Interest check for freeform Star Wars game

[RedEve]

As in, no confusing system thingy. I would allow all canon races. And it would be adult oriented, obviously.

[Rydia]

What's the era, basic story?  If that will all be decided when the game gets put together, then I vote conditionally in.

[RedEve]

Well, for that, I wanted to hear the potential players' input. I have a slight preference for either the Clone Wars period or the Legacy period, but if most participants prefer another era, then I'll gladly oblige.

The story would be heavily depending on the era we select, obviously.

[Rydia]

I stopped following the EU stuff, so I know more about Clone Wars era than Legacy, but depending on how tightly you want to stick to the framework of the SW story, I could do either (with handholding or a fish out of water character).  Count me in.

[MagicalPen]

I've always been interested in a SW game, though my knowledge is only limited to that of the Movies, plus KOTOR II.

[RedEve]

Well, perhaps it would be easier to decide upon the era if I knew what kind of character you would prefer playing. :)

[Rydia]

Two options.  One is a reprogrammed assassination droid in the model of HK-47; very dark, bitter sense of humor and peculiar idioms in his method of speech.

The second would be a Force using young woman who was enslaved by a small pirate outfit, forced to use her abilities to help coordinate ship battle, detect ambushes and interrogate prisoners, recently escaped. 

[Serenity Vixen]

How about a Trianii Ranger who is strong in the force and wants to learn the ways of a jedi...
except of course that the jedi are probably dead or in hiding, again, depending on the era

[Jefepato]

Could be interesting, but to be honest I have no idea yet what I'd like to play.

[MagicalPen]

I'm with Jefetapo on this one too - no idea what i would play.

[Ryvaken]

Oooo StarWars RP much fun. I agree with the 'this could be interesting'...but not in those eras. Clone Wars is plagued by the raw stupidity of Lucas, and the Legacy period has sucked all the dimension out of the characters and fit them into Clone Wars part II. The only era that has worse writing is Kotor. The golden eras are the brief period between Vision of the Future and Vector Prime, the Zsinj era, and the early Academy era. The Vong invasion wavers between the extremes, hitting its stride between Star by Star and Force Heretic.

Yes, I am an elitist snob.

[Serenity Vixen]

I only know the movies, but I am willing to learn more if necessary

[RedEve]

Okay, I'd like to start by putting the era to a vote. Could everyone give me an idea of which era they would prefer? If we have that sorted out, I can then write a small pitch to lay out the basic plot.

[Rydia]

First Preference -- Old Republic, pre-film trilogies
Second Preference -- Clone Ways Era
Third Preference -- Legacy Era

[Serenity Vixen]

I am game for any era actually, as long as everyone is patient with me. At the moment, I only know the movies though, and the Han Solo books which happen just prior to the err... 4th movie

[MagicalPen]

*hops on the SV Bandwagon* I'm with her as far as knowledge and patience.

[Ryvaken]

First Preference: Remnant Era, meaning the timeperiod when Luke Skywalker's Jedi praxeum has produced Jedi and before the Vong invasion.
Second Preference: Late Vong Era, meaning the timeperiod after the fall of Coruscant and before the absurd events surrounding the Killik hives.
Third Preference: Warlord Era, meaning the time after the movies up through the dissolution of the warlords and the beginning of the Imperial Remnant.

[Vandren]

I haven't been by here in a while, but I could definitely get into a SW board. 

Preferences for period:
1) Clone Wars era
2) Old Republic (pre-Clone Wars)
3) Post-Endor to early New Republic (say, up through or including the Republic's capture/liberation of Coruscant)

I'll admit to a bias against the Vong period that is partially a bias against Salvatore and his creation. 

[Serenity Vixen]

So, do we know if this game is going to happen?

[Longspeak]

Potentially interested.  I have a big love for alternate timelines.  In non-adult settings, I have run a post Return game (ignoring the EU), an alternate setting based twenty years after Luke turned and the rebellion was crushed at Endor, and am currently (thought intermittently) running an alternate episode IV set 20 years after Palpatine failed to turn Anakin and was killed by Windu.

