Using Fiasco Style Relationships in Edge of The Empire

Fiasco, by Bully Pulpit Games, is an amazing game that allows you to play out a dark comedy or drama in one session.  If you have never played it, I would urge you to give it a shot- there are games of it running at a lot of gaming conventions, and you can purchase the game in physical form or pdf from their website listed here: http://bullypulpitgames.com/games/fiasco/

Fiasco is a one-shot, where things usually go horribly for some if not all of the players.  So, at first, it might not seem like there is much to be adapted for use in a Star Wars game.  However, Fiasco begins by determining relationships, needs, locations and objects that drive and define the relationships of the players.  Using this in a more traditional RPG can solve one of the biggest issues when starting a new campaign- how do the PCs know each other?  Why are they working together?

To use Fiasco style relationships, you will use a pool of six sided dice (4 per player).  They are all rolled and placed in the center of the table.  Then, players take turns picking numbers out of the pool and selecting from a list to define a relationship between two PCs.  Each PC will have a relationship with the PCs of the players sitting on either side of them.  An interesting part of this is that the players can help define a relationship for anyone at the table, not just their own character.  Each relationship, need, object, or location is given a major category, then defined further with a sub-category.  In the end, you have a web of relationships drawing the PCs together, some needs driving their adventures, and objects or locations to call back to.

There is an episode of Tabletop where they perform setup for their Fiasco game you can check out to get an idea of how this process works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuJizhyf-y4.  The game they play after the setup is pretty amazing as well, so it is worth a watch.

While the process for creating the relationships works as is, you don't necessarily want to use the playsets straight from Fiasco- game masters will want to tailor it to their campaigns to ensure that what the players will select will fit with what they have in mind.  There is a good example of a simple way to do this on a great D&D blog, Sly Flourish: http://slyflourish.com/fiasco_relationships.html.  Another way to do so is to start with an existing Fiasco playset and modify it to your needs.

Here is a link to the relationship document we used when we were playing Jewel of Yavin followed by Beyond the Rim: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxUTXhu-XPR6Uy12SVhkV0d5M1E/view?usp=sharing

Here is a link to the relationship document we used when I ran a converted D&D game from the 4E DM's kit, Reavers of Harkenwold: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxUTXhu-XPR6c1ZoaVFmenh3YWc/view?usp=sharing

Both of these were inspired by a couple of actual Fiasco playsets listed below:

DragonSlayers playset: http://bullypulpitgames.com/downloads/december-playset-dragon-slayers-2/

Jedi Purge Playset: http://fiascoplaysets.com/home/jedi-purge

I would urge you to give this a whirl on your next campaign- it really makes character creation as much fun as playing the actual adventure, and can add a lot of depth to your characters.