I have a few questions...

I'm looking to run a weekend adventure for our long running gaming group.

- What is the difference between this game and Age of Rebellion?

- What is required to play; dice obviously but what about extra books and such?

- How good are the pre-made adventures?

- Are there any fan made adventure sites?

- Are the character decks good?

Thx in advance

1. Base mechanics are the same just different skins for different time periods

2. You can just use the CRB the extra books add fluff

3. Pre-made adventures are good and make a nice intro into the game

4. I don't know of many, just have to look around the fourms

5. they are not bad, just make it easier to read talents

Hope this is helpful for you and enjoy

Whichever game you're considering, Edge of the Empire or Age of Rebellion, there are "Beginner Box" sets that can be a great way to learn the game and introduce it to a group to see if they're interested in playing it.

They come with an adventure, dice, pregen characters, and some nice maps and tokens.

AoR and EotE have different Career, though a few of them share the same specialization. The rules may be the same, the "classes" are different and reflect the different emphasis.

You can also get the Dice App for tablets and your phone, which is 5 dollars, instead of spending the 15 on the dice. I personally enjoy dice a lot more then a computer program, but thats just a personal thing. The Pre-made Adventures are pretty awesome, but if your players are anything like mine, they don't stick to the plan at all. It's good to have things that aren't so "inside the box" so to speak. Come up with some random stuff. The number one thing in this game is creativity, followed by good narration.

Thx everyone.

So this and the AoR setting are fairly compatible.

My store cant get the EotE Game Master screen but has the AoR one. Besides the picture. Is their any diffrence?

So this and the AoR setting are fairly compatible.

They aren't just compatible, they are almost identical. The only changes are flavour: careers, and an Obligation vs Duty mechanic.

My store cant get the EotE Game Master screen but has the AoR one. Besides the picture. Is their any diffrence?

I don't believe there are any differences.

I wouldn't waste time with the character decks. You're much better off printing the Talent trees fans have created, see this thread:

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/85616-compiled-resources-list/

The pre made adventures are excellent. I'd strongly recommend one of the beginner boxes...they both come with a set of dice and an excellent free PDF followup adventure. Forego character creation until after you have played through one of them, this will give you a much better sense of the game, and how you want to structure your character will be that much more clear.

The difference in GM screens is the adventure it comes with. That was the sole reason I bought the AoR screen.

Again thank you.
I used to have some plastic SW minis but they had an unfortunate accident with a drunken friend.

Are minis of use in this system and if so what do people use?

Unless you are new to GMing, the non-adventure content of the EotE GM screen is of questionable value (it's tips and advice on making an adversary for the PCs - great for newbies, nothing I hadn't already absorbed/learned over years of GMing). The AoR screen has a longer adventure (geared to AoR obviously, but sorta modifiable) and more broadly useful non-adventure content in the form of squad/squadron rules.

I second whafrog's advice on grabbing one of the beginner boxes. Since it's just a weekend adventure thing, between the box and the downloadable extension to the box you can play the whole weekend on that alone. If everyone gets serious about it, then you can make the jump to a core book.

I personally also started with the EotE beginners game. Seemed like a good way to try out the game, while minimizing the cost if it wouldn't gain traction. By now I've ended up buying the core rulebook, and all the expansions , needless to say the game got traction and we are now doing a regular online campaign via Roll20 and google hangouts.

Again thank you.

I used to have some plastic SW minis but they had an unfortunate accident with a drunken friend.

Are minis of use in this system and if so what do people use?

I have a decent collection Star Wars minis (My wife cursed the day I discovered Troll and Toad), and I don't really get much use out of them.

Lots of people use maps and miniatures in this game.They make good visual aids and help players and GMs keep up with positioning and things like that. But I find myself eschewing maps and minis unless I am trying to run a very complicated encounter.

The way the rules are set up, you don't need them. With that being said, the beginner boxes come with tokens and a few maps to help players and GM wade into the more narrative focus of combat.

The difference in GM screens is the adventure it comes with. That was the sole reason I bought the AoR screen.

Doh! Ditto...

Even for vets, I recommend the beginner box, if for no other reason than the dice and tokens. A set of dice costs $15 anyway, and for $10 more with the beginner box, you get some nice tokens, an adventure to play, and a double sided fold out map.

Yes I understand the Beginner boxes are great starting points but we have many maps from previous games and erasable ones from yrs of gaming.
That plus our 3 local stores and the 1 online one I use don't have any of the 2 Beginner boxes also can't/won't order them. Which leaves Ebay and other online locations; which after shipping up to Northern Canada is more expensive than the purchase of the EotE core book and 2 sets of dice (which I did today and awaiting to arrive).

This is all just MHO, others probably have different experiences.

I don't find maps that useful, and the minis not at all. It's a problem of scale. If it's Star Wars then everything is in motion. If you have a map with squares and minis, then you're limited to the dimensions of the map and it's harder to convey a sense of motion. Very difficult to have a speeder chase over Coruscant and even attempt to use a map. Even in the bowels of a starship people are running around, hiding in rooms, crawling into ventilation shafts, etc. You couldn't possibly map it all.

Not to mention, if people (at least my players) see a grid map their instinctive response is to act tactically, and suddenly the fight becomes a grind. Dumb stuff comes up like "I move just over here so he can't reach me, because he moves X squares and that puts me X+1 away"...this is the boring detail-oriented stuff that I use this game to get away from!

If it's absolutely necessary I will draw a quick sketch on graph paper (4 squares per inch) and use pencil and eraser liberally. But I prefer (when possible) to use a piece of art/landscape rather than a map. Then they get the visuals, but don't get that tactical urge.

I don't find maps that useful, and the minis not at all. It's a problem of scale. If it's Star Wars then everything is in motion. If you have a map with squares and minis, then you're limited to the dimensions of the map and it's harder to convey a sense of motion. Very difficult to have a speeder chase over Coruscant and even attempt to use a map. Even in the bowels of a starship people are running around, hiding in rooms, crawling into ventilation shafts, etc. You couldn't possibly map it all.

This, mostly. I have a handsome collection of minis (which I obtained with entirely legitimate funds) that I like to use for visualization and relative positioning. Maps aren't so important, but it's nice to not constantly re-state who is up in who's grill.