I'm super excited about the release of EotE and am putting together a group within the next couple weeks (waiting to get my next paycheck before buying the core rulebook). I'd love to have a few adventures for them ready to go and was wondering if Escape from Mos Shuuta is available anywhere other than the Beginner Box. I have the free download from the FFG site for the follow-up, but I'd love to run them through Shuuta first.

Along the same lines, is Crates of Kryats available anywhere other than the Beta book?

I'm super excited about the release of EotE and am putting together a group within the next couple weeks (waiting to get my next paycheck before buying the core rulebook). I'd love to have a few adventures for them ready to go and was wondering if Escape from Mos Shuuta is available anywhere other than the Beginner Box. I have the free download from the FFG site for the follow-up, but I'd love to run them through Shuuta first.

Along the same lines, is Crates of Kryats available anywhere other than the Beta book?

Both of those adventures are thus far available only in the places you indicated. No word on them being slated for reprint elsewhere.

Has there been any change in this policy over the last year and a half?

I just recently discovered FFG's Star Wars RPGs, decided upon EotE to be the setting/system I use, and went all-in. I bought the EotE Core rulebook, the two settings books (SoF, LoNH), and the four class books (EtU, DC, FH, FC), and two sets of dice. I even bought the AoR core book for reference! They are all on the truck being delivered.

Do I really need to spend yet another $20-30 for the "basic set" just to get the starter adventure?

Yup.

I personally skipped it. The intro adventures in the core rules and the GM book worked really well to get my players into the groove.

Has there been any change in this policy over the last year and a half?

I just recently discovered FFG's Star Wars RPGs, decided upon EotE to be the setting/system I use, and went all-in. I bought the EotE Core rulebook, the two settings books (SoF, LoNH), and the four class books (EtU, DC, FH, FC), and two sets of dice. I even bought the AoR core book for reference! They are all on the truck being delivered.

Do I really need to spend yet another $20-30 for the "basic set" just to get the starter adventure?

The Beginner Box also comes with a set of dice, which otherwise is $15. So you're not paying the full price just for the adventure. I've also found that the Beginner Box rulebook (stripped down) makes a decent reference for skills at the table so my Core Rulebook isn't being continually passed around.

If you and your players are RPG vets, I wouldn't worry about the beginner box unless you want the dice, tokens, and cantina and YT-1300 maps.

We are all 20-30 year RPG vets, having played many systems from original D&D, Gamma World, GURPS, Rolemaster, d20, Fantasy Craft, White Wolf, you name it - we've probably played it.

I'm not too worried about us adapting to the dice, they seem very awesome conceptually.

I can find maps with google, so I should be good there.

As for dice, I already have two sets of dice on the way ($10 each), plus the Android app.

I really just want to look at the adventure. Honestly, I wouldn't even mind an outline of it. I just opened the Long Arm of the Hutt PDF, and the first thing I saw was that it was a continuation of Escape from Mos Shuuta - which makes me want to read it.

I'll give you the Beginner Box adventure outline:

-Start in a Tattooine cantina after having eluded a Hutt's Gammorean guards; hide from the pursuing guards or fight them,

-Get told by the bartender that a bounty hunter has a ship docked in town but it's waiting on a hyperdrive part the hunter has ordered from a local shop.

-Go to local shop and swindle shop keeper out of hyperdrive part.

-Encounter Stormtroopers

-Go to docking port authority and find way to release ship from docking clamps

-Sneak aboard ship and deal with bounty hunter

-Fight off TIEs while escaping Tattooine.

Mostly a lot of hand-holding from NPCs and going through the motions of demonstrating various parts of the system. Honestly it can be swapped out with a custom-made adventure, all LAotH predominantly relies upon is the PCs to have stolen a ship with Obligations tying them back to the Hutt and his agents.

There's really not much to the beginning adventure, however it's useful for introducing the dice. My core group is long-time rpg players, but they aren't normally very adaptable. With a few examples, they had it pretty much nailed within 20 minutes. Most ended up keeping the characters from the beginner box anyway

If you skip it, just make sure to set up a couple of small scale skirmishes, a couple of social encounters (say, negotiating for a ship part, and smooth-talking your way into a starport control facility), and a small space encounter, then...

