...is a 1986 roleplaying game by Greg Costikyan and West End Games (who made the first Star Wars roleplaying game), about playing freedom fighters battling to save America from a Soviet occupation.

I think it is pretty good. Especially if you are old enough to remember the cold war with a bizarre sense of nostalgia.

I think it has a lot to offer Star Wars roleplayers, especially in the department of really selling the idea of being a Rebel to your players and fostering a pleasing sense of righteous indignation in them as they take on the Evil Empire.

Below are a series of extracts to demonstrate:-

The Situation

Yesterday came the President's announcement. He said the obvious: the Russians' "Star Wars" defenses make them impregnable. They can destroy America whenever they want. They've demanded total American disarmament - and the traitor agreed! "As Commander-in-Chief, I hereby order American forces wherever they may be to lay down their arms. American military aircraft will be grounded. The Navy will return to port. All nuclear submarines will surface. All landbased missiles will be removed from their silos and laid on the ground for satellite inspection. All military personnel will report for demobilization."

Like hell!

There's been chaos in the streets since then. There are, at max, a few thousand Soviet spies and plants in the U.S., and It's going to take a while for them to ferry over any substantial number of troops. At the moment, It's anarchy in the streets.

According to the news, patriots are working to dump every data base they can before the Reds show up. The Department of Motor Vehicles is burning files by the truckload. The F.B.I. is shredding day and night. There are more cops at 1 Police Plaza dumping files than on the streets.

Supermarkets and stores are doing a land-office business. Everyone is trying to stock up on necessities. Some merchants are demanding payment in gold, though; and everywhere, prices are rising like a rocket.

The TV is full of Soviet spokesmen claiming there's no cause for hysteria. The President came on to call for calm and cooperation with the occupying authorities.

There's a lot of looting going on. There are people fleeing for the countryside. Occasional gunshots can be heard.

You've brought together your closest, toughest friends - men and women you know you can trust with your life. You've got to figure out what to do next.

--

In the near-future world of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM , the Soviet Union and Its client states have achieved nuclear supremacy and use it to conquer the world. America is now nominally ruled by a quisling President, but in fact by the Communist occupiers.

As the game begins, Communist troops Soviet, Cuban, Nicaraguan, Vietnamese, East German, Czechoslovakian - are landing all over the United States and Canada. You have only hours or days before they take up positions in your city.

As the game progresses, life will change as Soviet control becomes firmer. If you wish to remain alive and free. you must learn how to cope with these changes.

Some Propaganda

The Soviet Union is the very embodiment of tyranny. lt denies the most fundamental liberties to its own citizens. treats them as resources to be used, abused and disposed for the benefit of the state. The corpses of hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens lie under the tundra of Siberia, worked and starved to death because they thought or spoke unwisely. Dissent is classified as neurosis, and treated by the most severe of psychiatric methods - including electroshock therapy. Only one voice is allowed, the voice of the Party, disseminated through its organs the press, radio and television. Some claim there is a moral distinction between Communist Russia and Nazi Germany; there is not. One murdered millions for racial reasons; one murdered millions for economic reasons; but murder Is murder.

Throughout its existence, America has stood for liberty and the rights of man. The struggle between America and Russia is not one between two superpowers of more or less equal moral weight. but between freedom and slavery; between Light and darkness; yes, between good and evil. There can be no real peace until one triumphs, or the other. The world cannot live half slave and half free.

A totalitarian state Is monomaniacal in the pursuit of its goals. lt builds its military, probes for weakness, bides Its time until it may triumph. Democracies have short memories. The call to vigilance is repeated. again and again, to decreasing effect; people become inured to the struggle. Budgets are cut; the military becomes complacent and incompetent; academics and intellectuals belittle the threat. Society becomes fat and happy, unmindful or forgetful that its wealth and liberty Is enviously coveted and religiously hated by an enemy whose enmity never wavers.

America has been betrayed by traitors in its very midst - stabbed in the back by pusillanimous cowards, delivered into the hands of its foes.

In this, its darkest hour, America needs heroes - men and women who, without recompense, motivated only by the noblest of emotions, will rise and lake up the struggle against the Soviets.

Already, their troops are landing. Soon will come the internal passports, summary executions, psychological torture, death camps, mass starvation, all the humiliation, torture and agony that comes with being the subject nation of Communists.

Are you ready to pay THE PRICE OF FREEDOM ?

--

A number of features distinguish THE PRICE OF FREEDOM from other roleplaying games.

Tone: The predominant tone is one of grim patriotism. That's because the world of FREEDOM is a grim one. When playing your character, think of war movies, hardboiled detective stories, film noir, and stories about the French Resistance. Surviving In the world of FREEDOM is tough, and you have to be tough to survive. But you hope, at least, to do more than survive; you hope that, through your efforts and those of others, America may be freed from its oppressors.

