Hello, forum!

I've been very excited about EotE ever since I heard there was a new Star Wars RPG in the works after WotC got rid of the license.

I'm the GM of a SE game right now and my group's setting is around the Old Republic (about 300 - 400 years after the SWTOR mmo). Obviously, I want to try and convert that game to this one. I really like the mechanics of EotE and it looks like it scales beautifully.

My problem is that out of my six players, two of them are Jedi. EotE was not made for Jedi's in mind, I know this. I think the two players would fine playing a force sensitive template with the title of "Jedi" for now until FFG releases some new content around Jedi.

But then that leads me to another problem: lightsabers. As they stand now in the book, they are super powerful (a fact that I can get behind... they are friggin' lightsabers!). But I don't want to imbalance the party.

I am thinking that some houseruling is going to have to come into play. My thoughts are letting them keep their lightsabers, but downgrade their power a bit (while still keeping the normal, top tier sabers reserved for the nasties they will eventually face). Lore-wise I could say their sabers are a reflection of their skill and status within the order, so they would not be as powerful.

I am thinking something like 9 damage, 7 or 8 rarity, crit 2 (up from 1), pierce 2 (no breach), and vicious 1. I'm on the fence about leaving sunder in or not.

To me that puts them a bit more inline with the other weapons available while still making them decently powerful. The fact they are engaged-only weapons also balances them out a little as well.

What do you guys think? Will converting my current campaign over be at all feasible?

Because of where you are in the stream of time in the Star Wars universe, and if I'm understanding you correctly, you want to convert your current game into EotE ... You might consider using an upcoming scenario to really put the screws to the group so that they have no choice but to flee, go into hiding, etc. somewhere in the Outer Rim ... so that when they emerge they have to really keep things on the down low as they try to piece their lives back together. That would include the Jedi "downgrading" their abilities so as not to bring took much attention to themselves. There may be times when they can use their powers (even their lightsabers) but they'll have to be careful when they do, otherwise it will make them too conspicuous ... so having them develop a Force Sensitive Exile with some other career so they can have some use in the group without using force powers, as well as suggesting they invest in a blaster or vibro-blade. I don't know the makeup of the 2 Jedi but you could even try to port them over the best you can so they still feel they are playing the same character. The Obligation mechanic is nice for this kind of thing because it gives the GM some leeway in guiding players a bit.

And as far as the lightsaber goes ... rather than adjust it's stats, try to see if you can give them some kind of penalty (that they'll be aware of if they wield it) depending on the roll of the dice, such as using threat or despair to have someone see and report them, or increase their obligation in some way.

The balancing act of Jedi vs. Everything Else is one of the things I could never stand about Saga. I think by time FaD arrives it will be much easier to convert because there will be a lot more in place stat and rule-wise. Currently the houseruling you're playing with is your best best if you want to hop in now. It would probably be feasible to write up some numbers and have an auxiliary out-of-campaign dice slinging night just to test things out. The engaged-only situation is interesting as well... I wonder how a saber throw would be written up? Again, more than I'd be willing to sink time into but I'm positive there are some creative folks here that will give you some encouragement or stat advice.

Throwing a Lightsaber would be like throwing anything else I imagine: a Ranged (Light) roll, probably at Short range. I would rule that it does normal damage, but in effect disarms the player who threw it, and they have to go retrieve it. I might consider not allowing the special qualities or critical hits if you're going to throw it. The benefit is that you can hit someone with it who is not engaged without spending a maneuver.

The exception would be if you were throwing the Lightsaber telekinetically, in which case you would need to follow the Move power to do this. This would require a certain number of range upgrades and is possible with the current system. Damage would be less in this case (with a lightsaber having a silhouette of 0 the damage would be 5) but you could spend a pip to conceivably pull the weapon back to you afterwards, and potentially throw it farther too depending on what upgrades you have acquired for this power.

As for what to do about the power of lightsabers, I strongly agree with oatesatm. Let people notice the lightsaber on Despair rolls and up obligation or introduce difficult situations because of that. Make sure that when people notice the Jedi, it gets reported and they feel hunted. I wouldn't downgrade the stats of the weapon. There are guns that do as much damage as a lightsaber, and while a lightsaber has great special abilities and inflicts critical injuries very easily, it's still something you have to use at engaged range.

I'm ok with some homogenization. It has to happen to have a balanced experience for everybody, including fantasy RPGs. Else folks like Gandalf would destroy all and everyone would just be along for the ride.

For me, bringing a Jedi down to other class levels is fine. Because the PC classes are meant to be amazingly better than your average Star Wars Universe denizen. How else could an unarmored pistol-wielding Han Solo take out so many armored and trained soldiers with (the equivalent of) sub-machine guns? How else could a bounty hunter like one of the Fetts not only go toe-to-toe with a Jedi and live to tell the tell, but also be considered a threat?

