I was interested in playing Edge of the Empire, but don’t know where to get started. I DM D&D 5e and plan on DMing here, assume I own nothing. Is there any bundle that’ll help me out, or a list of books I should have. Also do any of these perchases come with minatures? I prefer not to use premade adventures, so I’m not interested in those.

Welcome!

I'd definitely suggest you get the Edge of the Empire Beginner Box. Not only does it come with a great adventure, but the adventure is designed to teach both you and your players the rules as you go along. It comes with a couple of nice maps, some punch-out tokens for PCs and NPCs and some nice pre-gen characters, as well as a set of (proprietary) dice. There's also a companion adventure that you can download from the EotE product page. Each of the three lines (Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny) has its own Beginner Box and downloadable companion adventure. T

With all respect to your experience and prowess as a DM/GM, I'd suggest you play through a couple of premade adventures to give you an idea of what an adventure feels like in this system. It does not play like D&D in space; the pacing and encounter compositions are different.

The only other purchase you need is the core rulebook. Each of the classes in the rulebook also has a splatbook that offers additional specializations, but you don't need to worry about any of that to start. You'll probably want to get another set or two of dice, as well, unless you're using the dice app.

You need the edge of empire core book. And that's it. Your players for sure want to have the career books for their characters, because those enhance their career options and give their GM plenty of adventure ideas aimed at those specific careers. The modular encounters and suggestions which come with literally every book are pretty good and decent. So if you are interested in hosting an adventure in corellian space, go ahead and grab the splat book "Suns of Fortune", etc
But you really just need a corebook and that's it. Now a lot of player want to mix and match all three settings, so you are getting quickly into getting all three core books, they all come with a specific flavor and tons of information about that flavor, but in the end it enough if you own 1 of them and have the other two on the table. The one you should own is the one which fits the setting you plan to write your adventures in.

Criminal fringe = Edge of the Empire
Rebels = Age of Rebellion
Stories with the force and force users = Force and Destiny.

Lastly, forget anything about the mechanical side of DnD, this ain't DnD, it might be a little tainted by a DnD influence, but it plays imho best to the strengths of a cinematic and narrative system, going along with the narrative dice and building and inventing stories around them ... so the mechanics are best use as abstract helpers instead of literal rolls and most of the system is meant as well that way. For example is a round not defined in length, but can easily take a whole minute (or five) and a single "hit" in the system can represent multiple shots and hits against several targets ... and those hits are not actually really hits, because of the three damage categories (strain, wounds and critical injuries) ... two of them trivially to heal and only the third one representing lasting serious damage … the system has it's quirks *grin*. It's still a cool system.

9 hours ago, SFC Snuffy said:

With all respect to your experience and prowess as a DM/GM, I'd suggest you play through a couple of premade adventures to give you an idea of what an adventure feels like in this system. It does not play like D&D in space; the pacing and encounter compositions are different.

But they are all a big railroad trip with nice locations, but bad encounters aimed at RPG beginners.
Why not do something proper which fits your specific taste and needs instead?

At the other hand, no premade adventure gets by without a rewrite and the FFG ones come with really, really great locations. So they might be still worth picking up if you have to the time to adjust them and prepare them in advance. They are just not really time savers.

I second the beginner box. I've been playing D&D since the little paper booklets first came out, but the beginner box was extremely useful to get up to speed with the rules, but also how to GM Star Wars.

And since you mentioned D&D: this is a completely different game. It plays differently, the pacing and style are not at all the same, and if you try to GM it like a D&D game you'll end up frustrated. D&D is designed for a "meet the enemy, take a stand, defeat the enemy, rinse, repeat" type of campaign. D&D 5 Dungeon Master's Guide even has formulas to ensure this is the case.

But that almost never happens in Star Wars. The heroes are always on a mission, on the clock, on the move, on the run, etc. These rules do a great job of replicating that feel, with the implication that it very much changes how games are run. The beginner box is a great guide for this transition.

Personally, I would talk to your PCs about what they want to do, and buy books based on that. Those career sourcebooks are handy if the PCs have the career. But as stated above, this is a series of three compatible games. You and your players pick which one(s) you want before doing anything else.

Once you pick a game, buy the Beginner Box for it, and play through that. Maybe the downloadable second part as well.

