Can someone tell me how to select the number of opponents depending on how many players there are? Not seeing anything in the rules about encounter building based on number of players.

There are no hard and fast rules, it's pretty much something you need to feel out. I've been starting with fairly easy fights, and just slowly scaling my way up. I know some systems like Pathfinder and D&D will give an exact ratio of badguys based on character level and numbers, but that's much harder to do on a point based system, where every character can very wildly.

We have 4 in our party, but only 2 of them have nay combat skills. The doctor didn't even have a gun at the start. Another party could create 4 combat monsters. No system can account for that sort of variance. You just need to take it slow, and if you find characters going down to quick because you've overbalanced, have some sort of out available.

Ditto. I've got one real combatant, one sneaky sort-of-combatant, and two droids who try hard but aren't combat-machines (pun intended).

First combat: I stuck the two droids up against a trader (based on the Slaver Rival template). That was a tough fight for them, but they won, with plenty of ionization strain to make things tense.

The second combat was a shopkeeper that the party jumped and killed (they're savages, I swear) for no good reason. Dude was barely armed (holdout pistol), and didn't even have the chance to draw his weapon before he dropped. Very, very easy fight.

Then the party met with a shady Twi'lek and his six henchmen (minions, though the party didn't know that for sure). They chose to listen instead of fight, which I had to encourage by having the Twi'lek notice them pawing their weapons and then say "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'm more interested in business than death."

However soon, the party is heading towards an assassination mission against a stormtrooper sergeant and his minion troops. That's going to be a much more interesting and difficult fight. The party will probably choose to engage at long range, and then will be fighting one injured rival and six minions (the equivalent of two extra rivals, almost) as they close the distance and seek cover. I anticipate that the party is going to have to really work for that one.

Ah. Thanks for the info. At one point the beginner game adventure calls for 6 stormtroopers. I only have two players so I keep worrying maybe the adventures assume a full party? I suppose they always have the option to run away from a given encounter.

I believe the beginner adventure does assume a 4 person party. You might reduce their adversaries a bit, or come up with some way for them to get an advantage.

I haven't seen an issue in personal combat, but be very careful with starship combat. Two cloakshape fighters were enough to really put a sting on my players' freighter. It only takes one good roll on the part of the enemy to inflict impressive damage with Linked weapons.

I haven't seen an issue in personal combat, but be very careful with starship combat. Two cloakshape fighters were enough to really put a sting on my players' freighter. It only takes one good roll on the part of the enemy to inflict impressive damage with Linked weapons.

This is why my primary strategy in space is RUN!