Star Wars Galaxy Tiles: A Star Wars Supplement (Star Wars Accessory) Review

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(More customer reviews)The item description says this item contains six double sided terrain tiles, but that's not quite true. It does contain six double sided sheets, but four of them break out into multiple (between 5 and 13) smaller double sided tiles. All in all there are 38 double-sided tilesin this set (for a grand total of 76 images). Here is a brief description of what's on each tile:
TILE 1 (one 8x10 square tile): Empty grey tile floor/room on one side, and open brown grate tile floor with two computer consoles (low objects/hindering terrain) on the other side.
TILE 2 (one 8x10 square tile): Empty grey tile floor/room on one side, and grey tile floor/room with some low objects/hindering terrain on the other side.
TILE 3 (five tiles ranging from 2x4 squares tiles to 4x8 squares): Empty grey tiles on one side (to expand the size of rooms or for hallways), and steps and shaft with walkway on the other side (mostly for hallways/walkways).
TILE 4 (five tiles ranging from 2x4 squares tiles to 4x8 squares): Empty grey tiles on one side (to expand the size of rooms or for hallways), various hindering terrain (pits, low objects) on the other side.
TILE 5 (thirteen tiles ranging from 1x1 square to 2x8 squares): Empty grey or grate tiles on one side (to expand rooms or for hallways/walkways), and various hindering terrain (doors, pits, low objects) on the other side.
TILE 6 (thirteen tiles ranging from 1x1 square to 2x8 squares): Empty grey or grate tiles on one side (to expand rooms or for hallways/walkways and some hindering terrain), and grates (to expand rooms or for hallways/walkways) and various other objects (doors, turbo lifts, etc.) on other side.
On the plus side, the images are high quality, and they are printed on a very thick, high quality card stock that should hold up for many uses. I also like that there are several smaller tiles rather than just six big tiles. Because of this, the set is fairly versatile and can be used to create numerous maps. Three sample complexes that can be made with these tiles are provided on the inside package, but I see many possibilities - especially if you buy more than one pack. So all in all, you get a fair amount of bang for your buck.
On the minus side, the various types of terrain are not marked (walls, low objects, hindering terrain, pits, etc.), so these tiles cannot be used with the Star Wars minis game. I recognize these were designed for the RPG and not the minis game, but it would have been VERY easy for Wizards have given us a (Ploovo) Two-For-One by also making these tiles usable with the minis game (after all, that's what they did with the D&D minis cards -- they put stats/info for both the minis game and the RPG on each and every card). I'm very disappointed they didn't do something like that here.
In sum, if you play the Star Wars RPG and want an easy way to create your own maps, I think you'll be happy with this item. But, if you were hoping to use them for the Star Wars minis game (i.e., Rebel Storm, Clone Strike, etc.), I would pass on these tiles.


