No more SW RPG products from WOTC - It's O F F I C I A L

Taken from Wotc Boards:

From: RPGA-LivingForce@yahoogroups.com [mailto:RPGA-LivingForce@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of August Hahn
Sent: 07 October 2005 07:35
To: RPGA-LivingForce@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [RPGA-LivingForce] The Fate of Living Force - OFFICIAL

Dear readers and players,

Before I begin, please forgive our delay in responding the many very
pertinent, very worthy questions that have been bandied about on
this forum (and others). Cynthia and I have been working tirelessly
to ensure that every resource was exhausted, every avenue explored
and every possibility spent before bridging the subject that has
been on your minds - namely, the second Living Force campaign.
Let me make this as clear to you as it has become to us (but hear me
out after I say it): There will not be an LF2 campaign.

Wizards of the Coast has no interest in pursuing the Star Wars
license agreement with LucasFilm beyond its Miniatures product
line. This final decision came only very recently, which is why
there has been such a delay in an announcement. With no roleplaying
products coming out or scheduled, the roleplaying organized play
division (the RPGA) will not support a second campaign set in the
Star Wars universe.
Thus, I repeat, there will not be a sequel to what WotC gladly
acknowledges as a hugely successful campaign. We have had a great
run, but just as there hasn't been a Year Six of Babylon 5, there
will be no continuance of these great stories once they are finished.
At Winter Fantasy, all good things (and this campaign from its
inception under the immensely capable leadership of Jae Walker and
the creative gifts of Morrie Mullins has been so VERY, VERY good)
will come to an end. This decision is final; it will not change.
Angry letters won't dissuade the powers that be. Threats and wails
and gnashing of teeth will avail nothing. For very solid, very
understandable reasons, the RPGA will not sanction a
second "season". When it's over, it's over.
So please, we your humble Coordinators beg of you, let's conduct
these last months with the same dignity and strength of character
(and characters) that made LF worth the gnashing of teeth
uncountable. Enjoy the last story arcs. Play your roles to the
fullest.
BE the heroes we know you are.

Thoughts?

 

*Removes hat*

It's a sad day for all of us SWd20 fans. With no new material being published and with the damn minis game (I wish I could find the genius who thought up that idea today...) being so popular, us RPG buffs have only the past to look to.

 

That really really sucks. Maybe another company will get the rights to do the star wars rpg. Who knows.

 

This makes me sad. RIP SWRPG D20

 

*moment of silence*

 

Damn.

Profanity just doesn't do it justice.

---

But now that its said and done, its time to turn our attention to making the minis line more RPG-friendly. :| That means pestering WotC to put new stats and good background info into the minis game books. Currently, they suck. No information, just scenarios. I feel that many, many more people would buy them if they contained SW info. I mean, a lot of people (myself included) buy SW RPG books simply for the EU information they contain. Time to get WotC on a ball, if not the RPG ball.

[face_not_talking]

 

Lame as it is, it is also unfortunately not surprising. WOTC has alot more mainstream games that they're working with, particularly Dungeons & Dragons, D20 and Magic The Gathering, and since Star Wars RPG's popularity has wained it isnt too shocking that they stopped it. It may be possible, however, to get Lucasarts to continue production of the game through a separate source IF we can get enough people to sign a petition or something that we can send to them. I dont know exactly how it would be done, but if you want new products then you have to get the word out there that a pretty large group of RPGers are out there and that it would be worthwhile to continue with the production of the game.

 

There was a time when we thought "Magic: The Gathering" would be the end of role-playing games. Indeed, I saw many gaming groups, gaming clubs, and gaming stores switch over completely to M:tG. Funny thing was about a year later they all either collapsed/went out of business, or went back to RPGs. Not to say that M:tG didn't seriously hurt and diminish the RPG world, just that the world recovered and bounced back.

I'm sure, at some point, Star Wars the RPG will be back in one form or another. I'm all for d6 version, but... BUT, it is possible with the d20 lisencing system that maybe someone like the people who do the other d20 compatible source books and off-shoots will be allowed to market a few d20 StarWars books.

Good luck.

