I expect we'll hear HD's response from Sam soon. I've sent in three questions in, not on this topic, and have had all of them answered by him within a week. Waiting with bated breath.

Or maybe whoever is getting HappyDaze's questions just thinks he's full of crap and hits the delete button

(this remark NOT should be taken even remotely seriously)

I've had no issues with getting a quick response from Sam. But then again, I also do a lot of research on the question and provide as many references to the rules in question as a I can, so that probably makes things easier on his part as I'm presenting as many of the facts as possible, making less legwork that he (or anyone else that winds up seeing my question) has to do. Given they also need to their regular writing/staff duties for FFG (i.e. the stuff that they get paid to do), I suspect they appreciate it when they don't have to go looking through a book for which page rule such-and-such is listed on.

Edit: for some reason, the word "not" got excluded from that first bit.

Here's a nice "err on the side of caution" house rule for players interested in hauling one of these bad boys around; a 3 HP, 5000 credit restricted (rarity 7) attachment that allows heavy repeating blasters to be be hauled around without a portable generator. The attachment reduces the weapon's base damage by 1, and runs out of ammo on 3 Threats or 1 Triumph.

Or just keep it as it is and let Brawny PCs carry it around and shoot it but only after they spend the required three actions to set it up. I mean that's pretty much what it has to be based on what Sam told Dbuntu, it takes three actions total by one or more persons to set up which strongly implies that to fire this weapon you need to set it up first.

I'm sure we'll know soon.

Or just keep it as it is and let Brawny PCs carry it around and shoot it but only after they spend the required three actions to set it up. I mean that's pretty much what it has to be based on what Sam told Dbuntu, it takes three actions total by one or more persons to set up which strongly implies that to fire this weapon you need to set it up first.

I'm sure we'll know soon.

The tripod takes three actions, but why use it if your Brawn is 5+?

My untested, old, house-rules regarding the Heavy Repeating Blaster:

HOUSE RULE: Heavy Repeater Errata and Addendum

The Tripod : First, on page 193, the Tripod Mount attachment states it requires 2 Maneuvers to set up. Under the description of the Heavy Repeating Blaster (page 162), it states it needs 3 total crew Actions to set up on its included tripod. I’ve ruled it takes 2 Actions to attach the Heavy Repeater to the Tripod. Second, the Tripod for a Repeater is a large attachment. I think it deserves an Encumbrance of its own – 5.

Portable Generator : Unlike the Light Repeater, the larger Heavy Repeater requires a power source. When it is not hooked directly to a vehicle’s or structure’s powerplant, it needs a Portable Generator. This generator has an Encumbrance of 8 and requires an Action to attach it or remove it from the Repeater.

Total Encumbrance : The Heavy Repeater has an Encumbrance of 9. To me this seems to only include the Heavy Repeater itself, not the Tripod or Portable Generator when needed. The Light Repeater has an Encumbrance of 7 – adding the Tripod and the large Portable Generator should require much more then the Encumbrance of a small blaster. When you add the Tripod and Portable Generator it has an Encumbrance of 22! Yep that’s why it required a Snowtrooper crew of 3 – one carries the Repeater, one the Tripod, and one the Portable Generator. It takes 3 total Actions to set up the Heavy Repeater with Tripod (2) and Portable Generator (1). So, that crew of 3 can move (1 Maneuver each), then each performs an Action to set it up. All in one round (a minute) as the Millenium Falcon prepares to take off.

Below are gear descriptions for the Tripod and Portable Generator. Note that I made the Tripod a piece of gear instead of an attachment. The "Tripod Mount" attachment is just that, the mount needed on the weapon so you can attach a Tripod. Unlike the Bipod, it can be detached easily and carried seperately:

TRIPOD change

A standard tripod mountable to any weapon with a Tripod Mount attachment. A tripod takes 2 Actions to attach or detach from its weapon. Note that these Actions could be peformed by two different persons within the same round, or one person over two rounds.

Price: 250 credits.

Encumbrance: 5.

Rarity: 3.