...aw heck, just get it

I have run The Escape From Mos Shuuta. It starts with the PCs on the run from the local Hutt, Timmo's thugs. The first encounter have the PCs seeking shelter in the local cantina, then some thugs come crashing in. After the fight the bartender tips the PCs that a bad Trandoshan slaver has a ship at the starport. The ship has a broken hyperspace modulator but the local junk dealer might have a replacement. The ship is also clamped in place but a visit to the flight control center should take care of that problem. Storm Troopers. A Trandoshan. Tie Fighters. To be continued. . .

The Beginner box also have a nice light rulebook. A doublesided map of an YT-1300 light freighter, Mos Shuuta, a cantina, a flight control center. Some pogs. Some dice. 4 pregenerated PCs with backgrounds.

I really must be in the minority when it comes to my feelings on beginner sets. I don't find them a good value for what you pay unless you really are a new role-player. We don't use tokens or maps in the main set, the dice are nice, and the simplified rules conflict in places with the core rules. So many of the other people love these things and I really just don't understand the love.

Maybe it is a nostalgia thing for boxed sets of our youth?

Last Fall I took the 2 beginners games to our local con. I plan on taking all 3 this year. Over the weekend I ran 3 games. For the signup sheet I said I would run the one that got the most votes (Edge or Age). Edge was the winner each time. Now, each game was full (6 players), and each was a veteran gamer, but had not had a chance to play FFG. So, having the basic characters with the rules/dice on the sheet was helpful. I have a total of 6 sets of dice, and 1 player over the weekend had the app.

So anyway, I ran them through the story, but they had much more freedom to go off the tracks, seeing as they were all intelligent veterans. I did not have to read the book word for word, and I still used some of the core book concepts (full Crit chart for one). The mechanics were slow at times, but that's why I offered a chance to do beginner's games. There was enough time to teach the rules and get through the entire scenario.

Edit: Another thing I like about the set is that the sheets have icons for what you should be rolling for your positive dice. In fact we use a character sheet a our regular game that has a column to indicate that.

I really must be in the minority when it comes to my feelings on beginner sets. I don't find them a good value for what you pay unless you really are a new role-player. We don't use tokens or maps in the main set, the dice are nice, and the simplified rules conflict in places with the core rules. So many of the other people love these things and I really just don't understand the love.

Maybe it is a nostalgia thing for boxed sets of our youth?

For any of the players in my group I wouldn't consider it a good value. For me, as a GM who is always looking for opportunities to introduce players to the system, I consider it a great value.

I wish they'd found a way to just do a simplified presentation of the characters and rules without actually doing a 'simplified ruleset', but it doesn't bother me a lot.

I've just found them to be a great way to introduce people to the system.

I really must be in the minority when it comes to my feelings on beginner sets. I don't find them a good value for what you pay unless you really are a new role-player. We don't use tokens or maps in the main set, the dice are nice, and the simplified rules conflict in places with the core rules. So many of the other people love these things and I really just don't understand the love.

Maybe it is a nostalgia thing for boxed sets of our youth?

For any of the players in my group I wouldn't consider it a good value. For me, as a GM who is always looking for opportunities to introduce players to the system, I consider it a great value.

I wish they'd found a way to just do a simplified presentation of the characters and rules without actually doing a 'simplified ruleset', but it doesn't bother me a lot.

I've just found them to be a great way to introduce people to the system.

For true beginners I can completely understand.

The experienced gamers that I play with always seem to grasp changes of a new system pretty readily and want the full experience so they can judge the system. I think the most difficult change was shifting over from more traditional games to FATE, and that was only one or two players who couldn't grasp that running out of stress just means that the player is out of combat and not dead. Kinda like exceeding WT in this system. We have gone from system to system over the years and maybe its just experience. Very little seems to faze them.

In the end I suppose it falls into the category of "whatever works to draw new players in".

If you're planning on getting a second or third set of dice I'd say spend the extra cash and get the set it's only $10+- extra, and for that extra $10 you get the maps and a pretty good adventure (especially if you download Long Arm of the Hutt).

