SW Campaign Guide
- KL Forslund
- 20 hours ago
- 6 min read
I’m preparing to run a Star Wars RPG campaign. It’s my practice to explain my house rules, game expectations, etc so players know what they’re getting into. Surprises should be narrative, not miscommunication. I also need a place to park information I’ll need. Let’s get to it.
Setting
The Republic fell five years ago, but in the Outer Rim, it’s business as usual. Do the job. Get paid. Avoid attention from the authorities. Try not to let your past catch up with you. Nothing changes this far out from the seat of power. Until it does.
Our campaign is based on the Edge of Empire SW setting which focuses on Outer Rim worlds during the Empire’s rule. Characters do what they must to survive. Smart ones band together because it’s dangerous to go it alone.
Characters Wanted
I’m expecting to put the characters together and have them deal with a problem before them. We need characters who can do that, even if outwardly their initial nature is to be uncooperative. This won’t be a game of loners refusing to be in the same room, or we’ll not get anywhere. This is also not a playroom for evil player characters. Think more Han Solo, maybe a Hondo or Lando and not a sadistic serial killer.
Characters with obligations needing money, or hiding from something would help align with the initial opening I am contemplating. Crime will likely happen. Hopefully to people most folks wouldn’t feel sorry for.
The Hook
You’ve got a need, and a lead. Your guy knows a guy, who’s got a job. Do the job, and your guy can get you what you need. A human named Emmek Jrill needs a pilot, muscle, someone good with doors and data. There might be shooting.
Work with your fellow players to build a team who can take on that job. The game starts with your character arriving at the coordinates to meet Emmek Jrill.
Backgrounds
I don’t advocate writing a ton about a PC who might not survive the first session. But it can be helpful to know a bit about the character. Consider these questions they would know about themselves:
Who were your parents?
Who taught you your key skill?
Who is the contact that knows of this new job?
Why are you in the Outer Rim?
What are your Obligations?
Where are you from?
What are you doing after this job is done?
As a general rule, if you do delve deep into your past, consider that you are playing a low-level character and your background needs to reflect the stats and resources on the character sheet. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to NOT make your character someone who’s wrapped up their past problems. Which leads us to Knife Theory.
Check out this reddit on Knife Theory. It’s a way of forming backstory elements the GM can use to pull your character’s past into the story. Create knives that can come back to stab you (in a fun way). This could be family and unresolved situations.
Will any of it come into the game? Well, that’s your goal is to give the GM knives that they want to use.
Session Expectations
Some of our players might have attention span issues. We’ll try to keep scenes moving, and limit sessions to 2-3 hours. To that end, we’ll need players to engage and not drag things out (shopping trips and tactical discussions, etc).
I’ll use a battle mat to set the scene, which isn’t a standard in the SW RPG, but I find it helps players catch up when their turn arrives to see the situation and make a decision.
Each player should bring TWO tokens to represent their character. One for the battle-mat, one for the initiative conga-line so we can quickly set turn order. These could be a spare die, a rusty nut, or a mini. So long as we can tell whose is who.
In combat, when you turn comes, if you aren’t ready after a reasonable time, we’ll defer your turn by moving you further back in the conga line. You won’t lose a turn, but we won’t hold things up.
I try to run an adaptive game, meaning I plan out some situations and general arcs for bad guy plans, and then try to adapt scene by scene to what you decide to do. It helps with getting things going if the characters bite the obvious plot hook. SW is about landing in trouble and trying to escape it, and maybe get one over the villains.
House Rules
We’ve never played this game before, how many could we have? At this point, these are common practices for any RPG that I like to establish as common ground before we play.
Rule Zero: the GM is the final arbiter of the rules.
Expect decisions that ignore the rules in order to keep the game running
decisions might be wrong, it happens
Stick to the list of approved game books for making characters, equipping, etc
it is hard to keep up with all possible books, so it’s easier to bring in bits at a time as the GM becomes familiar with them
game books make lovely presents
The GM is not trying to kill your PC
it might happen. Oops.
Encounters are set up to be hard at times and you do need to consider running sometimes
we are learning the game (and thus difficulty level is hard to guess)
Player die rolls should be in the open such that the GM can see them
roll when the GM is ready
Cocked dice and floor dice do not count, re-roll those if they land on the floor or on an uneven surface
the GM reserves the right to roll in secret
it usually helps PCs
any fudging is FOR player’s fun
Rule questions shall be decided by DM fiat if it can’t be found quicky
players can help look or know the rules
Past decisions made in error (regarding rules) stand, assume the outcme was random chance.
Future decisions will follow the improved understanding of the rules
Canon discrepancies may happen
We’ll correct if it’s simple (like identifying an inner planet as an outer rim world)
We’ll fudge it as an unusual situation (a Bothan who grew up on Bespin)
Don’t be a jerk – “just roleplaying my character” doesn’t cut it
Folks are here to have fun together
Avoid bringing distractions to the table
stick to apps/books for the game
no texting, videos, etc
The Movies and Shows happened. Our game takes place away from much of that…
Bite the plot hook so the game can proceed with what I wrote
beyond the 1st hook, I try to set the next hook based on what I think the party wanted/makes sense
tell the GM what your PC’s next goal is so we can hook that...
Approved Game Resources
This is the list of accepted books for characters, equipment, etc. We’ll expand it as time passes, partly as we get used to the game.
Edge of Empire setting book
Edge of Empire boxed set
Knowledge Gaps
This is the first RPG where I’m running a game and don’t have a solid grasp on the rules or encyclopedic knowledge of the setting.
Here’s some things we’ll definitely need to know:
how combat works (initiative, attacking, etc)
What kinds of assets criminals want (credits, spice, and…)
Who are the major criminal organizations (Hutts, Pikes, and…)
I’m a list making kind of person, so once I get those blanks filled, it’ll be easier to make plots that make sense involving these things.
Resources and References
We’ve all probably seen most of the SW movies, and played an RPG before. Or not. It’d be helpful to ensure we all know most of the same stuff that would be common knowledge to characters living in the Outer Rim. Your character probably does not know everything listed below. But they might know something. Also, this section is a reference for the GM...
Outer Rim History (or Legends)
Places
Species
People
For starting out, your character does NOT personally know anybody seen in a movie, show, book, or game. Keeps it simple. Maybe you’ve heard of someone here. Maybe.
Useful RPG Links
Cheat Sheet
Character Sheet Generator
Tutorial Video
Comments