......I'd like to know what I can expect.

I know I'll be getting books for Smugglers, Big Game Hunters and the Hutts. I'm also aware that some favourites, like Wookies, Twi'leks and Rodians are among the races. Favourite ships, like the Firespray and YT-1300 are in there too. So plenty to keep me happy.

One thing I am curious about though is the Force.

I've learnt about races and ships simply by Googling or reading reviews. But when it comes to the Force very little is said.

To be clear, I'm not after using the Force to pull a Star Destroyer out of orbit to crash down. Nor do I expect epic lightsaber duels.

I'd say I'm looking for the basics. Things like these:

"You can see things before they happen. That's why you appear to have such quick reflexes."

"These aren't the droids you're looking for."

Ability to jump very high/far

Ability to move/push things/people

Ability to contact others, for example in Empire Strikes Back when Luke is hanging upside down and is calling for Leia who in turn realizes he needs help.

I've read somewhere about healing too.

I'm hoping for a character who can sense where people are, a bit like Deanna Troy in Nemesis finding the cloaked ship by sensing the mind of the Reman.

Things like that. Not powerful Jedi/Sith stuff.

To be clear, I'm not after using the Force to pull a Star Destroyer out of orbit to crash down. Nor do I expect epic lightsaber duels.

You may not be pulling Star Destoroyers down into the ground from their orbit, but you can easily have epic Lightsaber combat!

As for your other questions, all of that is possible, however the rules for using the Force in EOTE itself are a little scaled back versus the ones you can find in the Force and Destiny book, I would suggest purchasing that if you wish to make heavy use of the Force in your character or your campaign.

You won't be disappointed.

Great news!

I don't even mind scaled back Force use. There's only one Jedi planned, and he is a NPC along the lines of old Ben Kenobi or Yoda from OT. But that's a subplot for my Force Sensitives, nothing to do with the campaign itself.

EotE has Sense, Influence and Move. Sense covers, well, sensing and very, very limited mind reading, but not foresight -- that's a separate power. Move covers telekinesis. Jump/speed is covered by Enhance, which pops up in Age of Rebellion and Force and Destiny. There's not quite a telepathy ability, I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong, somebody), although Battle Meditation somewhat qualifies. Healing is in F&D. Honestly, if you plan to stick to the fringe stories, F&D is very complimentary, and has some of the other iconic ships (X-wings). If you want Age of Rebellion options (which includes Star Destroyers and multiple TIEs) but don't want to drop the cash for the full book, you can pick up the Beta book for pretty cheap online.

I'm one of those odd people who'll let X-Wing and Armada determine space encounters. Frankly if it gets to Star Destroyer scale at times I'd hope the players will run rather than fight.

I might pick up one of the other core books. But I think Age of Rebellion will be that book.

I wouldn't call the Force "scaled back" in EotE. There are only three powers specified, but they're fully fleshed out, and you can always include the powers from the other games. The F&D book has them all, if you don't want to buy it just yet you can make do with one of the fan-produced Talent Trees here:

http://beggingforxp.com/2014/star-wars-talent-sheets/

The book has more rules details, so you'll probably need it eventually ...

I wouldn't call the Force "scaled back" in EotE. There are only three powers specified, but they're fully fleshed out, and you can always include the powers from the other games. The F&D book has them all, if you don't want to buy it just yet you can make do with one of the fan-produced Talent Trees here:

http://beggingforxp.com/2014/star-wars-talent-sheets/

The book has more rules details, so you'll probably need it eventually ...

I was going to suggest Oggdude's character generator to fill the gaps the OP was missing, but Doc's talent trees is an even better suggestion! I still recommend you purchase Force and Destiny whenever your funds allow. It's a great resource for using the Force in your games. Plus, the basic lightsaber presented in the book are far more balancing than the souped up versions in Edge of the Empire and Age of Rebellion.

[...] But that's a subplot for my Force Sensitives, nothing to do with the campaign itself.

If you're going to have force sensitive PCs, in a raw EotE campaign, they'll need to take a normal career and specialization, and *then* purchase the Forse Sensitive Exile universal spec, and then start building their character from there. It's a pretty inefficient method for character building (a lot of character points feel wasted and you can't use a lot of useful starting XP options), but it does feel very "true" to the setting where force-users really don't have official training.

The options are as stated above: Use the character generator or purchase the F&D core.

[...] But that's a subplot for my Force Sensitives, nothing to do with the campaign itself.