PORTABLE GENERATOR

A large but portable fusion power supply useable for a variety of tasks that need power. This generator may also provide power to larger blasters with the Power Cord attachment. It is a requirement for a mobile Heavy Repeating Blaster when not attached to the power supply of a structure or vehicle. A blaster connected to a Portable Generator may ignore all out-of-ammo results. It takes an Action to attach or disconnect from the weapon. Portable Generators used to power a blaster are known to sometimes overheat. tt results when firing the weapon will cause an over-heat 1 round later unless something is done. Average ( dd ) Mechanics check to stabilize the generator to avoid a meltdown and destruction of the generator (treat as a Blast 4 to all Engaged with the generator).

Price: 750 credits.

Encumbrance: 8.

Rarity: 4.

I don't think the generator should require an action to regulate unless the weapon operator gets a Despair. Its not like the thing is so inherently unstable that it automatically becomes a bomb if attention isn't paid to it every moment.

Or just keep it as it is and let Brawny PCs carry it around and shoot it but only after they spend the required three actions to set it up. I mean that's pretty much what it has to be based on what Sam told Dbuntu, it takes three actions total by one or more persons to set up which strongly implies that to fire this weapon you need to set it up first.

I'm sure we'll know soon.

The tripod takes three actions, but why use it if your Brawn is 5+?

Well, the tripod takes two maneuvers to set up. The gun itself takes three actions to set up.

That might imply that the gun doesn't get hauled around fully set up, but rather in pieces that are assembled in the field.

I don't think the generator should require an action to regulate unless the weapon operator gets a Despair. Its not like the thing is so inherently unstable that it automatically becomes a bomb if attention isn't paid to it every moment.

This from Wookieepedia is why I added that flavor to the portable generator:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/E-Web_heavy_repeating_blaster

One crewer manned the gun, and the other monitored and adjusted the Eksoan Class-4T3 power generator. Like many high-yield generators, the 4T3 was prone to overheating and potentially explosive overload, despite its advanced Gk3 Cryocooler cooling unit.

The monitoring of the generator, the added weight, and the setup time, ensures the weapon is crew served, which is what I personally think it should always be. Monitoring the generator would be similar to the modern equivalent of an AG (assistant gunner) ensuring belt fed ammo doesn't run out or get snagged.

Well, Sam answered.

I got a response as well:

Rule Question:
Hello,

So, can a single PC carry and fire an EWeb Heavy Repeating Blaster Rambo style (ie. on a sling or whatever). If so how would this be accomplished by the RAW.

Thank you,

Greg

Hello Greg,

Rules as written, you would not be able to carry the heavy repeating blaster around, rambo-style, at least not without spending three actions setting it up at the beginning of each combat (and even if you had enough encumbrance capacity and brawn to ignore its weight and cumbersome rating).

That being said, if your GM is willing to allow you to do it, I can suggest some guidelines for setting this up. First, you'd need some way to handle the encumbrance and the cumbersome rating. Since this weapon has an external power supply, if I was the GM I'd insist on a backpack (which also increases your encumbrance rating), and a sling (which decreases the cumbersome rating). The GM would have to give you permission to use the Weapon Sling with something that isn't a Ranged (Heavy) weapon. I'd suggest as a trade-off removing the Quick Draw Mod (and honestly, even Rambo isn't quick-drawing an M60), and maybe upping the cost. Obviously, you're still going to need a pretty impressive Brawn to move the thing around anyway, though (which isn't helping you actually hit anything), and even with the backpack, this is just about all you're carrying.

Finally, if the GM still feels this isn't enough, he's perfectly within his rights to insist that whenever you move, you need to spend a Preparation maneuver to brace yourself before you can fire again.

Hope that helps!

Sam Stewart

Senior RPG Producer

Fantasy Flight Games

So there could be a way but as Sam describe it it would be a stretch.

I can't see any sense in requiring a Weapon Sling if you have Brawn 5+ since the point of the sling (or tripod) is to lower the Cumbersome 5 down to where the weapon can be handled. If you have Brawn 5+, you wouldn't need that kind of help.

You'd think there was an evil plan between the developers... Who gave these guys creative licence anyways?

