I am thinking about starting up a Star Wars campaign using WEG's D6 System. I have the 2nd Edition version of the rules but I would be interested in hearing from others about what version of the rules they prefer. What are the various pros and cons of each edition?
Star Wars 1e. The main virtue of WEG's version is its simplicity and that is showcased best in 1e.
I would also add static defences from Mini-6 and maybe the Wild Die.
If you are thinking of 2e, I would go with 2e R&E or REUP, as they do all that 2e does and make several other improvements.
Quote from: Skywalker;826010Star Wars 1e. The main virtue of WEG's version is its simplicity and that is showcased best in 1e.
I would also add static defences from Mini-6 and maybe the Wild Die.
If you are thinking of 2e, I would go with 2e R&E or REUP, as they do all that 2e does and make several other improvements.
What he said.
1e but with the Dodge errata that makes it possible for stormtroopers to occasionally hit PCs. :)
2e feels lacking in soul to me, somehow. The 1e books are beautiful.
1e, definitely. It captured the gung-ho spirit of the original (unaltered!) films without any unnecessary rules bloat.
There was a recent fan made version, ReUp it was called. Revised and Updated. Really snazzy looking
I never had the 1E rules, but we played the heck out of Second Edition. The 2E and 2E Revised and Expanded rules work just fine. Some folks are very fond of Mini-6, but personally I never liked the simplification.
1e with the 1e Sourcebook and the Galaxy Guide 6 Tramp Freighters (1e) make a wonderful core set to play around with. Maybe the non-rpg Star Wars Essential Atlas, which is highly regarded, could be an additional core book. That is alot of game right there, I tell you what.
Also, what Skywalker said about static defenses and wild dice from mini-6 would be a nice modern day streamlining to speed up play. With a name like Skywalker, he can't be wrong!
The added bonus of the above is that it can relatively easily match up with the new continuity. As someone who doesn't give two drips for the EU, that is fine by me. ;P
Quote from: Teazia;826055With a name like Skywalker, he can't be wrong!
Throughout the entire story arc, Skywalker and wrong seem to go together like ham and eggs. ;)
1st edition. Later editions marred the simplicity by introducing unnecessary subskills and adding cheesy new templates and "Force sensitives" and the horrendous "wild die." Yuck. 1st is maybe the best written and presented RPG I've ever seen as well.
1E or Mini Six.
I can't play bloated games anymore.
I never got to play or run it in any depth, but my vote goes for 1e.
Another thing is that 1e really has the feel of the films. I've never seen 2e, but, to me, 2e R&E has too much of the stink of the Expanded Universe on it. It's mostly that drawn art in the book. It takes me out of the Star Wars vibe any time I see it. Plus, I don't feel the writing is anywhere near as good in the 2e R&E book.
I like 2e R&E's scaling system better than the one in the 1e Rules Companion, though. Otherwise, all the new rules seem to be on the fiddly and unnecessary side of the spectrum.
I like the wild die.
Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;8260951E or Mini Six.
I can't play bloated games anymore.
Mini Six is super-awesome and I would use it for a cheap straight to video knockoff of Star Wars,
Battle Beyond the Stars sort of stuff - I tend to find straight-to-video makes the best RPG material anyway - loving my
Deathstalkery 5e Wilderlands game!! :D
https://youtu.be/WklPABGo77k (https://youtu.be/WklPABGo77k)
It's a tossup between WEG d6 1E and WEG d6 2E R&E. I like the simplicity and 'just make it up' feel of 1E. But I also like some of the changes made for 2E R&E and have definitely played it the most out of any of the versions.
Things I liked from other versions:
d20/RCR - Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become.
d20 Saga - Instead of trying to bring Jedi down to everyone else's level; they tried to bring everyone else up. It failed as soon as the first Jedi sourcebook came out, but it was a good try.
EotE, et al - I got to play a Star Wars game? It's not bad. But it's also not complete yet so I'll reserve judgement.
Aesthetically-speaking, I like 1E better. For me, it's more engaging, more clearly written, and carries more of the feel of the films. I find 2E R&E to be more garish in presentation - full color is nice, but can really be overboard (I hate yellow high-lighted sections, etc.).
Quote from: S'mon;826158Mini Six is super-awesome and I would use it for a cheap straight to video knockoff of Star Wars, Battle Beyond the Stars sort of stuff - I tend to find straight-to-video makes the best RPG material anyway - loving my Deathstalkery 5e Wilderlands game!! :D
https://youtu.be/WklPABGo77k (https://youtu.be/WklPABGo77k)
I used 1st Ed rules with some name changes for my own Sam Jones Flash Gordon style game. It's highly adaptable.
I just found out we're going to be playing a post Order 66 game using the Force and Destiny beta rules. I'll post my impressions on it once we get started.
2e Revised 'cuz it's the one I own. ;)
1e for me. 1e felt like a companion product, had excellent writing (especially for newbies), and played simple. It really felt like a game that was trying to replicate the feel of the movies.
2e felt like a RPG product built for gamers by gamers, with a "cartoonier" style of art (especially 2e R&E, which had a particularly nauseating visual style) but much more complex rules (I loathe the subskills, it defeated the whole point of the simple template system). It was not trying to replicate the feel of the movies; many products clearly were trying to replicate the feel of other RPGs (especially Traveller).
It's not a problem with just Star Wars d6 of course, but a problem for the industry as a whole; every new edition of a game largely relies on itself for its inspiration instead of external influences, making it rather homogenized and "inbred" after a while.
Quote from: jgants;8263751e for me. 1e felt like a companion product, had excellent writing (especially for newbies), and played simple. It really felt like a game that was trying to replicate the feel of the movies.
