The DM of our table has a fondness for indestructible canonical characters. Weigh in. Should any guy who shows up in the movie be unkillable?

I'll toss gasoline on this fire and suggest that bringing in canon characters demonstrates a total lack of imagination

If you're running a canon game, a good rule of thumb is that if a PC encounters a canon character it should be a special event. I played in a D20 Saga game where the GM dropped in so many canon characters it became a running gag about who we were going to meet next session. At one point, a PC even got locked in the bathroom of the Millennium Falcon .

I love Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead but at the same time Star Wars is so much more ubiquitous in our popular culture that trying the same approach becomes dull.

If you're running a canon game, a good rule of thumb is that if a PC encounters a canon character it should be a special event. I played in a D20 Saga game where the GM dropped in so many canon characters it became a running gag about who we were going to meet next session. At one point, a PC even got locked in the bathroom of the Millennium Falcon .

I love Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead but at the same time Star Wars is so much more ubiquitous in our popular culture that trying the same approach becomes dull.

Tag & Bink Are Dead was a comedy. Comedy is cheap and easy and I don't need dice to laugh with my friends. I want something more meaningful from a game experience.

And here I thought I was just riffing on the Rosencrantz and Gildenstern reference.

The DM of our table has a fondness for indestructible canonical characters. Weigh in. Should any guy who shows up in the movie be unkillable?

I'll toss gasoline on this fire and suggest that bringing in canon characters demonstrates a total lack of imagination

It depends. There are ways (I'm sure) to use canon characters in creative ways, which enhance the game. I have started to design a AU campaign (which I probably never GM), in which Anakin did side with Windu, and they killed Palpatine. Then later Anakin took the robes of emperor and situation is now quite a similar to OT, but bit more hopeless, as Skywalker clan is working for Emperor Skywalker. So, no canon character is actually a canon character, so this is kind of moot example.

Another example which may be better. PCs are ordered as bodyguards of Leia Organa, who have visit dangerous planet for diplomatic mission. If Leia dies, then canonical events won't happen exactly as they happened in movies. (Unless one PC can replace Leia, and hilarity ensues.)

And to OPs question, it depends. If there it is a canon character of a week, then it's IMO boring. Canon characters are like spice in food. Used well it enhances the experience, used too much it spoils the experience. Personally I wouldn't use unkillable character without a very good reason. It very much also depends the context. Starting level PCs search and attack Vader, I don't need stats, I know how it ends, basically he's unkillable in that scenario (I wouldn't design scenario like that, but my PCs might get themselves into that scenario, they are creative madmen sometimes). Vader as AU campaign nemesis is totally different. He'd have stats and would be very killable.

Generally I find killable canon characters more interesting than unkillable. If they die, it will show PCs that the story is not in rails, and anything can happen.

As can be seen between the lines, I'm not huge fan of following the canon to the letter. For me, the canon is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.

I have no idea if I will use canon characters in my campaign. Haven't come across a situation where it would be appropriate yet. If canon characters were to show up in my game though they would totally be killable. Personally, I think you have to accept that no matter how close to canon you try to make your campaign, things will still get away from you as you start to come up with your own ideas. I prefer to create my own canon, sticking close to the source material. If I do include canon NPCs and my players decide to kill them then that will just make the galaxy in which my players inhabit more "unique" as they have to deal with the consequences of major figures from the rebellion/empire not being there to play their part.

I've ended up using canon characters way more than I initially intended in our campaign. Initially I planned a small cameo by Lando (during his smuggling days) in which he would rope the PCs into a heist. After this Lando's presence grew a little more - offering the PCs jobs, and becoming rather friendly with them - this was mainly motivated by the players enjoyment of the initial encounter with him. Eventually he became someone the PCs could turn to in times of trouble. Most recently their relationship with Lando got flipped on its head with the events of Empire Strikes Back. I think in the end this has actually enhanced our game, because when the PCs got trapped in and around Cloud City during this time they had developed a stake in the place and wanted to escape without causing extra trouble for Lando.