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The Clone Wars Campaign Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)Chapter by Chapter breakdown:
Chapter I: Species:
New species include Dug, Gen'Dai, Iktochi, Kaleesh, Kaminoan, Kerkoiden, Nautolan, Nelvaanian, and Vurk
Some really great species here that have been missing for too long; most notably the Iktochi, Kaleesh, and Nautolan. Gen'Dai is a little bit overpowered in my personal opinion, and I would be hesitant to let a player make one.
Chapter II: Heroic Traits
Every base class receives new talents, most notably a couple that allow you to gain and command followers. Unfortunately, Jedi and Scoundrels are left out on the follower love here. I think the real reason is because they're going to put Jedi followers in the upcoming Jedi Academy book, but its still disappointing. In my opinion, the coolest talents belong to the new soldier tree: Trooper. Really awesome stuff.
There's a lot of new feats here also, with a little bit of something for everyone.
Chapter III: Prestige Classes
Ace Pilot, Elite Trooper, Force Adept, Gunslinger, Jedi Knight and Officer all get new talents. Elite trooper and Jedi Knight get entirely new trees (Melee Specialist Republic Commando for ET, and Jedi Archivist and Jedi Healer for JK). I have mixed feelings on these new trees. Melee Specialist would have been better suited for the Melee Duelist PrC that was introduced in the KoTOR book. Republic Commando is really cool, as is Jedi Archivist, but Jedi Healer really steps on the toes of Force Adept. I mean FA arguably doesn't have much going for it already, and now Jedi Knight has one of their best talents (Force Treatment).
Three new prestige classes: Droid Commander, Military Engineer, and Vanguard. At first I thought Droid Commander should have just been an Officer tree, but their class ability is actually really unique and useful. Military Engineer should have just been combined with The Force Unleashed's Saboteur for a Tech Specialist prestige class. Vanguard is a unique concept, but I think that a lot of the talents are fairly weak for a prestige class and it probably could have functioned as a Scout tree.
Chapter IV:
The Force
Lots of new Force Powers here (Cloak, Levitate, Malacia, Morichro, Phase, Rend, Shatterpoint, and Technometry). Some of these are really cool, specifically Cloak, Phase, and Technometry. I think that Shatterpoint is somewhat overpowered (potentially dropping a target's damage threshold down 20 points)while Rend (which deals 3d6 damage, 5d6 with a force point) is really weak. Theres a whole bunch of new force talents, techniques, and secrets, as well as three new Force Tradition trees.
Chapter V: Equipment and Droids
Lots and lots of weapons and droids. The coolest thing here, in my opinion, is Vibroknucklers and new Wrist Rocket ammo.
Chapter VI: Starships
A couple of new ships here, only one of which gets a deckplan (the Barloz-class freighter). It's actually a pretty cool ship, and fairly affordable, and I think my players will be purchasing one as their first vessel.
Chapter VII: Clone Wars Campaigns
This is where the book gets awesome in my opinion. There's lot's of advice on how to capture the feel of the Clone Wars through subtle details, as well as rules for Mass Combat (which are simplified, though extremely effective). There's also a sidebar on playing as a Clone, which has embarrassingly bad stats, 21 point buy I think :[.
Chapter VIII: Galactic Gazetteer
Updated Information for all the planets, as well as several new ones. These chapters tend to bore me. Moving on.
Chapter IX: The Jedi
After about five pages of fluff on the Jedi Service Corps and the various Jedi Councils, this chapter dives straight into predominantly stat blocks. There's the obvious guys (Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, etc.) and a few cooler ones (Aayla Secura, Saesee Tiin, Quinlan Vos). The chapter ends with a few Jedi-oriented starfighters.
Chapter X: The Republic
This is a really great chapter with tons of valuable information to give a sense of authenticity to your Clone Wars campaigns. It details a lot of the bureaucratic inner workings of the Republic, even going so far as to give the colors for Clone ranks. Then the necessary stat blocks and lots and lots of vehicles. Most of which are awesome.
Chapter XI: The Confederacy
Same general layout as the Republic chapter, detailing the different factions of the Separatists and then lots of droids and vehicles.
Chapter XII: The Fringe
Really really short chapter.We're talking under ten pages. Just a few stat blocks (young Boba Fett, Chewie, a few others) and some vehicles.
Overall, this is an awesome book but it's got a lot more fluff than previous supplements. The mass combat rules are invaluable to any era really, but you might want to consider how much you're willing to spend on those rules before you buy this. Almost the entire book is very Clone Wars specific and unless you're playing in that era (or an era very close to, such as the Dark Times or Rebellion), you're probably only going to be using four or so chapters of this book.

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Starships of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)It is too bad there is a version of this book for the old StarWars roleplaying rule set that shares the same name and general content. I don't own that piece but have seen it and this new book is MUCH better.
SotG may have far fewer pages than the Core Rulebook for just a slightly smaller price but it is packed full of information that is useful for any RPG campain that values space combat or even travel. After a short introduction Champer 1 covers the basics of starships in adventuring; this includes answers to questions like "how much does it cost to opperate my ship?" and clarification on how various thing work in starship scale combat. In addition to clarifing how some corebook material works SotG also gives us some new talents and feats to use for our space going characters.
Chapter 2 covers Starship Combat. This includes a new maneuver system that is similiar to how the core book uses force powers. Additionally, this chapter gives advice on creating interesting space encounters and tips on how to keep players interested but not overwhelmed.
Chapter 3 is the section on modification. This chapter is a virtual shopping list of things that can be added to or changed on starships. The end of the chapter even gives a "stock ship" and cost for various ship types that would allow players to build their own ship.
Chapter 4 covers the last two-thirds of the book and contains an extensive Codex of ships found in the StarWars universe. These range from small light fighters up to the Eclipse Super Star Destroyer from the Dark Horse Comic Series. Each of these many ships is given RPG stats, a brief writeup about its history and abilities, and most also include a color illustration showing what the ship looks like. The list doesn't cover everything which is nearly impossible given the size of the SW Universe but does include ships from all eras of play.
Someone not into the roleplaying game may like the Starship Codex. For the roleplayer, I'd say this book is a must for any group that deals with space combat regularly.