Grimness is only one side of the game. The other side is this: fundamentally, roleplaying games are power fantasies. In other roleplaying games, players have the fun of slaughtering dozens of orcs or aliens, or defeating incredibly powerful supervlllains. In THE PRICE OF FREEDOM . you get to slaughter lots of Reds. Think Rambo. Sergeant York, or Red Dawn. The system is purposefully designed to make a player character the equivalent of several Soviet soldiers; the typical player character is a supersoldier facing a horde of spear carriers.

Setting: The setting, in as much as possible, is identical to the real world. Visualizing the world of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM should be easy; physically it is the same as our own. Emotionally, it is a far darker and more desperate place.

Opportunities for Mayhem: One of the most enjoyable aspects of roleplaying is that it lets us release, in a socially acceptable way, the negative emotions which society forbids us (for good reason) to act upon in everyday life. Basically, this means making things go "boom" - gunfire, explosions, violent action. THE PRICE OF FREEDOM offers unparalleled opportunities for mayhem. Not only are modern weapons deadly, but there is a clear and morally unobjectionable foe - the Communists. Furthermore, since the world of FREEDOM is so similar to our own, players will have the fun of blowing up buildings, people and things they know personally - without the messy possibility of a lawsuit, being arrested, or personal retribution.

Killing your boss is a bad idea - but no one can object to killing the foul Commie invaders who are systematically destroying the American way of life. Blowing up the public library is a bad idea, too - unless it's the local KGB headquarters. The opportunity for catharsis is immense.

A note to liberal readers

Okay, we know that some of you are going to be uncomfortable with the premise of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM . We didn't do the game to offend your sensibilities; we did it to give you an enjoyable roleplaying experience. And we see no reason why you shouldn't enjoy the game without compromising your political beliefs, whatever they may be. Here's why:

You, personally, don't have to believe the average Soviet soldier is a bloodthirsty killer, or that the Soviet Union could occupy the United States in the next five years. (We don't, either.) THE PRICE OF FREEDOM is a fantasy roleplaying game in the true sense of the word; its fantasy is the right-wing nightmare that America is delivered into the hands of her enemies.

You don't have to approve of secret agents blowing up everybody they take a dislike to to enjoy a James Bond film ...

Think of the game as The Lord of the Rings meets William F. Buckley: the Evil Empire of the East ... uh, that is, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ... masses its troops to assault the last remaining Citadel of the Sons of the Morning ... oops. the last bastion of liberty in an unfree world. Only you stand between the forces of darkness and world dominion; you, the valiant freedom fighter, must strike a blow for liberty. The question isn't whether or not such a terrible thing could happen, but whether or not you could enjoy pretending it has.

Roleplaying works best when everybody involved suspends disbelief and lives the fantasy. The world of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM is remarkably easy to enter:

You play yourself or someone you could reasonably expect to meet on the street. No problem imagining yourself in either of those roles.The setting is modem-day America. Again, no imagination problem.

You defend your home, your family and your friends from real enemies. You and yours are not being threatened by aliens from Proxima Centauri, or some other hypothetical creation from the pages offiction, but by the armed forces and secret police of America's sworn rival. They'll kick your dog, they'll reduce Baskin-Robbins' 31 flavors to 3, they'll cancel Moonlighting ... and then they'll take away your basic human rights. But only if you let them.

That's saying it flippantly, but forget the politics: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM is a dramatic game. Villains are destroying you. They're taking your house, your car, your VCR; they're threatening your family; they're teaching lies to your children. The situation is so intolerable that the only possible response is rage.

We could have done it with a right-wing coup in Washington or mind-devouring alien spore pods - but a Soviet takeover is far more powerful precisely because the Soviets have been our antagonists for so long.

Rage is important; the fun part of the game is its release. You can see yourself grabbing a deer rifle and heading for the hills. You can see yourself as a bloodthirsty Rambo, charging through all adversity, crying, " Do svidanya, tovarisch. " as you machinegun down rank upon rank of the godless Communists who wish to destroy the American way.

That catharsis is fun. Let's face it, we'd all like to blow things up. We'd all like to crush our enemies. Fortunately, society forbids us to act on those impulses. THE PRICE OF FREEDOM releases those emotions. And as a result, it can be a gas.

Blow it up! Blow it up real good! Eat hot death. Commie dog!

That's the ticket!

Atmosphere and Mood Setting

As gamemaster, you must maintain an atmosphere - a tone. Each game has Its own tone; THE PRICE OF FREEDOM 's is that of a grim world populated by despicable villains and desperate heroes.

Jingoism. In the world of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM , patriotism is not a falr-weather sport. When, in our world. someone says something like, "The struggle between Soviet Communism and American liberty is a struggle between freedom and slavery," there is a temptation to smile. Even if true, it seems overstated. The New Hampshire license plate says, "Live free or die;" in our world, the choice is not so stark. In the world of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM , it is. The characters of that world take these things very seriously; you'll help your players get in the right mood if you talk about events and characters in the right way. Look over the eagles and quotes throughout the game; they should give you an idea of the note we want to strike.

