6 minutes ago, Donovan Morningfire said:

Though if their RPG department has shrunk as much as some of the speculation suggests, it's entirely possibly that FFG's RPG department simply doesn't have the resources to fully back multiple RPG product lines. And with Genesys and L5R being the in-company IPs, it's not surprising that they'd get more of the attention in terms of RPG staffing resources as opposed to Star Wars, which has covered the majority of what it's needed to cover.

If this is true then they are better off sticking with reprints and hoping for new customers for old books rather than trying to sell new books to the same old customers. Sure, a trickle of new books will be there as a sustaining drip, but the lines are likely on life support.

I think it'd be a good seller, but like others have said I don't know if it'd be all that necessary. The core rules can easily be repurposed for Imperial games already, and even before Rise of the Separatists people have used AoR for Clone Wars games too.

Still, the more splats the better. The Imperial side of things getting equally fleshed out would be nice.

As long as the card games and miniatures games are doing well, I don't think the RPG is going anywhere. From what I understand, the licenses are bundled. And judging by the FFG news page, these other Star Wars games are doing quite well. Whether they'll put any resources into the RPG and make an Imperial book? Yeah, it seems a steady drip is all we can expect at this point, and what that will include (beyond the teased sector and era books) is anybody's guess.

2 minutes ago, SavageBob said:

As long as the card games and miniatures games are doing well, I don't think the RPG is going anywhere. From what I understand, the licenses are bundled. And judging by the FFG news page, these other Star Wars games are doing quite well. Whether they'll put any resources into the RPG and make an Imperial book? Yeah, it seems a steady drip is all we can expect at this point, and what that will include (beyond the teased sector and era books) is anybody's guess.

So on a semi-related tangent to this, I just finished reading Bill Slavicsek's recollections about the history of Star Wars RPGs, from it's inception with West End Games and how that shaped much of the Expanded Universe (and still impacts canon today) up through the 30th Anniversary panel at GenCon 2017.

Though it's necessarily light on details of FFG's stewardship of the license, he does mention that one of the driving reasons WotC dropped the license was that Hasbro (WotC's parent company) insisted on certain financial goals being met each quarter. And with the licensing fees, the Star Wars lines just weren't meeting those goals, and thus it ultimately became a business decision to not renew the license when it expired. I would suspect those goals were set based upon the performance of D&D, which is perhaps unrealistic, but with WotC never really being able to get a solid collectible card game on the market and the RPG itself being second-fiddle to D&D... it's probably more surprising that WotC held onto the license as long as they did, probably due to the plastic minis line being as profitable as it was.

With FFG, being in and of itself a gaming company rather than a subsidiary of a toy company, they probably don't have as high of an expectation for what the Star Wars product lines have to achieve in revenue. That they've had a great deal of success with their minis games as well during the initial years of the RPG line has been a bonus.

So yeah, as long as titles like X-Wing, Destiny, and their card games keep selling well, I don't think we'll see FFG dropping the license any time soon. They may just simply do what WotC did and allow the RPG line to fade into the backdrop, releasing products once ever couple of quarters or so (especially if they're required to use an overseas printer by the license as some on these forums have speculated as to why Rise of the Separatists has been "on the boat" for so long).

FFG's parent company is Asmodée, a french games company that started as an RPG editor under the name of Siroz back in the 80's. Siroz became Asmodée at the turn of the century if I remember correctly and stopped doing RPG only 10 years ago, mostly because the french RPG market was (and still is) a bottomless pit of money for an editor : too small with too many editors. That's very different from Hasbro which didn't know what was a RPG before WotC bought TSR. And even after having owned D&D for some years they didn't have a clue on how worked the RPG market. If they had clues they'll never have approved D&D4, neither published more books than the market could absorb.

D&D 4e was fine as a system in and of itself, and really only suffered from being far too radical a shift from previous versions of D&D. Had it been titled anything other than D&D, I fully believe that 4e wouldn't have had nearly as much vitriol aimed at it by D&D fans that didn't want to sacrifice all those sacred cows.

I agree that they went overkill on the supplemental material, but then the same charge can be leveled at Paizo with all the splats and supplemental material that they've published over the life span of Pathfinder's first edition.

Edit: Which if you look back through D&D's very long history, every new edition has gotten blasted by fans of the previous edition for changing things or having a glut of useless supplements that were nothing more than naked cash grabs. 2nd edition got it from the 1e crowd, 3e got it from the 2e and 1e crowd, 4e got it from the 3e crowd (most of the 2e and 1e crowd had already given up on WotC by that point), and 5e is getting it from the 3e and 4e crowd (with 'glut' complaint more being one of too many modules and not enough player-focused crunch).

If I knew FFG would end up treating this game this way I would have never bought into it. It’s a good game, better than WOTC produced game but not nearly as good as the WEG material. I am expecting to see something like this in late January, “ with the release of ROTS it will bring and end to our adventure”. Bookmark this page because you heard it here first folks.

On 12/14/2018 at 2:49 AM, Rogo727 said:

Bookmark this page because you heard it here first folks.

