Tales of the Star Guard III

One of my favourite RPGs from 2011 is Cosmic Patrol, Catalyst Game Labs’ Science Fiction RPG inspired by the Golden Age broadcast Science Fiction of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and X MINUS ONE as well as the writings of Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson, and E.E. “Doc” Smith. It is a light storytelling RPG in which the characters are stalwart members of the Great Union’s last line of defence against a dangerous universe. As Patrolmen, members of the Cosmic Patrol, the player characters crew rocketships sent out to explore the galaxy, to investigate its strange phenomena, protect the Solar System, and respond to emergencies as necessary. The mechanics are kept light with everyone taking it turn to narrate scenes in the current adventure with heroics being encouraged. Plus the little rulebook is a work of art itself, looking exactly like a handbook for the Cosmic Patrol itself.

Having previously reviewed Into the Cosmos: A Cosmic Patrol Sourcebook, the first supplement for Cosmic Patrol, it only seems fair that I should also review the second, more recently released supplement. Although plenty of patrol encounters and scenarios are presented in both Cosmic Patrol and Into the Cosmos, what Cosmic Patrol is yet to present is something that fulfils its promised grandeur and scope. This void is negated by the publication of The Moon Must Be Ours! A Cosmic Patrol Campaign that pitches the men and women of the Cosmic Patrol against a threat that has been disrupting Grand Union activities for decades—making objects and people disappear, directing activities and experiments with false readings, and generally being a nuisance. Further, the Moon Men forbid anyone from landing on the Lunar surface, ever since the Rocketship EM disappeared! 

This has been done without their being seen, all through their strange powers of Dynamo-Psychism. They present a threat to humanity and the Grand Union like no other—so Director Roderick Dyson has assembled the largest flotilla of ships in the history of the Cosmic Patrol and given the order: “The Moon Must Be Ours!”

The Moon Must Be Ours! is a complete campaign that throws the player characters into the Cosmic Patrol’s operation to conquer the Moon and put an end to the Moon Men as a threat. The invasion begins disastrously—Cosmic Patrol ships suddenly vanish from the flotilla, some explode or are impaled by previously unknown and powerfully destructive weapons, whilst others career off course and crash or collide with other vessels. The upshot is that very few Patrol vessels manage to reach the Moon’s surface—much of this is described in the supplement’s opening fiction, ‘Retaking the Sky’. The player characters’ vessel is one of those few. With their rocketship having crashed, they are the Patrol’s only hope and must penetrate the labyrinth of rooms under the lunar surface to discover the secrets of the Moon Men.

Cosmic Patrol is played without a dedicated GM, instead each player takes a turn being Lead Narrator. Although the Lead Narrator needs to be fair in presenting a challenge to his fellow players, what it means is that the players are all playing against the game rather than the game as presented by a GM. The Moon Must Be Ours!  pushes this aspect further in presenting a ‘Choose Your Adventure Path’ scenario that the players plays together. In comparison to The Warlock of Firetop Mountain or the more recent Blood of the Zombies, the locations and paragraph entries are few in number, consisting primarily of forty-two rooms that are played one after another, even in linear fashion—depending on the difficulty setting that the group decides to play the campaign at.

Each room consists of a two-page spread that contains Objectives, Cues, Tags, and Exits, as well as Opening Narration, Room Description, and Enemies and Obstacles. Each room gives seven or eight exists divided between the difficulty settings. Typically three each for an Easy setting, two for Normal and Hard settings, but just the one for the Insane setting. The latter because the players have no choice in what room they choose next—it must be the next room in sequential order, from one to forty-two. In order to complete The Moon Must Be Ours! at Easy difficulty, the group needs to overcome nine or ten rooms, thirteen or fourteen at Normal difficulty, and twenty-two at Hard. The idea is that once a group has completed The Moon Must Be Ours! at one difficulty, it should then try and play it again at a higher difficulty. Again, another aspect of the campaign that feels like a ‘Choose Your Adventure Path’ scenario.

A Room Tracker is provided so that no room is repeated. Also included are sample hero character dossiers and dossiers for the campaign’s villains, advice for the Lead Narrators—particularly on handling character death, and plot twists. Tables give random Dynamo-Psychism powers and random adversary creation, the latter including what is probably the best gun in Science Fiction—the Godwinization Ray. Its effect? It makes the affected target irrelevant! (If a player character, then he is Knocked Out for the length of his player’s next stint as Lead narrator). Many of the villains presented in The Moon Must Be Ours! veer towards to the weird and wacky, including an incredibly silly villain towards the end…

The Moon Must Be Ours! is well presented. It is not as liberally illustrated as previous books, but that is primarily because the book consists of rooms and these are not illustrated in Cosmic Patrol. The campaign itself, is probably too combat orientated, so the rules and suggestions for character death are likely to be necessary.

The Moon Must Be Ours! A Cosmic Patrol Campaign presents the chance to delve back into the history of the Grand Union. It possesses a slightly creepy, almost Lovecraftian sense of the unknown that might be difficult to maintain with multiple Lead Narrators, whereas its joyous embrace of 1950s retro-futurism will be easier to keep up. Above all, it provides a Cosmic Patrol crew with a big adventure, mysteries to be solved, and the chance to be heroic.

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Tales of the Star Guard II

One of my favourite RPGs from 2011 is Cosmic Patrol, Catalyst Game Labs’ Science Fiction RPG inspired by the Golden Age broadcast Science Fiction of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and X MINUS ONE as well as the writings of Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson, and E.E. “Doc” Smith. It is a light storytelling RPG in which the characters are stalwart members of the Great Union’s last line of defence against a dangerous universe. As Patrolmen, members of the Cosmic Patrol, the player characters crew rocketships sent out to explore the galaxy, to investigate its strange phenomena, protect the Solar System, and respond to emergencies as necessary. The mechanics are kept light with everyone taking it turn to narrate scenes in the current adventure with heroics being encouraged. Plus the little rulebook is a work of art itself, looking exactly like a handbook for the Cosmic Patrol itself.

The first supplement for Cosmic Patrol is Into the Cosmos: A Cosmic Patrol Sourcebook. As befits a first supplement, it is a companion volume to the core rules. It adds further detail to the setting of Cosmic Patrol, presenting further threats and rumours, a guide to the rocket ships and other vessels to be found in the Great Union and beyond, detailed dossiers to support many of the threats, and almost two dozen Mission Briefs—enough to keep a Cosmic Patrol campaign going for session after session. As with the core rules, Into the Cosmos is presented as a small red handbook, lightly illustrated with solid line art. Unlike the core rules, Into the Cosmos has much more the feel of being a roleplaying game supplement and less of the feel being the Cosmic Patrol handbook.

It opens with ‘When in Doubt, Doubt’, a short piece of fiction about a Cosmic Patrol Intelligence Service agent infiltrating a Hakhaze base. A solid little tale, it throws a different light on Cosmic Patrol operations, one that is borne of necessity give the realities of the situation out in the Deep Black. It introduces a new race, the Hakhaze, which is one of the new races detailed in Into the Cosmos’ Gazetteer. The Hakhaze are a humanoid symbiotic species consisting of a reptile with a fungoid outer shell, which like many species the Great Union has encountered, is extremely warlike. Others include the mysterious Ro-Men, who not only capture other intelligent species, they also make them wear helmets that both make them slaves and dissolve their skulls! The Gazetteer also discusses the uses and dangers of the Fractum Drive which powers all Great Union interstellar rockets, what might be out there in the galaxy, the exploration of the jungle world that is Neptune, the Cat People of Annora, the Great Union’s manufactory behind Mercury, and an update about the Automen on Venus. All in all, it is an eclectic mix, but each of these little essays is informative and adds interesting detail to the Cosmic Patrol setting. Many are of them are further supported by the Dossiers section, which include Hakhaze, Ro-Men, Neptunian Frog Men, escaped Robots, and more, all written up and ready to bring to a game.

