The Inside Scoop on Gaming

When I went to see Star Wars a few years ago when they re-released the movies I stood and I applauded at the end, along with almost everybody else in the cinema. I applauded despite the misgivings I had over the shoddy addition of a couple of scenes excluded for good reasons, because- by god- it was Star Wars.

And this game, for so many of its faults, is Star Wars.

It is very safe to say that Wizards of the Coast is not my favourite games comnpany. I loathe trading card games and blame them almost totally for the proliferation of this paper vermin, so when I heard that they had bought TSR I shuddered. However when Dungeons and Dragons was released last year I was faced with a curious mix of nostalgia and curiosity which drove me to buy it, to read it and to appreciate it for what it is. Dungeons and Dragons, and the D20 system it carries, is the skeleton of a beautiful gaming experience.... The rules are clearly mapped, and there is plenty to hang the meat off of. The meat however- for those disinclined to spend money on a Setting book- is entirely left to the players and the Dungeon Master, to take what they want and choose the way they want it used. In that sense it is a beautifully designed system, sleek and convertable. Very convertable.

So in what way does this relate to Star Wars? Well quite simply, the elegancy of purpose that was applied to the regeneration of the Grand Old Man of RPGs has been applied to one of his errant offspring. And if any movie can claim elegance of purpose it is Star Wars, the ultimate rip roarin’ hero’s journey. The story of a peasant boy who hooks up with a mysterious old wizard and a rakish gadabout, saves a princess and finds the soul and the strength to conquer the Black Knight and his fiendish infernalist master. The book almost suffuses you with the knowledge that your Padawan Jedi Guardian could follow the path to greatness and be a force in the New Jedi order, or that your young noble might grow to be one of the great minds opposing the Empire, long after he stood as a fiery young democrat. The rules for the new game provide a framework upon which any self respecting gamesmaster can build grand adventures without being too restricted by either the Mythos or the ideas of the games publishers as to how they should progress. The lack of focus on one era of play over another provides plenty of options for groups to play in, and the inclusion of races which are associated with all three major eras makes this clear. I personally was a fan of the West End Games version of Star Wars- but will admit to being a convert. The classes included make genuine sense and allow for clear advancement while avoiding the high fantasy abilities of the D & D Classes, and despite some of my misgivings (see below) allow for a smoothish transition when converting characters from WEG.

The artwork is simple, with the classes and races rendered artistically in an almost White Wolfen pastiche style and almost the entire rest of the book rendered using photographs from the movies. (Although this does draw attention to Harrison Ford’s awful 70’s sideburns- a fashion crime, which was surely the true reason Jabba the Hut wanted him dead). This allows the book to retain a strong aesthetic while not overly distracting the reader and, kudos to the layout and typesetting team, it is a largely succesful ploy. One area it does lack in artistically is its lack of diagrams/photos of key equipment- especially Starships. We all know what the Millenium Falcon, the X-Wing and the Star Destroyer look like- it may not have hurt to give us pictures of some of the lesser known ships.

This high praise is not to say that the game is by any means flawless. I compared the D20 system earlier to a skeleton, and that analogy applies in that it can seem to be over-complicated at times. The trick to getting around this is merely to remember that every section of the book has a purpose, take your time and you'll easily make these sections gel in your mind. If you are already familiar with the system through D & D, then it will be childsplay to pick it up here. If you have set your mind against the D20 system, don't even pick the book up, let closed mindedness ruin a great fun opportunity for you and your friends. The game also "borrows" a bit too heavily from previous incarnations of the game, particularily around the Jedi skills (Control, Sense and Alter, for those familiar with the old game). I may have liked to see the developers challenge with a different take on the Force- it just seems a bit lazy to transfer so carefully a solid, if staid idea. Further, while there are undoubtably thousands of fans who will dig out old WEG character sheets (I know I’d love to know where I left Calain, my Young Jedi character from about 8 years ago), the ease of the system for converting brings this niggle just a little too close to the bone.

Finally I could criticise the price, which is notable when compared to the core rulebooks of, say, White Wolf and seems to have been set by Wizards of the Coast to reflect the fact that they could only get one main rulebook out of the line and not three. As many gamers are on a limited income I think £25 (about $35, that should be) is inordinately high.

All in all none of these concerns are enough to make me feel cheated by the product. I think it’s a strong contender in the Roleplaying market, which is worthy to its licence and has a lot of mileage. If the developers push it in the right direction it could be a deciding factor in the TSR based (yes I know…..) roleplaying revival, and as long as I see no mention of cards in the near future I may even forgive Wizards of the Coast for their miserable past form.

