GrogHeads Forum

No obligations.   Pick three that look interesting to you!   


I'm doing this just to see where tastes lie regarding setting & system.  Want to plan a casual play-by-forum thing in awhile. 

<:-)



Note:  The two FFG games with custom dice (Star Wars & WFRP) may be troublesome without a dedicated client, or extra software, so those are iffy but I'll commit further research into what's needed if high on the vote list.

Uh...you forgot some variant of D&D.  That is pure heresy!

Quote from: Bison on January 17, 2017, 03:09:51 PM
Uh...you forgot some variant of D&D.  That is pure heresy!

And Star Trek, and Gamma World, and Traveller...  #:-)

Oooooooo Traveller!  :notworthy:

Quote from: Bison on January 17, 2017, 03:09:51 PM
Uh...you forgot some variant of D&D.  That is pure heresy!

Nope.  Intentional.


No D&D at all, here.  Weaned myself away from that old crutch quite awhile back. 

Trying new things, getting out of the old ruts, and enjoying what I'm seeing.   :coolsmiley:  Figured us old dogs could prove them wrong & learn something new.  :dreamer:

I've moved in the opposite direction and moved back firmly into the "roots" of role playing.  Mostly OSR, D&D, and D&D 1e.  I also have a line on a set of OD&D plus supplements in excellent condition.

I think I'll pass, but I'll be glad to read along with the results!  :notworthy:

Trivia note: a friend of mine, author Marie Brennan, has been involved in the authorship of Legend of the Five Rings role-playing material recently.  8)

Quote from: JasonPratt on January 17, 2017, 03:55:55 PM
I think I'll pass, but I'll be glad to read along with the results!  :notworthy:

Trivia note: a friend of mine, author Marie Brennan, has been involved in the authorship of Legend of the Five Rings role-playing material recently.  8)

AEG's 4th Edition was reportedly wrapped-up in the past year.  I think they put out an Atlas book for it, at the same time saying "bye" since FFG just got the license for the IP. 

I managed to grab a used 4th Edition Core book a couple years ago, along with a new 'monster manual' equivalent.  It's interesting stuff, and the books are quite beautiful.  Would be a bit awkward getting accustomed to running the setting as a GM, even though it's fairly light on rules "crunch".  What with the "honor" principles to take into account.  But the setting definitely has some off-the-beaten-trail appeal.

Testing dice rollers-

QuoteDice Roll

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fadvantage-small-dce4be06b0c94623211e1b918a079a23895c8e86292346483c1b21978045f9c9.png&hash=a0e9b0d0f19662625295c35cd6e49914d800bc42)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fadvantage-small-dce4be06b0c94623211e1b918a079a23895c8e86292346483c1b21978045f9c9.png&hash=a0e9b0d0f19662625295c35cd6e49914d800bc42)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Ftriumph-small-1750db3ecdd7c9e2e2bcb664c0386e9b633b27ac743b5207e13991e3b137103a.png&hash=1a232e276461143e0c5e658dfa24c8502359607b)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fforce_black-small-3ffc61776d0927b7d07ca9778e68e9d5fc9e29952b9193d5491c315d4c6bf4ff.png&hash=bdd24b6ca30964241b6be0634a9e231970477c75)

2 successes, 2 advantages, 1 triumph, 1 Dark Side on a roll of 1 Ability, 2 Proficiency, 3 Difficulty, 1 Boost, 1 Force

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrogheads.com%2Fforums%2FThemes%2Fdefault%2Fimages%2Fdice_warn.gif&hash=09b04beb3d0b7357d8a221f953a58436bc798bbc) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20 : 12, total 12

[blockquote]Rolled 1d12 : 11, total 11[/blockquote][blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 1, 1, 2, total 4[/blockquote]

Paranoia!

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 18, 2017, 08:06:24 AM
Paranoia!

Not so, if they're truly out to get you.

That's one RPG I never explored.

How did you get the symbols in the dice roll? Is that included in the dice roller forum feature?

