Rebellion Era Sourcebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Rebellion Era Sourcebook is the first hard cover supplement from Wizards of the Coast since their release of their version of the role playing game. It should not be confused with the West End Games Rebel Alliance Sourcebook as just being the regurgitation of the same information in a different book, it isn't. The Rebel Alliance book is a breakdown of the Rebellion, major players, vehicles, vessels, tactics and history, whereas the new book is a survey of the time period from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, with Shadows of the Empire, Truce at Bakura, plus it includes data on Emperor's Hands- background for the Thrawn trilogy.
Each section is laid out under the time period it covers- A New Hope outlines how the Empire came into being and the New Order, the beginnings of the Rebellion by Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel-Iblis. It briefly covers the anti-alien sentiment held by the Empire, the Death Star (no stats, however, but if they are needed, it can be generated). It also has stats for all the major character, (and some minor ones like Tarkin and Lemelisk- the man who designed the Death Star). It does quite a good job in explaining events, concepts, and has loads of additional data, Game Master hints and ideas, plus flowing through the book along side the general data are mini adventures for players.
The Dark Time section covers events from the Battle of Yavin up to the Empire Strikes Back, detailing Imperial intelligence, propaganda, supply fleets, Alliance bases, bounty hunters, the Corporate Sector, Kessel, and the Prophets of the Dark Side. The Empire Strikes Back is mostly character data, with key events described, but also includes probe droids, AT-ATs, Imperial and Alliance forces of the time, Vader's fleet, but no stats for the Super Star Destroyer. More bounty hunters, Dagobah, and the Dark Trooper project from the first Dark Forces PC game- sadly, almost no mention of Kyle Katarn or Jan Ors.
Shadows of the Empire (a book I have yet to read) covers the period immediately after The Empire Strikes Back, the creation of Rogue Squadron, Bothans and their SpyNet, Coruscant, Prince Xizor and the Black Sun syndicate, however no mention is made of Dash Render or his Outrider. I suspect Wizards might be planning a separate, more detailed Shadows of the Empire book. Finally, the last section is of course Return of the Jedi and they wasted nearly five pages on Ewoks! When will people learn that no one likes the furry little buggers? It ends leading into final main character updates and the New Republic Era and the Ssi-Ruu.
A solid piece of work in full color. Lots of stills from the movies, and some top notch art as well, including a great picture of Xizor. Once again, however, the book fails to provide anything but mediocre low-detail and very small maps. A minor gripe, but one that I hope Wizard's addresses soon. Beyond that, this is great book. Granted, most people who have played the game under the West End rules and have read some of the novels, would know most of the information, but it's all here in one volume- very neatly laid out, clean, clear and to the point. I suspect that Wizards will produce sourcebooks for both the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, until then, there is this book, and a good book it is.

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