Remember that we have had an endless series of D6 writers who started and then disappears. The current guy seems pretty good.

Jean has to do PD20M and PD Feds. After that, she will pick a sourcebook to do. It could be D6, Hero, Fudge, Savage Worlds, or something else. It will be selected based on two factors: the status of the author's work and the license. Right now, only one book (Hero) is "well advanced" but by the time she finishes the other two, there may be more than one to pick from. Right now, we have an open license deal on Fudge, very nearly that on Savage Worlds and Mongoose-Traveller, a promise to negotiate a deal from Hero, and D6 is undergoing an earthquake. Not sure who will end up owning D6 and how interested they will or won't be in giving us a license. The one from the previous/current owner is workable but not as good as the ones from Fudge, d20, Savage Worlds, and Mongoose-Traveler, but not as bad as the one we expect from HERO and not nearly as bad as the GURPS deal (which costs the most and produces the most profit). I'm not sure what kind of deal the new owner will offer.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 03:04 pm: Edit

I am not sure what's going on with D6. Obviously, WEG is having problems and is selling stuff off. I have been approached by one company that says it has a deal with WEG (which I haven't seen yet and am not satisfied will protect ADB if some creditor goes after WEG, but maybe it does). The other company wants to do a new version of D6 which is simpler (they refer to "using a chainsaw to prune the overbloated rules") and want us to do PD6 for their new "chainsaw-D6" instead of (or in addition to) regular D6. I am very nervous about the whole thing. Those who play D6 should comment. The "other company" should NOT comment here as I want to hear what the D6 player base says.

By Jeffrey Webb (Colwebbsfmc) on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 09:42 am: Edit

As a long time D6 player and long time Prime Directive/Star Trek player...

Simpler D6 is what a lot of D6 players are looking for- in essence, going back to the Star Wars 1st or 2nd edition version and taking out all the Lucafilm IP and starting from there. The beauty of the original implementation of D6 in those products was that it was a simple, unified mechanic that used regular dice one might find in a Monopoly box and had character templates that meant a total newbie could be up and role-playing in a matter of 15-20 minutes or less.

The reception to this, I think, depends on what they mean by a "chainsaw" approach. If that is their way of saying back to 1e/2e mechanics, then I'm all for it. If they want to change a lot more than that... well, D6 is a niche market anyway and it would be a shame to limit that market further. I know the D6 Legends implementation wasn't as popular as it could have been, even with a license or two behind it.

The current D6 core books made a couple of errors (IMHO) in their execution. The first was to split the corebooks into Fantasy/Adventure/Space and change the names of the character variables involved. I realize this decision was made to help the system more readily mesh with the intended genres, but it did make conversion necessary between books, which shouldn't have happened if the goal was a universal system. The other major error was the overcomplication of what was a simple system by adding the additional traits as a hard mechanic. This slowed character design and added another level of complexity to a system whose selling point had always been simplicity.

If the legal issues can be worked out, my opinion as a player and game master is that Prime Directive D6 could do no better than to resemble the original, clean D6 implementation from the older D6 Star Wars products before the rules bloat took place.

Jeff

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 11:37 am: Edit

The plan we have (as of yesterday) is....

1. Find a copy of D6 star wars

2. remove lucas IP

3. insert SFU

4. Publish

By james kerr (Limeydragon) on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 05:10 pm: Edit

Hi, I am interested in providing helpful insite in to the SFU D6 system. But i have afew questions.

Question #1, are you using the 1d-5d stat system that D6 Space uses or are you using the actual 1d-4d stat system that was being used by the old star wars 2nd ed system.?

Question #2, Are you using a base line stat system with humans as the base template to which other races are based off of.?

Question #3, In regards to racial abilities, how are you balancing the differance's. (example, do humnas get more extra pips to make up for there average stats, while others get higher stats.)

Thats all i have for now. From the question i have posted above in can formulate most other information for now.

James

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 07:15 pm: Edit

Just FYI, I could not begin to answer the above. Perhaps Jean or her writer can.

