I just picked up this cool supplement at the FFG Event Center: Special Modifications. Now all I need is the Jedi Guardian book and a bounty hunter book and I will be done with my modest FFG SWRPG library. Probably.
Techs are a big deal in Star Wars RPGs, but they can be a bit difficult to integrate into the larger group sometimes. I can't say whether this book helps with that as of yet, but here is a preview of the book.
Pages: Contents
1: Crawl
2: Credits
3: Contents
4: Fiction
5-9: Overview and Introduction
10-41 (Chapter 1: Expert Artificers): Backgrounds for Techs, including Antiquarian, Born Engineer, Tech Designer, and Underworld Tech Expert. A new chart of Technician focused Obligations. Three (or four?) new species: the Dug, the Besalisk, and two subspecies of Mustafarian. New Specializations like Cyber Tech, Droid Tech, and Modder. A bunch of new talents, a new Technician Motivation Chart and two new Signature Ability trees: Inventive Creation and Unmatched Calibration.
42-67 (Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade): Equipment! For techs! Rules for using tools as ranged weapons and for hot-rodding existing weapons (or tools) into something more useful. And dangerous. Some new armor, new cybernetics, slicing tools, construction and salvage tools, weapon and armor attachments, and things called "remotes". Simple droids. Drones? A few new vehicles, with emphasis on heavy haulers and at least two airspeeder equivalents of a mobile tow truck/repair yard. Cool. A few starfighters, then the starship equivalent of a mobile tow truck/repair shop. Artwork seems a bit like Han's new Episode VII ship, Eravana: open mouth, suck in broken down vessel. The chapter is rounded out with vehicle attachments. These techs will find a way to attach anything to anything, won't they?
68-96 (Chapter III: Ingenious Creations):If you can't merge the two things into one thing, you may have to build a new, separate thing. This chapter includes rules to do just that. There is a discussion related to my point above, why/how the Tech leaves the workshop for the danger and thrill of adventure. Integrating the Tech into the hijinks that are bound to ensue when an RPG adventure happens. A related discussion assists with making "Technical Encounters" exciting in their own right, so as to more fully include the nerd, I mean, Tech, in the fun. Rules for crafting weapons (melee and ranged) and droids, as well as gadgets and cybernetics. Rules for Slicing encounters! Every non-Tech party member's nightmare, potentially. Sit still and listen as the computer hacker goes on a solo adventure...within the computer! Seriously, it looks like the rules here are again focused on making sure the Tech stuff can be integrated into the rest of it all. The chapter, and the book, ends with some ideas about selling your wares, as a Tech, and some ideas on Tech rewards.
Impressions
I am not done reading the whole book, but I like what I see.Wonderful art and whatnot, as per usual with the FFG SW stuff. I like having the four-armed Besalisk race stats. Dugs are kinda neat, too. I will probably ignore the Mustafarians. Both of them.
I will be paying very close attention to the "Integrating Techs into Non-boring Adventures" portions of this book as I get to them. From what portions I have read of those sections, it looks promising. I am reminded (with some of the vehicles and artwork) of Shug's Space Barn on Nar Shadaa or the aforementioned Eravana...without the rathtars and questionable hyperspace lever usage, of course.
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