Dealing in Absolutes

"Only a Sith Deals in Absolutes."

Well, that's what they say, anyway. But this post isn't actually about any of the moral or philosophical issues regarding this statement. Rather, it is about gaming within the Star Wars galaxy and my own theories regarding 'absolutes' within a campaign.

When I first started playing Star Wars, there wasn't anything CLOSE to a map of the Galaxy. About the closest you got in the original edition was a hyperspace time chart, showing how long it took to get from one planet to another. And even that was kind of vague. Though I am a huge lover of maps, I quickly 'got over it' in regards to Star Wars. In fact, it gave me a sense of freedom to not have anything really 'official' to go by. And honestly? It didn't matter where most things were in relation to each other as long as I had a vague notion of "It is a long way to such and such from such and such." Without an 'absolute' like a map, you could easily move things along at the speed of plot.

Eventually, though, some places did get mapped out—I did a map of the Minos Cluster when I found my people would be spending some time there. Then smaller sector maps began to appear in other gaming material. I think the first real 'official' map of the Galaxy came out with the novel Vector Prime. And to me? That map was a piece of crap. But...it was out there, and it eventually 'forced' me to do some revamping of my own, if only to have a sense of where things are in relation to other things. While part of me likes to have such things 'nailed down', another part kind of 'mourns' the freedom of not having to worry about it. It also seems to make the Galaxy seem somehow 'less huge'. And I think that, more than anything, is the reason I strive NOT to quantify certain things about the Star Wars galaxy.

But that isn't a battle I always win.

Such is the case with my recent obsession over the approximate fleet sizes of the various navies in the Star Wars galaxy in my current campaign. If it is difficult to grasp the hugeness of the Star Wars galaxy as a whole, it is likewise difficult to imagine just how many ships are out there. In settings like Star Trek, you're talking hundreds, maybe thousands of different 'named' ships per navy. In Star Wars, you're talking hundreds of thousands—at least. And yet, with my 'galactic war' scenario in full-swing, I find myself wanting to have at least a general idea of the numbers. But where do I even begin?

The only mention of actual number of ships in the RPG was regarding the Imperial Star Destroyer. The total number of ships of this class was stated as being 25,000. Wow. And to think that for each one of those, there are dozens or even hundreds of smaller vessels. That seemed to be a suitably 'huge' enough number for me, so I used that as the basis to kind of figure out the rest (using the Imperial Sourcebook to get an idea of the ratio of smaller ships to Imperial Star Destroyers). Considering my own campaign is many years PAST the original trilogy, and through several devastating wars (Thrawn campaign, Dark Empire, Nagai Invasion, etc.), I had to figure in both attrition and new construction into my numbers...and.. here is what I came up with:

I divide ships into seven main classes.

Fighters — Fighters, bombers and gunships (and possibly assault-shuttles)

Corvettes — Corellian Corvettes & Gunships, Light Customs Corvettes, IPVs, etc.

Frigates — Nebulon-B, Lancer, Galleon, etc.

Light Cruisers — Carrack, Strike, Escort-Carriers, etc.

Heavy Cruisers — Dreadnaught, Bulk, Acclamator, etc.

Battle Cruisers — Imperial, Venator, Mon-Cal, etc.

Flagships — Super Star Destroyers, etc.

So, of those various types, I came up with the following numbers to represent the total fleet strength found in the Galaxy. Of this strength, figure that 50% Are Republic aligned, 25% are Imperial aligned and the remaining 25% are scattered amongst various neutral powers (Corporate sector, Hutts, Pirates, etc.)

TOTAL GALACTIC FLEET STRENGTH:

1,250,000 Fighters

100,000 Corvettes

100,000 Frigates

50,000 Light Cruisers

50,000 Heavy Cruisers

25,000 Battle Cruisers

25 Flagships

Note that many of these ships, especially of the Battle-Cruiser class, are ex-Imperial craft. Even with the Mon-Calamari shipyards and the new designs coming out after the fall of the Empire, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer and the older Venator-class (from the Episode III) would still form the bulk of the various navies—Republic, Imperial or Neutral. Likewise, TIE fighters would still make up a great number of the fighters in service, just because there were so many of them produced.

