Am I asleep?

Did any of you know about this?

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3496

This kind of interests me - as much as any other RPG anyway. Star Wars is, for the vast majority of being in its galaxy, a typical sci fi world. Jedi and Sith get the focus for much of the SW franchise, but relatively speaking, the number of Jedi/Sith is miniscule. For most people, jedi would be like a combination of Hollywood and Washington DC... they're famous and they have political/military influence so they're not irrelevant. At the same time, they're not part of people's day-to-day lives. Even more the case for people living on the outer rim, which is why this one seems particularly interesting. Seems like an RPG custom made to let somebody take up the Nova Eclipse as their residence.

What do you mean by custom dice pools?

In my general perusal of the book, I think it will at least be interesting to try. When comparing to Saga fairly, though, you have to only compare the EotE Beta book to the SECR, rather than all of the books that wotc put out during its run. Saga may have been better in general, but I do like the way Destiny Points are handled in this version as opposed to Saga. And keep in mind this is a Beta test, and there have been numerous Star Wars RPGs created already. So FFG had to create something without stepping on any license infringements. And I think they did that.

I haven't tried to run a session with the new RPG yet, but I have created a few characters. And the main complaint (at least one of them) on the ffg boards is the characters don't start with enough money to buy gear, which I totally agree with. So you have to put yourself in debt at the beginning, which is how ffg designed it. Not sure I necessarily agree with that, but we'll see how it plays out when my group tries it out.

For my money, advantage Saga, hands down. Of course I appreciate the later books and what they add to the game, but the core rulebook lays a comprehensive foundation that allows for a wide array of players and party types across multiple eras.

EotE is, not to put to fine a point on it, FIREFLY.

Which isn't bad. Heck, I love Firefly. I might even like Firefly more than Star Wars. But the nice thing about the SECR is that it's full of options and choices, whereas EotE is more limited in scope.



I guess I should be a little clearer. I'm not saying it's a bad game (although I do think it's a FLAWED game, especially in comparison to Saga). It's got some very nice elements. But for me, overall, some very nice elements just isn't enough.

I've been playing Star Wars for years (since d6) and I've liked every iteration... but I've liked every NEW iteration enough that I switched systems. I don't see that happening here. While Saga is not better in every way, it seems to me at this point that EotE represents a step down.

In fairness, I should note that I LOVE the Saga system. To me, it represents the zenith of the d20 engine, combining the majority of the strengths of D&D 3/3.5, 4E, and d20 Modern, while minimizing the weaknesses. Perfect? Nope. Better than each of those systems in every regard? Certainly not. But pretty danged cool.

EotE definitely has some good ideas (and some good ideas that I might try to pirate for my game), but not enough for me.

But the art is SO very pretty.

I can agree with that. I do like Saga for its variety, and maybe when FFG puts out their actual RPG, their core book might include more character types across different eras as well.



This is definitely true, and there is a Firrefly RPG out there. Maybe I'll use some of the scenarios in that book if I GM a EotE campaign.




Fair enough. I haven't actually played the beta test yet, but I'm going to reserve judgment until afterwards. Our gaming group is coming over today to play the Xwing game, and I'm sure we'll talk about the Beta test, maybe set up some characters or something.

Also keep in mind Saga had a buttload of miniatures to work with for player use, and EotE doesn't. EotE is more story driven, but with a more limited amount of characters for now.

Thanks for the info guys. I searched like mad for product reviews when this first came out, but couldn't find anything except people complaining and no actual gameplay reports.

I'm a long time star wars story teller (started 11 years ago. My first campaign when I was 16 on Wizard's d20 SECR, then converted to saga when it was released. Ran the same story on an off for years, eventually putting the nail in the coffin last year when my buddy (who has since moved from this circle of friends) came into town asked me to run the game for his bachelor party (for old time sake. He missed playing with us more than he liked strippers i guess). The story concluded with the party being the team that went with bastilla shan to take down revan - very epic ;).

