Ok, so after a year of procrastinating and losing my beta book, I finally picked up the Core book. I got some people who are interested in playing, but the only problem is I'm the only one who's willing to GM. Problem: I have no experience, and the whole concept of making a campaign is scaring the bejeezus out of me!

I'm looking for any advice I can for how to start this up, and hopefully I can do it before Christmas, or at least that's my hope. Specific tips (or external links/resources) on how to go about worldcrafting would be fantastic.

Also, while reading through the book, and listening to the Order 66 podcast, I certainly understand a lot more about the narrative gameplay. But I'd like to ask: who's in control of the narrative? When do I take control, when do I nudge other players to decide what they're doing when they get the epic triumph? Should I be calling the shots on all the bad things (really bad failures, and threat), or do players also generally get to realize how badly things happened?

Again, any help would be appreciated. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the concept of GMing and trying to read through the rulebook.

One advantage with Star Wars is that you don't have to "world craft" so much per se, as so much fluff already exists in the expanded universe. Just look it up on wookieepedia .

In general, I would let players decide what they want to do with the positive outcomes (within reason) and you should decide what happens with the negative outcomes, though be open to player's suggestions.

With Edge of the Empire, you don't really *need* to have a campaign. You just need a few hooks to get started with and see which way the PCs go. This approach though tends to require being able to do stuff on your feet, adapt, and have some knowledge of the setting.

If the rulebook is overwhelming, just read one chapter at a time. That's a good way to read anything.

the key for a narrative game is CHARACTER BACKGROUND . Look at the resources thread for character creation tips and also google other systems character creation questionnaire type stuff. If players cant EASILY make 2-3 paragraphs MINIMUM on their character they arent done yet.

You are using their backgrounds to come up with story arcs, twists and NPC's. They dont need every minute detail to begin with, but at least semi-detailed recount of how they got to where they are now. YOu can fill in specifics, come up with names later before you prep for a session.

Also as a new GM, lay down game RULES/Guidelines/Expections before you even start making characters. Ie...if you are a new GM i would flat out tell them 2 rules off the bat

Group is expected to be non-evil people. Gray decisions, selfish acts, etc are ok if they make sense to the character but they should be leaning on the side of GOOD.

Group is expected to work together and cooperate. No killing, stealing, etc from other characters. In-fighting, disagreements, arguments are fine (maybe even some pushing/shoving/fist fights), but past that the group shouldnt even entertain as a possibility.

Problem: I have no experience, and the whole concept of making a campaign is scaring the bejeezus out of me!

Baby steps man, baby steps! Don't try and do the whole five year arc in one sitting. Just get comfortable with the game first, then start building a long term package.

First, go take a look at my Top 10-ish tips for GMing - you probably wont agree with everything, but it's worth considering anyway. Then stick your nose into the Top 10-ish Tips for Building Games - again, not everything will be useful, but it's a start.

From there - work with your players to develop their characters, for charafters are were game ideas spring from! Talk to them, get a good idea what sort of stories they'd like to see. You're running the show, but you should cater to their desires.

Third - There is no shame in using the pre-printed adventures, so go get canned games and run them. As far as a story goes, it's very railroady, but the beginner boxed set is EXCELLENT for holding your hand and learning the game. The follow up - Long Arm of the Hutt is a stronger story, but still pretty good at keeping the training wheels on. I haven't looked at the canned game in the GM screen, the back of the rule book or Beyond the Rim - but there's 5 games to get you a feel for how the game engine works.

By then the characters should be coming together, you should be getting your feet under you and can start worrying about the long term. If you still need a bit more hand holding and ideas, go check out the Gamemasters Handbook or the Campaign Pack by West End Games. The stats will do you no good whatsoever, but the ideas about running games and campaigns are pretty solid.

Hey, I'm also new to GM'ing, and I plan on running a game in January. My players and myself are doing all the prep-work (like reading the core book, coming up with character, etc etc). But there's something I'm encountering right now that, for some reason, is annoying me to no end... and I would love to hear your guys thoughts on this.

So I've asked the players to come up with a background story for their character, and I've provided them with a short explanation where everyone will be once the game takes off. My vision of the game is one where the players go out a experience their own story, away from the movies. But a few days ago I received one of my players' background, and out of the 10 names he mentions in it, half of them come directly from the movies. Even all the locations he mentions come straight from the big screen. Out of the 5 NPC names he did create, only 2 seem to be left alive.

