Hello everyone!

I have been reading through these threads and there is some wonderful information.

One thing I'm curious that I've not been able to find the answer to is the question of how to best teach new players. We're all new to the system (I'll be running the game) and we haven't played yet. We all come from other board games and RPGs such as D&D and the like, so the complexity isn't an issue and the format is something we're used to.

Currently I have the core rulebook and I've read through it, but only I have. My question is should I advise the new players to read the entire book? Or just certain sections? Or nothing at all and hope that I can just teach it?

Additionally, is the adventure in the core rulebook a good starting place? Or would the Beginner's Game be a better fit? My concern with that is that we're not totally new to RPGs, so I'm not sure how beginner centered the beginner game is.

Thanks everyone!

The beginner game is an excellent, if not the best, resource for newbies. Explains the basics of the system well.

Great, I'll definitely look more into it.

If that's the route we go, what prep would be required of my players? I just worry that the giant book in front of them may intimidate them away from learning a new system, at least in any normal amount of time.

As a long running player - I started in 1986-ish - the Beginner Set was still perfect for my needs, learning the all new mechanics. Well worth the buy!

IMO, the best way to teach it is to play it. Preferably with one of the boxed set beginner games. From there, you have to decide what type of game you want to play, and that will inform you as to which of the boxed set beginner games you want to try to run.

If you’ve got a group of players where most of them at least kinda semi sorta know the system and you’ve got only one or two people who are totally new to it, then you can probably bring them into a more regular game, knowing that the other players can help support them and help teach them how the game works.

There’s no large book in front of you, if all you’re using is the boxed set. Each player gets a folio for their pre-generated character of choice (and there are several to choose from). The GM gets a slightly larger than pamphlet-size book with all the game information, descriptions of encounters, etc….

The big “Core Rule Books” are meant for use once you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve run out of things to do with the boxed set, and you’re ready to graduate to using the full set of rules.

I disagree about the beginner set for anyone used to RPGs. There are some small but significant differences between the two rule sets. Enough that it may confuse the issue for some people. I am thinking especially about critical hits.

I would suggest having them read through the core rules as much as they desire, and let you fill in the blanks. If you are used to other games it won't be too big of a deal. Both ways of learning it will require the change in thought (assuming you haven't played a game such as FATE yet) and learning to read the dice.

Either way, welcome and enjoy.

I find the Beginner games to be ideal for teaching the system, whether it's to RPG newbies or experienced roleplayers.

The adventures are designed specifically to teach, and it's structured in such a way that it teaches as you go along.

"You need to hide from Gammorreans. Here's how you can choose a skill to hide with, and here's how you make skill checks."

"You need to fight some Stormtroopers. Here's how you fight."

"You need to convince this junk dealer to give you a part. Here's how you use social skills."

I've run the EOTE Beginner Game for several groups and the AOR one for several more, it's always gone well.

Hi jospanther!

I'd second (or third or fourth) the suggestion about going for the beginner game even if you're a bit of an old hand - the books in there will keep you going for a while and the pregen characters seem a little more skilled than the ones you might make from scratch out of the core rulebook.

With regard to the mention of critical hits above, you could also consider getting the Edge of the Empire GM screen. I personally don't keep the screen upright (even though the image is nice) because it's a player-facing game and the dice results are open information (mostly) - namely so the players can contribute some narrative flair using the symbols as inspiration (one of the reasons this is my favourite RPG). The reason I suggest getting the GM screen is because you could use the crit table to make the players wince a little when they get stung by a critical hit. As long as you understand how to trigger critical hits using advantage (explained in the beginner rules, I think?) and keep in mind that every critical hit previously suffered adds an extra ten to the % dice roll to determine the result of a subsequent crit, you'll be fine. It also has range difficulties and other useful info immediately to hand.

And then you'll want the adversary decks. And an extra set of dice. And then you'll probably get the core rulebook, plus maybe a splat book about Hutts because you enjoy their streamlined physique. And then the game has you in its grasp...

Welcome aboard!

Thank you to everyone so far!

As mentioned, I do already have the Core Rulebook for EotE. Additionally, I do have a pre-done adventure (Jewel of Yavin, I believe?) and I do have the GM's kit as well.

It's interesting to hear from everyone and does seem as though the Beginner's Game had a major impact for everyone. Perhaps it may be best to at least run that to best learn the system, though my players are a bit stubborn and would (I'm sure) prefer to make their own characters.

That being the case, it still sounds as though it would be worthwhile to take a look at the Beginner's Game to at least run through the system and learn the nuances and bits before everyone goes gung-ho into creating characters and assigning things to skills that we don't even understand the role of.

I have the beginner game but I didn't start with that for my current group, which was pretty familiar with d6 and d20 style games. Instead, I spent our first session explaining the dice mechanics and having them go through some sample encounter styles, like one-on-one combat, fighting minion groups, vehicle combat. A lot of the examples were borrowed from the Beginner Game, but modified, and also taken out of context.

For the most part, my group picked up the rule and the meaning of all the dice results really quickly. Then we spent the rest of that first session going over character generation. We started our adventure at the beginning of the second game session. I created a new but simple opening chapter--escape from a planet just as the Imperials are invading--that worked fine for showcasing most of the character's starting abilities.

