We need Emperor Palpatine

By gylvan2002, in Star Wars: Imperial Assault

FFG has shown it doesn't understand Star Wars or doesn't care

Yeah FFG have really dropped the ball so far with X-Wing, Imperial Assault, Armada, The LCG, Edge of Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny, Rebellion.

They've all been flops. Only people that don't understand the sanctity of star wars can enjoy them.

To get back to the needing an emperor question here is my opinion

do i want to see him? hmmm not sure.

would i object to him? absolutely not.

would i want him to be a combat monster, defiantly not.

so what do i think he should do?

have white defence, not because he is agile but because he is whiley and can use the force to bat stuff out the way

be a support character like the elite officer but better (perhaps allowed to order/control an enemy who has less than 3HP left) and much more expensive of course

have the ability to hand out stun/weaken tokens without attacking

his attack would be a mediocre force lightning (so blast 1?)

his named card could be 'unlimited power' whereby his force lightening would be blast 3 and allow small bases to be pushed 3 spaces?

as for points cost, ill leave that up to the FFG experts

That sounds pretty accurate. I couldn't design him because i couldn't be impartial. But i would expect his force lightining to work like the command card version. Since it is his picture on it. Maybe as a two arrow ability?

FFG has shown it doesn't understand Star Wars or doesn't care

Yeah FFG have really dropped the ball so far with X-Wing, Imperial Assault, Armada, The LCG, Edge of Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny, Rebellion.

They've all been flops. Only people that don't understand the sanctity of star wars can enjoy them.

What can I say? FFG knows a cash cow when it sees one.

FFG has shown it doesn't understand Star Wars or doesn't care

Yeah FFG have really dropped the ball so far with X-Wing, Imperial Assault, Armada, The LCG, Edge of Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny, Rebellion.

They've all been flops. Only people that don't understand the sanctity of star wars can enjoy them.

What can I say? FFG knows a cash cow when it sees one.

So you honestly believe FFG make bad Star Wars games?

Don't talk to him it just encourages him. I've already reported him. I will block him as soon as i figure out how. Just let him have his little tantrum lonely and alone, just like i am sure he is in reality. He seems like a wretched human being who has no life and just lives to rain on others good time. If FFG is fine with him trashing them on their forums there is nothing to be done but ignore him.

FFG has shown it doesn't understand Star Wars or doesn't care

Yeah FFG have really dropped the ball so far with X-Wing, Imperial Assault, Armada, The LCG, Edge of Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny, Rebellion.

They've all been flops. Only people that don't understand the sanctity of star wars can enjoy them.

What can I say? FFG knows a cash cow when it sees one.

So you honestly believe FFG make bad Star Wars games?

No, just bad decisions like Tusken Raiders and Wampas fighting alongside Imperials. Also Royal Guards costing so little threat and being so common (they are supposed to be the best of the best.)

Don't talk to him it just encourages him. I've already reported him. I will block him as soon as i figure out how. Just let him have his little tantrum lonely and alone, just like i am sure he is in reality. He seems like a wretched human being who has no life and just lives to rain on others good time. If FFG is fine with him trashing them on their forums there is nothing to be done but ignore him.

All because I disagree with you? Real mature. You're the one resorting to 'name calling' The only troll here is you, buddy.

Edited by patrickmahan

Don't talk to him it just encourages him. I've already reported him. I will block him as soon as i figure out how. Just let him have his little tantrum lonely and alone, just like i am sure he is in reality. He seems like a wretched human being who has no life and just lives to rain on others good time. If FFG is fine with him trashing them on their forums there is nothing to be done but ignore him.

All because I disagree with you? Real mature. You're the one resorting to 'name calling' The only troll here is you, buddy.

Yeah to be fair - as much as I disagree with Patrick - this is a bit overboard gylvan!

And patrick I understand you're a bit annoyed with mismatched flavor - but the game>flavor in most cases. And I think there's plenty of evidence of FFG getting their SW games right about 95%+ of the time.

Don't talk to him it just encourages him. I've already reported him. I will block him as soon as i figure out how. Just let him have his little tantrum lonely and alone, just like i am sure he is in reality. He seems like a wretched human being who has no life and just lives to rain on others good time. If FFG is fine with him trashing them on their forums there is nothing to be done but ignore him.

All because I disagree with you? Real mature. You're the one resorting to 'name calling' The only troll here is you, buddy.

Yeah to be fair - as much as I disagree with Patrick - this is a bit overboard gylvan!

