I called this (or 2nd edition!) on the other thread. It's inconceivable that there wouldn't be some Force Awakens tie-in.

Many people said May 4th. And this explains why all the other lines are on hold.

Mildly surprised there isn't a core book coming, but a Beginner's set makes sense to attract new players while the hype is still high.

I guess a core book with the same careers and specs and everything else we've seen in the other lines would just be 2nd edition in another guise.

Interesting to see if anything else is announced soon.

The big, lingering question is the Abednedo; where and how will they be introduced? In the box? A free download bonus? A sourcebook?

So they've announced a new Beginner's Box and a new X-Wing expansion; who wants to take odds that they'll announce something for all of their Star Wars product lines?

That would be cool, something for Edge, Age, and Force all in one day!

Actually what I like is that FFG is now introducing products which combine elements from each individual line. Will characters have obligation or duty? Will there be any archetypes from F&D? Maybe as online downloadable content like additional characters have been supplied for other beginner sets? Anyways I like this and will get it.

As to further speculation,

We have:

Bormo the Abednedo Colonist

Fira Bon the Human Soldier (with kickass art)

Mhar'li the Human ???

??? The Human Explorer

So, apart from the soldier, all careers are Edge of the Empire. However, I suspect that Mhar'li is a pilot. Maybe a variant Kanjiclub human.. Then the players can tell it to her.

As I have never been a fan of Force abd Destiny, If there was a new line, I would be ecstatic. Not to mention, even if there are repeated careers, they Could make new specialties. Considering the Jakku setting, I suspect a "scavenger" specialty with rules for such.

Squee!

Going by the article, it seems that Mhar'li will be a Human Ace, since that's the only career not covered by the pre-gens we can see.

There will probably be downloadable PCs as well, and I share the hope that someone posted earlier of one of them being a BB unit. Would certainly add a little spice if the PCs run across some First Order stormtroopers while they're hunting for BB-8.

The big, lingering question is the Abednedo; where and how will they be introduced? In the box? A free download bonus? A sourcebook?

I'm far more interested in who decided changing one letter in the name of an obscure Old Testament character would make a great name for a species in Star Wars... but it works!

Abednedo... only one letter different than Abednego, one of the three of Daniel's friends thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar. With a name so odd, there's no way you could convince me this isn't where it came from. *chuckles*

The big, lingering question is the Abednedo; where and how will they be introduced? In the box? A free download bonus? A sourcebook?

I'm far more interested in who decided changing one letter in the name of an obscure Old Testament character would make a great name for a species in Star Wars... but it works!

Abednedo... only one letter different than Abednego, one of the three of Daniel's friends thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar. With a name so odd, there's no way you could convince me this isn't where it came from. *chuckles*

The big, lingering question is the Abednedo; where and how will they be introduced? In the box? A free download bonus? A sourcebook?

I'm far more interested in who decided changing one letter in the name of an obscure Old Testament character would make a great name for a species in Star Wars... but it works!

Abednedo... only one letter different than Abednego, one of the three of Daniel's friends thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar. With a name so odd, there's no way you could convince me this isn't where it came from. *chuckles*

I'd hazard to guess that, because sci-fi writers like to throw random syllables together for names, it's a coincidence.

Oh, I believe there are coincidences, but the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is taught in every Sunday School in every church in every Christian denomination around the world. While he may be an obscure character, chances are at least one writer heard the name as a child and, when coming up with a name went, "Abednedo! Why does that sound familiar? Well, at least it works!" even if it was a subconscious thing.

... apparently every abednedo in episode vii had a name that was a reference to the Beastie Boys. Ello Asty = Hello Nasty, and his aurebesh helmet saying born to ill.

I didn't make the Ello Asty connection. I should have, but I didn't. That's pretty awesome.

Although developers have confirmed that this won't lead to a new line, I hope we start seeing stuff from the new movies start to seep into the lines themselves. Would love to play as an Abednedo, a Tarsunt, or an Ottegan.