Of the eight vessels described in Into the Cosmos, three are particularly suitable for use by the player characters in Cosmic Patrol. They include the three-man Patrol Cutter, the twenty-five man Patrol Cruiser, and the one-man Intel Rocketship, the latter introduced earlier in ‘When in Doubt, Doubt’. Deck plans are given for each, but given the genre, it seems disappointing that the decks are horizontal along the length of each ship, rather than organised deck by deck vertically down the ship. This also means that these rocketships land on their bellies rather than on their tails, which would seem more in keeping with the genre. Other ships described include an Eiger Empire Attack Saucer, an Uth Hive, a Pirate Rocketship, and a Ro-Men Spereship.

Rounding out Into the Cosmos is a collection of twenty-three missions. Each consists of a narrative introduction, setting details, the scenes, plus a listing of its Objectives, Clues, and Tags. They begin with ‘Vo’s Fractum Cat’ in which the crew of Patrol Ship must go to the rescue of vessel with malfunctioning experimental equipment and ‘The Great Green Blight’ in which they must find out why the wary Frogmen of Neptune have turned aggressive. Other Mission Briefs will find the crew making mail runs, surveying asteroids, investigating both Eiger and Uth activity, going after pirates, going to dinner, and more. The almost two dozen run the gamut of genre clichés, but this should not be held against them. After all, certain clichés are part of the genre, and anyway, it is what the players and their characters do with them in the course of play that matters.

Despite it being a little book, just one-hundred-and-thirty-eight pages long, Into the Cosmos could do with an index. Finding things can be difficult. Another issue is the cost—it is not an inexpensive book. Nevertheless, Into the Cosmos provides excellent support for any group’s Cosmic Patrol game. Not just the Mission Briefs, which provide immediate support, but cues and inspirations aplenty with the support material.

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Your Firefly Starter

Every year at Gen Con there is a slew of new releases and every year there are some that are really ‘hot’. One such title was the Firefly Role-Playing Game from Margaret Weis Productions – or rather it was not. For what was released at Gen Con in 2013 was Gaming In The ‘Verse, a preview of what the forthcoming Firefly Role-Playing Game will be like. And even then, it was not really a preview, but more of a ‘quick start’ giving everything that a Gamemaster and his crew needs to play – an explanation of the setting, the rules, the means to create both a ship and her crew, and two whole scenarios! Plus there are the stats and write-ups for the crew of the Serenity that we know and love from Joss Whedon’s television series, Firefly, so that the scenarios can be played with said crew or with a ship and crew of the players’ creation. All of which comes in a thick, full colour, and fully illustrated paperback book.

Then again, I can hear you thinking to yourselves, “Wasn’t there a Firefly Role-Playing Game before?” To which the answer is ‘yes’ – and ‘no’. Back in 2005, Margaret Weis Productions – the same Margaret Weis Productions that is publishing the Firefly Role-Playing Game – published the Serenity Role Playing Game, not based on the Firefly television series, but on Serenity, the motion picture sequel to the television series. Another difference is the use of mechanics and rulesets. The Serenity Role Playing Game employed the slightly cinematic, if gritty CORTEX System, whereas the Firefly Role-Playing Game uses the CORTEX Plus System, first seen in the Leverage: The Roleplaying Game and most recently seen in the Origins Award winning though cancelled Marvel Heroic Roleplaying RPG. Whereas the CORTEX System, now known as CORTEX Classic, focused on gritty action, the CORTEX Plus System is more storytelling orientated, though the storytelling itself is bound to be gritty given the setting. Now both the Serenity Role Playing Game and the Firefly Role-Playing Game are set in the same milieu, a Science Fiction space western that aped the aftermath of the American Civil War. In this ‘space opera’, the crew of the Serenity try to make living, not always legally, on the fringes of both society and a massive star system far from the aegis of the controlling central government, the Alliance. This is not a ‘clean’ space opera – making a living in space can be hard and is often dangerous work; high technology rarely makes it as far as the outer planets and their moons; and the preferred technology is stuff that works, so for example, firearms rather than lasers and on many planets, horses rather than vehicles. 

Gaming In The ‘Verse begins with an explanation of the setting, supporting it with a dissection of the episodes ‘Serenity’ and ‘The Train Job’. Working from the synopsis of each episode it examples of the rules, stats and write-ups for characters or NPCs such as Badger and Patience, describes the technology and places, and gives ideas for further adventures involving the elements of the episode. These are essentially a number of ‘what if’s’ that could complicate the scenario presented in each episode were the GM to run for his players. There is material here enough to inspire an episode or two for a playing group, but it is promised that the full Firefly Role-Playing Game will contain a similar treatment of all thirteen episodes of the series. 

When playing the setting of Firefly through Gaming In The ‘Verse, a group has three options. The first is to play a member of the crew of the Serenity, whilst the second would be to select from one of the twelve pre-generated archetypes included in the book, from Academy Dropout and Alliance Agent to Small-Time Trader and Triad Enforcer. Alternatively, a player can create his character, one that will not be quite as capable as member of the crew of the Serenity, but one that certainly has room to grow and change as his adventures are played out. Each character is defined by three attributes – Mental, Physical, and Social; several broad Skills, each of which can have a speciality; one or more Signature Assets, items intrinsically bound to the character, like Jayne Cobb’s Callahan full-bore auto-lock rifle Vera or Shepherd Book’s Identicard; and three Distinctions. The latter define a character and come in three categories – Roles, Personalities, and Backgrounds. All four – Attributes, Skills, Signature Assets, and Distinctions are rated by die type, from four-sided die up through six, eight, ten, and twelve-side die. Each Distinction provides a bonus die to a character’s actions, but can also act against a character to complicate his life and so provide him with Plot Points that can be spent later on. The list of Distinctions in Gaming In The ‘Verse is not complete though and a full list will appear in the Firefly Role-Playing Game when it is released.

THEODORE KINGSLEY III
Quote: “Some orders are meant to be disobeyed, more or less, as my old fù qìng never said.”
Character Type: Principled Pilot
Character Description: Theodore Kingsley III had a glittering career ahead of him as an officer in the Union of Allied Planets Navy. After all, his father was an admiral and his grandfather was an admiral, and it was expected that he would follow in their footsteps. That would change for the recently promoted first lieutenant during the Battle of Du-Khang towards the end of the Unification War. Piloting a gunship, Kingsley was ordered to evacuate casualties from a position under heavy attack by Independent forces. He did this several times, often under heavy fire, each time ordering his crew to evacuate the Independent casualties at the same time. Each time he was ordered to ferry away Alliance casualties rather than Independent ones until the point where there were only Independent casualties left. Ordered away to another mission, the pilot not only ignored the order not to go back in, he punched the officer who gave it. This would have got him a court martial, but the combination of the missions he had already flown and his family connection meant that he was instead given an award. Kingsley was decorated and promoted, told to behave, and assigned to what he considered to be parade duties. Disillusioned, when the war ended and his term of service was up, he resigned his commission – the first Kingsley to have done so for generations, and quit the Core Worlds.
For the last decade Kingsley has worked the Border Worlds as a pilot for hire, rarely staying with one crew for long. Too often he finds an order he disagrees with, disobeys it, does what he feels is the right thing, and then quits.
Likes/Dislikes: Theodore loves to fly and hates anyone who gets in the way, especially with what he regards as daft orders. He does not have much time for the Alliance Navy either. He is fond of painting though and never travels without an easel, canvas, and paints.
Flashbacks and Echoes: Theodore does not like to talk about his record or what he did in the Unification War. This has got him into trouble in the past.

ATTRIBUTES
Mental 8 Physical 8 Social 8 
SKILLS
Craft d4, Drive d4, Fight d6, Fix d4, Fly d10 (Alliance Gunboats), Focus d6, Influence d8, Know d8 (Navigation), Labour d4, Move d4, Notice d8, Operate d8, Perform  d6 (Painting), Shoot d6, Sneak d4, Survive d8, Throw d4, Treat d4, Trick d4
DISTINCTIONS
SHIP’S PILOT d8
The list of folk wanting to hire you is longer than your arm. You’re just that good.
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Born Behind the Wheel: Spend 1 PP to step up or double your ship’s Engines Attribute for your next roll.
Highlighted Skills: Fly, Notice, Operate
DECORATED d8
You came back from the War with a medal and a story. You’re not sure if it was worth the cost.
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
You’re a Gorramn Hero: Spend 1 PP to double your Social when dealing with anyone who served on your side.
Highlighted Skills: Fight, Influence, Shoot
A LITTLE NERVOUS d8
“Oh God, oh God, we’re all gonna die.”
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.