Though the numbers seem sufficiently huge, I still look at them with a bit of skepticism. It is difficult for me to imagine the scale of a Galactic civilization like the one in Star Wars. I worry if I am doing it an injustice with these 'paltry' numbers or not. But, for now at least, it works as a rough idea.

Oh, and as a parting thought...wow, it must be very difficult naming that many ships. Especially for the Empire. I mean, how many "Avenger, Desvastator, Eviscerator, Decapitator" type names ARE there. Eventually, you may have to delve into other, less imposing names like: "Annoyer" or "Irascible" or "Exasperator". Yeah, they just don't have the same ring to t hem...

My D6 System: Revised Skill List

As I have mentioned before, I tend to 'tinker' with things—especially gaming systems. I also tend to fluctuate from one extreme to the other. On the one hand, I love simplicity, but on the other, I like detail. The two don't really go together all that well. And in the case of Star Wars, I think that 'detail' should be the thing to lose out. I think the turning point came when I was listing out skills like: "Craft: Basketweaving" that I finally hit the wall. Therefore, after much more tinkering on my part, I have come up with what I hope is my 'final' skill list for my Star Wars D6 system. I'm still tweaking, but I think I may have found a happy medium for myself.

Since in my system, Skills aren't tied directly to just one attribute, I have grouped them into eleven different general skill areas. So without further ado...here they are:

COMBAT SKILLS

Brawl

Demolitions

Dodge

Gunnery

Marksmanship

Melee

Throwing

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS

Alien-Species

Bureaucracy

Business

Cultures

Languages

Planetary-Systems

PERCEPTION SKILLS

Observation — Noticing and remembering details

Search — Spotting hidden things/ambushes

Sense-Motive

PHYSICAL SKILLS

Climbing

Jumping

Running

Stamina

Stealth

Swimming

Zero-Gee

ROGUE SKILLS

Gambling

Security-Systems

Streetwise

SOCIAL SKILLS

Bargain

Charm

Command

Con

Intimidation

Persuasion

Willpower

SYSTEM OPERATION SKILLS

Astrogation

Communications

Computers

Droid-Programming

Med-Tech

Sensors

Shields

TECHNICIAN SKILLS

Computer-Tech

Droid-Tech

Speeder-Tech

Starship-Tech

VEHICLE SKILLS

Cycling

Driving

Piloting

WILDERNESS SKILLS

Beast-Riding

Survival

Tracking

FORCE SKILLS

Control

Sense

Alter

Lightsaber-Tech

These are what I consider the 'CORE' skills of the Star Wars game. In addition to these 50+ skills, there are about 50 more that I have deemed important enough to be included, but a lot of them cover areas that player characters aren't likely to put much stock into—things like sciences or professions (mining, farming, etc.)...skills you would more typically associate with NPCs. 100 skills may sound like an awful lot (and it is), but consider this came down from over 200 and you'll see I made a lot of cuts, combinations and deletions. I think you'll also see that the CORE skills really are just that—skills that will be used a LOT in any Star Wars game.

Below are the remaining 50 skills that I consider secondary—again they are grouped by similarity. You will note that some have () parentheses around them. This denotes that a specific area within this skill must be chosen. For example—Musician (Kloo-Horn) or Science (Biology). Also note that I tried to include skills which, while obscure, were seen in the movies. This is how 'Gaming', 'Archery' and even 'Siege-Gunnery' made it onto the list.

ARTISTIC SKILLS

Acting — For entertainment—much less effective when used to attempt 'Con'

Artist () — Painting, Sculpting, etc.

Dancing

Entertainer () — Comedian, Storyteller, Host/Master-of-Ceremonies, etc.

Musician () — Kloo-Horn, Guitar, etc.

Photography — Still or video/holo photography

Singing

Writing () — Creative, Poetry, Journalistic

COMBAT SKILLS

Archery — Bow and arrow. Crossbows use Marksmanship

Siege-Gunnery — Catapults and other primitive weapons (Ewoks!)

