How strict is everyone when it comes to enforcing restrictions on the value/rarity of starting gear? I like that players are limited at the beginning, but I've found that RAW (before additional Obligation is taken, at least) is a bit restrictive in the sense that players often can't start with what should be signature items for their character. Recently, I've tended to go more by feel than actually measuring the cost, but I wondered what everyone else was doing with this?

Up until now we played it RAW.

But in my opinion there is nothing wrong with some extra free credits or experience to up the pacing a bit if you wanna kickstart a campaign.

It would basically be a light version of Knight-Level play.

When it comes to restricted items though, I would keep them restricted. By definition it is not an easy feat to come across such an item. At the very least you'd need trusty contacts in the black market.

You could maybe hand out restricted items at the beginning if they're somehow tied into that players obligation though. That could be fun to play around with.

Generally I let them buy anything they can afford with starting creds, unless it's restricted. Then they have to ask.

If they choose to just go for the 500 standard starting cred, that's fine by me, I don't hand out freebies because they go for extra XP at character creation. If they want gear, they need to pick one of the two cash options.

I give em a basic pistol or rifle. A basic whatever they do for tools. Then the 500 credits. If I don't start them in jail.

If I don't start them in jail.

I give out some extra kit (stun only blasters, heavy clothing, toolkit, medkit) before people buy their 500 creds of starting gear if only to limit the first 2 session corpse looting.

Although I've seen some mighty ingenious starting gear before then.

I stick to RAW and "strongly suggest" selecting a +10xp Duty/Morality/Obligation choice to be used on stat points rather than more money up front. Generally, the first group of minions they encounter are going to have enough weapons to outfit the group, so there's very little reason to start with more money over XP.

Based on the way the Morality rules are set up, I run with the idea that the game assumes everyone will be adding Obligation/Trading in Duty for XP/credits. If you can keep within the 500 credit budget, your reward is more XP or starting with your line quality in a better place.

I generally don't run with any rarity restrictions for starting gear, but restricted stuff requires approval.

I give em a basic pistol or rifle. A basic whatever they do for tools. Then the 500 credits. If I don't start them in jail.

This seems to be more in line with what I'm thinking.

I give em a basic pistol or rifle. A basic whatever they do for tools. Then the 500 credits. If I don't start them in jail.

This seems to be more in line with what I'm thinking.

I just skip the whole 'lets loot the first people we kill' encounter. I assume folks making their way in Star Wars would likely have the basics, even D&D gives you some basic gear + cash to start.

Our group started a new campaign. We have Soldiers in play, and a jungle island ripe for fortifications. A Herglic leader of a Rebel cell on the island handed PCs a backpack with a Survival Knife and Entrenching tool. "We need you to get to work," he said, and my group got a smart boon tied to their immediate job responsibilities.

When they tired of digging mud, they began digging for rumors to the rest of our plot.

I gave the PCs these tools so we could begin play immediately, with everyone knowing they could be helpful in at least one way until they sought to elevate their chances of success. For me, this investment has paid off...

How strict is everyone when it comes to enforcing restrictions on the value/rarity of starting gear? I like that players are limited at the beginning, but I've found that RAW (before additional Obligation is taken, at least) is a bit restrictive in the sense that players often can't start with what should be signature items for their character. Recently, I've tended to go more by feel than actually measuring the cost, but I wondered what everyone else was doing with this?

Making sure this is actually an issue might save you some worry. As it happened, only one of my three players wanted specific gear at the start.

Keep in mind, too, that obtaining a signature item is a tailor-made adventure opportunity.

For me the biggest thing with starting characters is to keep it balanced. I like to have the character creation done together and let the players figure out how their characters are connected. Then I try and give them items that make sense for the background as bonuses or give them an item as a group. Eg a bacta tank on their ship. I also let players craft stuff and mod for themselves and others before the game making appropriate rolls no auto success. I will automatically let mechanic types start with a droid (minion) companion free and if one player is doing a ship based character they will generally own the ship and have the largest input into what goes on it at the start.

Most of the characters end up with slightly modified blasters pistol/blaster riffle a nifty suit of reinforced clothing and about 3-4 boosts worth of gear.

I usually use starting with restricted gear as a mini role-play session.

PC: Can I have (x item)?

ME: Tell me how you got it.

If the story is good enough, I've been known to let them have it at a discount, if not give it to them outright.

I also let usually let them have a lot of 'everyday' gear & 1 signature item.

If you use Luke as an example he started with a slugthrower rifle, slugthrower pistols are also likewise a good start. If you look at a lot of the examples in the clone wars and rebels , not everyone is using blasters right off the bat.

If you use Luke as an example he started with a slugthrower rifle, slugthrower pistols are also likewise a good start. If you look at a lot of the examples in the clone wars and rebels , not everyone is using blasters right off the bat.

Han Solo instead starts with a heavy blaster pistol, why not use him as an example? And in rebels the only one who doesn't use a blaster right off the bat is Ezra, who is a very young and unskilled character at that time (and Disney was nerbous about giving a teebnager a real blaster....but that's beside the point) why do poeple always bring up the worst equipped charcters to justify a stupid rule that keeps players poor and unable to get the equipment they need and want at the start?

Oh by the way Luke starts armed with a slughthrower rifle and gets a fully tricked out lightsaber after 30 minutes...yes sounds a like a good bargain to me

In short give the players the gear they want or give them the money to buy it without getting utterly broke. 1000 credits sound like a good starting budget if they have to buy it.