If you're going to have force sensitive PCs, in a raw EotE campaign, they'll need to take a normal career and specialization, and *then* purchase the Forse Sensitive Exile universal spec, and then start building their character from there. It's a pretty inefficient method for character building (a lot of character points feel wasted and you can't use a lot of useful starting XP options), but it does feel very "true" to the setting where force-users really don't have official training.

The options are as stated above: Use the character generator or purchase the F&D core.

I read that much on 4chan's summary. In fact, Force Sensitive and something like Rebel Recruit or something is an upgrade of sorts. It's exactly what I'm going for. I don't want a Force Sensitive who can pilot, I want a pilot who is Force Sensitive if you catch my meaning.

I want "normal" characters with "normal" specializations who just happen to be extra special.

Like I say, the only true Jedi type is a NPC

[...] But that's a subplot for my Force Sensitives, nothing to do with the campaign itself.

If you're going to have force sensitive PCs, in a raw EotE campaign, they'll need to take a normal career and specialization, and *then* purchase the Forse Sensitive Exile universal spec, and then start building their character from there. It's a pretty inefficient method for character building (a lot of character points feel wasted and you can't use a lot of useful starting XP options), but it does feel very "true" to the setting where force-users really don't have official training.

The options are as stated above: Use the character generator or purchase the F&D core.

I read that much on 4chan's summary. In fact, Force Sensitive and something like Rebel Recruit or something is an upgrade of sorts. It's exactly what I'm going for. I don't want a Force Sensitive who can pilot, I want a pilot who is Force Sensitive if you catch my meaning.

I want "normal" characters with "normal" specializations who just happen to be extra special.

Like I say, the only true Jedi type is a NPC

In this game there honestly isn't much difference between Force Sensitive who can pilot and pilot who is Force Sensitive. It more or less boils down to what the player wants to focus on first. Though like others, I do think that if you're adding in Force Sensitives then you'd be better off getting F&D as well to help flesh out that part of the game more. In the very least the book will give you and your players more Force powers options that will help you better flesh out the Force as opposed to just up and making Jedi.

I'm one of those odd people who'll let X-Wing and Armada determine space encounters. Frankly if it gets to Star Destroyer scale at times I'd hope the players will run rather than fight.

I might pick up one of the other core books. But I think Age of Rebellion will be that book.

I wouldn't do this. Unless you want to kill your players...The systems are slower and more deadly.

It's also worth noting that the classes in F&D are not as Force heavy as the Jedi class was from previous games. They often share abilities from similar non Force classes, with some Force based talents in there but overall a Starfighter Ace from F&D is very similar to his counterparts in the other two games.

It's also worth noting that the classes in F&D are not as Force heavy as the Jedi class was from previous games. They often share abilities from similar non Force classes, with some Force based talents in there but overall a Starfighter Ace from F&D is very similar to his counterparts in the other two games.

That is good to know. Thanks!

I'm one of those odd people who'll let X-Wing and Armada determine space encounters.

This is a terrible idea. It comes up all the time, and it's a natural reaction to think "Hey, the same company makes X, Y and Z! They MUST be compatible" - and no they're not. Not even close.

There's no real way to translate all the awesome pilot talents, one starfighter combat will take all evening, even with just a couple of fighters and will more than likely A) leave 90% of the players bored while one person does All The Cool Things and B) Very Dead.

If you want to play X-Wing, play X-Wing. If you want to role play, play EotE. Don't combine the two.

I agree with Desslok.

I use my X-Wing and Armada miniatures for visual aides only. Trying to play either game in place of space combat in the roleplaying game seemed like a good idea at the time, but as stated above, it ended up boring almost everyone, not to mention the fact that the rules took far longer to teach than I thought it would.

Even if your players already know how to play, I still recommend against it. There is no way to represent the characters' skills in either of the miniatures games.

I don't think I saw it here, but...did you order dice? Sure you can use the conversion rules to use standard poly-dice, but I would picture it to be a serious pain to play out (having to cross reference each time you roll). It may sound like an odd question, but it is a rather important one.

Great news!

I don't even mind scaled back Force use. There's only one Jedi planned, and he is a NPC along the lines of old Ben Kenobi or Yoda from OT. But that's a subplot for my Force Sensitives, nothing to do with the campaign itself.

If you are only planning a force sensitive NPC, don't worry about picking up the other books. Just handwave what he can do. The rules only need to be there if players will be learning what he was doing.

I don't think I saw it here, but...did you order dice? Sure you can use the conversion rules to use standard poly-dice, but I would picture it to be a serious pain to play out (having to cross reference each time you roll). It may sound like an odd question, but it is a rather important one.

This a good point. If you have an iOS or Droid device, you can buy the app on the respective store.