Then, as long as you’re still set on that game, buy the core rulebook, and have everyone pick a career. If you’re going to buy books, do the ones for those careers. They offer advice for GMs, options at character creation, and gear, all of it tailored to that career.

If you’re on a budget, you can also get by with just a Core Rulebook and dice. (Dice are included in the Beginner Box, though.)

To sum up:

NEEDED -

2 x SWRP Dice Sets

1 x Core Rulebook (of whichever of the three you choose *Edge of the empire*, *Force and Destiny* or *Age of Rebellion*)

Highly Recommended -

1 x Beginner Game (of the same Core Rulebook you plan to buy)

Good Additional -

Career Sourcebooks of the same careers your PC’s choose

(I would suggest playing a number of sessions, to see if your PC’s really do like their Characters)

Advise:

Just use a small chess pieces for your miniatures, the tokens in the beginner game are annoying. Also buying proper ones is quite difficult and expensive. So as long as your PC’s have imagination, the chess pieces should be fine

Speaking of miniatures. The game is abstract in ways that miniatures are not really helping much … sometimes they make things even worse. Maps are still cool and sometimes mini's still help. The game is still friendly to people who come from DnD, I guess the dnd market dominance has some benefits.

Don't forget that the beginner box comes with a set of dice so is practically dice plus free stuff.

I agree with all that has been said, but would also add the following: if you have a chance, listen to a live play podcast to hear how this game plays compared to D&D or Pathfinder... It's really quite different! I would personally recommend Dice for Brains, SilZero or Heroes of the Hydian Way - all available on iTunes or similar.

AAAAAAAALLLL the books.



Seriously, though, you only "need" the core rules and the dice.

The starter box is worth the cost because of the dice included, and the fact that it's basically two starter adventures in one (you get the continuation online after you finish the first one) that starts up a group pretty nicely.

That said, I'd say buy all the books anyway, because they're great value for money even if you never use them in a session. The quality of the art and writing is astounding and they're a treasure trove of lore.

I also recommend the Dice App that FFG sells. It will have any dice you need for any FFG Star Wars product (including X-wing, armada, etc), and will auto cancel symbols if you set it up to. Very handy when you misplace your dice, or are just learning to cancel dice pools.

And for character creation, don't forget Oggdude's character creator. Best free product ever, may the House of Mouse never shut him down.

On 11/25/2017 at 5:06 PM, NinjaBambi said:

I was interested in playing Edge of the Empire, but don’t know where to get started. I DM D&D 5e and plan on DMing here, assume I own nothing. Is there any bundle that’ll help me out, or a list of books I should have. Also do any of these perchases come with minatures? I prefer not to use premade adventures, so I’m not interested in those.

ALL OF THEM!!!

Yup, Core and at least 2 sets of dice (1 for GM, 1 for players) OR all get the dice app...My current GM had a load of SW d6 stuff but had to let it go.. a decision which still grates him today, so I've decided to at least go for the Edge core + careers books AND F&D core + career books for options etc.

Adventures aren't a problem either, instead of rolling Obligation make the House Roll that Obligation has come up THEN roll to see which PCs Obligation it is and wing it from there OR spend a week watching SW, Westerns, Samurai films etc then you'll have a ton of ideas.

Hello there you dont need the dice there great but not necessary if you have a d8, d6, and d12 you can use them theres a convertion table in all the core hand books if your looking to minimize cost. Dice are about 15 bucks per set which are great to have but you can get the app for a couple of bucks i think or free depending where you download it from.

That depends on the definition of the word need.

Strictly speaking rpg's as a whole aren't necessary for survival.

You can get started with 1 core book and either a pack of dice or the dice app, but you will find buying more than that both helpful and desirable.

You will likely severely enjoy the ffg star wars rpg and develop a strong desire/emotional need, not unlike an addiction, to buy all the books and will become impatient/anxious for the books that haven't been released yet. You'll likely poke absol (our resident oracle) for estimates about when announced books will in stores or even when to expect the next announcement.

I've got history with D&D, but I've drifted away from it. I'm in my first campaign as GM, taking over from the previous GM who's rotated into a PC.

If you're on a tight budget, you'll probably want to stick with one core book at first. I don't have any of the Beginner Boxes, so I can't testify to their quality. If you want additional variety for your PC's specializations, there are simplified talent trees available online, but if your player group has a strong tendency towards a particular career (even if they're not technically in that career), it might be worth buying the appropriate career book, since they give good ideas on how to cater to those types of players. They can also be good for integrating the odd man out in your group so you can give them their share of the spotlight.

