I've just seen the movie, and as I suspected it's given me a bit of motivation to start a SW RPG game again. One of my big fears with the upcoming Episode VII was "are they going to introduce stuff that will clash so much with the books we'll be left behind if we want to run a SW game?". For instance, the original SW RPG would have had required quite a lot of tweaking to cover Episode I-III and the Clone Wars Series and Rebels. So the question is: is there anything missing for us to run a Force Awakens game?

OK, so factions and alien races.
Everything checks out. There's a few alien races that are new to the eye, but we've also seen quite a few familiar faces (Sullustrans, Wookiees and Mon Calamaris). Faction-wise, the Emp...First Order still has TIEs, Stormtroopers and the like so no big chance of missing stat blocks. I've loved the Triads showing up, but this is still "run of the mill" Star Wars, in the books.

Now with the game system.
From memory, everything checks out: scavenging, using data and computers, shooting blasters, piloting ships, demolition runs, melee combat and running from gunfire are all largely covered by the base system.

Do we have everything career-wise?
Here, the question amounts to "did we see specific careers/capabilities that are not represented within the three main RPG books?". The answer, for me, is no: everything should be covered.

Poe: Ace Pilot, Spy Infiltrator, Commander Squad Leader, Soldier Commando (all from AoR) I could go on, really, but there's enough for that Resistance guy around.
Rey: Explorer Fringer (EotE), with Force-Sensitive Emergent (AoR). Clearly going the Seeker Pathfinder (FaD) path as a jedi?
Finn: Hired Gun Mercenary solidier (EotE) with a shady background. You can just tell he's going the Soldier Commando (AoR) route. Also, but this is open to discussion, wouldn't count him out of the Force Sensitive camp yet (I found his blasting with the Falcon's cannons just a bit too inspired). Funnily enough, look at the drawing for Force Emergent and tell me there's not a bit of resemblance...
BB-8: Technician/Engineer Mechanic (EotE/AoR), or maybe Spy Slicer (AoR)? Little guy's not especially shown a distinct technical affinity (not on par with R2's for instance), but he's still a droid.
Kylo Ren: Warrior Aggressor FTW (FaD). No questions, here, really.
General Hux: Commander Commodore (AoR), Diplomat Agitator (AoR, Propagandist sounds right if you have the Diplomat book)
Captain Phasma: Soldier Tactician (AoR) is spot-on.
Max Kanata: Colonist Scholar (EotE).

What about Gears and Vehicles?

New Stormtroopers Gear: Sensibly the same, along with the Blaster rifle. Maybe just a bit of improvisation for the "modified electro melee weapon" wielded by a Stormtrooper mid-movie to do a variation on the electrostaff? By the way is it just me or has the Stormtrooper aim improved a bit since the original trilogy?
Three-pronged lightsaber: Yep, a gap here, how do these work? Also, where this could be interesting is with the "self-made vibe" shown in the unstable lightsaber blade.

Vehicles
T70 X-Wing: Probably the single most important missing piece. I'm dying to know what improved in our beloved X-shaped fighter over 30 years.
2-man TIE fighter with actual life support: This is interesting too, and not really covered. The First Order TIEs look sturdier, too.
Resistance transport: Some kind of "wide transport" with which Leia shows up. Pretty secondary, pretty much any transport stats could do.
First order barge/transport/Shuttle: Also pretty secondary. Lambda shuttle stats are probably OK to use.
Mean beasts in Solo's transport: Any mean creature would do, really, there's already quite a few of them statted out in the books.

And the Force.
We've seen a lot of Force powers we've seen before... Bind, Move, Influence (mind trick) and Sense (mind reading) pretty much covers everything from the movie. The only standout would be the "hanging blaster bolt", but as this has been discussed elsewhere, it could very well be covered by Protect, Bind or Improved Reflect.

