--This is a Scum & Villainy campaign, set in the New Republic era, about 6 years after the Battle of Endor. The Empire has recaptured Coruscant, but they have splintered into factions and fallen to fighting each other while the New Republic establishes a new command center at Pinnacle Base. Operation Shadow Hand has yet to be enacted.
I always give details for when the campaign is taking place. I want the players to know exactly what is going on and where history is around them. I tend to avoid having the players at big historical events like the Battle of Endor or traveling with Revan. I prefer original parallel storylines where the heroes can be the masters of their own fate (and my whims
--I'm looking for 4-5 players. I have 1 definite and 1 maybe so far.
I tend to prefer Medium-sized groups (get it?
). 4-5 players is my preferred setup. Fewer than 3 can be alright, but I've only done it once and it didn't go well. On the other extreme, I get overwhelmed with 7-8 people. I don't know how people manage groups of 10-12.
--When making your characters, feel free to make them morally grey (think The Italian Job, The Transporter, The Punisher), but let's keep the whole game PG.
What sort of characters you allow or will tolerate should always be used, in my opinion. That way, you stop any weird surprises from occurring.
--I have access to all the official Saga books, so you may use era-appropriate material from any of them. The only restriction is on species. The following species are not allowed: Celegian, Ebruchi, Gen’dai, Lugubraa, Mantellian Savrip, Rakata, Republic Clone, Sorcerer of Rhand, Ssi-ruuk, Vagaari, Yevetha, Yuuzhan Vong.
Since there are a limited number of rulebooks and campaign guides, I'm pretty ok with feats and talents from just about any book, and most species are fine as well. I do, however, prefer my games to have era-appropriate material and species, so no Ewoks in my KOTOR games, no Imperial Knights during the Rebellion era, and no pulse-wave weapons in my Legacy games (I realize that some stories or canon may vary from my personal preferences, but as GM, I try to maintain continuity as I see it from a galactic perspective).
--Players wishing to use non-official sourcebooks as a resource must run each item by me. If you have a question about any material (or if I have one about something your character has), we’ll figure it out.
I know some people worry about carte blanche with homebrew materials, so this allows me to decide what I think may or may not be game-breaking. I worry a lot about being fair and producing a balanced game, so when I choose to allow or disallow stuff, the honest intent of my decision is achieve that parity.
--I’m going to make this a Force-lite game. If you want to be Force-sensitive, that’s fine, but please do not make your build all about the Force. Any Force training that a character may have in this era would be rough and unpolished, or deceptively subtle. Reflect that in your build if you go this route. I may ask you to change aspects of your character if I feel it is not in keeping with the theme of this campaign.
Probably the biggest question of any Star Wars game: how much Force will there be? Be open and honest about what your plans are. That way, you attract the people who are willing to work within the constraints you have laid out. I love the Force as much as the next guy, but certain games should be able to focus on other aspects of the Star Wars universe besides the Force. My current game, Actionable Bargains, has made significant progress without any mention of the Force. And this is also a two-edged sword. If you restrict the players to Force-lite materials, the GM better be following that rule, too. I hate it, absolutely hate it, when a GM says, "I want the game a certain way," and then he is constantly throwing things at the players that break the bounds of the rules that he set up.
--You may start as any class except Jedi. Normal multi-classing rules apply.
Knowing which classes are available and how multi-classing works is important.
--Point buy of 32 points (28 for a droid).
I hate rolled stats. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Give me point buy every time. It goes back to balance. You avoid the problem of 'all 18s' or extremely low stat characters. Let people choose how good they are at something, because they will pay for it somewhere else.
--Make your character 6th level.
Common sense. Need I say more?
--Hp after 1st level will be half the max on the dice roll (so d10 gets 5, d8 gets 4, d6 gets 3), then add Con bonus.
Balance again. I don't want the Noble to roll really well and end up having more hp that the Soldier who rolled poorly. You also avoid hp bloat, and I personally feel like Con starts to make more of a difference.
--I will not be using Destiny Points. Normal rules for Force Points apply.
Destiny was fairly optional from the beginning, so I tend to leave it by the wayside, but if I do use it, I tend to make some generic changes to it (no auto crits, +1 Force point for the Destiny bonus, +2 stat boost to any stat for Destiny Fulfilled). Force points are a no-brainer.