Not looking to run, those are just some examples of ideas I've used.

[Ryvaken]

Slightly less blasphemous than the mess of Episodes 2 and 3, that.

[Vandren]

Slightly less blasphemous than the mess of Episodes 2 and 3, that.

Speaking as a 2+ decade fan of the series and a professional lit. crit., the only big thing that 2 & 3 really suffered from was bad casting decisions like that Hayden kid who's almost as bad as Keanu Reeves but not quite (and, admittedly, some little paradoxes/problems introduced by writing such as the droids and a few of Kenobi's lines).  Oh, and the fact that Lucas didn't kill off Binks.

(BTW, it would probably be better to just come out and say you don't like the series, setting, etc. as a whole since that appears to be the case.)

But, that's all I'll say on that since this is neither the time nor the place for such a debate.

[Serenity Vixen]

It would not be true to say that I did not like the series or setting. I LOVED the 4th, 5th, and 6th movie. I didn't detest the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movies, but I really did not like them as well, but since we were exposed to the second set first, maybe that is understandable, even if they were made before I was born

Still, I personally can have fun in any Star Wars setting, as long as my fellow players are patient with me as my knowlege is pretty limited :)

[Ryvaken]

Lucas is a hack. The one thing I'll say good about his works was that they were better than Darksaber.

[Vandren]

It would not be true to say that I did not like the series or setting. I LOVED the 4th, 5th, and 6th movie. I didn't detest the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movies, but I really did not like them as well, but since we were exposed to the second set first, maybe that is understandable, even if they were made before I was born

Mea culpa, the commentary in my last post was directed at Ryvaken and no one else.

Speaking of whom . . . yes, Lucas was a poor writer.  So was Tolkien.  However, both were/are quite good at tapping into the collective unconscious and creating worlds that sparked the imaginations of literally millions of people.  Both also managed to refuel their respective genres by bringing the genres into the public eye.  Where once (1900-1960s or so) the SF genre was pretty much limited to a fairly small and introverted audience, after Lucas and Rodenberry (another not so great writer), the audience for the genre expanded exponentially.  More importantly, in some ways, studios and producers saw that SF could make affordable, profitable television and film.  While both L. and R. were poor writers, without them we wouldn't have the same proliferation and general acceptance of SF as a genre and would have had to wait a lot longer for decent to good SF television/film.  Honestly, speaking as a soon-to-be doctor of medieval lit (come March *crossed fingers*), the same can be said about the Beowulf transcriber - his writing is definitely not the best, but his work helped spawn native English/Anglo-Saxon imaginative fiction and for that, we continue to read and study his work roughly 1300-1400 years after his death (going by the earliest dates for the epic).

But, again, this is hardly the place or time for such a debate/discussion, even if it is pretty much one sided (sorry, "Lucas is a hack" isn't really "discussion" or "debate").  And, yes, I realize that I just went back on my word from the previous post.  Again, mea culpa.  I'll be good and be quiet on this subject now.

[Ryvaken]

True. You can't go too wrong with a mythic theme, and Lucas used some of the classic elements. He also started the ball on a lot of solid cinematic technologies. But when picking a setting for a game, it's generally a good idea to pick one unsoiled by really stupid authors. That disqualifies everything after the Killik incident, including the entirety of the Legacy era, the early Vong era (Salvatore got it off to a bad start but it hit its stride pretty well), the movie eras, and most everything with the Old Republic Jedi, which have become flanderized into a morass of corruption and conceit.

[Serenity Vixen]

So... are we critiquing Licas' work? Or starting a game?
Who all holds genuine interest in this game?
And who will act as GM?

[Ryvaken]

Critiquing the work and expressing interest in a game, but not in specific time periods. I have no intention of starting anything -- history will bear me out to demonstrate that things I start do not end well.

[Rydia]

I'm guessing that since the OP hasn't had anything to say on this in a while, it's more of a literary discussion and SW fanboys ranting about how badly X sucked.

[Serenity Vixen]

To bad, I had hopes for this one :(

[Ryvaken]

Probably a good guess.