Star Wars RPG
Star Wars RPG Capsule Review by Phil on 14/06/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) A strong game marred by bad pricing and a few minor details. Product: Star Wars RPG Author: Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, JD Wiker Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Star Wars Cost: £24 Page count: 300 Year published: 2000 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Phil on 14/06/01 Genre tags: Science Fiction Space	When I went to see Star Wars a few years ago when they re-released the movies I stood and I applauded at the end, along with almost everybody else in the cinema. I applauded despite the misgivings I had over the shoddy addition of a couple of scenes excluded for good reasons, because- by god- it was Star Wars. And this game, for so many of its faults, is Star Wars. It is very safe to say that Wizards of the Coast is not my favourite games comnpany. I loathe trading card games and blame them almost totally for the proliferation of this paper vermin, so when I heard that they had bought TSR I shuddered. However when Dungeons and Dragons was released last year I was faced with a curious mix of nostalgia and curiosity which drove me to buy it, to read it and to appreciate it for what it is. Dungeons and Dragons, and the D20 system it carries, is the skeleton of a beautiful gaming experience.... The rules are clearly mapped, and there is plenty to hang the meat off of. The meat however- for those disinclined to spend money on a Setting book- is entirely left to the players and the Dungeon Master, to take what they want and choose the way they want it used. In that sense it is a beautifully designed system, sleek and convertable. Very convertable. So in what way does this relate to Star Wars? Well quite simply, the elegancy of purpose that was applied to the regeneration of the Grand Old Man of RPGs has been applied to one of his errant offspring. And if any movie can claim elegance of purpose it is Star Wars, the ultimate rip roarin’ hero’s journey. The story of a peasant boy who hooks up with a mysterious old wizard and a rakish gadabout, saves a princess and finds the soul and the strength to conquer the Black Knight and his fiendish infernalist master. The book almost suffuses you with the knowledge that your Padawan Jedi Guardian could follow the path to greatness and be a force in the New Jedi order, or that your young noble might grow to be one of the great minds opposing the Empire, long after he stood as a fiery young democrat. The rules for the new game provide a framework upon which any self respecting gamesmaster can build grand adventures without being too restricted by either the Mythos or the ideas of the games publishers as to how they should progress. The lack of focus on one era of play over another provides plenty of options for groups to play in, and the inclusion of races which are associated with all three major eras makes this clear. I personally was a fan of the West End Games version of Star Wars- but will admit to being a convert. The classes included make genuine sense and allow for clear advancement while avoiding the high fantasy abilities of the D & D Classes, and despite some of my misgivings (see below) allow for a smoothish transition when converting characters from WEG. The artwork is simple, with the classes and races rendered artistically in an almost White Wolfen pastiche style and almost the entire rest of the book rendered using photographs from the movies. (Although this does draw attention to Harrison Ford’s awful 70’s sideburns- a fashion crime, which was surely the true reason Jabba the Hut wanted him dead). This allows the book to retain a strong aesthetic while not overly distracting the reader and, kudos to the layout and typesetting team, it is a largely succesful ploy. One area it does lack in artistically is its lack of diagrams/photos of key equipment- especially Starships. We all know what the Millenium Falcon, the X-Wing and the Star Destroyer look like- it may not have hurt to give us pictures of some of the lesser known ships. This high praise is not to say that the game is by any means flawless. I compared the D20 system earlier to a skeleton, and that analogy applies in that it can seem to be over-complicated at times. The trick to getting around this is merely to remember that every section of the book has a purpose, take your time and you'll easily make these sections gel in your mind. If you are already familiar with the system through D & D, then it will be childsplay to pick it up here. If you have set your mind against the D20 system, don't even pick the book up, let closed mindedness ruin a great fun opportunity for you and your friends. The game also "borrows" a bit too heavily from previous incarnations of the game, particularily around the Jedi skills (Control, Sense and Alter, for those familiar with the old game). I may have liked to see the developers challenge with a different take on the Force- it just seems a bit lazy to transfer so carefully a solid, if staid idea. Further, while there are undoubtably thousands of fans who will dig out old WEG character sheets (I know I’d love to know where I left Calain, my Young Jedi character from about 8 years ago), the ease of the system for converting brings this niggle just a little too close to the bone. Finally I could criticise the price, which is notable when compared to the core rulebooks of, say, White Wolf and seems to have been set by Wizards of the Coast to reflect the fact that they could only get one main rulebook out of the line and not three. As many gamers are on a limited income I think £25 (about $35, that should be) is inordinately high. All in all none of these concerns are enough to make me feel cheated by the product. I think it’s a strong contender in the Roleplaying market, which is worthy to its licence and has a lot of mileage. If the developers push it in the right direction it could be a deciding factor in the TSR based (yes I know…..) roleplaying revival, and as long as I see no mention of cards in the near future I may even forgive Wizards of the Coast for their miserable past form.

Star Wars RPG