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The Dark Side Sourcebook is a supplement for use with the d20 version of the Star Wars Role-Playing Game. It remains—despite being designed for use with the Original Core Rulebook (i.e. the one with all those Phantom Menace images on the cover), and not the Revised Core Rulebook (i.e. the one with all those Attack of the Clones images on the cover)—the premiere resource on the Dark Side of the Force and its users, addressing the practical game-play needs that players and Game Masters alike have regarding this stuff. The information on the nature of the Dark Side, its powers and its demands allow players and Game Masters alike to play Dark Side characters or even Dark Side campaigns. This expands the scope of play for the Star Wars Role-Playing Game; the game becomes more attractive to gamers and fans alike by expanding their options, which is a Good Thing; all fans, purists and Expanded Universe aficionados alike, will find this book to be useful.

The Dark Side Sourcebook breaks its content into seven chapters and an Introduction. I liked the Introduction because it got to the point of the book right away, told the reader what it’s for and how to make good use of it as if the writers told it to his face. I like that approach, and I encourage its proliferation. The Introduction also evoked the imagery of the Dark Side, bringing to the reader’s mind what the Dark Side is all about in just a few paragraphs while enticing him to read further—as if it were the seduction of a Sith Lord to a prospective apprentice—and thereby convince the reader to purchase the book. I’ll admit that this is standard procedure in the business, but the appropriateness of it with regard to this book struck me as well done.

The first chapter runs a scant five pages. It covers the history of the Dark Side and its influence on the acknowledged continuity of the Star Wars Galaxy, up through Return of the Jedi. Most of this is to set-up the meatier content of later chapters, but on its own it serves best as an overview for readers that don’t possess a thorough knowledge of this stuff or as a short-hand reference for Game Masters looking for an interesting time to set a campaign (be it a Dark Side campaign or not). Aside from not taking into account any of the revelations from Attack of the Clones, there is nothing vitally important missing.

The second chapter gets into the crunchy bits. Here you’ll find new templates (one for those tainted with the Dark Side and another for those taken by it), new Force skills, new feats and new prestige classes. Yes, this is where you’ll find the Sith Lord prestige classes and their not-as-cool-as-the-Sith counterparts: the Dark Side Devotee and the Dark Side Marauder. There’s also the Emperor’s Hand (for all those Mara Jade fans out there), Imperial Inquisitor and Dark Force Witch as options. Save for the Devotee and Marauder, all of these prestige classes are restricted by era and organization: there are no Inquistors or Hands outside of the Empire’s rule, the Witches are restricted to Dathomir (for the most part) and there are no Sith after Return of the Jedi. The Sith classes are split into Acolyte (emphasizing the mystical and social end of Dark Side prowess; think Darth Sideous), Warrior (emphasizing the physical end, as shown by Darth Maul) and Lord (Emperor Palpatine). All of them hold up well to their Light Side equivalents—Acolyte/Warrior & Marauder to Consular/Guardian, Lord to Master, Witch/Devotee to Adept—in terms of balanced design, and game-play reports at various forums show that this holds up in play.

(Note: The Dark Side Marauder and the Dark Side Devotee originally appeared in this book; Wizards—wisely—decided to incorporate them into rulebook when it came time to produce the Revised Core Rulebook. For those seeking to use the other classes with the Revised Core Rulebook, there is a web enhancement that revises the classes to conform to the new version: http://www.swrpgnetwork.com/files/faq/revised_darkside.pdf)

Chapter Three is all about how the Dark Side operates, and it includes information that’s relevant both for players and Game Masters. It terms of rules, this chapter explains what price the Dark Side demands for its power; this is usually explained as the withering of the devotee’s body due to excessive exposure to the Dark Side of the Force. (Yes, Dark Side characters lose points in their physical ability scores over time; this is made plain by the corruption of Palpatine from his vigorous form in The Phantom Menace to that aged, decrepit form in Return of the Jedi.) It covers the seduction of characters into the Dark Side as well as redeeming characters from it in practical game-play terms. The rest of the chapter goes into what behavior that the Dark Side encourages, why it does so and how it works to keep such characters enthralled; it’s the best part of the book, as no other part of the book captures the essence of the Dark Side of the Force as this extended essay on the Dark Side does. You won’t be able to play or run the Dark Side before reading it as you will afterwards; this alone makes the book worthwhile.

