I've been roleplaying since I was a young teen in the early 1980's. I began with D&D and played a variety of games over the years. I played the original Star Wars RPG from West End Games when it was released in 1987, and have continued playing it up until last year. I've also played the various versions of the Star Wars roleplaying game released by Wizards of the Coast, although I've often found the older versions from WEG to be more friendly to newer players.
Recently, I purchased the Star Wars Age of Rebellion starter set from FFG, solely based on the wonderful job they've done with X-Wing and Armada (of which I have purchased a large number of ships). I've tried the game out, read through the material, and did some online research, discovering that the Star Wars Age of Rebellion game is one of three separate games produced by FFG for roleplaying in the Star Wars universe.
Up until now, I've been used to the model of a core rule system with supplements to add more to the game. I've never tried a system where you have three separate core systems. I also see that there are supplements already released and more on the way for each of the three systems, as well as a fourth system, based on the newer timeline of The Force Awakens. What I'm worried about is the fact that my play-style has always incorporated a bit of what all three of the core systems include. That would likely mean I would need to acquire all three core books, which as a price point of around $60.00 US, would get very expensive, very fast.
Then I start seeing things like the Game Master's Kit ($20.00), the Specialization Decks ($7.00 each and there are 36 of them) and a lot more, and I begin to wonder who can afford to buy all these products in order to play the game.
So I'm turning to you, the people who've already plunked down some cash, played the game, and know a lot more about it than I seem to. Where does one begin to delve into this game system? How different are the Core systems? Is there a way to afford to play the game on a working man's salary? What makes the game superior to the prior versions that have come before it? I've learned that newer isn't always the same thing as better, and I'm going to need some advice on which way to go here.
-ElderRook