New Book Alert: Allies and Adversaries

By SavageBob, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

One would hope! Honestly, I hope the new edition is mainly just a balancing overhaul for things like vehicles.

1 hour ago, Benjan Meruna said:

To play devil's advocate to this...I don't think that post was a prediction of the end of FFGs tenure as the Star Wars RPG liscense holder, but rather of FFG getting to the end of the1st edition of its Star Wars RPG.

I mean, look at it from FFGs point of view (We all know how things depend greatly on ones point of view!): You've released all the supplements for your character careers, most of the era and location source books...you're starting to get a bit dry on material. You figure you've got maybe a dozen sourcebooks at most left in you, and that's reliant on a positive fanbase response. What do you do? Just shrug and churn out adventure modules? Or do what every RPG publisher has done since the dawn of time and release a new edition that (hopefully) tweaks all of the weak spots of your system while playing up the strengths?

Now, granted, that's still enough content to probably keep us going for a year or two. But you're deluding yourself if you think development on a 2nd edition of EotE and the rest isn't already in development.

I'm not deluding myself, others might be such as yourself. When you mention a lack of content for them to cover you can't be serious?

When 9 is out we will have had roughly 25 hours of live content put out over 42 years. The new shows will be putting out 20 hours of new content every season, and in 2-ish seasons will have matched more or less the sum total of live content since 1977.

We aren't talking generic RPGs, other lines do new versions because they don't have nitty gritty fiddley bits being put out to feed the creation of new content. Star Wars is about to turn into a pyroclastic flow of stuff.

As far as 2.0, it's out and called Genesys. I fully expect a sourcebook conversions/options book.

4 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

He is. He's in the beginner game adventure. There's also a card of him.

Just looked through all six sets. No named characters, including Teemo. The Scum and Villainy set has a "Hutt Crime Lord" card, but it's got a picture of Durga on it (per the birthmark/tattoo over the right eye).

One of the custom adversary card sets here on the boards has a Teemo card, though.

33 minutes ago, Nytwyng said:

Just looked through all six sets. No named characters, including Teemo. The Scum and Villainy set has a "Hutt Crime Lord" card, but it's got a picture of Durga on it (per the birthmark/tattoo over the right eye).

One of the custom adversary card sets here on the boards has a Teemo card, though.

That’s possible. I wasn’t sure if that was custom or not.

4 hours ago, 2P51 said:

I'm not deluding myself, others might be such as yourself. When you mention a lack of content for them to cover you can't be serious?

When 9 is out we will have had roughly 25 hours of live content put out over 42 years. The new shows will be putting out 20 hours of new content every season, and in 2-ish seasons will have matched more or less the sum total of live content since 1977.

We aren't talking generic RPGs, other lines do new versions because they don't have nitty gritty fiddley bits being put out to feed the creation of new content. Star Wars is about to turn into a pyroclastic flow of stuff.

As far as 2.0, it's out and called Genesys. I fully expect a sourcebook conversions/options book.

The sequels are going to get what? An era book, MAYBE a location book or two. The shows might get a sourcebook each, or they might be condensed. Regardless, it's not a whole lot of books left to release if FFG want to keep releasing a steady stream of books for the next 5+ years (and they do, they want to make money like any other RPG company) they know they'll need to release a new edition. You can't just link it to a generic system, or you end up with crap like GURPS.

Edited by Benjan Meruna
1 hour ago, Benjan Meruna said:

Regardless, it's not a whole lot of books left to release if FFG want to keep releasing a steady stream of books for the next 5+ years

With the way their releases end up working out, FFG's idea of a "steady stream of books" resembles a middle-aged man with prostate difficulties pissing in the wind.

1 hour ago, Benjan Meruna said:

The sequels are going to get what? An era book, MAYBE a location book or two. The shows might get a sourcebook each, or they might be condensed. Regardless, it's not a whole lot of books left to release if FFG want to keep releasing a steady stream of books for the next 5+ years (and they do, they want to make money like any other RPG company) they know they'll need to release a new edition. You can't just link it to a generic system, or you end up with crap like GURPS.

Well given the doom n gloomers track record on FFG pronouncements has always been 100% wrong I'm not concerned.

10 minutes ago, HappyDaze said:

With the way their releases end up working out, FFG's idea of a "steady stream of books" resembles a middle-aged man with prostate difficulties pissing in the wind.

Call me an optimist, but even FFG can't stretch out 6-12 books out forever :P

4 minutes ago, 2P51 said:

Well given the doom n gloomers track record on FFG pronouncements has always been 100% wrong I'm not concerned.

I...don't really see what is either doomy nor gloomy about a pending 2nd Edition.

3 minutes ago, Benjan Meruna said:

I...don't really see what is either doomy nor gloomy about a pending 2nd Edition.

Just like I don't see any point to a 2nd edition when you've already got Genesys. I'm gonna go with you don't care what I think and I don't care what you think.