QuoteDice Roll

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)

2 successes on a roll of 2 Ability, 1 Proficiency, 1 Difficulty

Quote from: Nefaro on January 17, 2017, 04:04:10 PM

Quote from: JasonPratt on January 17, 2017, 03:55:55 PM
Trivia note: a friend of mine, author Marie Brennan, has been involved in the authorship of Legend of the Five Rings role-playing material recently.  8)

AEG's 4th Edition was reportedly wrapped-up in the past year.  I think they put out an Atlas book for it, at the same time saying "bye" since FFG just got the license for the IP.

Yeah, she was working on it the past year, but I don't recall if she helped finish the AEG material or was helping start the FFG material. She's a big fan of 5R, though, and her first two published books (originally called Doppelganger and Warrior and Witch, now called Warrior and Witch respectively though I think the duology as a set is still DG) are set in a fantasy-Japanese milieu (with a mix of European medieval).

(TOR and other publishing companies have gone on to publish a lot more of her books since then, about one a year.  :smitten: )

Quote from: Nefaro on January 18, 2017, 09:38:34 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 18, 2017, 08:06:24 AM
Paranoia!

Not so, if they're truly out to get you.

That's one RPG I never explored.

Paranoia is well worth a read, even if you never, ever play it. It's VERY entertaining and completely sick.

Quote from: Bison on January 18, 2017, 09:58:45 AM

QuoteDice Roll

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)

2 successes on a roll of 2 Ability, 1 Proficiency, 1 Difficulty

So, looking at the code in your post it looks like this is a link to an external dice roller (http://rpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com/).

Quote from: bbmike on January 18, 2017, 09:42:45 AMHow did you get the symbols in the dice roll? Is that included in the dice roller forum feature?

rpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com

Quote from: bbmike on January 18, 2017, 11:06:46 AM

Quote from: Bison on January 18, 2017, 09:58:45 AM

QuoteDice Roll

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com%2Fassets%2Fsymbols%2Fstar_wars%2Fsuccess-small-58dfd5e218b68bcba22b6883600110f4aa703fc0ef46f49a55736fceac0c95c2.png&hash=07ad939b4a09822e8f7a95094ee3467e4282419b)

2 successes on a roll of 2 Ability, 1 Proficiency, 1 Difficulty

So, looking at the code in your post it looks like this is a link to an external dice roller (http://rpg-dice-roller.herokuapp.com/).

Yes.  That's where I found it - an external site with the SWRPG dice with results link.

Of course, such a thing would depend heavily on an honor system if players are doing their roll off-site.  Not ideal, but for PbP it's all we got AFAIK.

There are conversion tables for using regular d8s and d12s in the SW rulebooks.  But what a pain in the ass that would be!

Looks like Star Wars and The One Ring are highest on the list at the moment, with Deadlands and Conan tied for third.

Good stuff.  I've been studying SW and One Ring a fair bit lately, having been preparing for some face-to-face games already.  So less to do.  Even though SW's rules make sense, and don't seem very difficult once you see it in action a bit, the extra starship combat & force stuff just takes longer to get through.   

Although the others are still pretty temptingly wonderful too.  Star Wars is a popularity juggernaut right now, though.  Including the RPG.  Gonna be hard to beat.  :nerd:

What are the 'basic' Star Wars rules? I mean, the Player's Handbook of the SW RPG. I've seen more than a few things but not caught up on them.

Beware of the rabbit's hole Alice....

Quote from: Bison on January 19, 2017, 05:31:19 PM
Beware of the rabbit's hole Alice....

I have been down that particular rabbit hole before. 'Tis but a scratch.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 19, 2017, 05:26:01 PM
What are the 'basic' Star Wars rules? I mean, the Player's Handbook of the SW RPG. I've seen more than a few things but not caught up on them.

This is the new Star Wars RPG from FFG. 

It doesn't have a Player's Handbook, although I suppose the 'Beginner Game' guide from one of the beginner kits is the best intro to the system.