And patrick I understand you're a bit annoyed with mismatched flavor - but the game>flavor in most cases. And I think there's plenty of evidence of FFG getting their SW games right about 95%+ of the time.

Well when someone trolls for almost a year now people tend to have this opinion.

I love all of the FFG SW games that i have played so far (all but the LCG). I think they stay pretty close to the cannon most of the time, but you are right that the game has take precedence over the flavor. If you want all flavor just watch the movies. i can't wait for Rebellion.

Don't talk to him it just encourages him. I've already reported him. I will block him as soon as i figure out how. Just let him have his little tantrum lonely and alone, just like i am sure he is in reality. He seems like a wretched human being who has no life and just lives to rain on others good time. If FFG is fine with him trashing them on their forums there is nothing to be done but ignore him.

All because I disagree with you? Real mature. You're the one resorting to 'name calling' The only troll here is you, buddy.

Yeah to be fair - as much as I disagree with Patrick - this is a bit overboard gylvan!

And patrick I understand you're a bit annoyed with mismatched flavor - but the game>flavor in most cases. And I think there's plenty of evidence of FFG getting their SW games right about 95%+ of the time.

Well when someone trolls for almost a year now people tend to have this opinion.

So just because I am in the (seemingly) minority and disagree with the (seemingly) majority makes me a troll huh? Well... I suppose that is how most societies DO work. Just silence the minority.

I have a friend who won't be happy with the skirmish game until he can field all ewoks. Right now all wookies, but i forsee him running Wampa's and Bantha riders too.

To me when you are playing a heavily thematic game like this, the juxtaposition of the game vs the theme usually works best when the individual groups of gamers has similar views and can set up the game to match. It also helps if people aren't too nazi about the cannon. If i get too stuck on the cannon i can miss some of the fun. In Star Wars Miniatures we had some epic battles where i played the emperor and fried dozens of ewoks before they brought him down. Its all in good fun.

My group has played through 3 campaigns and is now getting into skirmish tournaments. They all seem very themeatic if you can suspend disbelief and get into the story. But the more stuff that is released the more themeatic you can stick to. If you wish. I like to do both. Sometimes its fun to stick to the theme and "reenact" some iconic scenes and storylines. And sometimes the emperor has got to fry a couple dozen ewoks.

Edited by gylvan2002

I also now know how to block people if anyone wants to know. Its great! All the trolling is gone except for the little bit i let myself get sucked into.

The whole flavor vs mechanics debate is long-standing in game design. Ultimately the game design has to take precedence. Also where do you draw the line anyhow?

Flavor wise, people like Vader and Palpatine should be pretty untouchable to most other units. But that wouldn't make a good game would it? And it'd certainly kill the competitive skirmish game.

Can we justify with flavor 'Luke - Hero of the Rebellion' being able to fight with Vader? He can even deal damage to him, and can certainly kill him during games.

But we know, flavor-wise, that this early version of Luke didn't confront Vader. And that even the ESB Luke didn't compete with him.

We know that in terms of flavor, stormtroopers shouldn't be able to do anything meaningful.

Here is an example of a final campaign mission I thought would meet Emperor Palpatine's level of difficulty.

Rebel Informants have gotten whiff of a heavily guarded convoy transporting the supreme leader of the Empire, Emperor Palpatine. You and your team are to ambush the convoy and kill the emperor. You have been instructed to be wary, however, as their are rumors that he is a powerful Sith Lord and not to be trifled with.

Initial Groups: Stormtrooper, Officer, Probe Droid

Reserved Groups: E-Web Engineer, Officer, Hired Gun

Open Groups: 4

Special Setup: Each Turn, Emperor Palpatine (Imperial Mission Token) Moves 2 spaces towards the exit. The Mission ends when he reaches the exit (Imperial) or is defeated (Rebel) Palpatine has 20 hp.

After all other Imperial Figures have gone, Emperor Palpatine may alter the battle.

If a rebel hero is three or more spaces away, Palpatine may choose to control his mind. That hero performs an attack on another hero within LOS.

If a hero is 2 or less spaces away, he may use force lighting (Red).

Palpatine always has a heavy guard around him. Once that group has been defeated, a new one takes its place. Heroes cannot attack Emperor Palpatine until his Guard is defeated. It goes as follows:

Initial Guard: Royal Guard Champion

2nd: Royal Guard

3rd: Elite Stormtrooper

Event One: Clouded minds

Test Perception 3.

If you fail, your hero must perform an attack targeting another hero. Then you suffer 3 damage.

Event Two: Haunting Memories

you immediately gain 3 strain and 1 damage.

