Lord Dynel said:

Actually, I think Gamorreans and Jawas could very easily translate to playable races.  See the GSA link I posted earlier in this thread, as Cyril and I came up with pretty workable stats for both species, so I'm sure that FFG could do likewise.

Of course, that's not to say that they'll be popular with players as a species option, given their traditional inability to speak Basic (something that we delibrately glossed over in our write-ups).

Donovan Morningfire said:

Thanks.  I'll have to give that a look.  

Something I've thought about, and discussed at our table just last weekend, was language barriers and its lack (so far) in EotE.  We thought back to Episodes IV, V, and IV and couldn't think of a time when language was a barrier at all.  I'm sure this has been brought up many time in the past, but it's something we rationalized as to why there doesn't seem to be an issue with it's absence.  In the movies, when there were beings on screen that didn't understand each other, there was always a way they could communicate effectively.  Whether it was Han and Chewie (they understand each other's languages, but couldn't speak the other) or Jabba and Luke (Jabba, who needed a translator most of the time, and C-3PO the interpreter), communication always flowed without incident.  

I don't know it they'll be anything in the Core book about languages but if there isn't, I won't be disappointed.  

Lord Dynel said:

You've got a good point, in that for the most part, the language barrier was glossed over in the films, and that it's really only been in the EU that the notion of not being able to understand another organic (only 3PO really seems to understand what R2 is saying, with Luke and Anakin only seeming to get the jist of what the little astromech is bleeping on about).  Like you said, there's often someone there who can at least give the audience a rough idea of what's being said (Han responding to Chewie's remarks throughout the films, Lando & Nien Nunb) or we get a translation via subtitles (as with Jabba).

I would think that if FFG does decide to adopt a "only know some many languages" approach, they'd make it similar to how WEG handled it, either co-opting an existing Knowledge skill (Xenology and Education are my picks, in that order) or at worse have a separate Language skill, and that rather than having to pick specific languages (like you had to in the various d20 versions) the player simply just has to roll their linguistic skill (whatever name it goes by) when the GM feels it's necessary.  Which is probably going to be the tricky part, determining when it's necessary.  My main criteria for necessity, if such rules were to be put in place, would be "is it relevant to the plot that the PCs have rough time understanding a given alien species?"

But like you,if there's nothing about only being speak certain languages, I won't be disappointed either.

The only time I make language come up, as a barrier, is when the PC's bump into a "new" species, or some species that is extremely rare. Other then that I consider it a mute point, as the given species are so common, one would assume they would know how to communicate effectively.

I thought I read somewhere that Jabba understood basic fine, he just refused to demote himself to speaking it.

$hamrock said:

I remember reading somewhere, and maybe it was here on the forums, that Jay Little said something to the effect of "languages were not an issue in the movies..everyone basically understood everyone", and that they didn't want to introduce languages into the game because it just seemed like an uneccesary hinderence to the flow of the game and everyone having fun.  Or something like that…

mouthymerc said:

Hello,

I have a question regarding races and character generation.

Stat wise there is small difference between the different races, but additionally there is a limit to the maximum you can rise a stat, 6.

Is this for ALL races? For example, the maximum brawn for a human is 6? the same for a Wookie? Are then no difference between the two races (appart than one is very hairy and the other not so much)?

Cheers,

Yeps

Yepesnopes said:

I'd imagine (based on the Beta) that 6 is the cap for all characters, regardless of species.

But also consdier that while a Human with a Brawn of 6 might be on par with a Wookiee with a Brawn of 6, the Wookiee has a running headstart in terms of Brawn due to starting with a higher default score (3 opposed to the 2 that most other species have).  That means it took the Human either more of their starting XP to be on par with a Wookiee, or they've devoted three or four Dedication talents (which are pricey to buy and to reach in most talent trees) where the Wookiee doesn't have to spend as much to be that strong.

Also, consider species' special abilities as well.  Wookiees get a bonus to damage when they've suffered Wounds, with a bigger bonus if they're suffering from a Critical Hit as well.  That's something a Human's never going to get, so when it comes to melee damage, the Wookiee has the edge.  Also, Wookiees have a much higher starting Wound Threshold, so regardless of matching Brawn scores, the Wookiee is going to be able to absort more damage before dropping than most species.

Outside of the Beta, we'll have to wait and see what the actual book has when it hits shelves in a couple months.

Yepesnopes said:

The Rancor only has a 6 brawn, so it seems to be a scaled by other abilities… its' brawn 6 vs claw damage 20 is, well, way up there. (It's in the Beginner Box Rulebook.) The Krait Dragon young is 5 Brawn… All kinds of ugly but only rolling 5-6 dice.

None of the PC species listed can get past a 5 in CGen… 
Droid: 1 for free… so 20+30+40+50=140p for a 5, but a 6 takes it to 200p… 25p over the base 175p. With a very liberal interpretation, doable for a 2p game.
Others with 2's: 2 for free so 30+40+50=120 - beyond the reach of 90p races (who can hit 115 max) but barely in reach of 100 and 110 point races.
In their 3's: 3 for free, +40+50=90, but 6 would be 150… again, beyond the reach of PC's starting.

In the relative to races of Star Wars… mmm… my point of view is that alien races are only for background, and flavor, but a bit more, really.

Yes, there will be one or maybe two important alien PCs, but no more. So, since i see alien like NPCs, the current number of races is enough. But it would be nice to see new races, for more flavor, in next expansions.

But remember that in the movies, almost all the important characters are human. The Star Wars galaxy is a human galaxy, coloured with thousands of alien races…

arkiva said:

Humans outnumber the others because they are the cheapest to do SFX with. Just a basic makeup for the camera and a costume and you're done. Keeps the filming budget down.

arkiva said:

Well, as said above, the main concern with the movies was budgetary constraints.  It's the same reason why the Star Trek TV series is infamous for it's "rubber-forehead alien."

As for number of aliens… there are always going to be those players that like playing oddball species that most folks wouldn't give a second glance at.  Now I'm not saying FFG has to cover every possible species in the corebook, but having additional species options, be it via web enhancements or future supplements isn't a bad thing.

aramis said:

This basically means a human with some xps can beat a Rancor in an opposed strength check…. That in my opinion is a wrong approach from the designers, but ok, this is a RPG and house rules have and will always exist.