NEW GAME MASTER GUIDE

BY TIMEQUAKE
 CREDITS
WRITTEN BY LAYOUT
Timequake robus

COVER IMAGE
Battle of Jakku Concept Art by Dylan-Kowalski
http://dylan-kowalski.deviantart.com/

INSIDE IMAGE
Disney/Lucasfilm

GRAPHICS
Fantasy Flight Games

! 2
 NEW GAME MASTER
GUIDE
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—Timequake

INTRODUCTION
I've gotten enough experience (and I've garnered requisite firm command of the rules -- in fact, it necessitates
interest) for a guide to help GMs acclimatize to this system it. Hopefully, this is useful for groups and GMs of
and get started running games. I'll cover what I see as the many playstyles (though it might not be very pertinent to the
biggest pitfalls GMing, some tips to help out with immersion, farcical one-off style of GMing). This is also not specific to any
and some more in-depth tactics for writing content. Hopefully one of the three core books; it's broad enough to be useful for
there'll be helpful thoughts both for seasoned RPG players all of them. Finally, this is intended to be supplementary to
and utter newbies. the released rules and GMing sections of the core books.
Please read them. It is oh!, so invaluable to do so. I'm happy
DISCLAIMERS to elaborate on anything here, but I do reference mechanics a
lot.

I use DM and GM interchangeably. I'm a D&D boy. Also, Let's get started.
these are all personal preferences. My group is interested in
deep-immersion roleplaying, but that's no reason to sacrifice a

! ! 3
 PART I
DESIGNING THE GAME
PLANNING A CAMPAIGN next. Attempting to force your players to adhere to a grand
scheme suddenly robs them of any agency in their characters'
futures. If you've got it all planned out from the start, then
Let's begin with some lingo: Sessions refer to single group why are they even playing it? Why isn't this just a novel,
meetings. Adventures are slightly larger stories that usually anyways? Why shouldn't they try to break your world and
span multiple sessions. Campaigns are multiple-adventure derail your plotlines and kill your precious NPCs?
spanning stories that involve recurring allies, villains, plot
threads, and, of course, PCs. To extend the analogy, a session A critical but pragmatic assessment, to be sure. But let's
might be the Battle of Hoth, an adventure The Empire Strikes be clear here: I'm all for campaigns. I love campaigns. I love
Back, and a campaign might be the Original Trilogy. I realize having a cast of familiar characters that actually grow over the
that this might not align perfectly with FFG's definitions, but course of several adventures. I love large stories.
this is the scale I'd like to use. But you'll never get that if you try to plan everything
SO, HOW DOES ONE PLAN A CAMPAIGN? beforehand.

You don't. Seem contradictory? Let me explain...

LET THE PLAYERS GUIDE
Being set in one of the most grand, romantic fictional
realms of all time, and given the fact that we have a soon-to-
So, I suppose it's more accurate for me to tell you to think
be-9-part saga from which to draw inspiration, it is pretty
big and build epic stories as long as you let the players guide
dang tempting to try and craft a huge, sweeping tale of your
the campaign.
own. And that's all well and good in theory -- sometimes even
in practice. But for the majority of you, it is a tactic that will This way, the players have all of the freedom they want,
doom you in the long run. There are a few reasons why: but, suddenly, their old friend comes back with a new mission,
and the enemy they despise so is back at it, causing trouble.
It will take ages to finish. Once you have it in your head
The characters have vendettas, histories, and intricate
that your group is going to embark on a galaxy-spanning
relationships, all without the help of a pre-planned falsities.
escapade on the scale of the movies, complete with A-plots,
Additionally, you have the freedom to tailor-make your
B-plots, hexadecimally-ordered-plots, big villains, small
campaign to the players' interests. If the sneaking-into-an-
villains, loyal allies, traitors, a few emotional deaths, and
Imperial-aristocratic-party-in-disguise session was the
lasting implications for the galaxy, you'll find yourself writing a
highlight of your adventure, heighten that aspect of play for
novel. But let's do the (contrived) math here. If you meet once
the future! The players will thank you for it, and you'll have a
a week for, say, 4 hours, and you've got a campaign the size
better idea of how your players will react to certain situations.
of a Tibanna gas refinery with 6 episodes each with 10
sessions of brilliantly planned gibberish, chances are that Again, planning for a larger goal towards which the
2.5 of your players will die of old age in the process. In all characters are making progress is good, especially if they're
seriousness, you cannot hope to finish something this grand in motivated and into it. Villains work well with ridiculously
scope. There's not enough time. elaborate plots. Just don't let it take away from what's
happening at the table. That's the most important thing.
IT WILL GET BORING Alright, so I've beaten you over the head with that. You
get the point -- don't make a detailed plan and try and get
It may take you getting three sessions into your lesser- your players to stick to it. But one of the best parts of the
villain spinoff mashup adventure to realize this, but the game is bringing back old things. It gives your universe
players are going to get bored. Likely, so will you. There's consistency, continuity, and familiarity. The players can visit an
impossibly little variety in plodding your way through a old bartender from years ago and find that he's renovated the
labyrinth of intrigue and rubbish. Especially if you've got one cantina. Woo-hoo! Your world is consistent and dynamic.
villain all the way through, the players are going to get tired of What a pro. We love our GM. Of course he can borrow some
the buildup to the climax you've been planning, and they're cash.
going to stop caring about it. It's just the way of things. You It's all a process.
can't expect people to stay interested in a plotline you
made before you even knew the characters.

