Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story
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@Avarice said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
@GirlCalledBlu For the record, I also don't enjoy building grids.
You don't say.
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I built a grid once.
A digital frontier.
I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? Motorcycles? Were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then one day . . .
...I made a character on it, a bunch of crazy shit happened, and I quit mushing.
Delete the Hog Pit. It'll be fun.
I really don't understand He-Man -
@Ghost said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? Motorcycles? Were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then one day . . .
I had the TRON soundtrack playing in my head...
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Yay Stir Werz, handwobble SAGA. For the various reasons listed above. Also, because I kiiiinda hate level-based systems. But at least it isn't vancian magic, so yay?
@Ganymede said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
Not to mention that action he got with Luke's sister.
MUSHes, yo. The normal sibling issue between Luke and Leia is a non-factor, so Han gets CONTROL ROOM-blocked. The end.
@Auspice said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
But I also don't want a game that's All Jedi All the Time (unless it's like, a specific Jedi Academy game which now that I think about it could be pretty awesome).
There was a FFG one brewing a while back, and I'm strongly thinking about throwing money at Theno for code. But without actually asking directly, because oh god, oh god, social anxiety.
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@Auspice Mind, @GirlCalledBlu ran some of the most fun big plot scenes I've been in. Often they can be a complete and frustrating drag, but she managed to make them fun on the 100. At least while I was playing there. So if she was doing that kind of thing, I'd probably consider it an advantage for the game. But that's me!
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I've told @Auspice this, and after an episode of Twin Peaks I'm feeling strangely open book. I had no idea what The 100 was, so when the MU came out there was all that board stuff, but I have little clue what it was.
I have since watched 3 seasons of The 100 and think that the idea of opening a MU in that theme was fucking ingenious. Part of me is a little jealous for the people who got to play.
Edit:But back to Star Wars (don't wanna derail too much). I think that level based systems with defined xp, gear, and class requirements can be very rewarding, but these games need regular inward flow of XP to keep people feeling productive. If I had to pick a SW system to run a game in, it would definitely be Saga or FFG, with FFG admittedly taking a forward edge for me.
There ARE prepakaged SW MU systems in existence, though, and there is no existing FFG code system in the community that I know of.
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Re: Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story
I read the first post on this thread and the warning flags shot up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. Here's why:
Fires of Hope is based on the SAGA d20 system, is focused on a single planet to start (Arda-2) and will only spread out to a few planets beyond that in the same system of space. Further we have instituted a goal system to put a focus on character development role play as opposed to combat. A few things to note about Force Users: Force apps are limited. They will be opened up as the active playerbase grows. Staff will post for applications when a slot opens up. Applications should be submitted as a concept and set of goals for the future of the character. Staff will review the concepts and pick out the ones that are viable and then post them up for a player vote. The concept with the most votes will get to move forward. Ties will be broken by Staff. Apps will be done as normal, with the following rules: a. No former Jedi (aka No Jedi Class). b. No Force Training feat. c. No Skill Focus: UtF.With the exception of the setting and the additional uber-nerfing of Force Users, this is the exact same setting as the failed Star Wars: Dark Times MUSH, right down to starting on one planet and gradually expanding the grid (by the time the game was officially dead, there were only two planets on the grid, and one didn't show up for just over six of its twelve weeks of active life; the six weeks spent waiting on the coroner really shouldn't count as active life). The setup was likely a large part of what led to the game's swift demise.
My issues with SAGA d20 aside (they are enough to keep me from going anywhere near this place), SW: DT's policy for limiting Force User apps generally allowed one app per ten approved PCs on the grid (with the votes and other things mentioned for the new game being what determined who got the slot. The process also had almost zero transparency, so little was known about the results until the slot was awarded). This caused the population to explode to just over fifty approved characters over the course of a few weeks, but in the end few of them saw more than a week or so of active play. Some of them may have been created to bloat the roster and force FU slots to be opened. Only two FU bits were ever offered or approved over the game's life. One of these went to a staff member (staff, to their credit, decided to only allow staff to app for FU slots once every other time an app became available. But since no other FU slots ever became available, the rule became a moot point).
This is just an example of what generally comes of using limited FU slots. Knowing who at least one of the staff is, I'm tempted to take a look at this place just for the sake of morbid curiosity.
Edited because still learning how this particular interface works.
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I believe it was mentioned a couple pages ago... The FU details actually changed.
Players can now app, right off the bat, for a FU char. A/B/C still apply (no former Jedi, no Force Training feat, no Skill Focus: UtF), but you can totally be a FU out of CG now.
There will be plot PCs that are more powerful force users (Adepts and the like). Players can apply to play these for a set duration (such as for a specific plot).
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@Auspice and @Warlander
It's actually even more liberal than that. There are several PCs on the grid with the Force Training Feat, so I presume that Hssiss is allowing it. Just the Jedi class, previous Jedi, Skill Focus: UtF, and lightsabers which are currently restricted.Otherwise, @Auspice has it dead on.
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Alas, SAGA was too much for my delicate sensibilities.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
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@Arkandel I didn't find it terrible. Just terribly unfamiliar. It largely requires a lot of use of the skills. Make them really important, rather than just the combat, which seems to be its bread and butter focus.
