Hey, folks. I've been running two separate campaigns - an EotE with a few unabashed murderhobos and an AoR game where we're trying a serious game to counter it. I've got a few questions I'd appreciate insight and thoughts on, in no particular order. My apologies in advance for the wall of text; I hope my decent spelling/grammar make it tolerable for those with patience

The AoR game is the primary one; the background is that we did the Whisper Base beginner game adventure, then followed up with Shadowpoint (and switched from the pregens to chars they made themselves). They've been mostly focused on dealings in Iziz, which I've had to fluff up a bit - including a secretive, powerful (and as yet unidentified even to me) cabal doing unspecified prohibited sciency-experiment type things. One of the chars is a doctor/brawler, who started off running an underground clinic and eventually graduated to a cover identity as a proper doctor at one of the clinics in the city. One of the others is posing as a tech at the same facility, which nets them both 'real jobs' and a reason to be in the city.

1) One of my players is doing a Guardian: Peacekeeper character. One of the first talents gives him a boost to leadership checks - and grants a boost to Discipline for all those affected. He originally wanted to do daily 'pep talks' at the base using Leadership to motivate the team and give constant access to the extra Disc boost. I shot it down because it seemed too exploitive/ abusive, and am trying to find a way to give him a chance to still use it on occasion - but they tend to do the low-profile gig right up until combat starts. Any ideas on how I can cause a leadership check to be needed on occasion, without trying to turn the city to open revolt against the Empire?

B) I have been trying to slowly introduce more complexity to the game, since we started as brand new to the system. I left out things like space combat, fear/discipline checks, and a serious villain storyline. The latter, there, is what I really want to bring in (and I suspect it'll bring the middle with it); I could use some help coming up with a smart, skilled, and mostly absent threat who works through underlings and shadowplay. I also don't want them to be too smart, too skilled, or too absent, because I want him to be defeated, and have his defeat be what brings them to the attention of HIS superior (or something like that). Any advice on a believable but insurmountable threat? Imperial would be preferred.

Red) Eventually they're going to outgrow Whisper Base. They're already making big moves in the city and getting noticed, and not in good ways. During a nighttime investigation of an office building, they triggered an alarm, then wound up failing to fast-talk the Imperial lieutenant and shooting it out with a mixed crew of stormtroopers and army troopers, resulting in a dozen Imperial deaths and the destruction of one of their hoversleds. This is going to draw in reinforcements from offworld, but also notice and investigation - what do y'all think is the best way to demonstrate this narrowing focus? I have been trying the traditional 'contacts not turning up' but don't want to overdo that, especially since a couple of them are fixtures thanks to Charm triumphs.

Grek) Less about FFG's product and more about gaming peer handling. One of my players wanted to trade out a diplomat he rarely used for a gun bunny, so I established (since they have a base) a rolling pool of characters, allowing everyone to make up a 'backup' character they can switch between without penalty (they earn the same amount of XP for both characters regardless of which they're using). However, neither of his characters ever seems to 'mesh' with the group; his gun bunny is a Nikto heavy, who speaks little basic, and his diplomat is a Mon Cal something or other who's heavily invested in a couple social skills and talents. The player himself tends to play, not exactly antagonistic, but the standoffish superiority complex characters in whatever we're running. Any suggestions on trying to draw either of those archetypes more into group actions? When the doctor and tech took the wookie sniper on the office infiltration, he instead went cantina hopping to hobnob with the 'elite' (of the backwater world), which meant split focus, and that split has been a recurring event.

1) Perhaps you could have them come up with some kind of battle cry or a phrase they use to trigger that particular check? Certain things come to mind - "Get 'er!" ala Ghostbusters, "Spoon!" ala The Tick, the speech in Braveheart, etc. I don't think it has to be anything extensive, but it could be something fun and silly or he could be entirely serious. Or perhaps you could suggest that the players take an extra few moments here and there to discuss things.

B) There are multiple levels in the Imperial rank system, and Iziz will be no different. They ran into a Lt, yes? So maybe their movements are starting to be tracked by a Captain, who is in charge of watching a particular section of the city? Who then brings it up to the Admiral and/or Moff in charge of the planet? Think of rank structure. Maybe they accidentally fall into the Moff's lap at some point or something. I'm actually using a Moff for the main antagonist in my current campaign, with smaller antagonists littered throughout until they reach him.