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"She'll make the Kessel run in five parsecs!"This rules supplement contains advanced starship combat rules for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition. In addition, it provides new character options for spacefaring heroes as well as descriptions, deckplans, and statistics for starships from all eras (as featured in all six Star Wars films and the Expanded Universe). This deluxe, full-color game supplement also includes rules and guidelines for building your own starships.

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Rebellion Era Campaign Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Rebellion Era Campaign Guide for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game (Saga Edition) focuses on roleplaying in the time of the original trilogy, a key era for many of us that grew up with the movies and loving Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2, and Darth Vader.
Chapter 1, "Heroic Traits," introduces an Alliance cell party concept and then moves to one of the best features of the book, the addition of backgrounds. Mechanically, these generally reflect skills tied to the background but ideas for fleshing out characters also provide a nice boost to character development. The chapter includes additional class talents and sample concepts as well as regular and species feats before introducing the Kilian Rangers as an additional Force-using tradition.
Chapter 2, "Prestige Classes," contains additions for Ace Pilot and Officer as well as two new prestige classes, Improviser and Pathfinder. The former basically seems like the MacGyvers of Star Wars: "Improvisers can quickly grasp the needs of a situation, analyze what tools are at hand, remember relevant information, and combine all these factors into a hasty (though not necessarily elegant solution." Pathfinders really consist of extensions to the Scout class, using Jan Ors as an example.
Chapter 3, "Equipment and Droids," has a few minor weapons, armor, equipment, and droid listings, but much of that type of content actually shows up in factional chapters 6-8.
Chapter 4, "Vehicles and Starships," holds particular interest for the remaining players of the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. In addition to a few speeders, this chapter lists statistics and background for most of the SWG Freelance faction starfighters and a few other ships, including some space transports.
Chapter 5, "Rebellion Era Campaigns," discusses some themes of the era as well as campaign elements and suggested adventure hooks. New game masters as well as those looking for a few new ideas for their campaigns and role play will really appreciate this section.
Chapter 6, "The Rebel Alliance," lists a brief history of the Rebellion and outlines the organization of the Alliance, including a little bit of clarification on Special Forces versus Special Operations (mostly independent operatives). It gives data for some Alliance personnel (generic NPCs) and personalities (e.g. Ackbar, Wedge, Cracken, Biggs, Nien Nunb, and others). Also, the chapter has a Technology and Vehicles section, including rules for tactics from the Rebel Field Guide (an in-universe manual), plus Weapon Emplacements, Combat Assault Vehicles, and several starships not listed in Chapter 4.
Chapter 7, "The Empire," has a similar structure to Chapter 6. It includes an even briefer view of the organization of the Empire and its military, generic NPCs, and only two specific NPCs (Grand Moff Trachta and Janek "Tank" Sunber). Additional equipment, droids, vehicles, and starships round out the chapter.
Chapter 8, "Fringe Factions," could well have fit into the Scum and Villainy book. It lists stats for three bounty hunters from Episode V (4-LOM, IG-88, and Dengar), then a bit of background and additional NPCs or vehicles for Black Sun, Cloud City, Jabba's organization (including a few GM tips for encounters with the famous Hutt), the Zann Consortium, and the Corporate Sector Authority. One beast, the Cracian Thumper, is included.
As we've come to expect in these books, it includes quite a bit of high-quality art. While it does use a few movie stills here and there, most of the art reflects new droids, vehicles or starships, plus a few NPCs rendered very very well. The art style fits very nicely with the rest of the Saga Edition books, so if you have enjoyed the others, this one will definitely carry its own weight.
Unfortunately, the editors appear not to have proof-read very well. Lots of spelling and grammar errors made it to print, the outline "levels" don't always seem to match properly, and in one glaring case an image of Crix Madine is used as Carlist Rieekan. The spreading of equipment, droids, and starships out of their respective chapters and into the factional chapters also may make it difficult for GMs to rapidly find what they need.
Overall, I really enjoyed the references to content from Star Wars Galaxies and the help with character backgrounds and hooks. Due to this latter part alone, GMs or players with campaigns in nearly any era should find it helpful.

