer that I’m going to be playing soon, and I’m going to try doing this without using or having a lightsaber.

At least, she won’t have one for a while — as a Jal Shey, they are much less reliant on the lightsaber than compared to the Jedi.

But it does depend a lot on your character concept.

I’m not convinced that a lightsaber spec is required.

Random thought: they shouldn't have given any of the specs the lightsaber skill as a career skill. Justification: it's harder to learn and doesn't get the XP bonus. In fact, any non-FS should have to pay 5XP extra. If they'd done that there could have been more mixing of combat skills across specs.

I’m not convinced that a lightsaber spec is required.

Random thought: they shouldn't have given any of the specs the lightsaber skill as a career skill. Justification: it's harder to learn and doesn't get the XP bonus. In fact, any non-FS should have to pay 5XP extra. If they'd done that there could have been more mixing of combat skills across specs.

Took me a couple reads to get that... but that is an interesting point...

I don't have the beta. Are Force-sensitive characters your only option in F&D?

no, you can take any specializations, you jusdon't get the benefit of the force only powers. the careers though are all force sensitive.

but, in essence, yeah. it is the force book

I don't have the beta. Are Force-sensitive characters your only option in F&D?

Yes, all the available careers/specializations are Force sensitive.

However, since there is no "Jedi career" how much use you want to get out of your forceness is up to you. Just because you are force sensitive, doesn't mean you need a light saber, or to train in force power use. Heck you may never even realize you are force sensitive...

You can definitely progress from one setting into the other - the game I'm running started in Edge and the players gradually became horrified by the casual systemic evil of the Empire and joined the Rebellion organically.

That said, I think it's maaaaybe a bit of a mistake to consider the three core books cumulative instead of complementary. To reference my table again, they've been rebels for a while now, and none of them have purchased into any of the AoR specs yet (currently have a Scoundrel/Slicer/FS Exile, Mechanic/Outlaw Tech, Marauder/Politico and a Heavy). Likewise, I don't intend to push the Force-sensitive character to buy into a FaD spec unless that's the way she develops organically.

Serve the story you want to tell first and let the games exist alongside each other to give your players the best possible range of options to fulfill their character concepts and the biggest possible universe to play in.