I want to run a campaign using all 3 rulebooks, but set about 5 years BEFORE the destruction of the first Death Star, around the time of the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

Such a campaign would allow certain opportunities that a game set in the post-Death Star universe would not. i would like my players to have the opportunity to visit Alderaan, play Imperial Senators before the Empire dissolved the council, and I would like them to even perhaps have some impact on ferreting out the existence of the Death Star.

Is such a campaign possible? In what ways would it impact the rules as currently established, if at all? As far as I can see, the only impact it might have is that the Rebel Alliance is less organized and even smaller, although perhaps my campaign could be set on Dantooine at the base the rebels had abandoned before Princess Leia gave it up.

I'm curious to hear the community's thoughts and opinions on the viability of such a campaign.

I've ran a few games in that era and everything works out fine. The only hitch is certain ships in the book may not have been around at that point, but that hasn't stopped me from using them.

The only hitch is certain ships in the book may not have been around at that point, but that hasn't stopped me from using them.

To be fair, it hasn't stopped the writers of Rebels either.

It's certainly possible to run a campaign in that time frame.

From what we've seen, the future Rebel Alliance has yet to become the formal resistance movement that we see in the films, but is instead a collection of smaller cells that are coordinated by specific individuals whose identities are generally kept a secret, and are run in a very compartmentalized manner to avoid disastrous information leaks should a cell be exposed or captured by the Empire. For what it's worth, the WotC Saga Edition campaign Dawn of Defiance, set a few years after RotS, had the PCs working as agents of Senator Bail Organa to ferret out information on a superweapon project (actually the initial attempt at a Super Star Destroyer) without any mention of a larger, more-organized resistance movement.

As for ships, you've got TIE fighters and Imperial-class Star Destroyers, so the major adversarial ships exist, and I believe we're due to see AT-AT walkers in this week's episode. Per the new canon, A-Wings are a thing in that time frame, and from previews it doesn't look like the B-Wing will be that far beyond. No word on X-Wings though, but I'm sure Y-Wings are still around. Most of the freighters offered in the books thus far are probably available as well.

I've started mine 10 years before Yavin

One thing that was great about EotE was how easily it could be adapted to be set in the Dark Times (time frame between RotS and ANH), especially has AoR wasn't out yet and Force users were certainly a fringe element of the setting.

It's certainly possible to run a campaign in that time frame.

From what we've seen, the future Rebel Alliance has yet to become the formal resistance movement that we see in the films, but is instead a collection of smaller cells that are coordinated by specific individuals whose identities are generally kept a secret, and are run in a very compartmentalized manner to avoid disastrous information leaks should a cell be exposed or captured by the Empire. For what it's worth, the WotC Saga Edition campaign Dawn of Defiance, set a few years after RotS, had the PCs working as agents of Senator Bail Organa to ferret out information on a superweapon project (actually the initial attempt at a Super Star Destroyer) without any mention of a larger, more-organized resistance movement.

As for ships, you've got TIE fighters and Imperial-class Star Destroyers, so the major adversarial ships exist, and I believe we're due to see AT-AT walkers in this week's episode. Per the new canon, A-Wings are a thing in that time frame, and from previews it doesn't look like the B-Wing will be that far beyond. No word on X-Wings though, but I'm sure Y-Wings are still around. Most of the freighters offered in the books thus far are probably available as well.

Yeah I think the X-Wing and some of the TIE models are pretty much the only ship I can recall from any of the Core books which won't be around in that era. Victory Star Destroyers, Immoblizer 418 Interdictor Cruisers, and Nebulon-B Frigates were all in Tarkin. 10 years pre-Rebels. Even the Imperial Escort Carriers and Secutors were in Tarkin.

Yeah, I don't think we've seen TIE Interceptors yet, which from the fluff in the AoR book didn't come about until after the X-Wing and were a response to that ship's impressive combination of speed, firepower, and durability while still keeping with the Empire's general theme of "superior numbers of disposable ships" regarding starfighter combat. Going by Rebels, the TIE Advanced that the Inquisitor used is likely the most current model of TIE fighter in the Empire, and that's apparently just been rolled out and not quite in mass-production (and guessing it probably won't be for some reason or another). Vader's TIE Advanced x1 has shown up in Rebels, but it's generally been Vader's custom ship and certainly not something that'd be mass produced.

