Here you go: http://gsa.thegamernation.org/2013/08/09/age-of-rebellion-5-questions-answered/

Wow quite a few spoilers there Thanks for the write up, im amazed they didnt make you sign an NDA.

I have. Which is why I only discuss things mentioned in what FFG has posted so far and nothing about all the other cool stuff. Once the full thing is out at GenCon, then we can have a bigger discussion. I wouldn't say anything in the article is particularly spoilery.

Well written Fiddleback. Though I didn't find any new morsels in your article beyond what FFG said, it certainly made me more excited for the Beta through elaboration. Also, your mention of "enough new material and meat" helps alleviate some fears on the repeated bits. Thank you.

Glad to help. I guarantee the discussion will get MUCH more interesting once the whole thing is out.

Thanks for the info, Fiddleback. It was a different spim on stuff. And my FSE character is looking forward to maybe getting the Lightsabre skill under his belt sometime soon.

I really hope shipping from FFG Land to Australia isn't too exorbitant...

Here you go: http://gsa.thegamernation.org/2013/08/09/age-of-rebellion-5-questions-answered/

Thank you sir!

I'm not generally one to indulge in internet speak, but... I lol'd.

In EotE, the talent tree focused on mainly mental skills, like charm, coerce, convincing demeanor and some vigilance checks.

In AOR, I figure we will see more physical aspects in the talent tree in regards to force users, like agility and discipline checks. Perhaps the basics of a lightsaber skill as well..

Definitely hoping that there is information in there to run an Imperial Campaign, if not I do hope they will release a splat book for AoR that will cover that.

Wont this Force section be a continuation of the one from EotE? I thought that was how it was going to work?

I imagine the info could be used for rebels or imperials. What specifically do you need for an imperial campaign that you think the book will be lacking?

I imagine the info could be used for rebels or imperials. What specifically do you need for an imperial campaign that you think the book will be lacking?

Lots of ship stats of the different Imperial Navy ships... weapons and armor and unit structure and other wonderful goodness... espionage for going undercover in rebel cells to entrap them and send them to the spice mines of kessel for the rest of their insignificant lives... things like that.

I imagine the info could be used for rebels or imperials. What specifically do you need for an imperial campaign that you think the book will be lacking?

Lots of ship stats of the different Imperial Navy ships... weapons and armor and unit structure and other wonderful goodness... espionage for going undercover in rebel cells to entrap them and send them to the spice mines of kessel for the rest of their insignificant lives... things like that.

You don't think any of that will be in AoR?

Well, all the races I pretty much called, save for the Ithorian and gran. Really surprised by them, and the inclusion of the four throats.

So very happy about the inclusion of the Duros.. I can remake Kavis Foon by duros pilot... that is if I ever got the chance to play a game, rather then being the only grifing GM.

Betting the Force Sensitive Emergant is going to go to higher levels of power, and be a bit more overt about it, where as the exile was about keeping a low profile.

So, we know the races, two talent trees (emergant and ace pilot), and an idea of a negotiator/ambassador class..

I really hope they try to incorporate obligation and Duty.. I wonder if GM's will roll twice once for a crews obligation and once for duty.

I really hope they try to incorporate obligation and Duty.. I wonder if GM's will roll twice once for a crews obligation and once for duty.

Assuming Duty is something that has to be rolled on. It's not clear to me from the preview that it is.

Either way, I have a feeling that characters will be able to have both Obligation and Duty.

Either way, I have a feeling that characters will be able to have both Obligation and Duty.

It wouldn't surprise me. After all, Han can tell us all about how Obligation doesn't go away when you join the Rebellion.

I've played Dark Forces. If Gran don't get a bonus to throwing grenades, I'm done.

On the main page for Age of Rebellion, if you look closely enough at the image with the select a species page you can make out some of the text. Something different is Alliance Rewards and in the middle under the Vehicles sections it says something like ... "If the party chooses a party owned vehicle in their..."something that I can't make out "... They can choose one vehicle or starship..." Something else "... From the Alliance for free". So it looks like to me this time around you can get something other than a starship.