2e felt like a RPG product built for gamers by gamers, with a "cartoonier" style of art (especially 2e R&E, which had a particularly nauseating visual style) but much more complex rules (I loathe the subskills, it defeated the whole point of the simple template system). It was not trying to replicate the feel of the movies; many products clearly were trying to replicate the feel of other RPGs (especially Traveller).
It's not a problem with just Star Wars d6 of course, but a problem for the industry as a whole; every new edition of a game largely relies on itself for its inspiration instead of external influences, making it rather homogenized and "inbred" after a while.
Great insight and as you say, not just restricted to Star Wars.
Quote from: Skywalker;826010Star Wars 1e. The main virtue of WEG's version is its simplicity and that is showcased best in 1e.
I would also add static defences from Mini-6 and maybe the Wild Die.
If you are thinking of 2e, I would go with 2e R&E or REUP, as they do all that 2e does and make several other improvements.
Yeah, this pretty much covers my thoughts as well.
Looks like I can get my D6 Star Wars fix for free! Just found this:
http://www.waveyourgeekflag.blogspot.com/ (http://www.waveyourgeekflag.blogspot.com/)
I have only browsed the color PDF for a few minutes but so far it looks REALLY cool.
We had our first session of Force and Destiny. It's not bad. I'm considering writing up a full review; even if it is only the beta rules.
I know a lot of people have problems with the dice, but they actually work fairly well. They CAN be a narrative tool (I hear that hissing from some of you!). They can also just be completely mechanical; the extra symbols providing bonuses you can pass to allies, penalties you can pass to enemies, or maneuvers (disarm, sunder, etc.) that you can activate.
Bottom line though, this is now my second favorite Star Wars iteration.
Got to say guys, I had the blue book, and eventually graduated to the second edition revised and expanded, I liked both books, but have to say, the easy explanation on playing the game by the characters in the book , made 2eRe a solid score for me, I will always remember the gaming days with that particular book, played a lot of Star Wars d6 at the local hobby shop, and the starship combat system felt the best of any game, the d6 had that feel of truly dodging and shooting dogfight style, don't get me wrong, I do like the new story dice system started with Edge of the Empire , but d6 will always be in a good place in my mind.
Mini-6, due to:
- Static defenses
- Hit points
- 4 simple atts
With 1E as a runner up:
- No Wild Die
- No Specialties
- No useless skills (rocketpack ops, etc.)
- No character points
I know 2E Rev&Exp is well-loved, but it just preserves the mistakes in 2E and adds alot of orange boxes IMO.
I like ReUp because it's free and organized. I printed up something like 3000 pages worth of PDFs when I had a 40% off Lulu discount code.
I only ever played 2e and Revised, so I can't really say. BUT I rather enjoyed it.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;961421I only ever played 2e and Revised, so I can't really say. BUT I rather enjoyed it.
When you play twice or thrice per week, like we did when we played Star Wars, you better use 2ndRE. Also, I am a big X-Wing & TIE-Fighter Fan, and only the revised scaling rules make the Starship Combat truly shine.
I played with the 2nd Edition exclusively, and never got to see the 1st edition. Sounds like I missed out, sadly. The updated .pdf would probably be a good choice, but overall I would say shop through the various d6 incarnations and see what you like, then go with it. One small complaint I have, having played and run that game quite a lot, is the way they did Jedi. There was an upside - you had to invest a lot of development to train up a Jedi and learn your various force skills and powers. My issue was how the powers just kept expanding and expanding with every new supplement. A tighter list with "power stunts" written in the cover certain tricks probably would have better.
But I think the Expanded Universe might be to blame for some of that.
Quote from: Teazia;8260551e with the 1e Sourcebook and the Galaxy Guide 6 Tramp Freighters (1e) make a wonderful core set to play around with. Maybe the non-rpg Star Wars Essential Atlas, which is highly regarded, could be an additional core book. That is alot of game right there, I tell you what.
Are there any good adventures that would go with this setup?
I grew up with the 2nd edition revised and I really like it.
I have only ever owned 1st edition and the accompanying Sourcebook. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of those two books. I saw 2nd edition (I think it was 2nd anyway) but was unimpressed with the addition of subskills as it didn't seem very Star Wars to me to have a pilot need multiple versions of "Starship Pilot" to fly different ships, and other similar issues. It seemed like they were emulating other roleplaying games for gamers who wanted their Star Wars games to feel more like other games.
I haven't seen the D&D Star Wars or the most recent one so can't say whether they are good, bad, or ugly, but I have a hard time seeing how D&D mechanics would emulate the Star Wars movies without being cudgeled into submission or neutered with a rusty scissors.
Quote from: Kravell;961444Are there any good adventures that would go with this setup?
The 4-adventure short series
The Politics of Contraband and any number of adventures from the
Star Wars Adventure Journal.
Quote from: jeff37923;961488The 4-adventure short series The Politics of Contraband and any number of adventures from the Star Wars Adventure Journal.
thanks
Star Wars D20 Revised.
I'm a committed Traveller fan - in either the Mongoose or Classic form - and still attest that Star Wars can easily be done using those rules.
However, I also have the WEG 1st edition Star Wars game which I also like for having quick and easy character templates as well as more loosey-goosey dicepool system (with exploding wild die) does capture the spirit of the movies quite well. The ease of use is quite an important selling point to me.
Well, they had a writeup of Luke Skywalker (as well as Earl Dumarest, my favorite science fiction hero) in the back of one of those Classic Traveller supplements, I forget which one, so it seems reasonable you could do Star Wars with it.