How does the passage of time work in this game? I am a GM and want to figure out how to make time work to enrich the story, but I figured this is useful for players too.

The Reason I ask is because it is very hard to keep track of a specific time in the day in-game, so when it says make this take longer, then what are you supposed to do? For example the Mask of the pirate queen. The PCs don't really have a time limit when trying to hack the SororiNet. So why even make it include the passage of time as a result of failing?

I don't have MPQ in front of me, but it's probably there in case you decide to include a clock of some kind. As a general rule I find the published modules great for ideas, but skimpy on the details. This is a good thing IMHO, because it lets you tailor the module more easily to your own campaign. If you have other plot threads going on, like Obligation triggers or other past events that might catch up with the players, you can then weave them into the story and then maybe the time for hacking SororiNet becomes important. Maybe there are competitors for the job, and they might get ahead. If there is no time limit, there's almost no point in rolling.

Otherwise there is no set interval of time in the game...other than a combat round which, according to the rules, is "about a minute". Some skills have a time associated with them, e.g.: Mechanics to fix Hull Points is about an hour per HP +/- successes. Others you just have to tailor to the needs of the moment.

It may seem like a non answer, but to make it work you have to make it matter. You've gotta create the time frames for things unfolding and deadlines for it to matter.

To echo 2P51, deadlines - real or imagined - are what will really ratchet up the tension in a session. I'm fond of using (across many different systems) a defunct analog clock as a sort of "Doomsday clock" to keep game sessions moving.

• Advancing the clock one hour (closer to "midnight") lets the party know that time is running out
• Switching from one-hour increments to smaller divisions in the last "hour" can allow you some time to draw things out
• It's often both useful and entertaining to use the clock even when the party doesn't know what the consequences are. I've seen players almost frantic as they and their PCs race the clock. They don't know what's going to happen, but the appearance of the clock lets them know it's significant
• It also serves as a good way to keep things on track when or if your party gets bogged down in side-table discussions or too far in the weeds on a minor detail. Advancing the clock reminds them that there are more important things to focus on

The hours on the clock can simulate days in-game, represent any arbitrary unit of time you like, or even none at all. Merely the presence of a physical reminder that time is running out will serve to drive home the importance of time in your game session or encounter. If you don't have a clock to hand, there are any number of ways to mimic the same effect; I'm sure you'll come up with something.

As whafrog and 2P51 mentioned, it's important for the passage of time to have real consequences for the party. As I mentioned, the players (and their characters) don't need to know ahead of time what those consequences are, but don't artificially dial up the tension without a climax.

I remember doing that hack! We thought the time mattered. Maybe the gm was checking off the passing minutes. It added drama to the roll where, I suppose I now know, there wasn't any. At least there wasn't any detailed by the adventure. I'm sure my evil, twisted GM would have made it matter if we got to lollygagging!

I guess the IMPRESSION of a time limit is enough. That Zann woman told us that time was of the essence. We took her seriously. That made it dramatic.

another thing to do to make time matter is to not give the players enough to do everything. They can free the hostages or prevent the bombs from going off. they can't do both...

so maybe make it so the place they are connecting to the Holo-net is on a time table, and they only have so long to get the info and bug out?

another thing to do to make time matter is to not give the players enough to do everything. They can free the hostages or prevent the bombs from going off. they can't do both...

A slight add onto this; give the players so much to do that splitting up will allow them to tackle the task efficiently! This isn't dnd where theres a mentality that the party sticks together all the time, because in star wars the party is almost never entirely together, use that to drive the party to explore their lesser used skills. After all the party face can't be everywhere all the time and it forces the characters to learn a little bit more around what they usually do. Our party only really has a couple true faces (alt characters) but most of the party is broadly skilled in at least one type of lingo (Corc, Deception or Presence.), enough so that usually social checks don't hit the party quite as hard.

Star wars is very much about pacing. At some times time should matter exceptionally and at other times it should not matter at all. Try and imagine how it would look on the screen use fade aways in your game. Gloss over things that don't matter. For example.

You are traveling for a week in hyperspace to reach the core worlds. Its okay to just have everyone roll for their research, crafting, programming a robot, or installing a new bacta tank. Spend a few moments on it. But in socially important situationsyou can break the time down by giving time hints. You spend half an hour during dinner trying to convince the senator's aid to let you build a wharehouse in his district. Several glasses of wine and several hours later the bounty hunter agrees to pay you the 1.5 x price for the blaster you upgraded for him. It really keeps you in character, but don't fast forward time without finding out what all your players want to do first.

