I am wondering if anyone else finds the many, many listings of items from the splat books kind of a pain to use in sessions. I also find that the Non-Iconic Special Items in the splat books are sometimes given extra Qualities or Traits for no real great reason.

• Mantellian Shoelace. Rarity 3 cost 30cr. Special: Prepare 1. Gives 1️⃣ to any Coordination Check.

Do you strictly use items from the Core Rulebook and the Splat Books, or do you make up your own items? If so, how do you populate them into the game?

Is it by fiat and matching the characters (have a wookiee in the party so I'm gonna put a Bowcaster in the loot), or do you mainly put the items in the hands of the enemies?

If you have a game where you avoid a loot focus, do you just give them raw credits and let them use the Rarity (shopping) system?

Thanks for any help with this, I'm trying to figure out what the most common experiences are with this aspect of the game.

I often only give my NPCs basic gear from the Cores unless a specific piece of gear really stands out as being appropriate. This has sometimes caused issues as some splat gear really should be essential (every stormtrooper should have two stimpacks and the pouch that allows them to be quickdrawn since it's so cheap and readily available), but I don't usually care that much. I seldom give any NPCs short of Nemeses gear with Attachments and/or Mods just to save myself the trouble of keeping track of them.

I've done a mixture of both, but my emphasis is always on an interactive experience, so players find things in places by virtue of actions they've taken. Caches are the most fun; they can be hidden away and forgotten or looted out fron under whoever owns them, and add a dungeon-delving component that helps us shift gears. Canon stuff hits Star Wars notes, but unique items broaden the world and let me get creative.

As with most content, I tend to scattergun a bit with smaller items and see what players gravitate to, then just roll with it if something excited them.

For example, their first adventure gave then access to caches in which a fixer squirreled away all kinds of things, many of the locations since overtaken and new occupants unaware of the treasures. In a big warehouse run by a subsector gang, there was a small container all the way up a storage row. Inside: an oversized slugthrower engraved with House Ionax heraldry, the severed head of a leering and moustachioed man encased in transparent plastisteel, the dried husk of a dead Borofta spider, clothes fitting a man the corpulent size of the fixer, and I believe another breadcrumb to another cache.

Players forgot about the clothes, found the head funny but not intriguing enough to investigate it even when I tied it into a minor storyline, still cherish the slugthrower, shuddered at the spider, and followed the breadcrumb.

I only make my own items if there's a particular thing that a PC wants which isn't available (and it's something that should reasonably be available in the setting).

The PCs in my game are professional mercenaries, so they get paid for their jobs and can buy whatever they can find and afford; though I will throw in a 'loot drop' on occasion (for example, my little sister really wanted a lightwhip; so I eventually threw an antagonist at her who was armed with one).

10 hours ago, Archlyte said:

1a Do you strictly use items from the Core Rulebook and the Splat Books, or do you make up your own items? 1b If so, how do you populate them into the game?

2 Is it by fiat and matching the characters (have a wookiee in the party so I'm gonna put a Bowcaster in the loot), or do you mainly put the items in the hands of the enemies?

3 If you have a game where you avoid a loot focus, do you just give them raw credits and let them use the Rarity (shopping) system?

1a Mostly use items from the books but I have on rare occasion, thrown in a custom item. 1b Depends on the situation and the item. One instance was an item in a locked chest under water when the party was searching for something plot-centric. There was actually several items in the chest, mostly handled by already written items. Then there was the ancient sword that seems to never want characters to let go of it, to the point that it speaks to them about working together and using it as the tool it is. If they try to release it, they must make a Discipline check to resist its power.

2 Items are around due to plot reasons or because that item was held by an enemy.

3 There's a mix of credits and shopping. The players work for the Jedi so they get some stuff. Other times they acquire things and buy/sell. It's seldom but there are also items they get for plot reasons.

I created a custom Eklot for Ailon Nova Guardsmen my players' PCs encountered. I just took a basic spear and added a toxin from the EotE CRB. It wasn't hard.