Grimness. The world of THE PRICE OF FREEDOM Is a bleak one, enlightened by desperate heroism. When describing things, use adjectives like run-down, grimy, shop-worn, haggard. dull-eyed. The world Is grey; whatever color it contains is in the posters, uniforms and flags of the occupiers. Thlnk of the players as shivering, ill-clad men and women standing outside the door of a house where gaiety and celebration reign; the Communists party while America sinks into decay.

Heroism. What brightness there is shines from the light of liberty, burning fiercely in the breasts of a few, scattered men and women. Use words like courage, determination, and heroism when describing that. Bleak; desperate: courageous; opposed by innumerable foes: that's the world in which the player characters live. You'll have to work to make it real to your players.

Sadistic Violence

Characters have to have a reason to pursue a goal. To make your plot work, you must give the players an incentive to pursue its objective.

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM Is a game with villains who are trying to destroy the American way of life. It's a game of violent struggle against those villains. You want your players to try to defeat the villains, to want badly to do so.

Simply telling your players about the situation - Reds occupying America - is a start. But you want to make it personal .

Here's a failsafe: at the beginning of each adventure, have the villains do something completely despicable, evil and wrong. The player characters should either be watching and unable to Intervene, or be told of this horrible act from a sympathetic NPC (e.g., a little girl they've adopted as their mascot), That should outrage them - and the emotions engendered will carry them through the adventure.

For example: the Soviets rip a family asunder. As the PCs watch helplessly, a heavily-armed squad of Soviet soldiers tear the weeping children from the bosom of their mother and pistol-whip their father when he tries to intervene. The parents are loaded onto a pickup truck, and driven away to "reeducation" camps in Alaska, while the mother holds her arms out pitifully to her children.

Or: the Soviets have orders to confiscate every cow In the county - "for emergency food supplies to halt the famine in Arkansas." A farmer tries to prevent them, and is shot dead. Because he tried to stop them, they burn his house and farmstead down - leaving his wife and children standing Silently in the rain.

Or: the Soviets decide to rechisel Washington's face on Mount Rushmore Into Lenin's.

Or: one night, a squad of drunken Soviet soldiers break Into the local Catholic church, remove anything made of gold (monstrance, candlesticks, etc.), and savagely beat the priest when he tries to intervene.

Anything that affects individuals personally has emotional impact; so does the desecration of a national symbol; so does a particularly brutal killing. Any use of violence against the innocent or helpless will suffice.

If you're running a campaign (see section 4), using a character's background is an especially effective device. Seeing an elderly couple turned out of their home Into the bitter December night to make room for a Soviet colonel's headquarters is bad enough; when the elderly couple are your parents, It's something considerably worse. The effect is particularly strong if the player characters have met the parents and talked with them several times over the course of previous adventures - if they know the characters.

As an example of that last section, here are a couple of events from adventures for the game. The first is from the introductory adventure in the core book. The PCs have met at one of the characters apartment to decided what to do. As they leave to go fight the occupation, this happens:-

What're We FIghting For?

Read this aloud:

As you leave the apartment. you can hear old Mrs. Cherzinskl crying next door. A widow and invalid, Mrs. Cherzinskl fled her homeland after her activist husband was killed in the Polish labor uprisings of the '80s. She won't last too long once the Soviets find out who she is.

If the characters knock on her door, she asks who they are and invites them in Upon entering, they find her silting alone in her living room lacing the door, an ancient German Mauser clasped In her hands.

Mrs. Cherzinskl, confined to a wheelchair by arthritis, is fully aware of her fate under Soviet rule. Upon hearing of the United States' surrender. she sent her niece, Margaret, who lives with her, to some relatives in upstate New York. She plans to sit right there until the first Soviet soldier comes to arrest her: she will shoot the soldier, and then herself.

She declines any offers of help with thanks, she is too old and sick. she says, to live through it all again, and this way at least she will be able to strike one blow for freedom before she goes to loin her husband. If the characters tell her they are going to fight the Soviets, she will give them a small pendant from around her neck after removing an old, faded photograph from a hidden compartment. (Melted down, the pendant is two troy ounces of gold.) Kissing the photograph, she bids them farewell with her blessings.

GMing Tip: Setting Tone in an Adventure

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM is about brave men and women struggling heroically against evil. Inhuman oppressors. Unless occasionally reminded of the harsh, brutal world under Soviet rule, players (and often you. the gamemaster) can slip into a Hogan's Heroes mindset - a bunch of fun-loving, happy-go-lucky guys matching wits with those zany Nazis - or in this case, those zany Soviets.

