Although the rules assume games will usually take place during the timeframe of the original Star Wars trilogy, our campaign is set several years after the Battle of Endor, roughly at the time of the Mandalorian series, but a different part of the galaxy. Specifically, we are in the Oseon System for the most part, and the game master is taking a lot of cues from [*The Lando Calrissian Adventures.*](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lando_Calrissian_Adventures)

All of our characters started the game in an Imperial prison. We were offered a chance to choose our incarceration activities. Eventually, either the fall of the Empire or basic neglect led to a loss of rations. All of us managed to not fail enough checks to starve to death before we were broken out by a mercenary company. Our choices and starvation consequences gave us some custom boosts to our stats.

The campaign has essentially been a series of bounty hunter missions for the mercenary crew that rescued us. Apparently the New Republic has jobs for people who track down ex-Imperial ne'er-do-wells for them, and the batch we are tracking down are up to something particularly nefarious. The GM's missions have revealed an Imperial remnant fleet that is trying to exploit drugs and the Flamewinds of Oseon phenomenon to create a way to crush the New Republic and rebuild the Empire. 

On our last session, though, we kinda threw the GM a curveball. We decided we needed a cloaking device for the landing craft we have been assigned, and decided the most logical option is a heist mission. We need to rob one of the Oseon system casinos, or steal a star yacht and sell it to the Hutts, or something along those lines. So now the GM needs to come up with something COMPLETELY different from whatever he had planned.

Next week, maybe I can finally use my skills!

![Screenshot 2021-06-24 at 19-51-50 Ami RPG Sessions.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/jacobtothe/23w2eTEfgiATYbRJ1AN7kWY1tcri2Xej65b4SVERM4NzFS9ce3WYBp9Bb1HozfdbEyPx4.png)

My character is a Twi'lek colonist: politico. Me do talky-talks really good. Me no do shooty-shoots good. Punchy-punch not good at all. That said, the dice have been kind to me a time or two. I managed to finish off a fleeing Storm Trooper sergeant the two heavy weapons characters had both missed. They blazed away with heavy weapons, and then I, from further back, got a lucky dice roll with my stolen Stormtrooper blaster rifle. Hilarity ensued. Insults were thrown. But this time, Ami might get to trade in her kickass custom-crafted battle armor for a pretty party dress and a chance to be the center of attention.

The core game system works really well for theater of the mind, and we have been using [Sessions](https://rpgsessions.com/) for character management and dice rolling. In the game table view, there is a drop-down list of skills that pre-set the relevant positive dice pool, and we can add modifiers and the opposing dice per the GM's instructions with a few clicks.

![Screenshot 2021-06-25 at 20-41-00 Star Wars Idiot's Array Game Table RPG Sessions.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/jacobtothe/23vsBiG4xFwRXELxZaFeaKX7XA6kBSCksmH7Sewktv8eR9RtNpBNMra6U1XLAEtZRkVzG.png)

As you can see, wounds and strain separately count up toward a threshold. Strain can be chosen by taking extra actions, or imposed by various abilities, and reduced by many means. It tends to ebb and flow a lot. Passing the threshold means unconsciousness. Wounds mean your character is down, and additional bad things happen. A d100 table  inflicts long-term injuries, and if enough modifiers or prior unhealed injuries boost the result, death can happen. However, it's not a gritty and grimdark game that kills characters THAT easily.

And no, none of us get that sweet lightsaber skill at *any* level. No Jedi or force powers here. This is an Edge of the Empire campaign.

If you haven't tried the Fantasy Flight Games narrative dice system, see if your local game shop can run a one-shot. It's a lot of fun. Star Wars is Star Wars, obviously, but there is also the core Genesys game, with its own books for fantasy and hard science fiction settings, plus the Keyforge expansion book that adds everything but the kitchen sink. Honestly, much as I like Dungeons and Dragons, this game system just handles most things better.