Chapter Four has the gear and the spaceships. All of the stuff seen here appeared in either the films or one of the many Expanded Universe stories, so don’t be surprised by anything you see here. Sith swords are equal in power to lightsabers, Sith Infiltrator ships can get damn near anywhere, Sith holocrons are dangerous tomes of knowledge, etc. so enough said here. Chapter Five has stat blocks for all of the noteworthy Dark Side users and minions in the acknowledged Star Wars continuity, save for Count Dooku. Some of the entries have continuity errors—Royal Guards are said to come from the Stormtrooper ranks, which isn’t possible now that the former existed before the Clone Army (which, as Lucas said, becomes the Stormtrooper Army)—but that’s a minor thing. Chapter Six covers the common minions of the Dark Side, as well as NPC templates for use by the Game Master to speed along adventure design. As with the gear, all of the creatures and NPCs here are found in the corpus of acknowledged continuity; there are no surprises here for those familiar with said continuity. Together, these three chapters have the crunchy content that makes this book useful to the common Star Wars gamer; this is the sweet stuff that makes theory/fluff-laden stuff like Chapter Three worthwhile (to read, to use, etc.) to Joe Gamer. I like that they’re all bunched together; it’s a organizational detail that I appreciate.

Chapter Seven is all for the Game Master because it’s all about organizing and running a Dark Side campaign. From the overview of the Dark Side’s presence in various era of the galaxy’s history to the places of power where the Dark Side is strong, culminating in the exploration of a Sith-oriented campaign as a example of how to do this, this chapter is one that Game Masters will appreciate for providing useful advice and examples of how to turn the normal Star Wars paradigm on its head and retain all of the necessary meta-game cohesion required to run a successful campaign. I am very appreciative of this sort of thing, and I recommend that interested gamers read this chapter before deciding to run a Dark Side campaign. I really dig this.

In conclusion, this book is useful to all but a small minority of Star Wars gamers. For the folks that want to do an in-depth exploration of the Dark Side, of villainy and evil in the Star Wars Galaxy this book is a must-have. (Especially if you’re one that likes to focus upon the Force, or if you like Jedi vs. Sith campaigns.) For everyone else, pick this one up when you can spare the cash- and don’t forget to download the PDF file that updates the prestige classes for use with the Revised Core Rulebook. The Dark Side Sourcebook remains one of the supplements that every Star Wars gamer ought to acquire sooner or later; it’s just that damned good and useful.