My players aren't super loot-driven so they didn't keep one.

I've been known to toss trinkets for one-time boosts but I don't often do as you've described and I'm not sure why. I would be ever careful about providing trinkets that offer consistent bonuses without constraining the scope of the bonus.

My parties haven't been loot-focused with the exception of a technician **** bent on acquiring a pirate fleet, but I've always run Edge games with the "keep 'em hungry" mindset for better or worse - any credits they get are already owed to someone else, and sweet treasures would be hocked to put gas in the ship for one more day. But that's just me.

I do not at all spend time painstakingly combing the splatbooks for perfect loot I'll hit up the index if I get stuck for a specific item (yes it is still maintained but we are a little behind.)

4 hours ago, GroggyGolem said:

1a Mostly use items from the books but I have on rare occasion, thrown in a custom item. 1b Depends on the situation and the item. One instance was an item in a locked chest under water when the party was searching for something plot-centric. There was actually several items in the chest, mostly handled by already written items. Then there was the ancient sword that seems to never want characters to let go of it, to the point that it speaks to them about working together and using it as the tool it is. If they try to release it, they must make a Discipline check to resist its power.

2 Items are around due to plot reasons or because that item was held by an enemy.

3 There's a mix of credits and shopping. The players work for the Jedi so they get some stuff. Other times they acquire things and buy/sell. It's seldom but there are also items they get for plot reasons.

Oooh, Dark Side cursed item. I like it. ?

16 hours ago, Archlyte said:

I am wondering if anyone else finds the many, many listings of items from the splat books kind of a pain to use in sessions. I also find that the Non-Iconic Special Items in the splat books are sometimes given extra Qualities or Traits for no real great reason.

• Mantellian Shoelace. Rarity 3 cost 30cr. Special: Prepare 1. Gives 1️⃣ to any Coordination Check.

Do you strictly use items from the Core Rulebook and the Splat Books, or do you make up your own items? If so, how do you populate them into the game?

Is it by fiat and matching the characters (have a wookiee in the party so I'm gonna put a Bowcaster in the loot), or do you mainly put the items in the hands of the enemies?

If you have a game where you avoid a loot focus, do you just give them raw credits and let them use the Rarity (shopping) system?

Thanks for any help with this, I'm trying to figure out what the most common experiences are with this aspect of the game.

Yes.

One of the things I also did was make the crafting table a modification table instead, so they roll on that to tweak an existin gun/item with the results they add to the item chewing up HPs. That with a couple few fav attachments and they lost interest in page flipping.

3 hours ago, themensch said:

I've been known to toss trinkets for one-time boosts but I don't often do as you've described and I'm not sure why. I would be ever careful about providing trinkets that offer consistent bonuses without constraining the scope of the bonus.

My parties haven't been loot-focused with the exception of a technician **** bent on acquiring a pirate fleet, but I've always run Edge games with the "keep 'em hungry" mindset for better or worse - any credits they get are already owed to someone else, and sweet treasures would be hocked to put gas in the ship for one more day. But that's just me.

I do not at all spend time painstakingly combing the splatbooks for perfect loot I'll hit up the index if I get stuck for a specific item (yes it is still maintained but we are a little behind.)

Oh you (and whoever else works with you) are responsible for that wonderful site? Ma I give you props and thanks you's. I'm creating a loot generator and I used your categories as a basis for what Iam doing. Well done and thank you again for making that online database.

20 hours ago, Archlyte said:

Oh you (and whoever else works with you) are responsible for that wonderful site? Ma I give you props and thanks you's. I'm creating a loot generator and I used your categories as a basis for what Iam doing. Well done and thank you again for making that online database.

I'm just part of a team that's responsible, we are always looking for help!

On 8/30/2018 at 1:43 PM, 2P51 said:

Yes.