The core mechanic is all based around the narrative dice.  Instead of just a Pass/Fail result, you can also get extra good/bad points used to engage optional effects (or for the GM to use for bad stuff if they're negative) and inspire extra narrative if you wish. 

It's often as simple as adding/soaking extra damage, recovering/gaining Strain (i.e. Fatigue), providing extra bonus or penalty dice to friendly or enemy characters' upcoming skill test.  Or even any special maneuver you want to propose for the situation or environment at the moment.

People panic about this extra dice system learning curve, but scuttlebutt says you can pick up on it fairly quickly through play, and it's quite enjoyable after doing so.



This vid has a quick summary on them.  It doesn't clarify how the dice pools are created (not much to it), but just the basics of the results and a brief example (the wounded stormtrooper falling into the alarm button   ;D ).







With the extra roll result "spends", a play-by-forum game of FFG's Star Wars (or WFRP 3rd which is the system it's based on) would often require an extra step after each check.  For the player or GM to spend any extra icons.  But it can add some extra spice to the action narratives.

So, Edge of Empire *is* the basic set, to get started?

I've almost bought that a number of times, just to have it.

There's also Age of Rebellion and Force and Destiny - are those just intermediate and advanced versions?

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 20, 2017, 06:55:32 AM
So, Edge of Empire *is* the basic set, to get started?

I've almost bought that a number of times, just to have it.

There's also Age of Rebellion and Force and Destiny - are those just intermediate and advanced versions?

Each of the three is a Core set.  They all use the same system. 

The only difference is what kind of Star Wars theme you want to run.  You only really need one, but can use them together if you end up getting more later on.

Edge of the Empire contains more rogue-ish themes, for playing stuff like a Han Solo smuggler, mercenary, or bounty hunter (it also has emancipated droids as a playable race). 

Age Of Rebellion is, well, a setting where you're doing full-on rebellion work.  Bit more SpecFor themed stuff as a boot-clicker.  I'm not familiar with the fine details as this is the only one I don't have.

Force and Destiny is the latest.  While EotE had some little force sensitive options, this supports a full blown Luke-like journey from rookie force users to hunting down Jedi lore and becoming one yourselves.  Or gray/dark Jedi.  Or whatever force tradition you & your GM feel like.


You can utilize any mix of the three in your campaign.  There's only really one major choice you'd need to decide upon beforehand, regarding which specific character point pool system you'll use. Each of the three sets has it's own, with small differences.  Obligation, Duty, or Morality respectively.  Obviously Morality is tied to the Light/Dark side, however, so it should probably be used if you want force using players to change based on their decisions.

I'd kinda like to do a straight Force & Destiny run.  However, an Edge of the Empire campaign seems to have more flexibility.  More free-wheeling since you wouldn't be tied down by light-dark side moral shackles, and would probably be easier to run without all the extra Force Powers to account for.   But, then again, you couldn't throw things with your friggin' mind or make others hallucinate .. much.


Note: 

There are Starter sets for each of the three.  Those come with a small set of dice, and some nice materials to get started with.  High quality and I thought the small rulebook (in my EotE starter) not only explained everything quite well, but was also very inspiring about it.

The Core rulebook hardbacks are huge and look beautiful, with some wonderful artwork.  One of those, and a set or two of the Star Wars dice, is all you really need to play.  You don't really need a Starter Set, although those do make it easier for new GMs and players starting off with RPGs in general, and this one in particular.  Unlike some other RPG systems, you don't need to buy multiple books to get the full deal - all you need for running a campaign is within a single Core book (The best way to have it IMO).

I can access/peruse just about any of these versions as PDFs. If I end up playing I'll certainly purchase what I need.

Thanks for answering my questions, Nef. If you do a SW-themed forum RPG, I'm in! My concerns were surrounding what version would be needed. There's a LOT of source material out there and I don't want to waste money (shut up mirth) buying anything I don't need.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 20, 2017, 08:52:52 AM
I can access/peruse just about any of these versions as PDFs. If I end up playing I'll certainly purchase what I need.

