the_gneech: (Galaxy)
After poking around a bit, I found and utilized a cheat code that unlocks a level called "Endurance," which is essentially you flying solo in an X-Wing fighting waves and waves and waves of TIE fighters and interceptors, forever until you die. As narrative gameplay, a bit ho-hum ... but one thing it has going for it is that it makes great dogfighting practice.

The dorky thing about it, is that instead of being a trainer (a la the ubiquitous "flight sim video game" in Wing Commander), this level is a reward you can "buy" after having knocked yourself out to win something like seven medals. Oy!

I think that my core problems with the game boil down to two things, which are control wonkiness and spatial awareness. Besides the fact that the radar is tiny, I find it incredibly counter-intuitive. Everything is always above and behind me -- so I turn around and pull up, only to have it still be above and behind me. Que? The game doesn't have rudder controls to speak of, so in order to keep your bank turns from getting you all spun around all the time, it tries to auto-level you ... which means you pull to the right and suddenly find yourself careening around in this weird wobbly dance. Trying to do a loop-de-loop -- don't even bother.

As for spatial awareness, this problem is caused by the fact that you can only see your forward arc. If you were sitting in an actual cockpit and TIE fighters cut across your field of vision, you could track them with your head and instinctively turn your ship to follow. And while the game does theoretically include a "turn your head" control, it's on the opposite Y- axis to your joystick. So if you want to track something to the right, you've got to pull your viewpoint left. >.<

I dunno ... maybe with a proper full-sized joystick, decent rudder controls, and a POV-hat type button, I'd be doing better at this. But as far as I can find, there ain't no such animal for the Gamecube that doesn't cost $100+ and come from Australia (see also "Thrustmaster Flight Stick").

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
I wanna work on my Star Wars campaign.

So dang it, I'm gonna work on my Star Wars campaign!

Players, I suspect I know what we're doing next weekend. ;)

-TG
the_gneech: (Legolas Aaah)
Remember my Star Wars campaign page?

Say hello to my Dungeons & Dragons page!

The next Red Hand of Doom intro will go up here soon.

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
I'm due to run more Red Hand of Doom next, but after last week's Star Wars session went so well, I'm all agog to run some more of that, instead. I've even thought of a cool opening for the next scenario.

I don't have a scenario to follow the cool opening, but danged if it ain't a cool opening! One of those "I've always wanted to do this" scenarios that have never really been well-supported by previous rulesets. [1]

Ah well, circumstances prevent me from running anything in the next two weeks anyway ... maybe I'll be interested in Red Hand of Doom by then. Meanwhile, I'm going to write this stuff down so I don't forget it.

-The Gneech

[1] By "well-supported" here, I mean supported in a way that I liked. The opening is another space battle, and previous rulesets have certainly covered the type of scenario I have in mind, but always in a kind of clunky "I don't really want to bother with that" kind of way. Hurrah for SWSE!
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
Ran Star Wars last night and had a great time; the players certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, as well, even though [livejournal.com profile] lythandra's Jedi Padawan got pounded into the deckplates by the end.

Their mission has been... )

On the whole, I was very pleased with how it came out. There's even a recurring villain now! :D And I'm really jazzed about running more soon, which is a way I haven't felt about Star Wars for a long time. The previous WotC attempts really just didn't work very well, but SWSE is almost perfect. I wish I'd had this ruleset back in 1987! :D

Unfortunately, as written it does have one major flaw: the chapter on building and balancing encounters is, as Mel Brooks would say, "authentic frontier gibberish." So the climactic scene of this story went through several incarnations before it was finally run -- including one which I can see now would have been a guaranteed TPK, even though as far as I can tell it's exactly spot-on according to the book. (Four B1 battledroids, two B2 battledroids, and Warforged Zath 6th level instead of 4th? EEEEEK!)

Luckily for the heroes, I've been frequenting the WotC SWSE boards for the past week and found the threads where people howled about this defect shortly after the game came out, so I also found the original designer's recommended fix. Apparently, he originally built a completely different (non-gibberish) system that got cut for whatever reason; for the benefit of players he posted a quick-and-dirty version, thus:

Determine total party levels (TPL)
To figure the total "challenge levels" (TCL) of a given encounter of desired difficulty:

Simple Encounter: TCL = < TPL/4; single highest CL = highest hero level (HHL)
Challenging Encounter: TCL = TPL/4 - TPL/2; single highest CL = HHL + 1
Extreme Encounter: TCL = TPL/2 - TPL; single highest CL = HHL + 2
Overpowering Encounter: TCL = > TPL; single highest CL = HHL + 4 or more

When I found that, I was like, "Well sheesh, why didn't you just SAY so?" The formulae may seem like gibberish to non-gamers, but to someone experienced with gamemastering, it should be pretty straightforward.

