Hiatus

I haven't been very productive lately.  This, combined with things in my personal life, has prevented me from posting much.  So I think it's time to take a break.

Two Boons and a Flaw

Force Sensitive - Required to be a Force user.

Strong in the Force (2) - Use best 2 of 3 dice.

I can't think of a good name for it right now but - Physiologically unable to speak Galactic Standard.

Feeding the Force

I think two things that help make a good Star Wars game is the atmosphere and the way the Force is handled.  And the way the Force is handled contributes significantly to the atmosphere.  For the BoL version I want Force powers to be as simple and streamlined as possible.  One thing I don't like about the WEG's version is how complicated they made force powers.  Multiple rolls, etc., to complete one Force task.  It doesn't seem to flow to me.

The Force will be handled similarly to the way psychic powers are used in Barbarians of the Aftermath.  I will approach it the same way as magic except that the Force user will be limited by his rating.  So, Jedi 0 can perform cantrip equivalents, Jedi 1 can perform magnitude 1 equivalents, etc.

This seems pretty straight forward to me but the next question didn't.  Should Force powers cost power points of some sort?  My first reaction was that it shouldn't cost anything.  Particularly in the prequels, or at least what I have seen of them, Jedi seem to have unlimited use.  But then I thought of the scene in The Empire Strikes Back when Yoda lifts the X-Wing out of the swamp.  This act seemed to tire him out.  Yes, Yoda was old and fading by then but it does imply that using the Force has a cost.

My solution to this is to have Force use cost but to double or triple the initial points plus their Jedi (or Sith) level.  Or, perhaps better, would be to start the power level as usual but add 5 points for each time the Force user gains a level.

Thoughts?

Attributes and Combat Abilities

I originally thought that I would use Attributes and Combat Abilities from the BoL rules unchanged.    Attributes I will use unchanged but the post I reproduced here from the RPG.net thread has me reevaluating my intentions towards Combat Abilities.

Combining Brawling and Melee and adding a Pilot or maybe Starship, Vehicle or Gunnery ability has an appeal.  Someone else on the 33rd post of original thread suggested Close Combat, Blaster, Pilot and Defense.

Would the Ranged ability cover starship combat?  Or should that only be used for personal combat?  Should a Pilot or Gunner career cover this?  Usually careers aren't used in combat.

What do you think?

More Resources, Non-Gaming

Two more resources, non-gaming but interesting:

An interesting Wikipedia article on The Force

Wookieepedia

Resurrected Thread

Shades of Obi-Wan!  The Barbarians of Lemuria and Stars Wars thread in the forums at RPG.net has been resurrected. A fellow who goes by the handle Fred made an interesting post.  I've taken the liberty of reproducing it.

Re: Barbarians of Lemuria and Star Wars

Hey, Narmer,

Here's what I compiled from this thread and the one at Lords of Lemuria, adapted to my needs (with some additional material I came up). I called Force + Justice.

Suggestions and modifications are welcome.

Attributes
F+J uses the BoL nomenclature for attributes:
Strength
Agility
Mnd
Appeal

Combat
F+J folds the Brawl ability into the Melee one. In its place, this hack introduces the Stardship ability for space combat. The final configuration is:
Melee
Ranged
Starship
Defense

Careers
Careers have been renamed to fit the Star Wars setting. F+I introduces the Force User career for those characters that can wield the Force. At level zero, this career represents someone who is Force-sensitive, but that has no formal training. Mechanically, it works like the Sorcerer or Wyrd career from other BoL-powered games.

Adept/Priest
Assassin/Spy
Artist/Performer/Dancer
Bounty Hunter
Brute/Thug
Computer Tech
Con Man/Gambler
Diplomat/Politician
Explorer/Outdoorsman/Scout
Farmer
Force User (Jedi, Sith, etc.)
Inquisitor
Mechanic
Merchant/Trader
Naval Officer
Noble
Physician
Pilot
Pirate
Scholar
Scoundrel/Smuggler
Security Agent
Seducer
Servant
Slave
Soldier/Mercenary

Force points
Force points are what other BoL-powered games call Hero points or Fortune. Every characters starts with 5.