It may seem like a non answer, but to make it work you have to make it matter. You've gotta create the time frames for things unfolding and deadlines for it to matter.

Yeah, I'm not sure where the question lies here. I mean we all have experience with time travel (Linear, very slow and simultaneous time travel), so it should be pretty easy to include in the game.

GM: "Okay, so the El Planeta Asesino is three hours out from The Rebel Base. You've got to disable the Wave Motion Laser, rescue the hostages, turn off the tractor beams and secure a shuttle off."

Player 1: "I'll deal with Laser"

GM: "That's the most complicated task on the to-do list. We'll call it 2.5 hours, depending on how good your mechanics roll is"

Player 2: "I'll get the tractor beams"

GM: "That's pretty easy - oh, call it just a few minuets of level flipping, plus the time to get there."

Player 2: "Fine, I'll secure the shuttle too"

GM: "That leaves the hostages. You'll need to secure uniforms, find out where their cell block is, get in there, deal with the guards and get to the shuttle. That'll take most of the time left"

And then, you spring all sorts of traps, bad guys, bad guy reinforcements, El Darth Diablo waiting at the shuttle and assorted complications while constantly reminding the players that the clock is ticking. You really just have to improvise, depending on how good the rolls are coming up, and more importantly how into the deadline your players are. If it's a dead audience, wrap that S up fast. If they're excited, stretch things out!

TL;DNR - there is nothing we can tell you. It's all situational and it's something only experience as the GM can teach you.

another thing to do to make time matter is to not give the players enough to do everything. They can free the hostages or prevent the bombs from going off. they can't do both...

A slight add onto this; give the players so much to do that splitting up will allow them to tackle the task efficiently! This isn't dnd where theres a mentality that the party sticks together all the time, because in star wars the party is almost never entirely together, use that to drive the party to explore their lesser used skills. After all the party face can't be everywhere all the time and it forces the characters to learn a little bit more around what they usually do. Our party only really has a couple true faces (alt characters) but most of the party is broadly skilled in at least one type of lingo (Corc, Deception or Presence.), enough so that usually social checks don't hit the party quite as hard.

And splitting up will still not allow them to do everything...And have the things they let fail have real consequences. Like in Battlestar Galactica when they left the one ship behind and it was taken out by cylons.

so maybe make it so the place they are connecting to the Holo-net is on a time table, and they only have so long to get the info and bug out?

Yes, basically. You have to put the limitations in place and decide how long things take. That's when the "X takes half as long" Talents start to shine, but it requires effort on the GMs part. Give them a task with no real direction on how to, then say every X minute of planning/debating at the table is X * whatever mins in game time. Create the pressure.

Another good use of time ties into fear of a nemesis.

The players had rebel allies tracking an inquistor's ship ever since it entered the system and was heading for the planet. I would have their allies give them updates the closer he got to the planet and when he was landing on their planet to when he destroys their allies base and the communications cut out making them realize they had little time left before he would come for them.

Meanwhile the players were rescuing a few captured rebel scientists from an imperal detention facility. The players pushed to go faster and faster because they wanted to avoid an encounter with the nemesis. In the end they escaped the facility and everything seemed incredibly quiet and easy. They made their way back to their ship, which the inquistor had tracked down and they freaked out when they came face to face with the inquisitor and 6 of his elite guards just as they were ready to leave.

They made their way back to their ship, which the inquistor had tracked down and they freaked out when they came face to face with the inquisitor and 6 of his elite guards just as they were ready to leave.

Really want to freak them out? Have him wait to make his appearance until after they have left the planet and they’re in Hyperspace and they think they’ve escaped.

Then he and his henchmen come out of the cargo hold.

Really want to freak them out? Have him wait to make his appearance until after they have left the planet and they’re in Hyperspace and they think they’ve escaped.

Then he and his henchmen come out of the cargo hold.

Oh crap. I dont know what the set up for this will be, or how I will get there - or even when I will be able to drop this thermonuclar bomb on my players - but I am so f'ing stealing this!

I am liking your post, and then un-liking it just so I can like it again!

Oh crap. I dont know what the set up for this will be, or how I will get there - or even when I will be able to drop this thermonuclar bomb on my players - but I am so f'ing stealing this!

I am liking your post, and then un-liking it just so I can like it again!

Yeah. Imagine the look on the faces of Han, Chewie, Luke, and Leia, if they had all been in the cockpit in ANH after leaving the Death Star and making the jump to hyperspace, only to have Darth Vader show up right behind them.

It would have been a pretty short movie. ;)