Possible Star Wars D20 RPG

[tanglewood]

Well the idea of running an RPG on these boards occured to me last night and, as an avid RPG'er, I thought why the hell not? I know that a D&D RPG was ran and kind of withered away (a lot to do with the infamous board difficulties really) but it did have a nice run until then, and some familiarity with the setting will help I think.

Star Wars D20 is really easy to pick up and learn. Infact, if you have played the Knights of the Old Republic game, that uses the exact same system that I'll be running things with. Don't worry if you don't have access to any material on how it works, as GM I'll be running mostly everything behind the scenes anyway and any key mechanics I can inform the players about. I plan to let it be quite freeform with as little actual dice rolling involved as possible, both to make it message board friendly and newbie friendly. I'm looking for a small group at first of four people, with the possibility of expanding the nuumbers as the game moves on. All I would ask is that the players can post at least once a day, excluding weekends and that would be perfectly fine with me, even if that post is a simple "I'm here, just following what everyone esle is doing" type reply. The time period, style etc. can be decided between me and the players once it is sorted.

So, if you are interested post here, and we'll see where that takes us.

[stkelly52]

I think that this would be a lot of fun. I'm in

[Blade6119]

Im in, it sounds like we could have a great time as long as the others dont get jealous of my amazing jedi power

[TazFTW]

I'm interested.

[judicial clerk]

Kiss your career in the Israeli Army goodbye.

[Ragone]

I'm in.. i'm too tall for the israeli army anyway

[Neon_Chaos]

I am interested.

[tanglewood]

Okay it seems like I can start to lay down some stuff.

Firstly, we have to decide what 'era' we will be playing in. Either:

Old Republic - More than 100 years before A New Hope - When the Republic is at its height, the Jedi Order is numerous and respected and the Sith are considered long gone.

Rise of the Empire - Episodes I, II & (presumabely) the start of III - The Republic is slowly losing its influence in the galaxy. Galactic crime is on the increase as order is slowly breaking down. The Jedi are mistrusted by common people. There are rumours of a Sith return.

Galactic Civil War - Episodes IV, V & VI - Emporer Palpatine has turned the Republic into his own personal Empire. A small group of planets forms the Rebel Alliance who battle the Empire wherever their limited resources allow. The Jedi are almost extinct and those who remain must keep a very low profile. Law and order outside the core planets under Imperial or Alliance control is non-existent.

New Jedi Order - More than 20 years after RotJ - The New Republic is finding its feat after a bloody victory in the Galactic Civil War. Some remnants of the Empire fight on, scattered across the galaxy as the Rebels once were. Luke Skywalker's reformed Jedi Order is steadily growing in number, but with too few experienced teachers many students are falling to the dark side. A strange race called the Yuzhan Vong are appearing in the outskirts of the Outer Rim systems.

My preference is to play in the Civil War era as it is the most iconic time period and feels the most Star Warsy. However, this will place restrictions on anyone who wants to play a Jedi. Jedi in the GCW would have to be either hiding out in the Outer Rim as Yoda and Obi Wan were, or hiding very well and avoiding any obvious display of Jedi powers.

Next up are the base classes. Everyone is going to start at level 3, because that just makes things easier for all concerned and I can ease everyone in without the worry that you'll all be too rubbish to do anything.

Fringers come from worlds outside the Galactic Core, where order is not always around and life is tough. As they may not come from high-tech worlds, Fringers have learnt to make the best out of limited equipment and resources, surviving mainly on their wits, but ultimatley they want to escape their dready life. Examples: Luke Skywalker in A New Hope

Nobles are the well connected cognoscenti of the galaxy. Either through bloodlines, schmoozing or sheer perseverance they have reached a level of respect in society few achieve. Be they diplomats, elected officials, holovid actors, merchants or even criminal gangsters, Noble's rely on their charisma and quick thinking to bring success. Examples: Princess Leia, Queen Amidala, Chancellor Palpatine, Jabba the Hut

Scoundrels are those who, either by choice or circumstance, try to get ahead by operating outside the law. Be they petty theives just trying to get by, big time smugglers hraking in the credits for illicit cargo or someone who feels he has to bend the rules in order to do good, Smugglers are a mixed bunch, They rely on bravado, cunning and trickery to get past the authorities. Being good with a blaster pistol is handy sometimes too. Examples: Han Solo, Lando Calrissian

Scouts are natural explorers and adventurers with an insatiable curiosity. Unlike the Fringer, who wants to escape the frontier, Scouts embrace the wilderness. Trained to handle whatever might be coming next, Scouts make harsh enviroments seem luxurious and difficult situations simple. Examples: Chewbacca, Jar Jar Binks

Soldiers can be bounty hunters after the next catch, noble warriors defending what is right or cold-hearted killers hunting down their enemies. They can either be crack blaster shots, skilled swordsmen or even trained in martial arts, but they all thrive in combat. Example: Bossk, Admiral Ackbar, Corran Horn

Tech Specialists combine expert training with natural genius to reach the top of their chosen field. Whether dedicated physicians, curious scientists, brilliant technicians or computer whizzes, they seek knowledge and a developent of their skills. Examples: Watto, Lobot

Jedi Consulars use the force for knowledge and negotiation, seeking a peaceful solution to every problem. They concentrate more on diplomacy, scholarly pursuits and the spiritual side of the force than on purely physical activities. Example: Yoda

Jedi Guardians combine physical training with mastery of the force. If consulars are the ambassadors of the Jedi Order, then Guardians are its defenders. Immersing themselves in the force to aid them in combat and give them strenth, Guardians are formidable opponents in combat. Examples: Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker

Then of course there are the various races. Simply, if you would like to play a specific race then tell me and I'll sort that out, even if you don't know the name of it and have just seen one in a movie. Otherwise, I think it's easier if everyone is human.