SIGNATURE ASSETS 
Dress Uniform & Medals d8
It would have to be a dire situation wherein Kingsley had to wear his medals and dress uniform again. Still he keeps them in a kit bag in his quarters – just as his mother would want.
Easel, Paints, & Brushes d6
Kingsley’s preferred method of relaxation. One day he might get to paint a sunset on every planet in the system.

The second character is more like the twelve archetypes that come ready to customise in Gaming In The ‘Verse. These are not quite ready to play, but require some simple customisation by adding skills and an extra skill specialisation. The following example needs the player to raise his skills, add a specialisation to one skill, and select his triggers for his three Distinctions. (In the form of Jian Zhang, the Inquiry Agent will support an example of the rules in play).

Character Type: Inquiry Agent
The Unification War meant that things did not go smooth for folks on both the Border Planets and the Core Worlds. It caused all kinds of problems and both things and people have a tendency to go missing. Which is where you come in – you find things that are missing. For a commission that is. You are not a detective and you do not carry badge. Most folks would never talk to you if did. Badges are not popular out on the Border, especially Alliance badges. So now you rely on your powers of persuasion and maybe some sleight of hand when the need calls for it. If it comes to it, you have a Sanctioned Investigator’s License, but most times that works better with the Law rather than most people.
You don’t like trouble and you would prefer to put your hands up or make a run for it rather lay your hands on someone. After all, you are no bounty hunter. Usually you get people to do most things and answer most questions when you ask them. They open up to you most times.
When work is scarce though you make your money from playing cards and dice – Mahjong is a favourite. Just like your grandma taught you.

ATTRIBUTES
Mental 8 Physical 6 Social 10 
SKILLS
Craft d4, Drive d4, Fight d6, Fix d4, Fly d4, Focus d4, Influence d8 (Interrogation), Know d8, Labour d4, Move d6, Notice d6, Operate d4 (Cortex), Perform d4, Shoot d6, Sneak d6, Survive d4, Throw d4, Treat d4, Trick d8 

DISTINCTIONS
RELENTLESS INVESTIGATOR 8
Just the facts, dǒng ma?
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Bloodhound: Step up a Complication involving higher authorities in your jurisdiction to step up your
Notice skill for a scene.
I’ve Got Backup: When you create an Asset based on calling in official resources and support, step it up to a d8.
Highlighted Skills: Influence, Know, Shoot
SMOOTH TALKER 8
You can talk your way out of a life sentence or into a locked room. Just don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Gift of Gab: Spend 1 PP to double your Influence die for your next roll.
Start Fresh: Spend 1 PP at the beginning of a scene to step back all of your social or mental-based Complications.
Highlighted Skills: Influence, Know, Trick
HARMLESS LOOKING 8
You blend into a crowd like a rock blends into a quarry.
Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Couldn’t Hurt A Fly: Step back your Physical die to step up your Social die when convincing someone you’re not a threat.
Quick Change: Spend 1 PP to create a d8 Asset to help you disappear into a crowd
Highlighted Skills: Move, Sneak, Trick

SIGNATURE ASSETS 
Sanctioned Investigator’s License d8
Most people out on the Border Planets don’t want others poking about their business. They like it even less when it is the gorramn law doing the poking about. So you are glad that you do not carry a badge, especially an Alliance badge. You carry something that gives you some credibility with the law if they ask and verifies that you are not the law when folks really, really want to know.
Jei Jei Pocket Stunner d8
Not everyone out in the Black wants to carry a gun, but even so, it pays to have a means to protect yourself. Which is why you carry a Jei Jei ‘Electric Induction’ Pocket Stunner, guaranteed to knock out an assailant at twenty paces or on contact, a non-lethal protection that is rare outside of the Core Worlds. You hated guns when you carried an Alliance badge and this is a compromise.

In addition to creating their characters, the players also get to create their ship. The options are limited in Gaming In The ‘Verse to just the choice of three hull types – Alliance Patrol Boat, Firefly Class Transport, or Polaris Class Cargo Liner. Whichever one the players chose, this is their ship’s first Distinction, the other two providing its History and its Customisation. To this the players get to add a Signature Asset or two. A nice suggestion is that this should be done during play with the players spending Plot Points to describe a flashback to when they came aboard for the first time and so discovered another aspect of the ship.

The basic rules to Gaming In The ‘Verse and thus Firefly Role-Playing Game are quite simple. Whenever a character wants to undertake an action, he rolls a skill and an appropriate attribute and adds the total together and compares them against the stakes rolled by the GM. For example, the Inquiry Agent, Jian Zhang is on Persephone looking for a client’s daughter and believes that Harly Polk might have been the last person to see her. Unfortunately, he does not know where Polk is, but he does know that Polk likes to gamble. Therefore, he wants to know where Polk might have gone to gamble, so his player makes a Mental (d8) + Know (d8) against the stakes set by the GM, who rolls Persephone Underworld (d6) + Challenging (d8). Zhang rolls 2+7 for a total of 9 which beats the GM’s roll of 2+5 for a total of 7 and so learns that Polk is probably playing Mahjong at Mama Fang’s. 

Whatever the situation and the task, a player will always roll and keep two dice, but will often roll more and keep the best two. These can come from skill specialities, from Distinctions, and from Assets, either Signature Assets or Assets temporarily created during play. For example, Zhang has arrived at Mama Fang’s to discover that it is a closed game, so he needs to persuade the guard to let him. To do so, Zhang must make a roll of Social (d10) + Influence (d8) and can add his Distinction, Smooth Talker (d8) to the roll as well. The guard just has to roll his Mental (d6) + Focus (d8). Zhang rolls 8, 4, and 1, and selecting the best two gets a result of 12. The guard rolls 2+3, which sets the stakes at 5. This not only a success, but because it is five more than the stakes set by the GM, it means that Zhang has achieved an extraordinary successes and thus gets a Big Damn Hero Die to use later. Given the success of the roll, the GM also rules that the guard not only lets Zhang into the game, but puts in a good word with the game boss who is running the game. Unfortunately, Zhang also rolled a 1 which is a Jinx, and although it did not count towards his total, it is enough to add a Complication to the situation, which in this case the GM describes as Mama Fang is Mad at You (d6). This might come back to trouble Zhang shortly. In return the GM gives Zhang a Plot Point.

Now involved in the game, Zhang wants to play well, but so not so well that Harly Polk will lose. In fact, he wants to Polk to win and thus make him receptive to questions, making sure that Polk thinks that Zhang is nobody special. Harly gets to roll his Mental (d6) + Trickery (d8) for his gambling, but Zhang has a Gambling specialisation and wants to use his Distinction of Harmless Looking to make himself appear ordinary. So he gets to roll Mental (d8) + Trickery (d10) + Gambling (d6) + Harmless Looking (d8). Harly rolls 5+5 for a total of ten, whereas Zhang rolls 2, 2, 4, and 5, which gives him the result of 9. Of course, this is not enough to lull Harly into a receptive mood, but Zhang has a Plot Point or two to spend – every character begins play with a single Plot Point, and Zhang has already earned another in play. He can earn more during play by temporarily reducing a Distinction from a d8 to a d4, from receiving a Complication from the GM when he rolls a Jinx, whenever the GM spends a Plot Point of his own to oppose your character, and from great play. Back in Madame Fang’s gambling den, Zhang could have spent a Plot Point before the roll to activate a Distinction trigger if appropriate, or create an Asset (d6) for the scene that would add another die to the roll. None of these are appropriate, but he has two options after he has made the roll. He could spend a Plot Point and roll and add a Big Damn Hero Die to the roll already made or he could add an extra die from the roll already made. The latter seems the easiest option and so Zhang adds a 2 from what he rolled to bring the total to 11 and so beat Harly’s roll.