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Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)The quality of the WotC Saga Edition campaign books have been amazing. Both this and the Force Unleashed Campaign Setting (Force Unleashed Campaign Guide (Star Wars))have been phenomenally well written and truly an example as to how such items should be made.
Chapter 0: Introduction
The introduction is concise and mostly consists of a timeline which begins at The Great Sith War (4000 - 3996 BBY). The timeline finishes with The Dark Wars (3956-3951 BBY). Compared to the FU introduction, I feel this one is a bit sparse, and it doesn't exactly mention what this era leads into, after the timeline "ends". Maybe Galactic Peace for nearly 4000 years? At any rate, the period the book does cover is quite active, and you should find no shortage of wars, battles, diplomatic missions and enemies throughout. in this 50 year span, there are no less than four enormous wars. You should be kept well occupied.
Chapter 1: Species
Here, we get 12 new options for character species. The species represented are: Arkanian, Arkanian Offshoots, Cathar, Draethos, Feeorin, Khil, Kissai, Massassi, Miraluka, Rakata, Selkath and Snivvian. All of them are quite interesting, and the Miraluka even give you a chance to play a race in which EVERYONE is force sensitive, yet blind. Quite interesting.
Chapter 2: Heroic Traits
The chapter begins with some assistance in creating motivation and back story in the Old Republic. It even offers some options as to how your team got together (instead of the oft used "you all previously know each other", or "you're all at a pub when..."). The chapter later focuses on the Heroic Classes. Each class gets a small description about how they function in this time period and they're given a few new talents to boot. The Jedi get five Consular, one Guardian, three Sentinel and a single Lightsaber Combat talent. Nobles receive two Influence and a Leadership talent. In addition, they get a new talent tree called Fencing, which comes with five talents for you to choose. The Scoundrel garners a new Fortune talent, while also receiving the Run and Gun Talent Tree, consisting of five new skills. Scouts get a new Awareness talent, and the Hyperspace Explorer Talent Tree with five of it's own talents. The Soldier get a Armor Specialist talent, a Brawler talent and a Weapon Specialist talent with a Rocket Jumper Talent Tree of five talents in itself. This chapter finishes off with some new feats. The feats are fair enough, and additionally, it points out a few "Feat Combinations" where two feats that your character might have will produce additional results when paired.
Chapter 3: Prestige Classes
New Prestige Classes and additions to existing ones. Elite troopers will see the Mandalorian Warrior Talent Tree added to their repertoire. Force Adepts will be glad for two new Force Item talents. Gunslingers also get two new talents. Jedi Knights get slightly more, two Duelist talents, the Jedi Battlemaster Talent Tree with five talents, the Jedi Shadow Talent Tree with five talents, and the Jedi Watchman Talent Tree with five talents. There's even four new talents for those pesky Sith Apprentices. There are three new Prestige Classes; The Corporate Agent, Gladiator and Melee Duelist.
Chapter 4: The Force
The users of the Force are much more pervasive in this era than in the standard Rebellion era. I wish they'd gone into detail with this just a little bit more, as it is they had a quarter page describing the situation. There are ten Force Powers, six Force talents distributed to the Alter and Control talent trees (four to the former, two to the latter) and ten Force Techniques. It goes on to mention different Jedi organizations, such as the Jedi Academies and Enclaves on Taris and Dantooine respectively, as well as the Temple on Coruscant. The Jedi Covenant, a secret sect within the Council, is also described. Then it goes into an intriguing bit about other Force-Using Traditions of the times. The Jal-Shey, Keetael, Krath, Luka Sene and the Order of Shasa are all detailed and given Talent Trees.
Chapter 5: Equipment and Droids
Short of describing the whole lot of items, of which a great many are quite interesting, I'll pick a few things out. They have alternate lightsaber crystals, which modify the abilities of your lightsaber somewhat. They have Pulse-wave weapons, which are the predecessors to Blaster weaponry. Also, they have templates that you can add to armor/weapons to adjust or improve their abilities. For instance, Echani armor doesn't protect as well as other pieces of armor, but it lets you move your full speed, while a Bothan weapon will deal extra damage when on Stun or Ion, but less when set normally. This adds some versatility to every weapon or piece of armor in the game, and could be quite the resource to make any piece of equipment unique and desirable by players. The Droid section is useful. It details the different degrees of droids and what their primary function is in this era.
Chapter 6: Vehicles and Starships
This chapter details the different modes of travel or space combat. It's useful and informative, if not a section that you can be terribly verbose about.
Chapter 7: Old Republic Campaign
This is a treasure trove of useful information about the state of the Old Republic. The subsections touch on the amount of Force users, and focuses on how not all of them are Jedi, and how the Jedi are not interested, at this time, in making all the force users unify under the banner of the Jedi. It explains the Exchange, GenoHaradan and Swoop Gang threats present in most cities. It goes on to touch on the four great wars to occur in this time, and what possible adventures could take place during each one. It then describes the different types of "mysterious enemies" that might be encountered like the Rakatan artifacts and tells of the new powers that are coming to the forefront, such as the Czerka Corporation. The chapter ends with a timeline that focuses on important events and battles in the KotOR era.
Chapter 8: Galactic Gazetteer
A few pages detailing new planets that are prominent in this time and descriptive adjustments to planets previously mentioned in the Core Rulebook.
Chapter 9: The Jedi
A short, if useful chapter describing the Jedi's slightly different philosophy toward the universe at this time, a description of how they're viewed during each of the wars and a few pages of important NPC Jedi of the time, including Ulic Qel-Droma and Bastila Shan, among others. The Jedi have a single unique ship added to their side at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 10: The Sith
Mirroring the Jedi chapter, it begins with a preface explaining how the Sith have gotten where they are today and there is a small timeline of how they're viewed and how they act during the wars. The chapter then suggests how to use the Sith and offers plenty of stat blocks for everything from Sith Troopers to Sith Mages to a Dark Lord of the Sith. It goes on to detail important characters, such as Exar kun and Revan. The Sith are gifted with the Interdictor-Class Warship, Centurion-Class Battlecruiser, Derriphan-Class Battleship, Herald-Class Shuttle and the Sith Interceptor. There's also a Sith Assault Droid.
Chapter 11: The Republic
As before, we get a timeline with information regarding the Republic during each war. It goes on to detail life in the Republic Navy and the Army. It talks briefly about the Senate and stats are given for different people, from a Republic Navy Lieutenant to a Republic Army Recon Commando. Various personalities are statted, such as Bao-Dur and Carth Onasi. Then it goes on to Republic only equipment and weapons. Unique ships are the Aurek Tactical Strikefighter, S-250 Chela-Class Starfighter, Conductor-Class Short-Haul Landing Craft, the Ministry-Class Orbital Shuttle, KT-400 Military Droid Carrier, Foray-Class Blockade Runner, Hammerhead-Class Cruiser and the Inexpugnable-Class Tactical Command Vessel.
Chapter 12: The Mandalorians
Keeping the trend going, there is a timeline through the four great wars. It then details what life is like as a Mandalorian and how you can join the cause. It then describes Neo-Crusaders and what life would be like as one of them. You get stats on a few types of Mandalorians, such as the Mandalorian Neo-Crusader and Mandalorian Neo-Crusader Shock Trooper. Descriptions of notable individuals include but are not limited to Mandalore the Indomitable, Canderous Ordo and Demagol. It lists a few pieces of unique equipment and the legendary Basilisk War Droid. The Starship section includes the Davaab-Type Starfighter, Shaadlar-Type Troopship, Teroch-Type Gunship, Jehavey'ir-Type Assault Ship, Kyramud-Type Battleship and the Kandosii-Type Dreadnaught.
Chapter 13: Allies and Opponents
A good bit of notable peoples and things are statted at this end to the book. You can find G0-T0, HK-47, Dob and Del Moomo, various opponents like the Czerka Scientist and Krath Adept and a few ships, like the Ebon Hawk.
I struggled very much, wondering whether to give it 4 or 5 stars. I believe that the FU Campaign Setting is a better book, it had a few things I think were done better. However, after going over all the information again, this book still deserves full marks. My largest irk comes from the artwork. I do not like the cartoony look that was adopted for the drawings, but as that has nothing to do with how great this book is, it won't affect my score. This book gives me so many ideas and boosts my enthusiasm for the game to new heights. This is what books are supposed to be like.


