Star Wars is more space opera or space fantasy than sci-fi. I really can't think of it as sci-fi compared to other games that I use to cover that area (currently Traveller or Eclipse Phase).

yeah, it is more space opera fantasy than sci-fi, but that's more of a sub-genre of sci-fi to me than of fantasy. i was generalizing as a result.

From watching the development of 5e/next I think WoTC RPG division is a very small group people. I could be wrong but it seems all articles and discussions come from the same half dozen people. Now they have farmed out the making of the first big module to another company. I just wonder if the DnD is not 6 guys in a corner office that is a converted storeroom where they don't get in the way of the Magic, Pokemon, and board game guys.

I would like FFG to finish the big three books then start making adventures. The old Star Wars systems had some excellent adventures, especially WEG. If Lucas/ Disney has the rights to those stories they could release FFG versions of Graveyards of Alderaan, Starfall, Game Chambers, and Darkstryder would bring WEG grognards to FFG. Then release some d20/saga adventures like Dawn of Defiance and Galaxy of Intrigue. You would have good sales numbers for the adventure books, less development time because the plots, characters, setting are already made, and bring the old gamers into the FFG system selling more of the core three books.

From watching the development of 5e/next I think WoTC RPG division is a very small group people. I could be wrong but it seems all articles and discussions come from the same half dozen people. Now they have farmed out the making of the first big module to another company. I just wonder if the DnD is not 6 guys in a corner office that is a converted storeroom where they don't get in the way of the Magic, Pokemon, and board game guys.

That is quite possible. 4e didn't do nearly as well as 3e did for WotC, and ENWorld has made a listing of the various folks that WotC has "future endeavor'd" around Christmas time each year. For the Saga Edition line, a decent chunk of the writing was done by freelancers such as long-time vet Sterling Hershey and several others, probably to help cut down production costs, and I could imagine them doing the same thing for the latest edition of D&D as well.

I believe the 5e team consists of, now, 14 people. One left to join the Magic ccg department recently.

"And don't forget,since star wars has an extremely wide variety for setting,include more species with every book except adventures.I would think that 60+ species would work well as it's base amount."

Agreed. If any RPG ever deserved over 50 playable species it is Star Wars. In A New Hope alone there must be close to that many species represented. Each has the potential to have modifiers and peculiarities that would make roleplaying it a total blast! Cantinas are meant to be full of all kinds of beings, if so let's make them PCs.

My final word is this. If you can play as a droid, you should be able to play as any living sentient.

Agreed. If any RPG ever deserved over 50 playable species it is Star Wars. In A New Hope alone there must be close to that many species represented. Each has the potential to have modifiers and peculiarities that would make roleplaying it a total blast! Cantinas are meant to be full of all kinds of beings, if so let's make them PCs.

My final word is this. If you can play as a droid, you should be able to play as any living sentient.

I was going to argue that "within reason" should be added to that statement. That some species would have too many or too extreme bonuses to be a "fair" choice. But that's SAGA thinking and this is EotE - players of powerful species just get less starting XP to play with! (Kinda love that about this game.)

How about right up to F&D? Specifically, shouldn't we see the beta in the product section I don't mean on the boat or anything but they don't even have it listed for in development. I mean if we look at the hype over AoR we practically had that timed down to a week of the release day that is listed now. F&D beta should actually be listed printing if they plan on having even a few hundred copies for Gencon or just September distribution. Just a morning thought.

How about right up to F&D? Specifically, shouldn't we see the beta in the product section I don't mean on the boat or anything but they don't even have it listed for in development. I mean if we look at the hype over AoR we practically had that timed down to a week of the release day that is listed now. F&D beta should actually be listed printing if they plan on having even a few hundred copies for Gencon or just September distribution. Just a morning thought.

Are you suggesting there won't be a Force and Destiny Beta release?

Nope was just making an observation

The way I've been taking that is to mean that they're just not updating it to the Upcoming section until Gencon. It'll be part of the whole marketing announcement then to keep buzz fresh during the convention and then we'll probably see the release for public sometime in September.

Since they're running Force and Destiny events at GenCon, I'd say there's a good chance the beta will be on hand.

How about right up to F&D? Specifically, shouldn't we see the beta in the product section I don't mean on the boat or anything but they don't even have it listed for in development. I mean if we look at the hype over AoR we practically had that timed down to a week of the release day that is listed now. F&D beta should actually be listed printing if they plan on having even a few hundred copies for Gencon or just September distribution. Just a morning thought.

