Hello, GamerNation!
Were you expecting someone else? I am terribly sorry about that, but for personal reasons, GM Rikoshi has taken a leave of absence for the time being, and has given the reigns to the Game Master from the land down-under, GM Hooly (that’s me). I’ve been asked aboard this fine blog to help answer your rules and game mastering questions that you may have been dying to ask a GM other than your own, or as a Game Master yourself, one that you require a second opinion of. I thought I might start off with a small précis of what I bring to the table (so to speak) including who I am and my experience. Consider it my credentials if you will.
I was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, and am 45 years old. I have a wonderful partner who is a Doctor (and more importantly, a fellow gamer), and we have three boys aged between 7 and 13. I have been gaming since 1984 when I was introduced to the original Top Secret. I was always a fan of spy novels and films, and when this game was brought to me by a new student to my school, I instantaneously fell in love. I moved quickly into D&D, and we played that along with many other games in between. Back in 1987, my dreams were answered when the original D6 Star Wars RPG arrived at the only bookstore in Brisbane that sold Role Playing Games. I immediately presented this to my friends, and we all dove straight into immersing ourselves in a galaxy far, far away. This was my first time filling the GM chair, and it felt very natural, mainly because I had been telling stories for years whilst making my own adventures with my collection of Star Wars figures.
I’ve run quite a few games since those times in all of the editions of the Star Wars RPG, and played in countless other games from a plethora of genres. I took a break from gaming back in 2006 to start planning for the first Gen Con Australia, of which I was the director. We met with the Gen Con Indy crew, and ran the show in Brisbane between 2008 and 2009. Unfortunately things didn’t work out as we had foreseen, and we closed the doors on that event before the 2010 show. I have been involved in running large scale events since then including being the Tabletop Coordinator for the first ever PAXAUS in July 2013 at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
During that time, I had been running Pathfinder here and there, and when asked about this new Star Wars RPG that had been released by a company that had been focused on board games and the Warhammer/40K RPG lines, I immediately said things like: “Why should I get into a new system? What the hell are these funny dice?” Like many others, I had dismissed the line purely out of disinterest in a new version of a game I already owned.
Whilst on a break at PAXAUS, I stumbled across the Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook. I gave it a flip through, and was amazed at the quality of the book. As a collector, I purchased the book immediately, and planned to look through this hefty tome on the flight home. Unfortunately I packed it in my luggage, and never got back to it until about a year later when I was asked by several of my players if I would be interested in running Star Wars again. By this stage I was frustrated with level based games, and the d20 system, and to quote some friends, “I was getting sick of eating hamburgers.” Waiting on my shelf which I spied out of the corner of my eye, whilst being asked about my interest in running Star Wars, was the white covered tome I had dragged back with me from Melbourne. I agreed and took it upon myself learn everything I could about the game.
I read the book cover to cover, several times, and went to a small convention where they were showcasing the Age of Rebellion Beginner Box adventure. After the game, I still remained confused as to how it all worked, but one of the other players sat me down and suggested I listen to a small podcast called, The Order 66 Podcast. I recalled hearing about this podcast from Sam Witwer who came to Gen Con Australia in 2009. I gave it a listen (binge-listening that is), and fell in love with both the podcast and the system. Five campaigns later, one which has been running for about 18 months now, and I tout the positive aspects of the Fantasy Flight Games version of the Star Wars RPG.
After a time, I became involved in answering people’s questions randomly via Facebook, e-mails and on several forums. I asked plenty of questions myself (even landing one in “When Good Games Go Bad”) and immersed myself in the d20 Radio Community. It was likely one of the best decisions I have ever made, and eventually, it landed me here.
Whilst I scribe for the “Ask a GM” segment, my intention is to rotate the focus every week, switching between giving GM advice, answering rules and game questions for the Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games and answering questions posed directly to me on my experiences within the hobby. If you’d like to ask me a question (or 12 as one person has since the announcement), send an e-mail to gmhooly@d20radio.com. Please also include the name you would like me to mention as the author of your question. So without further ado, let us get on with the questions.
This week I’m going to start with some Star Wars RPG Rules Questions, with the first being from Harris Shafruddin who writes:
The chase rules in the game don’t seem to explain their relationship with Initiative and the characters taking actions aside from the relevant Piloting checks. With the chase rules in mind, how do you allow for player characters and non-player characters taking non-piloting actions such as firing weapons at each other during the chase? This question came up for me in a high speed speeder bike chase for my players and it seemed that there was no room for the drivers to do anything but take driving actions. Can you help a GM figure out how to use the chase rules and open them up to initiative orders and the players using other types of actions during the chase?
Great question Harris, and thanks for sending it in.
This situation has come up for me as a GM as well; however I feel the rules do cover this, and can be explained away in the narrative. I like to use the latest material, so for this I will refer to the Force and Destiny Core Rule Book, specifically page 247. The process does require a small additional step at the start of every round with the pilots taking an “Out of Turn” maneuver to determine range bands. This is covered in the rules in the 7th paragraph, and does have some limitation, specifically that actions/maneuvers which adjust the position of the ship cannot be performed during the round.
Simplified: pilots can pre-spend one maneuver before the current round. Actions and maneuvers can then be performed in the various Initiative phases as normal by the pilot and other persons in the vehicle. There is one I addition I believe should be considered, in that any additional pilot-only/standard maneuvers (such as moving shields, etc) not converted from an action that are performed during the round by the pilot would cause personal Strain to the pilot, and potentially System Strain to the ship. The application of this modification would bring this process in line with the standard rules for starship combat and action economy.
Our second question comes from Kingnova3000 who writes:
I have a simple question that has come up in two different play groups I am in. Can I spend advantages to recover strain when making a strain recovery roll using Cool or Discipline rather than just having to rely on pure successes?
The rules for the recovery of Strain on page 227 of the Force and Destiny Core Rule Book explains that strain in this manner is recovered at 1 Strain per Success. This particular section does not mention how Advantages can be applied, and a lot of players, and Game Masters alike, get fixated on the assumption that because they are not mentioned here, Advantages cannot be spent as normal. The rules also state that with a normal skill roll, Strain can be recovered with the use of Advantages at the cost of one (1) Advantage per point of Strain (see page 212 of the Force and Destiny Core Rule Book). Logically, Cool and Discipline are both skills, and so it should be interpreted that Advantages rolled in this fashion, could also be spent in that same way.
When acting as the Game Master, I like my player characters to get involved in the action as much as possible. Strain resource management does what it is intended to do during the encounter, without making things difficult during an entire adventure, and players should not be penalized for doing more things during an encounter, or activating talents and powers to make the session more exciting. Personally I would prefer action, to turning the game into an exercise in resource management.
The reason, I believe, that Advantages are not mentioned in the section on Strain recovery is to allow a player to choose how to spend their Advantages as they please without being shoe-horned into spending their Advantages in a specific way. This is a game of free and narrative flair, and should never be too restrictive or stifling of creativity. Consequently, a player should be allowed to help a fellow player by adding a boost or upgrade their check to recover Strain, give them some narrative advantage during the next encounter, or even to recover Strain. This is Star Wars. It’s all about heroes and villains, doing crazy feats and participating in breathtaking adventures, not a game of “Spreadsheets & Slide-Rules.” Provide your players with ways to make things more fun. Be that kind of GM.
Well I hope that helps. Next week I’ll be answering some questions about my experiences within the gaming realm. If you have any questions, please drop me a line at gmhooly@d20radio.com.
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Great questions and answers everyone. Good refreshers and one I hadn’t thought about… chase rules for FFG Star Wars.