Depictions of FFG SWRPG gear, starship/vehicles, weapons, talents, game mechanics and other elements in Andor

General Discussion
#1

This is a crosspost from a thread I posted on the SWRPG subreddit.

Thought it might be fun for discussion and co-collaboration to chat about and document the live action depiction of SWRPG game elements in the Andor TV show. Fair game are gear, armor, weapons, vehicles, starships, as well as attachments for all of the foregoing. Depictions of talents, signature abilities and game mechanics in Andor are cool too.

I don’t mean stuff like “stormtrooper armor” or other commonly depicted things but stuff that’s shown live action for the first
time or in a unique new way. But it’s all fair game discussion.

Bonus points for links to the SWRPG wiki and/or Wookieepedia!

No pride of authorship. I’ll update the post with y’all’s suggestions and maybe we can submit it to the Order 66 podcast episode for the show which I hope will be forthcoming! Fair game for other podcasts too.

I’ll start with one:
The Fondor Haulcraft, according to the text of the subtitles, has a “Fondor Droid Mod.” I think this shows:

—Autopilot Droid Brain starship attachment
—Astrogation Droid Brain starship attachment

I’m less sure if it shows a Gunner Droid Brain. It also seems to have an onboard capability to create a fake transponder codes or at least identification. I think this is the Secondary Transponder starship attachment.

What other SWRPG stuff do my fellow gamers think Andor depicted well?

GAME MECHANICS:
—Episode 3 depicts Triumphs or Despairs in the warehouse scene with Rael and Cassian (falling machinery chain reactions)
—Nemik uses the Plot Course starship Action to help Cassian fly though the Eye of Aldhani
—During the Aldhani heist, Cassian uses the Punch It maneuver to jump to max speed and escape from the imperial base.

TALENTS:
—Cassian likely has the Quick Draw and Sorry About The Mess talents which allow fast weapon draws and decreased crit ratings against those who have not yet acted.
—Brasso kills a minion with Marva’s brick and likely has the Creative Killer talent (reduces crit rating of improvised weapons by two)
—Marva likely has the Incite Rebellion talent which during her funeral scene allowed her to make the Ferrix citizens rally “against an organization or authority with power over them until the end of the encounter.”

GEAR
—Nemik uses an analog version of the Microaxial Starmapper Handheld Navicomputer to help navigate through the Eye of Aldhani.
—While we’ve seen live action use of datapads, Andor for the first time depicts the actual UI and live screen displays of datapads in the scenes with ISB.

VEHICLES/STARSHIPS
—Although first depicted in Solo, Andor gives us the best yet look at the Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser

VEHICLE/STARSHIP ATTACHMENTS:
—Rael’s Fondor Haulcraft likely uses the Retractable Weapon System attachment to hide its weapon systems
—Rael’s Fondor Haulcraft droid brain starship attachments: Autopilot Droid Brain, Astrogation Droid Brain and Gunner Droid Brain
—Rael’s Fondor Haulcraft uses the Secondary Transponder starship attachment to fake starship transponders codes

NARRATIVE SETTING/ORGANIZATIONS
—Although first depicted in Star Wars Rebels, the Imperial Security Bureau first appeared in earlier versions of SWRPG and is depicted for the first time in live action in Andor.

#2

I don’t normally cross-post stuff but I know not all folks post on Reddit. And there are lots of thoughtful folks here and SWRPG die hards and veterans. I thought I’d tap this brain trust for suggestions and for the fun of discussion.

#3

Very likely, the “Fondor Droid Mod” could be a combination of all three droid brain attachments, and throw in the secondary transponder too, although it’s shown as being much simpler than the book describes.
(I’ve been known to combine multiple similar-use attachments into a single “blob,” such as a “telescopic multi-optic sight,” and would be likely to do that with the droid mods.)

I liked seeing the “definitely-not-Espos.” I think they could qualify, as in game terms they’re essentially a drag-and-drop adversary type transposed in lore, but not purpose.

Andor, though, was much less of an RPG than even something like The Mandalorian, because while both focus on just one character, Andor had far more ancillary focuses and “cut scenes,” while not having enough of the cast together long enough to make it any kind of real party.

The Arrestor(?) cruiser was fantastic. That’s an element that was essentially introduced in either Dawn of Rebellion or Starships and Speeders, even if it technically preexisted courtesy of Solo.

#4

Cantwell-class Arrestor cruiser. Based on modeler Colin Cantwell’s original concept for the Star Destroyer. The ship was slated to appear somewhere in Solo, though the reshoots almost completely cut the ship from appearing (it appears somewhere in the background at the beginning I think). My guess is they were able to reuse it for Andor because they probably already had the ILM CGI model for the ship from the movie.

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#5

Added! Good call! Might have been featured in Solo but we got the best look in Andor.

#6

I agree with this. It’s a great reskin: add all the attachments together into a single droid brain for narrative purposes but keep them separate for mechanical purposes. This permits the GM to simplify down to one the number of droid brains to roleplay.

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#7

How about just, The ISB.
Let’s not forget that they were a creation of WEG for the old D6 SWRPG.
I’m not sure if this is actually their first mention on screen, but it is at least the first proper look at them and their workings on the screen. And damn! They are even more scary now than they were.

#8

Agent Kalus from Rebels was ISB.

#9

Ah, that he was, you’re right.
It was such a passing detail about him though, that I’d completely forgotten.

#10

Yes! I checked Wookieepedia and this is the first appearance in television/film (i.e., not cartoons). And Andor gave us everything about them: office politics, organizational structure, what resources they command, and so on.

#11

Added! What other narrative setting, organization or other color is depicts for the first time in Andor?

#12

I added the Microaxial Starmapper Handheld Navicomputer and Nemik’s use of it to do a Plot Course starship action to help Cassian navigate the Eye.

#13

Added datapads here. We’ve seen them in Ep. 2 I believe but never the actual functioning UI and live screen displays.

#14

We’ve also seen datapads in The Clone Wars and (I’m sure) Rebels, though not necessarily in as much detail.
I cannot recall off the top of my head their appearance in Andor.

#15

The scene(s) with the ISB where Dedra is trying to find her missing Starpath Unit. You see these tiny screens with almost greyscale text. It’s a superb view and so stylish and era appropriate. We’ve never seen that UI in TV or movies. It gives great flavor for the technology of the era.