By Jeffrey Webb (Colwebbsfmc) on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 11:29 am: Edit

Greets!

My personal take on the system is that the original system as presented in D6 Star Wars is the purest, simplest version. So to answer these questions as simply as I can with the information I have at hand-

#1 - We will be using the 1D-4D system for human attributes. This decision was made to help keep the alien species with extraordinary attributes from developing the "buckets of dice" syndrome quite so easily.

#2 - Baseline humans will be 2D in each attribute, with a total of 12D in attributes for NPCs. PCs will recieve (on average) 18D just as in the original D6 implementation.

#3 - There will be no "hard" rules for species creation and balance. There will be writeups of the species with minimums and maximums for each attribute, plus a description of special abilities if any. Some species may have more or less dice than humans to allocate, based on their descriptions in the SFU. All in all, it will be very similar to the species templaces from the later Star Wars suppliments. Game balance will be handled in the templates, but not with the strict +/- system from D6 Space. There may well be a species or two that is just tougher than others, or more skilled - such is the nature of the Star Fleet Universe. We will not impose point-by-point game balance, but we will endeavor not to overpower any given species.

So, the name of the game is to boil D6 back down into the form it was in back in the Old Days and lay the Star Fleet Universe down into those rules. I think it'll be a lot of fun for all concerned, and I look forward to moving the project forward as well.

By F. Douglas Wall (Knarf) on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 02:35 pm: Edit

I think that the Advantage/Disadvantage system gave D6 a robustness that it didn't have previously. And it fit rather well, I thought. And I fail to see how 26 pages of a 144 page book qualifies as bloat.

I did find the use of the different attribute spreads odd. A single set of attributes that functions for all of the genres that the system can do is preferred. But that's really up to whoever owns the D6 System when the dust settles.

By james kerr (Limeydragon) on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 01:41 am: Edit

>>Baseline humans will be 2D in each attribute, with a total of 12D in attributes for NPCs. PCs will recieve (on average) 18D just as in the original D6 implementation. << ok, this is the format i was hoping for..

By Jeffrey Webb (Colwebbsfmc) on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 08:53 am: Edit

The "Bloat" comes in complexity level. One of the key elements of D6 as previously published was that a character could be made in a matter of minutes by someone who had never roleplayed before. Adding the Ad/Disad system complicates the basic character gen process into something quite a bit more number crunchy.

I realize my opinion may not be that of every D6 player, but we've seen an overwhelming desire from polled players to return to the "kinder, gentler" old days of SW D6...

By David Dalton (Sdfmacross) on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 10:58 pm: Edit

I have played SW D6 for years and was a play tester for the second edition. I have a campaign that has been running for over 10 years. I am very happy to here that you are getting back to basics. So please move forward with this new and great Idea.

By William F. Hostman (Aramis) on Friday, August 08, 2008 - 04:44 am: Edit

My preference would be for the 2nd ed rules (since scaling, while complex, worked best in those rules). Note, 2nd, not 2nd revised.

But SW d6 any edition is better than D6 space was.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 08, 2008 - 11:20 am: Edit

I am pretty sure they're going with 2-R&E.

By F. Douglas Wall (Knarf) on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 02:12 pm: Edit

Jeffrey: That option has not been removed from the modern D6 books. The entire Character Options chapter is completely optional, and characters can be created by the original method if you prefer.

I get the feeling that most of this discussion is people being nostalgic about the old days of Star Wars d6, and that anything D6 that isn't attached to the Star Wars IP is blasphemous.

I think that's the reason that WEG is up for sale again. The "WEG fans" are not fans of the system, but of that old game. And nobody can recreate that. Nobody can afford to buy the IP back from WotC and reunite all the old writers, and there's no guarantee that the old magic will still be there.

If WEG and D6 are going to be successful again, it's going to have to make a big splash in order to drown out all the grognards clamoring for their Star Wars. PD might just be that splash, but we'll see.

