MIND'S EYE
A Gamemaster's thoughts on the Star Wars RPG
by Mike Mistele
10/9/98
You say you're interested in trying the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, but you're not sure what you'll need in order to play. Maybe you've never played a role-playing game (RPG) before, and you have no idea where to start. Or, perhaps you've played other RPGs, and want to know which of the dozens of Star Wars RPG supplements are really vital for getting a Star Wars game started. That's why we're here, to give you the skinny on the key books for starting a Star Wars RPG campaign.
My bias, particularly if you're just beginning to play the Star Wars RPG, is to base your campaign in the "classic" time frame (that is, during the time of the original three Star Wars movies). This will likely be the setting with which your players are the most familiar, unless they're avid readers of the Star Wars novels or comics. The books listed in this article primarily focus on that setting; however, most of them could easily be adapted to fit another setting or timeframe, such as the era of the New Republic.
Note: as you've probably heard, West End Games, the publisher of the Star Wars RPG, filed for bankruptcy in July, and laid off most of their staff (for further details, see Reuben Beattie's recent column here in Echo Station). Although WEG is planning to get new financing and re-start, as of this writing, their future, and the future of the Star Wars RPG, is still up in the air. Although all of these books are currently in print, given this situation you might need to engage in serious searching to find some of them. At the moment, an excellent source for Star Wars RPG books is WEG themselves (www.westendgames.net); they are currently offering a 70% discount on most of their game materials if ordered directly from them.
THE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS
Really, there's only one book you absolutely must have: the basic rulebook. The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, Second Edition Revised and Expanded (US$30 retail) contains everything you need to get a campaign started (except for a bunch of regular six-sided dice). This book features:
- A brief introduction to RPGs, in case you, or some of your players, haven't played an RPG before
- All the rules for the game (the game's mechanics are pretty simple, so the rules aren't very lengthy)
- Templates and instructions for generating characters
- A sample adventure
- Tips on running a game so it "feels" like Star Wars
- Stats for some of the more common aliens and vehicles
If you are truly a beginner at RPGs, you may want to instead start with the Star Wars Introductory Adventure Game (US$19.95). This boxed set, which I reviewed earlier this year in Echo Station (vol. 2, no. 3.1), contains a stripped-down, easier-to-understand set of the Star Wars RPG rules, a series of adventures to run, cardboard stand-up miniatures, maps, dice, and instructions on how to "upgrade" your characters to the full Star Wars RPG rules when you're ready. However, this set is clearly targeted towards kids (approximately ages 10-15), and adults may find it to be simplistic or condescending.
HIGHLY VALUABLE ADDITIONS
These next four books provide great source material to use while writing adventures for the Star Wars RPG. Each of these books expands significantly on the background information found in the basic rulebook.
- The Gamemaster Handbook (US$15) is most valuable if you have little or no experience as a gamemaster; if, after reading the gamemastering tips in the basic rulebook, you feel you still need help, this is the book for you. It contains sections on how to stage action, how to develop non-player characters, and how to keep things moving in the "Star Wars style." It also includes an introductory adventure.
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (US$22) tells you everything you need to know about the "good guys." It contains more stats for the soldiers, starships, and land vehicles of the Alliance, plus general information on the Rebellion and the structure of its military.
- The Imperial Sourcebook (US$22) is the handbook for the Galactic Empire. Similar to the Alliance Sourcebook, it has tons of stats on the Imperial war machine (in case you ever need to know how many men serve on a Star Destroyer, it's in here), and more general information on the history of the Empire and its political and military structure.
- The Gamemaster Screen (US$10) surprised me with its usefulness. A GM's screen is a standard offering for most RPGs; while the tables on these screens are usually useful, the booklets that are generally bundled with the screens are often just an afterthought. That's not the case here: the booklet that comes with the Star Wars GM Screen is great. It has a bunch of additional character templates (including some character types that hadn't been available since the first edition of the game), worksheets for mapping space sectors and star systems, a concise, all-in-one-place summary of the key rules from the rulebook, and capsule stats (with illustrations) for dozens of NPC types and vehicles.
VENUES FOR ADVENTURES
These last few supplements provide fodder for ongoing Star Wars adventures.
Instant Adventures (US$15) is just as its name suggests: a collection of short adventures that you can run for your group with minimal preparation. This book is well-suited to a Star Wars GM who's just staring out for several reasons: not only are most of the adventures geared towards beginning characters, but they also help you see how to put together Star Wars adventures of your own.
Platt's Starport Guide (US$25) gives you a tourist's view of seven different starports. It features a wide variety, from the massive, Imperial-controlled Kuat ports to the backwater Gelgalar Free Port. The write-ups feature maps, descriptions of key NPCs you might encounter at the port, and several story ideas. This book also contains useful general information on starports and space regulations.
Wretched Hives of Scum and Villainy (US$18) does for bars what "Platt's" does for starports. This guide gives you the lowdown on eight different entertainment establishments, from the ultra-ritzy Ace of Sabres casino to the down-and-dirty Broken Tusk (a bar, run by two Gamorreans, which features gladiatorial combat). Like Platt's Guide, Wretched Hives contains loads of information, including maps, descriptions of key NPCs, and story ideas.
(Mike Mistele enjoys tormenting his RPG players with repeated cries of "another 6 on the Wild Die!".)