In each case, what a player is rolling for is an effect that will advance the action or the story in a ‘beat’ which is defined as a period of time in which a player character could take a single action. How long a beat is depends on the action. It can be as short as the time it takes for a character to throw a punch or dive for cover, or as long as it takes to fly from Persephone to Avalon. This particularly shows most effectively in combat. In most RPGs, if a player character wants to punch an opponent, he makes a roll to hit and if successful, he rolls damage. Not so in Gaming In The ‘Verse where a successful roll may mean that the opponent or even the player character is taken out for the scene. Where in another RPG, a character might employ a bigger or better gun and receive a better damage roll or a bonus to hit, in Gaming In The ‘Verse a character can have a signature Asset like Jayne’s Vera or the Inquiry Agent’s Jei Jei Pocket Stunner. Using the Asset adds another die to the dice pool. 

The other aspect to the CORTEX Plus system as used in Gaming In The ‘Verse is that “things don’t go smooth” – and that is entirely intentional. Having things go wrong from one beat to another provides the players with the opportunity to earn Plot Points. With Plot Points to hand, a player can trigger his Distinctions, add Assets, and so on, essentially allowing a player to add elements to the on-going story, bring his back-story into play, and when it comes to the dénouement of the current story be appropriately heroic. The aim is to model the ebb and flow of the television series and its episodes – after all, the clue is in the use of the term, ‘beat’ – and this it does in fairly light fashion.

Gaming In The ‘Verse comes with two, lengthy ready-to-play scenarios. ‘Wedding Planners’ and ‘Shooting Fish’ comprise the first two parts of the Echoes of War campaign that explore how the Unification War continues to have ramifications ten years on… ‘Wedding Planners’ sees the crew ferrying a princess to her wedding who discovers that she just does not want to go, whilst in ‘Shooting Fish’ the crew come to the aid of an orphanage that a greedy man is about to shut down. A further scenario in the series, ‘Friends in Low Places’, is already available, but a really thoughtful touch is that the publisher has released the first of these scenarios, ‘Wedding Planners’, for use with the CORTEX Classic system, as typified by the original Serenity Role Playing Game. Both scenarios showcase the rules and how the game works as well as adding new rules, like expanded chase rules in ‘Wedding Planners’. Also included with Gaming In The ‘Verse are a set of designer’s notes that discuss both the game in general and the Echoes of War campaign. These provide a nice look behind the scenes of these scenarios and the game itself. There is even a Chinese Translation Guide for when you want to get your degree of Gorramn verisimilitude in your game right.

Physically, Gaming In The ‘Verse is a well presented softback book. It is liberally illustrated with stills from the television series and the buff layout has a certain period charm to it that does not feel out of place with the television series. In terms of content, what is missing from Gaming In The ‘Verse? The most obvious missing element are any rules for experience or character advancement. Deck plans are also missing. The absence of both of these elements is not an impediment to play of a Gaming In The ‘Verse in the short term, and that is intentional. The book after all, is meant to be an introduction to the setting and the forthcoming RPG. For all that, there is an awful lot of play potential in Gaming In The ‘Verse. Both scenarios will provide several sessions of play and that is before you take into account the supplementary material contained in Gaming In The ‘Verse that the Gamemaster could develop into scenarios of his own.

Gaming In The ‘Verse is an excellent introduction to the CORTEX Plus System – in fact it is a better explanation than that given in the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying RPG. It keeps its rules simple and straightforward whilst still allowing the players plenty of input as to what their character does and how they affect the action. As written, the Firefly fan that comes to this never having played an RPG should be able to grasp the CORTEX Plus rules with relative ease, though as with most RPGs, the Gamemaster should have some roleplaying experience under his belt before running Gaming In The ‘Verse. As an introduction to the Firefly Role-Playing Game and quite literally, gaming in the ‘Verse of Firefly, Gaming In The ‘Verse is a pleasingly complete, even shiny – well, it had to be said – quick start with more play than you think.

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Post Space Opera

We have been roleplaying Space Opera for over thirty-five years, ever since the release of Star Wars and the publication of GDW’s Traveller. In that time the genre has either gone high and fantastic, arguably right out of the Science Fiction genre all together, typified by the four Star Wars RPGs; enlisted in the semi-military, as typified by the five Star Trek RPGs; or let the player characters go independent with their own ship, as typified by the archetypal Traveller campaign and more recently by the Firefly Role-Playing Game: Gaming in the 'Verse, published by Margaret Weis Productions. What Ashen Stars does is set course between the semi-military and the independent ship operator and make every trip into an investigation.

Ashen Stars is the investigation-orientated Gumshoe System RPG written by the Gumshoe System’s author, Robin D. Laws, and published by Pelgrane Press. It works from the idea that the idea that Space Opera stories, especially those screened on television, are essentially mysteries to be solved. ‘The Devil in the Dark’, an episode of Star Trek from 1967 is a classic example of a Space Opera investigation in which the crew of the USS Enterprise must find out who is killing the workers and destroying their machinery on a mining planet. Further, the episode and others like it, give a chance for each of the series’ stars to shine. It is this model that Ashen Stars adopts before going on to build a unique setting all its very own.

That setting is the Bleed, a rough, wild fringe of space that barely twenty years ago was the enticingly glamorous frontier of The Combine, a two-hundred year old interstellar, culture-spanning government dedicated to peace, understanding, and self-determination. Ready access to starship travel enabled colonists to transverse the FTL corridors to settle the region then known as the Wave, safe in the knowledge that Combine patrols kept the peace, confronted anomalies, and solved any problems. The Combine was an idealistic utopia that enabled numerous races and peoples to live happily under its governance. Then the Mohilar attacked, and employing technologies unknown to The Combine their vast war fleets stormed system after system until The Combine’s heart, Earth itself, was devastated. Then following an unexpected defeat at the hands of a last ditch effort by what remained of Combine forces, they vanished. That was a decade ago and yet, due to an effect known as the Bogey Conundrum, memories of the Mohilar race have become hazy and inconsistent. Try as they might, no one call recall exactly what the Mohilar were, and certainly, no one has any idea where they are now…

In the meantime, the stars in the sky flicker and turn grey, and then revert to normal. The reason is unknown, but it is a suspected side effect of Mohilar weaponry. These are the Ashen Stars of the title…

In the wake of the Mohilar War, both the interstellar economy and government have collapsed and whilst The Combine exists, its reach has been pulled back from the Bleed. Thus the worlds the Bleed, many scorched and blasted by war, have been left to their own devices, bound only by a common currency and cultural ties. Where Combine patrols once kept the peace, peacekeeping missions and criminal investigations are now put out to private tender and assigned to independent ship operators known as ‘Licensed Autonomous Zone Effectuators’ or ‘Lasers’. As Lasers, the player characters will crew and operate a ship on a tight budget, hoping to pick up assignments that if completed will enhance their reputation and so lead to better and more profitable assignments. Each crewmember will undertake a role aboard ship and off ship for efficiency’s sake.

Although most Lasers are Human, a typical player character crew will consist of several members of ‘The Seven Peoples’ of The Combine. The seven include the uncannily beautiful Balla who love nature, but fear all emotions; the Cybes, former humans whose bodies and minds have been radically altered through cybernetic and genetic science; and the Durugh, short alien humanoids that can phase through solid matter who were once the enemy of The Combine. The Kch-thk are a warrior locust-like race that used to have a reputation for eating other species and can transfer to new bodies when their old ones die; the armadillo-like Tavak are placid warriors with strong ethics who fear falling into a battle rage; and the Vas Mal are a new Grey-like species given physical form following the Mohilar War from their former existence as near-omniscient energy beings. Lastly, Humans, as expected of the genre, are adaptable, resourceful, and numerous.