IT WILL FALL APART

The real problem here is that all roleplaying games are
attractive due in part to their dynamic nature. You never know
what'll happen next, and, of course, anything can happen

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DESIGNING AN ADVENTURE
DESIGNING CHARACTERS
This section will be a bit more practical. Designing an
adventure is something that'll probably take some practice to As for designing characters, there's some information in
perfect, but it's key to having a campaign with forward the core books, and I could write endlessly about it. For
momentum. now, I'll say this: take inspiration from characters from
books or cinema or anything, and steal relentlessly. It can
Let's return to the analogy of an adventure as a Star Wars
be really difficult to come up with something new for a
movie. Rarely will it need more than three or four acts, and
character, but if you watch the pros do it, sooner or later
you don't want it to drag on. Keep referring back to this if
you'll get the hang of it. On a very basic level, give
you're questioning the length of the film.
characters a distinctive voice and at least one distinctive
The essentials: trait if you want them to stand out. You never know who
your players will latch on to.
A GOAL
Make sure that the characters have a clear goal ahead of you'll need for the operation. But you might want to consider
them. You want it to be clear what they're gunning for. It can adding one plot twist -- perhaps that's too grand a term --
be good to have a nuanced plot, but any story will suffer from one unexpected element that'll spice up the game. Maybe
an obfuscated goal. As a rule of thumb, you should be able to some equipment fails, or the enemy has reinforcements, or
summarize the goal of the adventure in one sentence. For there was a mole in your ranks. Whatever it is, it'll make
instance: "Fend off the Imperial ground assault long enough things a whole lot more interesting and give the group a
for the transport ships to clear the system." "Acquire the plans greater sense of achievement at the end from overcoming
to the Imperial superweapon." "Kill the Sith Lord." You can some unforeseen adversity. Think back to the movies if you
(and should) establish sub-goals from there, but they all need need ideas. Though you don't need an 'I am your father'-level
to get you a bit closer to achieving the ultimate one. Now, twist, the fact that the Empire knew the Alliance was coming
quick disclaimer: you can delay revealing the true goal of the in Return of the Jedi certainly raised the stakes of the final act
adventure for a session or two. Maybe they investigate a of the film. The Alliance didn't see it coming, and it didn't
slaving ring and discover that it was actually part of a larger change the goal, but it definitely threw up some extra
criminal operation. This is alright. Just don't put it off for too barriers.
long. You want achieving the goal really to pay off in the end.
SOME TREASURE!
A CAST!
Yarr! Seriously, though, unless you're GMing a group of
No adventure ever will ever be ever a ever success ever moral paragons who are okay with risking their lives for
without good characters. Ever. Allies, enemies, and (most something as vague as 'the greater good', you need a reward
interestingly) what's in between them. You should probably for the group. Nothing wrong with credits, especially if it's a
have a main villain or set of villains. Something like 'The bounty. Maybe they'll get their hands on some new tech.
Exchange' or 'The Empire' is too broad to give the players any Maybe they'll get revenge on a nemesis or bolster their
sort of emotional stake in the action. If the Empire has the reputations. You can even have it be a matter of necessity --
secret plans, yeah, fine. But if the increasingly-volatile director what'll happen if they don't succeed. Combining that with
of the project has hidden them in a massive data vault? That's another reward is especially effective. Make the reward just as
good. Even better, the director has history with the players or clear as the goal, for both are going to keep the characters
their organization. If there isn't history, make some. Generally, going. Players who really want what's waiting for them on the
the final fight with the villain shouldn't be the first time they're other side of the rainbow are going to fight harder and
seeing him/her/it. Beyond villains, include some allies. It's smarter for it, which'll give you lots of material and energy
always nice to have somebody running logistics for the group, around the table.
gathering info and doing the nitty-gritty work that will allow
Now, an oft-recited word of warning: do not make it too
the players to do the exciting stuff. If you can, though, give
long. Two to five well-designed sessions should be quite
them a distinctive voice, a cool piece of backstory, and some
enough for an adventure. The game needs to be fast-paced
depth. If the players care about keeping their friends alive, it'll
and cinematic, and grinding through too much preamble to
encourage more cautious and realistic play. Finally, get some
the main conceit of the adventure will have similar effects to
characters with no clear-cut moral conscience or allegiance. A
forcing your characters through an impossibly lengthy
henchman who can be bribed. An contact who just might be
campaign. If you're afraid that your villain won't have enough
an Imperial informant. An ally who's increasingly protective of
buildup, then you could have him/her/it escape at the end of
a secret possession. This'll help give your story some
the adventure, shaken but not stirred, bruised but not beaten.
variety. See Designing Characters sidebar.
Like I said, the best way to give characters history with a
villain is just to play it out. Keep it simple.
A TWIST!
The plot doesn't need to be complicated. There's truly
nothing wrong with needing to kill an Imperial officer for an
adventure, and spending a few sessions gathering supplies