One of the things I also did was make the crafting table a modification table instead, so they roll on that to tweak an existin gun/item with the results they add to the item chewing up HPs. That with a couple few fav attachments and they lost interest in page flipping.

Did you make any changes or simply allowed players to roll to modify their gear? If you made changes would you be willing to share?

Nope, no changes. So you roll and say you've got the results to add a rank of Pierce and Accuracy. 1 HP for Pierce and 1 for Accuracy. Leaves you with an HP or 2 on most weapons, which there's maybe 7 or 8 popular attachements? My guys were perfectly content with that, and page flipping vanished.

Plus it felt better. I've never been a fan of weapon crafting, it's to OP I think. Making OOT weapons by all the shenanigans people have posted adding boost die, helper droids, etc. This toned it down right for my table and it felt more realistic, not many garage DIYers can manufacture a gun from stock materials, lots can diassemble a stock gun, polish feed ramps, drop in custom critical parts and tune up a stock weapon. Felt more appropriate.

34 minutes ago, 2P51 said:

Nope, no changes. So you roll and say you've got the results to add a rank of Pierce and Accuracy. 1 HP for Pierce and 1 for Accuracy. Leaves you with an HP or 2 on most weapons, which there's maybe 7 or 8 popular attachements? My guys were perfectly content with that, and page flipping vanished.

Plus it felt better. I've never been a fan of weapon crafting, it's to OP I think. Making OOT weapons by all the shenanigans people have posted adding boost die, helper droids, etc. This toned it down right for my table and it felt more realistic, not many garage DIYers can manufacture a gun from stock materials, lots can diassemble a stock gun, polish feed ramps, drop in custom critical parts and tune up a stock weapon. Felt more appropriate.

So 2P I am working up a generator that puts these qualities on weapons as loot items, is that a bit like what you did? In my generator you roll the basic item type, then roll to see how many qualities or other modifiers it has, then you apply them either by choice or by rolling. I'm in love with the old school idea of rolled loot as I feel like the narrative nature of this game could use a bit more objective external structure (like how the Critical tables are random rather than narrative in nature). Reminds me of both 1st gen P&P RPGs and the random schedule drops of video games.

I think you are right about the weapon crafting, and I'm seeing the light on that now. I can see them assembling one form subcomponents maybe, but the tolerances and strengths of some of these blaster components might be too tricky to do without a lot of machinery. Not to mention possibly having hazardous materials that require special conditions to manipulate safely.

I have a gunslinger in my group, literally handed him a weapon as loot to help his character and he did not like it and tossed it for credits.

so i gave up handing them specific loot. only other loot I give out is breadcrumbs and other plots. also just use some "junk" loot that can be sold for credits.

4 hours ago, kinnison said:

I have a gunslinger in my group, literally handed him a weapon as loot to help his character and he did not like it and tossed it for credits.

so i gave up handing them specific loot. only other loot I give out is breadcrumbs and other plots. also just use some "junk" loot that can be sold for credits.

Yeah that's a good point. Players have different priorities and it's a moving picture. Do you know if he felt like you were catering to him? I have seen that happen before. The player feels like the situation is contrived and just refuses to play along.

On 8/29/2018 at 9:16 PM, Archlyte said:

I am wondering if anyone else finds the many, many listings of items from the splat books kind of a pain to use in sessions. I also find that the Non-Iconic Special Items in the splat books are sometimes given extra Qualities or Traits for no real great reason.

• Mantellian Shoelace. Rarity 3 cost 30cr. Special: Prepare 1. Gives 1️⃣ to any Coordination Check.

Do you strictly use items from the Core Rulebook and the Splat Books, or do you make up your own items? If so, how do you populate them into the game?

Is it by fiat and matching the characters (have a wookiee in the party so I'm gonna put a Bowcaster in the loot), or do you mainly put the items in the hands of the enemies?

If you have a game where you avoid a loot focus, do you just give them raw credits and let them use the Rarity (shopping) system?

Thanks for any help with this, I'm trying to figure out what the most common experiences are with this aspect of the game.