I apologize if my tone is too incendiary, but this is something that really irritates me.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 02:58 pm: Edit

Douglas, as SVC has stated, it appears we will be going with the rules set as found in Star Wars D6, 2nd edition, Revised and Expanded.

Of course, until contracts are signed, these are just plans. But I can say that Jeff, SVC, and I are excited about these plans.

Jean
RPG Editor in Chief

By Dale Lloyd Fields (Dylkha) on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 03:02 pm: Edit

I liked the D6 system for SW (in fact it got me into RPGs since I dislike the discontinuities of level systems aka AD&D). However, I like the advantages/disadvantages. Heck, even before they came out I had ported a good fraction of the GURPS adv/dis system into D6 for a house system (I wonder if I still have my notes for that around?). With the shrinking RPG market, though, perhaps there is only room for one detailed game (GURPS). I do love D6-SW (in fact I have every single product except the minatures and the Tatooine box set). But there is no reason to stay confined to that rule system <shruggs at both proposed directions for D6>.

[Edit: I should note that I never got D6-Space. We didn't need it with my house system in effect.]

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 04:18 pm: Edit

A year of going back and forth and asking and studying have led us to the conclusion that the best and only realistic way to proceed is 2nd Edition Revised & Expanded. Nothing we pick for any system is going to be something 100% of the target audience wants, but I'll settle for the 90% who want 2R&R. I'm not worried much about the extent of the market, as with print on demand we'll print whatever we sell. So we'll make a profit on 16 books or 1600 books.

By Darren Kehrer (Kehrer1701) on Monday, September 22, 2008 - 10:18 pm: Edit

This is great!!! I too would like to vote for SW, 2nd Ed Rev and Exp. I have all the d6 versions of SW (and the later d6 books).
When the list of playtesters is started, how does one get on that list.

SVC: sorry, been away for awhile. My wife and are were involved in a major car accident consisting of someone impacting my vehicle (at 50 mph +) and then us rolling over several times and landing upside down at 65mph...

By David Dalton (Sdfmacross) on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 03:03 am: Edit

Hello Again,

I am happy to hear that the D6 PD is moving forward with Star Wars 2e&r system. I have a gameing group that has been running SW. For over 10 years. I hope that this game make a game that I could run for anouther 10. If you need play tester I am here.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 06:45 am: Edit

When this gets closer to "the day" whenever that is, I'll keep you both in mind.

(Sorry for the delay in answering, but my head has been sunk in PD20M!)

By F. Douglas Wall (Knarf) on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 11:03 am: Edit

I'd just like to to state that my initial defense of the new D6 System was before I had played it. I finally got a group to run it for and everyone hated the mechanics. We wound up converting the campaign to Cartoon Action Hour.

Do what you will with the system. You'll get little argument from me.

By Matthew Grant (Yallofcthulhu) on Thursday, December 25, 2008 - 11:03 pm: Edit

Just to chime in here and let y'all know that folks are still interested, I'm all for a Star Wars R&E-style Prime Directive d6 game. I love the classic Star Wars d6 game, and I think that a Star Trek game using that system would be just absolutely PERFECT!!! I've been eyeing this release for a while, but feared that the turmoil over at WEG might put an end to its production. I'm glad to see that PD: d6 is going ahead as planned. You've got a definite sale here, and another sale if you choose to release a Savage Worlds version.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, December 26, 2008 - 11:10 am: Edit

We got the project memo from the D6 guy, and Jean will review it with me in a few days. That does not mean it will be published in January, but if the memo is solid, a contract will be issued and the guy will start sending pages. Jean will work on D6 for two-three days during each two-week cycle, and after a couple of months we will see how the various projects are progressing. If D6 is holding its own, it keeps it's slice of Jean time. If it's pulling ahead, it gets extra time.

By David Dalton (Sdfmacross) on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 11:05 am: Edit

Hello Again.

It has been a mounth, any news? I am hoping that the PD D6 is moving forward. I can wait to buy the book. Thanks for the information.

By Patrick H. Dillman (Patrick) on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 04:40 pm: Edit

They've been busy moving the Office and warehouse the last few weeks.