Any how. That being said, i personally think saga edition does have some problems; its difficult to challenge players at higher levels and ship combat is terrible. But outside of those complaints, the system is solid as a rock, and as others have stated here, its about as good as you get for the d20 system. At this time, its the only d20 game i'm even open to playing (my group prefers more realistic systems, typically white-wolf and other point buy). Saga, for star wars, was the best mechanical representation of the on screen world i'd ever seen. So, with such a praised system, its opens a big question... do I stop using a system that works nearly perfectly for what I need, that I know like the back of my hand, for something new and shiny?

At this point, I can't say. Outside of this thread, i've been unable to find any real information on EOTE. Most people want to just complain, rather than play. The negative points:
1. No Jedi rules
2. 3 separate stand alone rule books planned.
3. Custom dice.
4. Price Scam

my responses:
1. Yes, every one loves jedi, and wants to play one. Its my understanding that there are force rules in the book, just not enough to go full jedi. I personally am ok with this. The game is focused on a very particular point in history, where there should be very few jedi. While it may make sense to allow players to play a jedi at this time, i just don't like it. The game ends up suffering from Star Wars Galaxy syndrome: jedi everywhere when most should be extinct. I get the gripes, but for me, it puts a restriction on the game that i feel is reasonable for the theme.

2. So the way the books are described, is that there will be 3 separate books, for 3 differently themed games. I think the next one focuses on rebel alliance characters, and the final on jedi. So, the good news? If you don't want to run a scum and villainy type game (EoTE), but want to run a rebel game, you don't have to pay for EoTE, as all the rules are contained in the Rebel Alliance book; all 3 books are stand alone products. The bad news? If you want all 3 books, you're paying for the same rules sections reprinted in each book. I personally think this is a flaw in design. I'd prefer to buy the core book, and have each additional book leave out the reprinting of the same material from every since book to either be smaller (cheaper), or use those pages for additional unique content. This is subjective to the buyer.

3. The system uses custom dice. You've got to put stickers on your dice. If you don't have stickers, I think there's a conversion chart for how to read each die. I won't say this is a flaw. The people I have seen complain about it the most are the people who haven't even played the game yet, which I think invalidates their complaints.

4. The scam: so, this is the biggest reason I haven't purchased the product. The game is $30 for a beta. Fantasy flight wants you, the play tester, to purchase the beta, and then report back to them. They then use your valuable experiences to improve the game, and eventually release a final version. You, the player, are expected to spend your own money for the beta version, spend your own time to report to the company who will use your experience to better their product, and then will have to spend your own money again to re-purchase the product if you want the final version when they release it. Some people are ok with that, but I feel like the product should either be free and sent to a smaller group of players- this will offset the fact that they are working for free to help the company make a stronger product they are going to make money off of... OR, the company should offer a discount to players who purchase the BETA, and then want to buy the finished product. No such luck. So, unless I start reading some very positive reviews that show me what this game can offer me that the pre-existing systems fail at, I just don't see the justification on purchasing this. Not until a final release, at the very least.

This dice thing seems a lot like Dreamscape: Success, Great success (more of these activate powers), and failures. Is that the gist of the dice idea? Granted, the percentiles add to a difference. As a player of the Pennacle system (precursor to Savage Worlds which is the spiritual sister of Margaret Weiss system for Serenity/Firefly), it sounds pretty cool. I am more attuned to multi-dice vs. d20 system.

One way I could see this being a decent deal would be that if the playtesters filled out the required playtest reports, they would then get a free copy of the game once it's released. But buying it twice, once in beta form? Ugh... even if it means getting it a few months early that does seem like a very bad deal.

Personally, I find SAGA gets the Star Wars feel across. It's nearly classless, covers all eras easily, has everything you need for any era or campaign right in the core book, and uses miniatures (LOVE prepainted minis, espacially SW . It's flaws? Reliance on 1' square grids, which I love but turn many off due to the amount of work required to draw up maps on grid paper or a mat (I tend to use the poster maps and tiles, but they do have their limits); and that's really about it. Sure, it "required" miniatures, but any old thing would do, if that was your inclination (Minis all the way for me ).

EotE? Well, so far, and not taking into account their poor customer relations in making you pay to work for them, it covers one era, one type of campaign, and one set of characters. That's it. Not only would you have to buy other books for different characters, the third book dosen't come out until 2015.