Humble Bundle - Star Wars - Legends, Myths, and the High Republic (Fiction)

My Star Wars fiction started with Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster. It's my understanding that Star Wars fiction from that era is no longer canon. I could be wrong. It's been decades since I've read any Star Wars fiction.

The current Star Wars Fiction Bundle, Legends, Myths, and the High Republic packages together a large digital collection of modern Star Wars fiction releases - 41 titles for 18 bucks. That's a lot of reading ;)

Discover tales of legendary Jedi heroes, Dark Side masters, and the galaxy’s most wretched hives of scum and villainy in this library of novels and fiction for Star Wars fans of all ages! Explore an era when the Jedi Order was at its prime in books from the best-selling High Republic series (Into the Dark). Read about the adventures of Padmé Amidala (Queen’s Peril), the rise and fall of Darth Vader, and the journeys of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

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Got Some Unexpected Help Figuring Some Stuff Out

 

We're pretty much all dorks/geeks/nerds here at the Tavern (except for Rach...she's an angel...[I got your back Erik!]).....and I'm willing to bet that most of us goofs like more than just RPGs.

Now I don't consider myself a Star Wars geek, but I do enjoy the films....for the most part. I really didn't care for the last trilogy we got and at the point of coming across as sexist (too late... I opened my mouth so therefor I am wrong) I really didn't care for the character of Rey. My problem though, was I could not tell you why I didn't like Rey, I just didn't. Now I really try not to be some pseudointellectual type and me trying to get up in my head as to why or why not I don't like something really isn't going to work unless I can point to something concrete and obvious......or I have it pointed out to me.

Now the title alone would normally dissuade me from watching the video, but it came up automagically in my cue 'cause I watched something about "Charismatic Intelligence" with Hollywood types and this rotated in. I won't go into the finer details here but the author/narrator's words hit home because she was able to point out something really obvious, but beyond my grasp to understand without the help.

Now since my mind wanders like no other I started to wonder if there was such a thing as "womansplaining" since I had to have a woman point out the painfully obvious to my clueless self. There is, it's called "femsplaining" and this video was so not it.

No this video was just a good explanation on a few things I couldn't wrap my head around because.....I hadn't tried?......I lack the sufficient mental capacity?......I didn't care to explore the concept further?

Most likely the latter because if you don't like something, why spend more energy trying to figure out why? It's either obvious, or it's not and knowing either way doesn't matter if you don't want to spend more resources (time & energy) on it.

Now there have been some RPG games I haven't liked, but usually it's quite obvious to me. The rules are too crunchy/fiddly for my tastes (Rolemaster) or I don't care for the amount of effort it takes to make a PC (D&D 3.5). Doesn't mean I won't play those games, but I'd rather play something else if given the opportunity.

There was a time when HackMaster was becoming a game I didn't enjoy playing, but I had no clue as to why and again I was fortunate to have another woman point out the painfully obvious to my clueless-ass self. Back when HackMaster 4th edition was waning, but 5th Edition wasn't available yet there was the "secret" 5th Edition playtesting. Now the majority of the D(evelopment) Team at KenzerCo are engineers and while they're all great guys......but holy hell can they over-engineer a RPG....and this is coming from a guy who likes a fair amount of RPG Crunch.

HackMaster 5th Edition is heavily skills based and the design of the skill system was basically that skills started at 100 and went down as they improved. You rolled a % and wanted to get over your skill number. High was always good and adding bonuses to your die roll was literally adding a number to your die roll. Sounds good right? I think there are several systems out there that use a similar mechanic.

Nope......did not like it. Honestly I don't think anyone outside of the D-Team liked this skill system, but for the life of me I could not figure out why I didn't like it. Then Shabby, a fellow friend/gamer/playtester pointed out the painfully obvious: If you have a 90% in a skill, that percentage is your chance of failure, not success.

 As players we want to succeed, so I don't want to hear the GM tell me the chances of failure, but my chances to succeed! One is just inherently negative and the other is positive. Yes, a 90% chance of failure is technically the same as a 10% chance to succeed, but don't tell me I'm going to miss on a d20 roll of 1 to 18. Tell me I'm going to hit on a roll of 19 or 20!