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Jedi Academy Training Manual (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is book is perfect for those who are playing force users. It is obviously not for someone who is not a Jedi or the like.
The part I found the most impressive was the new Techniques and Force Powers. There are dozens of new Force Techniques for Jedi Knight level characters that enable them to capitalize on a combat form they may have chosen in the their first Jedi Knight level. These new Techniques allow some pretty fancy moves in combat and they are even more powerful if you have a specific fighting style. The new Force Powers are amazing as well. There are quite a few that I had just had to have for my character.
The book also expounds greatly on other Force using traditions other than the Jedi and Sith (though there is plenty on them too). There is also a chapter filled with characters from the movies and expanded universe like Corran Horn, all your favorites from Tales of the Jedi(the Qel-Dromas, Arca, Nomi Sunrider etc), a level 20 Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, and even computer game hero Kyle Katarn. The bad guys get a chapter which includes a lot of EU guys and a section of Sith monsters.
The equipment section is lacking a bit, but that only makes sense I think. There are only so many types of lightsabers out there(there are about a dozen in this book though. The best equipment is the exhaustive list of lightsaber crystals.
There are no new prestige classes which I found a little odd.
There is gazetteer section like in the other books with places like Yavin 4, Ruusan, Dantooine, Ossus, Dxun, and Korriban.
Now, to address some of the complaints listed in other reviews. Someone was complaining about it being light. Well, the same person would probably complain about filler if it was too heavy. The 160 pages are packed all with good stuff that a DM or player can use. And, to it not being a stand-alone campaign setting like KotOR; it's not meant to be. It's essentially the Complete Jedi book (like the Complete Mage or Complete Divine DnD books). It's meant to help specialize a class and really make a unique character. Though, I most certainly agree with going to a store first looking through it to see if you want/need it. That's just smart shopping.
In short, it is a great book for anyone who wants to have beyond a core rule book Jedi! It is wonderful for players who want something special or for DMs who want some interesting enemies, allies, and settings for the players.

