hey guys - so I'm a long term GM, and have run a number of very successful Star Wars games using other game systems, but this labor day weekend, I'm preparing to run my very first Star Wars game using the new Edge of the Empire system

now, i've got the main rulebook, running through it now, I've got my main plothook, and plan to give the players a selection of pre-built characters, and try and cover all the basic activities of a star wars game, to get everyone familiar with the new system

I'm looking at making sure to cover...

roleplaying (city under imperial control - diplomacy, making contacts, garnering support, sneaking around undetected, etc...)

skill use (fixing their ship so they can get back into space)

ground combat (fighting imperial troops and/or city troops depending on how...undiplomatic...they choose to be)

light vehicular combat (hoping to push for some speeder-bike combat with maybe some mid-siz imperial walkers)

little bit of space combat ("accidentally" breaking an imperial blockade to land on the planet - long story...)

I'm wondering - can anyone that's run this system several times, give me a heads up on "landmines"? - that is, rules that get surprisingly complicated or convoluted, or situations that the rules make so convoluted and confusing that it's better just to avoid them the first time around? An example is 3rd Ed DND grapple mechanics. That's the kind of thing I'd like to try and stay away from for a first time game, as I'd like to try avoiding getting caught suddenly having to look up and re-read that one, surprisingly complicated rule that the game-book has.

also, any heads up on anything in the game that proves to be surprisingly and unexpectedly overpowered or game-balance shifting, like a particular force power, or a piece of a equipment like a specialty blaster or some such?

In short, can anyone clue me in on those big, sudden surprises YOU had when first running the system, so I can walk into the overall system just a bit better prepared? I'd appreciate it, and so will my players, I suspect, if I don't have to suddenly stop game for 10 minutes to parse out a particular rule that we could have just as easily avoided if I'd known about it beforehand...

Make sure you read and understand the minion system well, its very important part of this game.

Also, if you dont have a very big gaming table, I would highly recommend you invest in the dice app. This game start using WAY more dice on a roll than other systems. Its like a frag grenade going off when you have big skill checks a few hundred XP in

On Minions:

One of the important bits about the Minion system is that when they're deemed to be operating in groups, they gain ranks in certain skills (group size - 1 = number of ranks in those skills) whereas on their own they're entirely "unskilled" (no Ability dice upgraded to Proficiency dice) and thus become more or less a danger depending on how many there are in a group, but by rules-at-written (RAW) they only gain ranks in the skills that are listed. Also, I believe (someone else may correct me) that Minion groups are also limited to the same skill rank cap as players, so after 6 or 7 members per group any additional members only serve as "bodies that fall without the group becoming less effective" (in the sense that as long as group size doesn't drop below 6 or 7 the Minion group doesn't lose any ranks).

Resist any urge to throw stormtroopers right off of the bat at your players: They may be hopelessly hampered in other systems, but in this they can be quite the nasty surprise in numbers (see the above rules) and if paired with a stormtrooper sergeant NPC, who's already quite the adversary in his or her own right. For a "first encounter" with Imperial forces, the Naval Troopers (with or without Naval Officers) or Planetary Defense Force Troopers (their stats in the guise of Imperial Army Troopers) may be more appropriate Minions.

Landspeeder/high-speed-"bike" combat is one thing, but the AT-STs aren't until Age of Rebellion . Although the Age of Rebellion beta book has preliminary stats for one, and you can take a gamble on converting an AT-ST from a prior Star Wars RPG system, the EotE book's only two walkers are all that we have to go on at this time, and they can already provide a nasty surprise for players; the AT-PT is depicted on page 252 while the AT-EST may look like this (EotE is the first mention of the AT-EST), and has enough room to carry an eight-member squad of enemies.

For space combat: by RAW there apparently isn't that much for the pilot player (in a multi-person ship) in a space combat to do, so you may have to get creative...

Oh, and to borrow from a thread on how many Jedi there are: the default time frame of Edge of the Empire is at some point after the Battle of Yavin (after the destruction of the first Death Star) but before Hoth, but the right answer is still "as many/whenever needed for the GM's plot".

This is my first time GM'ing any system and I've only run a couple of sessions so far. I'd avoid the higher damage weaponry from the off set. Our group has a wookie with high agility and ranged skills with a bowcaster that with a good roll can quite easily takes out 2 minions from a group, while everyone else is using either slug throwers or hold out blasters at the moment and struggle to take out one minion on thier own.

This is my first time GM'ing any system and I've only run a couple of sessions so far. I'd avoid the higher damage weaponry from the off set. Our group has a wookie with high agility and ranged skills with a bowcaster that with a good roll can quite easily takes out 2 minions from a group, while everyone else is using either slug throwers or hold out blasters at the moment and struggle to take out one minion on thier own.

I have this in my game that I've just started: a Trandoshan bounty hunter with a modified blaster rifle is shooting heads and shoulders above the rest of the party. On the other hand, this is leading the rest of the party to get inventive. First session involved one player using a speeder as a weapon by driving it into a crowd of minions.

I have this in my game that I've just started: a Trandoshan bounty hunter with a modified blaster rifle is shooting heads and shoulders above the rest of the party. On the other hand, this is leading the rest of the party to get inventive. First session involved one player using a speeder as a weapon by driving it into a crowd of minions .

I think your party is going to be ah-oh-kay.

I have this in my game that I've just started: a Trandoshan bounty hunter with a modified blaster rifle is shooting heads and shoulders above the rest of the party. On the other hand, this is leading the rest of the party to get inventive. First session involved one player using a speeder as a weapon by driving it into a crowd of minions .

+10 obligation, becoming that famous vehicular homicide pyscho!

Did your landspeeder have wipers? =)

_{hey folks - thanks for the heads up - i'll pay some special attention to the minions when I get there...}

_{but, I'm running into what sounds like a very basic rules interpretation problem.}

_{trying to *hit* a target requires a skill roll}

_{if the total success vs failures zeros out or goes negative (equal or more failures than successes), then it's a miss}

_{if the total success vs failure is positive (more successes or failures by at least one or more), then it hits...}

_{EXCEPT - every "UNCANCELLED" success in an attack yields +1 damage to the attack...}

_{as I'm reading it, that means that *EVERY* successful attack automatically is doing *bonus* damage...which hurts my brain a little bit. Now, I'm ASSUMING that all the damage values for weapons, health values and soak values, have all been properly scaled to account for the fact that EVERY weapon essentially does "base" damage PLUS ONE AT LEAST any time it hits...}

_{but I'd really like someone to reassure me - am I reading this right?}

_{hey folks - thanks for the heads up - i'll pay some special attention to the minions when I get there...}

_{but, I'm running into what sounds like a very basic rules interpretation problem.}

_{trying to *hit* a target requires a skill roll}

_{if the total success vs failures zeros out or goes negative (equal or more failures than successes), then it's a miss}

_{if the total success vs failure is positive (more successes or failures by at least one or more), then it hits...}

_{EXCEPT - every "UNCANCELLED" success in an attack yields +1 damage to the attack...}

_{as I'm reading it, that means that *EVERY* successful attack automatically is doing *bonus* damage...which hurts my brain a little bit. Now, I'm ASSUMING that all the damage values for weapons, health values and soak values, have all been properly scaled to account for the fact that EVERY weapon essentially does "base" damage PLUS ONE AT LEAST any time it hits...}

_{but I'd really like someone to reassure me - am I reading this right?}

No worries, you've got it exactly right.