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Star Wars terminology primer?

Posted by Ginkgo Bear
Ginkgo Bear
member, 204 posts
Fri 18 Aug 2017
at 12:54
  • msg #1

Star Wars terminology primer?

I'd love to write/GM some good Star Wars games, but my finer knowledge of technology and terminology is not quite good enough. I don't think I could write anything immersive enough to do the job well.

Anybody know a good primer or resource for learning these finer points?
LonePaladin
member, 624 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Fri 18 Aug 2017
at 16:21
  • msg #2

Star Wars terminology primer?

There's always Wookieepedia, which is basically the Star Wars wiki. It covers both canon and apocryphal sources -- movies, TV shows, video games, RPGs, everything. It's very thorough.
GreyGriffin
member, 135 posts
Portal Expat
Game System Polyglot
Fri 18 Aug 2017
at 20:27
  • msg #3

Star Wars terminology primer?

Thanks, George Lucas, for naming literally everything and heightening our expectations of immersion in space fantasy.  The pulp classic "healing vat" becomes a "bacta tank," space cats become "Bothans," and everyone from Wedge Antilles to Elan "Sleazebaggano" Sel'Sabagno having a full name and history.  And then there's the difference between blasters, ion cannons, and turbolasers...

As with most sci-fi universes, Star Wars handles its high-tech conceits in a unique way that creates the identity of the setting.  However, in most of the canon (read: films), that technology is kind of referred to in the background, and has to be inferred, which makes picking out that identity a little tougher.

To run a game, you really just need to know a few of the major sci-fi staples, and their context, and a few of the unique Star Wars bits of flair.

  • Bacta/Bacta Tanks - The healing vat mentioned above is filled with Bacta, a sort of miracle medical fluid.
  • Blasters - Personal energy weapons are referred to as blasters.  Larger shipboard weapons are usually referred to as cannons or blaster cannons.  They are almost never "guns," except in the naval sense, and never only lasers, but rather "turbolasers" or "superlasers."
  • Droids - Autonomous robots made for various menial (and some not-so-menial) tasks.  They vary in intelligence, personality, and dedication.  Most Droids are treated as property, although some are promoted to pets or companions.  They are kept in line through a device called a restraining bolt, and through frequent memory wipes, to keep them from developing complex (and rebellious) personalities.  Often called an "x Droid," such as a protocol droid, astromech droid, battle droid, or assassin droid.  Never called Robots.
  • Hyperdrive/Hyperspace - FTL travel in Star Wars is conducted through Hyperspace.  You enter hyperspace by "jumping to lightspeed," or "jumping to hyperspace." The difficulty and mechanics of this vary depending on what movie you're watching, but always requires either godlike intuition (through the Force) or carefully computed navigation.  Never called Warp Drives or Warp Space.
  • Ion Cannon - One of the few ship weapons named in the films (the others being Turbolasers and Proton Torpedoes), this weapon disables technological systems, rather than blowing up stuff.  It's a staple in capture and disable scenarios in space.
  • Repulsor Drive/Repulsorlift - The generic antigravity/vtol propolsion system, used to make things float around.  Most starships have repulsors to use for landing and taxiing without firing their main drives.  Repulsorlifts (also called Lifts) take the place of elevators.  Never called hovercraft, or elevators.
  • Shields/Deflector Screens - Shields protect ships from damage.  Large ships use shields to absorb or soften the impact of weapons.  Smaller ships often rely on "angling" shields to deflect weapons fire away from the hull that's too powerful to absorb.
  • Speeder/Airspeeder - A repulsor-driven vehicle.  Airspeeders are capable of significan altitude, while speeders skim along the ground.  Never called cars, trucks, or planes.
  • Thermal Detonator - Basically a handheld mini-nuke. Considered a suicide weapon.  Overused.
  • Teleporters/Transporters - Not really a thing in Star Wars. There are an awful lot of shuttles and transports.

Once you can get past the initial difficulty of that find-replace process and stay consistent, you'll find the tone starting to come naturally.  The terminology just lends itself to the action-pulp tone naturally.

Compare these simple scenarios.
Generic Science Fiction:
Spreg Sho'en swerved around the corner in his hover-truck, firing his laser pistol out the window at the pursuing warbots.

Star Wars!:
Spreg Sho'en swerved around the corner in his cargo speeder, firing his blaster pistol out the window at the pursuing battle droids.

There's a few bugaboos that hardcore EU fans will gnash their teeth over (cloaking devices, anyone?), but if you know the difference between a blaster and a slugthrower, and a speeder and a starship, you're 90% of the way there.

When in doubt, reach for the synonym with the most open-mouthed vowels (Blaaaaster, Hyyyyperdriiiiive, Speeeeeder)!
This message was last edited by the user at 20:33, Fri 18 Aug 2017.
facemaker329
member, 6957 posts
Gaming for over 30
years, and counting!
Sat 19 Aug 2017
at 21:32
  • msg #4

Star Wars terminology primer?

If you're using any of the older Star Wars systems, the rule books have enough information for you to be able to run with...weapons, ships, vehicles, droids, planetary systems, etc.  Unless you've got real die-hard fan-boy players, most people will roll with it, you don't have to get THAT immersive, and your players will often throw in terms that you may not have thought of to help round things out (stuff like hydrospanners, power converters, or Force users who are NOT Jedi/Sith...)

Personally, I feel that if you enjoy the movies, and can get the flavor of the game to match, somewhat, you don't have to be THAT conversant with all the technobabble.  And you can learn as you go.
Gaffer
member, 1490 posts
Ocoee FL
40 yrs of RPGs
Mon 21 Aug 2017
at 13:39
  • msg #5

Star Wars terminology primer?

facemaker's point is excellent:
quote:
Unless you've got real die-hard fan-boy players, most people will roll with it, you don't have to get THAT immersive

As an analogy, you can run a 1930s hard-boiled detective setting in which you refer to a given firearm as a "pearl-handled Colt Model 1911A .45 caliber auto-loading" or just call it a ".45" or an "automatic" or a "gat" or even just a "gun." Exact terminology only really matters to delineate effective differences in game performance or for flavor.

IMO
Ginkgo Bear
member, 206 posts
Mon 21 Aug 2017
at 20:52
  • msg #6

Star Wars terminology primer?

Fantastic feedback from everybody, thank you all so much for your time and your input!

I tend to get overwhelmed with the idea of immersion, so thank you for this bit of a reality check.
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