! ! 5
DESIGNING A SESSION DIFFICULTY
This can be something that's tough to manage with an
Here we go. This is the bread and butter of GMing. encounter. You've probably read that you should have
Designing a session. Brace yourself for some reading. enemies (I'm going to use that term broadly) that have about
the same amount of proficiency dice as the party. That's a
In this section, I refer to the minutia and detailing that pretty shaky metric. In the galaxy, you're going to encounter
comprises what actually happens at the table. This means problems that range from trivially simple to near impossible,
designing encounters, minor NPCs, and the plot details. This and I think encounter difficulty should reflect this to some
section will lend itself best to further division into two extent. The intended tension and drama of the encounter
sections: Encounters and Plot. As you'll soon discover, I have should determine the difficulty. Players will get seriously
a lot more to say about Encounters. frustrated if every enemy in every encounter is a chore to
bring down, or if every encounter requires dipping into limited
ENCOUNTERS party resources like Destiny points, healing equipment and
other consumables, and wound/strain. One thing that you
Any time the players encounter (cringe) something that should keep in mind is how close together your encounters
will probably require rolling dice (meaning that it's at least are. Don't give the party a nearly group-wiping boss fight and
somewhat challenging), you've got an encounter on your then expect them to perform at full capacity for a room full of
hands. Encounters are hands-down the most important part minions. Vary the difficulty of encounters. Additionally, don't
of the game. I don't care if you've got a three- confuse 'designing encounters with the group in mind' with
dimensional Oscar-winning calculus-based narrative structure 'designing encounters to combat the group'. If a party is
hiding behind the ol' GM screen. If the encounters aren't fun, unusually proficient in combat, you don't need to amp up the
the game won't be fun. If you master encounters, then... well, difficulty of every encounter. You shouldn't chuck difficulty and
get back to that narrative structure thing. That sounds challenge dice out just to make things interesting. It won't. In
fantastic. fact, doing so will demoralize the party. You need to let them
shine at least every few encounters, let them slaughter some
There are a few different kinds of common encounters. By stormtroopers and show off their Wookiee Marauder
an infinite margin, the most iconic kind of encounter is a brokenness. Then you crush their souls with a social
combat encounter. That's what you built your characters for, encounter. Heh heh heh…
right? Well, sort of. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship
with combat encounters. By which I mean that I love them CIRCUMSTANCE
until I have reason to hate them. By and large, you're gonna I will cyber-kick the next GM who puts a fighting
want to have combat at the most crucial points of the encounter in a hallway. Hallways are the death of fun.
campaign, especially the end. At some point, it's gotta Honestly, you can't make a hallway bereft of description
devolve into a riotous shootout. That's crazy fun. But interesting, no matter what kind of encounter you have. Also
seriously, seriously, seriously, do not let combat encounters avoid deserts, wide-open empty boss chambers, space
be your fallback. The galaxy is not a warzone. Most of the combat in the middle of nothingness, and anything that you're
galaxy lives in quiet desperation and subjugation. Look for getting bored trying to picture. Have the party fight whilst
other options. Another common kind of encounter is the social balancing and leaping between thin pipes that spurt poison
encounter. These can be wicked fun when executed properly, gas over a river of chemical runoff. Have them make Athletics
because chances are somebody in your group's got some checks every round to maintain their grip on the face of a cliff
ranks in Deception that they're desperate to abuse. Social as they pursue Imperial spies. Have them battle for the
encounters can be a lot harder to design than combat attention of the Hutt with a Gungan bubble opera. These will
because they're not a focus of the rules. But that doesn't make the encounters so much better. Uh... avoid Gungans,
make them any less important. Negotiating with a baleful though. You'll thank me later.
Hutt for passage through his turf, talking your way out of
ENEMIES
arrest by the Empire, or just trying to get information out of
someone... these situations are critical to real fun. Your party I really hope that you've read this far, because this is
can't shoot their way out of every situation. The final common something I've struggled with for a long time. It is hard to
kind of encounter would be a skill-based encounter, which is design interesting enemies. It's also really tempting to jot
intentionally broad so as to include most things that aren't down a wound/strain/soak threshold, an attack skill, a gun,
combat or social. Chase scenes, navigating deadly and call it a day. But something I've realized is that enemies
environments, playing sabaac, and slicing -- these are all are as interesting as you design them to be. Give your
excellent ways to spice up the game. enemies special talents and skills that aren't just pertinent to
the encounter, because it'll actually inform how you play them
Ideally, your campaign should include some of each. If
and use them. Also... if you want your players to trust you as
you're a real wizard, you could make a hybrid encounter. For
a GM, for the love of all that is holy, have consistent stats. It
example, one party member is discreetly slicing through a
is HARD to recover from one of your players realizing that the
security door so that another party member can sneak
enemy would've had to have Yoda-level Discipline to resist
through while the charmer of the party is talking up a horde of
such-and-such, or that you're not actually keeping track of
angry Gamorreans. This could go any way, but anyone would
enemy wound/strain... and your players will find out. And if
agree that it's a lot more interesting than 'kill everyone in the
they do, then they'll ask themselves why they're keeping
room then blow open the door'.
meticulous track of their characters if you, the GM, don't have
So, let's make a handy-dandy list of things I want to touch to? Please, just bear this in mind. Keep track of the stats of
on, in no particular order. your enemies. If you build them interestingly, then the group

