Im working on our next session and flipping through some old resource books see a freighter Id like to include. I wonder if FFG has got it stats worked up somewhere? I've got nearly every book they have published so far but aren't that familiar with all of them yet. I know that equipment, ships and the like appear in almost every supplement so I start thumbing through book after book hunting.

Is there a master index somewhere one could just look up to see if a given alien race, ship, vehicle, planet or what have you has been covered in one of the sourcebooks?

Try this one. Although I could probably tell you if the ship you're looking for is in the game.

I appreciate it. I imagine asking here would indeed provide me the answer but when caught up in the moment, working away at the next game you just want to flip over and find the **** thing, or realize youll have to make it up yourself.

That's the one downside, if one can call it a downside, to this game. There is literally so much out there already created (between books, supplements and then fan generated stuff occasionally linked in some obscure forum thread) that you sometimes don't know what resources are available till later. I hate taking the time to stat out something new only to find out its been done several times before, and better!

Sorry if Im being a pest but do you other GMs find yourself searching dozens of times each time you prep for a new game? Looking to see what armor type is appropriate for an NPC, if a certain weapon has been created for the system yet, if a given planet has a listing somewhere etc.

It really slows down the process and I cant even imagine trying to run a freeform game where you do this sort of thing on the fly. In fact, it would be impossible as far as Im concerned without a ridiculously thorough knowledge of every publication and internet listing available.

Am I missing something?

Guess I am alone in this, I would have thought it a common problem.

A week ago I was working up an NPC and had an idea for an ability but it didnt match up to any in the lists I was familiar with so I had to wing it. Last night I was casually reading through "Keeping the Peace" and there it is, officially included as a talent.

This sort of thing just annoying. How they heck do you keep up with all the equipment, talents, abilities, droids, ships and whatever else is scattered across a couple dozen sources?

Guess I am alone in this, I would have thought it a common problem.

A week ago I was working up an NPC and had an idea for an ability but it didnt match up to any in the lists I was familiar with so I had to wing it. Last night I was casually reading through "Keeping the Peace" and there it is, officially included as a talent.

This sort of thing just annoying. How they heck do you keep up with all the equipment, talents, abilities, droids, ships and whatever else is scattered across a couple dozen sources?

I just give my NPC's whatever I want and don't bother going through all books. All those extra items/ships are more for my PC's than for me to be honest. With that being said, I would skim through most books while preparing my cohorts of pain looking for ideas ;-)

So nah, not a major issue?

Sorry if Im being a pest but do you other GMs find yourself searching dozens of times each time you prep for a new game? Looking to see what armor type is appropriate for an NPC, if a certain weapon has been created for the system yet, if a given planet has a listing somewhere etc.

Never. Seriously. Usually the only book that is open is the one that just arrived.

One thing that might help is to realize that all the equipment is just a variation on a theme. The core book has all the weapons you need because it establishes the boundaries...light blasters do X, heavy blasters do Y, this armour has Soak Z. But even that doesn't matter: all you have to do is decide what Soak you want your NPC to have, and what damage output they will have, and you're done. Retrofit to the specifics only later, and only if you absolutely have to (and I can't even think of a reason for that).

As for planets...do not waste your time. If you've heard of it yourself, then great, there's probably a decent writeup somewhere. But otherwise just do what you want. Why would it matter if you "got it wrong"? If your players are holding you accountable for every point of accuracy with canon, just tell them "unlearn what you have learned" and back off.

BTW, if you haven't found them yet, the Adversary Cards are well worth the price. If I need a quick NPC and the players are off the rails (which they usually are), a quick scan for something close to what I want saves a ton of time.

I wouldn't care if the information was in a centralized location, I would never bother looking up an item, or even a Talent for an opponent of note. I constantly wing it.

I agree, the NPC cards are great for just fleshing out Minions/Rivals, and using the Nemeses for a base idea that I then add to.

Someone has already made a Master Index. It's Oggdude's GM Tools and is kept up to date with all the latest releases.

With regards to narrative writeups, I spend a lot of time on Wookiepedia.

For planets, there is the non-FFG book called “The Essential Atlas”, see http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Essential_Atlas

For collecting lots of in-game material together, I use the FFG SWRPG Index at http://swrpg.viluppo.net/ and OggDude’s program.

Oh, and this forum, especially the “Compiled Resources List” at https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/85616-compiled-resources-list/ and the “FFG Developer Answered Questions” thread at https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/108101-ffg-developer-answered-questions/

Someone has already made a Master Index. It's Oggdude's GM Tools and is kept up to date with all the latest releases.

Hmm Ive got that installed but don't see any kind of index in it. Is it under the Edit function?

Someone has already made a Master Index. It's Oggdude's GM Tools and is kept up to date with all the latest releases.

Hmm Ive got that installed but don't see any kind of index in it. Is it under the Edit function?

No, it's called looking at the data editor and looking through all the categories on the left. He does an amazing job of breaking things down into logical categories.