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grautry
2009-10-16, 02:03 PM
I'm wondering about SWD20 so I'd like to ask you guys a few questions about the system.

1) How balanced is the the game in general? Is it easy to break it? Can you punch Pun-pun sized holes through the system?
2) Corollary to number 1, how good is the incentive to pick anything besides a Jedi?
3) Is it easy to run? Ie. does it require tons of preparation to run even simple sessions or is it fairly easy to make it up as you go along?
4) In general, how would you rate the system, its pros and cons?

I know that there are seperate editions of the game so if you feel like answering then do tell which edition are you referring to.

t_catt11
2009-10-16, 02:08 PM
1. I have found the system to be pretty darned balanced. Then again, I've only played with the core books and ultimate alien anthology (and a few equipment type supplements), but I haven't noticed any hugue holes.

2. Plenty. Pretty much all the classes have big reason to play them.

3. Quite easy to run, especially if you already understand d20 (feats, skills, BAB, etc). I usually lay out a brief outline, then do a lot of winging it.

4. I feel like it is a solid system. There's not near the range of specialities you can get in D&D, but do you need them? Personally, I think this helps keep the munchkins...er, optimizers... from breaking things too badly.

Starbuck_II
2009-10-16, 02:33 PM
I'm wondering about SWD20 so I'd like to ask you guys a few questions about the system.

1) How balanced is the the game in general? Is it easy to break it? Can you punch Pun-pun sized holes through the system?
2) Corollary to number 1, how good is the incentive to pick anything besides a Jedi?
3) Is it easy to run? Ie. does it require tons of preparation to run even simple sessions or is it fairly easy to make it up as you go along?
4) In general, how would you rate the system, its pros and cons?

I know that there are seperate editions of the game so if you feel like answering then do tell which edition are you referring to.

1) There are some issues (like Disarm is hard- Force Disarm sucks for this reason), but few easy to break mechanics. Force Stun pre-errata was the best thing ever.
2) Jedi get little that makes them awesome.
They are great at lightsabers (deflecting). But no class feature beyond that.
Everyone (except Droids) can use the Force powers by taking a feat (even Jedis have to).
3) I've only played. So IDN (I don't know)
4) I'd rate it 4.5/5 at representing a star wars world. Not perfect, but very nice.
I understand why they made the Dark Side stronger (Force Lightning).

t_catt11
2009-10-16, 02:50 PM
Heh... because the power of the dark side is supposed to be alluring. If it was no better than light side, why would jedi ever fall (which is a major canon thing that happens)?

Dixieboy
2009-10-16, 07:25 PM
You don't want to use dark side powers though since you lose your ability to use force powers.

Foryn Gilnith
2009-10-16, 08:10 PM
Then again, I've only played with the core books and ultimate alien anthology (and a few equipment type supplements),

Everyone (except Droids) can use the Force powers by taking a feat (even Jedis have to).


We're talking about two different things here. Ultimate Alien Anthology is RCR. Force Training is SAGA. Which one is the OP referring to? SAGA is newer.

AstralFire
2009-10-17, 11:23 AM
Saga is newer and also -good-. It is built on a d20 basis, but it is not usually referred to as SW d20 - SW d20/d20 RCR are generally accepted as the worst of the three rulesets, with Saga and d6 jockeying for first place depending on who you ask.

grautry
2009-10-17, 02:38 PM
Heh... because the power of the dark side is supposed to be alluring. If it was no better than light side, why would jedi ever fall (which is a major canon thing that happens)?

Personal reasons? Ultimately the dark side means far less restrictions on your behaviour compared to traditional Jedi philosophy.


Which one is the OP referring to? SAGA is newer.

Any edition really, which is why I asked for people replying as to what edition they are referring to.

AstralFire
2009-10-17, 02:56 PM
Oh, sorry, missed that note. Well, for Saga:


1) How balanced is the the game in general? Is it easy to break it? Can you punch Pun-pun sized holes through the system?

It is not super balanced, but it is functional and it is just about impossible to do anything even on high Practical Op level, forget Theoretical Op. Fields of mooks will take down even the most optimized Jedi, for example. Most importantly, it's pretty hard to screw up and make an unusable character.


2) Corollary to number 1, how good is the incentive to pick anything besides a Jedi?

Pretty decent, if you're talking mechanically. Jedi are probably the best class in the game, but the difference is comparable to Warblade (Jedi) versus Splat-Heavy Fighter (Soldier) and Scout (Noble, Scoundrel.) The Warblade is not as good at versatility as the Scout and it's not as damaging as the Fighter, but it is comparable in both fields.


3) Is it easy to run? Ie. does it require tons of preparation to run even simple sessions or is it fairly easy to make it up as you go along?

One of the biggest issues for a DM is that the universe is humanoid biased, so DMs used to being able to pull encounters out of a monster manual can't use that luxury so well (though it does have a book of pre-genned NPCs and critters, Threats of the Galaxy). However, characters are both much harder to accidentally kill and much easier to intentionally challenge - the way Force Points and the condition track is set-up allows a DM to easily set-up situations where the party can lose without necessitating that it's actually a TPK. Taking them prisoner is pretty easy.

The other is that the system is lighter and more cinematic. This means that a DM who commonly runs fights in a low-obstacle, small plane Final Fantasy style might find that players become bored with Saga combat. Thus, the DM should take pains to make sure that the combat is very kinetic. Exotic locations with hazardous areas, obstacles, multiple levels, flight... (Tied to this: the more a DM makes good use of ranged battles, the less effective lightsaber wielders are. Battles making full use of gun range definitely favor ranged users, as they should.)


4) In general, how would you rate the system, its pros and cons?

Pro: Fairly well balanced, cinematic combat, combat rounds move faster than in D&D for a party equally facile with either. Great multiclassing system. Benefits from splat, but splat is not necessary to represent common concepts.

Con: See above.

Kiero
2009-10-18, 01:27 PM
Which Star Wars D20 are you talking about?

The awful barely-more-than-D&D-in-space that is RCR, or the at-least-they-tried-to-make-a-Star-Wars-game Saga Edition?

AstralFire
2009-10-18, 01:51 PM
That's now been answered multiple times.