--Each character should have a background from the Rebellion Era Campaign Guide. If you have a background idea that does not fit the existing options, I will work to accommodate you.
I've always like Backgrounds, so in they come. I also feel like this is a place where players can do some extra character building with a unique background. Had a player who didn't like the benefit of his human's Law Enforcement background, so I gave him the Kel Dor feat Justice Seeker. It was a great move, and he liked it.
--I don't know if anyone would like this, but I like to reserve an option for heroes to acquire scars, lose limbs, and otherwise manifest injuries that are normally overlooked in a game.
--a. If a hero uses a Force Point to save his life, he acquires some minor scar or appendage loss (maybe a vicious burn scar on the torso, or the loss of a single finger).
--b. If a hero is the subject of an attack or hazard that would deal enough damage to kill the hero and he does not have (or does not wish to spend) a Force Point to save his life, the hero may sacrifice a body part instead to remain alive. The body part lost is determined by the GM via a special die and is not restricted to limbs. Limbs lost in this manner function exactly as if the Severing Strike talent had been used against the hero by an opponent. The penalties for the loss of non-limb organs are determined by the GM (the general rule will be -1 persistent CT and the loss of function provided by the lost body part, with additional penalties at GM discretion).
This has been a standing houserule, but I am probably going to remove the B portion from future games, as it's been around for a while, and no one has commented or expressed interest. Honestly, it's probably because everyone always has enough Force points. And the A portion is mostly flavor, anyway.
--The feat Force Training may only be taken 1 time, if taken at all.
-- If taken, Force power selection options are limited to the Core Rulebook.
Goes back how much Force you want in a game. Most games, I allow Force Training a total of 3 times (this is based on pregenerated characters, but I do think that one or two versions of Yoda or Palpatine might have 4 Force Trainings, but it is definitely a rare thing).
And I restrict the Phase and Fold Space powers to non-existence. I know that the Dark Woman has used Phase, and that the Rakata and the Aing-ti have used Fold Space, but the fact that few people/groups have access to them means they are rare and should be treated as such. But I don't like teleporting or walking through walls, anyway, so make of that what you will.
--Any talent that was previously ‘1/day’ is now ‘1/encounter’.
I guess I should make this feats as well, but with the focus on encounter-based materials, the 1/day thing just seemed odd.
--Any talent or feat that substitutes one ability or skill for another is subject to the same limitations that the original ability or skill was.
There's always been confusion about certain talent/feat interactions, most notably Unbalance Opponent and Weapon Finesse, but there are are others that make sense, too. Point is, if you are flat-footed, whether it's Dex-based or Int-based with Predictive Defense, you should lose that bonus. Same thing anywhere that this sort of confusion might crop upl
--If you have the Melee Defense feat and take a penalty of at least -2 on your attack roll when using that feat, you may gain the benefits of any talents or feats that activate when using the Fighting Defensively action.
Just trying to give more utility to Melee Defense, since it is a feat that many agree isn't worth much and tends to be seen as a feat tax most of the time.
--Credits/possesions: Each character recieves their starting class’s maximum amount of credits (4800 for Nobles, 3000 for Scoundrels, Scouts, and Soldiers) multiplied by their character level (x2 if they took the Wealth talent). Note: I can provide the group with a free starship of the Game Master ‘special’ variety (functional, though quirky). Or characters are free to purchase their own space transports or starfighters if they desire.
Everyone has their own concept of what wealth-by-level should be, but I feel like this is fairly decent.
--This campaign is intended as a one-shot, multi-encounter adventure. There is a definite ending in mind. However, depending on how the heroes react to different situations, they can alter the ending of this adventure.
Let the players know how the long the game is going to last. I think some GMs get a bit ambitious and think that they can run a game forever, but I have definitely realized that certain platforms are better for different styles of play. I have a firm belief that PbP games should be encounter-based, as it can take months to finish a single battle. Longer games should be played on tabletops or platforms like Roll20, simply because games can move faster.
And thus is my list. Sorry it's so long. Thanks for reading. Hope I didn't get too crazy in my explanations.