I've found that the key is to ensure that whatever encounter they have with canonical characters is memorable. So, to again use Lando as an example, I ensured he always had some sort of crazy scheme he needed the PCs help with (the most memorable of which is probably the time he needed them to perform an opera to help Cloud City secure a contract). This means that whenever Lando shows up now there's a level of excitement, because they don't know what crazy situation they could be dragged into.

All that said, even though I've used main canonical characters a fair bit, I think it's worth avoiding it being every single session - this is still the PCs story, it's just that these main characters may occasionally have a guest role.

Yes, and no. Depends IMO on the situation that you meet him in, and whether the GM wants to stick to the canon timeline or not. I don't mind canonical characters, as long as they are few and far between. I use them in my games like good punctuation; they can provide a memorable encounter, or convey the seriousness of a setting.

If they aren't absolutely necessary to the canon storyline, I may allow the PCs to kill them off if that's the turn the story takes. Major characters like Vader, No. Any regular PC at my table who thinks that he can take on Vader hand-to-hand and walk away will find himself rolling up a new character pronto.

There have been other threads on here about this subject, and from what I recall, it tends to depend on your gaming style.

I know Marcy re-wrote her own canon and if I'm not wrong, she does allow her PCs to kill off canon characters. So I think it really just depends on what kind of game you want to play.

So far canon characters have not really come up a lot in our games as I try to let the PCs be the stars of the show.

Yeah and Boba Fett too...

Clan Skirata had a very brief cameo too

Boba Fett? He's one of those characters that I would be scared to put in my game because I prefer to keep the enigma as part of my in-game canon. Has your party come up against him?

"Clan Skirata" I like that. As for Boba, a few of our table have bounty obligations, and so it is logical to steer cleer of dangerous high profile bounty hunters. Logical, yes. Buuut naturally one of the party has made it his Motivation to bump off Fett. !D

Fortunately for him, however, no sign of Fett yet. But you never know…

Tag & Bink Are Dead was a comedy. Comedy is cheap and easy and I don't need dice to laugh with my friends. I want something more meaningful from a game experience.

Tone it down a little, you know? It's a discussion.

I use the babylon 5 Model. Every main character has a trapdoor, and can be replaced by another with inventive Writing. The only problem would be the viewers/pcs emotional attachment to said character.

if you are not prepared to have them killed, you shouldn't allow the players to interact with them.

I threw two "canon" characters at my in person group. Same encounter. They've got a now long standing bounty on their heads, but they don't know of got increased recently until a man buys them a round of drinks and explains how in danger they are. A tall, frightening, thin robot is after them. Along with a man clad in light Mandalorian armor with a jet pack.

So, immediately they start freaking out at the table. Scrambling for information in game about who these two are, but out of game knowing fully it's IG-88 and Fett. They flee, but get caught outside their ship. The attack begins.

The robot falls first, and no one says anything. Then then use explosives to blow up the body. "He won't kill off a character from the movies," one claims. "It's a robot, it can be rebuilt." "True. But what about Fett?" "I don't know! This is an alternate timeline!" "We should run!" "WE. CAN'T. RUN. HOLY HELL WE NEED A PLAN!"

Loved the panic. Eventually the team defeats the last bounty hunter. Steal his utility belt, and run like hell. Didn't bother to do more than tie him up assuming they can't kill Boba Fett. Checking his belt for anything to help later they find two Imperial bounty licenses. IG-62 and Jodo Kast.

I really don't know if I would allow them to kill movie characters personally. I don't know if I would bother to even let the groups meet.

And here I thought I was just riffing on the Rosencrantz and Gildenstern reference.

Fair enough. I've seen the R&G riff in other media, such as the Babylon 5 episode "A View from the Gallery." It was not a strong piece of television.

And here I thought I was just riffing on the Rosencrantz and Gildenstern reference.

Fair enough. I've seen the R&G riff in other media, such as the Babylon 5 episode "A View from the Gallery." It was not a strong piece of television.

Of course it wasn't. It was Babblin' 5.

(I know the show has fiercely loyal fans, and episodes written by some of my favorite writers, but I just couldn't stand it. They lost me five minutes into the pilot when proudly showing off the "alien guest quarters" with glass walls facing the hallway and putting those - presumed sentient - "alien guests" on display as if they were in a zoo.)