You're not likely going to use any of the rules included but it's really only the cost of a couple of pints.

All the times I've used the Beginner Boxes to introduce people to the SWRP system, there was a mix of players from those with no experience playing RPGs at all, to veterans. I've introduced it to coworkers and friends and family.

Worked great for me every time.

I really must be in the minority when it comes to my feelings on beginner sets. I don't find them a good value for what you pay unless you really are a new role-player.

Have to completely disagree there, I think they're great value even for experienced players, but only once you factor in the free PDF. They both have great "media-res" starting points, good clear goals, and enough resources you can easily tailor it to a more experienced crowd. Plus the PDF followups are less "beginnery" and more freeform. The AoR one is the better of the two, and has a great premise, but they're both worth it.

I really must be in the minority when it comes to my feelings on beginner sets. I don't find them a good value for what you pay unless you really are a new role-player.

Have to completely disagree there, I think they're great value even for experienced players, but only once you factor in the free PDF. They both have great "media-res" starting points, good clear goals, and enough resources you can easily tailor it to a more experienced crowd. Plus the PDF followups are less "beginnery" and more freeform. The AoR one is the better of the two, and has a great premise, but they're both worth it.

Like I said, I am absolutely in the minority on this point.

Have to completely disagree there, I think they're great value even for experienced players, but only once you factor in the free PDF. They both have great "media-res" starting points, good clear goals, and enough resources you can easily tailor it to a more experienced crowd. Plus the PDF followups are less "beginnery" and more freeform. The AoR one is the better of the two, and has a great premise, but they're both worth it.

Absolutely - the maps are great, the tokens are good, more dice is always good, and the tutorial nature of the box is great leg-up for even a experienced player. That's how I learned the basics of the game.

I really just want to look at the adventure. Honestly, I wouldn't even mind an outline of it. I just opened the Long Arm of the Hutt PDF, and the first thing I saw was that it was a continuation of Escape from Mos Shuuta - which makes me want to read it.

The characters are on the run from The Hutt. Hide in a cantina and fight Gamorians, social interaction scene with a shop keeper to get a starship part, fight with stormtroopers to learn minions, bamboozle a flight control officer to unlock the MacGuffin Ship, fight with a not-minion, starfighter combat. And that's about it - it's a very linear adventure.

Thanks for the input, everyone!

I got the Beginner set for Dice and Tokens, since I could get it for $20 on amazon and the dice set cost 15 on amazon...

The beginner boxes are intended for gamers who are new to RPGs. For everyone else, the $5 difference between a dice pack and the boxed set doesn't make the boxed set a good value. The maps and the chit tokens are kind of useless outside the scenario. I'd suggest using your money to get a grab-bag of Wizards of the Coast Star Wars minis instead.

To somewhat reiterate what folks above have said - there are several items in which you can find value. The basic rulebook for skills reference. The set of dice. The evocative, flavorful maps. Nice cardstock tokens (lol, pogs) of common races, beasts, vehicles. Several pre-generated characters, including background and story hooks. The adventure (which I lump the provided one together with the later-free released one.)

I've bought both so far and will be buying the F&D one. If you see value in the above, I recommend you pick 'em up. If you don't, well, feel free to skip it.

I needed the dice, and had to learn a non-d20 system. Bought the AoR beginner set to play with my son over Xmas visit so he could learn it. Very fun without a lot of me explaining things

The beginner boxes are intended for gamers who are new to RPGs. For everyone else, the $5 difference between a dice pack and the boxed set doesn't make the boxed set a good value. The maps and the chit tokens are kind of useless outside the scenario. I'd suggest using your money to get a grab-bag of Wizards of the Coast Star Wars minis instead.

Sorry CL, but this is major FAIL advice!...

The beginner box has 3x the value in it and not just for new players to EOE but experienced GM's as well.

For the $5 you tossed aside , you get Maps, Tokens, Adventure book. Pre-generated PC's for pickup games(friends drop in), A small rule book to leave on the table during play for those without one.

As an owner of over 1500 Star wars minis, no deal online will get you what you have in the Beginner box. SW minis are expensive and grab bags usally give you crudd.