GM Guidebook v1.2
Version 1.2: The following topics have been edited or added.
Background Dice
Movement of Time
New Technology
Foreword:
This document is designed to pass along policies, rule interpretations, and other important information to the GMs of the SWRPGA. The topics discussed here will not be developed very deeply right now, and are meant to give an overview of our (the SRGMs) opinion on a variety of matters.
Timeframe:
The SWRPGA currently plays in the Rogue Squadron Era. We are about three an a half years post Endor. The New Republic has just finished their capture of the planet Coruscant, though in all truth those activities have little effect on the game itself.
Right now you can download movies for ipod from internet for 1 dollarStoryline:
The current basic storyline is as follows. The primary story revolves around the conflict between Warlord Sarne and the rest of the sector. Warlord Sarne represents the old Empire, with its harsh policies and unforgiving manners. He seeks to gain dominance in this sector, and eventually spread his influence elsewhere. There will be many conflicts between him and the other factions, and it will become apparent that only through an alliance will the sector be safe from his threat. There is more developed at this time, but that is the basic plan the story will take. There will be SRGM run missions that will help move the course of this along, and many things that are done by NPC forces.
Kathol Sector and Mapping Project:
We currently play in our own version of the Kathol Sector. Each group that has territories also have systems in this area. We request that games you create and run be played within the confines of this sector, especially in the case of military forces, because they have been assigned to this sector, and removing them to play in another sector will weaken each side’s available forces. This is not an absolute rule, which can never be broken, however it would be much appreciated if games stayed within the confines of our Kathol Sector. We do have a map for this sector it is currently located at: http://www.swrpga.com/kathol
This will be moved to the SWRPGA server as soon as our Webmaster gets around to it. We are still in the process of creating some systems, but for the most part they have been completed. This gives a large number of planets where games can be run.
Character Points and Experience:
Character Point awards should be around 8 per month, 15 per adventure. If your mission should happen to run much longer than two months, it is suggested that it be broken down into smaller units, and CPs awarded partway through the adventure. Though if you have questions about what should be allowed, ask your SrGM about it.
For WotC games, sticking to the rules the book passes down will solve any problems before they start.
Character Advancement WEG:
Improving Skills:
Characters spend the number before each D to advance a normal skill one "pip". Training time for one "pip" is one day for every CP spent with a teacher, two days and double the CP cost without one. If the skill was used in the last Adventure, it needs no training time. We ask that training be played out, and you cannot train in more then one skill at a time.
Improving Specializations:
Specializations require only half the CP amount before the D, and spend 1 day per CP spent training. Double without a trainer.
Improving Advanced Skills:
Advanced Skills cost double the number before the D. With a teacher you spend twice the number of CPs spent training. Without one, it is double the CP cost.
Improving Attributes:
Advancing a new Attribute is the hardest one. It costs 10 times the number before the D. You train one week for every CP spent. You MUST have a Teacher. You can take the Training time down for spending an extra CP per week. Minimum training time is one week.
Once you are done training, the Character must roll your new Attribute code. The Game master will then roll the Race Max. If the Character rolls under the Game master’s roll, then the advancement stays. If the Character rolls higher, then you go back to the D you were at, and get half your character points back.
Improving Move:
Improving your Move costs the number of CPs that equal your present Move. It takes one week per CP spent with a teacher. Two weeks per CP without. You cannot go above your Species move Maximum.
Force Sensitive:
If the Character is not Force Sensitive, s/he is allowed to become Force Sensitive by spending 20 Character Points. There is no training time.
Improving Special Abilities:
Improving Special Abilities is explained in the Race Sheet.
Improving Force Skills:
Force Skills are improved the same way a Skill is improved. You may or may not learn a new Force Power each improvement, depending on the Teacher. You MUST have a Teacher until you get to 3D in a Skill, and if you are improving the skill without a teacher, it still costs twice as much.
WOTC:
Skill advancement works differently in WOTC, it goes according to the levels gained. When a character gains a level, they must spend all skill points available at that time. A character can have no skill with a rank higher than his level plus three. (A 1st level character can have a maximum rank of 4 in any one skill.) In addition, skills that are not class skills for a specific character cost twice the amount to improve; two skill points instead of one.
Attribute increase are also done by level, every fourth level a character receives one additional attribute point.