I threw two "canon" characters at my in person group. Same encounter. They've got a now long standing bounty on their heads, but they don't know of got increased recently until a man buys them a round of drinks and explains how in danger they are. A tall, frightening, thin robot is after them. Along with a man clad in light Mandalorian armor with a jet pack.

So, immediately they start freaking out at the table. Scrambling for information in game about who these two are, but out of game knowing fully it's IG-88 and Fett. They flee, but get caught outside their ship. The attack begins.

The robot falls first, and no one says anything. Then then use explosives to blow up the body. "He won't kill off a character from the movies," one claims. "It's a robot, it can be rebuilt." "True. But what about Fett?" "I don't know! This is an alternate timeline!" "We should run!" "WE. CAN'T. RUN. HOLY HELL WE NEED A PLAN!"

Loved the panic. Eventually the team defeats the last bounty hunter. Steal his utility belt, and run like hell. Didn't bother to do more than tie him up assuming they can't kill Boba Fett. Checking his belt for anything to help later they find two Imperial bounty licenses. IG-62 and Jodo Kast.

I really don't know if I would allow them to kill movie characters personally. I don't know if I would bother to even let the groups meet.

Great idea. That shoud help the players to stop assuming things. Maybe you can have their getaway ship captain's name be Han whatever...

Should any guy who shows up in the movie be unkillable?

The answer is simple: what serves the story?

If the players whacking Vader is where I need my story to go, then off with his head. Do I need them alive for some reason? Then you can't touch this. If I have no particular need, then game on and let the chips fall where they may.

That said, they need some kind of justification to do the deed beyond "Hey! That's Boba Fett! Lets get him!"

The answer is simple: what serves the story?

If the players whacking Vader is where I need my story to go, then off with his head. Do I need them alive for some reason? Then you can't touch this. If I have no particular need, then game on and let the chips fall where they may.

That said, they need some kind of justification to do the deed beyond "Hey! That's Boba Fett! Lets get him!"

That's how I felt when running Jewel of Yavin. Thankfully, Lando didn't betray them and seemed quite affable. He didn't do much beyond chatting up the Performer.

Thus far, that's been the case with all the canon characters (or their MarcyVerse expys) who've showed up. (Except Tyber Zann, He's toast.)

Even Thrawn and the Alliance leader PC are more friendly rivals than enemies; two chess players using fleets as their pieces and the galaxy as their board. There's more than a bit of 'Foe Yay!' going on there too...

That makes me like the head of the AIS even less then I already did, and I already didn't like her that much...

Yes, and no. Depends IMO on the situation that you meet him in, and whether the GM wants to stick to the canon timeline or not. I don't mind canonical characters, as long as they are few and far between. I use them in my games like good punctuation; they can provide a memorable encounter, or convey the seriousness of a setting.

If they aren't absolutely necessary to the canon storyline, I may allow the PCs to kill them off if that's the turn the story takes. Major characters like Vader, No. Any regular PC at my table who thinks that he can take on Vader hand-to-hand and walk away will find himself rolling up a new character pronto.

There have been other threads on here about this subject, and from what I recall, it tends to depend on your gaming style.

I know Marcy re-wrote her own canon and if I'm not wrong, she does allow her PCs to kill off canon characters. So I think it really just depends on what kind of game you want to play.

So far canon characters have not really come up a lot in our games as I try to let the PCs be the stars of the show.

Yeah and Boba Fett too...

Clan Skirata had a very brief cameo too

Boba Fett? He's one of those characters that I would be scared to put in my game because I prefer to keep the enigma as part of my in-game canon. Has your party come up against him?