Heard what ?

3 hours ago, WolfRider said:

Heard what ?

That some self-important noob had prophesized that FFG will outright kill the RPG lines once RotS finally hits shelves out of a deluded belief that there's nothing more for FFG to write books about.

Check this guy out^^^, was a junior in high school when WEG released their first starwars book, I have every mod and sourcebook since. Look I’m not going to poke fun at you, I see you have a lot of posts, After all everyone has a lot to say right? I’m guessing you never witnessed the end of WEG or WOTC. FFG is doing the same thing (things) that WOTC did near the end of that line. Yeah call me a noob, I’m just getting into this.

I will try and be more positive, right now I am using Imperial assault, Legion and X-wing in my FFG games and I am liking it. Just would hate if this ended. I also mix in a good fair share of WEG, and only very little of WOTC except for dark side talents. Running an Imperial civil war campaign that happens 6 months after Endor.

1 hour ago, Rogo727 said:

*pompous blowhard tirade*

Well, let's see.

You pretty much barge into the RPG forums, having no real presence prior to now, saying the sky is falling and expect everyone to take you seriously. Of course, your proclamation that FFG is just going to let the line die out is already deep-sixed by the fact that the a reprint of the AoR core book just hit shelves, and there's reprints listed in the Upcoming products section for two of the latest Force and Destiny career books, which is indeed an odd move for a company that as you claimed will be killing support for the RPG whole-hog.

Frankly, "noob" was the politest term I could have used for someone who acts the way you have.

On 12/13/2018 at 6:49 PM, Rogo727 said:

If I knew FFG would end up treating this game this way I would have never bought into it. It’s a good game, better than WOTC produced game but not nearly as good as the WEG material. I am expecting to see something like this in late January, “ with the release of ROTS it will bring and end to our adventure”. Bookmark this page because you heard it here first folks.

Got offered a playtest I turned down because I'm not running Star Wars currently.

Bookmark this page folks because ROTS isn't the last book as far as what one Pirate who can neither confirm nor deny anything knows...

Probably not a good sign if a veteran like yourself turned this down. Just because I don’t post often, I’ve been around since FFG got the license. There well may indeed be another book, and I would expect it late early 2020/2021 if at all. I’ll keep bumping this post every six months or so.

I don't know how my current campaign is a sign, good, bad, or otherwise.... 😞 Never thought of myself as an omen or portent..... 💀 I'm sure the masses will be on pins n needles....

17 hours ago, 2P51 said:

I don't know how my current campaign is a sign, good, bad, or otherwise.... 😞 Never thought of myself as an omen or portent..... 💀 I'm sure the masses will be on pins n needles....

It was a nice try at moving the goal posts, though, wasn’t it?

Once product in development was established by FFG seeking play testers, switch the premise to, “If long time players turn down play testing, it’s clearly dying.”

This sort of sentiment comes up occasionally it begs pointing out over the last year FFGs RPG segment has launched, put out, or announced 6 items for L5Rs, 3 items for Genesys, and 3 or 4 books for Star Wars, yet somehow that equals a sign of 'Despair'.......

1 hour ago, 2P51 said:

This sort of sentiment comes up occasionally it begs pointing out over the last year FFGs RPG segment has launched, put out, or announced 6 items for L5Rs, 3 items for Genesys, and 3 or 4 books for Star Wars, yet somehow that equals a sign of 'Despair'.......

It seems to be more the Star Wars side of things that are all "gloom and doom and despair." Due in large part to simply not getting the glut of products that they were getting back when the line was first launched. Admittedly, part of that was due to the shipping fiasco that substantially delayed a number of releases, particularly on the AoR front which were likely originally slated for 2017 releases (Cyphers and Masks was a notable instance of this, having spent an unprecedented amount of time in "on the boat" status).

There is also the matter of how much of those ('specially Star Wars) were written and sent to print back in 2017. Unless FFG has a radically different business model, once the final proofs are sent off to the printer, the RPG department has done their bit and are free to move onto to other projects.

It's also possible that there's concern of downsizing given the departure of some stalwarts of the RPG team, such as Katrina Ostrander-Lee (who was very much involved in the development of the L5R core rules) having now gone freelance, and not sure if Andy Fischer (the guy in charge of AoR) is still with FFG or has himself parted ways with the company. Sam Stewart is apparently not as much involved with the design side of things as he used to be, and instead does more managing of the overall department.

Which if the department is smaller, that they've now got three very separate product lines to manage. True, they've had more than Star Wars to cover in the past, such as the various Warhammer titles and the End of the World series, but it'd have been easier to manage all those with a more robust department. After all, the same workload with fewer dedicated staff simply means that one product line is going to get less attention, and thus far it's Star Wars that's getting the reduction in "screen time" in favor of properties that are newer and that FFG has the full rights to (and as such don't have to pay licensing fees for), a situation not entirely unlike WotC for whom Star Wars was a second-string product when compared to D&D, which even after all the edition kerfluffles is still one of the top RPG brands within the industry and the best known one to people outside of it.

