Star Wars: Space Ships, Hyperspace Travel, Blasters, ST

[JackRackham]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

If you don't mind my asking, what made you want to do Star Wars in GURPS? While I really like this system, it is a lot of work to convert specific universes into a playable format, especially one as idiosyncratic and cinematic as Star Wars. Was there something about the existing Star Wars RPG that turned you off?

It was really the other way around. I wanted to play a GURPS campaign, and GURPS can do almost any genre, so I was debating internally which genre to do. I ended up looking at very low-tech (think Iron Age) and sci-fi. I'd been playing 3.5 for a long time and felt like something other than fantasy. I was also getting kind of tired of d20 mechanics. I still love d20, and love d&d 3.5, but I wanted to do something different.

Anyway, I decided on sci-fi, but the only sci fi I really like, know and could see myself running is space opera, and I'd wanted to do something Star Wars-like for a long time. Initially, this was supposed to be something akin to some other Galaxy in a Star Wars-like universe, but I ended up deciding that having a good chunk of pre-made fluff, that all of us enjoy to fall back on wasn't the worst thing, since a lot of my focus would be on mechanics while we learn a new system.

[Phaelen Bleux]

Originally Posted by JackRackham

It was really the other way around. I wanted to play a GURPS campaign, and GURPS can do almost any genre. . .

I have run 2 SW campaigns for the same reason. . .both went well. As has been mentioned, starship combat was a bit tricky for GURPS; I didn't have to deal with lightsabers since we played during the Rise of the Empire, and there were no Jedi characters.

I'd like to do a Clone Wars campaign soon, so I'll have to see about lightsaber mechanics, too.

One way that lightsabers stay out of the hands of non-Force-users is that only Jedi/Sith know the techniques to construct them. So if you own one, and aren't a Force user, you probably killed someone to get it.

[JackRackham]

Lightsaber mechanics weren't much of an issue in last night's play. The only thing I think I'll tweak is that I won't let lightsaber crystals that increase armor divisor stack with one another and I won't allow more than one level of hardening for armor, just to keep enemies with standard gear relevant. For cinematic reasons, I'm making it easier to be able to deflect blaster bolts with a lightsaber, as well, basing parry on the weapon skill and only requiring force sensitivity to attempt it. I'm making it very difficult, however, to redirect and aim deflections.