1 hour ago, Benjan Meruna said:

Call me an optimist, but even FFG can't stretch out 6-12 books out forever :P

That sounds like a challenge!

I am super glad to see them doing a collection book, and I also hope they will do more of them. Gear, ships, etc. Bring them on.

Also I really, really hope they don’t do a second edition. I’ve spent enough money on the books I have 😂

13 hours ago, Benjan Meruna said:

One would hope! Honestly, I hope the new edition is mainly just a balancing overhaul for things like vehicles.

I don't think we're going to see a true "second edition" that makes the sort of grand, sweeping changes that Genesys did with regards to careers and acquiring talents, or dropping the entire Force system and replacing it with Genesys' magic system. Given the system as written for the most part works, I certainly don't see them making the kind of drastic changes that occur with edition changes in D&D.

I suspect we might at some point see a "revised edition" not unlike WotC doing their Revised Core Rules (though this did make some pretty major changes when compared to the Original Core Rules) or WEG doing their 2nd edition Revised & Expanded books.

Probably update some of the older spec trees, especially for EotE given how much more of a handle they've got on the system and what does and doesn't work, as well as address various talents that either underperform or perform too well. Maybe a tweak to Force powers given what we're seeing in the new canon about how advancing in ability isn't quite as much of a chore as the original films made it out to be. Vehicle rules would be a prime candidate for updating, though I've heard from a few places that even the Genesys version (while an improvement) still has some quirks. And of course, actually incorporate all the errata and clarifications that they've posted, as well as various other updates to address the various rules questions they've answered but haven't made it into the errata.

And while not everything from the original line would work perfectly seamlessly with this conceptual revised edition, I'd figure the majority of it would, albeit with a bit of modification (vehicle stat blocks being the major one), thus avoiding the need to purchase everything all over again and for folks that did buy the splats for the original edition to still get a lot of value out of them.

So given the freelancers involved in writing this book (Sterling Hershey, Keith Kappel, and GM Phil/DarthGM), I'm not convinced that this is going to be nearly as much of a "reprint old stats" collection that some posters are claiming it to be. If it really was just "reprint a bunch of old stat blocks and with a bit of new material," would they really need to hire three separate folks just to write the thing?

Are there likely to be reprints of old Adversary stat blocks? Sure, but unlike a true "compilation" book (such as FFG's Career Compendium splat for WFRP2e to close out that line and make way for their WFRP3e, which was almost entirely just reprinted material in terms of WFRP careers) I think this is going to have a lot more new material than some are expecting.

While we're not likely to see a plethora of such, we're bound to get new species (even if its just suggestions on how to construct a species from an Adversary stat block), new weapons/armor/gear, and new vehicles. A new Force power (or more) isn't entirely off the table, but I don't see it as being all that likely.

2 hours ago, Donovan Morningfire said:

I don't think we're going to see a true "second edition" that makes the sort of grand, sweeping changes that Genesys did with regards to careers and acquiring talents, or dropping the entire Force system and replacing it with Genesys' magic system. Given the system as written for the most part works, I certainly don't see them making the kind of drastic changes that occur with edition changes in D&D.

I suspect we might at some point see a "revised edition" not unlike WotC doing their Revised Core Rules (though this did make some pretty major changes when compared to the Original Core Rules) or WEG doing their 2nd edition Revised & Expanded books.

Probably update some of the older spec trees, especially for EotE given how much more of a handle they've got on the system and what does and doesn't work, as well as address various talents that either underperform or perform too well. Maybe a tweak to Force powers given what we're seeing in the new canon about how advancing in ability isn't quite as much of a chore as the original films made it out to be. Vehicle rules would be a prime candidate for updating, though I've heard from a few places that even the Genesys version (while an improvement) still has some quirks. And of course, actually incorporate all the errata and clarifications that they've posted, as well as various other updates to address the various rules questions they've answered but haven't made it into the errata.

And while not everything from the original line would work perfectly seamlessly with this conceptual revised edition, I'd figure the majority of it would, albeit with a bit of modification (vehicle stat blocks being the major one), thus avoiding the need to purchase everything all over again and for folks that did buy the splats for the original edition to still get a lot of value out of them.

I'd love to see this, actually. Not a 2nd edition, but a revised 1st edition that makes the changes you outline above. I wonder how much the three-core-book model affects this decision, though. Does have ing three core rulebooks make a revised edition (but not a true "second" edition) more or less likely? I wish I knew more about the economics of such a decision. My gut tells me that asking players to buy three revised books may be a bit too much to ask. (Although I'd wager that most of us who are dedicated enough to post regularly here would buy them.)

1 hour ago, SavageBob said:

I'd love to see this, actually. Not a 2nd edition, but a revised 1st edition that makes the changes you outline above. I wonder how much the three-core-book model affects this decision, though. Does have ing three core rulebooks make a revised edition (but not a true "second" edition) more or less likely? I wish I knew more about the economics of such a decision. My gut tells me that asking players to buy three revised books may be a bit too much to ask. (Although I'd wager that most of us who are dedicated enough to post regularly here would buy them.)