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"So, you wish to learn the ways of the Force..."Written as the ultimate Jedi training manual, The Jedi Academy: Training Manual game supplement reveals the secrets of the Jedi across all eras of the Star Wars saga, from the earliest days of the Old Republic to the Dark Times and the reemergence of the Jedi Order after the fall of the Galactic Empire. It gives players exciting new talents, feats, Force powers, and equipment for their Jedi characters. It also elaborates on the known Jedi fighting styles and provides new ways to build your character around a particular fighting style.

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Threats of the Galaxy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is basically a Monster Manual for Saga, split into NPCs, creatures, and droids. As a miscellany of opponents, it does a good job: you'll find plenty of people and beasties to throw against your PCs. There's some neat new rules and PC alien and droid options, too.
The organization could have been better. For instance, instead of slipping in the option to play Miralukas under Jerec the fallen Jedi's entry or playing a Bith under the Black Sun Vigo entries, why not put the new race options in one place at the end? The same goes for new equipment, skills, and feats.
But the entries themselves are quite good. In addition to stat blocks, you get commentary on what role the character, beast, or droid can play in an adventure. A number of entries are statted out at different Challenge Levels, too, and in the case of NPCs, include advice on what sort of lower CL minions such an NPC would tend to have.
Overall, this is a useful book; perhaps not a must-have at $35, but for Amazon's much lower price, I'm satisfied.