Characters like Mrs. Cherzinski will remind the players what they are fighting for. give them more reason to hate and despise their opponents. and perhaps even set an example of how they should act when facing their own deaths.

This is from a different adventure, and occurs as the Soviets roll in to the PCs home town:-

The Meeting in the Park

At 5PM, the Soviets gather the citizens of Milner to the town park - a large, grassy area in the center of town, where, in happier times, the High School band used to give concerts on cool summer nights. It's getting dark, and they've rigged up spotlights. Any of the PCs still In town attend: anyone who stays home is physically rousted out and force-marched to the park by Soviet soldiers. Anyone who was arrested is brought to the park, under guard.

Read this:

Finally, everyone In town is assembled. It's cold. Everyone is bundled up, some are shivering. On the periphery of the crowd are a couple of dozen Soviet soldiers. all with automatic rifles.

Colonel Geboshnovlk walks to the bandstand and climbs Its stairs. He clears his throat, and says: "Citizens! By the authority of Act of Occupation 16A-1, I hereby declare the town of Milner to be under martial Law. This means that I have the power of life and death over every one of you:" He pauses.

"In the course of our search. we found several illegal items in the hands of one Lynsie Shaffer, including scurrilous propaganda issued by the enemies of the people. The penalty for this crime Is death." He breaks off and barks something in Russian.

Four Soviet soldiers emerge from the town hall. escorting 18-year old Lynsie Shaffer. Lynsie Is known to all of you - a bright, intelligent young girl. sweetheart of Boyd Johnson - who's now with the rebels.

Lynsie Is barefoot, clad in a torn dress. She walks quietly between the soldiers, head low, eyes unfocused. a steady stream of blood Dowing from her nose. She seems unaware of the cold. One of the soldiers ties her hands behind a "No Parking" signpost infront of the town hall. Then, the four of them line up five yards away.

Lynsle suddenly realizes what Is happenIng, and moves to place the thin, 2-lnch signpost between her and the guards. Geboshnovlk speaks in Russian again; the guns fire.

The signpost offers little protection.

The four soldiers snap to attention.

There Is quiet.

Geboshnovlk turns to address the crowd. "We are not here to destroy you. We have a job to do, and our orders. Do as you are directed, and you will be In no danger. "The following citizens will move to the steps of the town hail." He speaks a long Ust of names - perhaps two dozen.

Hell, just become inspired by current events in the U.S.S...er, I mean U.S.A.

Nice, I like it. I remember seeing that on a friend's bookshelf, back before I was even involved at all in the roleplaying genre. I wonder if he still has it!

It was a game inspired by the Cold War and movies like Red Dawn and Invasion USA . Never played it myself but remember it.

What does this have to do with SW Age of Rebellion?

What does this have to do with SW Age of Rebellion?

I believe he's emphasising his usual habit of being so-called pro-rebel over Imperial fanboy.

What he fails to understand is that the Empire is by and large accepted by the Star Wars Galaxy as a result of the aftermath of the Clone Wars where they were associated with the Republic before they became the Empire.

I can see this being run on Corellia if the gm wanted to really push this game concept, but most gm's don't need to go that far after all we're in this to enjoy the game and thats not everyone's cup of tea.

You could use the adventure seeds in a game but they would need to be altered to fit either Edge or Age of Rebellion since I don't see the average game going that dark unless your gm has prepared their campaign in advance... well in advance given the gm's I've played Star Wars with seem to want to keep the original movie trilogy involved in their game when its not necessary.

Admittedly whilst reading the above I was thinking how was everybody else reacting to this event?

I mean the British, the Canadians and so on or Star Wars version then the Separatists, the other Clone Wars Veterans and the fact that unlike Lucas I don't see Starkiller as being responsible for founding the Rebel Alliance that happened when Bail witnessed the attack on the Jedi Temple and talking to Yoda and Obi-Wan and learning the full scale of whats happened.

I really wish I paid mroe attention to the Dawn of Defiance campaign for Saga since I assumed that was where the Rebel Alliance would be introduced...

I mean the British, the Canadians and so on or Star Wars version then the Separatists, the other Clone Wars Veterans and the fact that unlike Lucas I don't see Starkiller as being responsible for founding the Rebel Alliance that happened when Bail witnessed the attack on the Jedi Temple and talking to Yoda and Obi-Wan and learning the full scale of whats happened.

I really wish I paid mroe attention to the Dawn of Defiance campaign for Saga since I assumed that was where the Rebel Alliance would be introduced...

Ehhh, I believe that WotC was limited (in DoD) by what Lucasfilm Licensing would have already told them about what was planned for The Force Unleashed, so that they had to write Dawn of Defiance with that in mind. As such, Bail only led the Alderaanian Resistance, as accomplished as its agents were, and TFU has the Rebel Alliance being formally founded as a conglomerate of the three "proto-Rebel" leaders' respective planetary resistance forces; there was however pre-TFU precedent for "planetary" resistance forces, such as those of Sullust and Duros, and the Corellian Treaty in TFU first appeared in the old D6 Rebel Alliance Sourcebook .

