The Str 7D Esoomian

[garhkal]

Exactly ninja.. Solo play DOES change the game significantly, as you don't HAVE party members to worry about/try to save..
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Ninja-Bear]

To sum up though my thoughts on the 7D Esooman, could he be played in group? Yes. Does he present a challenge to the group? Yes. I see it no more fundamentally different then playing Super heores and you have JLA style group together. (Which I do play and GM).

[Dr. Bidlo]

I have found a jedi I. A group of non jedi is far more unbalanced. That was what inspired me to run a jedo only group in the times of Tales of the Jedi several thousand years before ANH.

[CRMcNeill]

[Dr. Bidlo]

I independently started a system similar to what I have heard, with the Force skills as attributes and/or Advanced skills, but I left it in the almost finished state. I am not running and force users, but I do hope to use for Force using NPC's as both allies and opponents I. The future. I will try out anything you propose certainly.

[Ninja-Bear]

[Kytross]

I LOVE min/maxing in D6. Unlike in D&D, the system balances things out. This comes down to the fundamental differences between D6 and D&D.

I'll give a few examples of crazy characters and then I'll explain the theory. Feel free to skip ahead if you want.

The first extreme character I played was a Barabel in 2D armor, coupled with their 2D/1D+2 natural armor gave me a 8D+2 resistance to blaster fire. 5D STR, 4D DEX, 4D PER, 2D MEC, 2D KNO, 1D TEC. Started with a Dodge of 6D. IF something could hit him he could soak pretty much anything. Ridiculously fun character to play, great at everything in personal combat, lousy in space. With a 4D Perception he was useful in RP environments too. Though I was usually the only non-human in a bigoted Imperial setting.

Played a 6D Dex Meri. 8D Blaster and Dodge at character creation. I don't think I missed a shot the few times I played him. Useless outside of combat except for his medical skills.

5D TEC Verpine, with the 2D bonus. 4D PER. Played him as a starship thief, turned Rebel saboteur. Awful in ground combat, mostly I hid, or found ways to help the team escape. Decent in space combat. Pimped out our team's starship.

I ran a game where Tim played a 6D STR Wookiee with 1D KNO. Tim knows about as much about Star Wars as I do, and is my normal GM. He kept coming up with ideas, elaborate, brilliant ideas and then I'd say, "Roll your tactics." He'd roll, far too often a botch, and then I'd say, "Your character doesn't know that." Both of us had a ball in that game. After GMing for years he reveled in a toon that just let him not think.

I could talk about my Transformers games, I use a D6 system that allows for some of the most egregious min-maxing you're ever likely to see. It's great. Played a Dinobot that was stronger than Metroplex. Swat did not help much when we were figuring out the Decepticons latest plots, but once the fight started he was invaluable.

So, as a min-maxer you have to accept that you're going to be AMAZING at what you're maxxed at and LOUSY at the minned stuff. Your toon is going to be worthless for part of the adventure, if not most of it. If you don't enjoy this style of play, roll up a toon with 3D in all stats and have a ball. As a GM, most of my players go the 3D route, as they always want to be contributing. My adventures tend to be not as combat intensive and more story driven.

D&D, by design, is a combat focused game. First edition is solely a dungeon crawl, XP is given out for the amount of gold you recover. Your focus is finding monsters, killing them, and getting their gold. That the Roleplaying genre of games came out of D&D was a happy accident.

SW D6 is a roleplaying game. It was built to make a game out of telling stories. You can run entire sessions without combat and it can be just as fun if not more fun. You get XP for roleplaying and making the game more fun. While you can get xp for completing missions, you do not get more xp for each enemy killed.

The point I'm driving at here is that being great at combat has less impact on D6. Completing the mission, fun, and RPing is rewarded, so you're not getting rewarded for killing more stormtroopers or acing TIEs.

In D6, being good at Perception or Technical can be more valuable to your party than combat. It balances things out.

Also, a high STR toon is easy to deal with. Have the NPC adversaries learn to stay at range. Your super-Esoomian is not going to have an amazing DEX, they max out at 3D+1. They have to close to use their amazing skills, and NPCs should be smart enough to learn that. Your character can get a reputation, and soon the entire underworld/empire will know not to get close to the giant elephantine strongman. To be fair, that should be obvious by looking at him.

Yes, there are weapons to deal with him, but there's also the stun rule. Every time you get stunned you take a 'stun counter.' When the number of stun counters equals the number before the D on your STR attribute, your toon is unconscious for 2D minutes.

Dex is even easier to control. So the starting toon is almost as good a shot as Boba Fett of Han Solo. Max out his blaster's damage at 5D. A normal human npc villain in 2D armor would be resisting at 4D. 5D vs 4D is not a guaranteed kill shot. Same is true for MEC, the damage is based on the weaponry.

In my games a 1D knowledge is going to hurt you significantly more than 7D STR will help. But those are my games, every GM is different. And my players are generally my age, and tend not to be "murder hobos." And the big, scary Esoomian getting ripped off every single time he tries to haggle is always funny.

There is something incredibly joyful in being able to punch out 7 adversaries in a couple rounds. You're the big guy in the group, enjoy yourself.

I could get more into the different versions of D&D, and how they don't run like D6. 3.0/3.5 is the closest, but that's because WOTC was directly borrowing from WEG D6 when they made 3.0. Long story and I've rambled enough.

Final thought: we are gaming to have fun. If everyone at the table is having fun, you're doing it right.

[KageRyu]

[Whill]

[Whill]

[garhkal]

[pakman]

Interesting thread - what I like the most about it is that is has not degenerated into the type of back and forth we are used to seeing in other areas of the net. A testament to the community here!