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Ready-to-play characters, creatures, and droids for your Star Wars campaign.This supplement gives Gamemasters an assortment of galactic denizens to populate their Star Wars Roleplaying Game adventures. Nowhere will you find a more useful hive of scum and villainy! This book presents scores of nefarious characters, fearsome creatures, and droids of various levels and across all Star Wars eras. Each character, creature, and droid entry includes game statistics, tactics, and encounter tips.

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Scum and Villainy (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Star Wars RPG team is really on a roll here. Another great book though it's far more focused than recent supplements. This is the perfect book if you're running a campaign with a smuggler, pirate, crime lord, bounty hunter, or any type of unsavory character we've seen in the Star Wars Universe.
That having been said there's almost nothing for Jedi here (they receive only one talent) so if you're playing a Jedi campaign and pressed for money, get the Knights of The Old Republic guide which came out in August. A breakdown of the book:
Chapter I: Character Options:
Here we get stats for the new species Blood Carver, Clawdite, Falleen, Gand, Jawa, Ryn, Toydarian, and Ubese. Honestly, these races are wonderful and really thought out. I wasn't the biggest fan of the KoTOR races, which i felt were too powerful, but these are just great.
All the classes get new talents. There's a whole new Noble talent tree called Disgrace, and previous trees receive major additions; most notably the Scoundrel's Fortune, Misfortune and Spacer trees, the Scout's Fringer tree, and the Soldier's Brawler tree. There's also new high tier talents that promote staying in a base class for an extended time.
New feats include Burst of Speed, Close Combat Escape, Collateral Damage, Cornered, Deadly Sniper, Deceptive Drop, Desperate Gambit, Duck and Cover, Fleet-footed, Friends in Low Places, Hasty Modifications, Hideous Visage, Impersonate, Impetuous Move, Impulsive Fight, Knife Trick, Lightning Draw, Metamorph, Opportunistic Retreat, Resurgence, Signature Device, Slippery Maneuver, Staggering Attack, Stay Up, Superior Tech, Tactical Advantage, and Wicked Strike.
Prestige classes receive lots of love. Ace Pilot gets the very Han Solo-ish Blockade Runner tree, Bounty Hunter gets some new talents and a new tree (Gand Findsman), Crime Lord is HUGELY expanded on (14 new talents!). Gunslinger gets a new talent and a new Pistoleer tree, based around dual wielding pistols. New prestige classes include Assassin, Charlatan (think Lando Calrissian), and Outlaw. Also, The Force Unleashed's Master Privateer class is updated here, with a new write-up and a new Piracy tree.
Chapter II: Outlaw Tech
This is a huge chapter on upgrading weapons and armor using a new slot based system. There's also a nice section on installing illegal upgrades to ships as well as some brand new starships (some with deckplans).
Chapter III: Fringe Campaigns
This chapter has some really great information on running a campaign set in the seedy parts of the galaxy. It also has an awesome table that helps build jobs for characters and calculates appropriate XP and Credit rewards. There's information on bounty hunting and running famous smuggling runs (The Kessel Run!) as well as information on the justice system and penalties for breaking the law.
Chapter IV: Fringe Elements
This part lists some famous fringe characters (Tyber Zann, Xizor, Zam Wessell, Zuckuss, etc.) as well as many archetypes. It also goes on to list some famous criminal organizations (lots of fluff here)and relevant starships.
Chapter V: Port Nadir
This entire chapter is dedicated to fleshing out Point Nadir, which is a fully realized shadowport that can be inserted into any campaign. I haven't gotten much into it, but it seems extraordinarily detailed.
Chapter VI: Mini-Adventures
Pretty self-explanatory. Rodney Thompson (the game's designer) said that in many campaigns a character will start off as a bounty hunter or a smuggler but will soon start working for a larger organization as the main focus of the story comes into play. So characters that call themselves "smugglers" don't very often do smuggling by a certain point in the game. He put these adventures in here to keep characters doing what they want to do in between the main story arc. 8 mini-adventures are here, all of varying CLs and themes.
Chapter VII: The Fell Star
An entire fringe adventure. I haven't played it yet but as soon as I do, I'll update it here.
That just about wraps us up. So like I said, if you're not a Jedi you should definitely consider purchasing this book. It has tons of invaluable information.