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS

Gaming () — Mental games (holo-chess, etc.)

Law

Medicine

Scholar () — Archaeology, History, Philosophy, etc.

Science () — Biology, Physics, Chemistry, etc.

Tactics () — Space, Ground, Aquatic

PHYSICAL SKILLS

Acrobatics — Feats of balance and tumbling (as opposed to climbing or jumping)

Boating — Muscle-powered boats (rowboat, kayak, etc.)

Catching

Skydiving

PROFESSION SKILLS

Craftsman () — Leatherworking, Metalworking, Woodworking, etc.

Engineer () — Starship, Structural, Weapon, etc.

Labor () — Farming, Mining, Cargo-Handling, etc.

Profession () — Bartending, Cooking, Cleaning, etc.

ROGUE SKILLS

Disguise

Escape-Artist

Forgery

Pick-Pockets

SOCIAL SKILLS

Teaching

TECHNICIAN SKILLS

Armor-Tech

Gunnery-Tech — Mounted heavy weaponry (cannons, missiles, etc.)

Jetpack-Tech

Mechanical-Tech — Miscellaneous mechanical repairs

Melee-Tech

Systems-Tech — Miscellaneous system repairs

Vehicle-Tech () — Ground-Vehicles, Hovercraft, Archaic-Aircraft, etc.

Walker-Tech

Watercraft-Tech

Weapon-Tech — Personal ranged weaponry (blasters, etc.)

VEHICLE SKILLS

Helmsman — Operating capital starships (corvettes, frigates, etc.)

Jetpack

Powersuit-Op.

Sailing

Wagoneering

Walker-Piloting

Watercraft

WILDERNESS SKILLS

Animal-Handling

Fishing

Trapping

So anyway, that's my list. I'm sure there will be a few more minor refinements, but I know this is very close.

Clone Wars Mandalorians

Though I've only been sporadically watching it, this year's season of Clone Wars has actually been pretty darn good. They seem to have finally decided to stop straddling the line between 'kiddie show' and 'more serious stories'. And thankfully for me, they've tilted more towards the latter. In fact, over the course of several episodes, I didn't once have to endure any droid 'comic relief'. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely sold on the series yet. They don't have my full trust—but they are slowly earning it.

The latest episode I watched detailed a planet and people who have become important in my campaign: The Mandalorians. I have to admit, I was skeptical at their initial presentation as pacifists, trying to sit out the Clone Wars. That goes against EVERYthing the Mandalorian culture was set up to be in the Knights of the Old Republic and indeed in all the comics. Thankfully, the show put an interesting spin on that—the planet Mandalore has evidently been ravaged over years of constant conflict and its current ruling party (and figurehead, the Duchess of Mandalore) are trying to change things—bucking the warrior tradition of their people in order to save them from their own violent impulses. And as you would expect, there is a group of extremists, the Deathwatch, who have a problem with this.

Thus, you have a whole setup that puts Mandalorians on BOTH sides of the conflict—the "Good" mandalorians on the side of the Republic and the "Bad" using the Separatists as a means to seize power from what they perceive as a weak regime. It all seems to work—rather well, even. And they didn't dumb down the story at all to make it digestible to younger children. This is good, because with the action in the show, there is plenty enough to keep the younglings entertained, even if they don't entirely grasp the story—I mean, you have Jedi and Armored Mandalorians battling eachother in the streets of Coruscant. How cool is that? (Answer: Very cool. Obi-Wan in a fist fight with a commando, great stuff).

What makes me most happy about this is that they seem to be adding some depth and value to an existing aspect of the series—without completely running roughshod over all the story that has been built up around them prior. A respect for the source material is refreshing. Oh, I'm sure they'll do SOMETHING that I don't like eventually...but for now? I'm going to sit back and enjoy this surprise boon of Star Wars that doesn't suck.

