* Star Wars Roleplaying

I always wanted to do the roleplaying, but I never had any one who would do it with me. I'd want to use some characters from my stories I've done. Maybe I should come to the US.

The online RPG will rock if it allows me to have a Mon Calamari Jedi.

That's the thing. You play Jedi Knight or Super ESB, or whatever, you have the central plot to make you do stuff. Here, it's just like... walking around. Unless they do bring missions into it.

There's an online RPG?

Me, I would be up for an online session as I've been reading the damn WEG guide for years but can't find anyone to play with me. Even if I did get the WOTC book, I doubt they would. The D&D group I play with are purists. They don't like the Star Wars RPG. Only the first-and best-for them.

BTW, has Star Wars taken the place of that sci-fi RPG TSR tried to launch a few years back?

And can ANYONE explain that Star Wars card game to me?

Okay, prepare for me to be a font of information here....

-- First of all, Alternity was the TSR sci-fi game. The official line was that it was not cancelled but "complete," but either way, once they got the Star Wars license and Third Edition came along, that was all she wrote.

-- The Star Wars CCG is probably the single most confusing game I have ever played next to Jyhad (the Vampire: the Masquerade card game).

-- Okay, Star Wars Galaxies is the massive multi-player online role-playing game coming from the same folks who brought you Everquest.

And it is going to rock your world.

First of all, the graphics are going to be incredible. Go to their site and look at the screenshots. And I've seen them in motion, they're breathtaking. True, they'll be a system hog, but god they're worth the upgrade.

Second, the economy is entirely PC-based. That means no sitting around making droid parts and selling them to a merchant. No hopping over to the local market and picking up that piece of armor you need. You want to buy or sell something, you have to find another PC who is looking to sell or buy. Not only will this most likely prevent the totally skewed economic model that Everquest turned into, but it'll actually give players incentive to pick up skills outside of combat -- a friend of mine is already planning on being a miner so he can be the first step in the droid production chain.

As for missions, they'll be there, both in-game and player created. For example, say you're a smuggler. You get a contract to run some spice for the local Hutt lord to another planet. But you decide to stop along the way, sell the spice yourself, and pocket the money. It's entirely possible that Hutt will hire a PC bounty hunter to come looking for you. And that bounty hunter could be someone you've grouped with in the past and therefore have no reason to suspect anything sneaky from. And players can give you contracts as well, so you could have a PC send an NPC bounty hunter after you. Throw in plenty of Rebel and Imperial entanglements, and this game will be a hell of a lot more than just standing around.

Oh, and later this year, a Space expansion is coming that will let you actually pilot your own ship instead of "zoning" from planet to planet ala Everquest.

And lightsabers aren't going to be laying around for everyone to pick up -- it's going to take some work to become a Jedi.

Check it out: <a href="http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com" target="_blank">http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com</a>

Now, as for the RPGs, I've played 'em both, and I have to give the WEG version credit for helping keep the Star Wars flame alive during the dark times between Jedi and the Special Editions. And it did have a very simple, cinematic system that played up the drama of a situation rather than its realism -- I remember a GM rule that basically said, "Don't worry your players's ammunition -- until it's dramatically appropriate to worry about it." That nicely sums it up. The d20 is great as well -- I played a Gungan named Dur Jan Velks in a pre-Phantom Menace campaign and had a great time.

Yessiree, I've been reading thru this D20 rulebook and I can't wait to give it a spin.

my only complaint that i have with the new system is the same one i have with any D20 system in general. It's setup for power-gaming and a lot of times people spend too much time trying to "break" certain things instead of trying to enjoy the story they're trying to be led on. *shrug* If i had enjoyed that type of play i would've picked up Rolemaster and a calculator years ago.

Still in defense of the system it does cover more ground than the older ones and allows for more options so it's just up to the gm to take control.

The new Star Wars book is sexy. I want to play, now.

Only problem is that there's not enough Portman.

I used to RPG around Yahoo Chat, and I always much prefer deep character machinations rather than combat. I guess it's more challenging and more appealing to me as a writer.

I really do need to pick up this new book...

My brother and I are always game. We've been playing 3rd edition D&D for awhile and would definitely like to cross over to Star Wars.