There are lots of ways to run a Star Wars game, and the three lines give plenty of differences in themes. However, one area I'm curious about is how much of the setting a game focused upon. This focus doesn't have to be 100%; there might be the odd session that takes you beyond the usual bounds, but it describes where 80% of the game happens. So, which of these best describes your game(s)?

1. A single world or even just a part of that world (e.g., Corellia or Nar Shaddaa).
2. A single star system with multiple worlds (e.g., Five Brothers of the Corellia system or Nal Hutta & Nar Shaddaa).
3. A single sector with multiple systems (e.g., the Corellia Sector).
4. A relatively small section of the galaxy containing sectors with a uniting theme (e.g., Hutt Space).
5. A relatively large section of the galaxy containing many sectors (e.g., the Slice).
6. The entire galaxy.

After saying how you usually play/run things, look at the other options. How would you feel with campaigns set 80% in each of the six categories above?

The campaign I'm running started solely in the Gordian Reach just after the destruction of the Death Star. The Imperials cordoned off the sector in an attempt to corral the rebels and my little group of smugglers were caught in the middle with a rustbucket slow ship. I used the limited area (along with their really slow ship) to focus them on the here and now. The impact was great as it gave them all time to grow and make mistakes with character direction and helped the characters bond. They all wanted out of the Reach so they took all sorts of jobs. Dodged Imperial patrols and eventually caused enough of a stir with the local crime bosses that staying would just be silly. They made a decision to run the blockade and after a few sessions of planning and a raid on an imperial comm station they made it out into the greater galaxy....

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Overall, I like the idea of a small section of the galaxy as the sandbox, whether it be a sector or group of sectors. Once my group figures out what they want to do next, I'll narrow the focus back down to a smaller section to give it a little more personal meaning to them.

Depending on the type of game, Any of the options work, as long as it suits the setting. Limiting yourself to a single planet when everyone is a galactic smuggler slash bounty hunter feels too contrived if it goes on for too long, but if it was a gang of swoop bikers and there were rival gangs scrabbling for territory and bragging rights, then a single planet is really all you need.

Honestly the only setting that I feel suits the whole galaxy setting is an AoR campaign. You're at war with the Empire. The map shows the active campaigns and theatres of war. You need to be able to strike anywhere.

1 hour ago, warchild1x said:

Honestly the only setting that I feel suits the whole galaxy setting is an AoR campaign. You're at war with the Empire. The map shows the active campaigns and theatres of war. You need to be able to strike anywhere.

Interestingly enough, most Rebel cells were fairly limited in range. Many only operated on a single planet or in a single system, and sector forces were the major organization. Exceptions existed for special forces, special operations, starfighter squadrons, and the fleet. Of those last four, special operations can be a great fit for PC groups, but both special forces and starfighter squadrons require fairly specialized groups. It's my opinion that this game doesn't have satisfactory mechanics backing characters leading in fleet operations roles, but the fleet supposedly had minimal engagements between Scarif and Endor, so it's probably a moot point.

Current edge campaign is on one planet for now, but as the characters have ambitions to leave, will branch out later. Will probably be fairly local. (Though I have not previously GM’d a party so cruising for a TPK, so maybe just one planet!)

Both my current & previous campaigns (using the same characters) have been based in sub-sector sized areas. The first was an isolated backwater only accessible via one Hyperspace lane. The current campaign is more Rebellion focused but again in a sub sector with a major

I like to world build so all of the planets used are of my creation but they do on occasion visit “known” worlds... At the start of the current campaign they were on Alderaan for a meeting with Bail Organa. I like to throw the known worlds in as I feel it kinda grounds them in the Star Wars universe.

As for the other options...

I like the idea of running a campaign in a single world although I think it’d have to be a city world for me.

I prefer the idea of a single system though, I’ve been toying with an idea of a world with numerous moons that are also all inhabited... For me it provides lots of options, ridding the world of imperial control, fighting against or with organised crime groups, piracy, political intrigue & all in a confined space. In fact I think this is the way I’ll go for my next campaign... but I think I’ll suggest my group create new characters for this one.

As for the larger areas, they’re not really for me... I think the only time I’d use this much space would be if my group ever decide to have Force Users in the group & is perhaps send them on a planet hopping artefact hunt.

After 42 sessions, my campaign has mostly taken place in the Outer Rim. I wouldn't mind running at 5 or 4 on your scale; maybe even 3 if it was an interesting enough sector. But for anything more confined than that, I'd rather run Infinity than Star Wars.

Between #3 and #4. My campaign of 25 sessions* has taken place in one area of the galaxy.

I've written short but distinctive briefs on systems as we've encountered them, like the Mass Effect codex, which has made a relatively small region feel big. Complete atlas is here (45MB file, lots of headcanon).

* Over 2 years. We're old folks!