I'm also fond of the region books, Suns of Fortune (Corellian Sector) and Lords of Nal Hutta (Hutt Space), but if you can't afford them, you can always binge on Wookieepedia for ideas.

On 11/28/2017 at 4:01 PM, Edgookin said:

And for character creation, don't forget Oggdude's character creator. Best free product ever, may the House of Mouse never shut him down.

If they do, I fear it might be the end of playing FFG for many...

1 hour ago, OddballE8 said:

If they do, I fear it might be the end of playing FFG for many...

I’m just fine doing pencil/paper!

47 minutes ago, Yaccarus said:

I’m just fine doing pencil/paper!

Well, I didn't say "all"... I just said many.

I for one, don't have the patience to root through every book there is for equipment and weapons, not to mention keeping track of what book contains what ship and so on.

No, if they shut that down, I'm afraid I might actually stop GM'ing this fine game.

Well, that or just sticking to the base rules and not buying any expansions. Which is a bit of a hollow "threat" since I've already bought everything they've released so far...

On 25/11/2017 at 0:06 PM, NinjaBambi said:

I was interested in playing Edge of the Empire, but don’t know where to get started. I DM D&D 5e and plan on DMing here, assume I own nothing. Is there any bundle that’ll help me out, or a list of books I should have. Also do any of these perchases come with minatures? I prefer not to use premade adventures, so I’m not interested in those.

Hi NinjaBambi,

If you are familiar with RPGs in general, I would recommend to skip the beginners set. Although it includes dices, if you see yourself running more than 2 adventures, you will require the core book eventually.

As SEApocalypse and Yaccarus recommended, take note that Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion and Force and Destiny are similar in rules, but have different focus. Do you see running a game of rebels against the Empire? a group of free entrepreneurs, roaming the galaxy and trying to get some credits? or probably the last force sensitives, trying to unlock the secrets of the Jedi... or Sith?

To be honest, EotE is the hardest to imagine. I personally, always played adventures of Mercenaries and Smugglers, so for me EotE is first priority. I hope this help you!

4 hours ago, OddballE8 said:

Well, I didn't say "all"... I just said many.

I for one, don't have the patience to root through every book there is for equipment and weapons, not to mention keeping track of what book contains what ship and so on.

No, if they shut that down, I'm afraid I might actually stop GM'ing this fine game.

Well, that or just sticking to the base rules and not buying any expansions. Which is a bit of a hollow "threat" since I've already bought everything they've released so far...

I am not so sure that this equipment and weapon search is healthy for the game as a whole. But in the end the whole gear progression gets quickly in the way of character development. Furthermore you get quickly rather depend on that gear. Which might be because the soak and damage mitigation mechanic is imho rather flawed, especially between different types of characters. While some astromech with just soak 2 would be very starwars-like, it becomes mechanical problematic in a group of soak 10 guys with ranks in reflect and/or parry on top. Or better, it requires some of the rare group protection skills like circle of shelter or supreme body guard. Something which the game imho lacks a little, considering the general approach to combat and gear.

But I am getting offtopc.

6 hours ago, SEApocalypse said:

I am not so sure that this equipment and weapon search is healthy for the game as a whole. But in the end the whole gear progression gets quickly in the way of character development. Furthermore you get quickly rather depend on that gear. Which might be because the soak and damage mitigation mechanic is imho rather flawed, especially between different types of characters. While some astromech with just soak 2 would be very starwars-like, it becomes mechanical problematic in a group of soak 10 guys with ranks in reflect and/or parry on top. Or better, it requires some of the rare group protection skills like circle of shelter or supreme body guard. Something which the game imho lacks a little, considering the general approach to combat and gear.

But I am getting offtopc.

Actually, the weapon and gear search is usually for my NPC creation and not for players.

I use accessories like that to further individualize my NPC's in the game.

Instead of just having "a blaster" on every NPC they meat, it'll be a special blaster on special NPC's.
(Not limited to weapons, but you get my drift)

Yeah, I get it. And the same thing applies. The slightly different stats mean very little for the narrative and the flavor you get already by just picking some specific blaster model.
I get as well that you enjoy it, so more power to you.