That's an interesting comment about the 'Brace' maneuver. An M214 Titanium model ('old painless in Predator) has 150-300lbs recoil when firing and weights at least 100 lbs without ammo. I kinda like the need for bracing if you aren't using the tripod.. It makes it impossible to aim and brace on the same turn unless you like strain. I like that. You can't maneuver and aim... ever.

Old painless only had 30 seconds of ammo weighing another 150 lbs. If a 'Wookie' was going to do this all by his lonesome, despair would empty his clip?

Even without the tripod, the encumbrance of 9 is serious business. We're gonna need a modular backpack with a lot of modular ammo packs. :-)

I would like to point out the obvious role playing issues. Characters capable of this would be few and far between. You would be noticed, maybe you'd even have the death sentence in 5 systems... If someone carried an M214 to commit obvious crimes on Earth, we'd hunt him down with maximum prejudice. It stands out. Keep that thought in mind with your players.

I always find this type of thread distressing, especially when people feel the need to waste the time of the devs to get an answer instead of just making a decision.

It is really simple, If you have someone who wants to be Governor of Minnesota, either tell him he hasn't got time to bleed, or tell him he hasn't got time to bleed with a light repeating blaster.

That whole rule comes from the flavor text of the E-web HRB and is for a rather crappy HRB. If you want to let someone play with the HRB, then just tell them that they need to get a custom made jobby that has a droid brain in the power backpack to regulate and make it outrageously expensive. Heck if you can make it so that they decide to waste the sleazy weapons dealer who tries to extort more money out of them (that's called a plot hook) so much the better.

Then make your adventures so that every now and then he gets to mow down a brigade of stormtroopers while giggling in glee. Then make it so that occasionally mowing down everything in sight is a really really bad idea. Then make it so that sometimes he cant fit it in his Tux, but sometimes he gets to intimidate a small town. Make it a plot point, not a problem

EotE is a first edition of a new game system. It is going to have holes and rules that don't work. GMs are going to have to patch those holes. It happens. It has been that way since 1e AD&D was the only game and it is that way today.

But would you please stop making my books take longer to come out by bothering the people who make the game?

Korjik:

Raw... the game is clear that you can carry this thing with a mere fireman. Write up says you need a lot of undefined help with nonexistent rules.

A) The rules contradict the write up of the weapon.

B) The write up references equipment that does not exist.

C) The write up references actions that do not exist in the game.

The reason for this discrepancy is that there are no rules for weapons with multiple operators.

The game developers have not wasted weeks or even months thinking about this. FYI all companies use the magic number of support + vacation is +30% of your time. These guys used oh half a day at worst. Probably saying "Pew Pew Pew" with minifigs 'cause, you know lasers and sh*t.

My guess is that these guys have regular jobs and have to deal with regular scheduling issues, like proof reading, shipping, vacations and management who can't make their minds up. Gosh how quickly can we get shipments from Asia today? Artist hasn't had free time.. Can't we double his pay? How come accounting didn't pay those guys on time?

But it's not like I know. I only head a small multidisciplinary R&D department of 5 designing sensors with lasers and sh*t. "Pew Pew Pew"

But would you please stop making my books take longer to come out by bothering the people who make the game?

While I understand your point and try to exercise discretion when deciding whether to ask questions, I'm not sure the questions take enough time to significantly impact productivity. And personally, I'd feel great if someone cared about something I created so much they'd read it closely enough to notice apparent contradictions, debated those contradictions at length with other avid fans, and contacted me when they realized they couldn't reach a consensus.

I got a response as well:

Rule Question:

Hello,

So, can a single PC carry and fire an EWeb Heavy Repeating Blaster Rambo style (ie. on a sling or whatever). If so how would this be accomplished by the RAW.

Thank you,

Greg

Hello Greg,

Rules as written, you would not be able to carry the heavy repeating blaster around, rambo-style, at least not without spending three actions setting it up at the beginning of each combat (and even if you had enough encumbrance capacity and brawn to ignore its weight and cumbersome rating).