Thanks for answering my questions, Nef. If you do a SW-themed forum RPG, I'm in! My concerns were surrounding what version would be needed. There's a LOT of source material out there and I don't want to waste money (shut up mirth) buying anything I don't need.

If you're familiar with tabletop RPGs, and don't want to splash extra money, I'd say just pick up a big Core Rulebook if you've grok'd they system and want to get something.  The Starter Sets are nice, but much of it will just be repeated in the Core books so you're just paying for extra "cheat sheet" materials you probably won't use after a couple sessions.  Other than the dice, but you can buy packs of those separately (although I recommend having at least two sets).

Fair enough.

Honestly I loved the old SW 1st ed and the 2nd ed from WEG. I might still have the sourcebooks/rule books, actually, even though they're relatively worthless as play aids now.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 20, 2017, 08:59:58 AM
Fair enough.

Honestly I loved the old SW 1st ed and the 2nd ed from WEG. I might still have the sourcebooks/rule books, actually, even though they're relatively worthless as play aids now.

I also liked the old WEG rpg.  Actually it's one of the few old RPG systems I would still enjoy since it's a relatively open system and uses dice pools. 

Vaguely recall the resources being spread rather thin, across some thinner books, though.  I only remember checking out some of the 1st Edition, however, and not a lot of the extras for it. 

After picking up the EotE starter kit a couple-three years ago and checking it out, I quickly picked up the core book afterward.  I thought the old WEG system was a bit revolutionary back in the late 80s(?) when I first read it.  At least, compared to what I was used to (AD&D, SF, RQ, etc).  Definitely got the same r/evolutionary feel with this new FFG system, or even more so.

Yeah, the WEG system's dice pool was a unique and cool concept for those weened on the all-powerful d20.

There were a few esoteric RPGs out there that I always wanted to try but never did - Indiana Jones, TOON, Price of Freedom, and a few others.

My main concern about running an FFG Star Wars Play-By-Post game is the dice rolling.  While the dice roller site I found, with linkable results, is a great resource for doing so it would be too easy to abuse if the temptation arises.  I don't expect it to be a common problem with people, here, but it's not exactly ideal.  There is also the chance that such a site disappears overnight, which would suck when in the middle of a session.

Would like to give SW a shot sometime, though.  If it proves troublesome, I can always later do The One Ring, which uses normal dice and isn't very "crunchy", or the new Conan one since it's system kinda evolved from the FFG Star Wars & WFRP ones, but uses regular rpg dice and is somewhere in between.  Also think a Deadlands Reloaded game would have more comedy-horror-western potential, around these parts, but wouldn't wanna go too oddball too early.  ;D

More detailed look at the SW basics:

Well..


Seems to be down to the Star Wars RPG with The One Ring coming in at second.


If I start a Star Wars PbP, would everyone want to start with a Force Sensitive character, and the Light/Dark side aspect that goes with it?

Or would you rather just be a group of law-skirting smugglers, bounty hunters, fringers, etc, with some kind of debt to pay or favors owed?

I vote for Force Sensitive.

I'll second that Dark Side dude's vote.  O0

Darth Mirthis

Force Sensitive is a great idea, but not for all the characters, IMO anyway.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 02, 2017, 10:44:43 AM
Force Sensitive is a great idea, but not for all the characters, IMO anyway.

Yousa can be Jar Jar Banzai_Cat

Id'sa rathersa custo my wristos.

Somebody posted a video link wrong.  :)

Quote from: Bison on February 02, 2017, 12:23:29 PM
Somebody posted a video link wrong.  :)

Works fine for me!   :P

Quote from: mirth on February 02, 2017, 10:46:48 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 02, 2017, 10:44:43 AM
Force Sensitive is a great idea, but not for all the characters, IMO anyway.

Yousa can be Jar Jar Banzai_Cat

Self-liberated Droid  IG-0P3-0NU.  Who dislikes being touched by salivating meat-things made of meat.

HK-47 is a good choice.