I am looking forward to this beta. I am eagerly awaiting the release on the website, as unfortunately I too will not be going to Gen con this year. Having a baby instead.

Interesting... guess I better let the FLGS know I'm interested in a copy!

With my luck they may not even know about this yet... I certainly didn't until about an hour or so ago!!!

Oh and congratulations on the new addition to the family!

I found out when I got an update email from RPGnet somebody posted on a thread there that the beta was on.

If Duty starts at 0 and PCs work to increase it, I wonder how starting PCs get extra XP. Do they go into negative numbers?

If Duty starts at 0 and PCs work to increase it, I wonder how starting PCs get extra XP. Do they go into negative numbers?

Hmm, it says 'most PCs', so maybe there's an option to buy more Duty at chargen for additional XP.

Hmm, it says 'most PCs', so maybe there's an option to buy more Duty at chargen for additional XP.

Maybe, but that would be the opposite of what I'm thinking about. In EoE you gain XP by increasing Obligation because the higher your Obligation score the greater chance you have of taking a Strain Threshold hit and the closer your group is to the Obligation 100 XP freeze.

If a higher Duty score is a positive for a PC, then presumably you won't gain XP by increasing Duty.

A reduction in starting xp maybe?

Maybe you can spend points normally accumulated through extra obligation on Duty?

Could easily be explained off as being watched by the Empire or even Wanted by the Empire sort of like that extra character from the beginner box set was a scout who survived when her rebel cell was wiped out?

I assume you can take large land vehicles instead of a ship. The AoR mentions playing an ATAT crew.

I see no reason why Duty won't just work like Obligation, with a mixed group combining their scorses for a single roll and have which applies to a session determined just like it does for Obligation i.e. stacking all the Duty and Obligation by PC.

So would that mean when your roll does come up with one of your duties it means you're called in to actively help?

One example was when my engineer was used to act as an Imperial technician so they could infiltrate further inside a facility whilst another PC using stolen credentials for an Imperial Officer who wasn't known to be dead to act as the front whilst the others prepared the escape route...

On second thoughts my character had better chances of escaping scrutiny!

I could be wrong, but I don't know that Obligation and Duty could be combined into a single chart, since they seem to have different impact on the game and the players. For example, since Duty seems to be something to aspire to, my guess would be that there's NOT a rule about 100+ cumulative Duty not allowing the PCs to spend XP.

Also, putting the two things in the same table would prevent the delicious combinations of Player #1's Obligation directly clashing with Player #2's duty -- or with Player #3 having to deal with both Obligation AND Duty in the same session.

With respect to the implementation, I am expecting that an active Duty roll means less "You need to do this for us" and more "Revel in the fruits of your labor from past missions." The GM might also be encouraged to give the PC an added opportunity fulfill their Duty (perhaps as a side goal).

Thing is, with Obligation, the game designers take pains to balance "This random roll can have serious impact on your day" with "But we don't want to mess up the story you're trying to tell." I expect that Duty will be implemented in a similar way.

I view Obligation (and theoretically Duty) as "story seasoning." It's actually kind of fun for the GM because it gives US something to react to other than the players. For example, in my current game, I have four PCs. Jake has a bounty on his head (Obligation), whereas Sakar is the leader of guerrilla organization dedicated to stamping out slavery (Duty). Even if a particular session has absolutely nothing to do with either of those character arcs, a random roll can color the tone of the session.

Assuming I don't want to add an encounter or anything substantial, if Jake's Obligation comes up, perhaps the PCs learn that Jake the bounty on Jake has been raised, or maybe a mutual friend notifies him that Tonbo (one of the scariest bounty hunters in our campaign, a cyborg Toydarian gunslinger) has started asking questions.

Alternately, if Sakar's Duty pops up, perhaps his organization, Freedom's Hammer, has just had a major success and Sakar is in good spirits, perhaps even having been sent some resources. In either case, the session's main story continues, but whether we set the tone with a new threat to Jake or a new success for Sakar could lead to some very different variations.