Red) I think it could be more obvious simply by showing a larger Imperial presence. More Stormtroopers, more Lambda shuttles, maybe they note on their ship's sensors that even a Star Destroyer is in system. Throwing lots of Troopers at them might be the easiest way to do it. Maybe the Imperials institute a curfew and patrol the streets more regularly.

Grek) Perhaps it would be time to come up with a particular mission that would require that type of thing? You need to get into a secured area but you don't have the security code, and you don't have the skill to slice into the computer systems so you need someone to hobnob. Or maybe he has to do that kind of thing for espionage purposes? I'm not sure what to suggest as far as the standoffish part goes, aside from perhaps talking to them outside of the game and seeing if they'd be willing to try something different. Or maybe you should play with that and let that standoffish complex cause a problem, like getting them arrested because he spoke poorly to the wrong person. Maybe you should see what kind of things he's interested in doing when you're not in the adventure, see if he has any ideas of how he could be more cooperative with the group. There's surely some way to get him to mesh with the others, it just might take some work.

1) One of my players is doing a Guardian: Peacekeeper character. One of the first talents gives him a boost to leadership checks - and grants a boost to Discipline for all those affected. He originally wanted to do daily 'pep talks' at the base using Leadership to motivate the team and give constant access to the extra Disc boost. I shot it down because it seemed too exploitive/ abusive, and am trying to find a way to give him a chance to still use it on occasion - but they tend to do the low-profile gig right up until combat starts. Any ideas on how I can cause a leadership check to be needed on occasion, without trying to turn the city to open revolt against the Empire?

Leadership can be used to have underlings do stuff, even if they're technically not his underlings. For example, your Peacekeeper has an underling fetch stuff for the tech, giving the tech a boost now and then. But Whisper Base is way too secretive and busy for underlings to fetch stuff for people outside the chain of command, so a Leadership check would allow him to toss some presumed authority around. It's not quite Deception, just a commanding presence requisitioning a little extra help.

Leadership can also do the "nothing to see here, move along" thing with bystanders after the other guys create a ruckus. Good way to make sure witnesses aren't around when the Imps or local enforcers show up. Leadership is also great for interfacing with officials of any type, so long as they're not clearly superior in perceived rank to the PC.

) I have been trying to slowly introduce more complexity to the game, since we started as brand new to the system. I left out things like space combat, fear/discipline checks, and a serious villain storyline. The latter, there, is what I really want to bring in (and I suspect it'll bring the middle with it); I could use some help coming up with a smart, skilled, and mostly absent threat who works through underlings and shadowplay. I also don't want them to be too smart, too skilled, or too absent, because I want him to be defeated, and have his defeat be what brings them to the attention of HIS superior (or something like that). Any advice on a believable but insurmountable threat? Imperial would be preferred.

The local Imperial garrison commander, who is also a secret ISB agent. As a garrison commander, he's laughed at. The locals easily get around Imperial authority and Whisper Base feels quite secure. However, as an ISB agent, he's slowly building up dossiers on all the rebels at Whisper, as well as their local contacts. When he thinks he can nab all the leaders and shut down the base he'll act. The PCs hopefully thwart that at some point.

Grek) Less about FFG's product and more about gaming peer handling. One of my players wanted to trade out a diplomat he rarely used for a gun bunny, so I established (since they have a base) a rolling pool of characters, allowing everyone to make up a 'backup' character they can switch between without penalty (they earn the same amount of XP for both characters regardless of which they're using). However, neither of his characters ever seems to 'mesh' with the group; his gun bunny is a Nikto heavy, who speaks little basic, and his diplomat is a Mon Cal something or other who's heavily invested in a couple social skills and talents. The player himself tends to play, not exactly antagonistic, but the standoffish superiority complex characters in whatever we're running. Any suggestions on trying to draw either of those archetypes more into group actions? When the doctor and tech took the wookie sniper on the office infiltration, he instead went cantina hopping to hobnob with the 'elite' (of the backwater world), which meant split focus, and that split has been a recurring event.

The character pool is ok I suppose, not my style, but shouldn't be that bad to run. However, that one player is an issue. It seems like he simply doesn't want to work with the rest of the group, regardless of what character he's running. You need to have a talk with the player privately, to let him know that his play style is making the game less fun for you and the rest of the group. If he's unwilling to change, then you might want to discuss the situation with your other players. I'm assuming he's a real-life friend, so just asking him to leave the game is awkward. It comes down to this: if his primary way of having fun is to make sure everyone else has less , he has to go. It's a problem in any RPG, but in FFG's Star Wars especially, cooperation amongst players and between players and GM is essential.