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@lordbelh said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
@Arkandel I didn't find it terrible. Just terribly unfamiliar. It largely requires a lot of use of the skills. Make them really important, rather than just the combat, which seems to be its bread and butter focus.
What did it for me was that to really get into it there were like... a dozen different books to reference and the whole thing has been out of print for years.
But to be honest I'm no @Misadventure. I like my mechanics extra light with a side of 101.
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@Misadventure doesn't like D20 very much.
I have a waggish sense of humor.
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@Misadventure Oh come on, when did you ever see a tall stack of rulebooks you didn't like?
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Well, those are steps in the right direction. I skimmed the four pages to this point, so I may have missed that part.
Doesn't really help the uber-nerfing (A/B/C), though. And given the limited number of feat and talent slots available in SAGA, it makes playing a Force User pretty pointless (and likely very short)... in spite of words to the contrary, SAGA is first and foremost a dungeon-crawl combat engine, and everything else, including the setting, feels haphazardly tacked on... mostly because it is. This is one of the reasons that I've largely given up on SAGA games. Feats and Talents spent on becoming a Force User can (and usually will) be spent on more effective ways to kill one another with much more easily available weapons, which, combined with being unable to get Skill Focus: Use The Force makes Force Powers borderline useless, and Force Users easy meat for anyone with even a cheap blaster. Combat focus or no combat focus, sooner or later some twink will decide to unlimber Ol' Cheapshot-Cannon and collect on a Jedi bounty.
This is especially true when you consider that Jedi is the only starting generic Force Using class (the people who run this game, like on the other games they've run, limit access to classes solely based on their names... most of which have very little to nothing to do with what they represent. The Soldier, for example, may never have served in any army or other fighting force in their life, and the Scout may never have done any formal scouting for anyone, even himself, ever. The Noble may not necessarily hold any title, or even be part of any governing body, and the Scoundrel may not be a smuggler, con man, or even a criminal. You get the idea. The Jedi may never have even heard of the Jedi Order, let alone been part of it, and many other Force traditions were known to have used the lightsaber). This makes it impossible to get all the necessities of being a Force User without dedicating your whole first, and likely second and third levels to getting them. Make sure to take some useable skills and abilities besides the Force in chargen if you don't want your character to feel generally useless (a common problem in SAGA, since it's very easy to miss useful things in the buckets of clutter that are Feats and Talents. This is magnified by the borderline glacial levelling in this system).
So plan carefully and do lots of system research if you want to play a Force User. Or anything else, really, since the system seems to demand great attention to detail. Of course, this may take some or all of the fun out of playing a game...
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When I see a stack of D&D books, from original lil box to Advanced, to 5E.
Also, Basic RP based stuff, though later stuff is more interesting.
Also all retro clones, and most games that say hey I have a setting, I've made a meh system to go along with it (what you want the system to help illuminate the setting/ I have no idea what you mean).
Traveller is MegaMeh.
WarHammer pfft.If a setting includes even a tiny bit of something to for lack of a better word restructure the approach to the experience, that can be good. Really simple example: The Kushiel religious changes to sexuality.
I now need witness protection from Ganymede.
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@Warlander said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
So plan carefully and do lots of system research if you want to play a Force User. Or anything else, really, since the system seems to demand great attention to detail.
This is what sort of put me off of SAGA. I literally spent hours and hours to make a PC, and, in the end, still overlooked some parts of her.
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This is what puts most people off of SAGA, honestly.
Unless it's the fact that the system/setting combo is very nearly the king of twink magnets. And when some of the twinks are staff, you know you're better off finding another game. I don't know if Hssiss has any in this game (we may hope not), but two of the last games he was involved in had a couple of them (which likely also contributed to the swift demise of Star Wars: Dark Times).
The blame and shame are theirs, not his, but it's something to be careful of.
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...yeah, I'm shamed. Force Training is allowed. Hell, I have it on my FU PC. Ahem.
I think it's another Force feat that's disallowed, but I don't think most qualify for it out of CG anyway.
As for the books, @Arkandel - Fires of Hope, at least, has everything in +sinfo. I was able to refresh my memory (I hadn't used SAGA since the year it came out) and get comfortable before I'd even finished CGing my first char. And there's plenty of people who know the system well and are happy to help out.
ETA: @Warlander - I've had a hate-on for games before, but it looks like you made this account just to diss the game. A lot of what you say is in the "sorta kinda accurate" field. And a lot of it is misleading.
If you hate the game/system because of the people on/Staffing it, I think I'd (and likely others) respect you more if you just came out and said so.
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@Warlander said in Fires of Hope: A Star Wars Story:
So plan carefully and do lots of system research if you want to play a Force User. Or anything else, really, since the system seems to demand great attention to detail. Of course, this may take some or all of the fun out of playing a game...
That's what stopped me before. I want to play a Force User and once I get into a system I learn it... but the upfront investment in terms of learning the rules just to make a character, or use what you bought efficiently, was really too much for me.
I don't care about - or for - systems and mechanics that much. It's unclear to me if that's unreasonable or not. It's where I'm at, though.