8 hours ago, Darzil said:

Current edge campaign is on one planet for now, but as the characters have ambitions to leave, will branch out later. Will probably be fairly local. (Though I have not previously GM’d a party so cruising for a TPK, so maybe just one planet!)

Hey blame my brother!!!!!

In my campaign we're definitely at least a

5: A relatively large section of the galaxy containing many sectors (e.g., the Slice). (On deeper reflection, I think my campaign is probably closer to a 5.5).

The campaign is taking place on the south 1/3rd of the galaxy.

The group has been from Terminus to Corelia and as far North as Arkania (but only once to visit family) on the Corelia Trade Spine.

As of going Far East, the group has spent a couple of trips on Nar Shaddaa and IIRC even got to touch down on Nal Hutta once.

And going out on the rim, they haven't made it to Ryloth (yet) but they've been to Tatooine & Roon. (Roon is probably my best developed world, oddly). And Naboo was oddly well developed and interesting.

So I use a pretty equal mix of well known and established worlds and I'm also making up stuff on worlds that Wookipaediaeeoooahrrhrhrhrh(!) has never heard of. (Yep, still too lazy to look up the proper spelling).

Their SOG group is operating out of "Defiant Core" from Stronghold of the Republic and most of their missions are fairly "local." The worlds that they've been to (that I can recall with quick reference) include: Hosnian Prime, Bestine, Mechis, Thyferra, Wroona, Kinyen, Mallastare, Sullust, Hoth & Bespin, Eriadu, Queyta, and even Dagobah*.

I'm guessing the campaign has touched upon about 15-20 different worlds and we've been playing almost 40 sessions.

What I try to do is to do a search on a world to see what established information there is on a world and I use about 70% of the given data. Obviously is Woookieepedia comes up blank, I can get totally creative.

The PC's ARE members of an Special Operations Group (SOC) and are members of SOG DC 01. (Special Operations Group - Defiant Core - Team 01). Most of their missions are, go to world X and do a mission and try to not get caught/killed. So these PC's get to do a LOT of travelling.

* Dagobah was an interesting and ultimately I think a "failed" session, BUT as a GM I'm tickled pink with what the player characters were DOING there and why.

My campaign (+ 50 sessions) was a number 6 - all the galaxy. The setting was the Return of Revan and the Jedi Civil War of The Old Republic computer game KOTOR. From Nar Shaddaa, Coruscant, Arkania and Taris to Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Yavin, Junkfort Station, Jedha and small planets like Vjun, Phindar... a lot of planets.

My new campaign will be set ten years late and will be a hunt for the Crucible - the misterious slave organization that kiddnapped the young padawan of one of the PCs from the first campaign. This time will be a frontier campaign - set in the Outer Rim and Hutt Space. Like a cyber-western star wars campaign.

I tend to run things in a sector of my own making. The intention is to have the group start in their own sector and start a rebellion there, then get involved galaxy wide and end up at Endor. since this is about a six year plan and I havent managed to get a game to go more than three, my players havent ended up at Endor yet.

23 hours ago, HappyDaze said:

There are lots of ways to run a Star Wars game, and the three lines give plenty of differences in themes. However, one area I'm curious about is how much of the setting a game focused upon. This focus doesn't have to be 100%; there might be the odd session that takes you beyond the usual bounds, but it describes where 80% of the game happens. So, which of these best describes your game(s)?

1. A single world or even just a part of that world (e.g., Corellia or Nar Shaddaa).
2. A single star system with multiple worlds (e.g., Five Brothers of the Corellia system or Nal Hutta & Nar Shaddaa).
3. A single sector with multiple systems (e.g., the Corellia Sector).
4. A relatively small section of the galaxy containing sectors with a uniting theme (e.g., Hutt Space).
5. A relatively large section of the galaxy containing many sectors (e.g., the Slice).
6. The entire galaxy.

After saying how you usually play/run things, look at the other options. How would you feel with campaigns set 80% in each of the six categories above?

6 when I gm, but as a player it can hard to distinguish between 5 and 6

55 minutes ago, EliasWindrider said:

6 when I gm, but as a player it can hard to distinguish between 5 and 6

How would you feel in a game, as player or GM, where the scope was smaller--perhaps a 3 or 4?

13 hours ago, wilsch said:

Between #3 and #4. My campaign of 25 sessions* has taken place in one area of the galaxy.

I've written short but distinctive briefs on systems as we've encountered them, like the Mass Effect codex, which has made a relatively small region feel big. Complete atlas is here (45MB file, lots of headcanon).

* Over 2 years. We're old folks!

Nice work on the Atlas!!

The groups I have GMed and played in tend to have a ship and no real base of operation or affiliation so option 6. Give me a good reason and any of the six setting options can work and be tons of fun.

