RPG [Fantasy Flight Games] Edge of the Empire

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is the first of three epic roleplaying game installments. Each will be a standalone core rulebook, but will complement the other two to form a single game system. Each of these three planned core rulebooks presents the Star Wars galaxy from a different point of view, and they all take place during the height of the Rebel Alliance’s struggle against the Galactic Empire.​

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Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is the first of these installments, focusing on the fringes of society, the scum and villainy of the galaxy, and the explorers and colonists of the Outer Rim. In this game, players take on the roles of hard-hearted bounty hunters, roguish scoundrels, charming smugglers, or fearless explorers trying to survive and thrive on the edges of civilization. In the second installment, Star Wars: Age of Rebellion, the players take the fight to the oppressive Galactic Empire as cunning spies, cocky pilots, and dedicated soldiers in the Rebel Alliance.​

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Finally, in Star Wars: Force and Destiny, the players become figures of legend: the last surviving Force users in the galaxy. Hunted by the Empire, they must stay alive, and more importantly, stay true to the ideals of their forebears—the fabled Jedi. Each of these independent game lines stands alone as a unique gaming experience while fully integrating with the others to form a single unified system. For more on Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, skip below to read our overview.​

 

Got my copy of this at C-VI. Looking forward to the other books coming out in the series.


danielc56

 

So is this the new RPG? Has Hasbro (and WotC) officially relinquished everything to do with SW:RPG? I know they stopped making minis...

 

They have. Fantasy Flight Games is the new contract-holder.

 

Well, I've looked at their Warhammer Fantasy and 40k RPG lines and those aren't that bad, so I'm optimistic about the games. That said, I am kinda bummed out that they weren't able to convince Lucasarts that a PDF does not equal a video game...

 

I took a look at the Celebration 6 beta and it looked great. I wasn't about to pay for it, though; I guess the free Pathfinder betas have spoiled me.

 

I've been reading through the new Beta book, and I like the way they use Destiny Points, especially as compared to how wotc used them. With wotc's version, you could pretty much become indestructible by using a Destiny point, but with the beta version, it just adds another die to the pool or upgrades a die already in the pool. And they are always in flux. The PC's use the light side versions and the GM uses the dark side versions, and the points switch back and forth after being used.

I kind of wish they would have included more species, but I guess that will come with later books.

 

How many (and what) did they have?

 

I've run two sessions of EotE and I absolutely LOVE the system. Currently finished up a two-part Maltese Falcon-esque adventure based loosely off the "Dancing Godess" storyline from Star Wars #79 "The Big Con." I even used Barpotomous Drebble as the baddie. We had a blast and the group picked up the narrative dice system super easy. I put together a die set using the stickers from the back of the book plus I also bought the IPad app so we were all set there.

The game ran extremely smoothly; combat was fast paced and maybe 15 minutes into the first session my group had picked up the narrative dice system well enough that they were putting together their own die pools and making narrative suggestion based on Advantages and Threats they had rolled. It really kept the players engaged and I could tell they were attentive and "into" what was happening. We wrapped up with a big space battle as out intrepid heroes were being chased by both Imperials and Drebble's men who were trying to get the a mysterious artifact back he had hired the characters to find. The characters were forced to land and the adventure ended with a satisfying, chaotic battle between all three parties.

I've played and GM'd every iteration of Star Wars RPG, and frankly this may be my favorite system for playing in the Star Wars universe. The game emulates the OT extremely well and it... well it just feels like Star Wars. I am looking forward to the more Force-centric book, "Force and Destiny" so I can run a PT era campaign I planned. But for now, if you are looking to run an Dark Times era or Rebellion era adventure, this game has everything you need.

BTW, there are 8 playable species in the book (Bothans, Class Four Droids, Gands, Humans, Rodians, Trandoshans, Twi'leks, and Wookiees), however if you go over to the Fantasy Flight Games EotE message boards there's a thread with about 15 or so fan created races and a few people are collaborating on an Alien species book with 30 playable races.

Oh and make sure you head over to the FFG web site. They are posting weekly updates to the game with errata and rules clarifications being gathered into a nice looking PDF. Updates come out every Tuesday.


Yancy

 

Uuuuugh.

I was psyched when I heard FFG got the license. They put out top-notch books, but my worst fear was confirmed. Not only are they following the model they established with the Warhammer 40K games (Multiple games within the same setting with generally compatible rulesets), they are, of course, focusing almost entirely (to start) on the Rebellion Era that we've seen a seemingly innumerable number of times over. While I'm sure the rules can be tailored to any time period and setting, I was hoping for more of a WotC approach with a "generalized" main book and separate books for different eras. So that having been said: Does the Beta book include any good fluff that isn't just a regurgitation of stuff we've seen many times before? Or is it just a bare-bones crunchbook and the fluff is being saved for the final edition?

