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Zoozle
2015-10-21, 07:27 PM
I'm doing some research into running a Star Wars RPG and there are a few of them! I was wondering if you guys could help me out in figuring which ruleset I should utilize for my campaign! Which module has the most-balanced rules and so on?

Mando Knight
2015-10-21, 09:10 PM
It depends on what you're looking for. Of the two main variations on the d20 system (SWd20/RCR and Saga), Saga is generally considered to be the better one overall.

The old WEG d6 system has its diehards, though if you're looking for material released after Phantom Menace, it's all homebrew.

The newer RPG series by Fantasy Flight Games is meant to be a little more modular based on your campaign type (basically rogues, Rebels, or aspiring Jedi), but all of the published material so far focuses on the four years from ANH to ROTJ, so you'd need to again do a little bit of your own legwork to get an earlier or later-era game going, and if your group is more used to d20 systems they may find themselves needing a few sessions to get familiar with how FFG's dice work. However, it is the only one that's currently in print, and some of the more popular books for the older systems can run a pretty penny second-hand.

Madeiner
2015-10-22, 10:31 AM
I played the old SAGA edition and the new Fantasy flight Games one.
I also spent quite a lot of time browsing the forums looking for opinions.

In the end, i decided i like the FFG one better.
I could recreate the narrative and cinematic feel A LOT better using FFG, than with Saga. Saga is basically d&d in star wars setting.
Both systems have bugs; FFG can get clunky with higher level characters, and very powerful combos, but so does Saga.
However, the cinematic feel you can have with FFG is unparalled i think, and it is it strongest point.
Once you understand the dice, combat goes much faster too.

Eisenheim
2015-10-22, 10:39 AM
Saga is an excellent d20 system, but not good for a game that has the feel of the star-wars films (it's strictly the best of the d20 options, though). It could emulate something like Kotor pretty well, though. I haven't played FFG enough to rate it, but it looks interesting.

If I were to play a star wars game myself, now, I would use fate core or FAE, rather than a star wars branded system.

VoxRationis
2015-10-22, 11:22 AM
Saga is an excellent d20 system, but not good for a game that has the feel of the star-wars films (it's strictly the best of the d20 options, though). It could emulate something like Kotor pretty well, though.

Wasn't KOTOR based on the earlier d20 Star Wars game?

LibraryOgre
2015-10-22, 11:55 AM
Wasn't KOTOR based on the earlier d20 Star Wars game?

It was. KOTOR was loosely based on the d20 system SW, but with Force Points and HP instead of that game's Wound/Vitality system.

Of the systems I know (WEG 1e, WEG 2e R&E, d20, and SAGA), I prefer 2e R&E for games that are meant to be more gritty and dirt level, while SAGA (especially my classless variant (http://rpgcrank.blogspot.com/2013/07/classless-saga-and-other-alterations.html)) is better for higher power... consider what Jedi do in the OT v. the PT, and you'll see the difference. I haven't played with my levelless variant (http://rpgcrank.blogspot.com/2015/06/h1-levelless-star-wars-saga.html), so I can't confirm how awesome it is likely to be.

Thrudd
2015-10-22, 12:26 PM
It was. KOTOR was loosely based on the d20 system SW, but with Force Points and HP instead of that game's Wound/Vitality system.

Of the systems I know (WEG 1e, WEG 2e R&E, d20, and SAGA), I prefer 2e R&E for games that are meant to be more gritty and dirt level, while SAGA (especially my classless variant (http://rpgcrank.blogspot.com/2013/07/classless-saga-and-other-alterations.html)) is better for higher power... consider what Jedi do in the OT v. the PT, and you'll see the difference. I haven't played with my levelless variant (http://rpgcrank.blogspot.com/2015/06/h1-levelless-star-wars-saga.html), so I can't confirm how awesome it is likely to be.

I tend to agree. WEG 2e I prefer for OT era, low force using games. D20 system was much better for prequel and cartoon style jedi powers. I haven't played FFG yet, but it sounds like a much more cinematic/narrative game than the earlier ones, which could be good for some.

