RPG Thursday – Edge of the Empire Reconsidered

I am a latecomer much of the new media. In particular, I find many podcasts are too long and on subjects that only marginally interest me. With Fantasy Flight Games taking on the Star Wars gaming license, I revisited an older podcast, Order 66, to see what the gamer community had to say. I’m glad I did because Order 66 has forced me to reconsider my opinion of Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG.

Order 66 started out as support for the d20 version of the Star Wars RPG, specifically the Star Wars: Saga Edition. I was first surprised to find that Order 66 has reinvented itself in support of the new FFG version of the game. This made me suspicious; are they nothing more than company hacks or do they really like the new system? What I quickly found out is that GM Mike and GM Dave are alot like me; eager to learn the new system but hesitant to jump in fully.

What finally convinced me that Edge of the Empire (EotE) has more going for it than I gave it credit for was Episode 2 – Beginner Box, Veteran Style. With this podcast I finally really understand the power of the EotE core mechanic – all those colorful dice and numerous symbols. What really grabbed me was the advantage-threat and triumph-despair conditions. I like how the rules actually assign narrative control. For instance, the player character (PC) rolls to throw a rope across a ravine. The roll is success with advantages. The player then narrates the success (subject to GM approval). In this case it might me “the grapnel holds, and wraps around twice making a very strong anchor.” On the other hand, if the roll was a success, but with threats, the GM could explain “the grapnel holds, but it looks a bit precarious as only one hook is actually caught.”

The podcast also made it clear that the core mechanic supports a highly cinematic version of the Star Wars Universe. The descriptions of game events shows that the combination of skills and fluid initiative makes for fast, pulp-like science fiction action. Sure, blasters are deadly but those minion troopers can’t shoot straight anyway (just like the source material)! This means the game should be FUN for those playing it. A major consideration as I give thought to using this game for a campaign with my kids.

The thought of a shared narrative between the GM and players is also highly appealing to me, especially as I consider using EotE as a game for my kids. The shared narrative mechanic could be a great mechanism for drawing out my son with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as it could draw him out and get him to participate more and exercise his imagination.