! 6
 TIPS FOR CREATING COMPELLING ENEMY NPCS

COOL TALENTS example is the Vader fight at the end of Empire Strikes Back.
Give your NPCs cool talents. It'll make things so much Consider this: Luke meets Vader in the carbonite chamber,
better. For example, the Bodyguard talent, which allows an drives him back... then meets him twice more in completely
NPC to spend a maneuver and suffer strain to increase the different environments. Vader doesn't start using the Move
difficulty of attacks against an ally... is AMAZING. I use it all power to throw stuff at Luke until the second phase, and he
of the time. And it makes sense! Bosses have henchmen. So surprise-attacks him before the third (if memory serves).
to prevent a party from bull rushing the baddie from the get- Multi-phase boss battles are seriously awesome. Don't
go, the baddie has some protection. That is a completely have your baddie throw out his baddest moves right at the
legal and worthwhile use of the rules. Don't be afraid to use top. Have him wait a bit, feel out the opposition, toy with
the Adversary talent -- it's quite good -- but, also, if you can them, even. You can have him be driven back, only to retreat
find something more distinctive, go for it. For inspiration, to another location to gain the upper hand again. And boss
just look at the talent trees that correspond with the NPC's battles need cool environments even more than other
type, but don't be afraid to redesign/repurpose aspects of encounters. You may have designed a seriously cool big bad
them to suit you better. You don't have to keep track of XP; with some awesome abilities and some narrative climax, but
you don't have to build your NPCs according to PC rules. without dynamic, shifting combat, it's going to feel like a
But talents are a surefire way to make them more interesting grind. One other thing: it's a real shame to see your bad guy
and competent. get gunned down by a big party of PCs in one round after
getting to take just one turn.
VARIETY
There are a few ideas for this. One, in the GM kit, there's
Give groups of competent NPCs variety. If you've got a gang
an optional rule to introduce an additional bad guy turn at
of criminals against the party, try not to give them all
the end of each round. This is cool for hands-on bosses who
Generic Blaster Rifle Number One. It drags down the
are going to get up-close and personal and are going to be
encounter. Instead, give one of them a vibro-ax, one of
throwing around a bunch of damage. Another idea is to put
them a pair of pistols, let one of them have been caught
a minion swarm nearby, or some guards. The Squad rules (I
unawares and be unarmed, etc. This'll strengthen the tactical
believe they're in the AoR GM kit/screen) allow swarms of
aspect of combat. An exception would be minion swarms.
enemies to take damage for the boss. Combine that with
They're intended to be in the background.
some Palpatine-esque royal guards with Bodyguard 3, and
SKILLED you'll find that the group has to be a lot more tactical.
Have skilled NPCs. Make one of them a medic and one of Finally, consider the fact that the boss often knows the
them a mechanic. There's no reason an NPC group can't be setting of the encounter better than the players, and could
as diverse as a PC party. pull some nasty trickses on them if need be.
MINION SWARMS BACKSTORY
This is a lovely mechanic. You can find it on page 400 of the Remember, more than half of enemy building is character
Edge book. Read it. Read it again. Memorize it. Feed it. building. Jot down some notes about their backstories,
Love it. And, most importantly, USE IT. Nobody wants to motivations, and personalities. Same deal as making
fight individual stormtroopers. That's mind-bogglingly dull. interesting NPCs. Make them distinct if they're important.
Instead, have a minion swarm surrounding an officer who's
barking commands as some knife-wielding mercenaries are
TROPES
Avoid tropes. The sulky, silent Sith Lord clad in black robes
creeping up from behind.
is dull for everybody.
BOSS BATTLES
Man, oh, man. I could write another guide just on this.
MOTIVATION
Finally, just be aware that enemies aren't always going to
Maybe I will one day. But I'll try to keep this brief. Before
fight to the bitter end. Sometimes, they'll want to run away.
you set a boss battle in the empty temple inner chamber
Play that up when you can, and know which ones are loyal
with the Sith Lord standing in the center by himself, actually
enough to stick around when things get rough.
watch some Star Wars battles. I think the quintessential

