The AoR book just dropped, and I realize it's been written for a while now. However, the Arda I adventure specifically calls out that it provides "new rules" for mass combat. This seems like quite an oversight to leave out of the core book. Did I miss this rule set somewhere in the core? Are they planning to release these rules in a subsequent expansion? I haven't seen FFG leave rules out on purpose just to sell books, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. I never run prewritten adventures, so it would be wasteful for me to buy this whole book just for one page on rules that should be in a core or supplement somewhere. Anyone find this rule in the core or have any insight?

There are a number of beta threads about the issue - they intentionally left mass combat out of the corebook.

Also adding significant rules like that in between beta and gold is not really doable as they already had their page count locked in. Most likely they are in the gm screen and adventure because those were the next two products in the chute. Better to have zero day DLC than something shoehorned into the core game at the expense of other valuable content....

I definitely get that this was a later addition to the book, and I can see them not shoehorning it in. It just seems odd that its first appearance in a book is to go into an adventure instead of a rules expansion.

You say it's also on the GM screen? I may have to pick that up. What section did it replace from the EotE screen?

There are rules for forming squads/squadrons in the screen, and larger strategy battlefield rules in Arda. The EoE screen had Nemesis advancement, the AoR one has the squad rules.

I definitely get that this was a later addition to the book, and I can see them not shoehorning it in. It just seems odd that its first appearance in a book is to go into an adventure instead of a rules expansion.

You say it's also on the GM screen? I may have to pick that up. What section did it replace from the EotE screen?

Rules expansion is gonna be a while, and an adventure can have the rules and include a scenario where those rules can be implemented, so the rules monkeys can buy for the rules, and everyone else gets an adventure with an epic battle. Win,win,win.

Maybe they decided to save it for another book.

There are some hints of it in the Operation: Shadowpoint adventure. Command points, abstract resolutions, and Battle results

Mass combat will be in one of the adventures that they are releasing.

I heard there was something like squad rules in the GM guide/pack/screen/screen/thingy/what-ever-they-call-it.

Not really sure why some people thought AoR was going to be '40K Rules for the Star Wars universe'.

They seemed pretty clear it was going to be the same narrative game as EoE with more of a focus on the Galactic Civil War.

Running big battles to me seems to be a case of 'focus on the PCs and occasionally make some rolls for what the other participants are doing'.

In the movies, that seems to be the approach, as we mostly see the battles for Hoth, Endor etc from the PCs perspective.

I will certainly take a look at whatever narrative rules they come up with and likely incorporate that into my games, but I don't feel like this was some vital component of the game they 'left out'.

@Maelora: Neither did i expect 40k rules for SW, but since it is a military setting and not a group of (criminal) individuals i did expect something to speed up combat between larger groups.

After all it is more likely for the Alliance to launch 2-3 wings of fighters than my group of ne'er-do-wells.

And when that PC captain stands on the bridge of his cruiser directing his squadrons around i'd like to have some similary simple rules for that than trying to make the minion rules work. Which i would rather not since i'd have to split all wings into half-wings due to the minion rules for skills.

FFG I'm sure was locked in on page count and had the format down for the CRB already. They pushed Squads and Squadrons out the door at the same time as the CRB on the GM screen and I'd be willing to bet Arda shows up in SEP. Prior to that F&D will be out and no one will give a @#$% anymore about mass combat at that point. People are just impatient.

FFG also hasn't been hiding what was going to be included in each product. It's all been up there to read for weeks and months. What the CRB was going to contain wasn't a state secret. Honestly it's not an overwhelming necessity. The community has generated the Talent sheets and other than maybe a couple stat lines for some of the ships, which I'm sure would be easily obtained by simply asking someone, there isn't much necessity to the CRB. The Beta book is on sale, so there are ways to get what people want for less money.

First, the optional rules regarding squads and squadrons is in the adventure module that comes with the GM screen.

Second, the GM screen is the very same as the EotE GM screen. I see no differences at all....... apart from the art.