(Incidentally, Garm Bel Iblis didn't pull out of the Alliance until after the destruction of Alderaan and Bail Organa's death and apparently after the Battle of Yavin -- although the same year -- but he didn't bring "the Corellian resistance" out with him, only his personal followers.)

This is the listing for the Rebels panel at New York Comic Con (and if someone could make sure they record it so I can watch it that would be fab.):-

STAR WARS PROGRAMMING ESPECIALLY FOR NYCC:
STAR WARS REBELS: THE MIGHT OF THE EMPIRE
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Time: 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM
Location: Empire Stage 1-E Presented By: Arizona Beverages

What happens when the Galactic Empire takes over a planet? What if Imperials took interest in your world, and garrisoned stormtroopers and TIE fighters to maintain order? Star Wars Rebels, the thrilling, all-new animated television series from Lucasfilm for Disney XD will ask those questions – and so will this panel hosted by Lucasfilm’s resident Star Wars expert, Pablo Hidalgo.

Details on the show are closely guarded, but fans at NYCC will get a first look at new art from the series, and learn new information about the formidable forces of the Galactic Empire. Star Wars Rebels is set between Episodes III and IV, and it is a dark time in the galaxy. In the spirit of the original trilogy, the Empire is once again the preeminent villain of the saga, and Star Wars Rebels puts the awesome might of Imperial forces in the spotlight.

Luckily, there are those who are brave and daring enough to stand up against the oppressive Imperial might: the crew of the starship Ghost. Star Wars Rebels follows their adventures as they carry out thrilling missions against these dark forces.

The series is still a year away, so don’t miss this chance to get an early look at its development.

So I think the direct invasion scenario works for Star Wars, for when a planet that hasn't shown sufficient enthusiasm for rounding up non-humans or has missed its quota for uncovering seditionists hears that an Imperial Governor and many legions of Stormtroopers are being sent to ensure compliance.

Other than that, the game has a lot on running a guerilla war and fighting an oppressive regime.

And for this bits about motivating your players to fight, that is very much a part of Star Wars - Vader snaps prisoners necks and strangles people. Death Stars destroy characters home planets and Stormtroopers looking for R2 and 3P0 kill Lukes adoptive parents.

And note the use of language mentioned in the Atmosphere and Mood Setting section - it is always The Tyrannical Empire and The Heroic Rebels for this reason.

PRICE OF FREEDOM also has a far better combat system than the 2.2 version of Twilight 2000, which is what I used to play these kinds of games back in the day.

--

Incidentally you can still download Dawn of Defiance from places like

http://swse.xphilesrealm.com/Dawn%20of%20Defiance/pdf/

(They were free downloads (I think) so I don't think there should be any problem with grabbing them)

I believe he's emphasising his usual habit of being so-called pro-rebel over Imperial fanboy.

What he fails to understand is that the Empire is by and large accepted by the Star Wars Galaxy as a result of the aftermath of the Clone Wars where they were associated with the Republic before they became the Empire.

I have to strongly disagree with you.

Just read the opening crawl of "A New Hope":

Episode IV

A NEW HOPE

It is a period of civil war.

Rebel spaceships, striking

from a hidden base, have won

their first victory against

the evil Galactic Empire.

What you fail to realize is that in a AoR game the players play a Rebel freedom fighter who fight the good fight against the evil empire. and in "Price of Freedom" this is exactly what you play, a freedom fighter fighting the evil soviet empire.

I don't care much about the average galactic civilian that accepts the empire. I story tell the epic adventures of a group of individuals that find out about the evil-ness of the empire. take for example, Luke Skywalker: He almost joined the imperial Academy but than, being the hero of the trilogy, following a young attractive woman in a hologram message, He discovered that the empire is truly evil and must be destroyed.

It's Ok to play the game in a different way. but the default premise is that:

Rebels -Good vs. Empire - Bad

I don't care much about the average galactic civilian that accepts the empire.

And that's how the IEDs began...

Now this'd be "fun", if only because I always got the sense that Corellia was written as "faux-idealized-America" in a way that left me rolling my eyes (and actually antagonistic to **** near anything Corellian ).

Now we've got some thinking going on...

And that's how the IEDs began...

I don't care much about the average galactic civilian that accepts the empire.

I can see this being run on Corellia if the gm wanted to really push this game concept, but most gm's don't need to go that far after all we're in this to enjoy the game and thats not everyone's cup of tea.

Now this'd be "fun", if only because I always got the sense that Corellia was written as "faux-idealized-America" in a way that left me rolling my eyes (and actually antagonistic to **** near anything Corellian ).

given the gm's I've played Star Wars with seem to want to keep the original movie trilogy involved in their game when its not necessary.