Boba fett lead an elite hit squad (of 5 other 2 spec npcs built using the same rules as PCS + adversary, Bob had somewhere around 6 specs) in an assassination attempt against one of my PCs who was about to be voted in as CEO of czerka. Boba was the only assassin that survived the encounter, thanks in part to one of my PC's (Thad Bane's) infamous uncle Cad Bane who drove Boba off. It was a Vader vs. Obi-Wan moment where the PCS were dealing with the formidable assassins other than Boba (so it didn't steal their thunder) BTW Boba had armor with the cortosis quality obscenely high soak and defense and adversary 3 and approx 30 wounds, and high strain and resolve, but he still took a pounding before flying off after dropping a thermal detonator.

My characters have actually killed an existing Star Wars character: TD-D9 (though I messed up and this droid was supposed to have already destroyed at this point, due to my alterations to the Star Wars timeline), as well as a canon location .

The way our table handles it is that at the death of a character you can flip a destiny point for them to miraculously survive somehow but be out of the session (Like Darth Maul getting sliced in half and falling into a pit, but surviving to show up again in Rebels). Players can do this, and the DM can also do this. That means you can kill Darth Vader, but the DM just flips a dark side point so that he survives somehow and will be back.

It gives DMs the option to save characters that still have a part in the story to play or are canonical, and also gives players some extra security against cheesy ubercrits.

The way our table handles it is that at the death of a character you can flip a destiny point for them to miraculously survive somehow but be out of the session (Like Darth Maul getting sliced in half and falling into a pit, but surviving to show up again in Rebels). Players can do this, and the DM can also do this. That means you can kill Darth Vader, but the DM just flips a dark side point so that he survives somehow and will be back.

It gives DMs the option to save characters that still have a part in the story to play or are canonical, and also gives players some extra security against cheesy ubercrits.

That feels like a total cop-out. Bringing back Maul was like big flashing red letters on the screen: 'WE'VE COMPLETELY RUN OUT OF NEW IDEAS!!'

Players don't like being rescued by deus ex machine, and they really hate the same happening to their enemies.

If there's no way to change an outcome, there's no stake, and you may as well just watch a movie than play a game.

In all honesty, if players aren't affecting the story, you'd be better off not including canon characters in the first place. FFG have been notably reluctant to do so in comparison to previous SW RPGs.

That feels like a total cop-out. Bringing back Maul was like big flashing red letters on the screen: 'WE'VE COMPLETELY RUN OUT OF NEW IDEAS!!'

To be fair, that decision was out of the hands of the production team. The decision came straight for uncle George, and as any corporate employee knows, you can't say no to the big guy.

Given that, I admit they did a pretty good job with the story as a whole.

Bringing back Maul was like big flashing red letters on the screen: 'WE'VE COMPLETELY RUN OUT OF NEW IDEAS!!'

This may be true.

However, I believe that it is also possible that it was simply a matter of knowing that it's easier to sell people something that they already like than it is to sell them something new. This is also why sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, and reimaginings have become so prolific at the cinema.

However, I believe that it is also possible that it was simply a matter of knowing that it's easier to sell people something that they already like than it is to sell them something new. This is also why sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, and reimaginings have become so prolific at the cinema.

To the utter detriment of creativity, I feel.

It bothered me that Force Awakens gave us new heroes but didn't give them a new story. I know that's the thing for 2016 but I think it's detrimental when everything always stays the same and nothing changes.

When I took on this project, i had extensive chats with both the players and other SW fans about what they would look to change. A common complaint was that - considering the vast potential scope of Star Wars - we kept coming back to the same names, the same plots, the same places, instead of seeing new things. I don't know much about Star Trek and understand they are different animals to a degree, but Star Trek doesn't seem as utterly beholden to its starring dynasty as Star Wars does - the main characters are not the descendants of Kirk or Spock, the space-ship is not the same as the original one, the relationships and dangers change instead of always being 'big evil empire vs plucky rebels'. It feels more dynamic, somehow, from what I've been told.

So I guess that's why I'm a fan of the RPG. Of what the canon has become... not so much. I wonder if, when Rogue One comes out, all the talk will be of a 5-minute Vader cameo and not the new characters?

So back to the topic at hand - in an RPG, the PCs need to be the heroes. If you're not going to let them affect the canon,. then they need their own story, their own theatre of operations that they can affect, their own villains and allies. If they're just bit-parts in someone else's story, you may as well be watching a movie.