Yeah, Edge of the Empire appears to shed virtually of the card-based gameplay and tokens from WFRP3E, which I expect will make it far easier to run on a small table. I think that's fantastic - it's exactly what I would have wanted from the next iteration of this ruleset.

Venthrac said:

The irony of this whole thing is that if FFG were to make cards as a game aid, they would likely sell just fine.  The key here is to make sure it is optional, not required.  I think they learned their lesson on the component part with the large demand for hard bound books in WFRP3e.  The later repackage of that line just created a bunch of confusion in the product line though.

I personally am loving that the component aspect of wfrp3 is not a part of the new star wars game.  If they offered cards as a game aid, I know some of my players would be interested, I don't think I would be.

Now, on another note, FFG could learn a few things about how to make a good GM screen.  Though the physical quality and art of their screens has been good, I haven't been real impressed with the layout and the information present.

Well said, CD. Making it an optional add-on instead of a required component would be nice. I would not object to, say, optional Talent cards with some quick-reference info. Or maybe Force power cards.

Venthrac said:

I guess I am just used to a more mechanical system. The idea of a narrative system excites me but also makes me nervous at the same time if I'm going to be a Game Master. Is it going to be incumbent upon me to make up a little story to go with each dice roll? And what happens if I just stare at the dice and go "uhh" and don't have an interpretation?

I get success and failure. I don't think I quite get advantage and threat. Is something in the game going to tell me what this does every time I roll? The same with triumph and despair. And when do I add the red die?

In running WFRP3E, which uses the same narrative dice system, I didn't always have a great explanation or clever description for when the dice called for a dramatic event. Sometimes I'd ask the players what they think would be appropriate. Oftentimes, they would have ideas before I even asked. Sometimes I was content to just play it straight; a character who, for example, needed to jump over a crevasse rolled a triumph, but I could not think of something spectuacular to say other than "You really nailed that jump, and did a cool tumbling roll into a ready position at the end of it." My point is, sometimes it's enough just to succeed.

Also, when you're preparing an adventure or an encounter you can build in hooks that benefit the narrative. Say you want to do a shootout in a cargo hold. Well, maybe the cargo itself comes into play when attack rolls generate triumphs and despairs. There might be crates filled with explosives, or shipments of valuable luxury items or spice. There might be a wall panel that activates a cargo arm. Fill up your narrative toolbox with goodies ahead of time, and you'll find that you are far more ready to interpret dramatic die results.

Also, keep a notepad handy. Once you start running this game, I am willing to bet that you'll begin to have great ideas for die roll interpretations, and they'll just hit you out of the blue. Write them down for future use. 

Lastly, I'll add that the rulebook contains a lot of really good ideas for this stuff right there on the page, so you'll be armed and ready before you even run your first game.

The above is, of course, just my own opinion based on the experiences I've had and the way I run the game. Others might have totally different ideas.

Respectable Hobbit said:

Make sure to let yourself off the hook.  Working out that part of your brain that generates a constant stream of interesting and plausible b*** s*** takes some time.  To that end, do pretty much exactly what Venthrac wrote .  And swing by the forums and bounce ideas off people

I'd love to see the community start a big list of all the crazy stuff we can brainstorm to happen when the dice call for drama. That would be a fun project.

 I wouldnt mind seeing cards for NPC's as in the Creature Vault for whfrp3. Now that is one particular component that I liked a lot. And anytime I wanted to add extra actions or equipmement, I just add a sheet of paper to the card.

Just an idea, maybe not everyones cup of tea!

Me and my group have recently be on a 180 mechanical rules flip. After playing 3e and Pathfinder so long, then seeing what they did to 4e… we started thinking back to when we were young… when we didn't even use maps. All we would do is draw a rough room and X's for where people were… and they would ask stuff like "Can I hit him from here? How 'bout if i move here this round?"

I must say, reading this thread has made me think of checking out this Warhammer Fantasy RPG. Also, I have already started pondering ways to use EotE in non Star Wars settings.

BrashFink said:

Man, I totally feel you there, Brash. My past few years have been spent playing and running 4E, Pathfinder and Saga, all very crunchy games. I am really looking forward to getting away from that for a while.