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New options for scoundrel characters from the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.Learn what it takes to be a smuggler, or how to build up a criminal empire that can rival the Hutt clans. Take your ship on the dangerous Kessel run, or chase down a bounty and claim your reward. Watch out for the long arm of Imperial law, though, or you may find yourself on a one-way trip to the spice mines.This book provides extensive information on life on the fringe in the Star Wars universe. More than just information for players, this book gives Gamemasters a wide variety of information on bounty hunters, crime syndicates, smugglers, pirates, and criminals of all stripes throughout the Star Wars setting. Covering everything from vile Hutt gangsters to smooth-talking con artists, Scum and Villainy gives both players and Gamemasters everything they need to fit right in at Mos Eisley spaceport.Scum and Villainy brings the Saga Edition rules to the fringes of society, introducing new rules and information on smugglers, bounty hunters, crime lords, and anyone else that walks outside the law.

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The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Can't really go wrong here. WoTC did it again with this one, possibly better than their recent kotor supplement (comes down to a matter of taste really). I shall list the new features for your reading pleasure, in hopes that you purchase this product and perpetuate the WoTC Star Wars line.
New Species:
Aleena, Caamasi, Chiss, Felucian, Gran, Nosaurian, Talz, Togorian, Togruta, Whiphid, Yarkora
New Talents:
Various new talents for every class. New trees include Noble's Ideologue tree, Scoundrel's Smuggling tree, Scout's Spy tree, and a nicely expanded Soldier's Mercenary tree from Threats of The Galaxy.
Feats:
Twenty new feats, all of which seem pretty useful (lots of rage enhancements here). The real cream of the crop is the Unleashed feat, which greatly enhances the Destiny Point mechanic.
Prestige Classes:
Bounty Hunters and Jedi Knights get some new talents, Elite Trooper gets a Critical Master tree, and Force Adepts get an Imperial Inquisitor tree.
New prestige classes include: Enforcer, Independent Droid, Infiltrator, Master Privateer, Medic, and Saboteur.
New Force Abilities:
The real draw here (for me at least). Obviously, Unleashed Force powers are very very cool. New powers include: Corruption, Force Blast, Force Shield, Force Storm, Kinetic Combat, and Repulse. Each Force tree (Alter Control, Sense, Dark Side) gets new talents and there's a slew of new force powers and force secrets.
Other:
New equipment all around, an in-depth chapter on the Empire, a slew of new vehicles, and the mandatory stats for characters of the era. I'm probably leaving some stuff out but that's really the bulk of it. Highly recommended.

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Legacy Era Campaign Guide (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)For fans of both Star Wars: Legacy and the role-playing game, this campaign guide is a great resource. With plenty of new material beyond the comics, it also serves as a good resource for the era itself. My only disappointments are minor: Bantha Rawk's build seems inappropriate considering his back story and demonstrated abilities, and no inclusion of stats for Force-ghost Luke. The Legacy Destiny option is in a word, sweet. The art varies throughout between decent and amazing, so visual appeal is there as well.

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Take your adventures into the far future of the Star Wars universe.The Empire rules the galaxy once more, this time under the control of the vile Darth Krayt, and resistance is crushed under the heels of Sith overlords. The Jedi are scattered and devastated, with only a handful remaining to resist the tyranny of the Sith. The Galactic Alliance fleet is but a shadow of its former self, struggling to stay hidden while engaging in hit-and-run attacks against the Empire.This is the Legacy Era, set 130 years after the Battle of Yavin, gives players and Gamemasers the freedom to shape the Star Wars galaxy during an exciting period when no one is safe from evil. Players can join the struggling Galactic Alliance fleet, or fight for Roan Fel's Empire-in-exile. This book contains everything players need to create heroes that fit perfectly into the Legacy Era, while Gamemasters will find the book filled with allies, antagonists, starships, and plot hooks to create exciting adventures against the backdrop of a galaxy ruled by the Sith.

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