[Breeze]

I'd like to be involved too. And I don't mind playing a non-Jedi role. I'll be a scout (as long as I don't have to be Jar Jar).

[condors]

i will be following this but believe it or not i don't know much about Star Wars (saw the orginal 3, but none of the others) "universe"

[Blade6119]

Id say New Jedi Order would be the most fun for me, but then again i just want to be a jedi consular. For the group though, the civil war might be the best. New Jedi Order would present some interesting situations and many dark-light jedi battles, or even some team switching, but civil war is a time everyone knows which may be for the best. Id say one of those two would be best. If we do civil war i would be a soldier i think, but im open to whatever helps the group best.

[Wolfpack]

It could be argued that those who could use the Force in the Civil War era were "latent". With the original Jedi wiped out and Yoda essentially the only master left, there may be plenty of characters who could possess Force powers, but never have been trained to use it or even know they have it. They do occasionally exhibit traits (sensing something wrong or unusual physical abilities), but don't know how or why they can do what they do. They just do it. Ideally, they'd end up in the Academy by the post-war years, but I'm guessing that if this RPG were to take off, it's likely not to reach that point in the timeline. Even so, it would add some color to some of the characters without turning everybody into full Jedi or Sith masters.

[Wolfpack]

Dola...I guess in that sense, a Luke Skywalker character starts out as a Fringer with "special abilities", but given enough time, he ends up as a Jedi Guardian by the end of the Civil War.

[tanglewood]

Yes, you take force sensative as a trait when you create your character, but the character is not aware that they are are force user. They cannot harness the force as a trained Jedi or Sith does, but occasionally just seem to get lucky or a series of flukes might present itself to improve a situation. However, a character with the force sensative trait would need to find a teacher, or at the very least some kind of teaching aid such as a holocron or book, in order to start their path towards Jedihood.

For example, Luke didn't even know what the force was, but he was a pretty good swoop pilot (nailing womprats back home etc.). In hindsight, it is obvious that he was using his latent force ability to help his piloting.

I did actually leave off a class called the Force Adept, ehich is essentially a force user who is neither Jedi nor Sith. Either they reject the teachings of both Jedi and Sith or they haven't encoutered them yet. However, this class is extremely rare. Pre-Rebellion, the Jedi Order has contacts across the galaxy and is very 'persuasive' in getting force sensatives trained 'correctly'. During the GCW, Vader is ruthlessley hunting all force users (except Mara Jade) regardless of how they regard the force. Only in the NJO era are these charcacters really prevelant, but they can be very interesting to play. Especially if the gropu has both a Force Adept and a Jedi who is contantly trying to convert the FA.

[stkelly52]

I would lean toward GCW for this game. I really don't know much about the New Jedi Order, so that would be my least favorite choice. But I am happy with whatever we go with.

[TazFTW]

I would prefer the Galatic Civil War and to be a scoundrel.

[Neon_Chaos]

yeah, Galactic Civil War would be good. But the Rise of the Empire would also be nice. Whatever you guys choose.

I think I'd want to be a human Soldier. More like a bounty hunter.

[PilotMan]

I might need to get involved in this as well. You might want to consider moving it to the dynasty forum.

[tanglewood]

Ok then, GCW era it is. What i'll do now is start to plot out the scanario etc. and lots of other GM stuff.

If you are interested in playing, could you send me a PM listing your Class, Gender, Species (if not human), a short biography (could just be 2 or 3 sentences) and rough a list of strengths and weaknesses. I'll then build a first draft of your character and send it back for approval.

If you have D20 experience, could you send me your character stats and what type of feats and skills you are looking for (a lot are the same for other D20 games or just have different names). Then I'll try to treansfer it to SW and send it back for approval.

[tanglewood]

Bump.

[Eilim]

A Star Wars rpg being played and not using WEG's D6 system? You my friend have fallen to the Dark Side.

Can't play, but will definetly be following along with this one.

[Neon_Chaos]

Just finished playing KOTR2. My eyes are hurting. I spent the last 14 hours finishing the game.

[tanglewood]

To all who have PM'ed:

Do not worry, everything is still on track. Realistically It won't get started until Thursday of this week as I am occupied on the Tuesday and Wednesday, but everything is under way. TYhe characters should be completed tomorrow and then we'll be ready to rock after I've finished up the setting.

[Neuqua]

too late to sign up? I could use a Star Wars fix as the new movie nears.

[Blade6119]

still on track tanglewood??...little past the date given, just wondering...

[stkelly52]

I guess that this is dead now?