[Vandren]

Looks like she vanished.  I'd be willing to try moding something, but don't really have the time, until at least June, to do more than run one character.

[Bladestorm]

If the vote is still ongoing, I'd like to throw my hat in for OR or Clone Wars/immediately pre Clone Wars era.  Yeah, everyone seems to love the NJO, but I personally feel the jedi of that time period lack the majesty of their earlier counterparts, and the Sith...don't get me started on Lumiya, please.  I'll end up ranting about Jacen, and nobody wants that.

I know some people feel Lucas initiated the Fail with the movies in Clone Wars, but the books are slowly making up for that.

The only problem, in my case, is that I adore the Sith, and would like to play one, if possible.

[Longspeak]

I'd like to step in and offer to run.

I don't know the EU much (I strongly dislike most of what I've read, so I haven't read much).

My preference for running is one of two things:

1) Immediately following the end of RotJ, creating our own story from that point, ignoring the EU (If pressed, I'd be willing to incorporate the Timothy Zahn trilogy; I'm not in love with those books, but I didn't hate them).  The heroes of the movies become elder statesmen while a new group of heroes takes the foreground.

2) Pick a point in the six movies where we can change events.  Explore how the story might be different from there.  Can either make all new characters, or take characters from the movies and explore how they change as well.

3) Pick a point before the movies (Old Republic) and just go.  My knowledge of the Old Republic all comes from playing KOTOR, so this isn't a preferred route for me unless all concerned don't mind just making stuff up.

Any interest?

[Rydia]

I was up for the original game, and I could still be interested.  Will the game feature adult content?

[Longspeak]

That depends entirely on the desires of the participants.

[Serenity Vixen]

Will a Force-Sensitive Trianii Ranger who wants to be a Jedi ((or with much less enthusiasm a Sith)) be a viable character concept?

Maybe a bit more human-looking Halfbreed Trianii? 

[Longspeak]

See my previous comments regarding the Extended Universe.  I haven't the vaugest idea what a Trianii or Trianii Ranger is (though I assume they look like cats ;p ).

As for Force Sensitive, it really depends what sort of tale we want to tell.  I have no problem with the concept in general, but I can't see it fitting in every circumstance.

I have to be very upfront with my opinion of the EU.  I wouldn't want people coming in and later getting mad because we're not acknowleding the events surrounded their favorite SW book.

For each of my previous three suggestions, here's a more specific ideas, as examples:

1) After the Empire's defeat at Endor, the alliance is beginning to build itself toward becoming a Republic again.  Luke Skywalker wants to revive the old Jedi, but there's still so much he doesn't know.  The databanks on Coruscant have been purged.  PCs are members of the alliance and/or potential Jedi in search of histories and information about the old Order.

2) I've done a couple of these and I don't want to redo those specific ideas.  Those ideas were huge changes with far reaching implications within the SW universe.  But here's a simple one:

On Bail Organa's starship, Padme dies giving birth to her children.  Bail, Obiwan and Yoda discuss what to do.

"I'll take the boy to Alderaan," says Senator Organa.  "My wife and I have always wanted a son."

"And Obiwan," Says Yoda.  "To Tatooine, you must take the girl.  To her family.  Watch over her you will."

"Yes, Master Yoda."

Twenty years later, how has this changed things?

Another one that may or may not be simple:  What if Qui Gonn had lived and Obiwan had died?

3) Hmm.... I don't really have a decent idea here.  More thinking is needed.

[Rydia]

I can't say it any more that I'd be interested, generally speaking, in the game as you have outlined it thus far.  Provided, of course, adult content is present.

[Longspeak]

Bits of the EU I have been known to accept happen to include the Corporate Sector Authority from the Han Solo novels by Brian Daley.  I was reminded of this when I looked up Trianii (and found that, yes, they *are* cat people - snerk).  Haven't read those books in 25+ years, but I have used the Corporate Sector in a couple of games.

So if interest exists, let's get specific.  Should I put this in a new topic and link to it to more potential exposure?

Setting

My previous ideas were meant as suggestions and examples.  Hearing no others I'll put them forth as solid offers:  Do we want to play in one of two worlds I've outlined?

