Hello,

I was recently looking through of my old WotC D20 star wars core book, and that made my kinda nostalgic got me looking around at the current state of SW RPGs.

I'm at a point in my life where coming up with a two hours every Tuesday night (or whenever) for a table top game would be hard, but I have time most nights to put a post together or two.

In looking around online, and reading the FFG forums it seem that the narrative dice of this system help make this game pretty friendly to play by forum, particularly compared to the D20 system that needed a map for combat. (That being said I really liked the D20 system, but I am also a sucker for FFG,'s stuff playing the LotR LCG, Imperial Assault and Armada although my Armada ships are basically display pieces at this point).

So as the thread title says I am about ready to bye in, I just have a couple of questions if you all have time.

My understanding is that all three core books are relatively the same, except if you want to play with force users you need Force and Destiny is that correct?

I have a very rough outline of a game arc with my D20 stuff that would be set in the Old Republic, just before or after the invasion of Naboo (personal agents of the Supreme Chancellor, start working for Valorum then get transferred to Palps and see if the PC's get suspicious of the missions he sends them on) . Are any of the systems more geared to the Epp 1-3 time line or do all equally work there? My impression is all of the systems are geared towards the GCW era, but folks have found ways around that, and with the new rise of the separatists book that will help flesh out that era a bit.

My initial thoughts would be to buy one beginner game and one core book in the same system, and play through the beginner game at home with a couple of friends, then try to play online here. Would that work or would I need some additional source books or is there something else you would all recommend?

Thank you.

Ypu can play a force user with any of the core books. The F&D book is the most complete for force users though

Beginner game is a good idea. Which core book you get depends of what kind of game you want. Same goes for source books. They are all good but we would need to know more to direct you

You've got the gist of it. The books are focused on the Empire/Alliance era but the rules support playing in any era really (just reskin Stormtrooper as Sithtrooper for example). The question to ask when deciding which of the 3 lines to focus on is what do you want the focus of your game to be. Force And Destiny is everything Jedi and Force related, Age of Rebellion is Alliance but also military/spy action, Edge of the Empire is scum and villainy (with some good military options as well).

If you want the broadest options I'd say go with Edge of the Empire, if Jedi/Force are really important go with Force and Destiny. Force and Destiny does have lots of non-Jedi options but all characters created using it are technically force users (though you don't need to play that up or develop it but it is built into the characters and you get less skill points because you get force ability).

Everyone is covering most of the questions fairly well.

As for that Episode I-III timeframe, the recently released Rise of the Separatists era sourcebook contains information to cover roughly the first half of the Clone Wars, and the upcoming Collapse of the Republic will cover the latter half.

Welcome to the game!

Rise of the Separatist does indeed flesh out that time period. But it's all a matter of narrative fluff, there are no special rules, at most just additional PC options, like specs for actual Padawans and actual Clones.

As far as beginner boxes go, I'd say the F&D one is the weakest of the bunch. The AoR one is pretty good, especially with the PDF followup (that plus the box is a good 3-5 sessions of play), plus it could easily be reskinned from an Imperial base infiltration to a CIS base infiltration if you wanted to shift the time period. The EotE one is good as well (best out of the box with a decent PDF followup), but doesn't really play into the time period you're looking at.

11 hours ago, Jedi Knight Xan said:

My understanding is that all three core books are relatively the same, except if you want to play with force users you need Force and Destiny is that correct?

Partly. FaD is the core that's all about Force Using players, but the other core books, as well as a couple supplements, have other options to ensure that the force can be present in any game set. That said, only FaD gets hardcore into lightsaber usage and the extensive list of force power options. Rise of the Separatists has the formal "Jedi" player options for use in a setting where traditional Jedi are an option, and Dawn of Rebellion has an add-on option to allow any normal character to come out as a Padawan Survivor. Bear in mind the "Jedi" options are more broadly constructed compared to what you'll find in FaD, so a "Jedi" built solely from FaD options may be able to outperform a tradition "Jedi" in specific roles and areas of focus.

11 hours ago, Jedi Knight Xan said:

Are any of the systems more geared to the Epp 1-3 time line or do all equally work there?

FFG's system tends to be viewed as the better option, as it allows pretty much everything you want, while still maintaining balance between the Force and non force using players. So you don't end up with the Jedi flying around like a superhero while the smuggler, soldier and tech sit at the kiddie table.

That said, FFG just started getting into the Prequel stuff with Rise of the Separatists, with the majority of the line following classic trilogy settings. \

WotC's Saga edition was the one that really was developed with PT play more center stage, but it also had the usual issues of the D20 system, as well as a power mis-match between force and non-force users depending on build.

11 hours ago, Jedi Knight Xan said:

My impression is all of the systems are geared towards the GCW era, but folks have found ways around that, and with the new rise of the separatists book that will help flesh out that era a bit.

Just to be clear, EotE, AoR and FaD are all the exact same "System." The dice, character sheets, player power levels, and such are all the same, and 100% compatible with each other. The difference is just theme and players options. But nothing preventing you from getting all three books and running a single campaign. Indeed if you wan the full monty star wars experience, all three is probably your destiny.