I actually kind of prefer this solution because I get rather annoyed at having to purchase what amounts to (in my opinion) a half-set of dice for $15.

I don't think I saw it here, but...did you order dice? Sure you can use the conversion rules to use standard poly-dice, but I would picture it to be a serious pain to play out (having to cross reference each time you roll). It may sound like an odd question, but it is a rather important one.

This a good point. If you have an iOS or Droid device, you can buy the app on the respective store.

I actually kind of prefer this solution because I get rather annoyed at having to purchase what amounts to (in my opinion) a half-set of dice for $15.

I ended up picking up the Beginner Boxed Sets for EotE and AoR before getting the main books, just to see if I'd like the system. This scored me two sets of dice as well automatically, so I found that to being a pretty good deal. Still on the fence whither to get FaD's Beginner set too, to complete it all...and get another set of dice. Heh!

I don't think I saw it here, but...did you order dice? Sure you can use the conversion rules to use standard poly-dice, but I would picture it to be a serious pain to play out (having to cross reference each time you roll). It may sound like an odd question, but it is a rather important one.

Very good question.

Short answer: "no"

But I tend to budget, and the core Rulebook took it.

The dice are next (possibly with Lords of Nal Hutta). By the time I've read the core book, which is ETA between 11th to 17th September, I'll have the dice and can start creating.

As to the combining with X-Wing and Armada.

I tend to write stories/campaigns like a computer game. So I might play EotE to the moment a ship reaches space. Then a game of X-Wing would see some Ties or Scyks attempt to stop the getaway. Ship then docks with a Nebulon Frigate, which has a few buddies, and they're preparing to make the jump to light speed when (Armada time) a small Imperial fleet arrives.

Only played with those who like the games, and only between EotE sessions so as not to bore anyone. Though, in fact, they'd be happy socializing and backseat piloting/captaining. It helps when you know people who'll work as a team.

I've got a YT-2400 for X-Wing:

Got Dash Rendar and Stealth Device for a skilled pilot.

Got Outrider Heavy Laser Cannon and Marksmanship for a skilled gunner. (Wants to be a Big Game Hunter in EotE)

Got Recon Specialist who'll control "focus" and is the "Deanna Troi Force Sensitive" of the group.

I was told

None negotiable

It's my model but three people want to take over it and want their characters to be pilot, hunter and Betazoid....at least the Force user equivalent.

I'm happy to oblige

If you use X-Wing for space combat, then nobody in your group should bother taking a pilot spec. Well, maybe a couple ranks for flavour (which you should probably provide for free), but most of the spec is going to be entirely useless. You can't account for Full Throttle, Skilled Jockey, Dead to Rights, or any of the other pilot talents in the X-Wing rules.

Only played with those who like the games, and only between EotE sessions so as not to bore anyone. Though, in fact, they'd be happy socializing and backseat piloting/captaining. It helps when you know people who'll work as a team.

It still doesn't change the fact that X-Wing is significantly more lethal than EotE, there's no system strain (which is a huge part of combat - strain management) and worst of all - you lose all the talents.

Taking a quick glance at smuggler->pilot, the Full Throttle talent is useless, there are no setback dice in X-Wing so there's no need for Skilled Jockey, there's no silhouette so there's no point to Tricky Target, and theres no agility score in X-Wing and thus no point to Dead to Rights. You might be able to salvage Master Pilot, letting someone shoot during the maneuver phase, but that's about it.

The Technician->Mechanic, someone who should also be as busy in a fight as the pilot, doesn't lose out on as much - but Fine Tuning and Hold Together are pretty pointless.

And what about the crew that upgrades their ship in ways beyond what X-Wing covers? They just sunk all this time and effort into putting together a bitchin' ride that doesn't conform to the miniatures game.

So yeah, it's still a terrible idea.

Perhaps a different RPG then?

One where characters kickass on planets but aren't required to be ship crews. That leaves Age of Rebellion and Force & Destiny.

You do realize that Edge does not necessarily mean that it's a vehicle combat heavy game. Use it as a tool to get them from A to B, to shlep cargo if that's your thing, but it's not the end all and be all of Star Wars. Colonists homesteading on the fringe probably wont have lots of fighter combat. A bounty hunter game probably wont either. Even a smuggler game doesn't necessarily need starship combat.

(Or, and here's a crazy thought, use the abstract and cinematic rules as written? Are they perfect - no, but then none of the Star Wars engines have done vehicle combat perfectly. But they they work well enough to get the job done. If you really need miniatures, get some cheap WotC ships from their game, and use them as "This TIE is behind you, this TIE is coming in to cut you off. Oh, lets say he's short and he's medium range").