I prefer running Rebellion and New Republic era, pre NJO, and my WEG campaigns were my favorites. Around the time of the prequels, I was inspired by the Dark Horse comics to run an all-jedi Clone Wars era game and I used d20 for that.

hifidelity2
2015-10-23, 04:50 AM
I use the WEG 2nd R&E


It is a fast game and to me and my group has the right “feel”

The rules can be a bit sparse so its up to the DM to make quite a few judgements on the fly and for the players to accept them. In my group its always “What would look good / keep the feel of the film” and then go with that

Absol197
2015-10-23, 04:25 PM
I'm seconding (or thirding, or whatever) the Fantasy Flight system. It's really good, and great at doing the whole cinematic thing, once you get the dice system down.

Plus thew whole modular thing is great for narrowing down the type of game you want to do. I will agree the limited time-frame of the wrong can be a bit restraining, but it's not that big of an issue. At least not to me.

Templarkommando
2015-10-23, 09:15 PM
Saga is fairly decent as is the d20 version. I personally prefer saga because it's reasonably close to 3.5 - at least to my way of thinking.

Lentrax
2015-10-23, 11:51 PM
RCR is 3.5.

Saga was a weird way Wizards started introducing us to things in 4th. It was kinda like 3.75 or something.

And the honest truth about which is better, is whichever one you are most comfortable with.

I play with Saga and RCR because they are the systems I am familiar with/ still own. Doesn't mean they are better or worse than anything else.

Because if you're telling a good Star Wars story, the system ain't gonna matter.

gadren
2015-10-26, 08:32 PM
Star Wars D20 Revised Edition is the best!

*Dodges thrown objects*

themaque
2015-10-26, 11:44 PM
Saga is the best of the D20 without question, but is still very D&D Star Wars.
I know people LOVE the D6 but I think it requires heavy customization at this point to really be playable.

Currently the only hesitation I have on suggesting the FFG edition is COST. It's a very costly game to get into these days.

Ninjadeadbeard
2015-10-27, 12:48 AM
Because if you're telling a good Star Wars story, the system ain't gonna matter.

This, basically.

But I'm having a blast just using DnD 5E and refluffing whatever I need to. My players have yet to complain.

Knaight
2015-10-27, 01:04 AM
I generally like d6 Space for this, but pulpy generic systems can also work beautifully. Savage Worlds never really worked for me, but I could see it working absolutely beautifully for those that prefer its style a bit. A current game I'm GMing (or will be, if the current hiatus ever vanishes) is space opera in Fudge, and Fudge is doing a beautiful job handling it, Star Wars proper could be done just as easily.

LibraryOgre
2015-10-27, 10:45 AM
Saga is the best of the D20 without question, but is still very D&D Star Wars.
I know people LOVE the D6 but I think it requires heavy customization at this point to really be playable.


I disagree that it requires heavy customization to be playable. Like most older systems, there are quirks that people have liked to iron out, but it's still very playable without customization... even with blaster-proof wookies.

Mutazoia
2015-10-29, 07:29 AM
I disagree that it requires heavy customization to be playable. Like most older systems, there are quirks that people have liked to iron out, but it's still very playable without customization... even with blaster-proof wookies.

Blaster-proof Wookies weren't much of a problem in my games. I made players wanting to play a Wookie audition for the part....If they couldn't do a convincing Wookie impression, they couldn't play one. That and the item modification/improvement rules meant that the more powerful villains had blaster pistols that did more than 5D in damage. (According to the rules, Han's heavy blaster pistol did 9D damage, btw)

hifidelity2
2015-10-29, 08:41 AM
Blaster-proof Wookies weren't much of a problem in my games. I made players wanting to play a Wookie audition for the part....If they couldn't do a convincing Wookie impression, they couldn't play one. That and the item modification/improvement rules meant that the more powerful villains had blaster pistols that did more than 5D in damage. (According to the rules, Han's heavy blaster pistol did 9D damage, btw)
In my game the Wookie character can only make Wookie noises & gestures , unless asking the DM a question. They can only speak to someone who knows Wookie

Joe the Rat
2015-10-29, 10:39 AM
I generally like d6 Space for this, but pulpy generic systems can also work beautifully. Savage Worlds never really worked for me, but I could see it working absolutely beautifully for those that prefer its style a bit. A current game I'm GMing (or will be, if the current hiatus ever vanishes) is space opera in Fudge, and Fudge is doing a beautiful job handling it, Star Wars proper could be done just as easily.