12 hours ago, Jedi Knight Xan said:

My initial thoughts would be to buy one beginner game and one core book in the same system, and play through the beginner game at home with a couple of friends, then try to play online here

If you go this route, get the EotE beginner game. It's a good walk-through, though a little boring and railroady at times. However the EotE beginner set also dorks with the rules the least, so you get a more accurate feel for how to play the game. The beginner sets all abridge the rules a but though, EotE just does it the least. AoR rewrites several rules in addition to abridging, and FaD leaves an entire component out.

Personally I'd recommend learning the full rules and then running the EotE beginner game with the full rules. You'll get the same experience, only add a little extra play time as you have to explain things just a smidge more, and walk out ready to play as-is, and not having to learn how some additional details work.

Thank you all for your insights I greatly appreciate it.

I would be asking your players what kind of characters they want to play. If you are playing online then you don’t need to own everything, if a player wants to use a certain species, career, piece of equipment, etc, then you can simply require them to have the book and tell you the relevant details. This is no different to a player in a regular group buying the book they need for their character.

So really what you need is books to help you gm, Force and Destiny is excellent if everyone is playing Force Users, which is quite possible in the ep 1-3 timeline. But it’s no where near as good for a more military game, or Smuggling etc. Given the timeline you are ultimately aiming for I would actually recommend the Age Of Rebellion core book and Beginner box.

AoR has an absolute plethora of adventure hooks for military based groups, and enough Force User rules for at least you to understand the system and a player to have a few options. The AoR beginner box adventure is also easily adapted to a Republic vs CIS game so could easily be the beginning adventure of a campaign (especially with the free online PDF expansion)

Down the line you would benefit a lot from the Rise of the Separatists book, it’s full of details on the clone wars, has some excellent pc options including clone troopers, and enough stats for CIS droids.

1 hour ago, Richardbuxton said:

Down the line you would benefit a lot from the Rise of the Separatists book, it’s full of details on the clone wars, has some excellent pc options including clone troopers, and enough stats for CIS droids.

To be honest, it's not that great of a book unless you plan on running/playing in the Clone Wars era or intend to reskin a bunch of stuff for other eras.

5 hours ago, Richardbuxton said:

I would be asking your players what kind of characters they want to play.

While the rest of Richard's post is full of good advice, I do want to call attention to this one particular piece, which may be the most important bit.

Each of the three core books is written to provide a certain type of experience within the Star Wars universe during the time frame of the original films, and while the fundamental rules are the same in each, they've each got separate elements that tie into the given core book's theme.

Force and Destiny (F&D) is all about Force users, with expanded rules on the Force and Force powers, and offering careers and specs reflecting characters that have learned how to tap into and access the Force in various ways. While the PCs generally aren't going to be Jedi and in most instances won't be starting out with proper lightsabers, the legacy of the Jedi (good and bad) and the dark side are bound to be recurring elements in a Force and Destiny campaign, as is digging up lore from the past and otherwise lost knowledge of the Force, things the Empire is actively trying to suppress, putting most F&D groups at odds with the Empire by default.

Edge of the Empire (EotE) has been likened to "Firefly with stormtroopers and aliens" given that it's theme is that of people operating on the more criminal side of the galaxy, in many instances just trying to get by and maybe someday hit that big score, and so the careers and specs reflect a mix of folks with generally ordinary or criminal backgrounds, covering folks such as Han, Chewie, and Lando for instance, with Jyn Erso at the start of Rogue One also being included in here I suppose. There's conflicts with the Empire in so much as the PCs are often breaking the law in some fashion or another, but not unlike the Solo stand-alone movie most of the conflicts are going to be with other criminal elements.

Age of Rebellion (AoR) is focused on more of a military theme, with the default being the PCs are active members of the Rebel Alliance (albeit in the lower echelons of the Alliance at the start), with the Empire as the central antagonist and the PCs undertaking missions to directly or indirectly subvert the Empire's control of the galaxy. PCs here would be your Cassian Andors, your Leia Organas, and much of the Ghost crew from Star Wars: Rebels.

That's not to say you can't mix and match elements from the three books; Star Wars: Rebels is mostly an AoR group using those careers and specs, but with Kanan and Ezra being from Force and Destiny. Rogue One is mostly AoR as well, but a few of the PCs were from EotE.

Honestly, talk with your group to determine what sort of campaign they want to play in.

As for what you need, I'd suggest just picking up a beginner box as to whichever of the three themes noted above most interests you and your friends, and run that, and then see which of the three core rulebooks you want to pick up. Also on the topic of beginner boxes, there's also the one for The Force Awakens, which takes place a little before the events of the film, and uses pregens pulled from both EotE and AoR. The adventure is actually pretty decent, being less railroady than the F&D box, but not quite as open as the EotE one, and the follow-up adventure "A Call for Heroes" (which can be downloaded for free off the TFA Beginner Box's product page) is pretty good, and can provide your group with a broader experience if you so choose.