So to summarize

Even though there are some little missing pieces, which will no doubt be present in an inevitable source book for Force Awakens, we pretty much have everything we need to build Episode VIII ourselves, which is GOOD NEWS. May the Force be with your GM'ing!

In general, we do.

For the starships, you can pretty much just use the Rebellion Era versions, as the TFA versions of the X-Wings and TIE fighters don't seem to have any major differences (maybe give the TIEs a point of defense for both forward and aft facings). Only oddball really is the TIE/sf (what Poe and Finn stole), but you could just tweak the Aggressor by swapping the placement of the existing weapons and then adding a concussion missile launcher.

The hanging blaster bolt can be covered simply as a narrative usage of Improved Reflect to make Kylo Ren look incredibly badass and making it clear that traditional weapons like blasters simply aren't a threat to him like they'd be to a stormtrooper.

I would note, however, that these aren't you dad's TIE fighters. The TIE/fo has rudimentary deflector shields and the TIE/sf has a limited hyperdrive and enhanced shield projectors.

The frozen blaster thing doesn't make him immune to blaster fire, he can be taken by surprise and I assume he can be overwhelmed like some Jedi were when Order 66 kicked in. Come to think of it, isn't Blaster Bolt Deflection more useful, while less showy, since it can return fire on the attacker? Style over substance that man, and indeed the FO all over.

I still don't get why Jedi stick with lightsabers even when not fighting other Jedi - if they used blaster then be done so much quicker as they wouldn't need to close in (or pull people towards them) before fighting.

I would note, however, that these aren't you dad's TIE fighters. The TIE/fo has rudimentary deflector shields and the TIE/sf has a limited hyperdrive and enhanced shield projectors.

The TIE/sf is also fitted with ordnance tubes and long-range comms.

The First Order isn't your daddy's Empire, either. Stormtroopers are basically trained and raised like Clonetroopers - minus the growth acceleration and cloning, of course - instead of being conscripts. TIE fighter pilots are also highly trained and not considered to be expendable (any more expendable than rebel pilots were, anyway).

That being said, lots of Imperial ships are still apparently in use with the First Order, including Imperial-class star destroyers. And most of the resistance's capital ships date back to the Galactic Civil War, as well. On top of that, the Republic's military is probably extremely small. So if you can stay away from the First Order and the DMZ, you shouldn't really need anything. Although presumably ships like the T-70 are somewhat common in system- and planetary defense forces. To say nothing of other more modern ships that the characters might encounter if they're traveling the Core and Inner Rim.

But, again, if you stick to Outer Rim systems - and keep some distance from the First Order - you ought to be golden.

Otherwise, you're going to need stats for (at the least): First Order Stormtroopers (could basically use Clonetroopers as a base, if you know somebody who has home-brew Clones) and their armor, equipment, and weapons, TIE/fo, TIE/sf, T-70 X-Wing (and probably the T-75, T-80, and T-85 X-Wings), Upsilon-class shuttles, Resurgence-class star destroyers, Unkar's tug, Han Solo and Chewbacca's bulk freighter, and assorted other modern ships and weapons of both military and civilian (and black market) natures.

And speaking of the First Order, we aren't sure where - exactly - they're located in the Outer Rim. But exploring the First Order's territories, particularly in the Unknown Regions, ought to be an entertaining endeavor.

I'd put BB8 as something copilot related. She's been teamed with Poe, the Hotshot/AcePilot, and while Strain Recovery is good canceling the ridiculus numbers of red dice makes more sence for the stunt Poe pulls at the end of the movie.

That being said, lots of Imperial ships are still apparently in use with the First Order, including Imperial-class star destroyers. And most of the resistance's capital ships date back to the Galactic Civil War, as well.

Where is it confirmed that the Resistance has capships when TFA occurs? I know a few cap ship classes were mentioned in Before the Awakening mentions a few new capship classes but does anyone know which ones belong to which factions?

