Star Wars Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
|
Star Wars Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook Wizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast Release Date: |
|
Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved Star Wars. Then again, Star Wars was my escape from the torment of other kids. I wasn’t always the fastest (actually, I never was the fastest), I was usually the smartest, and I was never the toughest. Now, put yourself in the shoes of a kid who is eight-years-old and gets picked on every day at school because something just isn’t right about him. It might be the book that he is reading, it might be the shoes he is wearing, or it might be the fact that his hair a little too short or a little too long. That was me 10 years ago. There is one in every class, there is always a kid who gets picked on for something. That was me. Now, put yourself into that kids shoes when he watches Star Wars: A New Hope for the first time. The main character, Luke Skywalker, reminds this kid of himself. When we first meet Luke, he is a bit of an outcast and then strives to better himself and eventually does. Seeing that brings the kid hope and overtime, the kid slowly grows from the outcast/loser kid to the kid has all kinds of good friends and acquaintances and has tons of folks respecting and fearing him at the same time. Seeing Star Wars gave me that hope and courage to slowly better myself and put myself above what people thought of me.
When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a Jedi Knight. I knew that was impossible, but, as I got older, I always used to think of myself as the Jedi Knight of my class. I was always careful, thoughtful and deliberate in what I did, I never resorted to violence. But, now, actually being a Jedi Knight isn’t that far off, thanks to Wizards of the Coast’s Star Wars Roleplaying Game.
The core rule book details everything that you need to know to create a character, write out an adventure, determine rolls of the dice, and costs of various items. It gives the full skinny on all of the skills that you can apply to your character and all of the Force powers that a Force-Sensitive character can have.
The book is also arranged logically. The first chapter covers the abilities, the second chapter covers character species, the third covers character classes, the fourth chapter covers skills, the fifth chapter talks about feats, the sixth chapter tells us all about heroic characteristics. The seventh chapter of the book contains information of all of the equipment. The eighth chapter tells us about combat. The ninth chapter of the book tells about the mystic power of the Force, the tenth chapter covers vehicles, and the eleventh chapter covers starships. And those chapters right there are just for the players themselves. The second section of the book is for the game master. It’s not really important for the player to read the section, I briefly skimmed it over, I prefer to play the game than to become the game master.
The preface of the book deals with character creation. It tells you to roll four six sided dice and to drop the lowest score and add them. Rinse and repeat six times. Then you have to put the numbers into ability slots. To determine the skills a character has, you look at the class section. It will say to determine the skill you take x + Intelligence modifier x 4= skill points. The book stresses to spend all of your skill points because you can’t carry skill points from level to level. You can’t say “Hmmm, I have x skill points left, I think I’ll save them for when I get to the next level.” That doesn’t happen, spend those x skill points or lose them forever. Then you go about choosing your feats, equipment, etc, etc.
Chapter One deals with the character abilities. The six basic abilities in the game are strength or how strong a character is. Dexterity represents your character’s hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes and his or her balance. Basically, it determines if you are graceful or a total klutz. Constitution represents your character’s health and stamina, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma are self-explanatory. With these abilities, like all other skills and feats featured in this game, there is usually a modifier for some reason. For example, if you have a character who is an Ewok, he gets a +2 dexterity bonus (because he’s smaller) and a -2 strength penalty because he’s small. But, for each time he goes up a level, he might get to add another point to strength or dexterity, adding a bonus or, in the case of his strength, decreasing his penalty.
Chapter Two, which deals with species gives the low down on all of the bonus and penalties for each species. The chapter lists all of the traits for each species. For example, the human species traits are as follows; Medium-size, which means that they have no bonuses or penalties due to their size. The base speed they can move is 10 meters. They get 4 extra skill points to spend at level 1 and an additional skill point for each level they move up. They also get an extra feat at the first level and their automatic language is basic. By reading the information in this chapter, one can weigh the pros and cons of each species they could pick for their new character class.
Chapter Three discusses the different character classes found in the game. The basic classes are Fringer, Noble, Scoundrel, Scout, Soldier, Force Adept, Jedi Consular, and Jedi Guardian. This chapter also goes into great detail about each class. A Fringer is someone who hails from a planet in the Outer Rim of the Star Wars galaxy. Someone from Tatooine or Dantooine would be considered a Fringer. A Noble is self-explanatory, they are the wheelers and dealers of the game. The Scoundrel is like Han Solo, he could be a smuggler or a gambler. The Scout is a character who can get a group from point A to point B by going ahead and getting all of the details of the terrain by going ahead of the group to find out what he or she can and bring it back to them. Soldier is a self-explanatory class, basically, they are the muscle of any group. A Force Adept is someone who knows that they have a mystical power, but, don’t know exactly what it is, an Ewok would be a good character to use for a Force Adept character. A Jedi Consular is a Jedi Knight who concentrates mostly on being a diplomat and a scholar to handle any given situation.
