Star Wars – Rules Update
FFG – Movement – Personal Scale
The mechanics of moving in the FFG Game are different from other iterations of Star Wars as precise distance movement is dropped for more of a theatre of the minds eye style of play. I am happy to do that in some games, but here I look at an alternative version for use on the tabletop with grids.
The Range Bands
Edge of the Empire relies on broad terms used to describe ranges and distances. Rather than have a player’s attention focused on a grid, counting squares, Edge of the Empire uses more abstract means to represent position, distances, and ranges, thus allowing the players to focus on the action and the adventure.
The distance between two points – people, objects, or adversaries – is defined by general range categories. These range categories are used to determine how far a ranged attack can reach, how far apart two people are from each other, how much effort is needed to move between two places, and so on. The most common ranges are short, medium, long, and extreme range. Another relative position exists – engaged – to represent characters that are in extremely close proximity to each other.
For ease of play, distance in Edge of the Empire is divided up into five different bands, from engaged to extreme. As always, the GM has final say in determining the range between the attacker and the target.
With the engaged status and the range bands, the GM is free to describe things dynamically and set scenes without having to worry about exact distances. Exact distances in meters do not matter. The details and adventure come first, creating a vivid picture for the players, while allowing the GM to quickly provide the mechanical information players need to use their actions and build strategies.
House Rule
Note: For times when squares are useful I have added some house-rules for using squares to measure by. Each character will be assigned a base modifier.
- Base Move Modifier – This is determined by either Brawn or skill (such as Athletics, Melee or Brawl). Also used for Melee engaged range.
- Base Move – A character can move 3x their base move modifier as a manoeuvre. for an average character this is 9 squares.
- Base Range Modifier – This is determined by either Agility or skill (such as Coordination or ranged attack).
- Other skills might be appropriate depending on the circumstance. Such as Intelligence or Computers for Scanning range.
- Silhouette – Most characters have a silhouette of 1.
- Skill Check – a character can use their action to increase the distance travelled with the difficulty being the number of manoeuvres intended, with each success granting another square of movement. A failure uses up one of the manoeuvres without using the movement.
Personal – Engaged
To reflect two or more targets close enough to interact directly with each other, there is a special range status called engaged. Two characters engaged with each other are in very close proximity. A soldier needs to be engaged with a target to hit him with his vibrosword. Two or more characters engaged with each other is called an engagement.
Engaged is also used to indicate that a person is close enough to an item to use it. A slicer needs to be engaged with a security terminal to attempt to hack it. A pilot needs to be engaged with his starship to board it. A bounty hunter needs to be engaged with a tree if he wants to hide behind it for cover while stalking his prey. The engaged status simply indicates that two things are close enough to each other to directly interact.
The best way to consider engaged is as a subcategory of short range. Obviously, someone can be slightly further away if they’re at short range, rather than if they’re engaged with someone. However, the distance is relatively minor. Thus, spending a maneuver to move to engage someone or something is as much a matter of moving into combat (or out of combat) cautiously enough to avoid a return blow – or flipping open and focusing one’s attention on a device – as much as it is moving a physical distance.
House Rule
Note: For when squares are important, a characters engaged rating is Half Base Move Modifier rounded up.
- Example: A character is silhouette 1, with an Brawn of 2 would have a Base Move Modifier of 3. So their engaged range would be 3/2 rounded up and become 2 squares.
Personal – Short Range
Short range indicates up to several meters between targets. Many thrown weapons and small firearms are most accurate at short range. Two people in short range can talk comfortably without raising their voices. Moving to another spot within short range is usually easy to do and generally only requires one maneuver
House Rule
Note: For when squares are important, a characters short rating is Base Modifier multiplied by 3.
- Example – Same character with a Base Modifier of 3 they would have a Short range of 9 squares.
Personal – Medium Range
Medium range can be up to several dozen meters away. More reliable pistols can reach to medium range. Few thrown weapons can reach this far. Two people in medium range of each other need to talk loudly to hear each other. Moving from short range to medium range takes little exertion, and generally requires one maneuver.
House Rule
Note: For when squares are important, a characters medium rating is Base Modifier multiplied by 6.
- Example – Same character with a Base Modifier of 3 they would have a Medium Range of 18 squares.
Personal – Long Range
Long range is further than a few dozen meters. Blaster rifles, mounted weapons, and weapons that use the Gunnery skill can reliably reach this far without too much trouble. Two people in long range of each other need to yell loudly to hear each other. Moving from medium range to long range requires two maneuvers, as it is more time consuming than moving between medium range and short range. This means that in most cases, a character cannot close the distance between short and long range in a single round, as it would take three maneuvers (one for short to medium, two for medium to long).
House Rule
Note: For when squares are important, a characters long rating is Base Modifier multiplied by 12.
- Example – Same character with a Base Modifier of 3 they would have a Long Range of 36 squares.
Personal – Extreme Range
Extreme range is the farthest range at which two targets can interact. High-tech sniper weaponry and some vehicle-mounted armaments may reach out to this range. Two people at extreme range may not be able to hear each other even if they shout. Moving between long range and extreme range can be time-consuming and exerting, and requires two maneuvers. This means that in most cases, a character can move the entire distance between long and extreme range in a single round, but will suffer strain or give up his action to do so.
House Rule
Note: For when squares are important, a characters extreme rating is Base Modifier multiplied by 20.
- Example – Same character with a Base Modifier of 3 they would have a Extreme Range of 60 squares.
Design Notes
The idea of the house rule here is to allow someone to use their abilities more in the game and to differentiate between skill levels and ability to move about the battlefield with multiple types of opponents. This may or may not work, but will be giving it a try to allow for multi-combatants range banding to be easier to determine.
Content Updates
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