So, I went to my yearly gaming convention in West Virginia. There on a lark I bough the TFA beginner's set, The Age of Rebellion Game Master Screen and The Force Destiny Core rulebook for $100. I played Rebel Assault and I was one of the play testers for the Wizards D20 game, so Star Wars RPG is not new to me. However, I feel like I bought the wrong books to play with. I was hoping to get some general character creation out of one of these books like basic soldiers, pilots and so on. Instead, the Force Destiny is all about Jedi and the TFA one has no real character creation just basic characters. At the very least, I thought the Game Master Kit would have something. Do I have to buy the other two books to get just basic character or is their a PDF file out there I can use? I saw someone said you don't have to use the ridiculous dice that come with this, but a D20 system is available in a core rule book. If not, do you have to roll all those dice for each encounter. I saw the level of success chart, so I get that. However, I am not sure why you need to roll this many dice even in Rebel Assault, it was not this bad. Any help would be appreciated. Even if people want to sell me their Core Books for Age or Fringe, let me know.

The system is split into three different flavors. Force and Destiny focuses on Force users, Edge of the Empire on scum and villainy, and Age of Rebellion focuses on military characters.

The beginner games are designed to introduce new players to the system. The GM kit is a tool, plus an adventure, plus some extra rules.

The dice system is pretty much intrinsic to the game; removing it would be problematic. There is a chart that allows you to label regular dice in stead of buying the special dice (in the EotE core, at least), but it doesn't use any conventional numbered dice system. It's actually not that complicated, once you get the feel for it, though your mileage may vary.

7 hours ago, lotjx said:

I feel like I bought the wrong books to play with. I was hoping to get some general character creation out of one of these books like basic soldiers, pilots and so on. Instead, the Force Destiny is all about Jedi and the TFA one has no real character creation just basic characters.

For Rebel pilots and troopers, you will want the Age of Rebellion Core book, which contains character generation details for those careers.

Stay on Target and Forged in Battle provide further player options for pilots, and soldiers, respectively.

Don't forget to check out OggDude's character builder . It's no substitution for a rule book but it can help fill in some gaps.

So, I have to buy 3 $55 corebooks to get what is in every $40 corebook that has come before. Wow, what a money grab. I thank you for your help. I am probably going to roleplay this once for a YouTube show and then see how pissed my player friends get.

1 hour ago, lotjx said:

So, I have to buy 3 $55 corebooks to get what is in every $40 corebook that has come before.

Well....that's not exactly right. There is some duplicate content between splatbooks in different lines and there is some duplicate content between core books, mostly around making the systems interoperate. Their vision was to break up the subject into lots of smaller books rather than one dictionary-sized tome.

On 5/11/2017 at 6:19 AM, lotjx said:

So, I have to buy 3 $55 corebooks to get what is in every $40 corebook that has come before. Wow, what a money grab. I thank you for your help. I am probably going to roleplay this once for a YouTube show and then see how pissed my player friends get.

No, that's not right at all.

The base mechanics are the same so you are buying the core books for the flavor of the campaign you are planning to run.

I bought the FaD core book first and was really not sold on the game or the setting until I started looking into EotE and then realized that the problem was that I didn't care about playing Force sensitive characters, I wanted to play someone "real" in the SW universe - a smuggler or a bounty hunter or rebel grunt (like I had many years prior in SWG) - and I switched to EotE, then added AoR.

the truth is that I haven't even looked at my FaD core book since except to get ship and gear stats (and would sell it if I weren't such a completist) so I vehemently disagree that one needs to get everything to be able to enjoy the game.

and, FWIW, even though there is some duplication of base systems, I have never once felt like it was redundant having both EotE/AoR core books, simply due to the amount of flavor-specific content in each.

Bojanglez is correct, in that you can very easily get by with only a single core rulebook, picking the one that best suits the sort of Star Wars campaigns you want to run. You may not have the full range of goodies (species, gear, specs, starships) to choose from, but you can do just fine with only the EotE or AoR core rulebooks. In fact, I know a couple of folks that balked at EotE because they had zero interest in playing "Firefly in Star Wars" and instead waited for the AoR book as they wanted to run games of similar theme to the old WEG adventures were the PCs were generally presumed to be members of the Rebel Alliance, with one of them having a very successful campaign that uses just the AoR material.

