USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part V — Heroes

We wrap up our series on the classic "Star Wars" films with the main characters, as of the beginning of "Return Of The Jedi." Note that they have much less adventuring equipment than most RPG characters, since they don't need to carry medical packs for healing, extra weapons, rope, 10-foot-poles, and so much more.

Those robes don't provide any combat bonus. (image: LucasFilm)

Luke Skywalker, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Jedi In Training (The Force) +2, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Force Spirit +1, Fighter Pilot +3, Impulsive +2

Hit Points: 28

Equipment: Lightsaber +2, Blaster +1

Narrative Points: 4

Han Solo, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D6, Ego D8

Specialisms: Millennium Falcon +2, Reckless +3, Quick Reflexes +2, Bargain +1, Loyal +1

Hit Points: 31

Equipment: Blaster Pistol +1

Narrative Points: 6

Leia Organa, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D6, Wits D10, Ego D8

Specialisms: Diplomat +3, Tough In A Fight +2, Galactic Etiquette And History +2, Observation +1

Hit Points: 26

Equipment: Blaster Pistol +1, Data Files

Narrative Points: 6

Chewbacca, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Pilot +3, Repair +2, Intimidate +2, Perception +2

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Wookee bowcaster +2, Tool kit

Narrative Points: 5

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part IV — Experience Levels

We’ll wrap up our series on the original “Star Wars” trilogy with statistics for the heroes and villains from the films. But first, a note on levels: unlike Dungeons & Dragons, the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPGs, and other professionally published games, USR doesn’t rely on characters adding a host of new abilities as they gain levels. Yes, they may add Specialisms and hit points, but we don’t have a list of special abilities added at each level for each class. We don’t even have classes for characters. So here’s the guideline I’m using for Domino Writing-style USR characters.

As seen in the USR rules, you gain 1 to 3 experience points per adventure, and go up a level every 5 XP. In other words, one level per two to three adventures, or roughly one level for every five or so game sessions (depending on how long your game sessions last). A character can gain unlimited levels, but by levels above 5, most monsters will no longer be a real threat. So let’s say a level 6 character has to “retire” from adventuring, or at least stop gaining XP.

Here’s “A New Hope,” complete with experience point awards.

Read this text box to start the adventure. (image: LucasFilm)

First game session

Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi join Han Solo and Chewbacca (and the droids) in the Mos Eisley cantina, where they have to make a quick escape off the planet Tattooine. They escape to Alderaan, per the “quest giver” Princess Leia hologram. But Alderaan has been destroyed, and their ship is captured. 1 XP for everyone!

Everything before the cantina — the death of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, the escape of C3PO and R2-D2 with the Death Star plans — is backstory, helping develop the personalities of the characters. Obi-Wan and Han (and probably Chewie, too) should be level 2 or 3, really, but RPGs don’t often work with characters of different levels in the same party, so we’ll have to chalk it up to the difference between a movie and a tabletop RPG.

Second game session

In the Death Star, the party frees Princess Leia and Obi-Wan dies (soon to become a new Specialism for Luke). 2 XP for the dramatic conclusion to the game session.

Third game session

The Empire follows the Millennium Falcon to Yavin IV, triggering the dramatic space battle and destruction of the first Death Star. 2 more XP, and everyone goes up a level. The End.

You could define the events of the entire movie as one adventure (so they advance to level 2 at the end of “Return Of The Jedi”), but I want my heroes to gain XP a little more quickly. There are big challenges ahead; they need to be ready.

After “The Empire Strikes Back,” they go up another level. And since we’re only looking at the original films, that’s where we’ll stop. Despite what I said before, to “accurately” portray the characters, they’ll be at different levels. That’s what you’ll see next week, when we provide USR statistics for the heroes of Star Wars.

How many game sessions will it take to play the Harry Potter novels?

VSGMR: Basic Rules

There's a new version of the VSGMR rules up on my website, and as you can see I've kept the rules almost the way they were before, but I've split the document into two parts.

Part 1: Basic Rules is what makes the name "Very Simple" true. It's seven pages from introduction to summary, but as I noted in the rules themselves, you only really need the dice roll summary page once you've played the game once or twice. The idea, as always, is to keep the rules easy to pick up but not so simplified that there's no variety in your troops at all.

Part 2: Rules Options is under development, but it will include most of what came before. I'm going to refine what was already written to include more options and offer things that no other game does. Plenty of games have special abilities for troops, but not VSGMR special abilities. And what makes the game more unique than any other is the rules for super-powered heroes and for characters of different scales. If you have action figures, let's put them to use (well, if you're not using them in a game of Plastic Attack, that is).

That's what's coming for VSGMR. After that, the plan is to generate armies, complete with points values and special abilities. I'd like to see your ideas for armies too!

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part III — Vehicles, Monsters and Equipment

This time we’ll use the Specialism rules for weapons, armor and vehicles.

Vehicles

You can use the “Vehicles as equipment” option, as listed below.

X-Wing +1, TIE Fighter +1, Millennium Falcon +2, Star Destroyer +4

Landspeeder + 1, Speeder Bike +1, AT-ST +2, AT-AT +3

Alternately, because space battles are so important to Star Wars, vehicles can get an entire set of stats, as found in Somnium Void. If you’re using this option, characters who often fly starships (like Han, Luke and Vader) should have a Specialism like Pilot +2.

