INTEREST CHECK: Star Wars FFG

This is only an interest check at this point, just to gauge the enthusiasm/desire to play in a Star Wars game using the Fantasy Flight Games system. Depending on interest level and period selected I'd still probably need a month or two as my two campaign concepts are in the planning stages.

Clone Wars - In this game, the characters would be thrust into the very beginning of the Clone Wars and be part of a Spec Ops/Black Ops clone commando unit very much in the mold of movies/television shows like SEALS, SIX, SEAL Team, Zero Dark Thirty, etc. with the hope that a core group of players would see their characters grow and bond throughout the Clone War ... imitating and dramatizing (I hope) the special bond those real life soldiers find in service. Though the general idea is to play Clones there is certainly room for Jedi padawans, regular spies/soldiers/, and fringe characters as they would all have their place in this type of campaign.

Just to keep things a little fresh, I'm leaning towards the 'Trope play' suggestion of the Rise of the Separatists and Collapse of the Republic source books ... meaning there will be occasional breaks to play an adventure focusing on the political intrigue and dealing in the Senate/Separatist Congress as well as the underworld/civilian side of things ...

Classic - Or alternatively, a game set in the 'Classic' time period of the original trilogy. This game would deal more with the Rebellion's struggles and themes like that of hope and the moral sacrifices made as seen in Rogue One. There would also be room to explore/discover the Force in the vein of the new Fallen Order game.

If anyone is is interested, please speak out ... include your preference of the two scenarios. If the interest is there I'll move to hashing out the more popular campaign idea and keep everyone informed of the progress. Then I'd invite those that showed interest and open a recruitment thread.

I'm interested in playing. Being a veteran I like your first idea.

I’m interested. Would be happy with either campaign but would lean towards the Clone Wars as a preference

The system is very popular here (well, everywhere really)... you'll have ppl clambering all over this post by the end of the day I'm sure.

Including me ;D

I'd vote for Clone Wars, but am also involved in a number of games already and would gladly abdicate my spot to someone who hasn't had as much opportunity to play this fantastic system, if you have more interest than player spots.

I am definitely into this game, but I am more attracted to the Edge Of The Empire side of things. I don't really see the atraction in playing as a unit of clones or anything else seriously militaristic.

Speaking for myself, I can easily see the attraction as a GM, particularly within the context of PBP:
1. The group has a built-in reason to be together, and to stay together. No struggling to "make it all fit together".
2. Very easy to hit the ground running with a "Mission"-structure plot, and to keep things moving.
3. Very easy to have high-stakes, high-drama plot points.
4. Very easy to incorporate many different styles of play (the combat folks, the social one, the knowledge/mechanics person, the infiltrator), all have roles that write themselves in a "Black Ops"/deniable asset complex mission scenario.
5. Very easy to incorporate very human choices and moral quandaries.

For me, as a GM, it wouldn't be about running this kind of game because "OOO RAH! Militarism is awesome!", I'd run that kind of campaign cuz it writes itself and would be easy to run.

I've definitely been wanting to give FFG Star Wars a try...

There is definitely an appeal to playing a military unit from the player side. It's a unique type of work relationship, and the dynamics of command, responsibility, and hierarchy can create some interesting story friction that's different from a typical adventuring party. I think you could also get this out of a "Rebel cell" type game.

emsquared's points are all certainly valid and very much my mindset ... though as a GM (at least in the PBP medium) I've never had much issue with 'making it all fit together' as I've had no problems running mini 'solo adventures' until I could mesh things together in a believable way.

As I grow older and a lot of my close friends and relatives who have completed terms of military service (and in some cases having re-upped and finished their second or third terms) and share their experiences -- and because hearing their experiences piqued my interest that lead me to some very good books (Lone Survivor, American Sniper, Horse Soldiers, No Easy Day, to name but a few). I've had the thought to attempt (probably poorly) to mimic that sort of story and experience in the roleplaying realm.

That being said, to try and do a Modern or Near Future game felt perhaps like it might be to real and seemed disrespectful. But with the release of Rise of the Separatists and Collapse of the Republic sourcebooks the Clone Wars era seemed a more respectful less real way to run a campaign inspired by the tales of brotherhood and meaning found in service I've been hearing and read about. So it would be about emsquared's point #5 ... which if the campaign runs long enough (fingers crossed) would introduce Order 66 and how these PCs may react, having perhaps shared a fairly significant story and developed relationships with Jedi PCs and NPCs.
To GreyGriffin's point ... you could get the same feel out of a 'Rebel Cell' game. Though I feel like this kind of story would feel more like Cassian's comments towards the end of Rogue One (before they made the assault on Scarif) where he mentioned that he and the group of soldiers 'have all done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion'. So it would be more about common bond of these 'terrible things' they've done and the 'hope' that the Rebellion can/will succeed.

