Welcome to Rolling Dice, the tabletop RPG podcast which examines a new game system in each episode, with the help of a rotating cast of both experienced and new players, in order to discuss the system’s mechanics and how they affect collaborative storytelling.
A tabletop roleplaying game, or RPG, is a collaborative storytelling game. Each player takes on the role of a character in a fictional universe. The players work together to tell a story in which those characters overcome challenges. RPGs can be run with as few as two players, but groups of 4-7 are more typical. Players usually have a character sheet, a piece of paper that describes their character’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses through the use of numbers. Dice are typically used to resolve success or failure when attempting certain tasks with the character’s abilities, making the player more or less likely to succeed on certain tasks. One person takes on the role of the gamemaster (GM) and is responsible for setting the scenes, advancing the storyline, and adjudicating rules. In addition, the GM typically controls any other characters [or non-player characters (NPCs)] the players run across from the helpful town shopkeeper to the dangerous dragon. The GM is not the player’s opposition, but works with them to help tell the best story.
In this episode, we play the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Beginner Game from Fantasy Flight Games and take a look at how its mechanics provide more opportunities for player input and narrative control. Set during the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, Edge of the Empire focuses on the smugglers, bounty hunters, and other scum and villainy of the galaxy. The Beginner Game is the story of a group of ne’er-do-wells trying to stay one step ahead of a Hutt gangster and find a way out of Mos Shuuta spaceport, even if it involves blasting their way out and converting every droid they find to a new faith.
Gamemaster: Kristine Chester (FBC Senior Contributor)
Players: Jason Enright (FBC Senior Contributor, Darby Pop Publishing), Ben Rhodes (FBC Senior Contributor), Caoimhe Snow (The Queen’s Cavaliers), Frank Weiss, and Sarah Rhodes
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Music by:
Kool Kwesi by Monk Turner
Starting Your Own Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Game
Are you interested in starting your own game of Edge of the Empire? What you need to start are some basic supplies like pencils and paper and a set of the Edge of the Empire narrative dice, which are included in the Beginner Game.
In addition, you’ll want to pick up either the Beginner Game, if you’d like to play through the adventure we ran in this episode, or a copy of the Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook, which contains all of the necessary rules to build characters and run the game. Both the Beginner Game and the Core Rulebook can be found at your local game store, some of the big retail book stores, Amazon.com, or ordered directly from the publishers at FantasyFlightGames.com.
Edge of the Empire Resources
Are you getting ready to start the Beginner Game, but, like us, have more than four players? Two extra pregens: Mathus the Technician and Sasha the Explorer, are available from Fantasy Flight here.
Did you finish the Beginner Game and want to know what happens next? The adventure “The Long Arm of the Hutt” picks up right where the Beginner Game left off or could be incorporated into a longer campaign as a standalone adventure. “The Long Arm of the Hutt” can be found here.
And, if you need character sheets, starship sheets, the completely free introductory adventure “Under a Black Sun,” or more pregens, all of these things are available through Fantasy Flight Games here.
For advanced players, excellent fan-created content for Edge of the Empire can be located at gsa.thegamernation.org, including new adventures, characters, and equipment.
Lastly, I highly recommend listening to GM Dave and GM Chris talk all about Edge of the Empire on The Order 66 Podcast, the original podcast completely devoted to Star Wars roleplaying. On the show, they provide advice, new content, and interviews with the game’s creators.