What does this mean???

I don't see any reason for every Star Wars game to absolutely have to involve all of the movies in my case there were the original trilogy the closest I got to the prequels left me thinking all of the Republic Jedi were fallen Jedi and that was why noone could detect Palpatine since he wasn't as evil as some of the members of the Jedi Order (very long story there!).

Still that note about Star Wars Rebels is very interesting indeed, thanks for that!

I don't see any reason for every Star Wars game to absolutely have to involve all of the movies in my case there were the original trilogy the closest I got to the prequels left me thinking all of the Republic Jedi were fallen Jedi and that was why noone could detect Palpatine since he wasn't as evil as some of the members of the Jedi Order (very long story there!).

Congratulations, you just created yourself a campaign hook!

And it actually reminds me of the EU lore that out-of-universe predated the term Sith as referencing a specific dark-side sect (whereas before it was merely part of Vader's title, i.e. in the published screenplays), plus the fact that both before and now, Dark Jedi is the catch-all term for dark-siders whether or not they were former "light" Jedi... although apparently Timothy Zahn just came up with the term (years before the "Sith") because he simply needed a term for a fallen Jedi.

Makes me also think of Maelora's campaign setting, an intriguing one whose point of divergence is at some point during Episode III, possibly before depending on her characterization of the Jedi... though that may (as we see from the diversity of Jedi Code adherents in EU lore) merely be a case of "the dominant faction".

What you fail to realize is that in a AoR game the players play a Rebel freedom fighter who fight the good fight against the evil empire. and in "Price of Freedom" this is exactly what you play, a freedom fighter fighting the evil soviet empire.

Aye. This is another description of the Star Wars Rebels show:-

STAR WARS REBELS continues the epic tradition of the legendary Star Wars saga with all-new exciting, action-packed adventures. It is a dark time in the galaxy, as the evil Galactic Empire tightens its grip of power from world to world. As the series begins, Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet, ruling with an iron fist and ruining the lives of its people. But there are a select few who are brave enough to stand up against the endless Stormtroopers and TIE fighters of the Empire: the clever and motley crew of the starship Ghost. Together, this ragtag group will face threatening new villains, have thrilling adventures, and become heroes.

So hopefully this weekend we'll learn more about this new series planned for release next week?

Have you seen the you tube video's advertising the new figures for the Star Wars Rebels series yet?

What does this have to do with SW Age of Rebellion?

I believe he's emphasising his usual habit of being so-called pro-rebel over Imperial fanboy.

What he fails to understand is that the Empire is by and large accepted by the Star Wars Galaxy as a result of the aftermath of the Clone Wars where they were associated with the Republic before they became the Empire.

I can see this being run on Corellia if the gm wanted to really push this game concept, but most gm's don't need to go that far after all we're in this to enjoy the game and thats not everyone's cup of tea.

You could use the adventure seeds in a game but they would need to be altered to fit either Edge or Age of Rebellion since I don't see the average game going that dark unless your gm has prepared their campaign in advance... well in advance given the gm's I've played Star Wars with seem to want to keep the original movie trilogy involved in their game when its not necessary.

Admittedly whilst reading the above I was thinking how was everybody else reacting to this event?

I mean the British, the Canadians and so on or Star Wars version then the Separatists, the other Clone Wars Veterans and the fact that unlike Lucas I don't see Starkiller as being responsible for founding the Rebel Alliance that happened when Bail witnessed the attack on the Jedi Temple and talking to Yoda and Obi-Wan and learning the full scale of whats happened.

I really wish I paid mroe attention to the Dawn of Defiance campaign for Saga since I assumed that was where the Rebel Alliance would be introduced...

As far as the A C Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy goes, the Imperials have started to massacre its own citizenry on planets that are chaffing under Imperial rule, this is becoming less and less popular with the masses. There have been planetary resistance movements forming and were in the works of possibly forming an alliance. The regular tax-payer in the core worlds are still feeling all rainbow and butterfly because they have a paycheck and electricity, as well as entertainment and holo-messaging. So the "masses" are fat dumb and happy. Also it is felt that the Imperials are becoming more and more anti-alien. Now notably the three Senators that are starting the Rebel Alliance are Mon Mothma from Chandrilis, Bail Organna from Alderaan, and Garm Bel Iblis from Corellia. All Humans actually.

I found and purchased The Price of Freedom a few years ago and played it. It is a great game, and not one we are likely to see again. By the way, where twilight 2000 started with the fighting over in Europe, PoF starting the character in the U.S. as a civilian on Day 1 of the Soviet Occupation. The material that came with the game was/is awesome. There was a list of items every "rebel" should have as well as a mock up of ID papers. Little things like that made the game surreal.