 

Dear D20 players,

Welcome to our world.

Sincerely,
D6 players

kidding! kidding!

Honestly, this does seriously suck. It's not a good day for anyone, but if D6 players have shown anything, it's that this isn't the end, just a change. The dice roll on.

 

Well said.

I guess in the end it's up to us, the fans, to keep it alive until such a time that it can be brought back. To keep playing and coming up with (and sharing) new stats/ideas/etc. to keep the community alive.

 

I'm an RPG'er since D6 times. given the quality of the WOTC stuff, let me say I'm glad they're doing SW Minis.

E_S

 

Hmmm...there are always countless fan stats.

 

I remember the day when I read that Decpiher's Star Wars CCG was losing their liscense to Wizards. It was a sad day for me as SWCCG was the first game of type that I played. It still remains one of my favorite games to this day. A year or two later I found Star Wars RPG (funnily enough it was Wizards that produced it). I grabbed a book, sold the idea to a few friends and have been GMing every since. I love the game, but like SWCCG it's time has come. It's a shame since I know many, many people that are fans of RP and of Star Wars both that will be saddened to hear that SWRPG is comming to an end.

Depsite this, as d6 fans have shown time and time again, I hope that Star Wars d20 is far from over and that the thousands of fans out there will help keep the game alive.

Keep the dice rolling!

 

I'm sure Genghis12 remembers how we felt when we got the announcement(s) about D6 RPG on the old AOL Mailing List...

E_S

 

Strange that they haven't made an official announcement on the website. I don't doubt that they're cancelling the line, but why only tell the Living Force RP'ers.

 

Hmm... good riddance. I was buying the occasional thing I could mine for my D6 game (mostly the mechanics light stuff). Coruscant and the Core Worlds, Power of the Jedi, Dark Side, etc. Anything mechanics heavy I stayed away from, though, most notably the starship stuff and the core books.

Very interesting... SWRPG has got to be the closest thing to a license to print money that I can think of... WotC has totally blown some good opportunities like the NJO where I get vague sketches of all the weird Vong stuff, etc. I have no doubt the continuity folks at LFL make it difficult... but that's where a good RPG co could've shined. Hell, I was hoping for links with the Hasbro toy folks for stuff like the little "Force Files" they used to put in the figures, etc.

 

what a terrible way to come back to the boards!!!!! let me say this.. we will alway have our imaginations... an that is the best source book of all... WOTC has pissed away a wonderful system(( which btw.. they never gave the love to, like WEG)). what i would truly love is for someone with passion to get the liscence

 

Well, it was kind of hard for sales to increase once WotC decided to stop printing certain important books - such as Power of the Jedi (currently going for $60+ USD on eBay).

Bravo, Wizards.

Your decision to abandon this game, with its built-in audience and the mindless adoration we've all given it over the last five years has incurred the wrath of a legion of Star Wars geeks on the internet.

Ye hath been warned.

Nyar.

 

It's really dum that they would drop the system like that.

 

As soon as I get into Star Wars Roleplaying,and buy the revised rulebook, they stop making it.

 

Look at it this way: At least you got the book while it's cheap. The price of books is about to go through the roof on e-bay for a few months.

And besides, it doesn't matter what publishers are doing. What you need is folks who want to play and a fist full of dice.
Game on!

 

The thing about it that really sucks is the fact that the companies obviously have NO idea just how many SW RPG gamers there are out there. I'll be honest, I never play anymore (primarily because my GM lives 100 miles away from me and his books got jacked by some dillweed he works with who borrowed them) but I had a ****load of fun when I did. It just goes to show you that in the end all anyone cares about is money. **** lame if you ask me (pardon my American) because we all know that as popular as this mini's game (which i've never heard of up until now) is its sure to be a fad that'll pass. My suggestion still stands though, if you can get enough people to sign a petition or get enough petitions as a group to send to LucasArts or WOTC or any other affiliates we might be able to bring it back. I just hope that Dungeons and Dragons doesn't suffer the same fate at the hands of its minis game...