The playtesters managed, probably with a HUGE amount of convincing by Shabby, to "fix" the skill system in HackMaster 5th edition to the point where I'm a fan again. While I know now this wasn't "womansplaining" I'm personally glad to have been helped out on these two occasions to figure out that I like character development and positivity in my gaming systems......

.....now if I could only get some help with some other shit I can't figure out.....but that would also require me to care more than I do. Life's too short to dwell on media and games you don't like...... 

Deal of the Day - Defining A Galaxy (Historical look at WEG Star Wars RPG)

Holy shit! I can't believe I almost missed this Deal of the Day. Its a look at West End Games Star Wars RPG and the influence it has had on the Star Wars IP. Defining a Galaxy is on sale for 2.38, regularly 7.95 in PDF. Print is 9.99 if you want the PDF with it.

In the late 1980s, Star Wars was becoming a fading memory. The movie trilogy had concluded. The comic books and novels were winding down. The action figures had run their course. As the franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary, there was a new ride at Disneyland and … not much else. Not until a small hobby game company released Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and The Star Wars Sourcebook. And suddenly the galaxy began to expand. 

This is the story of how a group of dedicated fans and gaming professionals helped pave the way for the Star Wars Expanded Universe — as told by one of the original architects! This book explains how material created for roleplaying games helped shape the Star Wars universe — and continues to influence it to the current day.

Yep, that is an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the taps flowing and the beer cold here at The Tavern.

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition (West End Games Version)

In the "Holy Shit!" category of posts, Fantasy Flight Games has announce it will be releasing Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition set - it includes the core book and the source book in a slipcase.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to return Star Wars: The Roleplaying to print as a collectible set of two high-quality, hardbound books presented in a stylized slipcase. You'll find all the original game materials—just as playable as ever—and they're presented with the same graphic design and fake, in-universe Star Wars advertisements for the Imperial Navy, the R2 astromech Droid, and more. 

Even the books' use of black-and-white, blue ink, and full color sections have been recreated, along with its use of still photos and concept art, some of which have been updated for this new 30th Anniversary Edition. Finally, the books come with a foreword by Pablo Hidalgo, one of the creative executives on the Lucasfilm Story Group.

Yes, let me repeat. Holy Shit!

It will be $59.95 when available.

Excellent Article at Glixel - How a Pen and Paper RPG Brought 'Star Wars' Back From the Dead

I don't often link to articles from fairly obscure places on the net and in truth I never heard of Glixel before this article was forwarded to me, but damn - its a good article. (and looking deeper, Glixel seems like a decent site to read other articles too)

D6 Star Wars IS Star Wars for me. The first three films that were released where the be all end end all - I know I'm a heretic to most when I can say I didn't care for the second trilogy and haven't watched any of the later releases, film or cartoon. My Star Wars ended when West End Games lost the license.

Greg Costikyan, a co-creator of Paranoia, was one of the people tasked with securing the Star Wars license. “We flew out to California to meet with Lucasfilm,” he says. “We made a bid of $100k. We later learned that TSR had tried to get the license too, but they only bid $70k.”

Just imagine - we were close to getting Star Wars done in the same manner as Indiana Jones and Conan - the sad TSR treatment. Shudder.

Read the article (linked here). Its well worth the minutes of your time.

Batman vs Darth Vader - Possibly the Best Fan Film I've Seen

Just watch it.

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG Core Rulebook Delayed

According to Fantasy Flight Games, the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG Core Rulebook has slipped from a 2nd Quarter 2013 release to a 1st week of July 2013 release.

If it were a Kickstarter, that would be treated as on time shipping ;)

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't played a Star Wars RPG since WEG's 1st edition, although I own WEG's 2nd edition, and the core books of the WotC's editions.

I'm willing to check FFG's version so long as it isn't a reskin of their Warhammer RPG 3e.