Will characters have obligation or duty?

Historically, none of the Beginner Games used their Core's mechanic, so none of the EotE Beginner Game characters had a mechanical Obligation, for example.

Would certainly add a little spice if the PCs run across some First Order stormtroopers while they're hunting for BB-8.

Adventure is set prior to TFA, as per the product page.

Side-note: seems whoever wrote the description forgot to change one of the paragraphs when copying the box contents description from the FaD Beginner Game, as it describes the TFA map as being the same as FaD's.

Oh, I believe there are coincidences, but the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is taught in every Sunday School in every church in every Christian denomination around the world.

Not in any Sunday school I have ever heard of.

I bet we'll get a TFA sourcebook of some sort... and then next year an Episode 8 Beginner box. Soon followed by another sourcebook or two (Rogue Squadron supplement?)... and so on. And eventually we'll get a CRB that covers the sequel trilogy.

I bet we'll get a TFA sourcebook of some sort... and then next year an Episode 8 Beginner box. Soon followed by another sourcebook or two (Rogue Squadron supplement?)... and so on. And eventually we'll get a CRB that covers the sequel trilogy.

We're more likely to get a single setting sourcebook that covers the era than anything else.

It's largely been stated by FFG staff, especially at their last GenCon InFlight report that the "circle is now complete" in terms of the RPG, namely that they've got the three corebooks they intended to create when doing the initial development of the game, each with a focus that caters to what a given group might prefer, as opposed to the "kitchen sink" approach that WotC took in trying to cover the OT, the prequels, and the New Jedi Order eras in a single book.

It's largely been stated by FFG staff, especially at their last GenCon InFlight report that the "circle is now complete" in terms of the RPG, namely that they've got the three corebooks they intended to create when doing the initial development of the game

I dunno, a dump truck full of money changes a lot of peoples' minds. I am personally waiting for the book with the playable Celestials.

Definitely a cool move. I just hope once this is on the boat, production for the existing lines straightens up a little and we get some new books announced for them. Itching for the Bounty Hunter book, some regional books as well as a Spy or Consular book.

Any new products for Star Wars FFG RPGs is good news and good for the game (as long as they're not terrible and bust, which hasn't been the case so far).

I just hope that FFG has more staying power with the Star Wars RPG than West End Games or WotC did. It was very disappointing when we found out WotC was discontinuing, but not unexpected. I wasn't playing RPGs when WEG discontinued, but they put out a ton of great material, so I'm sure it was disappointing for all involved when that happened as well. With Disney putting out all of these new movies in such a short amount of time, there should be plenty of material for them to make new products off of for quite awhile.

I will do my part and continue to buy FFG Star Wars stuff so that they keep making new stuff for us to buy. Hopefully, they can do what D&D has done and keep it going for a couple of decades. Tabletop RPGs are a billion dollar industry after all.

i would love to see this game come out.

Didn't WEG have the license for something like a decade? That's plenty of staying power to me. WOTC can't go that long without making another D&D edition.

Over a decade - the system first came out in 1987 and the company folded in 1999, and it would have kept going if the parent company hadn't been borrowing money against WEG to keep their italian shoe company afloat. If they had just stayed in business a few months longer, they no doubt would have been able to ride the Prequel Hype Wave for who knows how long.

So yeah, I'm not sure where this "D6 Star Wars didnt have staying power" thing came from.

I'd say the D6 Star Wars had plenty of staying power, since WEG was publishing books for over a decade, and only lost it due to foolish business practices as Desslok noted.

For WotC, it was more a case of Star Wars simply not matching the juggernaut that was/is D&D. For WotC, Star Wars was pretty much a secondary property given they held the full rights to the 800 pound gorilla that was 3rd edition D&D, with even 4th edition still being fiscally successful if nothing else. There are probably scads of smaller companies that would have seen WotC's profit margins on the Star Wars RPG as being a runaway success, but the suits and bean-counters at Hasbro only saw those profit margins as being a marginal success, and even that likely based more upon the sales of their collectible minis than the RPG books themselves.

