I know ive been absent from the forums for some time here so no one probably remembers me. Anyway I have played two short campaigns using the edge of the empire rules and discovered a few things that may help game masters and players alike which are really just some musings that make session 0 a bit easier.

My advice to any aspiring game master or party is to do things a little bit out of order than the book recommends. The first part of any good space fairing game is based on one simple premise; you are all part of a crew. So the first step in character generation is not to think of your own character but come to an agreement over what kind of crew you are assembling. This is the most important part of character creation, to make a mission statement or overall theme in the party. Edge of the Empire has such a wide range of character options that this becomes very easy to make a party incompatible from a role playing standpoint with one another. After you have decided on a theme, make a mission statement for the crew. It doesn't need to be that sophisticated it just solidifies the theme.

Now that you have chosen a mission statement for your crew, you pick a ship. The book lists this step as the final step in the character creation process however doing this first can clear up a lot of confusion when creating the characters. Choose a ship specialized to your mission. In the core book this is much more difficult but with all the splat books being released if your game master is generous enough to allow them. This is really part of the first step and may change later during creation. From this point on you have an end point for where your characters should be by the end of creation. Then go through character creation as normal filling out various crew positions that players have interest in.

Sample Crew themes:

Mercenary

Heist

Transport

Bounty Hunting

Colonial

Exploration

Science

Merchant

Mining

Diplomatic

I think you will find choosing a primary goal, and maybe a secondary goal as well like this one at character creation your games will go much much smoother. Anyway just my rambling what do you all think?

Great technique and well explained, thank you.

Thanks i was just trying to share this experience considering that it felt like one of the more important aspect to make it an enjoyable game. After my last game I learned how vital it was

I know ive been absent from the forums for some time here so no one probably remembers me. Anyway I have played two short campaigns using the edge of the empire rules and discovered a few things that may help game masters and players alike which are really just some musings that make session 0 a bit easier.

My advice to any aspiring game master or party is to do things a little bit out of order than the book recommends. The first part of any good space fairing game is based on one simple premise; you are all part of a crew. So the first step in character generation is not to think of your own character but come to an agreement over what kind of crew you are assembling. This is the most important part of character creation, to make a mission statement or overall theme in the party. Edge of the Empire has such a wide range of character options that this becomes very easy to make a party incompatible from a role playing standpoint with one another. After you have decided on a theme, make a mission statement for the crew. It doesn't need to be that sophisticated it just solidifies the theme.

Now that you have chosen a mission statement for your crew, you pick a ship. The book lists this step as the final step in the character creation process however doing this first can clear up a lot of confusion when creating the characters. Choose a ship specialized to your mission. In the core book this is much more difficult but with all the splat books being released if your game master is generous enough to allow them. This is really part of the first step and may change later during creation. From this point on you have an end point for where your characters should be by the end of creation. Then go through character creation as normal filling out various crew positions that players have interest in.

Sample Crew themes:

Mercenary

Heist

Transport

Bounty Hunting

Colonial

Exploration

Science

Merchant

Mining

Diplomatic

I think you will find choosing a primary goal, and maybe a secondary goal as well like this one at character creation your games will go much much smoother. Anyway just my rambling what do you all think?

If you want more really good discussion on the topic go listen to the Fear the Boot podcast. Specifically the Group template episodes. They also have a worksheet.

I think you will find choosing a primary goal, and maybe a secondary goal as well like this one at character creation your games will go much much smoother. Anyway just my rambling what do you all think?

That this is roleplay 101, heheh. The party should be formed of some form of cohesive element for want/desire, else you end up with players/characters that have undesired conflicts in the group.

My current group has had lots of conflict in the past, in different genres, with different GMs. I think it might be partially, even mostly, caused by never having a Session 0. This is fantastic advice and I'm going to implement it immediately for my upcoming campaign, pausing the character creation process until we get through Session 0.

I also note, with some amusement, that these forums are now second on my Firefox tab list, after Facebook (where my group coordinates) and before my email.

Obligation/Duty/Morality and Motivations could be tied to your mission statement (Smugglers? The Debt Obligation was practically made for them)

Yeah the obligations are great for individual characters but it does take a little bit extra to get your crew purpose down. The individual motivations work great once the crew purpose is established. Just have to get people away from the idea of things like, unless you chose the smuggler career you aren't a smuggler. Technician aboard a smuggler ship, or a corrupt customs agent but at least that way when people make their characters they can agree on a purpose. Or even a mercenary ship needs a pilot or "fixer," doctor, and such.

