Rules that improve on 1st edition's simplicity and fun

[jcarhat]

Hey folks, I managed to get my hands on a copy of the 30th anniversary edition from FFG.

1st edition was definitely my favorite (it was just so fast and easy to play). And I really REALLY hated the idea of advanced and specalist skills in future editions. I found those to big down the game and I enjoyed the fewer, but broader range of skills

but I also remember being a bit dissatisfied with some rules so I ended up cherry picking some of my favorites from later editions.

Specifically how damage is dealt a the wild die.

I never liked how damage was calculated in 1st edition (greater but less than 2x str roll etc etc) and found that high strength characters were VERY hard to injure.

2.5 and REUP handled it much better (any damage roll that beats the targets str roll by 0-3 stuns, 4-8 wounds (1-3 in REUP actually)).



I also lieked the wild die mostly because the narrative system was the only thing I enjoyed about FFG interpretation of the the game. I actually have TWO wild dice in all my games, one good and one bad. which leads to fairly interesting rolls;

You succeed

You succeed and something unexpectedly good happens

You succeed and something unexpectedly bad happens

You succeed and something unexpectedly bad and good happens

(then the same for failures)

The last one is a delightful cluster***k.


Are there any rules from later editions (or even some.homebrew ones) that you feel improves on the fast paced 1ed formula?

[Ashikaider]

There was a house rule for the d20 Star Wars game I played in last decade. Essentially blasters always had a charge unless you critically failed, which meant that the power pack had died. I think that a modified version of this would fit the d6 version as well.

Another idea I had was, based on martial arts for Star Wars PDF I saw recently, was to allow characters with a blaster skill of 4+ would be able to quick draw without penalty. Having heard about the rule where drawing a pistol caused an action penalty, I felt that that went against the pulpy, high adventure roots of the setting.

Aside from that, I could see slimming down some of skills (blanket skills like shooting, fighting, piloting, gunnery, etc.), and adding one or two social skills to the mix.

[Whill]

jcarhat and Ashikaider, Welcome to the Pit!

The most important update to 1e would be to import the R&E combat round and reaction rules.
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Star Wars D6 Damage

[cheshire]

Welcome newcommers!

I think you've identified the reasons why I've tended to stay with the R&E (or 2.5). I've always loved the Wild Die, and damage is fairly straightforward.

I've got a copy of the 1E, and I've read through it, but I've never gotten around to playing it.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[Ashikaider]

Another thing that would be good for me would be Mook Rules. Since one of Star Wars' influences was pulp adventure, rules for easily defeatable enemies or groups of them would make the game run more smoothly for me.

I admit that the 1e combat system is cinematic and works well for heroic characters, but using it to deal with mooks could potentially slow the game down. (I've played games where a fight could run for hours in one system, but could be wrapped up in a few minutes in others.)

Currently I'm thinking about mooks having given fewer wound levels and maybe not being able to soak damage. Groups could be expressed as a dice code, and as members go down, the dice code is lowered by one. That way they could be a small challenge as a group, but be less effective as their numbers diminish.

Thoughts? Opinions? Would this be a valid method of handling this?

[Whill]

[Ashikaider]

[Raven Redstar]

For handling mooks, you could always use the rules that Feng Shui has. A hit against a mook is an auto-K.O./Kill.

I've re-done it that first wound level instantly kills a mook unless the player is actively trying not to.
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[Ashikaider]

[Desert Kris]

The scaling rules from 2nd Edition R&E are much more simple to my eyes and my ability to search in the rulebook for. Tracking the counterpart in 1st Edition for the purpose of consolidating them out of the rulebook and sourcebook caused me to panic.

In terms of personal house rules, when it comes to stormtroopers I will sometimes use a rule of thumb based on what my eyes saw in the movies: If a PC hits a stormtrooper with a blaster bolt, that trooper goes down. It may mean I'll be throwing several more stormtroopers at the players, but that is what I see happen all the time in the movies.

[Desert Kris]

I hit on another item that's different between 1st and later edtions. Specifically in regard to the topic question of simplifying play.

For Force using characters, from what I gather all the powers under any of the Control/Sense/Alter categories are available in the 1st Edition. I like the later edition's limitation of only knowing a few powers: the Minor and Quixotic Jedi only know one power; Failed Jedi knows 2; Young Jedi and others know 3 powers and that's it. That limit feels true to the original trilogy. It would also be more simple for the player and the gamemaster, who only have to remember those select few powers, rather than all of them.