1) After RotJ: Pros include a free setting.  The history is written, let's get on with writing the future.  No real Cons.  Can't be a Jedi unless we place the setting a while later, to allow time for new Jedi to be trained.  Jedi-like traditions from beyond the outer rim might be possible.  That actual story idea is open to revision.  Honestly, in this setting, I can easily see me furnishing a few paragraphs to set the thing up and then letting you guys loose to decide where the heck you'll take it.

2) Leia Skywalker/Luke Organa: Pros include (for some) the fun of exploring the familiar story with a new twist.  How has this simple change affected the galaxy?  How is the story different?  Did they grow up the same?  Does Leia chafe at being asked to stay on the farm for just one more season?  Did she and Biggs become an item?  Is Luke a diplomat?  A Young Senator?  Or is he still Luke, only better dressed, uncomfortable with the role he's expected to play, loving nothing more than flying his hopper through the ofrests of Alderaan?  Hell, is he even part of the rebellion?  These are the things those who step into these roles would determine.

Cons include (again, for some) the fact that you're pretty much slotted into one of a few roles, those of movie characters, and the story is largely the same, barring any changes made.  And again, no Jedi.  Well...one, but he's *old.*

Serena: Your concept wouldn't really fit into #2.  But it could in #1.

The biggest con with both ideas is the lack of Jedi.  If we want Jedi we need a different setting.  I'm open to suggestions for an Old Republic game in that case.

Adult Content:  As Rydia has asked, I should address this specifically.  I have no problem with adult content.  But I need to know how far players expect to take things.  And... weird as it may sound, my own limits would depend on the setting we choose.  I'd have fewer limits if we used an option that didn't use established characters.  Not keen to see Leia assaulted by Jabba the Hutt, I guess.

[Serenity Vixen]

I would like to play no matter what is decided.

I prefer to play a Trianni Ranger or, even better, a more human looking Half-Trianii Ranger if allowed, and in my dream game, I would eventually have the possibility of learning the ways of the force and becoming a Jedi. I can handle sexual content, but prefer it make sense in the context of the story, rather then it being a game based around the idea of having sex. In other words, I can handle if characters decide to have sex, or even if captured characters are 'interrogated', etc. I just want it to make sense, rather then sex being the main focus of the game.

That said, these are just preferences, and I would like to be involved even if the setting is not my dream setting :)

[Longspeak]

Something about the idea of alien half-breeds in Star Wars troubles me.  Dunno why, but the thought of half-breeds doesn't feel Star Wars-y.

That said, there's not a darned thing to stop you from making your own race of hot cat-women.  And it's possible I just need to frickin' get over myself.

How's this:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Star Wars
Episode VII
A New Republic

It is a time of hope.  The Rebel Alliance, gaining momentum after the victory at Endor, has swept through the galaxy, gaining support in ever increasing numbers.  Led by Mon Mothma and Leia Organa, the Alliance has restored diplomatic relations with many systems.  The war is far from over, but alliance forces continue to meet the challenges ahead.

Through this chaos, Luke Skywalker seeks to rebuild the Order of Jedi.  The task is not an easy one.  No Jedi remain who might share their knowledge; the Jedi Temple and Great Library on Coruscant have been razed, their secrets purged for eternity; and the emperor's agents log ago culled all the knowledge they could before destroying it. 

On his ship, The Phoenix - a converted Nebulon B Frigate - Commander Skywalker combs the galaxy in search of lost secrets of the Jedi.  His crew of pilots, soldiers, scientists, scholars and hopeful students stride the galaxy, seeking what remaining knowledge the stars may yet hide...

[Serenity Vixen]

That sounds like a good opening sequence to me :)

Hmmmm... making a new race, that sounds like fun :)

Maybe I am a catgirl princess who escaped from her planet which has been over run with some of the empires forces, and she is seeking allies to liberate her homeland...

[Rydia]

Minor nitpick (and I can't believe I'm about to do this), Luke Skywalker was a general in the Rebellion/Republic.

[Longspeak]

You might want to check your sources on that.