Savage Worlds would be a good fit, particularly for the pulp/serial feel of the OT.
You'd probably still need one of the other systems for setting notes and ideas to convert from, in which case you might just use one of them. Or wait a few years for a Savage Worlds licensed version to come out. (Seriously, they're like this generation's d20: Got a game you like? Here's the Savage Worlds version!)

Binks
2015-10-29, 11:38 AM
I've played RCR, Saga and Edge (the new FFG one). Never played d6 but I have touched on it briefly and didn't find it to my liking (I've never been a fan of any d6 systems personally, so nothing against that game in particular, just not my forte).

RCR is just an inferior version of Saga. It was good for it's time, but if you're considering a d20 based Star Wars game Saga crushes it.

Saga is good. It's basically D&D 3.5 with some of the annoyances ironed out and no real new issues introduced. As with most d20 system it's a little lower flexibility, but very easy to jump into for anyone who has touched a D&D based system before. The biggest issue you're going to run into with Saga is that it's dead and out of print, so it can be hard to get some books (even when it was in print they underprinted some of the books). If you can get your hands on it it's a perfectly functional system for handling any time period of Star Wars lore.

Edge is good. It's far more unique and varied, and does its best to play up the star wars ideas in every mechanic. I personally love its dice system, as it makes the GM's job a lot easier and forces more of the responsibility for the story on the players, which I have found to be beneficial. It's not without it's flaws (several things are ill defined and vague within the rules, and sometimes even within the FAQs) but it's a good system.

Personally I would recommend Edge, as I've rarely found it to be a good idea to try and play something that's been discontinued when there's a live version of the same style game around, but you could do a lot worse than picking up Saga.

Velaryon
2015-10-29, 12:26 PM
I've only played the d20 RCR and Saga versions, so I cannot say how they compare to the old WEG version or the newer Fantasy Flight system (though I hear good things about both).

RCR was heavily flawed - a lot of the mechanics just plain did not work. For example, Jedi could only deflect blaster shots that would have missed them anyway, and could not do so on the run. Jedi did not have enough skill points to be good at even half their Force powers, especially if they wanted to have any skill at all in anything else, and at least half the non-Jedi classes were frankly terrible. The vitality/wounds system made for an extremely lethal game, and lightsabers (especially in the hands of Jedi) were so ludicrously overpowered that it was just about guaranteed to kill in one hit, which models the movies fairly well but absolutely destroys any semblance of game balance. I found that in order for it to make a good game, the system needed extremely heavy houseruling.

Saga isn't perfect either, but it's a much better system in just about every way. All the classes can contribute meaningfully, there's enough versatility in the system that you can build the same class five different ways and have them play pretty differently, and Force-using characters can be very strong without rendering everyone else meaningless like in the previous edition. The only problems I have with Saga are that space combat is very lethal (so much so that my group pretty much avoids it entirely), the condition track system can be abused pretty badly by a couple specific builds, and feats/talents/races/equipment/Force powers/prestige classes are spread throughout so many books that you need some kind of index or a very good memory to be able to find the one you're looking for. At least in D&D you can assume the spellcasting PrC's are probably in the books geared toward magic. In the SW Saga books, a lot of them seem to be sprinkled at random.

Edit: Oh, and as someone mentioned above, certain books can be hard to find because they're out of print and there weren't enough of them to begin with. Starships of the Galaxy seems to be the hardest one to find for anything resembling a reasonable price.

Mutazoia
2015-10-29, 03:01 PM
Edit: Oh, and as someone mentioned above, certain books can be hard to find because they're out of print and there weren't enough of them to begin with. Starships of the Galaxy seems to be the hardest one to find for anything resembling a reasonable price.

D6holocron.com has archived all the old out of print WEG books....