That FFG is still offering folk playtest offers for Star Wars books does say that they're not out and out killing the line just yet, in spite of what chicken-littles like Rogo727 claim.

Other companies put out similar amounts on existing lines. Cubicle 7 puts out a steady flow but right in line with FFG numbers wise. WOTC has had D&D a couple years or so....they don't put out more than 3ish books a year. FFG put out like 3 or 4 for Star Wars over the last yearish, seems right in line with industry standards to me.

On 12/17/2018 at 5:08 PM, Rogo727 said:

was a junior in high school when WEG released their first starwars book,

Big deal, I was 12.

I'd also say that you're probably suffering from super early onset (mid-40s) dementia, because WEG was not "good"...at least not until about 1990. Sure, it was acceptable for the time but in retrospect it was some really poor game design. Second Edition was better, one could even call it "playable" a ton of the writing was just the worst. Sure, I had fun playing it some, but that was due to the strength of the GM, not the text provided. Omg...those opening scripts. Just shoot me, please.

Looking at the whole line I'd say you take 2nd edition or 2.5, the Rebel Sourcebook, the Imperial Sourcebook, Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters, Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, Cracken's Rebel Field Guide and the Movie Trilogy Sourcebook. Maybe the Death Star Tech Manual, maybe the Starfall Adventure. Jettison the rest. That's what...barely 10% of the entire line?

Now, WEG was definitely better than D20. Saga was okay here and there but I think that's mostly colored by one long running campaign where i was able to achieve all of my characters goals over the course of the game (and never even made an attack roll the whole time).

WEG and D20 all had the inherent flaw that if a character is powerful in the force that occurs at the detriment of everything else they do and have. This is just completely opposite from what we see on screen. Saga diminished the force by making it spell points. Again, opposite what we see on screen and no fun at all.

FFG made the first really great rpg system to run Star Wars. Take off the rose colored blast shield.

On 12/19/2018 at 6:37 PM, 2P51 said:

I don't know how my current campaign is a sign, good, bad, or otherwise.... 😞 Never thought of myself as an omen or portent..... 💀 I'm sure the masses will be on pins n needles....

Aww, don't say that, my peg-legged friend! You're my favorite type of omen, the one-eyed rapscallion type!

19 minutes ago, Kyla said:

Aww, don't say that, my peg-legged friend! You're my favorite type of omen, the one-eyed rapscallion type!

Just bring a good hangover cure...........and have a lawyer on speed dial.............. ☠️

On 12/27/2018 at 10:45 PM, Zrob314 said:

Big deal, I was 12.

I'd also say that you're probably suffering from super early onset (mid-40s) dementia, because WEG was not "good"...at least not until about 1990. Sure, it was acceptable for the time but in retrospect it was some really poor game design. Second Edition was better, one could even call it "playable" a ton of the writing was just the worst. Sure, I had fun playing it some, but that was due to the strength of the GM, not the text provided. Omg...those opening scripts. Just shoot me, please.

Looking at the whole line I'd say you take 2nd edition or 2.5, the Rebel Sourcebook, the Imperial Sourcebook, Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters, Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, Cracken's Rebel Field Guide and the Movie Trilogy Sourcebook. Maybe the Death Star Tech Manual, maybe the Starfall Adventure. Jettison the rest. That's what...barely 10% of the entire line?

Now, WEG was definitely better than D20. Saga was okay here and there but I think that's mostly colored by one long running campaign where i was able to achieve all of my characters goals over the course of the game (and never even made an attack roll the whole time).

WEG and D20 all had the inherent flaw that if a character is powerful in the force that occurs at the detriment of everything else they do and have. This is just completely opposite from what we see on screen. Saga diminished the force by making it spell points. Again, opposite what we see on screen and no fun at all.

FFG made the first really great rpg system to run Star Wars. Take off the rose colored blast shield.

Kinda have to respond to this because , not only because after reading several of your posts, you seem to think your a big deal (you arn’t Just saying). First your math is off, and making fun of dementia to anyone is really not cool. Shame on you. If the 1st edition rules are so bad why did FFG reprint the original, and I dare you to go over to that forum and say it’s trash. Looks like you have very little knowledge about what was produced during this time. I realize of course this is your opinion, (thank goodness for a quick google search aye?) and that’s all on you. Look forward to you’re response.

On 12/20/2018 at 1:36 PM, 2P51 said:

Other companies put out similar amounts on existing lines. Cubicle 7 puts out a steady flow but right in line with FFG numbers wise. WOTC has had D&D a couple years or so....they don't put out more than 3ish books a year. FFG put out like 3 or 4 for Star Wars over the last yearish, seems right in line with industry standards to me.

What four books has “they” released last year? When you say yearish do you mean 2-3 years?? “They” have relesed only one book over the last year and half.

6 minutes ago, Rogo727 said:

What four books has “they” released last year? When you say yearish do you mean 2-3 years?? “They” have relesed only one book over the last year and half.

I'm not going back and forth with you. I've already reported you. Happy New Year and welcome to the ignore list.