I appreciate all the comments ... keep them coming.

I'm interested in either, but I would rather the classic era. FIGHT THE EMPIRE. One point that I will make in favor of being rebels is that it enables diversity in character's. I think a clone war game where we're all clones and maybe a jedi would be fun as a one shot, but I question how long it would be before we all get tired of trying to play a clone. If we were to go clone wars, I would suggest we do a jedi party. You can still get a lot of those themes that were discussed in Seuss's very thoughtful post, but we are less shoehorned into a role.

optimumsquare's concerns are very much a concern, as fatigue could very much become a factor. If I ran a Clone Wars campaign I would definitely be running the game using the Troupe play suggestion from the Rise of the Separatists sourcebook. It would provide a break for some players OR an opportunity to play something different with stories that would impact the main story line. I think there would be opportunity for politically charged Jedi/Diplomat story arcs and stories/adventures taking place in the more seedier side of the galaxy.

Being somewhat of a history buff, having a short story arc or series of adventures dealing with a privateer crew would be an awesome break from the norm of the base campaign and immediately comes to mind.

I have been in a couple of Star Wars games which started well and finished like many PbP games to early, these have left me with only a taste and a desire to play more so would love to play.

I to feel that a classic arena would suit better for expanded play and would easily been run as an elite unit style group, or newly formed unit creating their legend.

I do like the idea of playing a squad or team that has been recently put together....ready to start their own trilogy.

My love of laser swords and space wizards makes me lean towards the Clone Wars, but I understand that's not everyone's jam...

So the preference on era seems to be evenly split. Though those advocating for the Rebellion Era brought up some very good points.

Those interested in the Clone Wars ... you are interested in the idea of playing clones? Or do you simply prefer the prequel era - because the prevalence of force users, a 'more civilized time'?

I appreciate the feedback everyone has provided.

Aside from laser swords and space wizards, the Clone Wars does offer a really different setting on a couple of axes.

It's centered on what's essentially a geopolitical conflict between large sovereign states, rather than a covert insurgency against a monolithic empire. Aside from providing the potential for large, space operatic conflicts and big battles, it also creates a more nuanced moral and sociopolitical environment. There are plenty of reasons to side with either the CIS or the Republic, and likewise, plenty of reasons for animus towards both. Both sides are actively trying to win over supporters while also waging an enormously destructive war.

The Empire is sort of more generically evil. You can do some work to present it as a different sort of actor, but a lot of work has been done to make them the Bad Guy, from existing fiction to just design language. The decision not to oppose the empire is usually based on fear or greed, rather than any but the most toxic political or ethical stance. If you can convince someone to agree with the Empire's ideology, they are probably a bad person. This sort of clear struggle against evil definitely has some appeal, but I also feel it's inherently limiting in the kinds of conflict it can present.

Second, I think the prequels have much more room for improvement than the OT. The OT really tightly winds the major events surrounding the Rebellion's fight against the Empire around its plot. (If your game takes place around ESB, why are you not on Hoth?) Characters in the OT era, especially actors for the rebellion, can feel a bit like also-rans to the main story that everyone loves.

The Clone Wars, on the other hand, are a hot mess, with a ton of stuff left unexplained, and vast and ambiguous war fronts and events and huge swaths of time and conflict that are just completely undefined. Because of its messiness and broader timeline, it feels much easier to fit characters into it.

Wow. Great verbiage Grey amd well explained. I like the Clone Wars era for basically the last paragraph Grey said. It leaves more room to place PCs into the universe that is not part of the movies.
To those that think playing a clone would cause fatigue of having to play a predetermined character type, have you seen the Clone Wars animed series. They all had different personalities and that core group working with Obi were friend and broke through Order 66.

Either choice works for me though. I'm in no mater what. Wpuld love to play an FFG thay goes beyond 20xp.

So where are we landing on this? I think we could go round and round about which era is better story wise (I myself have a long winded rebuttal to some of GreyGriffen's points) but ultimately we all want to run a star wars game, and I think that what we have demonstrated here is that we all have the passion to make that happen. So, what's it going to be DM?

Seuss has opened a Clone Wars era game here.

If you want to write down your rebuttal, though, I'd be interested in it. I like reading long discussions about things that ultimately don't matter xD

Rebut me! Or, perhaps not rebut, but present arguments for the alternative! We can be hype about two different things...