Oh by the way Luke starts armed with a slughthrower rifle and gets a fully tricked out lightsaber after 30 minutes...yes sounds a like a good bargain to me

In short give the players the gear they want or give them the money to buy it without getting utterly broke. 1000 credits sound like a good starting budget if they have to buy it.

If you think about it, the campaign really started in the Mos Eisley cantina. The PCs met up in a tavern (as is traditional in RPGs going back to the start). That bit about getting the lightsaber from Obi Wan (the GM's pet NPC) and getting the droids from Jawas and his aunt and uncle being killed by stormtroopers, that was all part of Luke's backstory and motivation.

Thst's a new angle..i never thought about it that way. It does make sense, good thinking!

I'm a newbie and don't know all the terms. What is RAW?

Rules as written.

I'm a newbie and don't know all the terms. What is RAW?

RAW = Rules As Written

RAI = Rules As Intended

RAW is a term you will see frequently on these forums — RAI less so.

Which reminds me — we should probably have an “Acronym Dictionary” thread in this forum.

Everyone has a background, right? It's rare that a person just this day started out being a Bounty Hunter, or a Soldier, or a Doctor... so I'm often a fan of extra something.

For example, I just started a campaign to run through Arda I and Friends Like These; the campaign assumes that the players are either shiny new recruits or newly promoted to their role (if a Commander or something that's, by necessity, trusted). I still gave them +30 XP and +500 credits.

The extra 30 XP is intentionally enough to pick up a second spec from anywhere - something that I feel really fleshes out a character concept, especially in a play-by-post- and the credits gave them 1,000 to start. Now, this didn't invalidate trading in Duty/gaining Obligation for credits; many players did that to really get the set of gear they needed. But it was enough that someone could be a reasonably well-stocked new solider. Seems to be working out well, so far...

If you use Luke as an example he started with a slugthrower rifle, slugthrower pistols are also likewise a good start. If you look at a lot of the examples in the clone wars and rebels , not everyone is using blasters right off the bat.

Han Solo instead starts with a heavy blaster pistol, why not use him as an example? And in rebels the only one who doesn't use a blaster right off the bat is Ezra, who is a very young and unskilled character at that time (and Disney was nerbous about giving a teebnager a real blaster....but that's beside the point) why do poeple always bring up the worst equipped charcters to justify a stupid rule that keeps players poor and unable to get the equipment they need and want at the start?

Oh by the way Luke starts armed with a slughthrower rifle and gets a fully tricked out lightsaber after 30 minutes...yes sounds a like a good bargain to me

In short give the players the gear they want or give them the money to buy it without getting utterly broke. 1000 credits sound like a good starting budget if they have to buy it.

Starting with 3000 credits is possible also, its just a choice. You see lots of people from the poor to the well equipped. Its not a major disadvantage to start with with a slugthrower rifle. 3000 credits is enough to buy some of the best blaster pistols in the game. You dont get the opportunity to start with a +3 or a +4 sword of doom in Dnd do you? In this game dropping that on a blaster buys you, perhaps the 4th or 5th best blaster pistol in the game or can still can get a pretty good rifle.

I like how it forces you to choose though.

If you use Luke as an example he started with a slugthrower rifle, slugthrower pistols are also likewise a good start. If you look at a lot of the examples in the clone wars and rebels , not everyone is using blasters right off the bat.

Han Solo instead starts with a heavy blaster pistol, why not use him as an example? And in rebels the only one who doesn't use a blaster right off the bat is Ezra, who is a very young and unskilled character at that time (and Disney was nerbous about giving a teebnager a real blaster....but that's beside the point) why do poeple always bring up the worst equipped charcters to justify a stupid rule that keeps players poor and unable to get the equipment they need and want at the start?

Oh by the way Luke starts armed with a slughthrower rifle and gets a fully tricked out lightsaber after 30 minutes...yes sounds a like a good bargain to me

In short give the players the gear they want or give them the money to buy it without getting utterly broke. 1000 credits sound like a good starting budget if they have to buy it.

Starting with 3000 credits is possible also, its just a choice. You see lots of people from the poor to the well equipped. Its not a major disadvantage to start with with a slugthrower rifle. 3000 credits is enough to buy some of the best blaster pistols in the game. You dont get the opportunity to start with a +3 or a +4 sword of doom in Dnd do you? In this game dropping that on a blaster buys you, perhaps the 4th or 5th best blaster pistol in the game or can still can get a pretty good rifle.

I like how it forces you to choose though.

Sure. This is why I don't just like dumping money on the players. But let's say they're a Gadgeteer, and the primary mechanic of the party (which, as a player, I have been). The whole concept of the character is built around someone who fights a lot and modifies their gear - surely they would have a tool kit as well as a pistol?

For new groups who have never played together and who have nit played FFG SW before, I start with RAW and then do some variation of the "Elder Scolls in Space" jail-thing, followed by loot. I balance out the "slowing" effect this can have on the start of the campaign by giving them some exciting loot options at the end of the first session...but not a lot of credits, which they must make on their own. I guess it's all meant to be instructive, though I'm not sure if it is truly effective.

For groups who have played before and know the system, I'll skip the bonding experience that being impoverished provides and go straight to basic gear and weapons.