So far the quality of material from Wizards of the Coast for the new Star Wars game has been quite disappointing. Secrets of Naboo starts well, with a variety of information but nosedives into an adventure taking up half the book which I personally don’t like. Sourcebooks are for presenting information and adventure hooks… To me a 40 page adventure should be sold seperately. The Dark Side Sourcebook was bad in every way except where it counts and left a terrible taste in this gamers mouth. However, undeterred, and certain that the mistakes that had been made in the DSS would not be repeated I bought a shiny new Rebel Era Sourcebook from the nice men at Static Games in Glasgow. Thankfully I can say that this time they have got it right.
The Rebel Era Sourcebook is concerned with the events and times surrounding the Original Star Wars Trilogy (the only Star Wars as far as some people I know are concerned). While it peripherally deals with some of the “Expanded Universe” stuff set during the 5 or so years between A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, the focus is very much on the movies themselves and has the touch of writers who seem to be very much a fan of their subject matter. The book follows a logical progression, beginning with an overview of how the Empire came to be, telling the reader of the last days of the Republic while avoiding being too details specific (George has to have some surprises for the next two movies after all). It then flows into the information specific to A New Hope, and it is here that the strengths and weaknesses of the book really come into play.
The main strength of the book is that just about everything you want to see, in terms of game mechanics, is present. It lovingly presents a slew of statistics, from Mon Mothma to Grand Moff Tarkin, from Leia Organa to Boushh (the Bounty Hunter she impersonates at the beginning of Return of the Jedi). These game mechanics are all preceded by a page or two of information relevant to the character and/or his place in the Star Wars saga. Its not just characters who are represented, almost every “monster” I can think of which appeared in the movies (with the curious exception of the Rancor, although that does appear in the core rulebook) is represented, as are the various vehicles, Stormtroopers and droids which heavily feature in the movies.
Another strong showing comes with the range of information which is covered in the book. The scope is exceptional and I feel that there are few elements of the rebellion era which are not at least nodded to. From why aliens are second class citizens to why Alderaan was the perfect target for the first Death Star, and some small religious observances survivors have taken to showing since her destruction. However, the scope of the information lets it down at points and is, to my mind, part of the books biggest flaw as well. At points there is simply not enough space to cover a particular topic. I would have liked to have seen an extra page on (for example) the history and motivations of Wilhuff Tarkin, even at the cost of the information on the races who sift through Imperial garbage for a profit. I have taken to looking at the information as a base for Imperial Era games, and hope that future supplements will expand on this while keeping up a good tradition of avoiding repetition which the designers have shown so far.
In terms of story ideas and adventure hooks, the book presents these as either sidebars at the bottom of the page or as two page spreads of information. This keeps this information separate from the body of the text while also minimising the impact of the space it takes up in an already crammed book. The layout of the book itself deserves a very special mention as it will either feel completely natural or it could drive a reader mad. The Rebellion Era Sourcebook is not written in a chapter format as such, although it is thematically and chromatically (honest) divided into 5 main sections named after the movies and the spaces between them. This can aid the reader in that it is exceptionally concise and clear, and you are always certain what the art is meant to be representing. It is not however perfect as it often leads to the book reading like a series of sidebars or magazine articles rather than a roleplaying supplement.
Visually the book relys considerably more on photographs than preveious supplements, possibly because, say, the Dark Side Sourcebook was so heavily dependent on the “Expanded Univese” material. Where artwork is included it is certainly passable, although more than one picture is repeated from previous books, especially the Core book. One other minor niggle is that anybody who is going to buy this book probably doesn’t need dialogue and scenes from the movie repeated verbatim, and in simple style, as seems to happen from time to time in this book.
Overall, I think this is a strong book, pushing the right buttons and providing a strong platform to launch a series of more specific supplements for this era. Again, my usual complaints about WotC’s prices stand, £20 is a significant part of my monthly gaming budget and this book was probably worth £15 at the most. But an overall improvement from these guys and hopefully a good omen for the Upcoming Starships of the Galaxy, and future supplements beyond that.
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