[Rydia]

Ahh crap.  You're right.  It's only EU material that makes him a general.  Kenobi was the general in the material.  Calrissian too, I think.

[Longspeak]

Even Han got to be a General.  The alliance gave those commissions out like candy.

[Rydia]

I must have flown a million missions in a TIE cockpit and never made Admial...

[Ryvaken]

Ahh crap.  You're right.  It's only EU material that makes him a general.  Kenobi was the general in the material.  Calrissian too, I think.

Check again. He resigned his commission at the rank of Commander after the Bakura incident, when he realized he hated being in charge of large operations.

[Longspeak]

EU does say he was made a General later, according to Wookiepedia.  However, this is part of my problem with EU.  Aside from consistently poor writing, it doesn't always agree with itself.

[Ryvaken]

Ok first off, nothing in the EU is as poorly written as the movies. Secondly, the movies have more internal disagreements than most of the EU...although the Legacy era really swung out in left field; that can clearly be traced to authors trying to be more like the movies. The conclusion is that the closer to the movies you get, the lower the quality becomes. There are no exceptions.

As to this 'game' of yours, as interesting as it does, in fact, sound, the number of things you've gotten wrong already tell me that whatever merits it had...well see the above conclusion.

Oh, the promotion to General was out of a comic book. OK, that's a different story entirely; those things scrape the slimy filth out of even the best authors' minds. Still not as bad as the movies.

[Longspeak]

What have I gotten wrong?  Other than discarding EU, which if you feel is wrong I will accept your judgment, what exactly have I gotten wrong?

[Longspeak]

I must have flown a million missions in a TIE cockpit and never made Admiral...

You probably didn't have the cocky, scruffy grin Han had.  It goes a long way come promotion time.

[Ryvaken]

Well without the EU there are no examples to cite, but you state that no Jedi survived the purge, no records remain intact. You're suggesting that a literally galaxy-wide organization going back thousands of years has been erased in the span of a few decades. That a group of psychic, precognizant sentients was unable to hide material or people where they would be safe from harm. As Leia said in A New Hope, "the more you tighten your fingers, the more will slip through your grasp." Or was it tighten grasp and slip through fingers? Bah, been a decade since I watched ANH. EU Grand Admiral Pellaeon had a similar opinion expressed in Force Heretic I: Remnant.

Then we have Luke's little quest. He's taking one Nebulon-b, not even enough to be called a task force, into a largely hostile galaxy, and he's looking for Jedi secrets instead of students to train. EU and movies agree that finding Force Sensitives ain't easy, and his death would be a devastating loss to Republic morale. Farmboy's got more sense than that -- you go in hard or you go in quiet, you don't try to split the difference.

[Longspeak]

Okay, so your opinion is based on my choices; you weren't trying to imply that I'd made non-EU related factual errors.  I can live with that.

[Longspeak]

I would appear to have two interested parties.  That is what I call enough to start the ball rolling.  Any other who might be interested are welcome to say so.

Before I open an OOC room, I need to know where to put it.  Serena and Rydia, what limits will you prefer?

[Serenity Vixen]

As long as the story is good, and the site limits are observed, I am happy
Although I reserve the right to quietly mention things if I discover that I am wrong about this and something actually does make me feel uncomfortable, I do not anticipate that happening though as events in my other games have caused me to re-think and expand my own personal literary limits and comfort zones :)

[Bladestorm]

Ack, I missed so much...

I was thinking of playing the first male Twi'lek who isn't a fat sack of fat, a swordsman with a dancer's physique.  According to SOME of the EU, the Twi'lek are a hardy race with a long martial tradition.  Some of the books even mention some of the greatest Sith and Jedi swordmasters being Twi'lek.  Besides, lekku are hot.

Since I'm new to this site and its navigation, any help would be greatly appreciated. It's always a little difficult adjusting to a new community. ^_^

[Longspeak]

Bladestorm, Not sure what sort of help you're looking for but what I can give, I will.

[RedEve]

I'm back. Sorry, work got a little hectic there, but I see this thread got some action in my absence.

And I'm not sure how much say I still have in matters, but I would go for the remnant era myself now, for a variety of reasons.