Welcome to the HoloNet Uplink, citizen. This series focuses on Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars Roleplaying Game, with content aimed mostly at the Gamemaster. Threats, adventure seeds, rules supplements, and more are all to come for those who access The HoloNet Uplink.
It’s Fresh Perspectives week here at the Gamer Nation Blog and, while three years isn’t exactly that long, I’m shocked to realize my topic for today released in 2013. Has it really been that long since Fantasy Flight Games’ edition launched, and with it the Edge of the Empire Gamemaster’s Kit? It doesn’t feel like that much time has passed since scratching my head over beta weirdness like permanent talents back in 2012. But its true. Over the past few years, three core books and many supplements have been released, making the first forays into the line something “old” to be made new again. So with my waxing nostalgic out of the way, let’s tackle The Nemesis.
The Edge of the Empire Gamemaster’s Kit has a section called “A GM’s Guide to the Nemesis” beginning on page 26. Herein contains guidance on how to select your nemesis, outlines the types of nemeses, how to present them, and finally how to advance a nemesis in terms of abilities and resources. Overall, this section provides solid advice. It presents three overall types of threat: the brutish physical threat, the mastermind social threat, and the threat of adversary leader. Each type explains how to integrate the different approaches and tactics used by a few examples of adversary gleaned from the Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook, including a helpful take on how to turn the unassuming loan shark (EotE pg 393) into an insidious nemesis. Special mention should also go to the sidebar on page 27 for an early introduction of the additional NPC initiative slot suggestion, also seen in Force and Destiny’s Inquisitor section, as a solution to the solo-nemesis action economy problem. Going back and reading this advice was an excellent refresher, one I recommend to all SWRPG GMs, but I’m going to focus more on the unique mechanical nemesis advancement system.
Guidelines for the advancement for nemeses are outlined on pages 29-31, with the Nemesis XP system in a sidebar on page 30. This sidebar indicates how to award and spend XP for the nemesis, providing a structured way to advance an adversary’s skills and talents. I must admit, I have never tried these guidelines in a campaign. I have increased the mechanical threat presented by a nemesis over the course of a campaign in the past, but did it on a more ad hoc and intuitive basis. Upon a second review after all these years though, I am quite inclined to try. There’s definitely more bookkeeping to be had, but having a gradual and continuous improvement of the nemesis by awarding him or her XP would make sure those enhanced abilities feel like a natural progression.
I’ll try the nemesis XP advancement rules the next chance I get, but I’ll break one of my personal principles by house ruling these guidelines a bit. The guidelines indicate a nemesis should select any one Specialization that a PC also possess, gaining this Specialization at no XP cost. The nemesis may spend XP on the tree just like a PC, or may purchase any talent (other than Dedication) at a cost of 40 XP per talent. The particular restriction to Specializations already possessed by a PC does not seem logical to me. If the party is a group of gun-toting mercs and bounty hunters, why can’t they be opposed by a corrupt planetary governor going down the Politico Specialization? What about a team of Rebel SpecForce sent to counter the nefarious plans of an Imperial Moff progressing through Strategist? To me, it seems unnecessarily limiting for little to no gain. I would instead suggest the GM select at no XP cost a first Specialization that matches the nemesis’ theme. A second Specialization would require 20 XP, a third 30 XP, and so forth. This would give GMs more flexibility to advance a nemesis who threatens the PCs from their weak spot or from insidious alternative angles.
Overall, I enjoyed my fresh look at the Edge of the Empire Gamemaster’s Kit nemesis section. There is some solid advice in an easily digestible form suitable both to educate novice GMs and as a good review of the fundamentals for those with more experience. The mechanical advancement rules are intruiging, and while they take some book keeping and maybe need some tweaking, I think they would serve a GM well for campaigns where the PCs encounter a nemesis on a reoccurring basis. The XP award guideline will allow that nemesis to just keep the edge over any one of the PCs, depending of course on how you spend it.
HoloNet Uplink seems to have been well received so far. I’ve got some positive feedback, and it sounds like folks have enjoyed the Bounty Contract series. By all means, gamers, don’t hesitate to tell me what you don’t like or what you think needs to be improved. My end goal is to enable your gaming success. As always, I look forward to engaging with you in the comments or on social media. Till next week!
Christopher Hunt
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