Doing [Star Wars] without [Star Wars]

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Rated Aargh

Rated Aargh

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Okay, I want to run a one-on-one game with my wife, set in the Star Wars universe circa The Phantom Menace, where she plays a young Jedi. We own Star Wars d20, but it’s not fantastic. The FFG Star Wars stuff is far too expensive on the secondary market. WEG Star Wars is long gone and out of reach, too.

What would you use? We want swift, fluid Jedi combat but with support for social play. I don’t want to wave a hand to make things happen, so some level of crunch is okay.
 
Savage Worlds is built for the sort of pulpy feel that Star Wars has. You just need to do a little work deciding on what form Jedi Powers take (I’d lean more Supers than using power points myself).

Alternately, check out SW5e… sw5e.com; it’s a whole rework of D&D5e for Star Wars that actually cleans up some of 5e’s rougher edges IMHO and, best of all; it’s free.
 
Rated Aargh said:
The FFG Star Wars stuff is far too expensive on the secondary market. WEG Star Wars is long gone and out of reach, too.
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A bunch of the FFG/Edge books were reprinted earlier this year. The core books and some of the supplements are readily available at a normal price again. WEG 1st edition is fairly easy to get hold of in the previously mentioned anniversary version. It's quite easy to get hold of the original WEG core books used at a reasonable price. Unfortunately the sourcebooks can be quite expensive.

Personally, I'd recommend using Honor & Intrigue along with it's supplement Blasters & Intrigue (or the upcoming Tome of Intriguing Options which will also contain the latter) for Star Wars. It's a simple but flavourful system and it's fairly easy to convert both the FFG/Edge and WEG material over to it. To give more social options I would consider adding the Cunning and Willpower stats from FFG/Edge Star Wars to the Honor & Intrigue characters. It's possible, and perfectly fine, to stick with the existing 4 H&I stats though.
 
Fenris-77 said:
I've run Scum and Villainy quite a bit. It's a Forged in the Dark SW game. It's really quite good if FitD is to your taste.
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Isn't the FitD system geared more towards a "band of thieves/assassins/outlaws running Ocean's Eleven heists"? That could work splendidly if that's the type of Star Wars game you want to run.

However, I personally had lots of trouble grokking the system because everything seems so intrinsically tied up into the pre-established "flow" of the game (choosing a target, acting out the heist, being clever with "preparation flashbacks" to overcome challenges, completing the heist, upgrading your base and faction matrices). It seemed very systematic and flowchart-y, without much flexibility outside of that framework.

If it CAN do "regular" stuff that's outside of a heist job, then go for it.
 
Galaxies in Shadow of course! :grin: Oh you thought I was gonna say Spacemaster Privateers and that would be an excellent choice as well. As would Space Opera from FGU though it leans a little more to classic sf.

On the lighter end you could use Mercenaries Spies and Private Eyes with nothing more than calling pistols blasters and airplanes space ships.

There's always Traveller, of course. In classic Traveller a lightsabre has the armour penetration and damage of a laser rifle and the range characteristics of a sword. You might want to fool around with the jump drives by treating them as a velocity instead of a distance and allowing more jumps on a tank of fuel.
 
There's a streamlined hack of the old WEG D6 game called HyperspaceD6, that you can download for free. The whole PDF is 29 pages.

Another option in the same family of games, but would take a good deal more work from you, is to use Mythic D6, which is written as a supers game. The nice things about Mythic D6 is that it uses success counting rather than summing up the pools, which can greatly speed play.

Yet another option from a completely different angle would be to reskin Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies to the Star Wars setting. I've personally done this before and it worked like a dream. Whether the PDQ# system is the right level of crunch for what you're after, however, is something you'd have to decide. It's a much lighter game - about the same level as the BoL / Everywhen systems mentioned upthread.

I've also used Traveller for this before. With a bit of searching, you might be able to find a copy of Bill Roper's Star Wars Traveller hack. I've got a copy myself, but I'm not sure how cool it'd be for me to share that here. The links you find online have traditionally not been very reliable, as the PDF has bounced from server to server over time.

As a final, very crunchy option I'd say you could also do it with Mythras, with Jedi making ample use of the Mysticism rules. In order the capture the Star Wars feel, however, I think you'll need to make heavy use of rabble and underlings too. There also happens to be a free hack of that, which was written for RuneQuest 6e, before it became Mythras. You can check that out here.
 