They didn't announce the previous two Beta games. They just showed up at GenCon and on the website for purchase same day. I will be super disappointed if there's no Beta for FaD, and there's no reason they have to put it up, but at the same time there's every reason to assume there will be a Beta and it will be released at GenCon.

I'm pretty confident they will follow suit and it will be at Gencon and available for purchase that launch day online as well I bet.

How about right up to F&D? Specifically, shouldn't we see the beta in the product section I don't mean on the boat or anything but they don't even have it listed for in development. I mean if we look at the hype over AoR we practically had that timed down to a week of the release day that is listed now. F&D beta should actually be listed printing if they plan on having even a few hundred copies for Gencon or just September distribution. Just a morning thought.

They didn't announce the previous two Beta games. They just showed up at GenCon and on the website for purchase same day. I will be super disappointed if there's no Beta for FaD, and there's no reason they have to put it up, but at the same time there's every reason to assume there will be a Beta and it will be released at GenCon.

The EotE Beta wasn't announced because FFG having the RPG license was a "big secret" and thus kept under wraps until the big reveal.

The AoR Beta however was announced prior to GenCon, though it was around the middle of July.

So for the FaD Beta, we're likely to see that get an announcement posting in July as well, particularly once AoR has hit shelves, since FFG doesn't want to kill the buzz on that brand-new product with the announcement of "here's the beat rules for full-blown Force users that you've been asking for."

The EotE Beta wasn't announced because FFG having the RPG license was a "big secret" and thus kept under wraps until the big reveal.

The AoR Beta however was announced prior to GenCon, though it was around the middle of July.

So for the FaD Beta, we're likely to see that get an announcement posting in July as well, particularly once AoR has hit shelves, since FFG doesn't want to kill the buzz on that brand-new product with the announcement of "here's the beat rules for full-blown Force users that you've been asking for."

this sounds like the best bet. would allow for the pre-orders and expected release in september (similar to AoR beta). i'm just hoping that we'll also get another supplement/adventure announcement as well.

Oh another observation that will support Donovan is last night around midnight est I could not access the forums or anything beyond the news page on the website. My thinking is they made some changes so that they could click over some stuff in July but be set as well for August as well. I also expect Arda to make a timely arrival at gencon so that FFG can has all the money lol.

As for the new films, again that will likely be a sourcebook, as well as books covering other eras of play, such as Dark Times (pre-Rebellion Era), Clone Wars, possibly KOTOR/SWTOR (though hopefully without many of the video-gamey elements).

I think all of those are no longer canon except Clone Wars. So, while I can hope for a Clone Wars sourcebook, I'm guessing the others won't be released.

Since FFG went with this rulebook/periodbook style, will they attempt to continue that? I hope not since I really didn't like the idea to begin with. I would prefer sourcebooks of the Clone Wars and Episode 7+, not new mammoth core books of each which I think would upset some of us forced to pay for yet more copies of the rules to get the sourcebook half of the material.

Will that in the long run add confusion to some new buyers? If you end up with 3 core/period books then some future period-only books, that could be confusing. A.i. if I want to play a Clone Wars campaign, I buy the period book, then what? EotE? AoR? F&D? All three of those plus Clone Wars it seems to get all of the careers and gear you might need. That's a big hunk for a new GM just getting into the game or you must choose which of the 3 rulebooks is the best for your campaign and choose not to get the extra gear and careers.

I hope FFG hasn't put themselves into a situation with two poor options - more mammoth core/period books making fans pay for more rule book copies just to get the sourcebook vs. having to purchase 3 core books to get all of the appropriate careers to run a campaign in another sourcebook's time period.

After these three CRBs are out along with associated splatbooks honestly they are going to be hard pressed to come up with much that isn't covered. You might see new sourcebooks that put out a new universal spec here and there, or maybe introduce some kind of very specific idea like the Dathomir Witches, which I'm not advocating for I'm just thinking something very unique like that. There is just too many ways to play what they've already put out or have on the way.

So assuming they keep the RPG license I would really expect the first thing will be something dealing with Episode 7. I could see a Clone Wars book at some point maybe. The focus is going to be on the new movies going forward I'm sure.