Game Systems As Languages

In reading other blogs over the past couple days, I've come upon discussion of the 'language' of certain games and how it creates a sense of solidarity, a common ground, from gamer to gamer—even those of slightly different 'generations'. This is certainly the case in my experience, especially when you're talking about how gamers talk to each other. I personally don't have a lot of contact with gamers outside of my own circle of friends, but I did notice a bit of a disconnect the last time I went to a convention (last month) and had some people throw some d20isms at me, as if I knew what those things meant. It was a bit strange, especially when it was a setting that I was so intimately familiar with—Star Wars.

As other gamers put it, they really don't hold a 'grudge' against people who play other systems. I know I don't. Its just that I see so much good in the 'language' I was brought up with—like the D6 System for Star Wars—that I want to share it with other folks. And I am continually baffled when people reject it. But then, that's not the system they were 'brought up' with, so I have to understand where they're coming from, even if it is frustrating to me.

But then, I think I'm used to that kind of thing in other aspects of my life. Take my computer for instance—I am an Apple guy. I KNOW that PCs can do just about everything I want out of a computer and at half the price, and yet I still LOVE Apple. Is it logical? No. It is a 'gut feeling' kind of thing. Apple connected with me on a personal level, just as the Star Wars D6 system did. I KNOW the d20 system is workable—and like all systems is as good or bad as the people who run it MAKE it. And yet it doesn't feel right to me. It never connected and never will the same way WEG's game did.

Yeah, its part nostalgia, I totally have to admit that—but that doesn't make my feelings or my judgement 'wrong' as to the merits of the system. Anyway, its just a random thought I had and had to put down in writing.

A New Galaxy

Whether or not I actually wind up running a campaign in it, the thought of expanding the scope of the Star Wars game to a new Galaxy is an intriguing one. I've already considered a lot of options I'd include in such a campaign, but one of the first things I want to nail down is the political situation of the new galaxy—or at least the region of it that the campaign would be set in.

Now, while I consider myself a creative person, the prospect of designing an entire Galaxy 'from scratch' is a daunting one—especially when there are just so many good ideas for alien species out there. The only problem I run into is the question of whether or not stealing ideas for races from other sources is too cheesy. Considering the fact I've done it before, I'm inclined to think that no, it isn't—at least not for me. I just hope my players would feel the same way. But then...isn't that the reason I bought so many sourcebooks for other games I had no intention of playing? Don't I always say that Star Wars is an all-inclusive setting? So...yeah, okay, maybe it won't turn out to be awkward. You'll no doubt recognize many of the names I've chosen—particularly if you've ever played the 'Master of Orion' game (though many of the details have been changed).

In any case, the races I'm thinking of including are as follows:

THE ALKARI

A race of humanoids evolved from avians (very similar in look to the Shi'ar of Marvel comics). They are an aggressive, expansionistic species with a large empire, maintained by their highly skilled fleet. Their empire is very multi-cultural, though—with many 'subject species' within, operating at varying levels of citizenship. The Alkari have their own school of Force users, directly opposed to those of the Elerian Confederacy (see below). The 'signature' power of this school of force is Pyrokinesis—the "Flame of the Alkari". I would see their Empire being rife with political intrigue—not only among the Alkari themselves, but their subject races, each vying for control or perhaps even independence. Some of the main subject species would include:

The Darlok

A race of lizard-like humanoids with shapeshifting abilities (very similar to the Marvel's Skrull in abilities, if not appearance). The Darlok are a sneaky race and many serve within the Alkari intelligence network. Their natural abilities make them wonderful spies. Unfortunately, they aren't entirely loyal to their Alkari masters...

The Bulrathi

A race of hulking, ursoid-humanoids known for their strength and ferocity in close-quarter battle. Units of Bulrathi serve as shock-troops in the Alkari Army. They are a proud race not entirely comfortable with serving 'under' another, thus they are always testing the Alkari's control. If they were a bit more tactically adept, they could be a very real threat to Alkari domination...