Chapter Three also goes into the rules on how to multi-class a character. Basically, a multi-class character combines several classes. For example, Anakin Skywalker would be a Fringer/Jedi Guardian. Han Solo would be a Scoundrel/Soldier. While multi-classing is cool, it also has its drawbacks. For example, if you decide to be a noble, but, then you want to have your character become a Jedi Guardian, you have to make sacrifices in the noble category. Your character would never be able to gain all of the cool skills and feats that a noble could have. It should be noted that for anyone who chooses a Jedi class character, the character has to build their own lightsaber before becoming a Jedi Knight. A Jedi is always given a lightsaber at the start of the game, however, they suffer a -4 attack penalty because it is not their own lightsaber.
Chapter Four, covers skills and the skills are so numerous, that it would be impossible to discuss all of them in this review. But, basically, a skill is something that your character knows how to do and by heart. There are two types of skills, normal skills and Force skills. For example, if you play a scoundrel who happens to be a smuggler, some skills you would want would be astrogate (plotting a course), pilot, escape artist, diplomacy, and computer use. If you decide to play a Jedi Guardian, perhaps you might take Force push (the ability to push someone over without standing right next to them) or the Mind Trick. Depending on how many skill points you get when you create your character, you might not able to get all of those skills right off, but, as your character gains levels and experience, it is theoretically possible to get all of the skills you want and to max them out to their top level. To make a successful skill check, you need to roll the dice and use your skill modifiers to beat what the game master has rolled to make the successful skill check. You also add any modifiers you might have for the skill.
An example of using a skill would be as follows; Jebar Mondo, a level one scoundrel, is in the cockpit of his Corellian YT-1300 freighter, he is about to make the jump to hyperspace. Since Jebar wants to travel from Tatooine to Naboo to smuggle spice, the GM determines the DC (Difficulty Class) of the roll. The GM knows that to make a successful astrogate check, the player needs to get more than a fifteen when he rolls and adds in the modifiers. Jebar rolls and adds in his modifiers and gets a 14, that is one less than he needs to make a successful hyperspace jump. However, the GM also knows that any time you fail a check to plot a course and enter hyperspace by 1 to 4 points, you automatically enter hyperspace. But, the GM also knows that he has to roll some dice to determine what happens. Anything can happen and the chart on page 172 explains each mishap that can happen.
Chapter Five discusses Feats. To quote from the book, “A feat is a special feature that either gives your character a new capability or improves one he or she already has.” An example of a typical feat of a soldier would be Weapon Proficiency with Blaster Pistols. There are also a Force-based Feats as well. For example, let’s say you play Jontru a Jedi Guardian. For him to be a Jedi Guardian, he has to have the Force-sensitive feat, you might also want him to have the Control feat or the Alter Feat. If you would also want to have the Exotic Weapon Proficiency with Lightsabers Feat. While characters that do not have the lightsaber proficiency feat can still use a lightsaber, they suffer a penalty.
Chapter Six discusses the traits of a hero. The basic traits are their name, their age, their appearance, personality, background and their goals. The book says that while though you don’t have to go into the game knowing everything about your character, you should have a general idea of the basics, like how old your character is, where he comes from, what he wants to do with his life, what motivates him your character, and of course, what he looks like. The book also says to work with your GM on creating a character background so the Gm might be able to make an adventure about your character.
Chapter Six also discusses reputation. For example, a character with a reputation of 0 is unknown to anyone. Nobles start out the game with 3 reputation points which means that they are known on their home planet. A Jedi character starts out with a reputation of 1 and are known in their home towns. All other character classes start out the game with no reputation points. As the game progresses and you do specific deeds, you gain reputation points. You also gain a reputation point each time you go up a level. For example, in The Phantom Menace characters like Yoda, Mace Windu, Senator Palpatine and Chancellor Valorum would have a reputation of 21 and above. This means that they are known galaxy wide. Qui-Gonn Jinn would have a reputation of 10 to 14 because he is a Jedi Master. While not entirely accurate, it gives a general idea of who is known and how well. Bobba Fett would probably have a reputation score of 15 to 20. Darth Vader would have a score of 21+ and so would Emperor Palpatine.
Also discussed in Chapter Six are the different moves you can make in the game. Such as saving throws. To quote from the book; “A saving throw is a 1d20 (one 20 sided dice roll) plus a bonus based on your class, level, and ability score.” Say for example your party is walking along the forests of Endor when suddenly, you fall into a trap, with a saving throw, you roll to see if you might be able to grab onto something. If you roll what is called a ‘natural 1’ (having the dice roll turn up to be 1), you automatically fail. If you get a ‘natural 20’ (having the dice roll turn up to be 20), you automatically succeed. The chapter also discusses modes of movement (pretty basic, walk, jog, run and sprint.) It also discusses hampered movement. Say your party is moving through the spice mines of Kessel where it is pitch black all of the time, according to the hampered movement table on page 110, you get a ½ movement penalty. The chapter also discusses strength and how much you can carry. Most characters have an average strength score of 13, so you can carry a minimum of 25 kg and maximum of 75 kilograms of supplies and equipment. A character with a score of 18 in his strength ability can carry 50 kg as a light load and at least 150 kg as a heavy load.