It still is nice to have characters with personal ties outside of the crew's purpose. I was mostly inspired by firefly and mass effect for this approach to creation.

Since my current group was new to the system and Star Wars RPG--and some of them were new to each other--I let them choose whatever individual concept they wanted. It encouraged a lot of creativity from them, but it has also taken a little longer for the group to gel. Because it's a big group, too, it can be hard to integrate all of their backgrounds, motivations, and obligations on a regular basis.

If I were to start a new game/adventure with this group, I would probably work on a group concept first, and that's how I would approach an Age of Rebellion campaign, too.

Since my current group was new to the system and Star Wars RPG--and some of them were new to each other--I let them choose whatever individual concept they wanted. It encouraged a lot of creativity from them, but it has also taken a little longer for the group to gel. Because it's a big group, too, it can be hard to integrate all of their backgrounds, motivations, and obligations on a regular basis.

If I were to start a new game/adventure with this group, I would probably work on a group concept first, and that's how I would approach an Age of Rebellion campaign, too.

Emphasis added.

That brings up a question for me. I have about 8 (possibly) more that are interested. So... how big is too big?

Should I figure out how many can be in the group and just cap it at that, and tell the others "maybe next time?" Should I wait until Session 0 and see who is best fit to work together and then weed people out (seems harsh and prone to ongoing conflict)? While I hate to turn anyone away from the table, I also don't want to get bogged down in 2-hour combats, find people constantly distracted because it's "not their turn," have effective two groups (the one playing, the other just hanging around), have characters that rarely get engaged and players that get sidelined by too many more gregarious players piping up their two cents, or any of the other issues I'm sure fellow GMs (and players for that matter) have seen when a group gets big.

This is my first time running the FFG Star Wars system. Are there any system-specific hurdles for group size? If not, general advice on a good group size for a Star Wars campaign? Some genres work better with larger groups for example, and others tend to get difficult with more than a small handful. Where does EotE fit in?

That brings up a question for me. I have about 8 (possibly) more that are interested. So... how big is too big?

For eight or more players, you need to either be a phenomenally gifted GM, or your party needs to be incredibly patient. Y'know what forget the "or" part of that statement. The group is going to need to be patient either way, and you should stress that at the beginning.

That said, you can manage it if the party has one unified concept and agenda, like the OP mentioned above. A paramilitary unit or a starfighter squad could ensure that everyone gets roughly the same involvement. The downside is that everyone's involvement will probably be similar and the encounters are likely to be repetitive and formulaic.

If your group doesn't want to be Rebels, they should still be part of a group with a unified vision or code. A ship crew (put them in a Wayfarer--it's got a big bridge--and maybe give one or two a starfighter to accompany the freighter) makes a lot of sense, but beware of making it a regular smuggler or transport vessel, because once you land on a planet, you need to deal with 8 characters wanting to have different types of social, combat, mechanical encounters. Instead of smugglers, consider making them explorers or mappers charting Wild Space or the Unknown regions because when/if they find a new planet, the group should have a predetermined idea of what its responsibility is when they land.

Whatever you end up going with, I would not plan for long campaigns until you have a clearer idea of how the group works together. Try some done-in-ones or basic three-act adventures and see if the group likes it or if they're frustrated.

I think this is a great point, and the way we did things on a new campaign we're starting. We talked about potential themes before session zero, had an online poll to narrow it down to a final two or three, and then decided on the final theme at the start of session zero. It did help the players develop their characters' backstories.

Here are a few other ideas for themes we were considering:

• Pirates! - Yo ho ho and a bottle of brass monkey. Truly living outside the law, this group looks to rob and pillage. Would likely be combat heavy, including a good amount of space combat.
• Explorers - This could take several forms, including archaeologists looking for lost relics, big game hunters looking for trophies and thrills, or several other professions that would get paid for discovering new places and things. "Indiana Jones in the Star Wars Universe" is a good description.
• Bounty hunters - Tracking down the wanted: dead or alive for fun and profit. Could include assassination jobs.
• Smugglers - Plenty of credits to be made for effective smugglers. Likely to have a good amount of space combat/mechanics.
• Crime syndicate lackeys - Doing a variety of illegal jobs (dealing spice, shaking down businesses, robberies, kidnapping, etc.) for employers who just happen to be a large organized crime group.
• Soldiers of fortune - Muscle and intimidation for hire. Would likely be combat heavy.
• Con artists - Making money a variety of ways, often not very well-respected: shady deals, fixed gambling, bait and switch, fake identities. This would likely be light on combat. (Until they slip up and their targets want blood!)