New Stormtroopers Gear: Sensibly the same, along with the Blaster rifle. Maybe just a bit of improvisation for the "modified electro melee weapon" wielded by a Stormtrooper mid-movie to do a variation on the electrostaff? By the way is it just me or has the Stormtrooper aim improved a bit since the original trilogy?

Three-pronged lightsaber: Yep, a gap here, how do these work? Also, where this could be interesting is with the "self-made vibe" shown in the unstable lightsaber blade.

I would treat the Tofu as a super modernised, compacted electro-staff. Reduce it's encumbrance to four, armour mount it or have it lock onto a limb as part of standard design. I would keep the unwieldy compoment but not the en-cumbersome componen (not that, well, it makes much difference. You should be strong anyways)t; it's a weapon that clearly takes some experience to use properly but is compact enough to use in a specialised loadout.

I'd put BB8 as something copilot related. She's been teamed with Poe, the Hotshot/AcePilot, and while Strain Recovery is good canceling the ridiculus numbers of red dice makes more sence for the stunt Poe pulls at the end of the movie.

I was thinking the same thing, I don't remember seeing BB8 doing a lot of the technical stuff (Artoo was known for doing that stuff all the time) we did see BB-8 function in a astromech spot (whether or not he helped there is anyone's guess). I think Rey really took over the tech spot for this one.

As for the lightsaber with a crossguard. in our campaign we are calling that an attachment that is 1 HP and adds defensive 1 to a lightsaber hilt.

That being said, lots of Imperial ships are still apparently in use with the First Order, including Imperial-class star destroyers. And most of the resistance's capital ships date back to the Galactic Civil War, as well.

Where is it confirmed that the Resistance has capships when TFA occurs? I know a few cap ship classes were mentioned in Before the Awakening mentions a few new capship classes but does anyone know which ones belong to which factions?

In Before the Awakening, Poe spends some time after joining the Resistance on Home One and a starship of unknown class named Echo of Hope.

The only other new ship that I remember being mentioned is the Nebulon-K frigate. Which initially sounds like a Republic starship but makes a showing with First Order forces alongside a Resurgence.

The Wookieepedia page lists a Dissident class Light Cruiser, and a Maxima-A class Heavy cruiser appearing. The Lancer class Frigate as well. Interesting that the Nebulon-K appears as a First Order ship. I wonder if we'll eventually seen Imperial Nebulon-Bs in canon and Resistance or New Republic Nebulon-Ks in future works?

The blaster bolt hold is just a mind trick or specific effect from any kind of sith fear impose... It a show of force for intimidation IMO.

We have all the information to run a game within the Awakened Era, but only the absolute bare minimum and to be honest the material would be so sparce that one would have to get really creative with their plot weaves.

Hence why Edge might be the perfect introduction. No matter what happens in the galaxy, theres always room for ordinary people doing bad/good things. In a Republic they hate. XD

what do you mean by era? Do you mean to fight the First ORder? I would say not. Other then that they probably control a good swath of the galaxy, probably old holdouts of the Galactic Empire.

But i think thats the beauty of this system, and the starwars universe. Its so easy to represent any era, even the old republic with their ancient tech. Heck; i want to pleed and beg with FFG to make a sword and sorcery setting using the same dice pool mechanics.

You mean Warhammer?

As for the lightsaber with a crossguard. in our campaign we are calling that an attachment that is 1 HP and adds defensive 1 to a lightsaber hilt.

(SPOILER) I blame FFG for pulling me out of the theater and into the RPG during the final duel making me think about the crossguard in game terms. IIRC, we only see the crossguard being used offensively - to burn Fin. So, you could also say the crossguard attachment grants an automatic advantage during an attack roll, or something similar.

My thought on the crossguard was to treat it as an attachment that adds an automatic threat to the attacker's dice pool, increasing the chances that the wielder will be able to make use of Improved Parry, and requires 1 hard point to install. Mod options would be a rank of Defensive (those energy flanges would make other melee combatants more cautious when they get in close) and maybe a mod option to have it add an additional automatic threat (2 maximum) to the attacker's dice pool.

