This series follows the trials, tribulations, successes, and failures of a fairly inexperienced GM who has recently picked up the hobby after a long time away. It aims to assist new GM’s by examining what worked, didn’t work, and what failed miserably as he spins up new campaigns, modules, encounters, and adventures for his friends and family in Fantasy Flight Games’ Edge of the Empire/Age of Rebellion/Force and Destiny system.
I decided to try something different this week. Instead of writing about or tackling my observations or problems when it comes to my games, I thought I might take a stab at questions and situations that the readers have. So, I put out a call for questions in various groups and forums. I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, and I know I often wish I could have handled things differently in my games if given a chance, and sometimes a second opinion can really help GMs navigate a situation that’s come up. So, without further ado, here are this week’s questions:
“Okay got one I’m currently juggling – tips on introducing new characters once the existing party has already formed?” – Scott West
Good news for you, Mr. West, I have experience in this, having done it on multiple occasions. This might be one of the few things I’ve done that others might consider me an ‘expert’ in. There’s a few things to do:
- In a separate session, teach the system and do character creation with the new player. Make sure they know at least the basics and what their character can do. You don’t want to disrupt your game too much with a new player, although the FFG SWRPG system allows newbies to join so quickly and easily.
- Create a narrative reason why the new player is joining the group. Tell the new player what characters you already have and what the campaign is up to this point. Let the new player help in determining their origin and why they’re joining in. A few things I’ve used: one new player was a Rebel cell leader that the main group had to contact and the new player joined from there; a new player was a citizen inside the town that the PCs were at and met them there; a new PC was a body guard for a senator that team needed to rescue, and he insisted on going along. There are many ways you can do it, and none are wrong.
- Allow the new player leeway in the game especially learning the rules. Offer him or her options when playing more so than the other players if you need. In the SWRPG system, the easiest thing I’ve found to tell new players is, “Just tell me what your character would do right now… I’ll tell you what dice to roll.”
“This is a mix of rules questioning and player handling so bear with me.
I have a player with a bounty hunter assassin PC who wants to be the ultimate sniper ninja ghost killer and has done everything to meet that goal. This isn’t just for Star Wars but pretty much every system he plays.
He has the skills and talents and equipment to assemble a monster stealth pool and managed to scrape enough creds to get a personal stealth field thanks to assistance from other party members with black market contacts, etc.
So, in a way, good for him for achieving his goals but how can I make life interesting for an invisible killer? Attackers can make a Formidable (5P) check to try to spot him and I’ve considered giving them boost dice or upgraded dice pools if he has fired that round.
The flavor text says the stealth fields are notoriously unreliable so I feel well within reason that a Despair result or possibly a large amount of Threat could easily mean the field fails and needs repairs. I thought about adverse environmental conditions keeping it from working (rain, radiation, etc.) I even thought about dinging the character for upkeep costs to keep the device running but I don’t want to seem like I’m punishing the player for making the character he wants to play.
Have I painted myself into a corner and just need to wait for the paint to dry or are their ways to approach this without resorting to being a “no, because I said so” GM heel.
Thanks.” – Yorkus Rex
Oh my, can I address this. In one of my campaigns, we’ve been at it with weekly games for one year! My players have 500 XP. They’re quite amazing at a lot of things and I’m always having to figure out ways to challenge them. So I think I can address this question with confidence. Here’s my take…
First, all your ideas about situations the stealth field might fail are absolutely above board and, IMHO, not being a “GM Heel”. They’re all narrative, and… nothing he can’t overcome. Personally, I think that if he’s a stealth assassin, and the stealth field fails, and he still sneaks in and gets a kill, that should make him feel fantastic. Repairs could mean just a setback or increased difficulty as it shorts out like the Predator’s field did in the movies. That’s just narrative fodder for the device, could be any piece of equipment really, it’s not a penalty just because his gear is cool.
Second, remember, in these situations, red dice are your friends. Not necessarily to make him fail a check, but just one red dice thrown in for narrative reasons can help you throw challenges his way. Despairs and threat can give you narrative challenges to put in front of good players. And those challenges don’t have to concern his stealth field. They can be anything like a patrol wanders by, he drops something, the field works great but he sneezes and gives away his position, or an alarm goes off. There’s so many things one can do with those narrative tools on the dice. Create narrative reasons to throw in at least one red die when needed.
Third, create situations where the stealth field won’t help. Crowded streets where a partially invisible dude walking down the road will stand out. Or maybe a crowded bar he has to sneak something out of, and he was frisked at the door and had to leave his weapons. Remember, in Star Wars, walking around with full military armor and weapons is not a normal event. In starships it won’t help. You can always create narrative reasons the field won’t always help him.
Last, and maybe most importantly, let your PC be amazing at stealth. It’s what he likes and wants so let him shine. If you give him opportunities to shine, when he’s challenged, it won’t feel like you’re simply always trying to stop him. Create stealth situations you know he’ll just breeze through with 5 advantage and a triumph. That makes all your other challenges seem more in place.
“Will we ever see a supplement involving the Clone Wars?
Say a guide to the tech used by both sides?
Or the means to create our own spaceships and vehicles?” – Colin Turvey
So, for the first question, it might be possible that we will see those things after all the career books are finished. There are a few to go in Force and Destiny and the Engineer and Spy in Age of Rebellion. The older Saga Edition game before FFG got the license did that exact idea, publishing books that suggested how to play in other eras. FFG has dipped their toe in this arena with the Force Awakens Beginner Game. I don’t work for or know anyone at FFG but if they want to publish books for the game after the career books are done, more adventure books or books to expand into other eras certainly make sense.
For the second question, you’re in luck in that during Q3 of this year (Fall) Fully Operational will be released, the career book for Engineers. And in it, ship crafting rules! You can check out the article FFG wrote spilling the beans here: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/5/3/built-to-spec/
So that’s all for the first edition of Ask a Decent? GM. If you have any questions for future columns, feel free to message me on Facebook, tag me on a post on the d20 Radio Facebook page, or leave a comment below!
Scott Alden
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