How does 'The Force Awakens' affect your FFG game?

By MTaylor, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

I'm not making value judgements or trying to argue how good it was (personally I thought it was okay but nothing great... that's just one person's opinion and everyone will have their own).

What I'm far more interested in is the game, and how other people run it.

We have a bit of new material to work with in the new film, and obviously a new 'canon'. So - whether you loved it or didn't - how will the new stuff affect your actual game-play? If at all.

- it won't affect anything; we play in the original time-period or some other era like Clone Wars or Old Republic or Legacy Era

- we're invested in the EU version and we won't use this canon - we'd sooner keep Mara Jade and Thrawn and the Solo kids

- we want to play in the Force Awakens era having seen the film, or incorporate elements of the new canon into our games

- affects us little; we might use a few things but mostly we don't affect canon anyway

- we don't use canon at all, we play in another setting or we use our own canon

I'm honestly interested in how people will or won't use this material in their games.

(And talking about the game bypasses the endless circular arguments about whether someone liked the new film or not)

Edited by MTaylor

Currently, I'm running a game set in the Legacy era, which is pretty Dependant on NJO material. So until I wrap that up, nothing will change. After that, I might gage interest to see if anyone wants to explore the TFA era.

It doesn't really affect our game. The only EU stuff I've included has been Thrawn and the Black Sun, though I do plan to introduce Mara Jade. So far, the existence of those characters is not contradicted by the new material. If we ever get far enough along in the timeline (right now we are still between ANH and ESB) to where the actions of those characters may come into conflict with canon, I'll make a decision then. Chances are that their storylines will be altered to let them exist with their EU personalities but without being too disruptive to the new canon.

I mostly use Legacy and have my campaign set in OT-era, so it's not likely to effect my game, but if they ever release a Force Awakens sourcebook I would use some of the non-era specific stuff from it.

The movie splits Luke (from the OT) into three different characters, one each from the three games: Finn (ex-stormtrooper turned scoundrel; Edge of the Empire), Poe (smug Alliance/Resistance pilot; Age of Rebellion), and Rey (mysterious Force sensitive; Force and Destiny). So pretty much any game could use elements from the movie. The only problem is that I don't think they've revealed enough of the complete story yet, so we really don't know where the characters are going.

eh, i plan on setting most of my games in eras outside the movies, as I just want to avoid running into cannon stuff. I make nods to this and that, locations and what not, but I like to play between episodes 3 and 4, which I think is something like a 20-30 year gap. I think the show Star Wars Rebels will effect my game more, as I have seen how ISB acts during the time period I like to GM in

My games are all set just after the destruction of the first death star. No problems with the new material in that respect.

Canon changes aside, the new movie really doesn't change the universe all that much. The Empire is still pretty imperial, the New Republic seems more or less the same, we still have rebels doing rebellion, and there's no Jedi. Not exactly sweeping Vong invasions or a massive return of the sith.

So while my game is set in the KotOR days and the new movie have no bearing on what we do, even if we were modern era, I don't see much changing with what we play.

It doesn't.

Two changes have come to mind.

First, lightsabers should use the Melee skill. I don't think you can even argue this point anymore. And the hyperspace travel times in the book are significantly too long. Read hours as minutes, days as hours, and weeks as days.

Plus, all the stuff about hyperspace and "gravity wells" doesn't apply anymore. But, this was true since the Clone Wars cartoon so that's a change I've already made. The difficulty of Astrogation checks should include some of these stunts, such as jumping right onto the planet's surface or from a spacedock.

Currently it doesn't affect the campiagn; currently we are set just before a empire strikes back as a irregular commando unit but after the war ends; there is great potential for hitting up that era.

Hmmm, lightsaber using melee skill is one idea I hadn't considered but makes complete sense. I mean, the lightsaber talents mean that raw training is substituted by a key stat, so why train in a lightsaber skill if takng a talent already allows you to wave it in fancy ways? I thought that what skill ranks (reflecting personal training in that niche) were meant to be for (to reflect a style of combat, as opposed to using it in an impromptu manner). So moving it to melee would make a lot of sense, since the raw attribute makes up one end of the spectrum while melee skill allows that to be tapered with wisdom.

Edited by Lordbiscuit

Two things regarding the force:

Stopping a blaster bolt midair is doable now, but how? A heavily upgraded move power? I'm hesitant to put it under protect since we saw Vader doing that in Empire.

And Reys interrogation; this could either be a very successful sense roll, requiring at least one control upgrade, or simply committing force dice on a coercion check

Details aside, I would really like to run a game in the new "setting"/era. But I'm too lazy to come up with all the data by myself and anyway there is still too little info about the things that matter for RPG players. So I guess a new sourcebook will be published only after E9...