I'm sure we'll see official stats for it at some point down the road, likely in the Warrior splatbook.

I think you could probably run a Force Awakens era game now, as long as you don't mind just making up a lot of the "state of the galaxy" issues. We really don't know where The Republic is, or The First Order. How big are they, and how extensive is there reach? What's the capitals of the governments? Are there any other major powers? Why is The Republic not intervening and just working through a Resistance Group?

All of this and more can be easily made up by a creative GM, but personally I'm going to wait for a bit more material to come out and fill things in before I leap into the era. The new movies will help, but even more I think a lot of books and comics will help fill in the backstory.

My thought on the crossguard was to treat it as an attachment that adds an automatic threat to the attacker's dice pool, increasing the chances that the wielder will be able to make use of Improved Parry, and requires 1 hard point to install. Mod options would be a rank of Defensive (those energy flanges would make other melee combatants more cautious when they get in close) and maybe a mod option to have it add an additional automatic threat (2 maximum) to the attacker's dice pool.

I'm sure we'll see official stats for it at some point down the road, likely in the Warrior splatbook.

I like this... except that I'd add Advantages rather than Threats.

My thought on the crossguard was to treat it as an attachment that adds an automatic threat to the attacker's dice pool, increasing the chances that the wielder will be able to make use of Improved Parry, and requires 1 hard point to install. Mod options would be a rank of Defensive (those energy flanges would make other melee combatants more cautious when they get in close) and maybe a mod option to have it add an additional automatic threat (2 maximum) to the attacker's dice pool.

That's pretty solid, actually. Maybe have a Mod increase the weapon's Defensive rating too.

I'm sure we'll see official stats for it at some point down the road, likely in the Warrior splatbook.

Or the Force Awakens location book.

(My money is on Warrior being the last splat-book for the line, like BH is for EotE)

Man I hope Warrior isn't the last of the line, simply because I'm currently playing a Warrior/Shii-Cho Knight and I'd like some spec options that aren't entirely outside of the Warrior career (the two current ones simply don't fit the character at all, though he's currently delving into Niman Disciple to up his Jedi-ness).

Got a look at these two today. Both get two thumbs up for useful game info for The Force Awakens:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary Hardcover – December 18, 2015

by Pablo Hidalgo (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Visual-Dictionary/dp/1465438165

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections Hardcover – December 18, 2015

by Jason Fry (Author), Kemp Remillard (Illustrator)

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157

I would say that we have everything we need from a game mechanics standpoint. There's no reason that the old stormtroopers would be sigifiantly different that the new. The one thing we dont have is a clear picture of the setting. You'll have to make some leaps of faith on the state of the galaxy, the balance of power, and who is where and why.

Well before the movie the Republic was in power and the First Order was in hiding/preparation. In the Visual Dictionary it says the Republic's capitol is moved from planet to planet to have it's members feel equal. After the movie requires some guessing, my guess is Leia assumes leadership since the bulk of the government is wiped out. I could be wrong on that but wardrobe is pretty important in star wars and her change seems to me to show a change in position. As for the First Order, they two have taken a critical blow. I imagine they will retreat/regroup until the events of episode VIII.

I'd put BB8 as something copilot related. She's been teamed with Poe, the Hotshot/AcePilot, and while Strain Recovery is good canceling the ridiculus numbers of red dice makes more sence for the stunt Poe pulls at the end of the movie.

I was thinking the same thing, I don't remember seeing BB8 doing a lot of the technical stuff (Artoo was known for doing that stuff all the time) we did see BB-8 function in a astromech spot (whether or not he helped there is anyone's guess). I think Rey really took over the tech spot for this one.

As for the lightsaber with a crossguard. in our campaign we are calling that an attachment that is 1 HP and adds defensive 1 to a lightsaber hilt.

You should also have to role to see whether you accidentally burn yourself with the cross guards!