LET IT BE SAID that I absolutely love the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games, 2013). It is by far the best implementation of the Narrative Dice System, although I may be biased because I also love Star Wars (not “A New Hope”) in the original trilogy. I own all three FFG Star Wars core rulebooks but want to explore the system sans the Star Wars setting. In 2017, FFG released Genesys: The Roleplaying Game for All Settings. I didn’t pick it up until sometime in 2018. I immediately read through it from cover to cover.
It has sat on my shelf – untouched – since.
You see, I really wanted to use the Narrative Dice System and make my own setting. I like the whole idea of using the dice to tell a story where there is triumph or despair and shades of success, or failure, in between. Or maybe use it to create a conversion of a setting. Genesys seems perfect for those needs; and that’s the problem.
Genesys is a wonderful toolbox. Everything one needs is in the book to make a setting of your own. At least a generic version. Want to create a character? The rules for creating a character are here; the bare bones so to speak, but none of the flesh. That you have to provide yourself. The same goes for Skills and Talents. Using generic skills is perfectly acceptable but to really make a setting your own one needs to invest a great deal of effort into creating evocative Talents. Again, the generic is here, but more is needed.
Part II of the Genesys core rulebook is Settings. Note the plural, for in the book you get ideas for fantasy, steampunk, modern day, science fiction, and space opera. These ideas are more like advertisements for settings that FFG might eventually release. It’s all fluff with little to actually use.
Part III: Game Master’s Toolkit tries to be more helpful. There is design advice in here for creating a skill or archtype or species or an item or an adversary. Design advice that digs deeper into the Narrative Dice System and how to “pull the levers” of the game engine. That is, if you’re a system engineer.
In the end, I believe Genesys succeeds even as it fails. It definitely is a generic toolkit for making an RPG setting. Problem is, it’s too generic. In the end, I find myself going back to Edge of the Empire and using that because it ends up being what I want in my science fiction RPG. Genesys has shown me just how good that setting is, and how it’s going to be too difficult to make my own that will probably end up being 90% what Edge of the Empire already is. If I want to be an RPG system engineer then Genesys is the basic toolbox. Be warned though, to make it your own will be a much deeper investment.
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 
I’m going to have to take a look at this Genesys thing. I’ve been wishing for a better system for roleplaying in the Harry Potter universe…maybe it would fit the bill. Plus I’m always looking out for interesting ideas in various RPG systems anyway.
I bought all the Star Wars source books several years ago, but they were the ones done by TSR or Wizards of the Coast (or somebody like that) in the d20 system, and they were everything I hate about systems like Pathfinder and modern D&D. I thought maybe I could deal with the system if the setting info was good enough, but nope. A very disappointing waste of money.
If the Fantasy Flight Star Wars books do the setting justice, maybe I’ll look at picking them up. At first glance, the Narrative Dice system looks like it could be a lot of fun to play.
I LOVE the Narrative Dice System…I just don’t have patience for making my own setting using Genesys. If you have the motivation I think you may find Genesys gives you what you want. Can’t hurt to try!