Damn, now I need to check this out further. I really do like the Star Wars universe, so long as you stay away from the main characters and locations from the movie - setting without the worries of canon, if you will.

Games From the Attic - The STAR WARS Sourcebook

I guess I should have posted this with all of the May the Fourth posts marking the 35th anniversary of Star Wars.  Story of my life, a day late and a dollar short.

Here's the kicker - I didn't even know I owned this until I pulled it out of the pile about 10 minutes ago.  From 1987 (the 10th anniversary of Star Wars, as indicated on the back cover) the book is in great shape, except for some slight warping.  I may need to put it under a proper pile of books to straighten in out.

Lots of pictures, lots of background info and minimal game stats, this would have been something that would have found it's way to any Star Wars fan's collection.  I never even know I had it.  Go figure.

It looks like a great read.  I may have to do more than just flip through it.  I may actually want to give this a good read, in honor of 35 years of Star Wars.

What Star Wars: The Old Republic Does Right (and wrong)

I've been spending some time playing the new Star Wars MMO RPG and I have some observations I'd like to share:

Quests / Missions - well done. Love the voice acting. It's like playing one of Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic games. Really, it's a great high point.

Crafting - get done by your henchmen/ companions, so you don't ave to grind the time. You can still play as the crafting goes on in the background.

Solobility - Much of the game's missions can be completed without the help of other players. Not bad if you only have an hour or so to kill.

Graphics - its a beauty

There are some cons that I've noticed so far:

Grouping - there really isn't this driving need to group. I've done some stuff with my son, but for the most part, I've been soloing. It's almost like a stand alone game with other players in the background.

Group size limit - apparently its limited to party's of 4. Most games of the type use a group max of 6. If my whole gaming group transitions to SW, we'll have to split into multiple groups.

Space combat - I've only tasted it, but it seems fairly mindless. Good expo tho. Maybe that's to encourage folks to do the mindless space combat.

I'm having fun with it so far, but Skyrim calls to me far more then this. I'm not sure if it will be a keeper or not. Time will tell.

Another Short Note on Star Wars: The Old Republic

I'm sure everyone is thrilled I'm posting again about the latest MMORPG, but I found something very interesting playing the game last night.  While the Republic may be perceived as Good, and the Empire as Evil, both are really more gray than black or white.  You can make choices as an operative for the Empire that will define your character as good.  Every other game I've played since the original Everquest had lines that were pretty well drawn between good and evil.

It's a nice change.  Of course, game balance is always an issue with MMORPGs, and the character you thought you had may not have the same abilities next time you log in.  That doesn't happen in table top RPGs.  Still, Bioware seems to be bringing some of their strengths to their newest game.

I have a feeling I'll be hooked ;)

Latest Distraction - Star Wars: The Old Republic

Yep, I have my pre-order early access and spent a good part of this evening playing.  It looks like it should be fun as Bioware is involved and in general, they know how to tell a story.  They haven't done a MMORPG yet, so I'll withhold final judgement but it looks promising.

On that note, I'm going to spend some time digging into my Carcosa PDF right now.  James pointed out some technical good ins in the PDF that I hadn't noticed at first glance and I want to check them out.  Sanity roll...

The Games I Own, But Have Never Played - West End Games Star Wars

To be fully honest, I own the core rules to each version of the Star Wars RPGs, and have yet to play any of them. That being said, WEG's D6 Star Wars is the one that I really wanted to play.

The system was easy enough to understand, the books were really evocative of the first three Star Wars movies (not to be confused with Chapters I-III of the Star Wars Saga). I could read the rules and have a pretty good idea of how it would play out in my head.

It's just that no one else wanted to play Star Wars. Heck, they would choose Star Ace before Star Wars, and I did run a decent 3 player campaign using the Space Master rules. Sci-Fi wasn't the issue, I think it was a fear of the Star Wars canon. Sometimes its easier to be the hero where the setting wasn't already decided on the major plot line.

Maybe one day I can use the now Open D6 rules for a decent Sci-Fi campaign, without the light sabers and the Jedi Mind Tricks ;)