In the past, it's spanned the gamut - I've run a slice-spanning campaign, a couple planet-focused stories, and even one set entirely in space with no groundfall at all.

The one I'm planning now, a ROTJ-just-happened podracing story, remains to be seen. They don't have a ship and are beholden to a Hutt to move them from race-world to race-world.

All of it. Kinda. I pick worlds that my players will recognize, and that open up fun roleplaying opportunities for them. Most of my first campaign took place in the mid and outer rims, with a couple trips to Wild Space and the Unknown Regions. My current campaign is happening during the Clone Wars, with a few sessions in Hutt Space so far, and plans to visit the Core Worlds and many other systems in the future.

2 and 6+.

3 hours ago, 2P51 said:

2 and 6+.

6+? Does your group go extragalactic for a significant portion of the game?

It did, bad hyperspace roll. I intended for it to occur. I knew there'd be an Astrogation Despair eventually, happily they rolled 2 on the first one in the campaign, made it easy to get them into my idea.

Overall: 6. Our campaign features a commando unit, thus actually detailing everything that happened in it's entirety would be exhausting. Let me take the best bits:

Bespin. Our group knew Lando Callrisian really well, which made the Jewel of Yavin super interesting, as we knew we were dangerous smugglers at some point.

A commando raid on Kamino. Put an end to a large cloning facility there.

A venture into wild space to hunt an inquisitor Cabel. Where we met two ematic factions, the Empire of the Hand, and the Celestials. My PC found meeting them very disappointing; that they were an young, old race living in their own time bubble that never learnt from their mistakes.

Several incursions into Hutt space, including access to one of the Hutt Purse worlds for not just one, but two granie noplas. We also went into Zygerian space twice, once to procure aid for a shipyard, the second time to assassinate the Zygerian king for a Hutt benefactor, and to provide additional assistance.

Coruscant twice, both times featuring break ins.

We were present at both Hoth and Endor as the defence team (met Vader. it was a huge retreating battle) and the first in commando team, where we successfully disabled the second shield generator (woooo) and two members destabilised the death star core (though it was such an incredible tale of literally lobbing one of the huge Kyber Crystals down the beam shaft, the incident was kept to themselves. No one would likely believe htem after all.)

We were at Yavin, though our campaign started after the battle of Yavin, thus we raided it twice. One to uncover some plans for something that went badly when we discovered it to be an inquisitor head quarters of some kind, and again when one of us was captured and we needed to bust him out.

Sulist, Canto Bite, Ode Mantel were used. In all honesty I can't remember half the places we have been by name, just by encounter.

Yeah. While we are in contact with the major heroes of the setting occasionally, our battles are very much on different fronts. Really gives a sense of scale as to how big our campaign is.

6+ for a campaign that went from 0 XP to 850, and then now down to 1 in the 850+ XP.

The original campaign saw a group of criminals escape an imperial prison on Alderan and become scoundrels, inheriting a YT-2000 light freighter and running all sorts of missions for the scum of the galaxy. They were based out of an old separatist battleship-turned-shadowport hidden in the fringes of Geonosis until they were framed for the murder of a Hutt and their old friends turned on them for a 1.2 million credit bounty. After clearing their names, they turned into drifters and rebel collaborators, getting quarters on the mobile alliance fleet that's in development (the campaign began 10 BBY and is now around 4-5 BBY). The final grand adventure saw them travel from Coruscant northwards through the Entralla Route, to Bastion, and from there to Kamino. At the end of the adventure, the group limped back to Coruscant to receive payment.

One of the PCs owned a substantial part of a casino down on level 1313 (had spent some 40k credits on it) and decided to take a more active role in its management, so a new campaign has begun where the players can develop relationships with the different gangs, groups, and organisations, establishing a rebel base if they so desire, or hiring themselves out as guns-for-hire as the mood strikes them. But with the newly shrunken campaign setting every action now bears consequences, with an attack on one gang creating a lasting animosity.

I tend to run in the Outer Rim, and use as much of it as necessary. The greater the political scope of the story, the more planets/sectors come into play.

I'd have to admit that it wouldn't feel like Star Wars as much as it could if it didn't have spaceships and therefore some element of planet-hoping. You could certainly run a campaign in just one city, but then it might be worth asking yourself if it wouldn't be worth using a different genre entirely to tell that story, especially now that we have Genesys.

I prefer 1-3, but if the players want to go 6 that's fine. The main reason is I find it easier to make meaningful NPCs when they're associated with a place.

I'm running two campaigns just now.

One is a full galaxy hopping campaign featuring Jedi Knights. I mostly use original locations but Coruscant obviously features heavily and they occasionally visit a canon planet.

My other campaign is a more gritty Edge of the Empire one, it is set entirely on Cloud City. I hope to open it up to exploring the entire Anoat Sector.