can start playing more tactically, being able to monitor and getting away. The party will likely need to divide their
speculate about the enemy stats. See inset for tips on attention, and this'll make for interesting fights.
creating compelling enemies. SKILLS
GOALS This was touched on earlier. Just keep in mind that your
This can be as simple as 'getting across the room' (try to party is (ideally) going to have a lot of different players with
avoid doing that too much, though). The best encounters, different skill sets. Though you don't want to be so blatant as
however, have more complex rewards. One example would be to give each player an encounter tailored to their skill(s) of
to have the enemies have hostages in an situation in which choice, try to avoid a long stretch of fighting encounters for
the party needs to steal some codes. Maybe the big bad is players with non-combat skills. Everyone needs a time to
also getting antsy and is prepared to make a run for his ship. shine, so include complex and nuanced encounters that allow
Now, the party's got to balance a few things: they want to get one or more players to be a real asset to the group and
to the hostages without the baddies hurting them, nabbing actually further the mission.
the codes from the computer, and stopping the big bad from Whew! Now, let's design an encounter!

! ! 7
SAMPLE ENCOUNTER
PREMISE Now, for skills. We don't need to select a Career, per se,
but we'll pick a few relevant skills for him. He'll have Ranged
(Light) 2, Brawl 3, Deception 2, Resilience 2 (factoring in his
A small-time but seasoned spice dealer on Nal Hutta, Mul racial benefit), and Skulduggery 2. A real pirate. Finally, we'll
Guddura, was recently informed that there were some bounty select his talents. We'll give him Adversary 1 to reflect the fact
hunters after him. Suspecting his rival, Wonog, Mul hired a that he's been in the business for a while, Feral Strength 2
crew of mercenaries to act as his bodyguards as he retreated and Knockdown to reflect his brawling aptitude, and
to an abandoned, derelict refinery in the swamps. The party, Knowledge Specialization (Underworld) given to him by his
starting-level, is looking for Mul, not to kill him, but to get race. He's wearing padded armor for 2 additional soak, and
information about Mul's history with a recurring enemy of the wields a heavy blaster pistol. We'll bolster his wound from 14
campaign. The party successfully navigated the dangerous, to 18 by giving him the Toughened 2 talent, keep his soak at
poisoned swamp, and they've arrived at Mul's refinery. We're 5, and keep his strain at 13.
going to build the final encounter -- when they find him in the
main treatment zone. Little do they know that Wonog has a
pair of dangerous hunters that have also located Mul, and 3 2 2 3 3 2
they're ready to kill him on sight -- and anyone who gets in
BRAWN AGILITY INTELLECT CUNNING WILLPOWER PRESENCE
the way. Let's get started!
SOAK VALUE W.THRESHOLD

ENVIRONMENT 5 18
Finally, Mul is not afraid to run if things go south.
The treatment zone is a large, long chamber laced with
Mul's Pirates: We don't need to focus on these enemies
pipes, turbines, ventilation ducts, and large units of
very much. In fact, because they're a pretty generic minion
machinery, all in great disrepair. Mul has made camp around
swarm, we're going to use the Street Tough (EotE p. 396)
the control dugout, which offers plenty of cover from long-
adversary for the swarm, giving him 4 pirates. You'd want to
inoperative computer terminals. Once the party enters the
add flavor for them just in case. They'll be armed with pistols.
room, Mul will flip on the power grid, causing some of the
machinery to churn back to life and spew noxious fumes. The Mul's Pirate Lieutenant: A Twi'lek named Dolnaga. She's
party will need to make Resilience checks to avoid taking the head of the mercenaries, and unlike Mul, she's a good
setback dice on all actions. Additionally, the fastest way to shot with her rifle. She'll be the main reason why the party will
Mul involves climbing over some of the machine units. If the want to close the distance quickly. We'll bump her
party elects this option, Athletics and Coordination checks will characteristics to:
be required to navigate the facility safely. The party could try
and slice into the grid to give themselves advantages, such as
dumping chemicals on enemies or using the ventilation system 1 4 2 3 2 3
to clear the fumes, but it wouldn't be easy. The GM would BRAWN AGILITY INTELLECT CUNNING WILLPOWER PRESENCE
now sketch out a map of the room, decide on the range
SOAK VALUE W.THRESHOLD
bands of the room (we'll say Mul starts at Long Range).
4 11
ENEMIES Ranged (Heavy) 3, Ranged (Light) 2, Skulduggery 2,
Negotiate 1, and Deception 2 (again, racial). Adversary 1,
Mul Guddura: Mul's a portly Chagrian. His species-specific Lethal Blows 2, Enduring 1, and Deadly Accuracy (Ranged
starting Characteristics are: (Heavy)). She'll use a rifle with a marksman barrel, have a
hold-out blaster for emergencies, and wear padded armor for
2 soak. 11 Wound, 4 Soak, 13 strain.
2 1 2 2 3 2 Wonog's Bounty Hunters: These'll be two nasty-looking
BRAWN AGILITY INTELLECT CUNNING WILLPOWER PRESENCE Trandoshans. They will actually end up being the hardest part
SOAK VALUE W.THRESHOLD
of this fight, given that their arrival will be unexpected and
that they're far more expert than any of Mul's lackeys -- or
Mul himself. Here are some stats using the above methods:
so we'll say that he's worked hard to improve his natural
sluggishness, but that he's most effective in a brawl.
Additionally, his time in the criminal underworld has increased 4 3 2 3 3 2
his natural cunning. So, in total: BRAWN AGILITY INTELLECT CUNNING WILLPOWER PRESENCE