• Rebel terror cell - This would definitely show some of the "bad" that the Rebels cause while fighting the Empire. Sometimes the Imperials calling them terrorist isn't that far off the mark...
• Special forces group - Along the lines of running military special ops missions. Would likely be very stealth and combat heavy.
• Intelligence gathering - Would include things like spying, infiltration, deceit, and politics. Would likely be more focused on non-combat skills and narrative.
• Logistics and recruitment - Always looking to convince more people around the galaxy to oppose the Empire, this would focus on spreading the word and setting up new cells, all while avoiding Imperial detection.
• Imperial counter-terrorism - Flipping the setting on its head by having the players on the Imperial side, this would focus on trying to discover and thwart the Rebels, by any means necessary. Species selection would be somewhat limited due to the Imperial's prejudice. (I'm not saying non-humans are not allowed, but a group made up of a Jawa, Nautolan, Duros, and Sluisi isn't going to fly. )

On how big is too big: My AoR group is 8 people at full count. Now that has so far only happened once, so we usually end up with a more manageable 5, but my solution (which worked really well when we implemented it) is to split the party into two squads of 4 and have them running different missions, with the 'inactive' squad handling rolling, rule look up and occasionally roleplaying npc's(also quiet kibitzing is okay). It works, but you need a really good, patient party to pull it off.

I would limit to the game 4-6 players. I dont think i would ever allow more than 6 players.

@Jaspor, Nice i like that list. Age of Rebellion seems much easier to hold together considering military style you can just give them orders. But it still helps for them to have an idea of what their specialty is. In Edge of the Empire its very important. Although Edge can also cater to some more heroic roles as well. Private Investigators, Logistics (non criminal), Law Enforcement, Science and Merchants all make for some interesting ideas. I figure if you think "Old West" style it should be pretty solid. Also pirates can be variant of Privateers with official sanction to piracy. Not saying criminal games are bad but its certainly not all you can do with it.

I would limit to the game 4-6 players. I dont think i would ever allow more than 6 players.

@Jaspor, Nice i like that list. Age of Rebellion seems much easier to hold together considering military style you can just give them orders. But it still helps for them to have an idea of what their specialty is. In Edge of the Empire its very important. Although Edge can also cater to some more heroic roles as well. Private Investigators, Logistics (non criminal), Law Enforcement, Science and Merchants all make for some interesting ideas. I figure if you think "Old West" style it should be pretty solid. Also pirates can be variant of Privateers with official sanction to piracy. Not saying criminal games are bad but its certainly not all you can do with it.

Thanks! Yeah, AoR definitely makes it a bit easier on the GM in terms of guiding the action, whereas being on the fringe with Edge means likely looking for jobs in different places. The group wound up choosing pirates, we've had our first session, and I've got a pretty good set of ideas already that doesn't just involve raiding of pillaging. Privateering will definitely be among the options they're confronted with.

I like the advice. The most cohesive party I've seen is the one that I was GM for. The party could have any background they wanted as long as that background led to prison. The first session was them breaking out of an Ord Cestus prison mine. With the exception of the arson, they've worked well together ever since!

My group has a rotating GM, 8-9 people, plus named NPCs, all crewing a "legitiate shipping vessel" but we've got enough support characters that combat isnt all that unmanagable- a face-specialized droid, a "pass the information over, GM" knowlege specilized droid, a doctor/drug pusher, a rigger wookie, a force sesitive mechanic, a Move object speccd FR2 "illusionist", a gun bunny/leadership type, a gun bunny/stealth type, and sometimes an Entertainer who shows up. Then there's the NPCs we keep around- twilic twins who manage housekeeping and secretary work, heavy load lifters Brick and Brack, 48vex and an R2 for assisting the mechanics/doctors.

The group is ALWAYS 1 character down because the GM's character is almost always offscreen, and we tend to solve problems by talkig first- and the combat characters are either fine with being comicallly inept at non-combat and/or having a secondary spec outside combat, hopefully with enough overlap that if the GOOD charater at something is running, we have someone to cover the gaps.

Since we almost always have commlinks, we arnt afraid to split the party, either, and most of us who run have figured out ways of balancing the spotlight between groups.