Chapter Seven goes into details about money, weapons, and equipment. It talks about melee weapons such as the ultra-cool lightsaber, ranged weapons such as a blaster pistol, it talks about different types of armor as well. With weapons, there is a chart that lists the price and also tells if they can and cannot be bought. For example, you can’t buy a lightsaber, you have to make one or you are given a lightsaber by your mentor. The section on blasters tells how many shots a weapons power pack has. A blaster pistol like Han Solo’s, which happens to be illegal or restricted in most systems, has a power pack that has 50 shots. The weapons chart also tells how much damage can be dealt by a weapon, it’s weight, what type it is, whether it be an energy weapon, a slashing weapon, a piercing weapon, or a bludgeoning weapon. It also tells you the range of the weapon as well.
The section on equipment describes in detail the various types of equipment that are available for use and lists a cost as well as weight. For example, a comlink would cost around 200 credits and weighs 0.1 kg. There is also a chart that lists how much it would cost to get something to eat at a cantina or a restaurant. It also tells how much money it costs to spend the night somewhere, how much it costs to get medical aid and how much it costs to book passage on a ship.
Chapter Eight tells about combat. It’s probably one of the longest chapters of the entire book and it goes into great detail on combat stats. It tells how to resolve combat rounds, what you can do during a combat round, etc. It also talks about wound points, making a coup de grace, the difference between unconscious and dying, and other actions you can make during a combat round. It’s a very, very complicated chapter and it is too hard to explain to someone without actually having the book in your hand.
Chapter Nine talks about the Force. The chapter is rather disappointing. It is extremely short, about 9 pages peppered with various photos of Jedi and a few sidebars to help you out. But, basically it tells you how the Force is incorporated in campaigns in different eras. For example, in a campaign that is set during the Rise of the Empire Era (Episodes I to III) everyone believes in the Force. If your campaign is set in the Rebellion Era (Episodes IV to VI) the Force is viewed as a hokey religion practiced by the crazy. If it is set during the New Republic or the New Jedi Order (Expanded Universe material), then the Force is starting to come back as something that people believe in. It also tells you how a character can convert from the Light Side of the Force to the Dark Side of the Force and back again. The only way a Dark Side character can come back to the Light Side of the Force is if he does something very heroic without calling on the Dark Side of the Force. For example, in Return of the Jedi, when Darth Vader grabs Emperor Palpatine and flings him into the Death Star’s power core, to save Luke, he performed a heroic act and came back to the Light Side of the Force and thus died as a Jedi Knight and not a Sith Lord.
Chapters Ten and Eleven could have been combined, they talk about vehicles and starships. Chapter Ten lists all sorts of vehicles that you can use in your campaign including speeders, walkers, and Cloud Cars. Chapter Eleven discusses the different sorts of starships that you can find during a campaign including X-Wings, TiE Fighters, Star Destroyers and Nebulon-B frigates. It has a very detailed stats listing for each ship, but, explaining everything would be very impossible to do in this review without actually showing you the book.
Chapter Twelve is more for those who are going to run a game. I briefly skimmed through the GM section of the book. There was some pretty good stuff in there about what to do when certain situations arise. For example, Johnny gets into a fight with Susie earlier in the day, that night at the game session, Susie tries to kill Johnny’s character and Johnny tries to kill Susie’s character. The book suggests stopping the game and talking to Johnny and Susie either individually or together and explaining to them that the game is no a place to take out real world frustrations on each other’s characters. The game is for fun.
Something I thought the GM section was lacking was how to deal with disruptive players. It would have been helpful if there was a section on how to deal with disruptive players because, let’s face it, there are always some bad apples in the barrel. For those that have listened to the Gamers Tavern internet radio show, which can be found at they feel the best solution is to quickly boot the person. One catch phrase that you hear on the show sometimes is “Not because you suck or anything, because you do, I want you to leave this game.” For those who have never been a Game Master before, I highly recommend listening to the show. The hosts, Gene Cash and Mark Henderson also give helpful pointers on running games at local shops. They always stress to be wary of people who come into the shop with a character sheet, go up to the group of players and say “Hey, can I get in on this too?” Their solution to the problem is to say “Sure, but, would you mind rolling up a new character for this game?” Usually, you can get some pretty good players that just come in and say “Hey, can I try this out?” But, sometimes, you will get a bad apple who wants to be disruptive. A chapter full of different scenarios that might happen to you as a game master and how to deal with them would be a welcome addition to the next release of the Core Rules. Heck, maybe even an internet supplement at the official Star Wars RPG site that covers the topic of dealing with disruptive players wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Overall, I would have to say that if you want to try out an RPG but you are weary of Dungeons and Dragons, give the Star Wars RPG a shot, you might like enjoy it.
Final Grade: A+
System Requirements:
A decent imagination and d20 system dice.