SOAK VALUE W.THRESHOLD

6 18
3 2 2 3 3 2
BRAWN AGILITY INTELLECT CUNNING WILLPOWER PRESENCE Ranged (Heavy) 3, Melee 3, Stealth 2, Brawl 2, Perception 2.
Adversary 2, Bodyguard 1, Feral Strength 2, Durable 2,
SOAK VALUE W.THRESHOLD
Toughened 1, Grit 2. Dual vibroknives each, a rifle with a

! 8
targeting scope each, +2 soak and +1 defense from armor.
Wound 18, Soak 6, Strain 14, 1 Melee/Ranged defense.
Wonog's hunters will stop at nothing to kill their prey.

SUMMARY
When the party enters, Mul will activate the power grid,
forcing each of them to make Average Resilience checks to
avoid taking two setbacks on every roll of theirs for the next
three rounds. After that, he will order his crew to kill the
party. The party will likely approach Mul in the dugout, since
they'll take a setback if they try to shoot through the
machinery, and it's already Long Range. So they can try to
climb directly or take the longer route around. Either way, if
things start to go south -- especially if Dolnaga is killed -- Mul
will try to make a run for the back entrance. The party could
use the barely-operative computer terminals in the dugout to
seal him off, but that'd require Mechanics and Computers.
Regardless, 4 rounds later, Wonog's hunters arrive, and will
shoot indiscriminately at the closest targets as they cleave a
path towards Mul.
The interesting nature of this encounter comes from this:
Mul is simply afraid of Wonog. If the party can prove that
they're not with him through the fray (especially after the
hunters have arrived), Mul might call his crew off and help
them fight off the hunters. Either way, the encounter will likely
be followed by a social encounter in which they interrogate
Mul or a skill encounter in which they chase him through the
narrow corridors of the inner refinery.
Now, this is a pretty statistical sample. In practice, you'd
want to have mapped Mul's character out much more, since
he's a central character for the session and probably the
adventure. But looking only as far as a single encounter, this
would likely be a success.

PLOT
Perhaps you forgot there was another section to come?
Don't worry; this one'll be MUCH more brief.
Plot can be defined as everything that happens in
between encounters. When designing a session, just keep in
mind that the main purpose of plot is to propel the group
forward to encounters. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't
have them enjoy a good conversation with an ally, or RP with
some locals, but you should make sure that you get a few
encounters in every session at least, even if they're not
combat encounters.
Plot, then, becomes a mechanism for 1) getting the group
to encounters and 2) tying together the session. You can
develop intrigue, but the bulk of important intrigue should
happen in social encounters. It's smart to let the group plan
together about upcoming encounters, too. Also, you can help
embellish the setting or fill in parts of the story. Remember,
though, don't have too much of this. Most groups want to roll
some dice. Let 'em.
As far as tying together the session is concerned, just
make sure that, before you leave, you end on a note that
indicates clearly what progress has been made. Remind
everyone about the state of things, the current progress of the
main adventure, and the implications for next session.