It's going to come down to the composition of the group.

For an EotE game, I could see custom loot being a thing, often taken from a major villain of either the current adventure or even the story arc, but I wouldn't suggest handing out customized gear from defeating a bunch of minions and no-name rivals. Unless the bad guy has a name, I pretty much stick to equipping minions and no-name rivals with gear from the core rulebooks, and never with any attachments, modded or otherwise.

For a F&D campaign, I doubt the need for loot, custom or otherwise, is going to be a recurring thing. I'm running a F&D campaign con-currently with a friend's Mutants & Masterminds campaign, and the credit/loot awards that have been handed out were far and few between, with the three major items being a Lorrdian gemstone for the Guardian, a double-bladed lightsaber with corrupted crystals taken from a defeated Inquisitor (hilt has since been dismantled and the crystals salvaged for two of the other PCs, though only one's been able to cleanse their crystal), and a Jedi holocron salvaged from a derelict Jedi Civil War vessel. Since day to day finances aren't a major element of the campaign, I largely handwave it by saying the PCs earn enough credits to cover their basic expenses by running small-time quasi-legal shipping jobs for a recurring droid crime boss NPC named Switch (shamelessly stolen from the first module of WotC's Dawn of Defiance campaign).

For an AoR campaign, I could see it being a mix. The Alliance is often desperate for resources of every type, so the PCs might be doing a bit more looting (or "hostile resource requisition" as a player in one group I was in called it) simply because they need the supplies, more so if it's stuff they can hand off to Alliance quartermasters in the hopes of scoring some extra Duty points.

Then again, swiping loot from one's defeated foes isn't something you see in Star Wars; Han and Luke took the stormtrooper armor for a disguise and ditched it once the jig was up, and Rey only swiped the dropped blaster rifle from her guard because she needed some kind of weapon, and Finn likewise scooped up a fallen stormtrooper's rifle because he was garbage at using a lightsaber and much better with a rifle. For a lot of groups, stopping to roll the bodies the way many older RPGs tend to operate (D&D and it's clones are a prime example) is something that clashes with the general feel of Star Wars, given that we don't see the heroes pause to roll the bodies for loose change.

Truth be told, I'd say talk with your players during a session zero before the campaign starts, and see what their expectations and interests are with regards to loot, custom or not. If nothing else, it'll help you manage expectations about what the players would like to see and what you're comfortable with handing out. After all, if you give sweet custom gear to an NPC that the players are at some point going to fight, then as a GM you'd best be prepared for that gear to wind up in the players' hands.

I agree that FaD should probably not be loot driven, and hopefully has some transcendent themes.

For AoR I really don't like to get into the money thing except when it comes to bribing or having to supply a mission.

I really tried to hang on to that "Movie feel only" thing for a long time, but it has not been something that has seemed to be in the hearts of the real life Role-Playing Game players I've come across. FFG could have made the game purely narrative where items are concerned and just have "Blaster Pistol" be the end of it. But they made that Rarity and Mod system and linked it into Talents.

In play the players spend a lot of time in the setting, and even though I try my level best to stay away from mundane details and everyday routine life, it gets exhausting to have that movie pace; and the lack of detail eventually starts to feel pedestrian rather than being a protection for the mystique.

I fought the good fight, but in the end Loot, Progression, and Builds have won. Time spent in close proximity to the setting erodes the awe of it.

I also feel like the game is built for the players to have crazy ****. They didn't put an XP cap in the game and the emphasis on builds (without training as a consideration) means they weren't concerned about forecasting a character's future wholly based on mechanics. That sets up an expectation in people who want to play the game after dropping some money on the big beautiful book. If they dropped extra money on splat books they want that money to pay off as well. They know perhaps that they shouldn't loot fallen stormtroopers, but when they face a few hardships based on empty wallets (keeping them hungry) that discipline seems to start to vaporize quickly.

Thanks for the input DM