Rules for feats are found in the WOTC core rulebook. If you have questions on this, please contact the SRGMs; they will answer any questions you may have on the matter.
Background Dice:
After some discussion, we have decided to begin allowing background dice to be used again. This decision has many reasons; the first and primary one is to encourage characters to develop their characters more. Secondly it seems inconsistent that every character would come in with the exact same number of skills, and finally, there are some jobs (for example Navy Commanders) who in all actuality would not hold that position as a starting character. Having background dice available could help to make this situation more realistic.
The following rules apply with regards to background dice:
1: GMs are allowed to hand out up to 6D in background dice for a background. We have removed the 1D per page rule and have agreed that a GM should be able to make a good subjective measurement of the worth of a background. We ask that common sense is used in this measurement; backgrounds that are short (1-2 pages) should not be given the full amount of extra dice, but if a background was 3-4 pages long and very well written, it could conceivably be worth the maximum.
2: If a background appears to be worth more than 6D, a GM may submit it to his or her SRGM who will review the background and confirm that it is worth more. With SRGM approval a background can be worth up to 12D, however this 12D would be based on the quality of the background not the length of the background. If you think you have a background that is worth more than 6D, submit it to your SRGM with a recommendation on how much it should be worth.
3: No more than 1/2 (rounded down) of these background dice can be placed in a skill that is related to the character's profession, and these only if the person's background warrants it. If the background does not warrant it, the dice must be place in skills that have no bearing on the characters profession. (This is subject to GM interpretation as what is relevant to a characters occupation.) Examples may include: a knack for gambling, knowing how to ride banthas, or other such matters.
4: Because background dice are considered skill dice for starting characters, a character may place no more than 2D total in any one skill. This 2D may come from either normal skill dice or background dice. For specializations, a total of 3D may be placed in the skill as follows:
1D = 3 specializations at 1D each. Up to 1D may be placed into each of those specializations, which would result in a total bonus of 3D to that specialization.
5: No background dice may be spent on force skills.
6: We understand that there are characters that have joined who will request that their characters be allowed to have background dice. After discussing the issue, we have decided that we will leave the matter up to individual GM’s. If you do not want to give background dice to any characters at the present time, that is your decision. If you want to allow your characters to gain background dice, you may do so at any time. This is going to be done mainly on the honor system, we got rid of it before because too many people abused the system, if this starts happening again, and we may pull them again.
7: WOTC: Because of the nature of the WOTC system, we found that the best way to address this issue is to assign a XP value to 1D. Our current opinion is that 1D is equal to 500 experiences. This means that at the most a character could start at 4th level. If an individual GM wants to reduce this amount, that is fine, do not raise this amount. 500 per page are the maximum that may be given out.
8: Final note: There may be characters around who started under the old system where we still had background dice. If one of these characters gets awarded dice a second time around, we the SRGMs reserve the right to immediately kill the offending character.
Homebrew Equipment:
We ask that GMs use equipment that is found either in a WEG or WOTC handbook only. There is more than enough equipment in these books to outfit characters, and while creating new equipment may be fun and interesting, it is somewhat troublesome when you try to involve multiple groups in a game. If for some reason your game requires that you use homebrew equipment, we ask that you get approval from a SRGM before you use it in your game. This included ships, ground vehicles, personal weapons, and new species.
Appropriate Forces:
We also ask that you keep your forces at a level appropriate for your group. Not trying to pick on anyone, but it is the most recent situation, where Red Eye Intelligence had a fleet nearly as large as the Empire, yet no planets in this sector. This is not appropriate, and a situation we are in the process of fixing. Please make sure that forces you use are appropriate to the group you are GM’ing. More information on this topic will be forthcoming, we are in the process of working out a new way to keep track of ships and fleets, and as soon as we figure it out completely we’ll let you know.
Movement of Time:
At various times, the SRGMs will post information on when the club is going to advance along the timeline. These changes will vary from 3-6 months in length and will most likely begin a new phase in the overall storyline. We will try to give several weeks notice when these changes are going to occur.
New Technology:
As we move the timeline father along, we will begin to add new fighters and capital ships into the forces that area available to be used by the different groups. The influx of this new technology will be a slow process, and will be managed by the SRGMs. We will post on the GM Discussion Forum when a new technology is available, and post the relevant WEG/WOTC stats for that item.
This concludes the GM Guidebook v1.2.
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