Roleplay It Out!

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

ROLEPLAY IT OUT

I love just about everything about this game. One of the things it really does well is give GM advice. You'll find it here and there. Sometimes it's a small comment or a short paragraph. In some D6 SW books, entire chapters are devoted to it.

This is stuff that most GM's know (and many have forgotten). It's stuff that will make your game oh so much better.

For example, page 30 of the 1E Core Rulebook. I will paraphrase the short section: It basically says that it is more fun, sometimes (and this is the GM's call) to roleplay out situations where skill throws could do the work. The example given is a character negotiating transportation with a smuggler. Would you rather roll your character's Bargain skill against Han Solo in the Cantina, or roleplay that you? You, sitting there with the big, hairy Wookiee, talking price with Han Solo about passage to Alderaan.

A player will most likely forget a quick dice roll. But, a memorable roleplay moment he will keep with him. It will enhance the game.

The GM can still use dice rolls. Just roll them in secret and allow the result of the roll to influence the way the GM plays the NPC Han Solo. Give the player a bonus or a penalty on the roll, if you think necessary, based on his roleplay.

And, if you've got a situation where the character is much better at something than the player, you can still do what is suggested--just allow the outcome of the secret dice roll to influence the way you play the NPC. If the character rolls high, then make it easy for the player to succeed, or do the opposite on a low roll.





Another thing the book suggest (in the very next section) is to interpret rolls. Very high rolls that beat target numbers by a lot can mean better success. Of course, the opposite is true, too.

The example has a captain trying to repair his ship after a battle. The difficulty is 10, and the character rolls 21, which is double the difficulty The GM rules that not only did the captain fix the hyperdrive, but he also discovered a faulty hydrovalve that has been reducing power to the engine couplings. Because of the excellent roll, the GM states that the sublight speed code for the vessel is improved by +1 to 2D+1.

This is a wonderful friggin' game. One of the best.

[Argentsaber]