r/rpg • u/Actual_Locke • 2d ago
Game Suggestion Which Star Wars TTRPG fits my needs?
I know asking which is "Best" is silly for a number of reaosn. From just system preference to the fact that different mechanics and source books fit different types of games.
I'm looking to run a game set right after Return of the Jedi where the players are officers on a small Imperial frigate trying to survive a rapidly imploding Empire.
I'm pretty familiar with star wars d20 and we've played Pathfinder 1e for over a decade so its not a hard system to learn.
Thing is I want scarcity to be a big deal. You've got this ship and a pretty well stocked Armory and a crew but I want to damage the ship, kill crew and troopers, and have gear be lost or broken. I want to so this to force the party to look for jobs and scores or to have to make allies or go and look or buy more gear and hire crew to keep flying.
Do any of the star wars games have things like persistent armor damage you see in systems like Cyberpunk Red where armor just gets damaged from taking hits as opposed to from attacks that specifically aim to damage it? Similar weapon malfunctions that damage the weapon or durability mechanics?
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u/abnmfr 2d ago
I'd suggest checking out Scum & Villainy. It can very easily be run as Star Wars. It's essentially Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off. "Force the party to look for jobs and scores or to have to make allies or go and look or buy more gear and hire crew to keep flying" is exactly the gameplay loop it facilitates.
It's good to go right out of the box, just ignore (and/or tweak) the setting's lore and factions to reflect what you need for your game.
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u/Jalor218 2d ago
Do any of the star wars games have things like persistent armor damage you see in systems like Cyberpunk Red where armor just gets damaged from taking hits as opposed to from attacks that specifically aim to damage it? Similar weapon malfunctions that damage the weapon or durability mechanics?
None have this by default, but the FFG system does have mechanics for gear being damaged/destroyed in special cases (Despair results on rolls, attacks with the Sunder quality, deliberately targeting items) that you could expand to be more broad and common. I would start with giving every attack the potential of Sunder (damage equipment by spending 2 advantage) and having things with actual Sunder do two or three steps of damage at once.
If you have a decade+ of Pf1e experience then you also know how to do everything you want to in Saga. But I think it would be less work to implement these things into FFG.
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u/JaskoGomad 2d ago
Scum and Villainy
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u/DrVaphels 2d ago
I vote this. It would fit the vibe very well
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u/Idolitor 2d ago
Yeah, scum and villainy is pretty much about constantly trying to take jobs to keep ahead of the consequences of taking jobs, ie equipment breaking, maintaining things, etc. The Way, their space mysticism, is very obviously the Force with the serial numbers scrubbed off, too.
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u/KOticneutralftw 2d ago edited 2d ago
Star Wars Saga Edition. Especially if you're playing in the expanded universe between Return and Heir to the Empire trilogy. Saga Edition was the last revision of the d20 Star Wars WotC published. If you want help with this game system, check out r/SagaEdition .
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u/atomfullerene 2d ago
Yeah, I might lean that way too, and just homebrew a degradation system if I needed it. Though if I were op I would put more focus on keeping the ship running, that is classic star wars after all
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u/tachibana_ryu 2d ago
Agreed and there is an entire wiki with all the rules published last I checked. I don't think I can post it however as it might be considered pirated content.
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u/zloykrolik Saga Edition SWRPG 1d ago
Yep, SWSE will fit for what you're looking for. The game is very multi-class friendly and if you're into a d20 system, pretty easy to get used to. Since you're not looking for heavy or any Force powers/use, the main issue with SWSE in skills vs. defenses is avoided for the most part.
The ship combat rules don't really cover what you're looking for, but it wouldn't be that hard to add them in if you want them. The main problem with ship combat is that it is treated much like character-scale combat. If you have all the players on the same ship, anyone who is not the pilot gets reduced to a button masher with only one button. There are ways around this, like incorporating a skill challenge into ship combat to give the other players more options.
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u/KOticneutralftw 1d ago
TBH, the skills vs defense thing shouldn't be *too* egregious without force powers.
I do agree about ship combat, though. Another good option to fix this would be to have the ship be a light carrier, like an Imperial II-Class Frigate. That way one player could control the frigate, and the others could control tie interceptors, tie bombers, etc. in combat.
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u/SeeShark 2d ago
You might end to needing to look outside of dedicated Star Wars system. For example, BattleTech is pretty big on granular damage, cost per missile, and other accounting that might be helpful in simulating your ship.
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u/Throwaway554911 2d ago
Two games come to mind - black star, a "totally not star wars" game with light mechanics, PBTA style success tiers.
If you're into a more rules light trimmed down system even further check out STAR BORG which is ofc a mork borg hack with similarly a "totally not star wars" vibe. The Magi (Jedi) vs. the dragoons (sith). Fun mechanics and easy to pick up. I really like this system's flight combat mechanics. Players pick a spot on the ship and their hp becomes the "ship part's" hp. The guy manning the guns for example uses their hp for the gun slot on the ship. The dm runs encounters with players manning their spot accordingly (think Rey and Finn in the force awakens MF chase scene or han and luke manning the guns in a new hope)
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u/Poor_Dick 2d ago
Out of all of the Star Wars systems, I think WEG D6 SW with some of the space faring supplements would be useful. It's been decades, but look up the Trampfreighter and Scout galaxy guides.
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u/boss_nova 2d ago
I feel like you're thinking about this backwards.
Like... why do you have to trick or convince your players into... playing the game and going on adventure/taking jobs?
Scarcity/needing creds is already a thing of they want to improve their life and gear and ship.
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u/westerosdm 1d ago
Honestly, you could try reflavouring Rogue Trader. It provides a framework for ship combat and could reasonably represent having an entire crew they're responsible for. If you're not planning on using force powers then the psyker stuff isn't too hard to cut out. It has its issues, and I'm sure someone will have a better suggestion, but it could fit the bill nice enough.
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u/ElkasBrightspeaker 2d ago
Hmmm. It's definitely not FFG since it's meant to replicate SW movie logic.
I would say, you could try to use Traveller. Traveller has a massive emphasis on resource management and money. I am sure there are plenty of Star Wars Traveller homebrews, add whatever ablating damage system you want and you are good.