Star Wars	Sominum Void
X-Wing, TIE Fighter	Attack Ship
Millennium Falcon	Cruiser
Star Destroyer	Battleship
Landspeeder	Skimmer
Speeder Bike	Zoom Bike (add a blaster +1)
AT-ST	Tank

These require their own rules. (image: starwars.com)

AT-AT

Type: Heavy

Maneuver: 8

Hits: 60

Armour: 6

Weapons: Heavy linked blasters +6

Monsters

Power Level I: Mynock

Power Level II: Dianoga, Gamorrean Guard, Stormtrooper, Tauntaun

Power Level III: Wampa

Power Level V: Rancor

Equipment

Bacta tank (heals 5 hit points per hour)

Blaster (light +1 ranged weapon)

Blaster Rifle (medium +2 ranged weapon)

Comlink

E-Web Repeating Blaster (heavy +3 ranged weapon)

Flight suit (light +1 armor)

Lightsaber (medium +2 melee weapon — it can also cut through anything except another lightsaber)

Pike (medium +2 melee weapon)

Stormtrooper armor (medium +2 armor — this also can be used for Mandalorian warriors, like Boba Fett)

Thermal Detonator (heavy +3 ranged weapon)

What other gear and creatures should be available in USR Star Wars?

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part II — The Force

The Force is one of the things that makes “Star Wars”... well, Star Wars. It’s not quite magic or psionics as seen in other works of fiction, but it’s easy to understand, and so well-known it’s even referred to outside of fantasy and science fiction (I can’t count the number of times someone has said “Use the Force” or “Jedi mind trick” without talking about Star Wars).

This is my new favorite meme. (image: youtube.com)

Powers

In the role playing games, novels and the video games they inspired, Jedi, Sith and other Force-users have access to dozens of powers. But since this series is only focused on the original trilogy of films, there’s only about a half-dozen abilities. Most of these names come from the d6 system Star Wars RPG, where they were created.

• Battle Meditation, which Luke does while hiding from Vader in the Death Star throne room at the end of “Return Of The Jedi.” Qui-Gon Jinn does it better in “The Phantom Menace,” but remember, we’re only covering the original trilogy here.
• Enhanced Reflexes, used when Luke leaps out of the freezing chamber on Bespin.
• Force Choke, Darth Vader’s favorite gimmick.
• Force Defense, which Vader used to block Han’s blaster, and Luke used to parry the speeder bike shots on Endor.
• Force Lightning, the Emperor’s signature move.
• Healing, which Obi-Wan does after Luke is attacked by the Tusken Raider.
• Suggestion (the Jedi Mind Trick), Obi-Wan’s favorite for the weak-minded.
• Telekinesis, or as “Weird Al” Yankovic put it, “I picked up a box, I lifted some rocks, while I stood on my head.”
• Telepathy, Luke’s message to Leia shortly thereafter in “The Empire Strikes Back.”

That’s nine Force powers. You could make each one its own Specialism, but let’s take a cue from last week, where I described The Force (or Use The Force) as a Specialism itself. Each power, then, is just a way a character can use The Force. We don’t even need to detail “power levels” or anything like that; in most of the Star Wars RPGs, there are specific rules for how much damage Force Lightning causes, or how far a message sent with Telepathy will reach.

Yoda's player is making a Wits + The Force roll right now. R2-D2's player is eating some potato chips. (image: jediapprentice.tripod.com)

But this is USR, and specifics like that are not Unbelievably Simple. Narratively, it doesn’t matter. How high does Luke leap, on a successful Wits + The Force roll? As high as the game master decides works for the story. The target number is set based on the amount of stress the hero is under, the obstacles in the way of the leap and the need for the hero to succeed (in this case, our game master, George, set it at a 7).

Another example: the Emperor rolled well on his Wits + The Force roll when attacking Luke with Force Lightning, causing enough hit point damage to knock Luke to the ground and keep him sparkling with electricity. He doesn’t need a separate listing of damage caused by Force Lightning. It’s just an effect of this particular Wits + The Force die roll.

Training

Training to gain powers is an important part of The Force in Star Wars. Since there’s only nine powers to choose from, let’s say a hero with The Force as a Specialism starts with two, and gains another after each level. You can increase or decrease that rate, of course, especially if you add more Force powers.

And then there’s the Dark Side. In the other Star Wars RPGs, you collect a number of Dark Side points each time you use a Dark Side power (here it’s Force Choke and Force Lightning), or if you do something else evil. Too many, and you’ve fallen to the Dark Side and become an NPC. You can do the same in USR Star Wars (say, a number of points equal to your Ego die value — 6, 8 or 10), or simply make it part of the story, where a character turns to the Dark Side when it’s dramatically appropriate.

A Kind Of Magic

The rules for The Force can probably be used for any other kind of supernatural power, too; because of the way combat is handled in Domino Writing-style USR, a killer fireball or a summoned mass of strangling vines is just a way to describe a successful Wits + Magic Specialism roll. Or it could be an Ego + Magic roll, to represent those characters who derive their power from their force of will.

What Force powers did I miss from our Original Trilogy list?