Star Wars Mythras? The idea does not excite. I'm sure it can be done, but it's not the tool I'd use for space opera. To each their own of course.
 
Necrozius said:
Isn't the FitD system geared more towards a "band of thieves/assassins/outlaws running Ocean's Eleven heists"? That could work splendidly if that's the type of Star Wars game you want to run.

However, I personally had lots of trouble grokking the system because everything seems so intrinsically tied up into the pre-established "flow" of the game (choosing a target, acting out the heist, being clever with "preparation flashbacks" to overcome challenges, completing the heist, upgrading your base and faction matrices). It seemed very systematic and flowchart-y, without much flexibility outside of that framework.

If it CAN do "regular" stuff that's outside of a heist job, then go for it.
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It can do that but it's not just that. The three kinds of SW stories the game bills itself as being about are (essentially) Firefly, Andor, and Bounty Hunting. The game certainly isn't limited to doing heists, a misconception I completely understand given how people talk about Blades in the Dark generally.
 
Necrozius said:
Isn't the FitD system geared more towards a "band of thieves/assassins/outlaws running Ocean's Eleven heists"? That could work splendidly if that's the type of Star Wars game you want to run.

However, I personally had lots of trouble grokking the system because everything seems so intrinsically tied up into the pre-established "flow" of the game (choosing a target, acting out the heist, being clever with "preparation flashbacks" to overcome challenges, completing the heist, upgrading your base and faction matrices). It seemed very systematic and flowchart-y, without much flexibility outside of that framework.

If it CAN do "regular" stuff that's outside of a heist job, then go for it.
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Scum and Villainy is retooled for a not-Star Wars setting. So instead of a crew type and a base, you have a ship. And the ship kinda-sorta decides what sort of game is going to be played (Mercs, Smugglers, Bounty Hunters iirc). It leans away from the "villain heists" of Blades and into more general play, but I don't think it would work with only one player because the assumption is there's going to be folk playing different roles (not-Jedi, gunfighter, pilot-guy and so on). There's also a Gambit mechanic which works like a hero point/momentum system that makes for more heroic play.
 
JAMUMU said:
Scum and Villainy is retooled for a not-Star Wars setting. So instead of a crew type and a base, you have a ship. And the ship kinda-sorta decides what sort of game is going to be played (Mercs, Smugglers, Bounty Hunters iirc). It leans away from the "villain heists" of Blades and into more general play, but I don't think it would work with only one player because the assumption is there's going to be folk playing different roles (not-Jedi, gunfighter, pilot-guy and so on). There's also a Gambit mechanic which works like a hero point/momentum system that makes for more heroic play.
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That's a good point. FitD games don't do well with just one PC. If you tossed in a GM NPC and a droid you'd be fine though. I used droids to fill out the party when I ran it for two of my lads and it worked just fine.
 
Fenris-77 said:
Star Wars Mythras? The idea does not excite. I'm sure it can be done, but it's not the tool I'd use for space opera. To each their own of course.
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I mean, it's not my first choice personally either. My own tastes tend toward lighter games. But of course it "can be done". It's not even a stretch to think so. M-Space has been a thing for a long time now, as has the Worlds United setting for Mythras, which is explicitly a rockets and rayguns planetary romance setting for Mythras.

The idea was the give the OP options, since I don't know what sort of game they like. Several of them with freely available Star Wars hacks found online. And none of them mentioned upthread. The idea was to not to push my own gaming preference onto someone I don't know.
 
Savage Schemer said:
I mean, it's not my first choice personally either. My own tastes tend toward lighter games. But of course it "can be done". It's not even a stretch to think so. M-Space has been a thing for a long time now, as has the Worlds United setting for Mythras, which is explicitly a rockets and rayguns planetary romance setting for Mythras.

The idea was the give the OP options, since I don't know what sort of game they like. Several of them with freely available Star Wars hacks found online. And none of them mentioned upthread. The idea was to not to push my own gaming preference onto someone I don't know
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We're all just offering ideas, I wasn't criticizing you at all. Personally, and this really is just my opinion, I think Mythras is too crunchy and more pointedly too deadly to do Star Wars well. I'm sure the idea fits some gamers to a tee though.
 
I ran Star Wars with BRP once. One of my more successful Star Wars campaigns really. That's the one I used Elric of planet Melnibone in because the one of the players got pissy about encountering the Galactica and didn't want me bringing in outside stuff :grin:
 
Might be too hand-wavey for you, but if I was going to run Star Wars these days I would use Broken Compass and the "Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off" Space Opera setting from the What If book. Jedi combat will be fast and cinematic, and there are rudimentary force powers which you could easily expand on.
 
