May the Force be with you! Some prevailed at the helm of the Kryat Fang, others may have died of terrible fates. Again, all was very different from table to table as is kind of the point. One team one-shotted the enemy ship, another was populated nearly entirely by assassin droids and ignored the horrible smell left by the Trandoshan you stole the ship from. 

Regardless, Edge of the Empire is a great example of what we call 'dice pool' and what's more, a proprietary system much like the Warhammer Fantasy RPG, which shouldn't surprise you since FF was behind both. That said, this game should have felt very different from D&D since we didn't phys-rep, we didn't count distances on a board, and the map was merely for reference, not for placement, range or other mechanics. 

Yet this system may still feel stiff and mechanical after next week, when we experience the story-driven yet extremely detailed BURNING WHEEL. Note also the existence of BURNING EMPIRE space setting, and others from Luke Crane. Bring a large handful of D6!

FOR NEXT WEEK: the BURNING WHEEL FANTASY RPG 
*THIS is the hard, crazy, confusing -- but really fun -- one! Start on this character right away so you don't fall behind next week! There are two major phases for this and it usually takes a few hours (at least) the first time. 

CHARACTER CREATION
Using any edition you like (I prefer Gold), "BURN UP" a 5 life-path Burning Wheel character, making sure to start with a "born" and only going to leads that are permitted from that path. If you follow the rules, everything is derived from your choices so there are no further instructions. 

RESTRICTIONS
[Alas, NO ORCS or mods (like Hobbits) ALLOWED, but the other 3 core races are fair game! You can burn a basic wizard if you must, but be warned - you may discover that your magical abilities are not all you had hoped once we begin. There were only ever 5 wizards in the Tolkienverse, FYI.]

SCENARIO HOOK
The scenario will be "Lord of the Rings: Year III-861 in the city of Annúminas - Ancient seat of the Kings of Arnor. You start with 3 fate - 2 Persona - 1 deed point. Brackin will GM the entire class at once, so expect a very different type of game experience. 

CHARACTER BURNER AND SHEET
Full download list is here: http://www.burningwheel.org/wiki/index.php?title=Downloads. Note that there is an "extended campaign" character sheet HERE which I will not accept for the assignment, though I prefer it when playing personally. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
There are TONS of resources for this game (http://www.burningwheel.org/) including the fan-based wiki (http://www.burningwheel.org/wiki/) and forums to help you out (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/forum.php). You MAY also use an online burner to help you out - but beware - many are buggy and you must still turn in a fully completed burner worksheet HERE and character sheet HERE. (or the form-fillable one HERE) You can play with and learn from the automated burner, but you MUST transfer it over to the above sheets correctly. 

Need a hand? Don't Panic! Come to Strategy Game Club in ATC 3.102 after 6pm this Thursday where the SGC plays board games and you will find many BW experts to ask intelligent questions of!  

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is next week! Character requirements below! 

D&D game study day today. All 5 groups ran the scenario with very different results! Surprised? Don't be. Even a game with a packaged linear scenario has many factors which change the experience from the GM to the players to the characters and everything that comes with it. That's the point! 

Regardless, D&D is the most "board game-like" tabletop game that we will play. By this I mean we phys-repped, used a strong ruleset with a rich history, and a very strict interpretation of a preset scenario. Be ready to compare this experience to the new Star Wars: EotE system, which uses proprietary dice and a number of interesting story-driven mechanics. 

Keep your character sheets until the D1 Due date, then turn them all in together with the analysis paper. Feel free to fix any problems with your character sheet you noticed today, but there should be evidence that this character was played too. You can spend any XP you earned. 

*Begin thinking about your D2 and what kind of system you might want to pick up for your presentation.*

Edge of the Empire requirements are as follows: 

Create a character with no more than 30 obligation. (That's a LOT!) You do not have to roll for it, you can choose what you want. You have a base amount of XP to spend based on species. Costs are the same before and after character creation so don't sweat it if you have to wait for a skill. Obligation lets you have more starting xp (or credits) to spend on character creation. Note that EotE characters don't have 'levels' per se, as XP is given in order to level up specific things, not your character. (You can literally buy a skill after each encounter without ever worrying about 'leveling up' first.) You can use any source-book that is out for species/career/specialization, (don't forget your species bonuses/abilities!) 