My campaign was started an unspecified number of years before the Battle of Yavin. The sourcebooks and rules have not been a problem at all. It's close enough to the era set by the game books that there isn't much to worry about except perhaps a few vehicles that might not be available yet.

I didn't specify the exact year. Thus, the player won't know when they are about to hear that Alderaan and the Death Star went boom. I didn't want a count down by my players regarding something they would not know was going to happen. I'm also waiting for them to take a trip to Alderaan and screw with them by stating, "The sky above the spaceport suddenly turns a strange reddish glow and everyone around you looks up". Then after some panic have a passerby say, "Oh that's just the natural, beautiful sunsets we have here on Alderaan, please come back soon!"

Don't forget the unofficial fan made Rebels source book! There is some stuff in there you might find useful.

*points to signature*

My campaign was started an unspecified number of years before the Battle of Yavin. The sourcebooks and rules have not been a problem at all. It's close enough to the era set by the game books that there isn't much to worry about except perhaps a few vehicles that might not be available yet.

Better yet make it some weird local weather thing that makes a green glow.

At least for myself, I would look forward to a campaign like this. However, be careful with some of the crazier aspects of the various sourcebooks.

In addition, don't forget the scenarios in the books and those released. They can provide some interesting material and choices for the players.

My campaign was started an unspecified number of years before the Battle of Yavin. The sourcebooks and rules have not been a problem at all. It's close enough to the era set by the game books that there isn't much to worry about except perhaps a few vehicles that might not be available yet.

I didn't specify the exact year. Thus, the player won't know when they are about to hear that Alderaan and the Death Star went boom. I didn't want a count down by my players regarding something they would not know was going to happen. I'm also waiting for them to take a trip to Alderaan and screw with them by stating, "The sky above the spaceport suddenly turns a strange reddish glow and everyone around you looks up". Then after some panic have a passerby say, "Oh that's just the natural, beautiful sunsets we have here on Alderaan, please come back soon!"

I laugh. I did exactly this, only the PCs were on Alderaan (fidgety for some reason) taking a meeting with a senatorial aide, when they all heard a resounding KRAKOOOOOOOM! They whirled around to see ... Weather Theater, art made by semi controlling rain and wind, thunder and lightning.

I keep dropping hints that Alderaan's time is coming, but since that is where their cell leader lives, they have to keep going back. It's fun.

And I changed absolutely nothing from the books, I run primarily from Edge but also Age and a little Force.

I'm running a campaign around ten years before Yavin (i'm deliberately a bit vague to make life a bit easier for me) and it works easily as the group is still very much low level at the moment but they will become big **** hero's soon.

The Rebels are still very decentralised and cell based on the outer level of the onion where the enthusiastic, not very competent or not trusted are kept. The inner levels of the onion are more organised and more competent with the core being Mothma, Organa and co.

My players got a bit annoyed with dealing with the outer layer so the rebel agent demanded a meeting with an organ grinder as he was tired of dealing with the monkeys, one of who was a dark sider Munn with heavy cybernetics. They met up with a fleet of Corellian Corvettes and had a meeting with a arrogant and haughty 12 year old girl who almost out negotiated our face character (he needed a really good roll). They became a bit more respectful of the Alliance after that.

I want to run a campaign using all 3 rulebooks, but set about 5 years BEFORE the destruction of the first Death Star, around the time of the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

I'm curious to hear the community's thoughts and opinions on the viability of such a campaign.

I've run such a campaign. Well, we didn't have F&D yet.

Works just fine. It would help if some canonista created a year-in-service list for the vehicles and ships...

I'll note that the newly released F&D book can easily be fit into that era.

After seeing most of the rulebook of EotE, i think the rule system can be adapted to pretty much every Star Wars period, and you'd only need to reskin the starships and fighters to fit the era. Or if you jabe the time, redesign everything yourself.

But one thing to remember: stuff like "speed", "handling", " range" or ever weapon strenghts are, ultimately, relative stats.

Maybe Empire era starships are.more advanced and thus, speedier and more manoeuvrable than those in KOTOR. But its meaningless in the narrative: the fastest ships of KOTOR will still have a speed of 5 like the TIE Fighter.

The only exception to everything said above would be, in my opinion, Yuuzhan Vong bioships..