Ok , so how do the two come together. PoF is a great way to game that really let you sense what it is like under oppressive conditions. I believe that is also where the AoR should be placing the PC's. Under the Soviets and the Imperials the only people that have a great life are at the top of the food chain. Everyone is scared of the neighbor or relative turning them in and there is massive drug and alcohol problems. The elite want to keep it that way, as long as you have a dysfunctional populace what is the chance of an uprising. The middle class is non-existent or fled to a better life. Hence the outer-rim.

Heck Star Wars isn't just about WWII dog fights anymore it grew up with the cold war too. I'm going to go look at my collection of cold war era games for more EotE/Aor ideas.........

@ Balou1917 : The funny thing is, what you 're describing correlates my own vision -- and apparently a commonly shared one -- of just how you've got the Rebellion kicking off... Core versus Rim (gee where have we seen this theme before), in-group versus out-group (not just along those lines but Human vs. non-Human)... combined with nominal "in-group" members who see the truth behind the leader's lies...

You've brought up an interesting point re: the founding Senators of the Alliance being Human, but I'll note that they were also Core Worlders ... although that to me helps explain how it came to that, that their Senators and worlds were able to hold out the longest under Imperial repression on account of both their worlds' "Core" status and their being Human, giving them the most protection... for a time.

An interesting note is that Bail Organa and Leia were outwardly loyal to the Empire to such an extent that Palpatine never overtly tried to have them killed before Episode IV -- in current canon, even after Organa was exposed and captured during The Force Unleashed , him ordering PROXY to cut Leia's hologram protected her cover -- unlike Bel Iblis and Mothma... and if the Organas' "loyalist" (and therefore "in-group") reputation held true all the way through Episode IV, then that probably magnified people's outrage when Alderaan was destroyed!

I don't see any reason for every Star Wars game to absolutely have to involve all of the movies in my case there were the original trilogy the closest I got to the prequels left me thinking all of the Republic Jedi were fallen Jedi and that was why noone could detect Palpatine since he wasn't as evil as some of the members of the Jedi Order (very long story there!).

I couldn't wait to take a vibroaxe to the canon. We had a competition to think up the grisliest deaths for most of the canon characters.

I actually like the way EoE deals with canon - it doesn't assume you'll be using it or not using it. If you want a game all about the PCs running errands for Drizzt and Elminster, you can do that. If all the Mary Sues are dead and you want to run your PCs through the movie events, you can do that too. Or just ignore all that and explore stuff outside the movies if you prefer. EoE can handle any of that.

You, personally, don't have to believe the average Soviet soldier is a bloodthirsty killer, or that the Soviet Union could occupy the United States in the next five years. (We don't, either.) THE PRICE OF FREEDOM is a fantasy roleplaying game in the true sense of the word; its fantasy is the right-wing nightmare that America is delivered into the hands of her enemies.

Am I the only person here who finds the premise of this game totally insane?

It's almost bordering on a parody, a kind of bizarre right-wing hate fantasy. It's borderline FATAL or what was that other one a few years ago where you played 'white warriors' and the 'monsters' of the setting were homosexuals, black people, jewish people, etc? (Heck, I hate Communism, but the ludicrous portrayal of them in this game just made me feel sorry for them!)

And for the record, I'm broadly centre-right. I know full well what happens to people of my sexual persuasion outside of western democracies. I'm pro-USA, pro-right-to-bear-arms, anti-dictatorships. I play the SW universe fairly straight as regards mood, with the Alliance as the good guys and the Imperials as the bad guys (though I like shades of grey too, so it's possible to have a few 'bad' Rebels or well-meaning Imperials).

ErikB... guy, I know you mean well, but you seem to be actively harming your own message at this point.

Hell, I believe in most of what you do, but you're somehow managing to alienate me.

I appreciate not everyone can have the nuance or insight of someone like Chortles (who's taught me a lot, even changed my views on some things). But this stuff is just hurting your own argument.

Can I end by saying that I really, really hate bringing real-world issues into Star Wars?

Can I end by saying that I really, really hate bringing real-world issues into Star Wars?

Amen. Star Wars is FANTASY, it's a story that we read/watched because it entertained us; and it's a setting we come back to in RPGs because it, like most RPGs, is an escapism from the dramas of the real world that most of us wish to ignore, at least for a short while.

Enjoy the game. Enjoy the films. Interpret them as you will, and turn your Star Wars campaign into the kind of environment that you enjoy re-enacting. If this means the black and white default of Empire = Evil, Rebels = Good, then brilliant; if it doesn't, then it doesn't. Short of going around every GM/player's house and beating them into accepting views that aren't their own, you're not going to be able to turn every Star Wars RPG experience into a singular, one-mold-only experience. Fact.

But, of course, if you were to enforce your views on others instead of letting them just live as they wish... doesn't that smack of tyranny in and of itself, albeit on a smaller scale?

Can I end by saying that I really, really hate bringing real-world issues into Star Wars?