As it is, I was balancing this adventure with the idea in my head that there were five heroes instead of four (usually we have an NPC party member), which skewed the numbers a bit high. But the party did well and achieved their mission goals. So, well done! :D

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
Star Wars Campaign Handouts

Nothing new there yet, just an organized collection of stuff in case you want to go back and reread an intro or something. ;P Future handouts will go here as well. :)

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
Decided to try again to get some stuff rolling with the Star Wars Saga Edition this weekend; last time I ran (back in June), we left the characters hanging in mid-scenario chasing after a minor crime boss the Alliance wanted to pick up for interrogation.

The next session, assuming it goes roughly as I expect, is likely to have some ship combat, so I've been going over the SWSE ship combat rules. One thing that pleases me is how relatively simple they are and how smoothly they integrate with the regular rules. Instead of tracking "thrust points," movement vectors, maneuvering charts, or any of that kind of hoo-hah, ships move basically like characters do. "Attack run" is like a charge. "Dogfight" is like grappling. And everybody has something to do, even in the dreaded "the whole party's in a freighter being chased by TIE fighters" scenario that has led to so many bored not-pilots/not-gunners in the past, thanks to the miracle of Aid Another and untrained skill checks.

On the other hand, something I don't like as much about this system, is that the stats of the ships seem to be way more important than the stats of the characters in them. For instance, until the pilot's "heroic level" is higher than the armor bonus of the ship, they don't make it any harder to hit. Being a good pilot allows you to pull off some trickier moves and avoid hazards, but mostly what you do is move the ship around and shoot at stuff.

Also, it's harder to gauge encounter difficulty. Each enemy ship has a CL, which should help, except that you have to figure in the players' own ships CL as well. A 3rd level PC in an A-Wing is a lot more powerful than a 3rd level PC in an escape pod, to the point that you're actually balancing "A-Wing vs. enemy ship" rather than "the PCs vs. enemy ship". And until I have some experience at doing this, I have no idea how to come up with an encounter that's challenging but not overwhelming.

Starships of the Galaxy has some neat options for pilots, basically "maneuvers" you can learn in a similar fashion to the Jedi's "force powers." I don't know if I'll use them, largely because [livejournal.com profile] jamesbarrett's smuggler-type is really the only pilot-type in the group who might be likely to bother with them and he may not want to burn the necessary feats given that ship combat is only likely to come up every other adventure or so.[1] I suspect I'll put the option out there and let him decide.

-The Gneech

[1] The first session of the game opened with the characters piloting Y-Wings; in the time since then they've mostly been flying transports supplied by the Alliance, either generic "box with a hyperdrive" types or a Lambda-class shuttle which got "upgraded" by a bunch of Squibs whether the characters wanted it to be or not. Now they've been assigned a group vessel that's likely to stay around a while, or at least make repeat appearances, but I have in mind that they'll still find themselves scrambling with the fighters from time to time. Martin and Rumzhin are still technically attached to Rogue Squadron under Wedge, even if they don't seem to associate with them much.
the_gneech: (Galaxy)
Starships of the Galaxy for the new edition finally coming out.

There's also a new line of miniatures ("Force Unleashed") which look pretty good, but the prices are atrocious. Don't think I'll be getting any of those.

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
I recently replayed Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast looking for inspiration in coming up with adventures, and some things struck me about it that I want to make note of for coming up with my own adventures. These are things which are either overdone, or just seem to be assumed without putting any thought into them, which I don't want to do.

  • Being a dark-sider doesn't automatically grant you high rank in the Empire. Jerec in JK was one of Vader's acolytes, so it makes sense that he should have it. But Desann was a failed Jedi, why should he suddenly have Imperial forces at his beck and call? And heck, Tavion was his disgraced apprentice, why should she have a Star Destroyer in Jedi Academy? Best in-game answer I can come up with is the agreement between Desann and Admiral Feyar. Still -- having a bunch of Dark Side Points doesn't inherently make you an Imperial governor.


  • Why is the switch for an ordinary door three levels up in the middle of a forty-foot catwalk over a pool of acid? At least when Obi-Wan was deactivating the Death Star tractor beam, he was using a little-used maintenance panel (and one of seven, at that) so it wouldn't be easy to find the problem and just turn it back on again. It's not so much of a problem in a RPG context, and I realize that it's something of an artifact of the computer game format. It's still something that jumps out at me.


  • Since the switch is three levels up over acid etc., why can't I just cut through the door with my lightsaber? It's a good question. Lightsabers undo Gordian Knots very well. Expect Jedi characters particularly, when confronted with an obstacle, to cut a hole through it and keep going.


  • Power-Ups = No. KOTOR was particularly bad about this, with Adrenal Stims, Biofeedback Enhancer Packages, Random Bonus Geegaw Gloves, and who-knows-what-else occupying body slots like magic items in D&D. Mind you, there is actually precedent in the Star Wars universe for loading yourself up with random gadgetry -- talk to Jango Fett for details -- but it's the schtick of a particular character, not basic survival strategy for everybody.