Basically his background tells the story how he fled Coruscant after the Empire was formed and escaped to Alderaan where he was taken in by Bail Organa (and where he spent years growing up with Leia), only to be discovered by the Empire who want to know the location of Obi-Wan (by order of Darth Vader). He then flees to Tatooine and works in a bar in Mos Eisley.

For his obligation, he came up with the story of how his character was trying to get in contact with the Rebel Alliance while he was still on Alderaan, and basically blew all his money on this search. Because he needed more credits, he somehow got a loan from Jabba the Hutt (of all people). So he was still on Alderaan, but he managed to get credits from someone on Tatooine.

So basically his character is tied to major characters from the movies, or at least mentions them, and the background seems to jump around a bit just to be able to include these characters.

I've spoken to him about it, and he wants to stick with this story (I suggested maybe changing all the famous names with unknown substitues of his own making). He told me that, creating a background is something the GM should consider as 'holy', and that the the GM should not interfere with this. I understand what he's saying, and I really don't want to be that GM who tells his players "no, you can't do that". But this has been gnawing at me for a few days now.

The part that bugs me the most is how these names pop up simply because he wants them in his background, and not because it makes sense. I can sort of see why Bail and Leia are in there, as his is a political background, but I really don't understand what Obi-Wan, Vader and, most of all, Jabba are doing there. Plus the fact that I try to see logic in everything is making it hard on me.

So I'd like to hear your thoughts on how I can learn to deal with this, because as much as I try, it keeps lingering in my mind. I know that it would be easier for me if I could just 'let go', but I'm having a hard time with that.

If it means that much to him, let him keep it. You should warn him that this game is on the "edge," though, and while some bigger names/places might pop up, the story does NOT lead toward the Rebellion directly.

I'm like you - I don't like it. It sounds and feels forced (no pun intended), but again if it wants it there let him. If it becomes a bragging point then have a "secret" obligation roll come up for him early on and let it cause some trouble. Don't spoil the game and take away the fun, but let him know IN GAME that this is not something to be bragging about...

Just some thoughts... One of my players has in his backstory that he lied about being in the Battle of Yavin... He was no where there, but lied to someone about it and now that person respects him. :-)

He told me that, creating a background is something the GM should consider as 'holy', and that the the GM should not interfere with this.

Well, that right \there is straight up nonsense. The game is a collaborative process for the mutual enjoyment of everyone - GM and Players alike. There's been many a character in my group where someone says "My character's background is X" and someone - not even the GM - goes "Well, what if you shamelessly steal a plot point from Rear Window and Y happened instead?" and the original player took the idea and ran with it.

In this instance, I'd point out the logic errors in his back story. Why would Bail tell him where Kenobi is? Why would the Empire suspect that Organa knew of Kenobi's existence and not pick him up for an extended interview and stay at one of their luxury resorts?

Okay, lets assume that you are unable to dissuade him from his movie-centric background - use it against him. How attached are you to the Holy Writ of the movies? If you're flexible, I would change things around in the universe. The Empire suspects he knows where Kenobi is, and yet he flees to where Kenobi is hiding? Fine, the Empire's agents follow him to Tatooine and manage to get the drop on Kenobi while he wasn't ready, killing him. Meanwhile, the Empire picks up the Organas and are a darn sight more persuasive in their interrogation, cutting the legs out from under the rebellion before it's even born. And all of this is on this players head.

Now all of this will have minimal effect on your game, being a fringer setting instead of an Age of Rebellion setting.

So he wants to be indebted to Jabba. He does realize that this a VERY bad thing, right? As in fed to the rancor for missing payments bad right? As in he is very unlikely to ever be out of Jabba's debt (because Jabba's a ****** that way)? Even after making this very clear, If he still insists, make his life a living hell. Dangerous jobs, Company Store circumstances constantly adding to his debt, broken limbs for missed payments, and he never can afford nice equipment because ALL his spending money is going to the Hutt to stave off those broken fingers and second degree cigarette burns.

Oh, also - Jabba doesn't actually know him, care about him or deal with him in any way. I owe money to Capital One, but the CEO doesnt know me from a hole in the ground. Make all his dealings are with an agent of an agent of an agent. He gets to deal with a teller window in Mos Eisly and does not get to visit the far more interesting hedonistic den of Debauchery out in the wastelands.