Amen. Star Wars is FANTASY, it's a story that we read/watched because it entertained us; and it's a setting we come back to in RPGs because it, like most RPGs, is an escapism from the dramas of the real world that most of us wish to ignore, at least for a short while.

Enjoy the game. Enjoy the films. Interpret them as you will, and turn your Star Wars campaign into the kind of environment that you enjoy re-enacting. If this means the black and white default of Empire = Evil, Rebels = Good, then brilliant; if it doesn't, then it doesn't. Short of going around every GM/player's house and beating them into accepting views that aren't their own, you're not going to be able to turn every Star Wars RPG experience into a singular, one-mold-only experience. Fact.

But, of course, if you were to enforce your views on others instead of letting them just live as they wish... doesn't that smack of tyranny in and of itself, albeit on a smaller scale?

In answer to the last question, that is a negative. It also is a bit radical and extreme to even suggest at least on this public forum where the regular member has no power to actually enforce his or her views, imho. I found this assertion rather absurd even amusing. This, by its very nature, is a collaborative online locale and all views appear to be welcome. The moderators are the ones with the enforcement ability and thus far have been very restrained in their use of it. So, on the whole, we are free to express our opinions without fear of reprisal from the forum administrators. But yes, Star Wars is a fantastic story though the underlying themes do have a basis in reality and in our human history. To deny this is to be ignorant in the means and methods of creating a story.

ErikB, does this game, The Price of Freedom, actually provide stats for cold war era firearms? Here is my personal favorite which resides in my personal armory, the Yugoslavian SKS 59/66:

In answer to the last question, that is a negative. It also is a bit radical and extreme to even suggest at least on this public forum where the regular member has no power to actually enforce his or her views, imho.

As is suggesting that every member of this forum who doesn't agree with the Empire being wholly evil are "Space Nazi fanboys." And yes, whilst he doesn't go out to enforce his opinions on others through physical means, he does see fit to constantly smash anyone else who disagrees with him.

And you mention being allowed to express ourselves on this forum - I don't disagree, which is why it baffles me that some people see fit to jump into topics that have no focus on philosophical or moral pros/cons of the Empire/Rebellion and derail it in the manner that has been done before. And often.

But you are entitled to your view, angelicdoctor. If you feel I was out of line, then you're in your right; however, I maintain that enforcing your views on others constantly and without letting up - even in topics which have no relevance to the points you're trying to make - is working against what Erik is trying to achieve.

To each their own.

But yes, Star Wars is a fantastic story though the underlying themes do have a basis in reality and in our human history. To deny this is to be ignorant in the means and methods of creating a story.

Yes, but Empire = Nazis is a lazy line to draw, Godwin's Law aside.

The Empire is every repressive dictatorship ever, to me. The Alliance is every outnumbered, beleaguered guerrilla force fighting for a better future.

As cool as WW2 is (from the safe vantage of people who didn't have to fight it) Star Wars has plenty of other influences.

And the game won't fall apart if you want include a few sympathetic Imperials or questionable Rebels.

> is working against what Erik is trying to achieve.

I'm actually coming around to the idea that Erik is actually a very clever pro-Imperial poster who is taking a nonsensical stance to make the Alliance look deliberately bad...

I'm actually coming around to the idea that Erik is actually a very clever pro-Imperial poster who is taking a nonsensical stance to make the Alliance look deliberately bad...

In that case, he might just be a genius. Holy crapping cow, Batman!

Back on subject... I profess that I've never played 'The Price of Freedom'; I'd be tempted to look at it, if only because it's a WEG product.

In answer to the last question, that is a negative. It also is a bit radical and extreme to even suggest at least on this public forum where the regular member has no power to actually enforce his or her views, imho.

As is suggesting that every member of this forum who doesn't agree with the Empire being wholly evil are "Space Nazi fanboys." And yes, whilst he doesn't go out to enforce his opinions on others through physical means, he does see fit to constantly smash anyone else who disagrees with him.

And you mention being allowed to express ourselves on this forum - I don't disagree, which is why it baffles me that some people see fit to jump into topics that have no focus on philosophical or moral pros/cons of the Empire/Rebellion and derail it in the manner that has been done before. And often.

But you are entitled to your view, angelicdoctor. If you feel I was out of line, then you're in your right; however, I maintain that enforcing your views on others constantly and without letting up - even in topics which have no relevance to the points you're trying to make - is working against what Erik is trying to achieve.

To each their own.

'Without letting up". Though I would argue against this being an enforcement tactic, I would more classify it as annoying, rude and perhaps even an immature tactic. I've seen it used before as well...even in recent days on this forum, unfortunately.

I appreciate your candor, my friend. I must admit that I am not dogmatic in the view that the Star Wars or even Tolkien's epic story has a direct relationship to WWI, the 'Cold War' or otherwise. I am more in thinking on the lines of Maelora on this.