Interesting, I hadn't thought of trying an approach like that. That may be exactly the kind of thing my players would like, given their love for customizing things and having their own way, while still allowing us to learn what each thing does and what is in store for us.

Thanks for that!

Beginner Games are also a great way to get a set of dice and some nice tokens which can be useful in a lot of different ways!

Yeah, just go with the beginner game. It does a good job of starting simple and ramping up, hittign a lot of key points when it comes to the rules.

Just a few things to remember:

• The rules in the beginner game are simplified and the sample character don't follow the build rules. You can play it with the full rules and proper beginner characters no problem though.
• The Space Encounter at the end is flat and rather dull. It's an OK introduction to how space combat works, but compared to the preceding ground combat encounters it's really really boring.
• Range Bands take some getting used to. Really try to make it work, and remember that the "Engaged" range band is pretty big, and not like being "adjacent" in your old D&D games. (That one messes up a lot of people)

Also worth mentioning, Space combat in this system is supposed to be super fast and super deadly. TIE fighters have more in common with the fast and deadly (but a little flimsy) Japanese Zero then the worthless junk they appear as in a lot of the video games.You may want to run a secondary space/vehicle combat encounter (not connected to any main campaign) just to get a better feel. Remember, read the rules int he book, and follow them to the letter if you want to get it right. A lot of the people that have problems with vehicles can be traced back to them trying to apply something they learned in another game to this one.

Also the beginner game is the best way to get the dice. as you get the dice and everything you need in the box. once you have run the beginner box. then the players will have a better idea of how things work when they go to make their own characters.

As mentioned, I do already have the Core Rulebook for EotE. Additionally, I do have a pre-done adventure (Jewel of Yavin, I believe?) and I do have the GM's kit as well.

IMO, Jewel of Yavin (JoY) is a pretty advanced adventure — maybe the most advanced that FFG has published. There are simpler adventures in the back of the Core Rule Book (CRB), which you might want to run before you get to JoY. I was in a game with some pretty fresh characters that tried to do JoY, and let’s just say that it was a lot less fun for us than it could have been.

And to repeat what I said earlier, I would do the boxed set first, even if everyone is experienced. Yes, the rules are a little different from the CRB, and the characters that are created don’t quite follow the normal CRB rules, but I still think it makes a great introduction, and you can always add more complexity later when everyone is ready for it.

It's interesting to hear from everyone and does seem as though the Beginner's Game had a major impact for everyone. Perhaps it may be best to at least run that to best learn the system, though my players are a bit stubborn and would (I'm sure) prefer to make their own characters.

I would consider the boxed set to be a great way to dip your toe into the water and to get a good idea of what the system is like.

After you’ve run the boxed set, you can decide if/when you want to generate new characters to go on with, or if you want to continue with the existing characters.

Another benefit that I've found from running at least the Beginner Game for a group is that they can get a feel for the system which will educate them better when it comes to creating their own characters.

It can be better to have some practical knowledge of the system when creating characters.

I like the beginner game for the dice, tokens, map, and production quality. It is great that everything is pre-generated, so everyone can grab a character, try the system, and then go to the core rulebook (CRB) to make the PCs that they really want. Still, I do prefer the CRB over the slimmed down version of the rules, since I like to test drive the real thing. I don't know if I would have bought it had the CRB been available at the time.

Definitely recommend the Beginners game sets, its a good value in terms of beginners or experienced players. Beginners get a hand holding adventure that walks GMs and players thru adventures and how the dice mechanics work and the experienced player gets value in the form of the adventure content(including followup downloadable bonus missions), tokens, maps, and dice, if anything its the Core books that are tougher to get value from as largely half of a Core books content is reprints of the same rules in each game system.

I remember my first game, my GM was a friend of mine, and we did the adventure from the EotE CRB. I still remember my first crit on one of his henchmen... good times, good times.

Well, all of you convinced me. I just ordered the Beginner game, so we're all very excited.

Thanks for all your advice thus far!

The biggest barrier IMO to bringing new players into the game is the dice system, because it's not basic arithmetic and so there's a curve there. One of the things I do if the new player has a tablet or laptop is to send them to one of the online dice rollers that does all the "canceling out" of stuff for you and just gives you the part of the roll that actually matters - then it's just practice, practice and practice summore. There are no short cuts, you have to learn what the symbols mean and what you can do with them by heart. It's not difficult, but it requires work, more work than basic arithmetic dice games.

I never hand a new player the book and say "read" when it's a big book because many just won't - even if you only want them to read certain pages. Instead what I'll do is copy some pages that pertain specifically to their character and what their character can do and collate those pages into a file for them to read.

Finally, I will assign them another player as a helper. I will especially do this if we actually have to use the dice or we use the FFG version of the dice roller which is prettier but actually less utilitarian than something with less frills but will do some of the canceling for you.

Another thing I'll do is put a gentle pressure on the new player after six months or so in the campaign, saying stuff like "you should know this by now..." etc. And always praise them when they do - the praise is important for obvious reasons, and with a game that has the kind of mechanics EotE and its family have, you need to get the newbie up to speed on the mechanics ASAP. I just am always careful to be gradual and gentle with the pressure to get faster and get to know their characters' ends of the rules better.

I would go somewhere slightly different.

Allow the characters to create their own characters and play them through the starter set.