Each Laser undertakes two roles as part of a crew. One is Warpside, that is, aboard ship; the other is Groundside, that is, off ship. The former are Communications Officer, Pilot, Strategic Coordina¬tor, Systems Officer (engineer), and Weapons Officer, whilst the latter are Cultural, Operations, Survey, Security, and Technical. The Medic occupation is a mixed role that is important to both Warpside and Groundside, and rarely doubles up with another role. In selecting one from each category a player creates a character that has a role to fulfil or something to do when aboard ship or when conducting investigations off ship, and this is one of several balancing mechanics established in the game. Another is the number of points that each player receives to assign to his character’s Abilities. A player receives two pools of points, the smaller one to assign to his Laser’s Investigative Abilities, which are used to gather clues; the larger number to his General Abilities, which represent his physical skills. A player has to assign points to certain Abilities as these represent his Warpside and Groundside roles, plus if he is playing an alien species, then there a number of special Abilities that he has access to. For example, the Vas Mal are capable of Consciousness Simulation which enables them to interrogate the recently dead through their brain wave traces, whilst the Durugh can Phase and pass through objects.

Rounding each Laser is his Drive – what motivates him to serve, like Bleedism (the Laser believes that the Bleed should be independent of The Combine) or the Hunger Tourism of the Kch-Thk (the Laser likes to go places and eat new foods). Together as group, the player Lasers select a ship, of which there are ten Classes to choose from, including the balanced Runner, the offense heavy Hammer, and the Sherlock, which bristles with sensors and laboratories. Whilst this ship is free, the Lasers must pay for any extra gear beyond their standard equipment as well as any personal cybernetic and viroware enhancements. An array of both is available for purchase, some of which the various races of the Combine have an affinity for, while others are incompatible. All cyberware and viroware are incompatible to the Vas Mal. The Lasers will have a budget for this, out of which they must also pay for any ship bolt-ons like cargo modules or a Peacefist which enhances attempts to disable the weapons of enemy vessels. 

In addition, each player needs to decide what his Laser did in the Mohilar War, and then as part of the Laser team, decide how they came to possess their ship. Every character also has a personal development arc, such as identify the Mohilar or return to my home dimension – this latter particular to the Vas Mal. Each arc represents a story that a player wants to explore and see developed through the B-Story presented in each episode or scenario.

Our sample character was a scout for The Combine Colonial Administration surveying new worlds for on-going colonial expansion into the Bleed. He was caught behind enemy lines at the outbreak of the Mohilar War and was injured during the initial attacks. He would have died from his injuries had not a Cybe enclave rescued him and ‘upgraded’ him to help him survive, though his injuries left him with memory loss about his time before the war. He fought in a guerrilla war against the invaders until the Mohilar disappeared. He signed on as a Laser to find out who he was and to further the Cybe cause. His Cyberware and Viroware were installed to improve his survival chances and holding extra data. 

Stayer
Race: Cybe
Groundside Position: Survey Officer (Mapper)
Warpside Position: Communications Officer (Hailer)
Drive: Integrationist (Cybe).
Personal Arc: Discover where my family is.

Cybernetic Enhancements: Dataloader, Episealant, Headdisk, Internal Rebreather
Viroware Enhancements: Regenerate

Investigative Abilities 
Academic: Botany 1, Cybe Culture 1, Geology 1, History, Cybe 1, Linguistics 1, Zoology 1
Interpersonal: Bullshit Detector 2, Flattery 1, Reassurance 2
Technical: Astronomy 1, Bio Signatures 2, Chemistry 1, Data Retrieval 2, Decryption 2, Energy Signatures 2, Evidence Collection 1, Explosives Devices 2

General Abilities
Communications Intercept 10, Enhancement Integration 4, Groundcraft 4, Health 20, Infiltration 5, Neural Rewiring 4, Scuffling 6, Sense Trouble 8, Shooting 6, Surveillance 9 

Mechanically, Ashen Stars uses the Gumshoe System and therefore deviates little from the previous titles that Pelgrane Press has published – Trail of Cthulhu, Esoterrorists, Mutant City Blues, and so on, and has used since in Night’s Black Agents. The Gumshoe System has the ratings in Investigative Abilities being spent to gain extra clues during the course of an adventure or investigation – if a Laser has a rating in any one Investigative Ability, then he can always gain the base clues related to that Ability, whereas the ratings from General Abilities are spent to modify dice rolls. Beyond the investigative nature of the rules that is particular to the Gumshoe System, what Ashen Stars brings to the game are rules for running a Space Opera style game, most obviously those for spaceships, space travel, and space combat. The rules for the latter initially appear to be quite complex in comparison with the rest of the rules in the book, and it takes the full example of space combat given in the book’s second appendix – the first consists of a list of sample names for each of the seven races in The Combine – for the reader to grasp how they work. They are designed to handle a more cinematic style of spaceship combat rather than a realistic one, though a no less gruelling one.

The background to Ashen Stars – The Combine and the Bleed and how they interact; the major cultures of the Bleed; and a history of The Combine are given in detail. Also presented is a more detailed discussion of how Lasers go about obtaining and fulfilling contracts as well as how the Lasers can go about making extra money beyond their contract. In particular this focuses Reputation as a mechanic, this being both the standing by which the player group of Lasers is held and the modifier that will affect how often they will be assigned contracts and how good they are. It also lies at the heart of the game theme, that of the balance between altruism and self-interest. Building a positive Reputation primarily means often having to go beyond the exact terms of a contract – for example, in the aforementioned episode of Star Trek, ‘Devil in the Dark’, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discover who has been killing the miners and destroying their machinery, but make first contact with the culprit and come to an accord with it. In addition, it often means presenting a positive spin upon the events of the investigation and their outcome, which is why the Public Relations General Ability is of importance to Laser teams.

For the GM there is an array of particularly nasty semi-sentient and sentient alien threats to throw at the Lasers, as well as good advice on running a game. This being a Space Opera game, then the advice is build investigations not around problems, but around worlds as these will be unique from episode to the next, and then of course around cases, as after all, Ashen Stars is an investigative game. Both aspects readily lend themselves to the episodic nature of genre television that the RPG is based up, and it should be pointed out that the genre television that inspires Ashen Stars is the more modern and grittier take upon the genre – often seen in reboots. Rounding Ashen Stars is an introductory scenario, ‘The Witness of My Worth’, in which the Lasers are contracted to respond to a distress call to a survey team stationed on planet severely damaged in the war. It does a good job of introducing the rules and the setting whilst also pleasingly putting a twist or two upon various Space Opera staples.

Physically, Ashen Stars is a well laid and fine looking book, all done in full colour. If there is an issue, it is that the book is in places slightly intimidating to read, this down to the use of a sans serif font. Further, the use in places of a serif font – which is more legible – actually clashes with the look of the book. 

Where the earlier Trail of Cthulhu allowed the GM to set the campaign styles to either Purist or Pulp and the more recent Night’s Black Agents let the GM set the mode of his campaign – Burn, Dust, Mirror, or (High) Stakes Mode – to determine the tone of its espionage and the nature of its vampiric threat, Ashen Stars does not allow such options. In fact, in comparison with other Gumshoe System RPGs, Ashen Stars is fundamentally straightforward and unfussy. Were it not for what the RPG does to the genre it is emulating, that is rework it as an investigation game, Ashen Stars would be considered to be a very traditional RPG. Instead it highlights and makes its focus upon the usually ignored investigative nature of the genre, the feature of Ashen Stars and so refreshes the genre.

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Your Star Wars RPG Starter

In 1997, West End Games published the Star Wars Introductory Adventure Game. It was the best introduction to the Star Wars d6 RPG that the classic RPG could have been given, and indeed, it remains not only the best introduction to role playing in nearly forty years of the hobby, but also the standard by which all products designed to introduce players to the hobby are measured. Now late in 2012, Fantasy Flight Games published Star Wars: Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game, the introduction to its forthcoming RPG, which is the first of three. It is designed for use by between three and five players, one of whom has to be the GM.

It should be noted that this was not our first exposure to the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Gamein 2012. The publisher released a "beta" version of the core rules as part of a public play test effort. A full review of that is available to read here. What the Beginner Game does have, which the "beta" did not, is dice. Like the publisher's version of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, this new game uses dice marked with icons appropriate to the setting of the game rather than just standard numbers.