Victory Text: Empire

The mission is doomed. You and your comrades are falling left and right, and you realize it is hopeless. You sink to the ground, sobbing. In the distance, you hear the Emperor's cackles as you are about to be executed.

The Empire Wins the campaign!

Victory Text: Rebels

You back the Emperor into a corner. His forces are scattered and you are ready to end this. Then, the frail man begins to laugh. An incoming tie fighter crashes near by. You are forced to leap away, and when you look back, The emperor is gone. Though you have dealt a great blow to the Empires elite regiment of troops, the struggle continues.

The Rebels Win the campaign!

Edited by HK47

jonboyjon i agree with you. If you make a game too "realistic" the game suffers, if it is too unrealistic it suffers. The balance is the hard part. I prefer options. If they leave it open, in my opinion then the individual groups can be as flavorful or in cannon as each group wishes.

and member (great name, im suprised that wasn't already taken) that seems like perfect design for an emperor mission.

I'm HK 47, not member!

Thanks for the praise, btw, I've been thinking about a Palpatine Mission ever since this thread popped up.

Weird? You show up as member to me. oh well.

Yeah i could tell you put time into that. Seems pretty good to me, maybe i'll see if my group wants to try it.

Does this game have an adventure/mission builder like Descent? If so you should submit that one.

IA is far more focused on campaign than skirmish, sorry but it is true.

Says who?

You think? I think they have a pretty good balance. My group really enjoys the campaigns, and is only just now getting into skirmish tournaments in the area that are popping up.

Just can't let sleeping dogs lie can we?

Anyways, the evidence is pretty clear. 1. The core set came with many campaign maps and a measly 3 skirmish maps (2 of which were from the bonus vader and luke set) and so far every box expansion has had more campaign missions as opposed to skirmish missions.

2. Villain packs focusing (almost) solely on unique figures. Instead of being able to buy a pack of trandoshans or royal guards (like a normal miniatures game would let you) you have to buy a whole new core set and get all that extra baggage.

3. The tokens not legal in skirmish tournaments. If this game were focused on skirmish, you wouldn't have to buy a separate villain pack just to use Han Solo and etc. in a tournament.

First, I would love to see an Emperor Palpatine! In campaign mode and also in skirmish mode. Star Wars is not really about the troopers...it's primarily about the heroes. That's why Mark and Harrison and Carrie are back in the new Episode VII. It's the heroes (and the villains too, for the same reason) that make SW great. So people naturally want to see them in the game. We already have Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia (soon), Boba, Vader, etc. I can't imagine IA without the heroes. [That's actually one reason why I want to see a nerf to Royal Guards and Officers, but that's another topic.]

Second, I thought I was the only person who had a certain poster blocked...lol. If a certain poster gets blocked by 1 or 2 people, that's not surprising...but by a whole bunch of people? Either they're all hyper-sensitive or that poster is just toxic.

First, I would love to see an Emperor Palpatine! In campaign mode and also in skirmish mode. Star Wars is not really about the troopers...it's primarily about the heroes. That's why Mark and Harrison and Carrie are back in the new Episode VII. It's the heroes (and the villains too, for the same reason) that make SW great. So people naturally want to see them in the game. We already have Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia (soon), Boba, Vader, etc. I can't imagine IA without the heroes. [That's actually one reason why I want to see a nerf to Royal Guards and Officers, but that's another topic.]

There's your misunderstanding. Those aren't the heroes. The heroes are Mak and Fenn and Gideon and the others. The characters you name are optional allies, setting pieces. The *story is about the exploits of *this band of misfits, not the other. How would having unkillable lightning wizards flying around enhance *their story? I can't imagine IA without the rebels, but I can sure imagine it without a movie character hiding under every rock.

First, I would love to see an Emperor Palpatine! In campaign mode and also in skirmish mode. Star Wars is not really about the troopers...it's primarily about the heroes. That's why Mark and Harrison and Carrie are back in the new Episode VII. It's the heroes (and the villains too, for the same reason) that make SW great. So people naturally want to see them in the game. We already have Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia (soon), Boba, Vader, etc. I can't imagine IA without the heroes. [That's actually one reason why I want to see a nerf to Royal Guards and Officers, but that's another topic.]

There's your misunderstanding. Those aren't the heroes. The heroes are Mak and Fenn and Gideon and the others. The characters you name are optional allies, setting pieces. The *story is about the exploits of *this band of misfits, not the other. How would having unkillable lightning wizards flying around enhance *their story? I can't imagine IA without the rebels, but I can sure imagine it without a movie character hiding under every rock.

Finally someone gets it.