I'd be very surprised if the profit-to-cost ratio for the RPG lines are the lowest of the three product types (RPGs, minis games such as X-Wing/Armada/Imperial Assault, and the living card game), but are obviously doing well enough that FFG is reprinting a whole lot of books; contrast to WotC who rarely did reprints of any of their sourcebooks (even the Saga Edition ones that had a very high demand such as the KOTOR Campaign Guide and Starships of the Galaxy).

Of course, in regards to D6 you've still got a very strong and vibrant online presence of folks that view D6 as being the only true Star Wars RPG out there, and any others are shallow pretenders to the claim. So I'd say that D6 Star Wars has plenty of "staying power," at least in terms of a fanbase, especially since it's been well over a decade since it had official support.

I'd say the D6 Star Wars had plenty of staying power, since WEG was publishing books for over a decade, and only lost it due to foolish business practices as Desslok noted.

For WotC, it was more a case of Star Wars simply not matching the juggernaut that was/is D&D. For WotC, Star Wars was pretty much a secondary property given they held the full rights to the 800 pound gorilla that was 3rd edition D&D, with even 4th edition still being fiscally successful if nothing else. There are probably scads of smaller companies that would have seen WotC's profit margins on the Star Wars RPG as being a runaway success, but the suits and bean-counters at Hasbro only saw those profit margins as being a marginal success, and even that likely based more upon the sales of their collectible minis than the RPG books themselves.

I'd be very surprised if the profit-to-cost ratio for the RPG lines are the lowest of the three product types (RPGs, minis games such as X-Wing/Armada/Imperial Assault, and the living card game), but are obviously doing well enough that FFG is reprinting a whole lot of books; contrast to WotC who rarely did reprints of any of their sourcebooks (even the Saga Edition ones that had a very high demand such as the KOTOR Campaign Guide and Starships of the Galaxy).

Of course, in regards to D6 you've still got a very strong and vibrant online presence of folks that view D6 as being the only true Star Wars RPG out there, and any others are shallow pretenders to the claim. So I'd say that D6 Star Wars has plenty of "staying power," at least in terms of a fanbase, especially since it's been well over a decade since it had official support.

D6 was and is a great, simple system. It was easy for newcomers to RPG's to dive in and play...no worries about different kinds of dice for different actions/weapons, or anything like that. Plenty of room for homebrew. And, over the years, a wealth of materials.

I've only recently transitioned to the FFG system. In fact, as GM, my upcoming campaign was going to be a D6 campaign. Some of the group had even made their characters for D6. My transition came about because of two things: Oggy's Character Generator makes it super-simple for newcomers to the game to create characters; and, after I joined a group playing FFG, they invited my 14 year old son (who'll be playing in my campaign, too) to join, and I figured it would be easier for him to only have to learn one rules set. That's not a knock on the FFG system...I just happen to know the D6 system like the back of my hand, while I'm still learning the ins and outs of FFG.

For WotC, it was more a case of Star Wars simply not matching the juggernaut that was/is D&D.

Also - and let me preface this with that this is just what I heard from freelance friends who worked there, so take it as the random scuttlebut that it is - but the approval process with LFL was so onerous that the license was barely worth it. Plus the real money maker was the Minis range, that the RPG was just bundled in with it in the contracts. So while the creative team did the best they could, the RPG was nothing more than an afterthought.

I just happen to know the D6 system like the back of my hand, while I'm still learning the ins and outs of FFG.

Fear not. Once you get past the learning curve, you'll find yourself very much at home with the engine. I was a LONG term player of D6 and it took quite a game to turn my head.

Oh, I've no doubt. There's just a big difference between 4 months and about 20 years when it comes to familiarity and comfort with a system.