That being said, if your GM is willing to allow you to do it, I can suggest some guidelines for setting this up. First, you'd need some way to handle the encumbrance and the cumbersome rating. Since this weapon has an external power supply, if I was the GM I'd insist on a backpack (which also increases your encumbrance rating), and a sling (which decreases the cumbersome rating). The GM would have to give you permission to use the Weapon Sling with something that isn't a Ranged (Heavy) weapon. I'd suggest as a trade-off removing the Quick Draw Mod (and honestly, even Rambo isn't quick-drawing an M60), and maybe upping the cost. Obviously, you're still going to need a pretty impressive Brawn to move the thing around anyway, though (which isn't helping you actually hit anything), and even with the backpack, this is just about all you're carrying.

Finally, if the GM still feels this isn't enough, he's perfectly within his rights to insist that whenever you move, you need to spend a Preparation maneuver to brace yourself before you can fire again.

Hope that helps!

Sam Stewart

Senior RPG Producer

Fantasy Flight Games

So there could be a way but as Sam describe it it would be a stretch.

This works for me! It's an extrapolation of the rules, and while the weapon sling doesn't sound necessary for a Brawn 5 character it still makes narrative sense. Thanks for writing to the guy!

I can't see any sense in requiring a Weapon Sling if you have Brawn 5+ since the point of the sling (or tripod) is to lower the Cumbersome 5 down to where the weapon can be handled. If you have Brawn 5+, you wouldn't need that kind of help.

Ummm how exactly do you imagine someone carrying and firing a weapon of this size without a sling?

Unless you expect the PC to never let the weapon go and use their hands for anything other than holding the gun.

What are they teaching kids in school these days? Obviously not logic.

Just for the record this is still Munchkinism in my mind and as Sam mentioned this GM would not allow it.

Look, I like Star Wars in it's live action format, the movies and for the most part TCW, doing stuff like this is just too cartoony, comicbookey, or videogamey for my tastes.

I can't see any sense in requiring a Weapon Sling if you have Brawn 5+ since the point of the sling (or tripod) is to lower the Cumbersome 5 down to where the weapon can be handled. If you have Brawn 5+, you wouldn't need that kind of help.

Ummm how exactly do you imagine someone carrying and firing a weapon of this size without a sling?

Unless you expect the PC to never let the weapon go and use their hands for anything other than holding the gun.

What are they teaching kids in school these days? Obviously not logic.

Just for the record this is still Munchkinism in my mind and as Sam mentioned this GM would not allow it.

Look, I like Star Wars in it's live action format, the movies and for the most part TCW, doing stuff like this is just too cartoony, comicbookey, or videogamey for my tastes.

Cartoons... comic books... video games... you mean the mediums through which a huge percentage of Star Wars stories are told? I can see someone with Brawn 5 hauling one around IF their physiology justified it. Large droids, Herglics, and even particularly big Wookiees all come to mind most readily.

My advice is this; if you're dealing with a Brawn 5 player who wants to use a heavy repeating blaster, discuss with them how exactly they plan on hauling it around. Talk about whether or not a strap is appropriate, or even a weapon harness. Granted a Brawn 5 character can carry a HRB without a weapon harness, but consider if they're using gear like backpacks and spacer's duffels to carry extra gear; Brawn 5 or not, a lack of a weapon harness might not make much narrative sense.

Suspension of disbelief is a matter of personal taste for different individuals. I'm exceedingly liberal in this regard, but I alsorecognize it when my players aren't -- the important thing is to make sure your player's tastes are accounted for without breaking the no#1 rule here; 3 Actions to set up the HRB no matter how you slice it.

Cartoons... comic books... video games... you mean the mediums through which a huge percentage of Star Wars stories are told? I can see someone with Brawn 5 hauling one around IF their physiology justified it. Large droids, Herglics, and even particularly big Wookiees all come to mind most readily.

I'm not talking about the stories I'm talking about real world physics, such as they are. I know this is space fantasy and there are many things within the SW universe that are not physically possible but there is a difference is between Cartoon physics and Live Action physics. It's immediately discernible by watching the two mediums. Even in films such as the Avengers you can tell the difference.

