Full of Win

This weekend I got to play a tabletop RPG with a group IN PERSON. I got into the RPG thing pretty late in life. I dabbled in DnD with a few friends a little in 6th grade but that became more of a LARP as we used it as an excuse to beat each other up. I never really did anything with it again until about five years ago when I discovered Star Wars Saga Edition.

I ran a SWSE game via Skype for about 2yrs and then another one for a little under a year. I got into another one about a year ago as a player. They were all loads of fun and allowed me to play with people I would never play with (as they lived all over the country). But as fun as it is, there is an element missing to a Skype game.

When Edge of the Empire was announced, and after I learned a little about it, I knew that this system would be perfect for my group of gamer friends. We get together semi-regularly for board games, though not nearly as often as we would all wish. We had tried RPG’s on game nights on a few occasions but never got beyond one session. Not everyone was really interested.

But with EoE, we were finally able to pull a few others in and find a time to get together. And we actually have another session planned, which is a first. We’ll see if life cooperates and lets it happen but that’s another matter entirely.

The game was loads of fun. Just being right there for the die rolls that everyone can see and participate in adds a whole new level you don’t really get in a Skype game. It was much easier for everyone to play off each other.

Edge of the Empire itself also lived up to my expectations. The narrative die system really did its job, allowing the game to evolve in unexpected and interesting ways. Spoilers for the beginner adventure to follow.

While visiting the junk shop dealer, the PC’s succeeded in getting him agree to sell them the part they needed to fix the ship. While inspecting the part, one PC decided he wanted to look smart so he made a Deceit check to pretend like he knew what he was talking about while inspecting the part. He succeeded but generated some threat.

So, as the GM, I decided that the shop owner believed him and thought the PC must be a mechanical genius. He offered to reduce the price on the part if the PC would help him fix another piece of equipment. Not wanting to look a fool, the PC agreed and almost started tinkering with the new part. Fortunately, another PC looked it over first and realized if he did the wrong thing it might explode and stopped him…in the most inconvenient manner possible.

Throwing the device across the room, he started shooting it with his gun, upsetting the store owner. This prompted him to throw them all out without the part they had come to buy. Needless to say, the shop owner did not survive much longer.

That entire sequence took a turn I never would have expected or planned for. It was entirely the result of the die roll generating some threat and then how the PC’s choose to respond to it. The story evolved and was the best scene in the day. Once the core rulebook comes out and we start a custom adventure with custom PC’s, it should be even more exciting.

I’m really glad we got a chance to try the game out in person and I look forward to playing more. I’ll definitely be continuing my Skype game as well but it will be nice to add an in person game into the mix. Just to bad the book is still a month and a half away…