I'd love to see some Era sourcebooks made. Maybe something like a Clone Wars book that included some new species, tech specific to the era and the villains and heroes that defined it. It'd also be neat to have an adventure set within the era where players could interact with iconic characters. So, in a Clone Wars book, maybe have General Kenobi be someone that sets the PCs on their path for the adventure, which might feature someone like Hondo in it. A Rebellion Era book could be done the same way.

Alternatively, I really want more region books. Hutt Space would be an awesome follow-up to Suns of Fortune, or even a book focusing on Hoth or Endor. Honestly, I know it's been done to death, but I'd really dig an Elrood book for use with AoR & EotE. Mind you, I think a full book on The Wheel would also be pretty awesome.

While not specifically RPG related, I think it's high time that someone produced a high quality Sabacc deck as a card game. FFG would do an great job with this and it could have rules to incorporate it into the RPG.

As for the new films, again that will likely be a sourcebook, as well as books covering other eras of play, such as Dark Times (pre-Rebellion Era), Clone Wars, possibly KOTOR/SWTOR (though hopefully without many of the video-gamey elements).

I think all of those are no longer canon except Clone Wars. So, while I can hope for a Clone Wars sourcebook, I'm guessing the others won't be released.

Well, Dark Times is getting touched upon with Star Wars: Rebels, and unless their license strictly forbids it, nothing is stopping FFG from touching upon the KOTOR/SWTOR era, since it's well before the timeframe of films and thus events there really don't have any impact upon those events.

Given the amount of material to be covered in a KOTOR/SWTOR book, I'd suspect it'd be a setting book not unlike Suns of Fortune (though probably bigger) or the various D&D campaign settings, where you still need the core rules to play in that setting They could possibly do a cherry-picking of careers and specs from the three core rulebooks if they wanted a KOTOR book to be a stand-alone product, such as Smuggler and Bounty Hunter from EotE, Soldier from AoR, and any Jedi careers from F&D.

Well, Dark Times is getting touched upon with Star Wars: Rebels, and unless their license strictly forbids it, nothing is stopping FFG from touching upon the KOTOR/SWTOR era, since it's well before the timeframe of films and thus events there really don't have any impact upon those events.

We know that the new rules make the old EU non-canon, but anything newly approved, canon. I had assumed that meant anything based on the old EU was now at an end. Is there any chance of new material linked to old EU stuff that will strangely be canon even while it's roots aren't?

Well, Dark Times is getting touched upon with Star Wars: Rebels, and unless their license strictly forbids it, nothing is stopping FFG from touching upon the KOTOR/SWTOR era, since it's well before the timeframe of films and thus events there really don't have any impact upon those events.

We know that the new rules make the old EU non-canon, but anything newly approved, canon. I had assumed that meant anything based on the old EU was now at an end. Is there any chance of new material linked to old EU stuff that will strangely be canon even while it's roots aren't?

Most certainly yes. We have already heard that numerous elements (starships, species, organizations, etc.) will be retained and/or redeveloped. The Dark Times (19 BBY-2 BBY) already have elements from both the PT and the OT, so it's only a matter of deciding what you want to incorporate. Even if you take the game plot and game characters out of Force Unleashed , I'm fairly confident that most of what it describes for the Dark Times are likely to be almost identical with what is going to appear in Rebels .

If they went the route of an Old Republic era product, I bet it would be a full-fledged core rulebook. There would be so much material to cover, they'd almost have to make it a huge book, and since they've shown a willingness to do a bunch of core rulebooks in the 40K line, I would not be even slightly surprised if we eventually ended up with 4-6 core rulebooks in the Star Wars line as well, accounting for possible second editions such as Dark Heresy is getting.

I would absolutely buy that.

Core Rulebooks also tend to sell better than supplements, and there is also the fact that 30-40% of the book (the rules) are already done makes this a financial win. The question is whether Old Republic is still popular enough to sell.

If they went the route of an Old Republic era product, I bet it would be a full-fledged core rulebook. There would be so much material to cover, they'd almost have to make it a huge book, and since they've shown a willingness to do a bunch of core rulebooks in the 40K line, I would not be even slightly surprised if we eventually ended up with 4-6 core rulebooks in the Star Wars line as well, accounting for possible second editions such as Dark Heresy is getting.

I would absolutely buy that.

The difference between the SW and 40k lines though is that all the SW games share the same system and are meant to be able to be played together, while the 40k line is not.