I mentioned this in another thread, but Stormtroopers blowing up an X-wing with blasters legitimizes the 5:1 personal:vehicle damage conversion house-rule.

Other than that, my game is currently set a few years before the Death Star, so no worries there.

Stopping a blaster bolt midair is doable now, but how? A heavily upgraded move power? I'm hesitant to put it under protect since we saw Vader doing that in Empire.

Mechanically, this could easily be a clever description of Reflect or Protect.I personally would lean towards Protect. If you activate they mastery upgrade, you could describe it as narratively returning the blaster bolt fired back upon the attacker.

Currently playing during the GCW, so the events don't really factor in, but I'd use species, planets, anything that is said to have existed during the time period I play in, and maybe Maz Kanata.

Mechanically, this could easily be a clever description of Reflect or Protect.I personally would lean towards Protect. If you activate they mastery upgrade, you could describe it as narratively returning the blaster bolt fired back upon the attacker.

This is how I see it. Whether the jedi dodges the blaster bolt, block it with his lightsaber, deflects it with his armored robot-hand, or freezes it in the air, they are all the same mechanical effect: turning a hit into a miss. The difference is just how you narrate it.

Mechanically, this could easily be a clever description of Reflect or Protect.I personally would lean towards Protect. If you activate they mastery upgrade, you could describe it as narratively returning the blaster bolt fired back upon the attacker.

This is how I see it. Whether the jedi dodges the blaster bolt, block it with his lightsaber, deflects it with his armored robot-hand, or freezes it in the air, they are all the same mechanical effect: turning a hit into a miss. The difference is just how you narrate it.

Never underestimate the POWER of flavor text.

The only question I've received from any of my players so far is "So, what's the Astrogate difficulty for jumping *through* a planetary shield?"

My answer, of course, was "I'm too sober to answer that question. Try again later."

Two things regarding the force:

Stopping a blaster bolt midair is doable now, but how? A heavily upgraded move power? I'm hesitant to put it under protect since we saw Vader doing that in Empire.

And Reys interrogation; this could either be a very successful sense roll, requiring at least one control upgrade, or simply committing force dice on a coercion check

Kylo Ren used Bind at multiple instances in the film. Stopping the blaster bolt in the air, is an application of the Bind Power.

It doesn't really affect our game. The only EU stuff I've included has been Thrawn and the Black Sun, though I do plan to introduce Mara Jade. So far, the existence of those characters is not contradicted by the new material. If we ever get far enough along in the timeline (right now we are still between ANH and ESB) to where the actions of those characters may come into conflict with canon, I'll make a decision then. Chances are that their storylines will be altered to let them exist with their EU personalities but without being too disruptive to the new canon.

Sabine's friend in a recent episode of Rebels said she was working for the Black Sun, and isn't Rebels canon?

Also, wasn't Shadows of the Empire canon by George Lucas's approval? Prince Xizor and the Black Sun were in that. I know the Force Unleashed games were semi canonical. Maybe I'm confusing the two or they're both canon at the time or whatever.

It doesn't really affect our game. The only EU stuff I've included has been Thrawn and the Black Sun, though I do plan to introduce Mara Jade. So far, the existence of those characters is not contradicted by the new material. If we ever get far enough along in the timeline (right now we are still between ANH and ESB) to where the actions of those characters may come into conflict with canon, I'll make a decision then. Chances are that their storylines will be altered to let them exist with their EU personalities but without being too disruptive to the new canon.

Sabine's friend in a recent episode of Rebels said she was working for the Black Sun, and isn't Rebels canon?

Also, wasn't Shadows of the Empire canon by George Lucas's approval? Prince Xizor and the Black Sun were in that. I know the Force Unleashed games were semi canonical. Maybe I'm confusing the two or they're both canon at the time or whatever.

I don't know if George considered SotE canon but Disney doesn't.

I'd also say either Kylo rolled a triumph or Poe rolled a Despair along with threat and enough for 1 success... maybe!

Either way time to change your underwear if an NPC pulls THAT stunt as well as paralyse your character at the same time!

Edited by copperbell

Personally, the only thing I'd be inclined to change - given that I tend to favour the Dark Times/Rebels period for games - is references to Maz Kanata, given that she's run her little watering hole for a thousand years, so she'd be an interesting alternative patron/contact for an Edge of the Empire game.

Can someboday explain the state of the galaxy? Cause I am confused. There is the Republic and the Resistance and the First order...But I don't get how they fit together and how big each is...Andwho are the Knights of Renn? Who is this Snoke guy?