He is an RL friend, but he's not actively sabotaging things; and he's certainly not deliberately ruining others' fun. As a person, he's someone who's pretty smart, and tends to interact with folks he sees as less intelligent, whether he's correct or not. This sort of spills over into his characters; he's been in the group as long as I have (12 years now) and isn't a roadblock, but is occasionally a stumbling point.

We had a couple combat-heavy sessions that his diplomat had little to do, which is what prompted the new character. The next session with the gun bunny, they wound up trying to talk their way into a warehouse noted for clandestine activity, and the party was without a face. The game has only been going for a few months, so folks are still feeling out characters and things - I just want to try and have things for his character to do that are with the party.

How comfortable are you with winging things? You could still have your main adventure, but perhaps something he does or says could inspire a side event where the diplomat is much more useful? I'm doing my best to make each of my characters feel like they're special in one way or another, and as we've been going I've been trying to adjust the adventure so it's not just combat heavy all the time. The difference being I'm doing a homebrew.

Well, I'm fantastically educated on the EU, so I know generally how the universe is running. As for ad hoc adventure splits, not so hot. If I at least have a few points of plot I can flesh them out; but if my player turns to me and says, 'alright, i'm going to become a real estate agent, how's the market in this town' I'm kind of at a loss on the spot. (This is an example, not hyperbole.)

Wow - well, I know it's not always easy to think on your feet, but I would suggest trying to exercise that just a little bit during your sessions, You don't have to do a lot of unscripted stuff, but try to work some in every now and then and you'll get better. My suggestion in this case would be to talk with the players prior to the adventure and have them give you some ideas of what they'd like to see, what they think their characters might be interested in, some more backstory kind of elements... then maybe you can at least sketch out some ideas to give each character a little more highlight.

Also - this website is a really good resource. They've got all kinds of charts you can use to generate random things for encounters or gear or whatever you like. https://triumphdespair.wordpress.com/edge-of-the-empire-alphabet/

1) Give him the opportunity to make his 'speech' before they start the job (perhaps in the morning or right before they arrive on site). However, allow it to only last throughout the first scene. That way it's always useful, but not always present. Consider it an expendable boost that needs to be refreshed from time to time.

Going clubbing by oneself.... it sounds like a great oportunity for some locals to kidnap one of those "elite" (PC) members of society .

Your player will only be able to rescue his backup PC with the help of the rest of the group. He may also me more cautions of walking around backwater locals by himself.

1) What is the Peacekeeper character's Duty?

There are probably some meaningful ways that the Peacekeeper can contribute that aren't as lazy as 'I give everyone a pep talk' that actively contribute to his Duty. The top brass can notice his Discipline and have him use his downtime to work with the other rebels in a few different capacities: self-defense instructor or chaplain are two that spring to mind quickly. With some of the party working undercover in Iziz, it might not be a bad idea to send the Peacekeeper out there as well, maybe to work as something like a youth counselor, that would let him keep an eye out for potential recruits and embody a Peacekeeper role.

Plus, if the Force user is more visible in the community, and therefore more prone to being seen in public using the Force...

B) ...Rumors of a Jedi are something that the Empire tends to take seriously. It's premature to send a loaded-for-space-bear Inquisitor out to Onderon, but it could definitely attract the notice of an ambitious ISB or II agent. Alternately (or in conjunction), since the PCs are making themselves part of the community, an increase in COMPNOR activity might create a good group of antagonists as they fight the PCs for hearts and minds. You can make anything into a capable Nemesis with a little tinkering, but tying it back to the group or to its mission is what will make your villain resonate.

Red) If you go this route, make sure to tie the Imperial escalation back to the players' actions. Show them they're capable of making a difference, but also that too much disruption has consequences for those around them.

Grek) Making your big bad a member of the elite might help to integrate this player more tightly with the rest of the team; they'll need his expertise and he'll likely need their assistance to accomplish his moves and countermoves against a political villain. Of course, that also means wrangling him to keep him from taking over the party, but if you know and trust the player, it's a good risk to take. Also, when he tries to split the party, keep forcing him to take at least one other party member along with him ("you're a high value target; you need a bodyguard" etc.) and give them a few unconventional encounters that they need to work together to solve. Don't punish the player for being a lone wolf; show him how teamwork benefits him.