 

The whole thing is just stupid. Things were going fine until the minis came out, then all of a sudden they just decided to phase out SWRPG. That's the thing about WOTC: I can trust them to keep churning out good DND and MTG stuff, and that's about it. What are they going to do when the SW mini game gets old? They've already stolen and killed the TCG and the RPG line, are they just going to bury the hatchet on SW gaming altogether?

If WOTC is going to treat their fans like $#*% then they shouldn't have picked up the liscense to begin with.

 

HI all, I have never posted in this section before, I post mainly in the London and Costumer boards. I am however, a SWRPGer and I am a big fan of the WOTC SWRPG books. I too am very sad to hear this news; it is a shame that WOTC will no longer be pursuing the SWRPG line of products.


Petitions
In regards to a petition, I would be willing to sign it, but it would be a totally fruitless effort. No matter how many people you get to sign a petition, a corporation such as WOTC (Hasbro) will always trust its own data to a higher degree. Companies are aware of the fact that a petition will be signed by diehard fans, as well as those just offering support with no intention to buy their product, it is because of this and other very obvious reasons that they choose to pay credence to their own data. That is why sales figures, marketing stats and profit stats are much more important than any petition, and all of this is already information belonging to WOTC and Lucas? companies.
Furthermore, do not think we are dealing with idiots here, we a dealing with Hasbro (the second biggest ?toys? company in the world, Market Value $3.74 bil).
It was totally in Hasbro?s interest for the SWRPG to succeed, but there was just not enough demand to make it worthwhile for a company such as Hasbro to bother allocating resources to such a product. RPGs have become a niche market and Hasbro is a giant company and the profits generated by niches are probably too small to even be of any significance to Hasbro now. The problem with these niche companies, is they keep getting brought by these giants who totally change the nature of the product to the very opposite of what it once was, for example SWRPG to Minis, this is a pretty obvious example, there are however countless more. This is market changeis unavioidble, but I hate it, you find something you love and a few years later it is changed to something that leaves you totally disinterested.

Should we hope that another company is granted the SWRPG LICENCE?
The future also looks bleak on this matter. When WOTC (Hasbro) acquired the licence to produce the SWPRG, it came with a number of contractual obligations. One of these obligations was to continue the production of the product until the end of the licence period. Many of you will now think that WOTC have failed in this respect, unfortunately both WOTC and Lucas? companies have decided the Minis meet the criteria of the SWRPG contract, in essence Minis are now contractually viewed as the SWRPG. The f*%&er (emotionally I hate him, but he did turn a dud into a runaway profit success) who came up with Minis has in all but name killed of the SWRPG that we love forever. Minis has been a huge success and the profits they generate eclipse that of the SWRPG books.

My Own View
I wish all of the above was not so, but I believe I must be pragmatic and rational. The SWRPG offered unparalleled freedom and the opportunity to immerse yourself into the SWgalaxy in any manner of great story driven plots.
Why were the source books GREAT, in addition to offering rules (which I am sure everyone altered somewhat to meet their own gaming purposes) the source books were a AMAZING source of information about the SWgalaxy, the books introduced characters, planets, factions and much more, in such a beautiful way; with pictures, descriptions as well as a means of quantifying and comparing everything. It is the loss of the source books, I am most sadden by; as long as we are around we can always play the SWRPG and we don?t need WOTC to enable us to do that, but WOTC did help make it that much more exciting and easy to immerse yourself into limitless plot driven Star Wars Galaxy. Something Minis will never do (with their basic no plot endless combat) and something computer games will not do for a long time.

Now I guess we must find a new set of books like the source books. Not only were the books great to use RPG aids they were also great to read when you were not playing, for their mature and sensible layout with a good balance of in

 

Ok, I really don't get you people...

I keep hearing each of you repeat the phrase "They killed SWRPG".

A company halting a production line can't kill SWRPG. The only people who can kill it's us, the PLAYERS. If we stop playing it, it's dead. If a company stops releasing new books, we simply go on adventuring with the current 130 books we have. If we dearly need stats for some new item that appeared in the latest cartoon, we can bloody well make it up or ask the global SWRPG community to help us out.

If you think a company can kill SWRPG, then, for you my friend, it's already dead.