In my mind, and thankfully my player's minds as well, a Wookie lugging around a 2m+ crew served weapon is cartoony and just doesn't fit. Now thats not to say I wouldn't allow a super Brawny PC to pick one up and go all Rambo for a scene while in some kind of crazy rage but to carry one around as regular (or even irregular) equipment thats just Cartoony. If you can't grok the difference then this conversation is rather pointless (well, pointless'er).

LOL @ pointless(er)

I absolutely understand the difference. I feel the same way about two-handed weapons; when a PC got his arm cut off, I only allowed him to swing a vibro-axe by spending a Destiny Point. So I could see the same thing applying here.

The idea of an exceedingly large individual Wookiee wielding one with a backpack doesn't sound entirely improbable in my mind, it's just something that would require a custom rig of some type as well as three actions to set up every time he wanted to use it (turn on the backpack generator, fire up the power cuplink, and activate the cooling cycle or something like that). Part of that custom rig might very well be a smaller barrel, but no matter what I'd say that wearing one means no backpack and no utility belt, leaving few options for carrying additional gear.

In any case I definitely agree that this should be an unusual thing, so in addition to the dev's advice I'm also going to say that the power generator is volatile and can explode, dealing the weapon's base damage directly to the wielder with Breach 1. Hence why you don't see it on the battlefield very much, even if you have an army of cyborg Wookiees.

Just for the record this is still Munchkinism in my mind and as Sam mentioned this GM would not allow it.

Light Sabers aside, Gear ain't that awesome in Star Wars. Experience and role play drive how awesome your character is. Initially a marauder would be pretty wimpy. But after a while, he'd be able to fillet you with a dull spoon. (The difference between damage from a Vibro Sword and a dull spoon would be dwarfed by skill.)

If I was to have this in the game, I'd prefer if it wasn't the norm. I'd prefer if the players used this gun in a defensive position which they have previously established.

Well, Sam answered.

The power coupling and generator are included in the encumbrance of the weapon. <my snip>

One person can carry it, and there doesn't seem to be any provision for dividing the Encumbrance among multiple operators.

I think it's completely ridiculous for the game designers to have intended something like the E-Web to be carried around by a single person and given only a 9 Encumbrance when including the tripod and generator . I try not to make house rules, but with this unbelievability I just have to.

The difference in Encumbrance between this (including the tripod and generator beside it, enc 9):

And this (light repeater, enc 7):

Is this? (heavy blaster pistol, 2 enc):

I don't think so.

The example we have in the movies of a Heavy Repeating Blaster in action shows 4 Snowtroopers carrying the crew served weapon (1 for the weapon, 1 for the tripod, 2 for the generator) and 2 operating it while firing (1 firing, 1 fiddling with the generator). If only 9 Encumbrance why are 4 lugging it around? See the video link below. That E-Web and its accessories is only slightly more encumbring then the T21 up at the top? The designers intended a 2 Brawn character to be only slowed down a bit (loses free manuever) when lugging that generator, tripod, and repeater? I find it hard to imagine even a strong person being able to lift all of that at once, not just the weight but the bulkiness of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHNjSpRl8Ro

Anyone here play Metal Gear Solid?

Vulcan Raven, yo.

How is Star Wars any less absurd than Metal Gear Solid?

I can't see any sense in requiring a Weapon Sling if you have Brawn 5+ since the point of the sling (or tripod) is to lower the Cumbersome 5 down to where the weapon can be handled. If you have Brawn 5+, you wouldn't need that kind of help.

Ummm how exactly do you imagine someone carrying and firing a weapon of this size without a sling?

Unless you expect the PC to never let the weapon go and use their hands for anything other than holding the gun.

What are they teaching kids in school these days? Obviously not logic.

Just for the record this is still Munchkinism in my mind and as Sam mentioned this GM would not allow it.

Look, I like Star Wars in it's live action format, the movies and for the most part TCW, doing stuff like this is just too cartoony, comicbookey, or videogamey for my tastes.

If you want to describe having a sling for description then sure. If you require the Weapon Sling attachment, then no since the rules are clear that it isn't necessary.

Also, your lines about "not learning logic" and "munchkinism" are insulting. There's no call for that.