As for accusations of "money grabbing," FFG was pretty much in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" corner. They 1) try to publish a single core rulebook that tries to cover as much as possible but only winds up giving a very brief overview of the setting and character options, or 2) go the White Wolf New World of Darkness route and publish a single core rulebook that covers just the mechanical side of things, and then publish sourcebooks for each of three game play experiences (fringers/spacers, Rebels, or Force users/Jedi), or 3) publish 3 core rulebooks, one for each game play experience, that can be combined but can also be used separately.

In the first one, they get accused of not providing enough details on the setting (WotC got hit with this a lot, especially as they were covering at least three different eras with a single corebook). In the second one, they get accused of money-grubbing because now you need at least two books at $40+ bucks each in order to play just one of the three game play types. And for the third one, while the money-grubbing accusation comes up, at least the option is there that you can only spend $60 for a single core rulebook that best suits the type of game play experience you want and not bother with the other two unless you're a completionist.

There was a video up on the EotE product section where the primary designers discussed their whole approach, and why they went the route they did. Namely, they felt the proper Star Wars experience was too big for a single core rulebook (at least one that didn't cost close to if not over $100), and that they wanted to do each major campaign archetype justice, making it so that groups that only wanted one or two specific types (such as EotE and FaD) could opt to do so, while those that wanted to combine or choose from all three still had that option.

So didn't they explain about this when you bought them?

My view is tell your players they creating survivors of Luke's Jedi Academy who learnt that he's been found and they're trying to locate either members of the Resistance or this mysterious scavenger on Jakku whose found him.

The Resistance wants your help recovering important intel off a crashed Resistance Corvette except in the process they crossed a local pirate band seeking the same treasure, well they think it is!

Does that help at all?

Nothing was explained to me when I bought it. All the other RPGS were able to do Core Rule Books with all these classes at cheaper costs. I was hoping to get this book to just get the Jedi powers instead of missing out on running you know every class out there. I may run a campaign with Jedi, but my group hates Jedi, so I can see them all turning darkside out of spite. I thank you for your help, but I think this maybe a craigslist item.

1 minute ago, lotjx said:

I may run a campaign with Jedi, but my group hates Jedi, so I can see them all turning darkside out of spite.

Force and Destiny is not a "Jedi book." That is the grossest oversimplification of the actual material that gets thrown around.

Force and Destiny allows a player to build Force-sensitive characters . Because the setting is between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back , none of the characters are assumed to be Jedi. The book kind of assumes most players are going to be at least morally good, light side characters, but there's a lot of room for variety.

How about you tell your players they're running either Imperial or New Republic Knights responding to the rash action of the First Order from the TFA movie.

Yes they're force sensitive but not Jedi who are thought all but dead.

It doesn't matter if they go darkside the First Order isn't the Empire, evidence suggests the Centrists may have cooperated with the First Order's attack on the capital now you're stuck working together before the First Order strikes again!

22 hours ago, lotjx said:

Nothing was explained to me when I bought it. All the other RPGS were able to do Core Rule Books with all these classes at cheaper costs. I was hoping to get this book to just get the Jedi powers instead of missing out on running you know every class out there. I may run a campaign with Jedi, but my group hates Jedi, so I can see them all turning darkside out of spite. I thank you for your help, but I think this maybe a craigslist item.

Hm, maybe you could complete the collection from other sources - it's really quite a good game once one gets past the custom dice and understands the reasoning for splitting up the books. FWIW, you can get talent trees that will give you most of what you need to run careers and specializations outside the core books you own.

On 5/11/2017 at 5:19 AM, lotjx said:

I am probably going to roleplay this once for a YouTube show and then see how pissed my player friends get.

Do you hear yourself? That sounds incredibly petty. Your lack of research is not the fault of the publisher. Glad I don't play games with you.

Pre-generate characters using your F&D core rulebook use them instead of the ones given in the beginner set you own and let your players decide whether they like it or not?

I'd recommend leaving them the bonus mix of xp or money in case they want to start off with a lightsaber or more starting money.

But do try to have fun, it might not be interesting to you but maybe one of your players may be interested enough to buy your core rulebook maybe interested enough to buy the core rulebook you wished you had picked that up instead and do a straight swap?