I'd rather have all my players be happy due to story, party balance, and feeling like they're a part of a Star Wars movie. I'd rather have that then strict adherence to canon.

Personally, I love the Jedi-less Star Wars. My favorite video games revolved around zero Force using (X-Wing, TIE Fighter, etc). I've always loved the Fringe part of that world. To me, that is as much a part of (and equally as important) the Star Wars universe.

Honestly, I wouldn't try to force a conversion. Finish up the current campaign in Saga Edition, and then start a new campaign using Edge of the Empire. This is especially true if your players are 10th level or higher.

Right now, a lot of the Force stuff we've seen in the broader EU and material that takes place outside of the Original Trilogy simply doesn't exist in EotE. As things generally stand, if you didn't see Luke do it or attempt it, then a player in EotE generally can't do it.

I may eventually be in a situation similar to the OP. I've been running an ongoing Star Wars game since 2002 (with a prequel game in 1999). We've been through d6 and every iteration of d20 Star Wars. For the record, I LOVE Saga, but now that my players are pretty high up there in level, it's increasingly difficult to challenge them, so I may try to convert to EotE.

In a sense, the timing is lucky for me, because I do the game like a TV series, and we just wrapped up Season Four with a big finale that COULD have been the "series" finale (Star Wars: Big **** Heroes). In addition, my group rotates games, so it's fairly likely that I would be GMing again until Age of Rebellion is out.

Having said that, though, I've started thinking of a lot of the same things, since my current group consists of 2 Jedi and 2 non-Jedi (although it may grow to 5 or 6 players by the time we start again).

My thinking is this:

1) I would not let the rules of EotE force a change to the story. Interesting as it may be, unless it's a natural outgrowth of where you want to head, I would NOT recommend doing something to force your players "on the run." Although the names don't work, most of the character archetypes for EotE work just as well on Coruscant as they do on Tatooine. Sure, the game is geared for a specific feel, but it's also flexible.

2) Lightsabers -- don't nerf 'em... At least to start. But go in with your eyes open, and everyone on the same page. Assuming the Jedi PCs are mature enough for the conversation, sit down with them and say, "Listen, in EotE, lightsabers are VERY powerful, but they're also intended to be rare. I'm going to start out using them as they're written in the rules, but if they're overwhelming, we may need to modify them for play balance." I think most PCs are going to be okay with that... assuming you have the conversation up front.

2b) Even if lightsabers prove to be very potent, one option would be to let your other PCs upgrade their weapons a little for free. I'm considering doing that in my game, since one of my non-Jedi PCs is a gunslinger and the other uses an arsenal of exotic weapons. Just a thought. Or give the non-Jedi an extra 20 XP or something... Anyway...

3) Related to the lightsaber discussion, when you talk about converting, I would talk to EVERYONE about how the tone of things is going to be a little different in this game, especially with respect to Force use. Hopefully, everyone will be onboard, but if you get a lot of pushback, that might be a sign to stick with Saga.

Personally, once I get my head around the system a little more, I plan to work on a custom Jedi career, with Guardian/Consular/Sentinel specializations, so that my two Jedi PCs can differentiate from one another a fair bit. Both of my Jedi PCs are raised-in-the-temple sorts (which is, in different ways, key to their characters), so different careers wouldn't make sense, even though the campaign is already very "edge of the Empire" (or, more accurately, "edge of the Republic")... during the early years of campaign development, I watched Firefly A LOT, and also Babylon 5 and The Shield...

I'll second the "Start a new campaign" advice.

The biggest lack in Edge is that the force has no healing abilities as presented.

However, if you must, someone did write up a jedi career. I avoid fan-stuff like the plague, because all too often it's horridly unbalanced, but it may just give you what you need.

EotE isn't build for mixed groups the way some others are. I actually like that, since it does things like let lightsabers have their traditionally-expected effectiveness.

If you're going to try and pull it back to an Old Republic game, I'd see what you can do leaving it as-is. It will certainly change the feel of your game, but I think it's truer to the source. A few options to help the balance:

1. Cortosis. Cortosis. More Cortosis. It's pretty common in the Old Republic, and giving it to adversaries will help tone down the lightsaber advantage.

2. "We'll handle this." Phantom Menace may have had its failings, but the scene with Darth Maul in the hangar was great, and IMHO is how to approach this. Present threats that are natural for your Jedi to handle, while having others that are better for others.

3. Increase difficulty and/or defense. I'm still learning the system, but there don't seem to be many rules for parrying and/or defending in melee. That would seem to be critical for dealing with lightsabers. A custom skill, specific talents, or just house ruling a difficulty/defense increase should help mitigate it.

4. This one might be hard depending on your current campaign, and would REALLY need player approval, but... take the toys away How many times did we see lost or destroyed lightsabers throughout the movies? Put them on a long mission where they're not easy to replace, and let the accidents ensue. Make sure your players are understanding about this, though. I really wouldn't blindside them with this one.