Hello everyone,

when I have started digging through the SW EotE CRB, I have stumbled over the mentioning that SW EotE was especially designed along the character of Han Solo.

And often I read interwebz-users describing how much SW EotE would qualify as an rpg which has caught the spirit, idea, theme, subject, whatever *fill in appropriate terms* of Star Wars?

Now I wonder about two things:

a) What exactly is this "spirit" (in broadest sense) of Star Wars - in general or in particular considering EotE?

b) And if it comes to adventure-designs, what elements each or most adventures must (re)appear in order to make the adventure Star Wars-esque? Looking at SW EotE alone I fear that adventures might become Wild West Fantasy in Space loosing track of what Star Wars might be all about ... So a third question could be: Do you have any concerns about what is possible and especially risky about Star Wars - or in other words: Under what circumstances adventures for Star Wars (in general or about EotE or AoR) might fail to comply with "the" Star Wars theme?

Since I am not a Star Wars nut like so many Star Wars fans out there, and since I am not so well informed about this universe, I have some trouble answering these questions. But maybe you can help me understand Star Wars (much) better ... Thank you in advance!

Best wishes!

Mad

Vodka! Vodka and blue milk!

EDIT: [Jawa voice] Martini!

Ahem. To me, the guiding theme of Star Wars is hope.

Hope gets people to suffer and sacrifice to do what needs to be done.

Hope inspires flawed individuals* to strive to be better, despite the cost.

Hope beats a tyranical Empire, despite the difference in numbers and equipment.

*EotE characters, perhaps?

I have no doubt that Edge of the Empire is the murkiest of the three planned games. But it doesn't have to be hopeless.

We were on the run, almost broke, limited resources, and trapped. We see a chadrafan getting shaken down for his weekly protection money and our pilot - a charming but amoral guy - tries to pay off the enforcers. It moved me so much that I threw in, too, leaving us both with zero credits. That little bit of charity from scumbags like us when we could least afford it felt like one of the most Star Warsy moments I've ever had in-game.

DBAD...Don't Be A D***K

I think that sums up the Wars nicely.

Woof. Tough questions. I've been trying to distill it myself, but it's important to remember that it's okay for your own style and flavor to bleed into it.

Anyway, the core sensation of a Star Wars story should be adventure. The Colonel is right that hope is an important part of that, but the mixture can include anything so long as the story keeps the energy going. At any turn, there should be the possibility of failure, but also of triumph. It doesn't mean everything needs to be an action scene, but it does mean the stakes should be clearly defined.

The second question's a little more difficult to answer. Considering Star Wars is a space opera, you can rely on that a little to tell you what should be part of it: spaceships, interplanetary intrigue, running and gunning in atmospheres and outside them. If you want to get dramatic and include its pulp roots, make sure there's a seemingly overwhelming villain that the characters are working towards overcoming one step -- in this case, one session -- at a time.

But it's all just guidelines. Frankly, I'd say take your story in whatever direction it seems to demand. If you're the GM, come up with some unexpected reversals; if you're a player, stay true to your character's motivations and goals, even if they bring you into some conflict with the others. Remember, not everyone on the Falcon always got along.

The perfect example of a satisfying emotional payoff at the end of an adventure.

Freedom. The endless possibilities of it. Being able to jump in a ship and travel hyperspace to the other side of the galaxy. The loss of it, by losing sight of what's important. The struggle to regain it and how beings will fight for it. The endless possibilities it inspires looking at a double sunset. That's the spirit to me.

In regards to adventure, it needs to have spontaneity, a make it up as you go feel. Even if there is a plan, the plan falls apart quickly. It needs to be witty. It can viewed as a lot of things, but Star Wars gained the popularity it did because it is a Wild West fantasy in space, keep it on the frontier, the ragged edge of civilization, where fast thinking and a faster blaster are your best tools.

Star Wars is never too gray, some gray, but when there is any grayness, the path in the proper direction is still pretty obvious.

Space opera. Technology is there but not a focus. Science fantasy. Heroes that can make a difference on a grand or small scale. Have to dig out my Buck Rogers seasons again.

(This is probably going to be the most romantic thread the forum has known.)

Hello.

(This is probably going to be the most romantic thread the forum has know.)

Haven't thought about this; but now that you mention it, I sincerely hope it to happen ...

Best wishes!

