I'm putting a group of RPG beginners together to play one of these Star Wars RPGs starting this summer. I never played Edge of the Empire, and my group doesn't have a strong preface between the two. So now that Age of Rebellion is out, which Beginners Game should we start with? Would it be better to start by going to EotE because we can expand easily with all of the existing content, or jump into AoR and get new content as it releases?

I would say that it depends on your group, what they are interested, and how they play (which, being beginners, you aren't going to know up front).

If you think they would need direction up front (i.e. "what should we do" or "why are we here") you may want to go with Age of Rebellion, since the military structure/dictated missions would help there.

If you think they would want to do things their way, and would deviate from a "fight the Empire" script, then definitely Edge of the Empire. This one also has more material out, which is a bonus now, but will be less relevant as the months roll by.

One isn't better than the other, rules-wise or anything, so this is totally a choice of flavor. If you are going to create your own adventures to run, then I would suggest focusing on the setting that inspires you the most.

I think it would be good to ask the players. Do they want to portray heroes fighting on behalf of the Rebel Alliance, or do they want to play fringers trying to make their way in the galaxy?

-Nate

Both on the part of a standalone story and as a beginning setup for a bigger campaign, I personally find AoR and it's continuation adventure to be the stronger of the two. But like others have said, even though your players don't have a strong preference, it really depends on the adventure you want to set up.

In regards to the existing content. With a little creativity, you can really adjust anything to fit any group - so EotE groups can be brought in for AoR adventures, being hired because of their skills by the Empire/Rebels; AoR groups can easily be either Rebel or Imperial, and most AoR adventures can be adjusted if you take an Imperial lean. EotE adventures can be trickier to convert for an AoR group, but not impossible. So if it ends up just falling onto you to pick because they still don't have a preference, then it's really just about what you want to run. EotE will tend to give them more freedom, being a group out to make money with a hyperdrive-equipped ship, but can be a lot easier to cram into any kind of adventure. AoR can be easier to push them into adventures, given as orders from up high, but it might be odd to explain why some Rebels/Imperials are trying to steal a big gem in Jewel of Yavin - if you're just trying to stick to pre-made adventures.

You could easily do a mix as Lathrop has stated. Maybe your group of Rebels is a secret cell, and gets assigned missions in their area or that ah..'straight laced' Rebel groups would have a harder time pulling off. Maybe some of the time they are out making money (for the Rebellion or themselves) or making contacts and recruiting agents - for information or other clandestine stuff.

It always seemed to be the Rebellion had few active, large gatherings of troops, ships, and resources until it had a plan to use them for. I could easily see a situation where a group of Rebels had time to pursue more personal interests.

Awesome. This has been very helpful. I think we're going to start with EotE. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Awesome. This has been very helpful. I think we're going to start with EotE. Thanks everyone for the advice.

The best part of doing it this way is if the players later want to join the rebellion they easily can, leaving might be harder.

If it is content you are concerned about having then I would still consider Age of Rebellion. With a little conversion work, many of the West End Games adventure modules would suit Age of Rebellion perfectly.