As a player and a gm I have seen my fair share of ....special...characters like these - I have nothing to add other than what has been said.

But I CAN say - the perspectives of the other players (ones not playing special characters) and the GM often vary ....greatly ...from that of the player of the special character.

While I am overall lucky that my players are mostly mature (especially after explaining how it impacts party dynamics and challenge scaling) I have made a few changes to my game to help prevent this specific type of abuse ...although I designed it for the "wookie" problem.

Later editions of D6 (specifically adventure d6) call that stat Physique, and Strength is a SKILL in it. Physique is used for soaking damage, just like in our beloved and antiquated star wars, but no races get any bonuses in it - or start higher. All races get up to 2D of skill bonuses - and wookies get +2D to strength.

The strength or quantity of a being's muscles really should not impact its resilience to blaster fire.... (plot armor non-withstanding).

Oh, and CRM - in regards to the power scaling and balancing of force powers and users - I have finished my force attribute and force power revisions - I just need a few more edits and can share - but that, as they say - is another story....

be well my friends, and may the dice be with you!
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SW Fan, Gamer, Comic, Corporate nerd.
Working on massive House Rules document - pretty much a new book. Will post soon....

[Mamatried]

I think we could ask a few questions about a blaster hit, regardless of your STR Dice.

It seems blaster bolts have some form of kinetic damge, this should IMO be calculated in with a tyoe of "critical hit" with makes sense in combat and to a degree will lessen the issue of the "blaster soaking Wookie" or the 7D Rce in this case.

I have long argued that regardless of house rules and "interpretations" the black and white writing of rules states that a Player Character is giver 6D to hiss attribute dice in ADDTION to his Species where humans as to the attribute range represent the average, and is why the books allow 17D dice races like Twiælek and even 20 and 91D as well as races with as low as 14D in the total, with the human and average being 18D

Enought digression, and back to the kinetic damage.

A simple and amke sense rule is to look at amount of damage delt, if this is higher than AVERAGE of Strenght Dice you roll Stamina, and can be knocked out, but Not recived the stun condition unless damage delat is high enough.

So a Human with 2D in strenght, and a 1D armor will have an average of toughly 11-12 and any damage delth that is then higher than this prompts a Stamina roll.....while still high, this can fail when rolled enough times.

the failure is "knocked out, not acting, but not -stun condition-"
Much like we see in the mandalorian with the Black Wookie soaking some shots, taking damage by some and being staggered back by others that do not damage, do not stun him but they do prevent his immate action.

I think the Mando Scene there is a good way to analyze the wookie and the "blaster proof".

Have we seem an armored wookie, even one with a helmet? I then can not see that that a +/- 1D to a "common" weapons damage is in no way problematic.

Another aspect since this goes onto powergaming, and that is that the "cut above the rest" is often reduced by GMs for "challance and balance" rather than allowinf the cut above the rest to be that.

The NPCS with 18D to Attributes +Force Dice and the most heroic "hero" and "cut above the rest" is reduced by 1D to 3D in comparison.

Now I can see that the Wookie is an issue, you can not kill the 5D str or 6D str wookie comapted to the others who becuse of force or other ( silly) penalties are reduced from a cut ABOVE the rest to WELL BELOW the rest.

And yes as to a 7D STR Species, is not an issue, a Heavy blaster ( han solo) deals 6D damage, give it a little bit of TLC and it deals 7D+2

no need to get out the E.web and the death stars.

then comes difficulties, how difficut is something and should everytning be rolled, this is connected, becuse yes tou will take damage, if not bleeding then enevntually enough kinetic damage to go down. all ar not equal, and to me the biggest mistake a GM does is balance a world that is and is meant to be unballnced .
Like in many Level based RPGS, we have the issue of someone having MAX, becuse how can a hero be a hero without haing to struggle with that otherd do easy?
Or could it be we mistake how difficult of easy things are how things makes snes more than require rolls,

I can with any rifle (5D easily upgrade with the RAW provided I make the rolls, a weapon that deals damage well into the 7D range and more. as well as Adding full dice to the skill roll and still I am well within the rules as written for jury rigging, modifications and the like.

Is like how the -1D to aiming a gun is becuse of balance to the armor
where as I have fired a gun in armor and had no issue aiming...not warrnting a -1D to the overall stat and all skills.

trhis is where thinking and being creative and being "reasonable" comes in.
and to be fair a min max which is related to this topic has weaknesses, and many of that, however they tend to outshine too much in what they are good at.

I played a Super strong and Super fast Fighter in D&D maed in Dex and Strenght and Con, I was strongest , fastest and could take the most damage in combat......When we were in combat, and ewhile not a drooling idiot outside combat the overall stats and skills did not allow me to know much more than to tie my own soes with some help, having reduced intelligence, wisdom and charisma.........weaknesses...however if the camaogna ONLY is one long fight with nothing other than comabt then I would have been the suoerior one n everthing always, but as min maxed I had the terribel weaknnesses that in many cases mae me close to hadicapped.

The worst thing I know is the GM that reduce PCS to basically "30 yer old todlers" reducing skills attsibutes and the like, and then calinning they are heroic......some use the "journey" but that is never about the baby that is bullied and only by sheer luck reaches puberty, but the focued and ofthern "min maxed" person that tries to be the best at the things he/she love to be best at.

A skiier that is bad at skiing makes no sense even if a high skiiing skill would pose this so called balance issue....the balance issue is ONBLY with the GM and always there

[garhkal]

[pakman]