From visiting these and other boards that have been discussing the game, I've come across many who would like to see this game expand into other eras of the Star Wars mythos, despite FFG's focus on placing their lineup of Star Wars products firmly in the Classic era. Let my be frank in saying that I support their decision to do this (with the exception of the RPG, which should have been made timeline-neutral), but I want these products to enjoy indefinite expansion, which I can only see as being possible if the paradigm shifts at some point in the future. So what I'm asking is this: Given the elements of Star Wars: The Card Game that fix it to the Classic era, specifically the affiliations and perhaps the name of the Death Star dial, how would you prefer to see them go about doing this?

Note that I am not asking if you would like to see this happen. That is a topic for another thread. For the purposes of this discussion, let us assume that FFG has already decided to bring Star Wars: The Card Game into an era in which the Imperial Navy and/or Rebel Alliance affiliations do not belong. How would you like to see them proceed? Should special rules apply that adjust the affiliations for multi-era play? Should the Death Star dial remain? Should the two games be completely separate, with different rules altogether? Discuss.

I think as time progresses forward, the next option would be New Republic / New Jedi Order territory. People have seen the I-III universe, and as a tactical move, FFG might do well to stay away from it. Though lots of younger fans enjoy them, Ep 1-3 has become the perverted uncle that the family doesn't talk about. Business wise, it could piss of the fan base, and that's no good for a continuing LCG. However, with Disney beginning work on VII-IX, moving forward rather than back could have perfect timing. Spend the next two or three years in the Rebellion, and then have the leftovers of the Empire lead us smoothly into the 3rd trilogy, with all the familiar faces we love growing more venerable while introducing new characters known only to those who read the fiction.

I will say that going backwards with the timeline is.. meh, at best. Of course, the only things I liked about the prequels were Republic Commando and the Clone Wars microseries. And remember what the prequels did to SWCCG. Yeah, the game was on its way out, but still….pod racing.

That said, I think going with the EU, New Republic and such could be very interesting, primarily because the "good guys" get more and more powerful almost to the point where, in game terms, the light side would become the one with its own "win dial" while the dark side has to rush try to hold off the onslaught of peace and prosperity. And it could work without feeling utterly lame. However, some deck building restrictions may need to be implemented to keep the game balanced. Or depending how far into the EU the game goes, the same basic formula can apply. Really, whether the balance of power shifts in the game or not, the six factions remain the same. KOTOR and the prequels can kinda screw with factions as we know them, which is a fairly large risk for a game. They'd be neat to get as a "saga expansion" a la LOTR.

Basically, source from the WEG RPG, and the essential novels like Truce at Bakura, Shadows of the Empire, Rogue Squadron, aspects of the Thrawn trilogy and Jedi Academy series… And Masters of Teras Kasi…. I kid. That game was wack.

Thanks,

This is a very interesting thread. As it stands, I cannot see Star Wars LCG being expanded into any other era, precisely because the core components are too closely enmeshed with the Classic Trilogy era. The Death Star Dial, as you mention, as well as the commit-to-the-Force cards, cement the period in Star Wars history this game takes place, and I can't see it going any further. Thematically, to make a game set in the Clone War era, you'd have to change the Vader/Luke Force cards - but to what? There are so many Jedi to choose from, and I can't really see Darth Sidious proving to be quite so dynamic as Vader in that pose. The Death Star dial too - to what?

Moving the other way, you still have the same problem. Vader dies at the end of RotJ, so the Dark Side's commit-to-the-Force card wouldn't sit right, thematically, and what do you change the Death Star dial to? An Eye of Palpatine dial? A Darksaber dial? It doesn't really fit. Using these core components as they have, they have kinda written themselves into a corner with the expandability of this game. However, this needn't be as big of a problem as I'm probably making it sound, as WEG produced reams of pages of Classic Trilogy lore that has enriched the galaxy. Perhaps they could expand into the very closely-related NR stuff, Truce at Bakura or whatever, maybe as far as the X-Wing novels. While it would be nice to see more affiliations introduced once the game has established itself, as in Cthulhu, I don't really think we'll see anything like this.

The problem, as I see it, with branching out a game that is firmly fixed in the Classic Trilogy era, the core set becomes obsolete. You will still need focus tokens, wound tokens, and shield tokens, but that is it, and these can be proxied. All of the cards are for the Classic Trilogy timeframe, the DS dial and the Force cards, they are all theme-specific. To produce new Force cards and a new dial of some description as part of some sort of deluxe expansion, means you can play this game without the core set, which undermines the basic premise of the game model.