Mad

I'm going to go with "fun" as the core of Star Wars, over-the-top pulp adventure, two fisted heroes, mustache twirling bad guys, exotic locations, lost civilizations, big space battles, four color fun,

Of course the universe is big and varied enough that you have stories from all over the map - possibly second only to Doctor Who in the ability to throw any genre on the page and have it stick. Pulp adventures one week, spaghetti western adventures the next, a political thriller after that. Dungeon crawls, comedy, mysteries, spy and espionage, massive ground battles in a civil war, exploration, ancient mysticism - it's all good! So I'd go with diversity as the other half of the Star Wars feel.

I'll speak for myself and try an answer part A. Being like 7 years old in the 70's and having Star Wars drop, was I don't know how to describe it. I mean there was no internet, basically no TV (at least in our house) and no gaming platforms to speak of. We read books(and comics) and played outside. I really can't articulate the impact, but it was huge. Farm boy to hero, fate, wookies, droids, death star, stormtroopers and the millenium falcon..all good and very consuming for a long time.

Overnight the entire neighborhood went from cops and robbers to stormtroopers and rebels. So the spirit for me is the sense of adventure and fate that brings back a feeling of good that can be felt the strongest from childhood memories. I'm not sure the book captures this, but a GM from that era certainly can.

Desslok pretty much covers everything I had to say on the pulp adventure front. I'd probably only add "big monsters" to that list.

At the risk of spitting in the eye of some of the EU, I'd say another essential bit is that eternal battle of Good vs Evil that seems to find itself at the core of each of these "Star Wars". The contrast is pretty stark, and there's not a lot of room for neutrality. Even the characters who occupy a moral grey area end up finding themselves serving one side or the other. They're either neutral in the service of Good (Han) or neutral in the service of Evil (Boba Fett). They can switch sides (like Lando), but it seems they always get drawn to one side or the other. (Note, that this doesn't necessarily have to mean picking a side between Rebels and Empire. I think Jabba falls pretty squarely on the side of evil, even without having any overt political affiliations.) Anytime I encounter fiction that muddies the waters of "Big **** Heroes vs. Mustache-Twirling Villains," it always feels a little less "Star Warsy" to me.

I think the spirit of the game depends on perspective , on the far edge of space where a traditional fringer might grow up then it is the wild west /don’t tread on me attitude. People want to live by their own rules.

If a person grew up in the core worlds where there was a republic and at least a semblance of democracy then people want “ the good ol’days “ and to get life back to normal. Fight the good fight

Explorers will want to the star trek thing and look for new places to live outside of this crazy conflict.

This world is such a smuggler haven this is opportunity in strife. The good/fluffy bunny side wants to fight the power and assist the republic and free people any way possible. Food, clothing anything to makes a community to work.

In the bad side if the police are looking the other way then bad things will happen.

(This is probably going to be the most romantic thread the forum has known.)

"Divorced, 43 year old female Star Wars geek seeks similar - age, gender and species not an issue - for fun and deep conversations about the Expanded Universe. 5' 1", 110lbs, brunette, reasonably attractive and still fits Slave Leia cosplay costume. Prefer non-smoker and non-darksider. No time-wasters; if you think Greedo shot first or 'Force Unleashed' was cool, please do not apply."

Is that 'romantic' enough? What do you mean, it;'s not Valentine's Day yet? Bah.

Oh, back on topic?

What exactly is this "spirit" (in broadest sense) of Star Wars

For me, I generally think of 'Force Unleashed' and the prequels.

The 'spirit of Star Wars' is the exact opposite of those.

"Divorced, 43 year old female Star Wars geek seeks similar - age, gender and species not an issue - for fun and deep conversations about the Expanded Universe. 5' 1", 110lbs, brunette, reasonably attractive and still fits Slave Leia cosplay costume. Prefer non-smoker and non-darksider. No time-wasters; if you think Greedo shot first or 'Force Unleashed' was cool, please do not apply."

Is that 'romantic' enough? What do you mean, it;'s not Valentine's Day yet? Bah.

Being a person for whom a picture is worth ZERO words sometimes has its advantages... lol

I think the spirit of Star Wars is that it can be so many things and be them well!

It's scifi (sci-fantasy, certainly... but grounded enough that we all follow easily). It's romance. It's adventure. It's action. And so much more... but it mixes them all up so well that, even if you say, "I don't like X movies.", in Star Wars, there's so much more that you end up caring about the X elements in Star Wars. I'm not a big fan of shooty movies, for example... but I'm pulled into the story so much by what I do like that when the shooty stuff happens, I care about the outcome so I stick with it!