! ! 9
 PART II
RUNNING THE GAME
So, you've designed your session, you know how it ties GM flips a destiny point... it means things are about to get
into the main story, and you're ready to go! Well, sort of. But real. Savor the moment. The destiny pool is there to keep
running the game is also where the real difficulty is introduced things dramatic and tense. Don't ignore it -- it'll augment your
-- and also where it'll become clear that your 'preparation' did play. Also, nobody likes it when the GM just lets the players
not prepare you for anything. run out of points and then doesn't use any himself. You really
shouldn't let all of the tokens be dark unless there's some
Running the game is where your knowledge of the rules,
reason for the Dark Side to be endlessly prevailing at the
your party, your players, and your own adventures come into
moment.
play. You'll need to improvise, compromise, and hurriedly
pencil in additions, and, hopefully, by the end, something will
have gone right. If it doesn't, then, as any GM will tell you, BEWARE THE GMPC
that's alright. In fact, sometimes the players come up with
things more interesting than you planned. For those of you who know not to what I refer, the GMPC
Keep the action going. Do that, and you will have (Game Master Player Character) is a character that tags along
succeeded to some degree. Do not let the game grind to a with the party and acts like a PC... but they're controlled by
halt over a rules dispute, and don't give up. There is no try. the GM. Usually, this is a thinly veiled ploy intended to
The players will trust you as long as you're confident and railroad the plot or keep the players on track -- somehow, this
they're having fun. And for them to have fun, you've gotta be GMPC just has all of the answers. Or maybe the party is
having fun, too. struggling with a fight, and they need some well-timed
assistance. I'll tell you right now... DON'T DO IT. It's a terrible
Without further ado.…
idea, and it will probably ruin everything you love for eternity.
Basically, the GMPC is an indicator of poor design somewhere
RULES along the way. If an encounter is too hard, make it easier, or
at the very least have a good reason for such a hopeless
You've really got to know the rules. It's alright if predicament. If the party's going off the rails, then you
everyone's new to the game to have a rough start, but as a probably haven't properly motivated them to stick with your
GM, players will look to you for rulings, and you have to make plot. Anyway, I include this in the play section because this is
them quickly and decisively. Generally, if you make a call, take where the difference between an NPC and a GMPC becomes
it back quickly and fairly, or just let it reign throughout the clear. If you have a forward contact who briefs the party, gives
session. You don't want to get hung up on rules in the middle them equipment, and is present for an encounter, sure, that's
of combat. It'll kill the action. Take care to familiarize yourself fine. If you have a secret Jedi Knight who's here to help the
with player's talents and specializations, too, so that you can party along, and is at the forefront of every encounter, then
help them along as well. you've failed. The GMPC tends to overshadow players and
prevent them from being creative themselves as they try to
navigate the world. If you have an NPC who's not doing that,
BOOST/SETBACK then you might be ok, even if he/she/it is following the party
around. Beware the GMPC. It is often difficult to catch before
Say it with me, kids. 'BOOST! SETBACK! BOOST! it is too late.
SETBACK!' Seriously, you can bust those things out like aspirin
and just lob 'em at something to make it more interesting. No
lie. This is how you get your players involved. You can reward
EXPERIENCE
them for ingenuity and good planning and make them regret
charging in unprepared. Few rolls should occur that don't Just always keep in mind that your players put serious
have a boost b and setback b on them. This is also where thought into their characters, and while progressing the story
the game gets cinematic; this is the blending of narrative and is all well and good, they want to be rewarded. Awarding XP
rules. Encourage players to describe how they position is a great way to keep characters growing. Always award XP
themselves to get boosts, and don't be afraid to knock them after a session. Even a session that ended on a sour note, or
down a peg for overconfidence. where not much action happened, deserves a reward of some
sort. As far as the rate of awarding XP, that really depends on
the group. If you have a group that meets twice a month for
DESTINY POINTS some casual Star Wars, go ahead and give them 20 XP for a
4-hour session. 5 XP an hour is a reasonable rate for these
Use them! Encourage frequent expenditure. Players need kinds of groups, plus bonus XP for completing plot arcs or
points for many of their abilities, so the GM needs to spend especially excellent RPing. However, if you have more involved
them freely. Likewise, it's always a chilling moment when the group, say, that meets once or twice a week, that enjoys deep

