The Dark Side Sourcebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Star Wars RPG, even in the hands of West End Games, never ventured to the Dark Side. As far as we can tell, Lucasfilm never wanted to detail material on playing the darker side of the Force in campaigns since they feel Star Wars is a story about good overcoming evil.
Of course, if you are an avid Star Wars roleplayer, you've probably just ventured out onto your own. Now, you have official material that draws together quite a bit of EU books and comics and gives you a solid reference on the history and power of the Dark Side. As a book that summarizes the history of the Sith and the what we know about the villains of the books and movies (so far), it succeeds.
So why not five stars? This book is a double edged sword. The rewrite of Darth Vader's stats continues to illustrate the problems with the armor rules (see my review of the Core Rules for more info here). Dark Side character concepts are presented as Prestige Classes. However, some of the prestige classes have so little requirements that they are practically base classes.
Where else does the book succeed? There is an excellent chapter that is written as an antithesis to the chapter on The Force in the Core Rules. Written in identical style and format, the book intriduces you to the Dark Side's seductive and controlling power. It's a good read for GM's who need to portray this to PCs in their group that are wobbling on the edge.
Depending on your taste for EU, you may appreciate or not appreciate the powerful Dark Side equipment that is more than a match for the game mechanics of the Jedi. Sure, some GM's were looking for a game mechanic based challenge for their Jedi, but others (like myself) felt the constant challenge of tempering the Force with the Jedi Code was difficult enough to roleplay.
Nearly every Star Wars GM will love some parts of this book, and dislike others. That's because covering the Dark Side fully, by necessity, means covering the EU as well. Your own personal taste will come into play when deciding what rules to adopt, and what to leave out. But that's okay, it's a normal part of roleplaying. This one is a good buy.

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If only you knew the power of the dark side....The Force is an all-encompassing energy field generated by all living things. It binds the galaxy together, bringing balance through its two sides. While the light side promotes knowledge and peace, the Force also has a dark side. Anger, fear, and aggression emanate from the dark side, providing a corrupting power to those willing to draw on its destructive nature.• New dark side classes, skills, and feats• Advice on running and Gamemastering dark side heroes and villains• Game statistics for iconic dark side characters from the Star Wars universe• New prestige classes for dark side characters• Dark side opponents, creatures, equipment, locations, and adventure hooks• A history of the dark side, providing advice on how to use this material in any Star Wars era, including the Tales of the Jedi era.To use this sourcebook, a Gamemaster also needs the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.

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