Quote from: jrientsIs it true that the book fits inside some of the SW minis starter boxes?

Internet rumor.  Someone brought it up, and the idea caught on.  The soon to be released starter set is a small blister containing the small little rulebook and 4 minis.  There is no plan on releasing a larger box (like the on for Revenge of the Sith).  THere are no plans for including the book in any kind of boxed set, acccording to WotC.  It's just square to be different.

Quote from: Mcrowmmmmmmm........what?:shrug:

I was going to say the same thing.  Sounds like someone didn't read the book before commenting.

Quote from: SettembriniMCrow: Yepp, the skill system would be pure gold for D&D, that´s why I made the RC/OD&D allusion

I disagree.  It fits Star Wars perfectly...D&D, not so good.  In D&D characters are going to be much more specialized and not so broadly skilled.

QuoteI disagree. It fits Star Wars perfectly...D&D, not so good. In D&D characters are going to be much more specialized and not so broadly skilled.

Then we share our extrapolation of the system, but differ in playstyle for D&D vs. SciFi. Interesting.

Quote from: KoltarThe shape thing...

 DOES make it noticeable on our shelves , thats for sure.

 We still have a copy of that minis starter box . Tempted to size those two against each other tonight.

- Ed C.

It'll fit...but seriously, guys, thinking that was the reason is just silly.  The Revenge of the sith starter didn't prove to be any better thant he regular starters, and it was more expenxive to produce.  ON top of that, while I love the relationship, the CMG isn't the Mini game.  If anything, we can hope to see a "basic" Star Wars boxed set (but not any time soon according to the product release schedule), but, that wouldn't have the core rule book in it anyway.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadThat would be why I don't like it.

They made this decision based on the assumption that most people max out their ranks.

I'm not one of those people. I like crafting my characters.

Now I do do the simplification for NPCs, but I resent being forced into that for PCs.

Actually its thoughtfully designed from the dynamic of Star Wars.  Princess Leia can shoot a blaster, fly and fix the Falcon, Mediate a debate, and charm the hell out of us in a chainmail bikini!

Star wars characters have a bit of skill in everything.  D6 did this too (one of the better points of that system).

Quote from: SettembriniEDIT: It has no adventure in it. How are the newbies supposed to know what to do with it? Are there modules for download?

There are going to be a ton of free adventures up on the Wizards site.  WotC is being very generous with the freebies on this one, it's just taking a bit to get things going.

There were going to be sample adventures in the rule book (that corrispond to the included map) but they ran out of space.

Quote from: grubmanActually its thoughtfully designed from the dynamic of Star Wars. Princess Leia can shoot a blaster, fly and fix the Falcon, Mediate a debate, and charm the hell out of us in a chainmail bikini!

I'm not seeing this as necessitates the abstract system. It's not that difficult to pick up a few ranks in pilot or mechanics. Heck, a T20 character I just made had ranks in the skills a diplomat/noble wouldn't have (Pilot and Mechanic) for free because they were world skills.

I could perfectly accept that a noble involved in the rebellion would pick up some ranks in some tech skills, may even multiclass for a few levels.

QuoteD6 did this too

Not a selling point to me, in case you were wondering.

I view D6 as a "training wheels" system. Easy to get into, but not something I want to use for serious gaming.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadI view D6 as a "training wheels" system. Easy to get into, but not something I want to use for serious gaming.

Well, in its current incarnation it's Masterbook + dice pools, the fantasy version even took the Torg magic system almost unaltered. You've got ads/disads, untrained skill penalties, different combat maneuvers... It's come a long way since Star Wars 1E.
It's still the worst kind of dice pool system, so I'm not too big a fan, but low complexity isn't its selling point anymore.

Quote from: SosthenesWell, in its current incarnation it's Masterbook + dice pools, the fantasy version even took the Torg magic system almost unaltered. You've got ads/disads, untrained skill penalties, different combat maneuvers... It's come a long way since Star Wars 1E.
It's still the worst kind of dice pool system, so I'm not too big a fan, but low complexity isn't its selling point anymore.

I didn't know that; WEG SW turned me off the system and I never followed up on it. But thanks for the update!

Quote from: Caesar SlaadI didn't know that; WEG SW turned me off the system and I never followed up on it. But thanks for the update!

Not that the system deserved all these trimmings, for what it was intended to do, SW 1E is still the best iteration. For anything more involving, it's really a bit too cumbersome.

It looks like WEG had to shrink down all their lines to a bare minimum, and supporting two different generic systems wasn't worth it. I guess that the designers liked Masterbook more, but D6 enjoyed a bigger popularity. So we got that weird hybrid right now.

The one thing I really like about D6 is the multi-action system. Torg/SZ/MB had that, too and I think Talislanta/OMNI had a similar mechanism. Wonder how that would translate into D20...

Quote from: McrowJust because it's been used the last 300 years doesn't mean it has shown to work the best, it just means that people are familiar with it. Why change something that has become so common place, almost part of the ID of D&D.

Actually, most game books are the shape and size (roughly 8x10) due to
1. The size of retailer shelves
2. The size of standard paper

Making your book a different size means its title will not be placed properly on the shelf. Retailers hate strange sizes and shapes for books since it means they must shelf the book differently. This can cause a drag on your sales if a retailer is not interested (Walmart and Target would be primary examples) in taking the time to figure the best way to display your book.

That said, I believe a change is coming. More RPG books sold online will free up books to change shape to fit function.

Bill

Edit: I should say, the above is "popular wisdom" I have heard from other publishers and retailers. It is not immutable truth and in practice I have found the full gambit of "I don't care what shape it is, what are you doing to sell the book" to "If it doesn't fit on my racks, I don't carry it!" from retailers. It depends ont he retailers shelving is what I am trying to say.

My local Barnes and Noble finally stocked the book, and I, of course, wound up buying it.

I like the shape for overall layout/presentation purposes. It looks nice, and lies flat easily. Its wide size does prevent me from storing it in a magazine box with the rest of my RPGs, which slightly annoys me.

QuoteI view D6 as a "training wheels" system. Easy to get into, but not something I want to use for serious gaming.

Well aren't you all grown up.  :rolleyes:

Quote from: J ArcaneWell aren't you all grown up.  :rolleyes:

Yup.

I'm sorry my tastes in gaming bother you so.