Rated Aargh said:
Okay, I want to run a one-on-one game with my wife, set in the Star Wars universe circa The Phantom Menace, where she plays a young Jedi. We own Star Wars d20, but it’s not fantastic. The FFG Star Wars stuff is far too expensive on the secondary market. WEG Star Wars is long gone and out of reach, too.

What would you use? We want swift, fluid Jedi combat but with support for social play. I don’t want to wave a hand to make things happen, so some level of crunch is okay.
Click to expand...

I'm still in the honeymoon phase with Broken Compass, and have thought about using it for Star Wars. It might be a bit more hand wavy than what you want, though.

johnmarron johnmarron it seems great minds think alike. :grin:
 
I can't believe I forgot to mention Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells as an option. If Star Wars and Heavy Metal were to have a baby together, that game would be it. It's a really solid class and level option for the more OSR-minded players out there.
 
Speaking for myself, I think at this point I'd prefer something more freeform for force powers. I think the force would be more interesting and mysterious that way rather than just a list of standardized powers.

Admittedly, that is due to my current situation, but Rated Aargh Rated Aargh is asking in regards to 1on1 play as well. So I would think it could be more about one player exploring the force through their character rather than the half a dozen crew of nitwits with one or more of them trying to game the system.
 
I've run more than a few good Star Wars sessions with Fate Core. We added a skill for using the force, and required really significant uses of it to need a fate point (these aren't the droids you're looking for). I otherwise didn't go crazy adding on a bunch of extra rules.
 
Rated Aargh said:
Okay, I want to run a one-on-one game with my wife, set in the Star Wars universe circa The Phantom Menace, where she plays a young Jedi. We own Star Wars d20, but it’s not fantastic. The FFG Star Wars stuff is far too expensive on the secondary market. WEG Star Wars is long gone and out of reach, too.

What would you use? We want swift, fluid Jedi combat but with support for social play. I don’t want to wave a hand to make things happen, so some level of crunch is okay.
Click to expand...
I'd recommend StarORE, it's free.



I'd use Mythras myself, with the Star Wars fan supplement for RQ6 (which is basically the same system).
 
There's a Fate Core version of Star Wars out there, by Ryan Dancey no less, and an ORE implementation. There's also an Apocalypse World hack which is very well thought of, though I cannot seem to track it down on my hard drive. I think I found it on itch.io

What I'm saying is, Luke, is that if you switch off your targeting computer and feel the Force flow through you, you might turn up some of this stuff.
 
If you want a system that emulates the action of cinematic swordfights, Honor + Intrigue with Blasters + Intrigue would definitely do it. And as it happens, the Tome of Intriguing Options (which includes Blasters + Intrigue, the Duelist's Guide, rules for Nonhuman Characters and psionics within the Spells + Spellcasters section) had its Kickstarter begin today (though you can do it with just Blasters + Intrigue and the core rulebook for Honor + Intrigue.

I currently am running a monthly game using it and it handles everything you'd need. Blasters + Intrigue adds the rules for blasters, capital ships, dogfighting, various high tech equipment, and perils of space. Nonhuman Characters gives you the rules and tools used to cobble together the alien species you can imagine (or you can reskin existing stuff from there; for instance I reskinned several of the species from here to use as alien species), and Spells + Spellcasters includes not only rules for psionics that you can use for your force-users, but also Sword-Casting fighting styles if you want your jedi to mix use of their powers with dueling style techniques seamlessly.
 
As for the accessibility of the oldest system, there's the Star Wars REUP project, which is just WEG Star Wars done in the classic internet redeux style. It claims to be under CC and uses OpenD6 . The hosting has been up for YEARS so I don't think it's bothering the Mouse any.

http://d6holocron.com/downloads/books/REUP.pdf

One of the specific things about REUP is that they did all the work to integrate the prequal trilogy stats under the d6 system.
 
Might I suggest this: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/437327/Black-Star It seems very suited to do so, the PDF is only five USD. No print yet alas.
If not that I'd look for either Star Wars D6 30th Ann. Edition (a favorite of mine) or just grab the Star Wars REUP book its essentially Star Wars D6 3E and it has nigh everything you may want.
 
