Pirates and Privateers is an excellent and
well-conceived supplement, adding a new field of swashbuckling adventure to the
Star
Wars roleplaying game. While the book concentrates on Rebel-sponsored privateers and
related types, referees can easily use most of the information for other types of pirate
campaigns. In fact, one of the reasons I so liked this supplement (aside from its
excellent subject matter) was its versatility. Even referees who don't plan to focus their
campaigns on pirates will find the wealth of information in
Pirates and Privateers
to be of great assistance.
The book is divided into several chapters, each of which
covers a different facet of using pirates and privateers.
Chapter 1: Pirates and Privateers
The first chapter describes the differences between the
various sorts of pirates and privateers of the Star Wars universe. This chapter
is a good introduction for the uninitiated. It even includes a sample letter of marque and
reprisal, a nice touch for those of us who enjoy these sorts of props for their games.
Chapter 2: Raiding
This chapter details the bread and butter of a privateer's
life: commerce raiding. This chapter lays out a variety of tactics and actions used by
pirates in their activities, including optional rules to simulate them better in the Star
Wars game system. The information in this chapter is vital not only for background,
but also as the means to provide the referee with adventure and campaign ideas.
Chapter 3: The Raider's Life
This chapter is essential if a referee intends to run a
privateer campaign. It includes details of a pirate's life on board and off his ship. It
likewise discusses the various reasons that beings turn to pirating. There's also the
obligatory list of pirate jargon and slang.
Chapter 4: Plunder and Equipment
This chapter includes many new pieces of equipment for use in
privateer campaigns. While many of them have uses outside of the pirate life, the bulk of
them clearly serve a raider's existence. There are also some adventure hooks to aid the
referee. I'm sure many people will find this chapter very enjoyable; I did not. That's a
personal preference on my part. Star Wars has never really been about equipment
and tech to me. The equipment from the basic rule book is usually enough for my
adventures. However, others disagree. That said, this chapter isn't bad; it just doesn't
seem necessary.
Chapter 5: Ships
The same holds true, I think, for this chapter. For one,
whatever one's beliefs about the importance of equipment and ships in Star Wars,
this chapter is too long (20 pages, in fact). Certainly, pirates need fast, well-armed
ships and referees need opponents and targets for them. I don't dispute that. I do,
however, question whether 20 pages of them are necessary.
Chapter 6: The Opposition
This is an excellent and nicely-done chapter. Naturally,
pirates are going to have enemies and lots of them. This chapter details the independent
and Imperial opposition to pirates. This chapter gives a lot of information to the referee
and should provide plenty of adventure ideas. While the bulk of the chapter is devoted to
the Empire, there is enough information on other enemies as well. I was particularly happy
to see the security forces of the Corporate Sector Authority given same space in this
section. My only complaint is a small one: there's little to no information on Rebel and
New Republic forces in this chapter. This isn't a problem if you run a Rebel privateer
campaign, but some people may find that they don't want to use that setting and would like
additional information.
Chapter 7: Pirate's Gallery
This is a good chapter in that it describes a few sample
pirates for use in any campaign. They run the gamut from Rebel privateers to more
dastardly types. There's also a listing of several pirate groups as well.
Chapter 8: Ports of Call
This chapter details pirate hideouts and safe havens. It's
got a lot of useful information in it that would be of the utmost use to a referee running
a privateer campaign. In addition, the chapter makes reference to the various ports of
call described in other West End supplements. That, I thought, was a nice touch. One of
the things I enjoy about West End's Star Wars material (especially recently) is
its self-consistency. This chapter only adds to my admiration.
Chapter 9: Campaigns
This is another nice chapter. While it's probably shorter
than many would like, it does give a good starting point for referees who want to begin a
privateer campaign. There is (at last) some information on running Imperial privateers in
the New Republic era. There's also a nice list of corporations and groups that are
frequently targeted by Rebel privateers. The list doesn't have a lot specific information,
but it does add a lot of color to the setting.
Finally, there's a small collection of pirate templates at
the end of the book.
Overall, Pirates and Privateers is a very nice
supplement and one well-worth every serious Star Wars player's look. One of the
truly nice things about it is how West End has yet again expanded the Star Wars
universe beyond its usual Empire vs. Rebels beginnings. In my book, Star Wars is
now the premier space opera/cinematic SF game. Pirates and Privateers gives me
further reasons for believing this. Well done!
Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)