Mind you, this is all just off the cuff - but I'd be tempted for something very similar. But first, talk to him and try and work something out.

In this instance, I'd point out the logic errors in his back story. Why would Bail tell him where Kenobi is? Why would the Empire suspect that Organa knew of Kenobi's existence and not pick him up for an extended interview and stay at one of their luxury resorts?

Oh, it wasn't Bail who was going to tell where Obi-Wan was, but the player's family. According to his backstory, his father kept all sorts of records about the whereabouts of the Jedi, and in return for his wife and son's (the player) safety when escapign Coruscant, he'd reveal said information. Then 17 years later, the Empire comes knocking on Bails door, looking for the wife and her son... telling them that the father wouldn't give them the location of Obi-Wan, even with his final breath (death by torture, it seems).

And let's not forget that, in those 17 years that the Empire was apparently oblivious to them living on Alderaan, the player had someone learned about the Rebel Alliance and was desperately trying to get in contact with them, all the while bathmouthing the Empire in public (!).

He then proceeded to blow all his credits on his search for the Alliance, that he contacted Jabba (basically on the other side of the galaxy) for some credits to continue his search.

The whole backstory is, in my opinion, devoid of any logic. How did the father know about all these Jedi their locations? Why would it take the Empire 17 years to find someone who's basically waving big red flags in their faces? Why would someone in the care of Bail Organa need to contact Jabba the Hutt for a loan? Heck, how does someone in upper society know about Jabba in the first place?

The structure for a decent background is there, no doubt about it, but him trying to get all those 'cool' movie elements into it really undermine the good ideas that are hidden in there.

I have to admit that it feels like I'm sort of... I don't know, backstabbing him maybe... with my ranting here, but I can't talk to my other players about it for obvious reasons, and I really need to get this off my chest.

I will certainly take into consideration the tips you've given me. I already decided that, if we're going ahead with his story, I would try to find ways to avoid direct contact with these famous characters. While you can only hang onto canon so long when RP'ing in an established universe, I would prefer it if we didn't stray too far from it. That's why I was so psyched about EotE, as it gives you an entire galaxy to explore... and having someone cling to this little part of it, the part we all know from the movies, kinda creates a buzzkill. To be honest, and this probably was just a 'panic' emotion on my part, but when he told me he didn't want to change the story, I (very) briefly lost interest in being the GM. Is that weird? (Sigh, look at me talk about a game like it's the most important thing in the universe... )

But like I said, it's my first real try at GM'ing, so maybe I need to learn to be more flexible. I will try to talk to him about it again, as I feel that the GM is equally entitled to fun. Maybe we can work out a compromise, with him keeping a bit of movie magic while changing the part of his story that make least sense. *crosses fingers*

Ok, so after a year of procrastinating and losing my beta book, I finally picked up the Core book. I got some people who are interested in playing, but the only problem is I'm the only one who's willing to GM. Problem: I have no experience, and the whole concept of making a campaign is scaring the bejeezus out of me!

I'm looking for any advice I can for how to start this up, and hopefully I can do it before Christmas, or at least that's my hope. Specific tips (or external links/resources) on how to go about worldcrafting would be fantastic.

Also, while reading through the book, and listening to the Order 66 podcast, I certainly understand a lot more about the narrative gameplay. But I'd like to ask: who's in control of the narrative? When do I take control, when do I nudge other players to decide what they're doing when they get the epic triumph? Should I be calling the shots on all the bad things (really bad failures, and threat), or do players also generally get to realize how badly things happened?

Again, any help would be appreciated. I'm just a little overwhelmed with the concept of GMing and trying to read through the rulebook.

I'd recommend getting the Beginner Box, with "Escape from Mos Schuuta" in it, and running that adventure with your friends and some of the pre-generated characters.

I know you have the Core Rulebook and have been listening to the Order 66 podcast so you may feel this would be a step back, but I'd encourage you to try it out. It is a great step-by-step adventure that teaches the basics of the game and (I believe) gives a good feeling of the answers to some of your questions.

I've learned a LOT about running this type of narrative system from reading the modules such as Escape from Mos Schuuta, Long Arm of the Hutt, and Beyond the Rim.