You never know unless you try after all!

It definitely sounds like the Edge of the Empire setting would fit your group far better than Force and Destiny. I would definitely suggest running your TFA beginner game first though. With the free extension module available here you should get a couple of sessions at least. Then start making decisions on buying or selling.

This is not a D&D clone with precision calculations and a gridded map system. It's far more off the cuff, with an emphasis on the system encouraging good stories and not a board game tactical experience. To some gamers it's jarring and won't work, to others though it's a revelation and changes their RPing for life.

LOTJX,

I have played every version of the Star Wars RPG. WEG, D20, Revised, Saga, and now this one. When I first got the Edge of the Empire Beta, it was all new and confusing and the dice were weird and I just let it sit on my shelf for months. Finally the actual product came out and I got excited again. I bought it, the dice, and set up a game. Once I got out of the mindset of D20 (success or fail, loot the bodies) the whole thing shifted. It FEELS star wars. I own every single book. I didn't get any at a discount on Amazon or anything either. I have even purchased multiple copies for my friends. That is how much that I believe in this system.

I understand that you aren't that interested in the Force and Destiny theme (of the 3). Still, it is a GREAT book to have IF one of your players decides they would like to go that force using route. My personal favorite is the Edge of the Empire theme (originally the part I cared the LEAST about in Star Wars, but I fell in love with the book). I get your frustration of needing multiple books. However, think of it like this. They needed the playing and the testing and the time to make all of what we have. I am positive that we wouldn't have near as good of a system if they tried to write it all at once.

The Dice. Totally against what we are used to as Role Players. This is a shared dice system (at least at my table). You have a pool of dice and everyone takes their turns rolling as they need. And it is AWESOME! Now, you can fire your blaster, miss, but hit the controls to the platform that the badguy is standing on and now he drops to the ground with the smirk off of his face. You can hotwire a door open, fail, and have the blast doors close over it making it even harder to try to get through. You can sweet talk the bartender not only into giving you a drink for free, but when the stormtroopers come in, she shows you a secret door leading under the establishment because you made such an impression on her!

This isn't a normal RPG. This is a better one. This IS Star Wars. It takes a minute to get the hang of it. But when you do? I bet it will be your favorite system. It happened to me just like that.

Best wishes, and may the Force of Others be with you!

Also here is a breakdown.

Edge of the Empire is the Core Book to play as the scum of Star Wars. It has a gritty, hungry feel to it. It is very Firefly and Suicide Squad. It has drugs, slicing(hacking), and debts.

Age of Rebellion is the Core Book for a Rebellion (Empire?) campaign of starfighter jockeys and desperate Rebels. Basically Rogue One. It has explosives, tactics, and a sense of duty.

Force and Destiny is the Core Book for being a Force User. It feels very "The Force Awakens" with a great system for someone falling to the dark side. It deals with morals, corruption, and supernatural power.

The GM screens come with some additional stuff.

EoTE has a great adventure (very horror based) and rules for creating awesome custom bad guys (Nemesis)

AoR has rules for Squads and Squadrons, allowing your players to last longer in a fight and feel like their choices effect the lives of other NPCs. (Also makes bad guys last longer too)

FaD has rules for crafting your own lightsaber. Admittedly this was later expounded on and, IMO, made much better in the Sentinel Sourcebook.

Each Sourcebook for the different Careers is going to vary in how important it is to your game. Each one comes with new species to choose from and some game flavor and extra rules, unique weapons and gear. Get what is important to you (or have your players get it for whatever career they choose to add to their options). The Career books also give each career access to a Signature Ability which is (usually) a one time/session use of something game changing.

My favorite are the special books that talk about settings, bases, and Force Planets. Thicker books than the other ones, they tend to have a lot of flavor and inspiring ideas.

Lastly you have the various adventure books. Some are better than others, but most have extra bits in them that give you a unique Species, Special Gear, or a Special Force Power.

When I started it was 1 book every few months. Easy for me to drop the funds at the time. For you, trying to buy it all at once would be overwhelming and expensive. Getting right to the core of what you want is important. If you have a specific idea, setting, feel, flavor that you are going for, feel free to respond on here or PM me. I would be happy to help you in the right direction.