Thoughts on the Various Star Wars RPG's?

Christopher Brady · September 25, 2015, 07:00:12 PM

I'm a huge fan of FFG SW, and I played the old WEG game. I don't find it all that difficult.

Sommerjon · September 25, 2015, 10:05:03 PM

Quote from: tenbones;857660I don't understand. FFG SW is both of these. They don't *have* to be but by default usually are. But that's depending on your GM. Which is the inverse of...

Sorta. Sure FFG SW has this, but not the way most games do.

Quote from: tenbones;857660This... which yes, you can roleplay your ass off with 4e if you want to. But that's up to your GM to support in-game. By the mechanics of the game alone, it "feels" like you just swarm encounters and beat up monsters and take their loot. There's not a lot of non-combat options in the 4e ruleset. Just like I could technically make a game of chess be a roleplaying experience, I'm merely pointing out that mechanically it doesn't feel very well supported.

That would be a group problem not a game problem though.

Skarg · September 26, 2015, 12:11:36 PM

Do any of the Star Wars RPGs contain a tactical spaceship combat game? Like if you're interested in playing out spaceship battles, and knowing what their relative positions are and having their maneuvers and other decisions matter, so players have to actually do something meaningful to escape star destroyers, or to resolve a dogfight, or to actually play out a fleet combat as Admiral Ackbar and various ship captains?

I know the latest people have a miniatures space game that would do for small ships, but a Star Destroyer would require using something like a full-size speedboat or yacht for a star destroyer...

Luca · September 26, 2015, 01:53:49 PM

Quote from: Skarg;857752I know the latest people have a miniatures space game that would do for small ships, but a Star Destroyer would require using something like a full-size speedboat or yacht for a star destroyer...

What you're thinking about is X-Wing. But FFG also put out Star Wars Armada, which is geared toward capital ship battles. The base set contains a victory-class Star Destroyer, a Nebulon-B, a CR90 Corellian Corvette and 10 fighter groups (not to scale).

I don't think it would be easy to mix it up with the RPG, though. You'd basically have to switch games mid-session. Also, capital ships blow up easily in the boardgame, and that could have repercussions in your RPG campaign.

Christopher Brady · September 26, 2015, 02:08:13 PM

Quote from: Skarg;857752Do any of the Star Wars RPGs contain a tactical spaceship combat game? Like if you're interested in playing out spaceship battles, and knowing what their relative positions are and having their maneuvers and other decisions matter, so players have to actually do something meaningful to escape star destroyers, or to resolve a dogfight, or to actually play out a fleet combat as Admiral Ackbar and various ship captains?

I know the latest people have a miniatures space game that would do for small ships, but a Star Destroyer would require using something like a full-size speedboat or yacht for a star destroyer...

FFG's Star Wars does inside the core books. Can't remember if the WEG's do, but I think it does too. To be honest, my recommendation, is to with either D6 or FFG's, depending on your budget. Both have advantages, both have flaws.

Skywalker · September 26, 2015, 03:07:52 PM

All of the RPGs have starship combat, and there are separate tactical starship games produced by all three publishers as well.

However, if I were to chose one of the RPGs to run tactical starship game it would be WotC's Saga Edition, especially if you add Starships of the Galaxy supplement.

GameDaddy · September 26, 2015, 07:00:44 PM

Quote from: Skywalker;857778All of the RPGs have starship combat, and there are separate tactical starship games produced by all three publishers as well.

However, if I were to chose one of the RPGs to run tactical starship game it would be WotC's Saga Edition, especially if you add Starships of the Galaxy supplement.

Saga Edition d20 is what we play here too. I would try WEG d6 Star Wars, but don't own any of the books...

Skarg · September 28, 2015, 02:21:08 AM

Thanks for all the info and recommendations, all! This thread is a great resource for making sense of all the tons of SW RPG books out there.

RPGPundit · October 05, 2015, 04:27:43 AM

My favorite by far was Star Wars D20 Revised.

Fiasco · October 05, 2015, 04:13:20 PM

Ran a SW one shot last week using the WEG 1E rules. I'm in awe at how well the system emulates the genre and the game play is so easy and natural. The rules enhance the action rather than slow it down.

Of the players one was completely new to WEG and the other two had only played a couple of sessions but everyone was fully on board with the game and their characters.

It's a great system and I really like how the non combat optimised characters have every opportunity to shine. One of the players was running a young senatorial and his command skill came in handy on numerous occasions.

Premier · October 05, 2015, 07:00:56 PM

Quote from: Skarg;857752Do any of the Star Wars RPGs contain a tactical spaceship combat game? Like if you're interested in playing out spaceship battles, and knowing what their relative positions are and having their maneuvers and other decisions matter, so players have to actually do something meaningful to escape star destroyers, or to resolve a dogfight, or to actually play out a fleet combat as Admiral Ackbar and various ship captains?

I know the latest people have a miniatures space game that would do for small ships, but a Star Destroyer would require using something like a full-size speedboat or yacht for a star destroyer...

Star Warriors for WEG's D6 Star Wars, you can look it up on Boardgamegeek. It's really detailed and is compatible with the RPG (so you can make a detailed simulation of something that happens in your campaign), but it's designed to work on a small scale - a small handful of ships from fighters to stock light freighters. It can also do Star Destroyers, but in a rather abstract manner.

Bren · October 06, 2015, 01:32:41 AM

Quote from: Premier;859130Star Warriors for WEG's D6 Star Wars, you can look it up on Boardgamegeek. It's really detailed and is compatible with the RPG (so you can make a detailed simulation of something that happens in your campaign), but it's designed to work on a small scale - a small handful of ships from fighters to stock light freighters. It can also do Star Destroyers, but in a rather abstract manner.

I never found a copy of Star Warriors in print. I wish there was a PDF for sale.