... If the rulebook is overwhelming, just read one chapter at a time. That's a good way to read anything.

I, myself, just flipped through the important parts. I've only recently been able to really say I've 'finished.' First read the intro pamphlet, then get to know the mechanics of the game, then check out how to make characters so you know and flip through the GM section so you know what's happening. After that brush up on combat and move to items, then ships. Check out the adversaries for a bit and move on to the Force, if it so pleases you, and end at the example adventure so you can have something to work with in case you run out of material. Then, finish reading all of the sections in your spare time, and you'll be good in no time.

As far as GMing, it's pretty easy. Because it's a narrative game, you don't need to worry about the specifics too much, and letting certain rules slide and changing up the game is perfectly acceptable. The real issue I could foresee would be if you don't know how to play outside of structured games, because narrative requires a good deal of creativity and the like.

Don't worry, though. You got people here on standby for your problems.

But a few days ago I received one of my players' background, and out of the 10 names he mentions in it, half of them come directly from the movies. Even all the locations he mentions come straight from the big screen. Out of the 5 NPC names he did create, only 2 seem to be left alive.

Basically his background tells the story how he fled Coruscant after the Empire was formed and escaped to Alderaan where he was taken in by Bail Organa (and where he spent years growing up with Leia), only to be discovered by the Empire who want to know the location of Obi-Wan (by order of Darth Vader). He then flees to Tatooine and works in a bar in Mos Eisley.

For his obligation, he came up with the story of how his character was trying to get in contact with the Rebel Alliance while he was still on Alderaan, and basically blew all his money on this search. Because he needed more credits, he somehow got a loan from Jabba the Hutt (of all people). So he was still on Alderaan, but he managed to get credits from someone on Tatooine.

So basically his character is tied to major characters from the movies, or at least mentions them, and the background seems to jump around a bit just to be able to include these characters.

I've spoken to him about it, and he wants to stick with this story (I suggested maybe changing all the famous names with unknown substitues of his own making). He told me that, creating a background is something the GM should consider as 'holy', and that the the GM should not interfere with this. I understand what he's saying, and I really don't want to be that GM who tells his players "no, you can't do that". But this has been gnawing at me for a few days now.

The part that bugs me the most is how these names pop up simply because he wants them in his background, and not because it makes sense. I can sort of see why Bail and Leia are in there, as his is a political background, but I really don't understand what Obi-Wan, Vader and, most of all, Jabba are doing there. Plus the fact that I try to see logic in everything is making it hard on me.

So I'd like to hear your thoughts on how I can learn to deal with this, because as much as I try, it keeps lingering in my mind. I know that it would be easier for me if I could just 'let go', but I'm having a hard time with that.

I guess what rubs me the wrong way about this is how (it appears) you conveyed your intent for the game and how this guy flat-out ignored it to do his own thing.

Frankly, if I were you and had communicated my expectations to the players, I'd feel disrespected. If I had said "okay guys, I'm running Star Wars, except it's kinda like Firefly in themes, as in you're on the fringe and working semi-legally and I definitely want to veer away from the movie characters plots," and one player brought back Bail Organa's semi-adopted kid…I'd probably flat-out say no to that idea.

The idea that a player backstory is "holy" is absolute BS. The GM has a right to decide to include that character or not in his ongoing story. The GM is the only person qualified to determine whether a proposed character is going to add to the game or disrupt it. In your case it seems like you believe the character is at worst going to derail your entire game concept, or at least is a cobbled-together page of name-dropping and astonishing coincidences. The player may feel let down if you don't want this character, but if everyone else has ideas made in line with your vision for the game and his clearly won't work, it's on him to change. But it's also on you to start the discussion and, if you continue to feel like the character is very thin, or will be disruptive to the plot, or you simply don't want to deal with big-name movie characters…you maybe should tell him to think about a new backstory or find a new game. The player's right to build his dream character is not tied in to the right to be able to play it. Certainly that concept could fit into a game. Personally I think it'd work better in Age of Rebellion, but even then this character comes across to me like a Mary Sue snowflake in backstory, and I can't stand that.

If he was allowed to keep parts of the backstory, I agree with the above posters. Show him why a debt to Jabba is as bad as it is. Out of all the loan-sharks in the Rim, this guy picked Jabba for some reason. Maybe desperation. I am not at all saying to punish him for wanting the tie to Jabba. I am, however, suggesting you play Jabba like Jabba should be played - utterly ruthless and loving of brutal dramatic pageantry. And, in all likelihood, never allow him to buy that Obligation down. THAT is why you don't get tangled up with Hutts.

the key for a narrative game is CHARACTER BACKGROUND .

...

Also as a new GM, lay down game RULES/Guidelines/Expections before you even start making characters. Ie...if you are a new GM i would flat out tell them 2 rules off the bat

Group is expected to be non-evil people. Gray decisions, selfish acts, etc are ok if they make sense to the character but they should be leaning on the side of GOOD.

Group is expected to work together and cooperate. No killing, stealing, etc from other characters. In-fighting, disagreements, arguments are fine (maybe even some pushing/shoving/fist fights), but past that the group shouldnt even entertain as a possibility.

I think even the crunchiest game benefits from good character backgrounds =P

As to the rules, 1 is fine to prevent disruption. I would never suggest 2. Game circumstances occur which can fragment the party unity. These can be great stories in their own right. If characters grow to hate and scheme against each other, that's where the game went. Putting down an arbitrary rule not to play out how your character would act is, to me, over-reaching - provided of course that one person doesn't choose to be a psycho and shoot everyone "because it's what my character would do." So in this I see that balance can be important, but I can also see how growing IC bad blood can result in attempted murder.

So I'd like to hear your thoughts on how I can learn to deal with this, because as much as I try, it keeps lingering in my mind. I know that it would be easier for me if I could just 'let go', but I'm having a hard time with that.

Remember, "Yes and...."

OK Bill, I have read your player history and it is great, I think you can play that character and.....

From what I read of you background I think you should have 15 points of Obligation in Family because of your ties with Bail Ograna and Leia, because I just can't see them letting you off the obligation hook.

I think too there is a 10 point Bounty Obligation because of your hated of the Empire and your open displays of hostility. You could also take 10-20 points of duty to offset this.

Also, are you sure you want the Debt with Jabba - he can be pretty mean and no one messes with Jabba who isn't a Jedi? Jabba just kept adding to Solo's debt for "late payment", bounty hunter fees and admin costs. I don't think this obligation will ever be payed out or traded off.

Now, you have given him what he want but you have shown him there is an extra cost for these things. More than likley he won't want to start the game with 40+ Obligation, and for that matter a big portion of that obligation will never be reduced or go away.

Two cents:

I am an experienced GM with D&D in many editions, but this new game system has me stoked. However, for my group I definitely put the training wheels on, as one poster described.

My plan for wading into the new system is this: We are currently running the Beginner Rules with Pre-Gens. There are a lot of differences in the rule set that make it miles easier to absorb what is really a radically different way of gaming. Using the pre-gens allows my table to experience the system in a way that will allow them to make educated decisions on character creation later on. They wanted to make their PCs right away, but now appreciate the idea of a "tutorial" adventure set.

We have finished the boxed set and are now about a third of the way through "Long Arm..." After these two canned adventures, we will create our own PCs and start over.

NOW, I am still not intimately experienced with this system, and neither are they. So instead of diving into all of the intricacies of creating my own campaign, I will take advantage of the canned adventures that frankly, I just paid good money to purchase! The CB has a nice little bounty adventure in the back. The GM screen has another quick one, and if you really want to, get Beyond the Rim. This full on three Act Module not only has a cool Indiana Jones meets Star Wars story, but acts a mini-supplement with Three new location profiles, some new adversaries and a couple of other new things to expand your resource pool.

After all of that, we will surely have the foundation needed to really start to spread our wings in a vast universe.

So I'd like to hear your thoughts on how I can learn to deal with this, because as much as I try, it keeps lingering in my mind. I know that it would be easier for me if I could just 'let go', but I'm having a hard time with that.

Remember, "Yes and...."

OK Bill, I have read your player history and it is great, I think you can play that character and.....

From what I read of you background I think you should have 15 points of Obligation in Family because of your ties with Bail Ograna and Leia, because I just can't see them letting you off the obligation hook.

I think too there is a 10 point Bounty Obligation because of your hated of the Empire and your open displays of hostility. You could also take 10-20 points of duty to offset this.

Also, are you sure you want the Debt with Jabba - he can be pretty mean and no one messes with Jabba who isn't a Jedi? Jabba just kept adding to Solo's debt for "late payment", bounty hunter fees and admin costs. I don't think this obligation will ever be payed out or traded off.

Now, you have given him what he want but you have shown him there is an extra cost for these things. More than likley he won't want to start the game with 40+ Obligation, and for that matter a big portion of that obligation will never be reduced or go away.

Problem with this is it diverges significantly from the RAW on Obligation, and the player WILL view it as being punished for his backstory when nobody else has that amount of stuff heaped on them for playing "legit" fringes. Or he'll want some kind of IC compensation for all that Obligation (money, XP, etc).

I doubt this player will just take the hint that his backstory is discouraged and I think just telling him that it's going to disrupt the game and asking him to revise or start over is more honest and creates fewer problems. If he drops, what's the harm?

Well, it's not my intention to have him drop, not at all. I'd rather go forward with his background than have him leave. In the end, we're all in it for the fun.

That said, I contacted him again this weekend. Turns out the background he came up with was the result of not having enough time to spend on a decent one. He told me bits he was originally planning to do, and they sounded so much better. For example, he was planning on using a Jedi of his own creation in his story, with several twists in there. In the end, I think he might have felt some time pressure (I gave them all about a month, with last sunday being the deadline), and dropped that whole plot and replaced it with Obi-Wan. It's a shame really, because I know that he would have come up with something great if he could have spent more time on it.

We're all coming back together on sunday to go through character creation and see how we can intertwine the characters (bonds, as used in the Dark Heresy Youtube series by itmeJP, come to mind). So I suggested that we'd stay a bit longer and go through his background creation together. I'm sure that we can come up with one that will satisfy the both of us.

I think he understands where I'm coming from, but I do get the feeling that I may have stepped on his toes a bit.

Sounds like your player's heart is in the right place.

I'd also consider that they don't have to have their back-stories all fleshed out 100% in incredible detail when the game starts!

Plenty of stories, Star Wars included, kick off with characters having some backstory but not all the details. Then the writers fill in the details as necessary when it's time to feature that character or have the past involved somehow.

Exactly. A too-detailed backstory hamstrings some of the GM's ability to surprise the character, in the end. There's a fine balance between giving too little and too much. But I'm glad you could work it out.

Some excellent ideas and points going on here. I'll drop a couple of ideas about each.

First to address Veruca's problem, backstory is dicey in any game you play. More so when the game comes from a movie or book series. Backstories should not really be considered sacrosanct, but rather as rough ideas to be hashed out between the GM and the player. I'd recommend ratcheting the "Famous-o-Meter" down a few notches. If he wants Vader to be involved, why not a local official, a Jedi Hunter, or maybe even a Hand. If he wants Bail and Leia to be involved, why not other Alderaanian officials, less well known but equally dead. Obi-Wan might be difficult to reconcile, but perhaps he knew the Imperial official on Tatooine who knew of a strange hermit named Ben Kenobi. Finally, there was a crimelord that was competing with Jabba in "Tales of Jabba's Palace." The name escapes me, but its an example of what people are out there. I would explain that the people he discusses are the giants of the galaxy. When they turn their eyes on something, horrific change occurs. Look at Battlefront 2. Vader crushed the government of Naboo, destroyed the facilities on Kamino and Mustifar, and blew apart Polis Massa. If you draw the attention of them, you are likely to be crushed under their gaze.

Realistically, the reason that this person is leaning so heavily on movie figures is because they are in an environment they do not know. The person probably needs help, but is too proud to either ask for or accept it. If they entirely insist on it, i would let them, but their contacts to these people would be irrelevant. Those names would invoke terror, but in all likelihood people would not believe that some second-rate former politician knew any of them. Incredulity is probably the best way to handle the situation.

Anyway, that went on longer than I intended. Hopefully it helps.

Secondly, let us address the idea of campaign development, which was Sinkaro's issue that started the thread in the first place.

I agree that new GMs should start out with prefabricated adventures, to get a sense of what they should prepare for. I liked the "Long Arm of the Hutt" story arc, and think that it, and "Escape from Mos Shutta" are excellent stories. I didn't care much for the one on Coruscant, but that's probably because it felt too Shadowrunny for me. Bear in mind, however, the prefabs do not cover everything. Your players will invariably find the chinks in the story's armor.

My particular campaign is based around a great debt the players owe to a mysterious entity who sprung them from a prison ship. Every now and again they are sent to do seemingly unrelated tasks (find a list of smugglers operating out of Mos Espa, then freeing a bunch of wookies from a Trandoshan slaver.) Discovering the Benefactor's identity and motivations is a big part of the story.

Another idea I toyed with was being contracted by an exporer's guild to map some unexplored areas and hyperspace lanes. That campaign would probably be heavily dependant on logistics and would give precious few opportunities to spend credits. The characters would also find themselves able to make their own rules, and would give you as a GM the freedom to make stuff up without referring to canon too much. It might have a bit of a Star Trek feel to it, but could offer a lot of opportunities to play with exotic alien life, non-jedi traditions of the force, and lost civilizations.

I would recommend keeping your ambitions vague and small for the first few sessions, and focus on one adventure to the next until you can find some sort of thread to tie it together. The idea of a magnificent sweeping story will come later, and perhaps entirely unbidden.

If none of this helps, turn to GM guides from various games, regardless of the source. D&D (any edition), Pathfinder, Dark Heresy, and so on. They have valuable advice for every game system, including group dynamics, world creation, backstory, alignment handling, adventure creation, rewards and so forth. Treat it a lot like a textbook and take notes over the important bits you want to remember. And always remember that your goal is to create a cooperative storytelling experience, you are not the players' enemy.

(Sigh, look at me talk about a game like it's the most important thing in the universe... )

The game, no. Star Wars? YES! LOL

Bear in mind, however, the prefabs do not cover everything. Your players will invariably find the chinks in the story's armor.

Yes - yes they will. I've been listening to different podcasts where they've played through modules or even recorded them and things NEVER go the same way twice... I talked to some people at the FLGS last night after playing X-Wing about "Edge" and found out there are several wanting to play, but no one wants to tackle GM'ing. Since I'm starting a roll20.net campaign I am GM'ing anyway, so I offered to do it.

I intend to have each of the games start with Mos Shuuta & then move to Long Arm, but I anticipate VERY different results from each and from there? Who knows... I have "Enemy" downloaded as well as the ones published so far from the Order 66 kickstarter, so I have plenty to draw from... I'm kinda anxious to see HOW each party changes things... :-)

I seem to have been hijacked for my group. So I shall be reading with intrest!

I for one would love follow-up stories from some of the first-time GMs, once you've had a chance to run your games.

We are all rooting for you!

Well, with the risk of him being even more upset with me, I took his background and rewrote it into a version that I thought made the most sense (instead of asking him to rewrite it, seeing as how he's got a busy schedule). I kept all the important stuff, so it's not like I completely remade it. I simply changed some details and locations. I also removed most of the movie references, as he had told me that they were there because of time constraint, and added custom-made replacements (instead of Obi-Wan, there is now a Jedi created by the player). Wanting him not to feel like a 'shadow of his former self', I even added things that makes the character more important, as other players seem to have tied into his background.

So I showed him my version, expecting the worst, and he seems to like it. I'm meeting with my group in about an hour, and I'll go over it again with him in person. Seems like this might just turn out okay.

If he agrees, I'll see if I can put both versions here for you to read.

I give your player credit for trying to tie his character into the familiar Star Wars background.

He went a bit too far in trying to have ties to everyone and everything though. In the original trilogy Obi-Wan is sort of the link that ties every one together initially. Luke knows him slightly and Leia remembers him as an associate of her father. He was also Bader's old mentor and a student of a Yoda. Han brings in Jabba and Lando neither of whom have any ties to other characters initially, not even Luke and Obi-Wan who live on Tatooine seem to know about Jabba. Spread across an entire party your player's proposed background presents no real issue.

I could see a lot of the proposed background not presenting huge issues in play. Alderaan is destroyed and with it Bail Organa. Leia is off leading in the Rebellion, Obi-Wan is dead, Jabba's loansharking organization is probably quite large and extensive so that works well. Being in debt to Jabba may even cause some estrangement from Leia.

However I do agree that replacing most of the prominent historical figures with other characters not quite so well known would likely work better if you intend for most of the movie events and characters to remain offscreen in your games.