The only plus side is that if they're following the WH40K model, then they're tossing the idea of Jedi being "balanced" with all the other classes right out the window and probably setting them up as the "Space Marines" of the new RPG system. (To clarify for those that aren't familiar, each succeeding game of Warhammer 40K - Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch, "increased the level" of the starting PCs, with "Deathwatch" of course being the "Space Marine Game" and thus the "highest level." While it was technically possible to create characters from the previous game that were technically of equal "level" to the Space Marines, the Space Marines training and bonuses still made them bar none the best combat machines in any of the games). So yes, you might be able to make a character that could defeat Jedi if they're clever about it, but a single non Force-User standing toe-to-toe with one will probably be tantamount to suicide under most cases.

Put another way, this might be the first game since WEG that really and truly lets you create Jedi that feel like the nigh-omnicompetent Jedi of the films.

On a side note, I'm betting they carry the WH40K similarities all the way through, and the fourth book/Game in the series will be focused on playing Imperial/Dark Sider characters.

 

No fluff in the beta.

 

Human, Gand, Twi'Lek, Wookiee, Rodian, Trandoshan, Bothan, Droid (Might be missing one but I'm too lazy to pick up the book on the other side of the table ).

Hothie has been creating characters to practice. He's going to GM the game for us. The system looks interesting so far, I like how they did classes and abilities so far. The rules seem more straightforward than Saga and creating a back story will be easier with the debts and obligations. Back story was always my weakness. We probably won't get to play until early October though. Damn our jobs and adult obligations!!

 

We finally had a chance to play last weekend. So far I really like the game. It feels more flexible and realistic than Saga. I don't think characters will get as all powerful and over the top in this version.

 

Totally agree. Seems very down to Earth (or whatever world you play on) and is quite flexible. The horrendous amount of rigid adherence to rules is what kept me away from doing a lot of RPG'ing, this isn't quite so bad.

 

A friend picked up the beginner game and brought it over last night. It looks pretty cool. I like the additional stuff that comes with the game. They seem to be putting in more time and effort that WotC ever did.

The beta may be expensive but it looks like the real core book will be out spring 2013 according to the info that came with the beginner game. I doubt it will be $90, probably in the $30-40 range. So if you're unsure about the game wait for that. They've already made some changes to the original beta anyway.

 

Any news on this? Are they planning on putting out minis too?

 

The game is designed to be played without minis. But no news that I know of yet.

 

Drop by for the first time in months and find that I have apparently been out of the loop. Silly me. I'll wait til the end version comes out though, assuming I have the money.

 

Although I've dabbled in the 40k minis side of things, I haven't actually had the chance to play anything put out by Fantasy Flight. I've played all incarnations of the RPG put out by WotC, and given that I'm usually the one GMing amongst my group I've been the one more times than not to shell out the cash every time a new system/source book comes out.

Needless to say, I've been a little more than reluctant to jump on board yet another new system, particularly because I'm still feeling a little burned by WotC and how they stopped putting energy or support into Saga well before it was announced that the license was being dropped. That said, from the reviews I've heard here I'm thinking that I should at least test the system out. Maybe this time, however, I'll let someone shell out the money first.

To change the subject somewhat, has there been any announcement out of Fantasy Flight as to how the Disney deal is going to affect their license and plans for the future?

 

I picked up and ran the first session from the beginner's box, and loved it. The pregen characters have a nice mix of roles to play (though I think melee is a bad choice - would have to see what a higher soak value does for characters).

The success/fail + threat/advantage regime is a lot of fun, in that it basically creates RP situations and keeps the GM on their toes. I have found that players are so used to D&D, and then World of Warcraft, that they view armed opponents as something to run at and kill. One of my group has played WEG, D20 and Saga D20 with me so he remembers what Stormies were like when scary (WEG), but the rest didn't. I set up the stormtrooper encounter appropriately, referring to how they acted in ANH over ESB and ROTJ; and quoted Kenobi's comments that "Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise"...

The Wookie melee'd them and was down after 2 hits.

But, the players learned that KILL BASH DESTROY is not necessarily the way forward and oftentimes, you're best running away or playing a run and gun game with opponents.

But yeah, loved the system. Will run the "long arm of the hutt" next.

 

I really want to play this game because it sounds like a better fit for the OT era than any of the previous versions. Only two things holding me back really:

1) I'm not keen on paying multiple times for basically the same thing, so I'll just wait for the full version to come out rather than snag the beginner's set.

2) I don't have a gaming group right now, and likely won't be changing that any time soon since my work schedule changes every week.

Still, it sounds pretty awesome, and I now have an urge to play a force sensitive gambler.

 

Hey guys. I am new to tabletop RPGs but picked up the beginner set. I have yet to read through the adventure but have checked out the characterfolios and learned the basics of the dice system. I am more than interested in online sessions if anyone does that sort of thing.

 

So how similar is it to the Warhammer Fantasy or Dark Heresy systems?

I'm setting up a new Imperial campaign for my players...is that reasonably possible with some custom work with the current system?

 

No response had me pick up the D6 revised edition. Backwards is forwards!