  • Everybody is there to be killed, except the people you can't kill. What? In the Kyle Katarn games, pretty much everybody is there to be killed except for the droids and the occasional millstone team-mate (e.g. Jan or Lando). This is one area where KOTOR is better generally, as there are NPCs to talk to, random townies, or occasional people who may or may not be important. The traditional Jedi preference for non-violent solutions is a waste of time in these games, because people never surrender, run away, or stay mind-tricked for more than a few seconds.


  • Not every bad thing is the Dark Side of the Force. Of course, that depends on your interpretation of the Force. I read one very interesting essay that asserted that the real Force was "necessity of plot" -- and thus "going along with the plot" made you in accord with it, whether light or dark. ("The plot is strong in this one?") Cleverness aside, if the Force is an energy field that binds the galaxy together, one would assume that it's actually pretty "plot-neutral" and unconcerned with the everyday mechanics of the universe. An earthquake causes a tsunami and threatens a Kamino city? Well yeah, that sucks, but it's not like it's Darth Earthquake. There's plenty of misfortune that can happen without the interference of the current evil wizard.


  • That's the second biggest superweapon I've ever seen! Yeah, some plot elements can be overdone in a hurry. Hutt Noir and Sith Necromancy fall into this category.


I'm interested in more. Got any suggestions to add?

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
Intro and Character Creation Guidelines

Character Sheet

...and oh yeah, you remember Darth Revanus, don't you?

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Yoda Hammertime)
[livejournal.com profile] camstone has officially informed me that he will not be at gaming tomorrow night, so we will be going with Star Wars. An intro with character-building guidelines and notes on the new game edition will be e-mailed either later tonight, or tomorrow morning.

Note that [livejournal.com profile] lythandra and I have two copies of the rules, so you don't need to have your own copy. We also have a third coming, so if you'd like to take one of these and reimburse us instead of picking one up, it's available!

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Jedi Lion)
Use the Force, Player!

One thing that sorta bugs me about most Star Wars RPG incarnations is that there are too many Force users flying around all over the place ... in a campaign that lasts long enough, everybody will want Force powers sooner or later.

I can't tell from this preview, but I think it may be easier than ever. We'll see.

On the other hand, the "Rebuke" power looks very cool and is a badly-needed addition!

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Obi-Wan Not Good)
Skills: Simplified All to Heck

I'm ambivalent about this change ... the skill system is one of the things I really like about d20. But until I see how it all actually fits together, I'm going to reserve my judgment. I know that the classes have Talent Trees that will interact with the new skill system in ways that aren't really addressed here, so we'll see.

-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Galaxy)
Snagged from ENWorld: WotC: Saga Edition Preview.

We bid the fringer farewell and send the tech specialist back to the assembly line, granting their heroic abilities to other classes. We also distilled the Jedi guardian and Jedi consular classes into a single Jedi class, which is more in line with what we see in the movies. The Force adept has become a prestige class, but we reinvented the process of creating a non-Jedi Force user. It now involves a new set of mechanics that finally lets players create Force users of their own traditions without being locked into class features that didn't necessarily fit the character's back story.


-The Gneech
the_gneech: (Galaxy)
This is my new character for the Star Wars game Laurie is going to try to run. She's basically taking over my game, at least for now, figuring that a low-level game will be easier for her to learn with than the high-level thing with Shradha would be. As much as I like Shradha and will miss playing him, I'll gladly make a new character for the chance to play something. (I did think about playing a 2nd-level Farghul Jedi ... but decided not to be quite so repetitive. Maybe if this game gets up to high enough level, I'll retire this character and play Shradha from there on instead. We'll see.)

Khent Devto, Human Jedi Guardian 1/Force Adept 1 )
the_gneech: (Boromir battle)

:: how jedi are you? ::
the_gneech: (Kero asleep)
Well, tomorrow's SJ is done and on the servers; it'll go up with the regular update. It's BJ Buttons' cameo, which simultaneously provides me with a strip and allows me to mark something on the to-do list as COMPLETE -- yay!

Laurie ran the second adventure in the "Star Wars - Invasion of Theed" introductory game this evening. It was fairly fun, although again is was very roleplaying-light and combat heavy.

I'm thinking of, to introduce her to the d20 system, running a little mini-D&D game where she creates and controls three characters, plus I include a DNPC fourth, and send her through small "quickie" adventures to get her familiar with the concepts of the system. D&D and Star Wars aren't exactly the same, but they're close enough that it might be a valuable exercise. If nothing else, it would be something fun to do.

My back's been arguing with me all weekend; fortunately, I have chiro. appt. tomorrow. Hopefully he can do something about that. I need to be at least useful during the move, even if I can't do the heavy lifting like I did last time.

That's all for now. G'nite everybody.

-The Gneech

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