The Gnolam

A race of diminutive, rat-like humanoids known for their aggressive economic practices. They are traders and businessmen extraordinaire and serve in bureaucratic posts throughout the Alkari Empire. They aren't known for being particularly brave physically, but can be vicious indeed in their dealings with others. It is even thought that Gnolam politicians and businessmen are the true power behind the Alkari throne.

THE ELERIANS

The Elerian Confederacy is one of the chief rivals of the Alkari Empire. The Elerians themselves are a near-human race, blue-skinned and usually fair-haired (resembling the Kree race from Marvel comics). They are highly advanced both technologically and intellectually. They also utilize a form of low-level telapathy to aide in communication among themselves. Most Elerians are scholars, statesmen, scientists or artisans, but they cultivate an elite military group among themselves—soldiers talented in the Force and making use of a style that seems particular to their species—Cryokinesis. These soldiers are supported by highly advanced military technology as well as 'auxiliary' troops provided by other races. The Elerians are a largely matriarchal society. Like the Alkari, there are many other races operating within Elerian space, each with a voice in their planetary assembly. These races are:

The Mutzachans

A race of diminutive, hairless humanoids with enlarged and elongated skulls. Though few in number, the Mutzachans efforts in science have greatly aided the Elerian developments. Some have also shown great Force aptitude.

The Mrrshan

A race of feline-humanoids, the Mrrshan are a semi-nomadic (gypsy) race of individual family clans—traveling in their makeshift fleets throughout Elerian space. They are an odd mixture of warlike-barbarian and pleasure-seeking hedonists, alternately making their living by either hiring themselves out as mercenaries or entertaining in large-scale, impromptu fairs. Though not an 'official' member of the Elerian Confederacy, the Mrrshan are becoming a vital part of its military, serving as scouts and commandos.

THE SILICOIDS

A race of large, silicon-based, rock-like humanoids with a slow-moving culture that is particularly 'alien' to most species. They mostly seem to want to be left alone, but often come into conflict with other powers in their constant search for worlds with mineral wealth—which is necessary to them as a food source and means of reproduction. They are seemingly quite primitive, technologically, and yet they are able to create giant, asteroid-like starships and crystal-based weaponry. Despite being incredibly resilient, the Silicoids are slowly being edged out by other species in terms of territory and power.

THE KLACKON BROOD

A race of xenophobic insectoids. The Klackon are less technologically advanced than either the Alkari or Elerians, but make up for this with sheer numbers, industrial output and fanatic loyalty to the 'brood mothers' who rule their race. The Klackon have several highly developed 'hive worlds' supported by stripping the resources of many more 'colony' planets. It is in the search for more resources that the Klackon run into conflicts with other races—often resulting in sharp and brutal invasions by the insectoids.

THE PHENTARI

Though small in number, the Phentari have a large reputation as highly intelligent and ruthless killers—in fact, they are admitted cannibals, having no qualms feeding on their own or any other race. They come from aquatic stock, vaguely resembling bipedal squids—though they are seldom seen outside of their environmental suits. Nobody knows exactly where their homeworld is—and rumor has it they actually destroyed it in a civil war. The race is scattered now among the various powers of the Empire, its members often taking positions in the underworld as assassins, bounty-hunters or criminal masterminds. Some of the race have exhibited extraordinary mental powers—the ability to control or even 'fry' the minds of other species. (For you D&D folks...picture something like a cross between a Mindflayer and Kuo-Toa)

THE SSAKKRA

A fast-breeding race of ferociously powerful lizard-men. Thankfully for the other species in the galaxy, the Ssakkra are technologically primitive—barely above stone-age on their home planet. Unfortunately, other species (the Alkari in particular) have taken Ssakkra from their home planet and trained them as soldiers to use in interstellar conflict. Though primitive, the Ssakra are not stupid. Some have already gained their independence (in one way or another) and can now be found working in the underworld of various species. There is even rumor of a Ssakkra Pirate Lord operating his own ship. Were the race as a whole capable of space travel, it is possible they could colonize and out-breed other species within a few generations, thus, their expansion off-world is a touchy subject.

THE PHALANX

An 'artificial' species, the Phalanx are actually sentient programs capable of inhabiting mobile mechanical 'frames' in order to interact with their environment. Nobody is quite certain who created the phalanx, though it is surmised that they rose up and destroyed whoever it was long ago. For the most part, the Phalanx are reclusive—refusing contact with other species. Nobody knows what their goals may be, but they do not seem particularly expansionist. They are, however, quite able to defend themselves if pressed—fielding ships and weapons the equal of anything else in the galaxy.

THE YUUZHAN VONG

Yep. The same ones from the novels—only a bit different. I see these as being the 'big baddies' of this Galaxy, slowly working to conquer all 'lesser' races—thus providing the catalyst for a lot of conflict in a campaign setting. While I may have had problems with the novels that these guys came from, I do like the concept of an entire species who's technology is based upon organics—this sets them apart from almost every species and in particular, I can see them having major problems with the Silicoids and the Phalanx, both of which are 'non-living' in their eyes.

Anyway, these are just my initial thoughts on the matter. Is good for me to put them down in writing so I can come back to them later.

In praise of D6

I know I'm in the Minority here, and I know my gaming tastes aren't the 'norm', especially when it comes to other game systems and settings, but in flipping through the Star Wars D6 rulebook (the revised, 2nd edition one), I came across something that again affirmed why it is I love this system so much. It was in the introduction section of the book, essentially laying out what the basics of the game are from a players perspective. It is probably one of the best and most direct explanations of what role-playing is and really captures the mood of the Star Wars system in particular:

"You'll be playing a character—a person who lives in the Star Wars universe. While playing, you pretend to be that character.

There is no board to move tokens on. Instead, one of your friends will be the gamemaster. The gamemaster acts as a storyteller and referee, describing each scene to you and the other players. Now imagine how your character would react to the situation. Then, tell the gamemaster what your character is going to do.

When you describe what your character does, the gamemaster will tell you when to roll the dice, and tell you what happens as a result of how well (or poorly) you roll.

In a way, you, the other players and the gamemaster are creating your own Star Wars movie with your characters as the star!

Winning. There are no winners and losers. Having fun is what counts.

Cooperate. If the characters are to stand any chance of succeeding in their adventures, you and the other players have to work together.

Be True to the Movies. Remember, you're playing Star Wars! Be heroes. Use snappy one-liners. And above all else, have fun!

Become Your Character. Don't be afraid to ham it up a little! Speak like your character and adopt his mannerisms in your movements and actions. You can act out scenes—for example, if you're a gambler, you could have fun trying to con the other characters. However, never act out scenes that could be considered threatening or dangerous.

Use Your Imagination. Your character can do whatever you can imagine someone in that situation doing. If you can imagine it in the real world (or the Star Wars universe), it can happen in the game!

Keep Things Moving. Don't worry about the rules. Simply tell the gamemaster what you want your character to do, ad he'll tell you what to roll and when."

-- Star Wars Core Rulebook, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded

Is this very basic? Yes! And that is the point. There was a very conscious effort in this game to make it accessible to new players—people who have never played ANY roleplaying game before. In this age of seeming 'decline' in tabletop gaming, it is important to make a game easy to learn. Now, as far as the individual points of this excerpt go...

Winning. Yeah, this is pretty much the standard line in all RPGs, even if it does sound more like the coddling 'everyone is a winner!' politically-correct line that some people try to force. But it's true in an RPG. You 'Win' by having fun. That is the goal of the game (and I don't want to get into the whole 'Tyranny of Fun' thing again, so I'll move on).

Cooperate. Yes. As much as some people think that 'party conflict' is fun, it is ultimately disruptive to running a campaign—especially a Star Wars campaign that is supposed to be heroic (see below). Inner-party tension? That can be fun, as long as it is in-character. But when every game session turns into one character trying to kill the other? Well...that isn't Star Wars.

Be True to the Movies. Hell yes. This is one of the main reasons I can't even fathom trying to run an 'evil' Star Wars campaign—because the movies are about HEROES and GOOD triumphing over evil. This is a personal bias of mine, to be sure, but...well, there it is. The reason I wanted to play Star Wars is to be a big, damn hero. Not to explore the depths of depravity of the Sith. That's just not my bag, baby. Not the type of campaign I'd run.

Become Your Character. To me, this is kind of the point of Roleplaying. Creating and playing a character role. If you aren't doing this, then you're just playing a wargame. Again, not the type of game I want to run. On the flip side, I don't much care for 'costumes' or 'LARPing', so...there is a limit.

Use Your Imagination. Of all the 'core' aspects of the game, this is one of the trickiest. On the one hand, you want your players to dream up heroic things to do. On the other hand, they'll occasionally come up with something that you (as a GM) would just deem...impossible—or something the stats of their character just couldn't support. While I agree with the free-thinking aspect of this, I would make a point of telling my players to temper their imagination with a dose of realistic expectation based upon their current stats and skills. But then again, when you throw Force Points into the mix...well, things are a lot more possible then. Oh, and as a GM, if a player attempted something I thought was outside of their ability to do, I would first TELL them that, out of character, before allowing them to go through with it—especially with new players. You don't want to frustrate people by saying. "Sure, you can do anything!" then have them roll and fail miserably all the time. Sends the wrong message.

Keep Things Moving. HELL YES. This is the reason I prefer D6 to any other system—the emphasis on speed and simplicity. It is especially true in a cinematic setting like Star Wars—known for its fast-paced action scenes and story-progression. You don't want to get bogged down in a full-scale tactical simulation every time you get into battle. Of course, the higher in level you get with Star Wars, the more dice are involved—and the slower things go. But there are solutions to that, too.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts on the matter and my gushing again at how much D6 rocks as a system for me and my gaming style.

RANT: Role Playing

Once again, I delve into kindof-not-Star Wars territory. This is about video games in general, brought on about comments I've read online about Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Both of these games have been generally classified as RPGs (Role Playing Games). And yet so many posts are criticizing them (and in particular, ME2) for not being that...pointing out that because there are limited numbers of 'skill trees' and an abbreviated 'inventory system', Mass Effect 2 can not be termed an RPG.

To me, an RPG is just that... a ROLE PLAYING Game. Where you take on the ROLE of a character and PLAY him (or her) through a GAME. To me a ROLE is all about character and the choices you make defining them. Is your guy a jerk? Does he make the galaxy and those around him miserable? Is he a great guy? Does he help out everyone and leave them all with warm fuzzies? It is these interactions with the people and the environment around your character that defines a ROLE. By this definition, I think ME2 qualifies—in spades.

Since when does a freaking inventory—a list of crap your character carries—define a genre. Maybe it's a matter of semantics. Maybe inventories and skill lists are the defining thing most people require in their RPG. Fine. Whatever. So call ME2 a 'Story Shooter' or a 'Cinematic Actioner'...but honestly, I think that heavy inventory games should be the ones changing their names to something more descriptive of what they are—"Inventory Managment Simulation".

To a lesser extent, this also applies to skills. People are commenting on the 'drastic limitation' of skills from ME1 to ME2. Oh come on. Do you really need individual skills for First Aid and Medicine and Electronics and Decryption. I for one was glad that computer hacking and security bypasses could be done by your main character—not requiring you to ALWAYS have a tech expert with you in all situations for forfeit even a CHANCE of opening something. And again, skills do not define a ROLE nearly as much as the choices that character makes. They are a means to an end, nothing more.

And for those people out there who think that the 'story' aspect in RPGs need to be less of a 'straight line'...again I say, give me a break. The ME games are like playing within a movie. That is the appeal of them for me. To turn it into something like Fallout 3, where you wander from place to place shooting things and taking their stuff greatly reduces the dramatic impact of a story. Again, if THAT is what defines an RPG to folks, then I'm glad ME2 isn't one and maybe it should change its name. I could care less if I am 'railroaded' down a specific chain of events, as long as I get to make the story along the way suit me and my own aesthetic tastes—to feel as if the hero of the story is making the decisions 'I would make'. That is what immerses me.