I would love to see more eras, don't get me wrong! I just can't see us getting even very far into the New Republic, let alone the NJO. Thankfully, it is perfectly possible for us to see folks like Thrawn and Karrde, as there are stories featuring these guys set during the game's timeframe. I just don't expect us to see a Yuuzhan Vong or the Solo kids.

I do believe we'll see Clone Wars games, possibly even TOR or KOTOR games, but I don't expect to see them as part of this game. I don't see the prequel trilogy as a "perverted uncle" whatsoever. As a fan of the classic trilogy, I do have issues with the prequel trilogy, and a lot of the material that has been spouted off of it since, but I think it's wrong to say that producing a game set in this era would "piss off" the fanbase. Remember, a huge portion of the fanbase has grown up with the prequels as "their trilogy", and will have plenty of fond memories of those podracing scenes as we older fans think back on the trench run. FFG would be insane to forgo this demographic, as - like it or not - The Clone Wars cartoon series is Star Wars at this current moment, and will be until 2015 with this promised new film.

spalanzani said:

1. Good. Barnacle people would just throw everything off.

2. Fans that call the prequels their trilogy have parents that should know better. I think looking back and seeing what sort of lasting appeal or sales of current-ish prequel based toys/games/etc would be a good indicator on the likelihood of us seeing future prequel products from FFG. (lego games and legos aside..those are always awesome)

I would like to see this game stick to classic era. Considering everything FFG is releasing seems to be in that time frame it might be a limit to their license.

I don't see why you would have to change the core components for another era. The countdown is meant to represent the ever present, ever pressing tide of the dark side of the force that will win if you ever let up for a moment; using the Death Star to represent that is just a great piece of visual presentation.

And you're already pushing up against the theme with the Scum And Villainy affiliation having the countdown clock or having them compete against Smugglers & Spies in a battle for the force.

In any case, the New Republic era has no shortage of super weapons (including prototype Death Stars IIRC) to provide that growing threat to the galaxy.

Another problem with that is that at this point we have no idea how much of that EU future will even exist after the new movies start. Maybe they wipe the slate clean. I don't think this will be anything we need to worry about or will see if at all for quite a few years anyway. Plenty of source material to use in the current era as it stands.

I personally think the current system would work very well with the prequels.

The niggling problems that plague the prequels wont be evident in the card game, the characters are still generally compelling and the theme of the prequels is not bad at all. The devil is, as they say, in the details of the prequels. We dont really have to worry about those details in the card game.

In the prequels and the clone wars the light side is struggling to find the conspiracy that is toppling the republic from within and to stop the clone wars before it plunges the galaxy (and the jedi who participate) too deep into darkness. Ultimately, they race against the clock to avoid the (albeit temporary) annihilation of the light side jedi order through order 66. Once palpatine is secure enough in his power and the galaxy is sufficiently dark, that will happen, and the first death star will begin construction.

The death star dial then, works very well for the prequels.

Factions are also pretty clear cut, and carry strong themes. The light side carries the jedi order and the republic, both very different from the jedi and rebellion of the core set but with plenty of material to work with and their own flavours. I'm not really sure about the third faction, if there needs to be one… suggestions? I suppose the easy way out would be to use the "smugglers and traders" concept again.

The dark side once again comes with the sith, but with several awesome additions like Count Dooku, Ventress and Darth Maul. The CIS adds a really cool theme of legions of droids, Hard nosed commanders (Durge(Dirge? Cant remember how they spelt it) anyone?) and fleet of their own. Not to mention general Grevious. Again, the third faction is a bit more difficult, but I suppose the criminal faction could still be an option.

This would also be an awesome opportunity to introduce a mechanic like "long term goals/missions" that you work against, like "corrupt the senate", "Cessation from the republic", "Uncover the last of the sith" and so on.

The New Jedi order era is a little more troublesome, the death star dial doesnt fit quite as well and there arent really two clear "sides" that vie for supremacy. The New republic, the Yuzan Vong and the imperial remnant springs to mind as possibilities.

First thing to worry about are traits, mechanics and rules that can be easly spoiled by designers, publishers and so on. For me better is the game with Jar Jar Binks and great mechanic, without loops and so on, than "the only true" epizodes of SW with unclear rules and timing.

They could add the prequel era fine. Make another big box expansion down the road that introduces Separatist and Republic factions and include a new cool looking Death Star dial that looks under construction like at the end of Revenge of the Sith. The Death Star was even a part of Attack of the Clones near the end with the Geonosians/Dooku having the hologram of the plans. As for having people from different eras fighting, who cares, this game is for fun, characters can already destroy ships, etc. Let the battles be crazy and fun and not worry so much about everything being movie/timeline accurate.