Star Wars Adventure Journals

I can't believe I haven't asked this question long ago.

I haven't come across the Star Wars Adventure Journals in Sydney, and the only time I've seen them has been when I've gone to San Fransisco a few times in Borders or Barnes and Noble. Anyway, I looked at them and didn't take much notice because I only really read the novels, and they didn't look like much, sitting there on the shelves.

But what are the adventure journals? Are they short story compilations? Are they RPG material? If so, are they worth getting solely for literary purposes? Whats the deal?

God I'm an idiot!

 

Same goes for Star Wars Gamer. Whats that all about.

I've lived such an insular Star Wars literature life! All I see is the novels, and I eat them up like nothing else and then get dissappointed when I realise there's nothing else to read...

....when all along the answers have been right in front of me!!

I'VE BEEN LIVING A LIE!!!!!

 

The Star Wars Adventure Journal was a quarterly role-playing game anthology "variety" series used to showcase and support West End Games' Star Wars products.

Each one followed a certain plan. There was an introduction. There was a new "Star Wars products" section, highlighting upcoming Star Wars products. There was typically a "celebrity interview," with Star Wars authors, artists, editors, creators, etc. Then outside of that, there were all of the various WEG product support, which mainly consisted of support for their Star Wars Role-playing game. Also in each one was typically a SWRPG rules Q/A and/or errata which discussed various problems and/or strange situations with the rules. Finally, one of the real gems of the entire EU product line were the Holonet entries - little snippets of information that were mainly to be used as campaign/storyline inspiration.

In each volume, there would typically be a couple of adventure stories. These were stories - prose, novellas, etc. - with supporting roleplaying game stats. Many of these were what was reprinted in the "Tales of..." novel anthologies sans roleplaying game stats. The idea was that authors created a unique story which can either be played using the SWRPG or as inspiration for the SWRPG.

In addition to these, there were all sorts of things found in supplements - Droid Guides, planet gazeteers, alien guides, weapon and equipment guides. Sometimes they would have solitaire adventures (choose-your-own-adventure Star Wars style). They would also have support for their other Star Wars products - Star Wars Miniatures Battles, Star Warriors, etc.

The total package was the best source of Star Wars literature ever created - the Star Wars Adventure Journal

Star Wars Gamer was Wizard's of the Coast's Star Wars version of Dragon Magazine. Something which was similar in concept to the Star Wars Adventure Journal but differed significantly in the details/presentation.

 

And they *both* got canned. I *love* Star Wars pro short fiction and they went away. Ugh.

 

Practically every magazine with star wars short fiction has been canned, will insider be next, , .

 

Well, to the Adventure Journal's credit, the reason it was canned wasn't from lack of interest by fans and/or support from the publisher.

 

Well thanks be to Genghis for that lovely response! Have to hunt these suckers down.

 

Let me ask, from a lit fan perspective (and as someone who has read all the tales of anthologies), are they worth hunting around for? Or were most of the stories reproduced in the Bantam anthologies.

 

Hey, Genghis, have you ever heard of a volume collecting "the best of" the first 4 SWAJ issues ? Because i bought one off Ebay and ordered it by snail mail from either Canada or the US (i forget which) and that was a few months back and it hasn't arrived yet.

Do you think i've been conned ? [face_concerned]

 

I cannot say it enough...

The Star Wars Adventure Journal was probably the best source of Star Wars prose ever published.

Only an extremely small minority of its stories were reprinted in the Bantam anthologies.

As an example, if you like Zahn or Thrawn (heck, even if you don't), then you should know that two of their SWAJ stories - Command Decision and Mist Encounter - are the two best Thrawn stories ever written by Zahn. And you will not find them anywhere else but the SWAJ.

There's tons of stories like this with all sorts of authors - Barbara Hambley, Kathy Tyers. And the vast majority of them are top-notch.

I think if one is not able to find something you like in it, then you shouldn't be reading.

 

DaJames...
Yeah, I have it. When you get it, you'll find it to be a rather unique SWRPG supplement. But it does indeed have a lot more in common with a traditional RPG supplement than it does the SWAJ.

They did some good things with it for value-added benefit. Added color to some of the artwork. Added some interesting "bios" and intros by the original writers, etc.

I hope you get it, because if you don't have 1-4, then it's a good mix of what the SWAJ has in it.

 

A few *months* back? Have you contacted where you ordered it from yet? If I don't get something I ordered within in two *weeks* I'm normally pretty suspicious, and start sending e-mails just checking up on things. I hope you ordered it through E-bay or Amazon.com, so you can get some of your cash back.

Ghengis: I couldn't agree with you more. I spent *months* hunting down every issue I could find after westend games tanked. I knew that if I didn't get them immediately, it would be damned hard to get them at all. I eventually ended up with every issue except number five. I'm still looking for the fifth adventure journal, and I don't know if I'll ever find it, but I'm really glad I have the fourteen others(including two copies of #7).

 

I had bought 3 issues of the AJ, when I was trying to collect them, issues, 12, 15, and one other, for about $12-$15 each, plus tax.

Then I lucked out and got nearly every issue, for $5 bucks each in a deal. They were 12 or so unmarked issues, no pictures to show me what issues I would be sending for. But I decided to make the gamble, and it turned out I had received, a near complete set, with only one repeat of an issue that I had already received. I was then able to sell that extra issue for what I payed for it, and got my money back.

So all around I got a pretty good deal.

 

I got all 15 from WEG in their "we're going bankrupt" sale for 50-75% off

 

I only have #1.

EDIT: On another note, does anyone have a list of all the short stories from the AJs?

 

Darth Kevin what was the total for them exactly?

 

I'm not sure exactly as it was over 3 or 4 years ago, but it was closer to 75% off than 50%. It was something like $60.

 

I have #4 and #6, but i also have TFTE,TFTNR, Mist encounter and Command decission. I'd like to get a list of all the short stories from the swaj

 

I was planning to do a complete short story list in a web page I've been working no, but I haven't had much time to work on it.