Of course, the box that Beginner Gamecomes in includes a whole lot more than just the dice. Open up the box and slide out the contents and they are revealed to be a "Read This First" pamphlet, the Adventure Book, a Map Sheet, four Character Folios, a sheet of counters, and the Rulebook. All presented in that specific order with everything being done in full colour on glossy paper and is pleasingly illustrated.

The four-page "Read This First" pamphlet starts with a quick explanation of what a roleplaying game is before presenting a two-page example of play. It uses the four sample characters provided with the Beginner Game as they play through the first scene in the provided scenario. On the back is the introductory text for the scenario, done in the Star Wars classic opening text crawl. Sat underneath the "Read This First" pamphlet is a sheet advertising the forthcoming release of the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game and a link to the Fantasy Flight Games’ website for a scenario, “The Long Arm of the Hutt,” to be downloaded and played after the scenario in the Beginner Game. Extra support for the game also includes two more Character Folios that can be downloaded and used to add more players to the game. They consist of a Human Explorer and a Human technician.

The meat of the Beginner Gamestarts with the Adventure Book, which is labelled, “Read This Second.” It properly introduces the Beginner Game and its contents, but is solely intended to be read and used by the GM. It is written to help him run between two and four players through the scenario, “Escape from Mos Shuuta.” Over the course of seven short encounters it guides the GM through how to run each of them, how to roll the dice and interpret their results, gives options that the player characters might take, and includes break point when the players gets to spend some of their hard earned Experience Points before the action continues. At each stage it introduces new aspects of the rules all laid out clearly so that the GM can find them as the adventure proceeds. Rounding out the Adventure Book are some tips and advice on being a good GM as well as some ideas for future adventures, both in Mos Shuuta and elsewhere.

As written, “Escape from Mos Shuuta” is designed to be run as it is read. To that end, the scenario structure is kept linear and simple. The GM is even advised to tell his players that they might have missed some clues if they have their characters step ahead of an encounter. As read, it does a good job of presenting the GM with the information that he needs at the right time. Even so, it would probably be worth the prospective GM reading through the Adventure Book in order to be better prepared. An experienced GM will probably have no difficulty in running “Escape from Mos Shuuta” as written.

In keeping with Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game, “Escape from Mos Shuuta” is set on the Outer Rim at the furthest extent of the Galactic Empire’s reach, a region that is home to scum and villainy as well as explorers and colonists, all with concerns beyond the rule of law or the rule of tyranny. Specifically, it takes place in Mos Shuuta, a spaceport in the midst of the Dune Sea on Tatooine. The four player characters, each of whom is employed by, if not indebted to, the local crime boss, Teemo the Hutt, have decided to make a run for it. For this they a need a spaceship and it so happens that one has just docked…

The A3-sized Map Sheet is double-sided. On the one side is the deck plans of the Krayt Fang, a YT-1300 Light Freighter and the docking bay where the player characters find it in the scenario. On the other side is a map of Mos Shuuta, the setting for the scenario; plus plans of a cantina and the spaceport control, both locations in Mos Shuuta.

Each of the four Character Folios runs to eight pages in length. Besides presenting a character and its accompanying character sheet, each Character Folio explains the elements of a character sheet, advancing the character, and the available Talents. Together with the skills available, there is plenty for a player to spend his character’s Experience Points on. The four characters included in the Beginner Game are a Wookie Hired Gun, a droid Colonist, human Smuggler, and a Twi’lek Bounty Hunter, each with their own background story on the last page of their respective Character Folios. In each case, this background is specifically tied into the opening events of “Escape from Mos Shuuta.” Plus, there is a counter for each of the characters included in the counter sheet along with counters for the various NPCs and vehicles encountered over the course of the adventure, “Escape from Mos Shuuta.”

Rounding out the Beginner Boxis the Rulebook, which is marked “Read This Book Last.” Expanding upon the rules presented in the Adventure Book, the Rulebook covers all of the action presented in “Escape from Mos Shuuta” and more. Besides all of the extra detail and explanation, it adds support with more gear and equipment, starships and vehicles, and adversaries.

So how do the rules work in the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game? Essentially it uses a dice pool mechanic with a player required to assemble a pool drawn from the RPG’s six dice types. The eight-sided Ability dice, the twelve-sided Proficiency dice, and the six-sided Boost dice are positive dice, whilst the eight-sided Difficulty dice, the twelve-sided Challenge dice, and the six-sided Setback dice are negative dice. The Ability dice represent a character’s base skill or aptitude, the Proficiency dice his innate ability and training, whilst Boost dice are benefits granted from the situation. The Difficulty dice represent the task’s inherent complexity, the Challenge dice more extreme adversity; and Setback dice obstacles that come from the situation. The positive dice are marked with Success, Advantage, and Triumph symbols, all of which a player wants to roll, as opposed to the Failure, Threat, and Despair symbols on the negative dice, which he does not.

When rolled, the opposing symbols on the dice cancel each other out, but a player only needs to roll a single Success to succeed at a task. At its heart though, the dice mechanic in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is orientated towards a narrative outcome rather than a simple binary yes/no outcome. Thus the symbols rolled will actually tell the story of the outcome. For example, a character might roll a simple number of Successes; no Successes, but an Advantage or two; or a number of Failures and several Triumphs; and so on. How these outcomes are interpreted perhaps represents the most challenging aspect of the game, especially for those players new to roleplaying.

The Star Wars: Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game comes with fourteen dice. These consist of three Ability dice, two Proficiency dice, two Boost dice, three Difficulty dice, a single Challenge die, and two Setback dice. The last and fourteenth die is the twelve-sided Force die. This is solely used to generate Destiny Points in the Beginner Game, which both the players and the GM can spend to upgrade the dice types in their pools. An Ability die to a Proficiency die for a player character, a Difficulty die to a Challenge die for the GM’s NPCs. Destiny Points do a lot more in the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game, but common to both the full roleplaying game and the Beginner Game, Destiny Points have a dark side and a light side. The player characters use the light side, whilst the GM uses the dark side, and cleverly, when a Destiny Point is used by one side, it flips so that it can be used by the other side. Thus, when a player uses a light side Destiny Point, it switches to a dark side that only the GM can use. Several Destiny Points are included as counters in the Beginner Game.

There is no doubt that the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game comes nicely appointed. It is also written and overall, a pleasing package. For the experienced roleplayer or GM, it is easy to open up a copy of the Beginner Gameand get playing after a relatively short period of preparation. It will be even easier if the GM has read the Rulebook that comes with the Beginner Game, or indeed read either the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game beta
or the forthcoming full version of the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game.
It is not though, as well an appointed introduction to roleplaying Star Wars as was West End Games’ Star Wars Introductory Adventure Game. That was as much a utility package as it was an introduction and to that end included more adventures, more support, and more hand outs. Times change though, and so production values, for the production values in the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game are much higher, with better art and a stronger themed layout.

Yet whilst it appears to include everything that a GM and his players needs to play, there are two issues with the Beginner Game. The first is minor; the second is more of an issue. The first is that it feels concise, as if it could have included something more. The emptiness of the box that the Beginner Gamecomes in only contributes to that feeling, and perhaps the inclusion of a second scenario would gone some way to negating this feeling. The second is an issue for the player coming to the Beginner Gamefor the first time. He is just not quite as well served as the GM. Other introductory boxed sets for other RPGs, including the one for the d6 Star Wars, have provided a player with a means of learning the rules and the mechanics, usually some kind of solo adventure. Now each Character Folio does include an explanation of the dice symbols and it does indicate which types of dice have to be rolled with each skill check, but it does not explain how a dice pool is rolled and how its results are interpreted. This is perhaps the biggest omission in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game.

Despite this omission, the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game is everything that a prospective Star Wars roleplayer would want. It includes the rules, an adventure, characters, maps to play on, and perhaps most importantly of all, the dice! Not just a solid introduction to the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game, but a good introduction to the roleplaying hobby too.