Boons
These are specific Boons and Flaws for a Star Wars game.
Force-attuned: you have 2 extra Force points.
Strong in the Force*: add a Bonus Die to all Force-related rolls.

* counts as two

Weapons
Name Damage Range Notes
Blasters
Sporting 1d3+1 5 m
Pistol 1d6-1 10 m
Hvy. Pistol 1d6 5 m
Rifle 1d6+1 20 m
Bowcaster 1d6+3 25 m as arbalest
Melee
Vibroaxe 1d6 -- ignores 2 pts of armor
Vibrosword 1d3+1 -- ignores 2 pts of armor
Force pike 1d6+2 -- as pole-arm
Electrostaff 1d6-1 -- as staff, parries lightsaber
Lightsaber 1d6 -- ignores armor

Tchau!

I like his ideas.

Careers

I'm going to start easy so I can ease into this thing.  I believe I will start with character creation.  Specifically, careers.  Even without WEG Star Wars I can think of a lot.  There are so many possible careers in the universe that I think anything the gm approves can be used.  Here Are a few in no particular order:

Pilot
Bounty Hunter
Farmer (Air, ocean, hydroponic or even dirt)
Engineer
Administrator
Aristocrat
Imperial Officer
Stormtrooper
Rebel
Smuggler
Pirate
Con Man
Entertainer
Bandit
Merchant
Senator
Explorer
Bureaucrat
And of course, Jedi or Force User.

The Phantom Menace

Took the boys to see The Phantom Menace today.  Their first time, my second.  My initial reaction is that it is better on the big screen than it is on DVD.  It seemed long.  I dislike midichlorians.  Darth Maul is a badass and the lightsaber duel was both their and my favorite part.  I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later.

Edit:  Oh, and I don't think the 3D added much.

Resources

My main sources will be as follows:

Games
Barbarians of Lemuria (of course)
Barbarians of the Aftermath
Honor + Intrigue (when I finally have a chance to read it)
WEG's Star Wars Roleplaying Game
Mini Six

Websites and Forum Discussions
Rancor Pit
Barbarians of Lemuria and Star Wars
BoL Star Wars Conversion
[thought] Barbarians of the Outer Rim

I will list these to the right under Resources.  I will also add more as I discover other helpful sources.

Perspective and Biases

"The golden age of Science Fiction is 12"

Peter Graham

I thought I'd better explain some about my perspectives and biases when it comes to Star Wars so that those who read this will, perhaps, understand where I'm coming from and some of the decisions I make.

I am an original trilogy guy.  I've only seen 1 1/2 of the prequels.  I haven't read any of the novels or short stories and have only read a few comics.  The only Star Wars video game I've played is Lego Star Wars (which rocks by the way.)

I am not a prequel hater.  What I've seen has been mildly entertaining.  It's just that they do not capture my imagination as the original movies did.  I was 12 when The Empire Strikes Back hit the big screen.  I remember distinctly when and where I was when I saw it and the other movies.  Hence the quote above.  I just don't know that much about the rest of the Star Wars Universe.  And actually, much of my knowledge of things outside of the original trilogy comes from Lego Star Wars.

I am also not a super fan.  I love the original movies and the joy they brought me and still bring me.  I recently rewatched them with my sons.  It was there first time.  I do not, however, salivate over every detail of the Star Wars Universe (not that there's anything wrong with that) and periodically have questions about it.  One such is this:  Why is Leia called princess?  I know Queen Amidala was her mum but she being raised by the Organas and they weren't royalty were they?  There is probably a simple answer that the more knowledgeable can answer easily but that I don't know.  I will probably pose other such questions here as they strike me.

So, I hope this helps.

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog.  I hope you like what I come up with and I look forward to your comments.

Star Wars and BoL Again

Quite awhile ago I wrote a post about combining Star Wars and Barbarians of Lemuria.  Well, as with many of my thoughts I didn't get far with it.  But I'm getting the itch again.  I recently watched the original trilogy with my boys and want to do something with it again.  Let's see how far I get this time.  If I make any progress, I'll share.  Don't hold your breath though.  I'll probably borrow heavily from WEG Star Wars though I want much simpler force rules.  I want to keep the basis as close to BoL as I can, too, but will probably steal concepts from Barbarians of the Aftermath.  It is such a good resource that I can't just pass it by.