(Spoiler Alert – minor details of the included module!)
Fantasy Flight Games recently released the third and final product line for their Star Wars RPG. The Force and Destiny system focuses on Force users, lightsabers, and Jedi. Among the initial products released for this specific system is the Game Master’s Kit. A Game Master new to the system would certainly benefit from this product, and it does offer some new information that experienced GMs might find helpful as well.
The main component of this product is the GM screen, which provides a veil of privacy during gameplay so the GM can manage paperwork and other tasks out of view of the players. The outside of the screen has attractive artwork, featuring some well known Force users – Yoda and Darth Maul – and an anonymous generic Jedi. The inside of the screen has several charts and tables that are useful to the GM – attack difficulties for the different range bands, dice pools for various skill check difficulties, critical hit results for characters and vehicles, item quality descriptions, and more.
Compared to the previous GM Kits for Edge of the Empire and Age of Rebellion, this screen is not very different. The charts and tables are identical, and the only section that differs is the one that lists stats for various weapons. This F&D screen lists the stats for several different types of lightsabers and has fewer traditional weapons listed.
The kit also includes a booklet that contains a Force & Destiny adventure titled “Hidden Depths.” While described as an adventure that can be run as a follow-up to the “Lessons from the Past” adventure found in the Force and Destiny Core Rule Book, “Hidden Depths” can certainly also be run as a standalone adventure. The adventure involves the characters heading to an Imperial-controlled planet to recover some rubat gems – crystals that can be used within lightsabers – that were recently unearthed by seismic activity. The PCs have to dodge Imperial patrols, survive the hazards found within the cavern system (including hostile wildlife and dangers such as cave-ins and poison gas), locate the crystals, and harvest them in a way that channels the Force and involves more than simply plucking them from their clusters. Once they have their crystals, the group still has to avoid Imperials on their way off the planet. Overall, it’s a fairly straightforward but diverse adventure, and the tie-in with the lightsaber crystals makes it an ideal adventure for newer characters who are attempting to build their first lightsaber.
On the topic of building lightsabers, the kit also includes a couple pages regarding rules and mechanics for building a lightsaber. Focusing on creating a custom made hilt, these rules offer some tips on how to gather the materials, what expenses and dice roll checks are involved, and the advantages of building a custom hilt. While the majority of lightsaber building rules are in the Core Rule Book, these do help to augment them just a bit for the Jedi who wants to have complete control and ownership of their personally created lightsaber.
The final section of the GM Kit focuses on Knight Level play within the Force and Destiny system. This section further expands upon the concept found in the Core Rule Book where players are awarded an additional amount of XP at character creation in order to start with more experienced and skilled characters. The section also explains that the tips here can be leveraged for not just characters starting at an advanced stage, but also as characters reach more advanced levels through gameplay and earning XP. The section itself goes on to acknowledge that Force-using characters can become quite powerful once they start to master some of the more advanced Force powers. It offers some suggestions for GMs in terms of dealing with the strength of lightsaber combat (for example, Parry as a frequently used NPC ability) and Force powers.
Overall, the GM Kit is a solid standalone product and would be quite useful for any new Force and Destiny GM. For those who already own one of the previous GM Kits, its usefulness is more limited and will depend upon specific interest in the adventure and supplemental rules.
Steve "Jaspor" Orr