Respectable Hobbit said:

As a matter of fact, Hobbit, there is! Me and a couple of friends have put together a small gaming advocacy group in Philadelphia, called the Dapper D8 Social Club. Starting in the middle of September, we'll be doing a demo campaign of the new Star Wars game at 7th Dimension Games in Jenkintown, PA.

I'm super excited about this game. I enjoy Star Wars, especially this part of the universe, and I absolutely love the WFRP3 mechanics. As soon as this was announced I immediately wanted to play it. Then I thought, "Hey, I'll run demos of it, because I'm sure there are others that want to play this thing just as much as I do."

We've put on a number of events demoing new games to new gamers, everything from Marvel Heroic to Fiasco, and we've gotten pretty good at it. If you want to try out Star Wars for the first time, I think we've got you covered. 

Anyone in the area that wants to attend, please feel free! The more, the merrier. 

You can find out more about us, and the news about our Star Wars event, at our Facebook page.

Nice, I'm in Maryland, about 20 minutes from DC. Glad to see there's some Philly Star Wars gamers nearby!

Venthrac said:

Why is everyone always in southern MD? I want some players in the north, damn it.

BrashFink said:

This was me a a couple years ago.  I have and still enjoy Pathfinder.  I GM two different campaigns, one live that I have been running for almost 10 years (we converted it from 3.0/3.5) and one on a message board.

When I began exploring "something else" I came across all kinds of things.  I picked up the Revised Core Rules for Star Wars and shortly after, I picked up the Core saga rulebook.  Saga for whatever reason just didn't spark my creativity.  I don't think it was the game, I just think I wasn't really interested. Played a ton of board and card games for awhile and kept thinking about Warhammer Fantasy but the price kept scaring me away. Finally, I was tired one night and amazon had it for $59. I said, what the hell and ordered it. We played it once, everyone hated it. We had become so used to playing Pathfinder that it was just too big of a jump and I didn't really know "how" to play it. Then I tried out some old Alternity stuff and that didn't do it for me either.  Tried Gurps and hated it.  Tried Rifts and hated it more.  Tried Ex Machina and Eclipse Phase and had a good time but the group kinda split when some of the players moved.  And then I got into Pathfinder Society and had a blast with it in all its crunchy goodness.  Then I just kinda got burned out for a bit.

Returned to the board game and card game world for about a year.

Then I decided to go back to roleplaying games and I found and messed around with Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader.  This sparked my interest and I found myself reading a few of the novels.  Soon enough I had a game going and I began lurking on the boards at FFG.  For whatever reason, I decided to dig out the Warhammer Fantasy stuff again and really read through it and I had an epiphany.

I had forgotten how to roleplay without maps and minis.  In fact, my entire group had forgotten when we played second edition and even first edition ADnD.  That isn't to say that we didn't roleplay.  We did, but combat took on a more board game aspect.  This was ok as many of us enjoyed the board game aspect but as I came to realize that we were playing half the time roleplaying and the other half was a board game.  The thing that drove me away from WFRP3 is actually the same thing that brought me back.  This is a narrative system.  Its very open to player interaction and the players do such a good job of contributing that once everyone gets on a role, they do far more for the story than I ever could have on my own. 

The dice mechanic is brilliant.

The other part I struggled with was all the chits and bits.  Once I realized that all that stuff was really optional and only needed to be used as an aid, not a requirement, it all started to slip into place.  Players went back to tracking things on pen and paper and spent their time playing the game instead of worrying about all the pieces.  It was a fun and loose system.  It isn't perfect as I had some issues with some of the mechanics but while playing, it just seemed to work and work well.

Then I see the anouncement of Star Wars and how they seem to have removed all the pieces while maintaining a highly similar narrative dice system.  I'm excited.  I like the setting idea and know I have players that are interested as well.

So, if you like the idea of a game that doesn't need maps and minis, get either this game or the Warhammer Fantasy Game.  The investment for WHFRP has been big over the years for me but I love the system.  Fantasy Grounds and Maptool have allowed me to play these games online as well.  Its worth playing if that is what you are looking for.  It is a loose system and once the players understand that it isn't a tactical game any longer, they will remember the best parts of how it used to be. 

 You summer up my feelings exactly, CD8. Great post.