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Star Wars IV

When it comes to licenses, the roleplaying hobby has a holy trinity – The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Star Wars. In almost forty years of the hobby, there have been four RPGs set within Middle Earth, five within the Star Trek universe, and three set in the Star Wars universe. As of 2012, it looked as if only the one of this holy trinity was available on the shelves at your local gaming store, Cubicle Seven Entertainment’s The One Ring RPG, but thanks to Fantasy Flight Games, there is a second member of the holy trinity. It is not Star Trek, as that franchise can be best described as being on hold, but rather Star Wars. And there are three curious facts about the new, fourth Star Wars RPG.

The first is that it is not “technically” available yet. Released at GenCon 2012, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is in “beta” test; in other words, the version of Star Wars: Edge of the Empire available to purchase is not the version that will eventually be available. It is a playtest version, Fantasy Flight Games soliciting feedback from its purchasers that will affect the final release, the first of which will be Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Beginner Game. The second fact is that Star Wars: Edge of the Empire employs its own dice with their own symbols, both positive and negative, much as the publisher’s earlier Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay did. This might dissuade some people from looking at Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, but the mechanics of the new RPG when compared to its predecessor are less fussy, more streamlined, and have the appearance of a roleplaying game rather than a board game as many detractors of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay claimed. The third fact concerns the special dice needed to play the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire beta. None are available. The book addresses this in two ways. First it gives a table which breaks down the type of dice needed and the symbols that should be on each die, and second, it gives a sheet of stickers that can be placed on the faces of the dice needed. How adhesive these stickers are and how well they will hold up to regular handling is another matter, especially given that there are not enough stickers for all of the dice that both a GM and his players will need.

In addition, Fantasy Flight Games addresses the lack of dice by making available an App that handles the dice rolling in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire. It is available for sale for both Apple and Android formats. Lastly, the dice needed for the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire beta are similar to those used in the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures combat game. The dice used are not exactly the same, but it does point towards, as does the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, the compatibility of the two.

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is not just a generic Star Wars RPG in that it has a specific setting, and although it is a standalone core rulebook, it is part of a trilogy. All three titles in the trilogy take place at the height of the Rebel Alliance’s struggle against the Galactic Empire, and each one presents the period from a different perspective. As its title suggests, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is set on the Outer Rim at the furthest extent of the Galactic Empire’s reach, a region that is home to scum and villainy as well as explorers and colonists, all with concerns beyond the rule of law or the rule of tyranny. Fantasy Flight Games will follow this up with Star Wars: Age of Rebellion and then Star Wars: Force and Destiny. In the former, the players confront the Galactic Empire as the wily spies, brash pilots, and loyal soldiery of the Rebel Alliance; whilst in the latter, the players take on the roles of the last of the Jedi, feared and hunted by the Empire. Which if you are aware of Fantasy Flight Games’ other RPGs, you will realise that this follows the model of the RPGs set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 milieu – Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch – each entry representing a step up in terms of player character power and capability.

In Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, the players take the roles of Bothans, Droids (Class Four), Gands, Humans, Rodians, Trandoshans, Twi’leks, and Wookies, who can have Careers as  Bounty Hunters, Colonists, Explorers, Hired Guns, Smugglers, and Technicians. A character’s species sets a character’s base Abilities and Characteristics, as well as his starting Experience Points. A character’s Career determines his skills and available Specialisations. A Specialisation further defines a character, granting him not only extra skills and extra career skills, but also access to Talents which give him certain advantages. Each Career has three Specialisations, each with its own tree of Talents. For example, the Smuggler Career has the Pilot, Scoundrel, and Thief Specialisations, whilst the Colonist Career has the Doctor, Politico, and Scholar Specialisations. A character begins the game with just the one Specialisation, but he can buy more up to maximum of three from any Career. Those from his own Career are cheaper than those that are not. Talents can then be purchased from these Specialisations.

Besides starting Credits, every character starts the game with a Motivation and an Obligation. A Motivation is essentially the character’s primary drive, whilst his Obligation is something much more, both in terms of game play and mechanics. An Obligation can be Addiction, Debt, Oath, or Obsession, each player character possessing a different one, but all of them contributing towards a group total that works as the group’s social standing in the Outer Rim (too low and a crime boss might not do them a favour, too high and their criminal reputation precedes them), and the chance that one of the character’s Obligation weighs heavily on the group that session. Of course, both the group Obligation and the individual Obligations can be used to drive a campaign’s narrative. Every character contributes an equal Obligation value to the group total, but he can contribute more in return for more Experience Points or more Credits to spend during character creation. Lastly a character gets to buy equipment.

Character generation is far from difficult, and it can be done fairly quickly. Initially, the choice of species and Careers looks limited, but the choice of Specialisations within each Career provides both flexibility and a wide choice in terms of Career skills and Talents. By combining them in various ways, a player could create a gambler turned administrator (Scoundrel Specialisation from the Smuggler Career with the Politico Specialisation from the Colonist Career); a farmer turned flyboy (Mechanic Specialisation from the Technician Career with the Pilot Specialisation from the Smuggler Career); and a soldier turned bounty hunter (Mercenary Specialisation from The Hired Gun Career with the Assassin Specialisation from the Bounty Hunter Career); and so on. What is curious about the process is what is missing. First off, there are no Protocol or Astromech Droids. What there is in their stead is the Droid (Class Four) “species,” a type of Droid that is programmed to use weapons, much like the infamous bounty hunter, IG-88. The other curious omission is the lack of Force users in the available choice of Careers, but such roles are not the focus of Star Wars: Edge of the Empire.

For the sample character, I set out to create an old Star Wars character that I have played in two different campaigns using West End Games’ original version of the Star Wars RPG. Arkady Quayn is an Honours graduate of both the Imperial Academy and the Tir training school, who after flight school decided that deserting was better than serving. He fled to the Outer Rim rather than join the Rebellion and has been making a living as a thief for hire. Of course, this is not his first choice of career, or even his second, but he likes good wine, dice, and the cards. (Note that skills listed as having a rating of “0” are actually unskilled Career skills).

Arkady Quayn
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Career: Smuggler
Specialisations: Pilot, Thief
Obligation: Bounty (+10)
Motivation: Greed
Brawn 2 Cunning 3
Presence 2 Agility 3
Intellect 2 Willpower 2
Skills: Astrogation 1, Coordination 1, Deceit 2, Gunnery 0, Perception 0, Pilot (Planet) 0, Pilot (Space) 2, Skulduggery 2, Stealth 1, Streetwise 1, Vigilance 1, Knowledge (Underworld) 1
Talents: Bypass Security/1, Galaxy Mapper/1, Indistinguishable, Skilled Jockey/1
Wound Threshold: 12
Strain Threshold: 12
Credits 500

To do anything in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire requires the player to assemble a pool of dice. These are drawn from the RPG’s six dice types. The eight-sided Ability dice, the twelve-sided Proficiency dice, and the six-sided Boost dice are positive dice, whilst the eight-sided Difficulty dice, the twelve-sided Challenge dice, and the six-sided Setback dice are negative dice. The Ability dice represent a character’s base skill or aptitude, the Proficiency dice his innate ability and training, whilst Boost dice are benefits granted from the situation. The Difficulty dice represent the task’s inherent complexity, the Challenge dice more extreme adversity; and Setback dice obstacles that come from the situation. The positive dice are marked with Success, Advantage, and Triumph symbols, all of which a player wants to roll, as opposed to the Failure, Threat, and Despair symbols on the negative dice.

When rolled, the opposing symbols on the dice cancel each other out, but a player only needs to roll a single Success to succeed at a task. At its heart though, the dice mechanic Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is orientated towards a narrative outcome rather than a simple binary yes/no outcome. Thus the symbols rolled will actually tell the story of the outcome. For example, a character might roll a simple number of Successes; no Successes, but an Advantage or two; or a number of Failures and several Triumphs; and so on. How these outcomes are interpreted perhaps represents the most challenging aspect of the game.