So I melt when Han says "I know." and my stomach tightens when I know Chewie, Leia and Lando are running to rescue Han from Boba Fett and fighting there way against the Stormtroopers to reach him in time... and I can vividly see Leia's despair when she sees Boba Fett's ship taking off... and I care about her trying to escape.. all while I'm worrying about Luke throwing everything aside to face the biggest, baddest guy in the galaxy so that his friends won't suffer... and I feel for him when he pays the price both physically and emotionally for doing that... and how personal all that feels... yet it all takes place against a backdrop where planets are destroyed by battle stations the size of moons and when his first attempt at terrorizing the galaxy fails, the Emperor will try again...

I know this has a lot more to do with the original trilogy than the prequels but I think the above is the Spirit of Star Wars and the fact that it doesn't seem to apply so well to he prequels is at the heart of why the prequels aren't very well liked by Star Wars fans.

"Divorced, 43 year old female Star Wars geek seeks similar - age, gender and species not an issue - for fun and deep conversations about the Expanded Universe. 5' 1", 110lbs, brunette, reasonably attractive and still fits Slave Leia cosplay costume. Prefer non-smoker and non-darksider. No time-wasters; if you think Greedo shot first or 'Force Unleashed' was cool, please do not apply."

Is that 'romantic' enough? What do you mean, it;'s not Valentine's Day yet? Bah.

Being a person for whom a picture is worth ZERO words sometimes has its advantages... lol

I'm not gonna lie. I'm picturing the slave Leia costume. And how many times do I have to say it, Han is the only one that shot.

Alas, I was kidding about the Slave outfit. I did used to wear the white dress and earmuff hair as a girl, and I daresay I'd do a decent job of it today. But I'm just too shy to try Slave Leia or Aayla Secura or whatever.

"Divorced, 43 year old female Star Wars geek seeks similar - age, gender and species not an issue - for fun and deep conversations about the Expanded Universe. 5' 1", 110lbs, brunette, reasonably attractive and still fits Slave Leia cosplay costume. Prefer non-smoker and non-darksider. No time-wasters; if you think Greedo shot first or 'Force Unleashed' was cool, please do not apply."

Is that 'romantic' enough? What do you mean, it;'s not Valentine's Day yet? Bah.

Being a person for whom a picture is worth ZERO words sometimes has its advantages... lol

I'm not gonna lie. I'm picturing the slave Leia costume. And how many times do I have to say it, Han is the only one that shot.

And in the latest version if you look closely enough you'll not only see that Han is the only one that shot but that he shot twice - his first shot ricocheted back towards him and the second one hit Greedo.

I know this has a lot more to do with the original trilogy than the prequels but I think the above is the Spirit of Star Wars and the fact that it doesn't seem to apply so well to he prequels is at the heart of why the prequels aren't very well liked by Star Wars fans.

So young, and yet so very wise...!

The Force is strong in you, padawan Haley.

(This is probably going to be the most romantic thread the forum has known.)

"Divorced, 43 year old female Star Wars geek seeks similar - age, gender and species not an issue - for fun and deep conversations about the Expanded Universe. 5' 1", 110lbs, brunette, reasonably attractive and still fits Slave Leia cosplay costume. Prefer non-smoker and non-darksider. No time-wasters; if you think Greedo shot first or 'Force Unleashed' was cool, please do not apply."

Is that 'romantic' enough? What do you mean, it;'s not Valentine's Day yet? Bah.

Oh, back on topic?

What exactly is this "spirit" (in broadest sense) of Star Wars

For me, I generally think of 'Force Unleashed' and the prequels.

The 'spirit of Star Wars' is the exact opposite of those.

I like the prequels but can definitely see why others would not so I'm not trying to get into an epic discussion of Prequels vs Classic but I'm curious how the prequels violated your notion of what the spirit of Star Wars is.

Alas, I was kidding about the Slave outfit. I did used to wear the white dress and earmuff hair as a girl, and I daresay I'd do a decent job of it today. But I'm just too shy to try Slave Leia or Aayla Secura or whatever.

I know the feeling. I could rock the Bun Leia outfit, but would never be brave enough to do Slave Leia: