Stormtroopers

In the original version of West End Games' Star Wars, the statistics for Stormtroopers were...well...quite pathetic. In game terms, Stormtroopers had 2D in all their attributes and (after armor penalties) combat skills around 3D. I think I understand the reasoning behind this, however. In the movies, we see Stormtroopers consistently missing as they attack Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca. So, in order to give that same kind of feel in the game, they made Stormtroopers 'wussy' enough where, on average, they would not pose a real threat to beginning level PCs (who had about 3D in all their attributes and probably a minimum of 4D in all their combat skills). But even knowing the 'logic' behind it, Statistics for Stormtroopers have always bothered me. These guys were, at the very least, supposed to be competent soldiers. And if the 'average' stormtrooper was crap, that made other troopers (like the Rebels on Leia's ship) even MORE crap. It makes more sense to me that the reason why the troopers in the movies couldn't hit the heroes is because the heroes rapidly developed substantially higher dodge skills—especially in Episodes V and VI. Otherwise, you would wonder how Stormtroopers ever accomplish anything—it makes them a joke. It certainly did in my campaign—that is until I revamped the stats closer to something like what you see below:

STORMTROOPER

ATTRIBUTES

Strength 3D

Dexterity 3D

Agility 3D

Intelligence 2D

Perception 2D

Charisma 2D

COMBAT SKILLS

Brawl 4D

Demolitions 3D

Dodge 4D*

Gunnery 4D

Marksmanship 5D

Melee 4D

Throwing 4D

PERCEPTION SKILLS

Observation 3D

Search 3D

PHYSICAL SKILLS

Climbing 3D

Jumping 3D*

Running 3D*

Stamina 3D

Swimming 3D*

Zero-Gee 3D

SOCIAL SKILLS

Intimidation 3D

TECHNICIAN SKILLS

Armor-Tech 3D

Weapon-Tech 3D

VEHICLE SKILLS

Cycling 3D

Driving 3D

WILDERNESS SKILLS

Beast-Riding 3D

Survival 3D

* This skill is modified negatively by Stormtrooper armor, usually to the tune of -1D. This means that a lot of 'mobility' type skills are hampered in return for a bonus of +1D to Strength to resist damage.

This skill set would represent your standard 'line' Stormtrooper with training and some actual combat experience. Other troopers (especially those who might be veterans of the clone wars) would have substantially higher stats (though these would be rare, considering the attrition the Stormtrooper corps is faced with).

In game terms, this Trooper is a lot tougher—a true challenge to a beginning character, but not an overwhelming one. And even versus higher level folks, a group of these guys, coordinating fire, can be a real threat. Stat-wise, we see that mentally, the average trooper is still equal to the 'average person', while physically, they are much more capable. Considering they are supposedly bred for combat, this makes a lot of sense to me, rather than the 2D average across the board.

This also set a precedent for me for other NPCs. The only ones I restricted to the 2D average attribute thing were generally non-combatants—secretaries, shop-clerks, etc. I figure folks who have been through military training would have above average (2D+ to 3D) physical traits at the very least. In any case, that's just my take and these stats have worked well for me.

The Future of Gaming

Ever since I got into reading blogs (about a year ago), I have been immersed in all kinds of discussions about gaming. Forefront in minds of many folks is the question: where is the gaming hobby heading? Personally, I agree with James M. (of the blog Grognardia). He posits that the 'Golden Age' of gaming has come and gone, and that its faddishness and (almost) mainstream popularity will never happen again. This certainly seems to be the case for Star Wars roleplaying in particular. For me, that game went into limbo with its transition to the d20 system. And now, even with the continuing popularity of the franchise, d20 has dropped the setting and it is in question whether anyone will buy the rights to continue Star Wars in a gaming medium.

In some ways, this realization saddens me. Why? Because I grew up in an era where I expected to have my chosen hobby heavily supported by 'official' books from an 'official' company. I expected a 'living' setting, constantly filling with new information and ideas. To a certain extent, it was a comfort to me, to know that other people enjoyed the same hobby as I did (growing up where I did in South Dakota, gamers were scarce). It was also a luxury—to have so many pre-made adventures and a wealth of source material at your fingertips.

But did I really NEED this supporting material? Well...no. Not really. In fact, some of the more memorable adventures in my Star Wars campaign were of my own doing (though with a healthy hand up from West End Games source material). And THAT is what I think the 'optimal' gaming system should be: A core set of rules and enough setting details to help a GM build off of. As I've stated in previous posts, too much 'official information' or 'canon changes' to a setting can actually get quite frustrating. It can take away any sense of ownership you (and your players) might have for a campaign.

Looking back on it, the underlying commercialism of gaming was actually kind of self-defeating. TSR, for example, wanted its players to keep buying products. So it kept releasing more and more rulebooks and settings—and updates to those settings—in order to keep people wanting the 'latest and greatest' thing. Unfortunately, by doing so, they were forcing gamers to either go along with the 'official company' storyline, or find themselves left out of all the new products coming out. As an ad-person especially, I can see why this was done. But I still think it was wrong. You were essentially taking a medium that (supposedly) relied upon the imagination of its players and turning it around so that YOU (the gaming company) were dictating the story.

To me this seemed a bit less prevalent in the West End Star Wars game (though maybe that's just personal bias). I mean, you OBVIOUSLY had to deal with the fact that the events in the movies were going to happen (or else you were diverting entirely). But apart from that, the materials produced for the game were largely just sources of information about the setting—perfect idea generators and jumping off points for your own imagination. A prime example of this would be Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters. Here, you had a sourcebook on freight hauling and ship modification rules, but you also had a sketch of a little corner of the Star Wars galaxy—with enough information to plan all sorts of adventures of your own. I know I really ran with this setting in my own campaign, making for some very memorable moments.

But...I digress. The subject of this post was the Future of Gaming. And honestly? I'm coming to believe that you're looking at it. No, not me. The internet. The blog. The 'online gaming community'. When I look at all the high-quality stuff being produced by gamers FOR gamers I am at once excited and relieved. Who needs an 'official company' when you can pick and choose from some really great products to help spark your own ideas. There is more than enough here to keep /me/ entertained and engaged for the rest of my life—and there is more coming out every day!

I guess the real question is—will this online community 'recruit' new members from the younger generation? Considering the fact that a good portion of that community have families, I'd say the answer is "of course". Considering how online-centric our culture is becoming, I'd say "of course" again—even if it is all 'unofficial' and people have to stumble upon it. As much as I miss being in a mainstream kind of hobby, I am okay with folks only finding out about it if they really have to search. But then, that's because I'm just a gamer—not looking to make money out of the hobby. For those folks looking to make a living out of it? Well...then I'd say things may be a bit bleak. The golden era for making money in tabletop games is long gone, and I doubt it will ever return. But for your average gamer, that's no big thing—as long as you have imagination and a few friends to share it with.

Game Stats: Luke Skywalker

I know a lot of folks (myself included) have had problems with the statistics provided for Star Wars characters in the D6 rule system. The feature-characters especially are a source of pain—and among them, Luke Skywalker is one of the most frustrating. As initially presented, he's pretty bogus, especially for an 18-19 year old who's only just left the farm! Well, since I have finally revamped my skill list I would like to present to you my revised version of Luke at three different points in his career—representing his stats at the END of each of the original three movies.

LUKE IN EPISODE IV

Here we have what I would consider stats for a starting player-character. 18D worth of Attribute dice and 24D worth of skills. Normally, I don't allow a starting character to have more than 6D in any skill, but with Luke, I fudged a bit to give him a 7D in piloting. Please note that the skills listed below are only the more 'major' ones (or the ones that become 'major' later on). He has many other skills, but all of them are generally beetween 2D+1 and 3D+2 in range. You'll also note that his Strength and Intelligence are a bit 'low' here—that's because he is a bit scrawny in the first movie and hasn't had much exposure to things outside his desert homeworld. So, without further ado...

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 2D+2

Agility: 3D

Dexterity: 3D+2

Intelligence: 2D+1

Perception: 3D+1

Charisma: 3D

COMBAT SKILLS

Dodge: 5D+2

Gunnery: 6D

Marksmanship: 5D

FORCE SKILLS

Control: 1D

Sense: 2D

PERCEPTION SKILLS

Search: 4D

PHYSICAL SKILLS:

Climbing: 4D

Jumping: 4D

TECHNICIAN SKILLS:

Droid-Tech: 4D

Speeder-Tech: 5D

VEHICLE SKILLS:

Cycling: 6D

Driving: 6D

Piloting: 7D

LUKE IN EPISODE V

Here we see Luke after three and a half years of combat with the Rebel Alliance (and his position as commander of the fledgling 'Rogue Squadron') and a few months of intensive training with Yoda (as well as some Force-training encounters prior to this: such as in Splinter of the Minds Eye). Apart from his skills increasing and broadening, Luke has also improved some of his attributes: Strength and Agility from his military life and Jedi training and Intelligence from his sudden exposure to the galaxy at large. As before, any skills not listed are generally in the 2D+2 to 3D+2 range.

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 3D

Agility: 3D+1

Dexterity: 3D+2

Intelligence: 2D+2

Perception: 3D+1

Charisma: 3D

COMBAT SKILLS

Brawl: 5D

Dodge: 7D

Gunnery: 7D

Marksmanship: 6D

Melee: 6D

FORCE SKILLS

Control: 6D

Sense: 6D

Alter: 5D

Lightsaber-Tech: 4D+2

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS:

Tactics (Space): 4D

PERCEPTION SKILLS

Observation: 4D

Search: 5D

Sense-Motive: 4D

PHYSICAL SKILLS:

Acrobatics: 4D+2

Climbing: 5D+2

Jumping: 5D+2

Running: 4D

Stamina: 5D

Stealth: 4D+2

SOCIAL SKILLS:

Command: 5D

Persuasion: 4D

Willpower: 4D

SYSTEM OPERATION SKILLS:

Astrogation: 4D

Sensors: 4D

TECHNICIAN SKILLS:

Droid-Tech: 4D+2

Speeder-Tech: 5D+2

Starship-Tech: 5D

VEHICLE SKILLS:

Cycling: 6D+2

Driving: 6D

Piloting: 8D

Helmsman: 4D

WILDERNESS SKILLS:

Beast-Riding: 4D

Survival: 4D

LUKE IN EPISODE VI

This represents Luke after the months-long search for Han Solo and his return training with Yoda. The most remarkable changes here are the increase in Luke's Force skills—preparing him for his final showdown with Vader and the Emperor (though it will be his heart and not his skills that get him through this encounter...)

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 3D

Agility: 3D+1

Dexterity: 3D+2

Intelligence: 2D+2

Perception: 3D+1

Charisma: 3D

COMBAT SKILLS

Brawl: 5D

Dodge: 7D

Gunnery: 7D

Marksmanship: 6D

Melee: 7D

FORCE SKILLS

Control: 7D

Sense: 8D

Alter: 6D

Lightsaber-Tech: 7D

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS:

Tactics (Space): 4D

Scholar (Jedi-Lore): 4D

PERCEPTION SKILLS

Observation: 4D

Search: 5D

Sense-Motive: 4D

PHYSICAL SKILLS:

Acrobatics: 5D+2

Climbing: 5D+2

Jumping: 5D+2

Running: 4D

Stamina: 5D

Stealth: 4D+2

ROGUE SKILLS:

Streetwise: 4D

SOCIAL SKILLS:

Command: 5D

Intimidation: 4D

Persuasion: 4D

Willpower: 6D

SYSTEM OPERATION SKILLS:

Astrogation: 4D

Sensors: 4D

TECHNICIAN SKILLS:

Droid-Tech: 4D+2

Speeder-Tech: 5D+2

Starship-Tech: 5D

VEHICLE SKILLS:

Cycling: 6D+2

Driving: 6D

Piloting: 8D

Helmsman: 4D

WILDERNESS SKILLS:

Beast-Riding: 4D

Survival: 4D

I think this much more closely represents the Luke we see in the movies. In the end, he is quite powerful—but not (in my opinion) unbelievably so for his age. In Episode IV in particular, you see a very 'vulnerable' yet still talented character—which is how I see most starting characters.

A Milestone

I've seen this coming for a little while and have been excited by it—this is my 200th post! Not too shabby for a slacker like me. I know the blog has been up and down at different times, but honestly, I don't think I will ever entirely run out of ideas of things to post. I know not a lot of folks read this blog, but it has been fun for me to do anyway and I look forward to the next 200 rantings and blatherings!

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.