I don't know of any official character generators (by FF) so be careful if you use one. You must transfer to the standard character sheet if you do. Feel free to post a link to your fav generator in the comments below! 

Character sheet here: 
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/StarWarsRPG/edge-of-the-empire/support/edge-of-the-empire-character-sheet.pdf

A great step by step guide for first timers here:
http://gsa.thegamernation.org/2012/09/04/lets-build-a-character-edge-of-the-empire-edition/

Don't forget your (hard to find) proprietary dice and/or the (easy to download) app!:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=220

A great FAQ / game reference here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/206257081/SW-EotE-Reference-Sheets
AND
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/StarWarsRPG/edge-of-the-empire/support/SWE02_FAQ_HiRes.pdf 

Don't waste your money on the "beta" beginner game as it does not have character creation rules and some things changed since release, obviously. 

Today we playtested five popular story-games to lay the foundation for mechanics heavy physical representation storytelling games. Consensus was that with notable exception (TotAK) board games use story as a loose framework when at all, and most are very rigid in their storytelling, relying on the game mechanics to drive the "story"/scenario forward. We will compare this to D&D 4.0 next week 

(D&D Character Sheet Instructions below!) V V V V V V V V


Our scenario/narrative board game case studies were: 
Betrayal at House on the Hill: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10547/betrayal-at-house-on-the-hill
Decent 2nd Edition: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104162/descent-journeys-in-the-dark-second-edition
Castle Ravenloft: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game
Wrath of Ashardalon: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66356/dungeons-dragons-wrath-of-ashardalon-board-game
Tales of the Arabian Knights: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34119/tales-of-the-arabian-nights

Other great story games to check out: 
Mansions of Madness: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/83330/mansions-of-madness
Descent (1.0): http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17226/descent-journeys-in-the-dark
Doom: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10640/doom-the-boardgame
Legend of Drizzt: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91872/dungeons-dragons-the-legend-of-drizzt-board-game

The board game elements/mechanics we discussed are here:
http://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgamemechanic
http://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgamecategory

FOR NEXT WEEK: 
Player's Handbook (PHB)
Completed Dungeons and Dragons Character Sheet
(one $$ option is here: 
https://www.wizards.com/dnd/tool.aspx?x=dnd/4new/tool/characterbuilder) 

REQUIREMENTS:

Char Creation: Level 3 - give yourself gear, abilities, and gold for this level as described in the PHB using the POINT BUY mechanic. Stick to core classes / races unless you own the book (PHB2/3). You may create your character's core and derived stats using any of the 3 methods. (Array/PointBuy/Random) Very good and FREE detailed instructions on how to do this can be read here: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-4Th-Edition-Dungeons-and-Dragons-Character and of course instructions are also in the PHB. Total noob? Try the "choose your own adventure" style character creation tool found in this book: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1rwiotpbbzd5mt9/t1_mXOS_40/Players%20Book.pdf but be sure to then transfer the information over to a proper character sheet and fill out all the rest of the information on it to get your character to level 3 according to the PHB! 

Starting gold / items follows this formula: During character creation for a non level-one character, take One magic item of character level +1, One magic item of character level, One magic item of character level -1, and Gold pieces are equal to the cost of a magic item of your level -1. You may then buy items as you see fit before the campaign begins with your gold. (See Pg. 223 of the PHB for more on this.)

Other helpful FREE downloads including the char. sheet  we are using, ability cards, and sample characters can be found here: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/tool.aspx?x=dnd/4new/tool/charactersheet 

(I will be posting the Star Wars: EOTE links/info next week - but you don't need it yet! Have no fear those who have been unable to track down dice - buy them online or download the app  
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=220.)