BASHMAN said:
And as it happens, the Tome of Intriguing Options (which includes Blasters + Intrigue, the Duelist's Guide, rules for Nonhuman Characters and psionics within the Spells + Spellcasters section) had its Kickstarter begin today
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Just in case anyone's curious, this book looks rad, and I backed it in about ten seconds.
 
I bought all of the individual Intriguing Options PDFs when they initially got released but I still jumped straight onto that Kickstarter pretty much as soon as it launched. I decided to go for an additional physical copy of the core rules as well. I highly recommend it!
 
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NinjaWeasel said:
I bought all of the individual Intriguing Options PDFs when they initially got released but I still jumped straight onto that Kickstarter pretty much as soon as it launched. I decided to go for an additional physical copy of the core rules as well. I highly recommend it!
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Thank you. And you can choose to "pay it forward" when it comes to your digital rewards. For instance, if you already have Honor + Intrigue and the Intriguing Options PDFs and want to give your PDF copies to a friend, include that in your pledge survey when the project ends. Just let us know what email to use for those.
 
NinjaWeasel said:
I bought all of the individual Intriguing Options PDFs when they initially got released but I still jumped straight onto that Kickstarter pretty much as soon as it launched. I decided to go for an additional physical copy of the core rules as well. I highly recommend it!
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I did exactly the same thing, so second this :smile:
 
White Star: Galaxy Edition could easily do Star Wars.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com www.drivethrurpg.com

There's a Mysticism sourcebook for it that I'm not familiar with myself but might come in handy as well:

www.drivethrurpg.com

Walking the Way: A Mysticism Sourcebook [Swords & Wizardry] - Gallant Knight Games | Barrel Rider Games | DriveThruRPG.com

Walking the Way: A Mysticism Sourcebook [Swords & Wizardry] - Strange Gifts and Mystical Powers Across A Galaxy of Endless Stars Walking the Way: A Mysticism Sourcebook for White Sta
www.drivethrurpg.com www.drivethrurpg.com
 
Fenris-77 said:
Star Wars Mythras? The idea does not excite. I'm sure it can be done, but it's not the tool I'd use for space opera. To each their own of course.
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I'm guessing that the Star Wars supplement for Mythras would be cool if you wanted a game that showed the gritty reality of the rise of the Galactic Empire rather than the glamorized version of it that Lucas gave us in his movies, something like John Boorman's Star Wars. It could be fun, but definitely not what Rated Aargh Rated Aargh is asking for.

I'd probably go with Savage Worlds. It's certainly a spiritual descendant of the D6 system.
 
Baulderstone said:
I'm guessing that the Star Wars supplement for Mythras would be cool if you wanted a game that showed the gritty reality of the rise of the Galactic Empire rather than the glamorized version of it that Lucas gave us in his movies, something like John Boorman's Star Wars. It could be fun, but definitely not what Rated Aargh Rated Aargh is asking for.

I'd probably go with Savage Worlds. It's certainly a spiritual descendant of the D6 system.
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Yeah, maybe an Andor or Rogue One feel would work well. I was more thinking about Mythras trying to pull off the core trilogy and couldn't picture it. Personal taste, of course.
 
Fate Core is perfect for Star Wars, and there are several free hacks of Star Wars in pdfs out there, try this one:
Star Wars (The Fate SRD is also online and freely available as well)

SW5E is actually a decent fit as well, the 5E engine probably suits Star Wars better than it does high fantasy D&D.
Scum& Villainy is also really great and can also be easily retraped for Star Wars

Otherwise WEG D6 Star Wars is easy enough to hunt down, it’s still really good and I think it holds up well against more recent Star Wars RPGs, including FFG Star Wars.
Grab the anniversary edition box set from Amazon, or check out the free unofficial revised edition online. There’s a decent amount of back catalog about online, and you’ll see why so many people still love it.
 
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Mankcam said:
Otherwise WEG D6 Star Wars is easy enough to hunt down, it’s still really good and I think it holds up well against more recent Star Wars RPGs, including FFG Star Wars.
Grab the anniversary edition box set from Amazon, or check out the free unofficial revised edition online. There’s a decent amount of back catalog about online, and you’ll see why so many people still love it.
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I recently got a copy of the Anniversary Edition - I forgot how slim it was compared to the later editions :smile:. In saying that, I will probably use the MythicD6 version of resolution (each 4+ is a success, pips add to one die), and divide difficulties by 5 to get the target number. It should help those on our group who struggle to add numbers quickly.
 
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