! 10
RP and long plot arcs, then you will want to award XP at a grid... let them go for it! If they're truly determined and
lower rate. On average, you should award 15 XP per player serious, you can come back having planned for it. Elasticity,
per session, 10 for a particularly lax session, 20 or more for a though it shouldn't be without bounds, is a boon for any GM.
particularly involved one. That way, players are progressing,
but not so much that they're growing too powerful too quickly. DEADLINESS
Remember, you can never take XP away (just don't), and it'll
only get harder to challenge the players over time. If you're in
You may find the system particularly deadly -- or perhaps
for the long haul, don't award too much XP. That said, it's a
you think that it's too difficult for someone actually to die. The
bit insulting to award fewer than 10 XP points.
truth is, the system can be unforgiving, but this just
And now for a few miscellaneous points. encourages players to take their choices more seriously.
Unless you're a Jedi Knight, it's unlikely that a band of pirates
XP isn't reason for some concern. I'd advise against trying to alter
it too much. As for the difficulty of death, it's true that death
can only occur on a severe enough critical injury roll. But your
It's alright to give players additional XP at the beginning of
goal isn't to kill the characters. Having them be captured is
the game to boost them along. However, do keep in mind that
usually more interesting, and depriving them of their reward,
it's going to be tougher to challenge them. Unlike starting XP
taking their gear, or killing an NPC ally can be just as exciting
characters, they're likely going to have maxed out some skills,
or devastating as losing a player (and likely less contentious
and they're probably going to be pretty good at lots of
and rage-inducing). The whole party going down is going to
different things. Knight Level XP is 150, and that's the
have serious consequences. Keep in mind that if someone
absolute limit to what I'd recommend giving a group unless
continuously shot an unconscious body, they'd kill the target
you're running a truly unusual campaign (even then, it'll
in a matter of a few rounds. If you're hellbent on blood,
probably get old). It's fun to make powerful characters, but
however, there are options. There are instances where you
it's always more fun to have weak ones grow into powerful
shouldn't need the rules to declare a PC dead. Falling off of a
ones.
ship and plummeting to the rocks below is death. Getting shot
full-on by a vehicle-scale weapon is (usually) death. The
DIFFICULTY vacuum of space is death. In these instances, unless the PC is
particularly brawny or resilient, you can just have them die. If
Be sparing with assigning difficulty to tasks. Sometimes, you elect to kill a PC, there are a few rules of courtesy: 1) the
when you're faced with a player who's got cccc dd on player should be present, 2) it should mean something/help
a roll, you're tempted to make everything they do cccc the party along, 3) it should be reasonable, not inevitable.
dd to keep things challenging. Don't do that. Formidable Sometimes, the party got themselves into a bad situation, and
(ddddd) is described as being the difficulty of 'finding somebody's going to have to die for it. The exception would
food and shelter on a planet with no breathable atmosphere'. be that a player who's being a real brown-nosed fool with his
So don't throw a bunch of difficulty dice at everything just character can die for something trivial and stupid if they play
because you want things to be challenging. Instead, be them stupidly. Consequences, kids.
creative. Spend Destiny points to upgrade Difficulty dice d to
Challenge dice c. Of course, throw on some Setback die b if “CREATIVE” PLAYERS
the circumstances warrant it. But most importantly, if a player
has devoted the resources to become so expert at something,
There will always be the player, even if he's not yet in your
you should allow them to excel at it. An absolutely brilliant
group, who takes the relative independence of being a player
mechanic isn't going to find something that's terribly
and runs with it. There's a difference between optimization
challenging all that often, and it'll make the moments when
and abuse of the system. If you notice a player that's
challenge does present itself much more tense. Remember:
performing particularly well, and perhaps has a sly grin on
any time there's a roll, there's a chance for failure, threat, and
their face, don't hesitate to take a peek at their character
despair. Something could go wrong. If a task is mundane,
sheet. Maybe you'll find that they've been lucky. Or maybe
especially when being attempted by a highly proficient
you'll find that they're chock full of characteristic-increasing
character, consider letting it happen without a roll.
cybernetics that they haven't explained narratively plus fully
optimized mods for all of their equipment. Giving equipment is
MOTIVATE, DON'T RAILROAD your job, not theirs, and you should keep an eye out for this.
Also, if something seems wrong to you, it probably is. After
You might be perplexed by the fact that if your players all, you're a heat-seeking homing missile with a history of
were to get their hands on a ship, they could go anywhere, reading rulebooks for casual entertainment. Players probably
and you'd be woefully unprepared for it. Or maybe you're know less about the system than you do. Make sure that
scared by the fact that there's a HoloNet that renders they're doing things correctly. Keep 'em honest. Remember, if
knowledge checks obsolete. Don't be. It's sci-fi, sure. But if you didn't see the dice hit the table, it didn't happen.
your characters are motivated enough, they'll stick to your
plotline. Trust it. As for space travel, don't take away their POWER SURGE
ship for no reason other than to keep them confined...
instead, give them a reason to stay on the planet. The
Realize that giving an enemy a stupid powerful weapon
HoloNet is regulated by the Empire, and perhaps it's been
means that, when they're gone, the PCs will have that stupid
stripped of 'dangerous information'. But if the players really
powerful weapon. Qualities like Cortosis and Concussive are
are desperate to fly offworld or hack a planetary defense
incredible, and should be very difficult to obtain.

! ! 11
 CHARACTER FIT
A player who plays a crazy character as crazy should meet
in-game resistance. A munchkin troll murder-hobo player who
disrupts the game world? Maybe you should chat with them
about what's going on.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO.

The consequences are insignificant compared to the
consequences of saying 'yes' to everything. Put your foot
down. This is your game. This is your house. You ordered the
pizza. If they want Cortosis for their armor, then maybe next
time they'll bring soda money.

Pfft. Freeloaders.

! 12