You know, given the similarities between the three lines, it stands to reason they could probably release a single jumbo splatbook to cover any revisions across all lines - which would serve not only the cause of the revisions, but also to entice reluctant purchasers to delve into the other lines.

The general trend for RPG sales is that every additional release after the core book sells a little less than its predecessors. That's the main reason why so many games get version after version of their core books. New core books reset the sales curve.

That The Clone Wars is a splat and not a core book tells me we're not going to see a second edition anytime soon. People have been going on about prequel-tier Jedi since before the EotE beta and they shunt them into a splat where they could otherwise go for the full-priced tome and 'justify' it based on the difference of the era and scale that AoR wasn't really designed for? Ehhh.

I will say that I didn't expect a 'Bestiary Book' considering the Adversary Decks exist.

Edited by Arbitrator
10 hours ago, Nrin said:

Also I really, really hope they don’t do a second edition. I’ve spent enough money on the books I have 😂

TBH I wouldn't purchase 2E.. I got stung with D&D 3.5/PFRPG (missing out 4e - "Travesty Edition") and went straight to 5E but only bought the DMG, PH & MM1, Strahd and Tomb...there's enough splat and stuff to convert from anyway

I too have spent a shed load on EoTE and F&D. If FFG announce SW rpg 2E, I'm outta here...

I'm hoping that this splat is not reprints of stats from other sourcebooks but completely new stuff... I'll still probably pre-order though :)

10 minutes ago, ExpandingUniverse said:

I'm hoping that this splat is not reprints of stats from other sourcebooks but completely new stuff...

"This sourcebook collects the profiles for heroic Rebels, evil Imperials, and galactic scum and villainy drawn from all three Star Wars Roleplaying game lines, along with a host of brand-new individuals who have never before been profiled."

On 1/12/2019 at 1:26 PM, Benjan Meruna said:

The sequels are going to get what? An era book, MAYBE a location book or two. The shows might get a sourcebook each, or they might be condensed. Regardless, it's not a whole lot of books left to release if FFG want to keep releasing a steady stream of books for the next 5+ years (and they do, they want to make money like any other RPG company) they know they'll need to release a new edition. You can't just link it to a generic system, or you end up with crap like GURPS.

The sequel trilogy will get an era book of considerable size, though. Because as terrible and greedy and myopic as it was, Battlefront II nonetheless had a single player campaign story that underpinned the rise of the First Order and laid foundations for the stormtrooper baby farms Finn spoke about in Force Awakens . Coupled with some awkward prose novels (Wendig ones) and the Resistance TV show and there's a 30 year ish period of time for FFG to cover the rise and fall of key factions, as well as plot points for how the players exist in those times.

There's a lot of opportunity here. New era book. New adventure module. Maybe a new career and splatbook.

On 1/11/2019 at 11:32 AM, Gallandro said:

Agreed. I doubt very much this is the end of the line, the problem is the franchise is in a weird spot as far as a story telling type game can go so do you put out no product, or put out something to tide fans over until late 2019/2020?

1) There would be no real reason to put out a post-ROTJ or Sequel Trilogy book until that trilogy wraps up. We could see some sort of post-Jedi book to coincide with the release of The Mandalorian, but that project seemed to come together rather rapidly so I’m not sure where they would be in terms of development of a sourcebook like that.

2) Plenty of people have been asking for some type of KOTOR or Tales of the Jedi type era book. But I suspect that’s probably off the table until LFL addresses it in some canonical fashion like a book, or show... maybe this is what the trilogy by the Game of Thrones developers are working on so you’re really not going to get anything there.

SO FFG is somewhat limited with their RPG line in terms of what they can touch right now. So what do you release in the interim? I guess you do some type of organizations book, or a region type sourcebook. Like I said before we will probably get some filler books gathering stats from previous books while offering new stats and options for players and GM’s. It’s pretty obvious (based on 2nd Edition X-Wing) that FFG plans to hold on to the license so they will release product, but I think it’s clear it won’t be at the pace from earlier years.

Yancy

Given my R1 experience on that playtest I find it extremely unlikely they would allow FFG to create original story content since more or less all likely eras are essentially being touched on during this year.

If I had to guess I bet they might be allowed to move forward on book(s) for the new trilogy the end of this year with 9s release. That doesn't mean the masses will be notified though, that means release test materials to playtesters. The book with R1 materials was playtested well before it was ever announced. Same for the rest of the content coming out this year I bet.

Given that, I don't see any viable projects other than compilation books. Quite frankly seems like an opportune time for them really, a solid break in being able to produce story content gives them the development space.

Quote

Look for this sourcebook to release in the second quarter of 2019.

So who's ready for Boat Watch 2019?

36 minutes ago, evo454 said:

So who's ready for Boat Watch 2019?

My prediction is that A&A by some miracle releases on time, several months prior to the release of Rise of the Separatists.