Our sample action finds Arkady Quayn attempting to break into an evidence locker as a “favour” to Xyras Chupa-Pau, a local businessman. Breaking the lock is hampered by the fact that it is dark and raining, and by the fact that it needs to be done without alerting the security guards. Fortunately, Arkady has a SysTek Security Breaker electronic lock breaker and is wearing scanner goggles. He also has the Talent of Bypass Security/1, which will help him get past this lock. With this information his player begins to assemble the dice pool. From his Cunning score of 3, he gains three Ability dice, of which two are upgraded to Proficiency dice by his Skulduggery skill of 2, so currently he is rolling one Ability die, and two Proficiency dice. The GM assigns three Difficulty dice for the quality of the lock, and because it has an intrusion alert subroutine, upgrades on of the three Difficulty dice to a Challenge die. He also adds two Setback dice for the darkness and the weather, Arkady’s player counters these with the scanner goggles and the electronic lock breaker, and so receives two Boost dice. Even better, Arkady’s Talent of Bypass Security/1 means that he can remove one Setback die from the roll. So all together, Arkady’s player is rolling one Ability die, two Proficiency dice, two Boost dice, two Difficulty dice, one Challenge die, and lastly, just the one Setback die.

Rolling the dice gives four Success and four Advantage symbols, as well as two Threat symbols, and one Despair symbol. The Despair symbol also counts as a Failure symbol, which gives four Success and four Advantage symbols, one Failure symbol, two Threat symbols, and one Despair symbol. The Failure symbol cancels out one Success, the two Threat symbols cancel out two Advantage symbols, leaving a result of three Success, two Advantage, and one Despair symbol. Arkady has definitely got inside the evidence locker, and with ease; plus the Advantage symbols means that not only was the intrusion alert subroutine not triggered, but when the security patrol comes back around the door will appear to be still locked. Unfortunately, the Despair symbol means that water got into circuits of the lock breaker and temporarily shorted it out. It will need repairing if Arkady wants to use it again.

In addition, both the players and the GM have access to another resource during a session – Destiny Points. These have a light side, useable only by the players; and a dark side, useable by the GM. A player can spend them to upgrade one of his Ability dice to a Proficiency die in a skill check; to upgrade a Difficulty die to a Challenge die in a NPC’s skill check; to activate certain Talents; and to add certain small elements to help the game’s narrative. The clever aspect to Destiny Points is that when a player uses a light side Destiny Point, it becomes a dark side Destiny Point, and vice versa. This adds a certain narrative flow to the game, back and forth, as events go in, and against, the player characters’ favour.

The number of Destiny Points available at the start of each session is determined by a seventh die type, the Force die. This is a twelve-sided die that generates one or two Destiny Points, either dark side or light side. The Force die is also used when a player character uses Force Power. Although in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, the Force is not the focus of the game or the setting, but rules for them are given, and with the GM’s permission, a player character can become Force sensitive and gain another Characteristic, that of Force. This starts at a value of one, but can be increased later on. This is done by purchasing the Force Exile Specialisation, which counts against a character’s three Specialisation limit and grants access to the Force Exile Talent Tree as well as the Trees for the Force Powers of Sense, Influence, Move, and Control. The rules for these all work fairly simply, and cost more to purchase as they are counted outside of a player character’s chosen Career.

Thus the second sample character is a Force Sensitive. A noted doctor on Ryloth, Kinsa Tualin went on the run after Imperial agents took an interest in her. She fled to the Outer Rim to hide, but has no idea why the Empire would be taking an interest in her. Currently she owes money to those who arranged passage for her, and often provides medical aid to their associates. By day she works as a doctor serving the poor. She has no idea that she is Force sensitive and does not believe in the existence of the Force. Her Force Sensitivity manifests as particularly sharp perception, represented by her Uncanny Senses/1 Talent.

Kinsa Tualin
Race: Twi’lek
Career: Colonist
Specialisations: Doctor, Force Exile, Politico
Obligation: Criminal
Motivation: The Weak/Charity
Brawn 1 Cunning 2
Presence 3 Agility 2
Intellect 3 Willpower 2
Force 1
Skills: Charm 2, Coerce 0, Cool 1, Deceit 0, Knowledge (Core Worlds) 1, Knowledge (Education) 2, Knowledge (Lore) 0, Leadership 1, Medicine 2, Perception 1, Negotiation 1, Streetwise 0
Talents: Grit/1, Kill with Kindness/1, Surgeon/1, Uncanny Senses/1
Wound Threshold: 11
Strain Threshold: 12
Credits 500

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire uses the same mechanics throughout, extending them into its combat system for both personal combat and starship combat. The rules go into more detail how a player can spend rolled Advantage and Triumph symbols, such as performing an extra manoeuvre or aiding an ally by granting him a Boost die on his next action; and a GM spend Threat and Despair symbols, like tripping a character up or having a player character’s weapon run out of ammunition. A character can take damage in two ways. First, he can take Wounds, from being shot with a blaster or being caught in an explosion. Suffer too much and a character will suffer critical wounds. He can also suffer from Strain damage, representing his suffering anxiety, stress, fear, heat stroke, and so on. A character can also suffer from Strain damage by exerting himself, usually to activate certain Talents.

In terms of background support, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire comes with two good sections; the first on arms and equipment, and the other on vehicles, both planetary and interstellar. Both describe an array of devices that the player characters will use and have used against them, along with rules for customisation and modification. This allows a player character to fit an automatic re-cocker to his bowcaster or a reinforced shield generator to his GHTROC 720 Light Freighter. After all, a Technician has to do something in the game other than make repairs to his allies’ equipment. Numerous pieces of equipment and starships are described, with many of them being also named, though not the personal weapons.

The GM advice focuses on the handling of the game’s rules. In particular, the interpreting of the results of the dice pools. It also gives advice on how to use Motivation, Obligation, and Destiny Points. He is also given an array of adversaries, comprised of minions, henchmen, and nemeses. These are drawn from the Galactic Underworld and the forces of Law & Order, as well as spaceport personnel, bounty hunters, patrons, clients, droids, and oddities. Rounding out Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is the scenario, “Crates of Krayts,” in which a startship crew in debt get a chance to work off some of the monies owed by doing a little job and getting involved in underworld shenanigans.

Being a playtest beta, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is missing one or two elements. It is only very lightly illustrated for example, and there is very little background material about the Outer Rim given to support the GM. This is no surprise, given that the beta is designed to have its rules and mechanics playtested, rather than present a whole, fully-rounded game. Then again, the mechanics give all of the elements that a Star Wars RPG should have – the character species, the Careers and Specialisations, the spaceships, and so on – and beyond that, the Star Wars universe should be familiar enough to most GMs and most players. That said, it is a little rough in places and could do with a closer edit, but this is a beta, and a beta need not be perfect.

So the question is, does Star Wars: Edge of the Empire feel like a Star Wars RPG? Does it feel like it could be used to run a Star Wars game? The answer to both questions is a definite yes. The mechanics feel as if they will support the somewhat cinematic action of the genre, and they also allow room for player input with the narrative output of the dice pool system. If there is an issue around the dice beyond that of their unavailability, it is the learning curve attached to assembling and interpreting the rolls. Especially the latter as the results are not always going to be straightforward and linear.

Some may also complain that Star Wars: Edge of the Empire constrains what characters that can be played and what type of games that can be run. To a point they would be correct, but there are options aplenty in terms of character design – it is all a matter of mixing and matching the Careers and Specialisations – and whilst Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is not necessarily a game in which the player characters will be taking the fight to the Empire or be founding Jedi order again. That leaves the whole of the Outer Rim to explore, more than one Hutt to be played off against another Hutt, and Imperial entanglements to be avoided. Plus there is the matter of what brought the player characters to the Outer Rim to be explored. (Curiously this is also what makes it feel just a little like a “Space Western” or rather a Firefly RPG, though one with aliens and blasters and the Force… But then which came first, Firefly or Star Wars?).

Above all, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire does feel like a Star Wars RPG. It feels like it can handle both the action and the drama whilst letting the players bring elements to the game. At the moment it might be undergoing a playtest process, but the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire beta requires relatively little tweaking before the finalised version makes a welcome return to our gaming shelves.

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