The Dark Side Sourcebook
The Dark Side Sourcebook Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 22/01/03 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) This is a must-have supplement. Whether you need to get it now or later depends solely on how much emphasis your campaign puts upon The Force. Product: The Dark Side Sourcebook Author: Bill Slavicsek and J.D. Wiker Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: The Star Wars Role-Playing Game Cost: $29.95 (US) Page count: 160 pages Year published: 2001 ISBN: 0-7869-1849-7 SKU: WTC11849 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 22/01/03 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction Space Asian/Far East Other	The Dark Side Sourcebook is a supplement for use with the d20 version of the Star Wars Role-Playing Game. It remains—despite being designed for use with the Original Core Rulebook (i.e. the one with all those Phantom Menace images on the cover), and not the Revised Core Rulebook (i.e. the one with all those Attack of the Clones images on the cover)—the premiere resource on the Dark Side of the Force and its users, addressing the practical game-play needs that players and Game Masters alike have regarding this stuff. The information on the nature of the Dark Side, its powers and its demands allow players and Game Masters alike to play Dark Side characters or even Dark Side campaigns. This expands the scope of play for the Star Wars Role-Playing Game; the game becomes more attractive to gamers and fans alike by expanding their options, which is a Good Thing; all fans, purists and Expanded Universe aficionados alike, will find this book to be useful. The Dark Side Sourcebook breaks its content into seven chapters and an Introduction. I liked the Introduction because it got to the point of the book right away, told the reader what it’s for and how to make good use of it as if the writers told it to his face. I like that approach, and I encourage its proliferation. The Introduction also evoked the imagery of the Dark Side, bringing to the reader’s mind what the Dark Side is all about in just a few paragraphs while enticing him to read further—as if it were the seduction of a Sith Lord to a prospective apprentice—and thereby convince the reader to purchase the book. I’ll admit that this is standard procedure in the business, but the appropriateness of it with regard to this book struck me as well done. The first chapter runs a scant five pages. It covers the history of the Dark Side and its influence on the acknowledged continuity of the Star Wars Galaxy, up through Return of the Jedi. Most of this is to set-up the meatier content of later chapters, but on its own it serves best as an overview for readers that don’t possess a thorough knowledge of this stuff or as a short-hand reference for Game Masters looking for an interesting time to set a campaign (be it a Dark Side campaign or not). Aside from not taking into account any of the revelations from Attack of the Clones, there is nothing vitally important missing. The second chapter gets into the crunchy bits. Here you’ll find new templates (one for those tainted with the Dark Side and another for those taken by it), new Force skills, new feats and new prestige classes. Yes, this is where you’ll find the Sith Lord prestige classes and their not-as-cool-as-the-Sith counterparts: the Dark Side Devotee and the Dark Side Marauder. There’s also the Emperor’s Hand (for all those Mara Jade fans out there), Imperial Inquisitor and Dark Force Witch as options. Save for the Devotee and Marauder, all of these prestige classes are restricted by era and organization: there are no Inquistors or Hands outside of the Empire’s rule, the Witches are restricted to Dathomir (for the most part) and there are no Sith after Return of the Jedi. The Sith classes are split into Acolyte (emphasizing the mystical and social end of Dark Side prowess; think Darth Sideous), Warrior (emphasizing the physical end, as shown by Darth Maul) and Lord (Emperor Palpatine). All of them hold up well to their Light Side equivalents—Acolyte/Warrior & Marauder to Consular/Guardian, Lord to Master, Witch/Devotee to Adept—in terms of balanced design, and game-play reports at various forums show that this holds up in play. (Note: The Dark Side Marauder and the Dark Side Devotee originally appeared in this book; Wizards—wisely—decided to incorporate them into rulebook when it came time to produce the Revised Core Rulebook. For those seeking to use the other classes with the Revised Core Rulebook, there is a web enhancement that revises the classes to conform to the new version: http://www.swrpgnetwork.com/files/faq/revised_darkside.pdf) Chapter Three is all about how the Dark Side operates, and it includes information that’s relevant both for players and Game Masters. It terms of rules, this chapter explains what price the Dark Side demands for its power; this is usually explained as the withering of the devotee’s body due to excessive exposure to the Dark Side of the Force. (Yes, Dark Side characters lose points in their physical ability scores over time; this is made plain by the corruption of Palpatine from his vigorous form in The Phantom Menace to that aged, decrepit form in Return of the Jedi.) It covers the seduction of characters into the Dark Side as well as redeeming characters from it in practical game-play terms. The rest of the chapter goes into what behavior that the Dark Side encourages, why it does so and how it works to keep such characters enthralled; it’s the best part of the book, as no other part of the book captures the essence of the Dark Side of the Force as this extended essay on the Dark Side does. You won’t be able to play or run the Dark Side before reading it as you will afterwards; this alone makes the book worthwhile. Chapter Four has the gear and the spaceships. All of the stuff seen here appeared in either the films or one of the many Expanded Universe stories, so don’t be surprised by anything you see here. Sith swords are equal in power to lightsabers, Sith Infiltrator ships can get damn near anywhere, Sith holocrons are dangerous tomes of knowledge, etc. so enough said here. Chapter Five has stat blocks for all of the noteworthy Dark Side users and minions in the acknowledged Star Wars continuity, save for Count Dooku. Some of the entries have continuity errors—Royal Guards are said to come from the Stormtrooper ranks, which isn’t possible now that the former existed before the Clone Army (which, as Lucas said, becomes the Stormtrooper Army)—but that’s a minor thing. Chapter Six covers the common minions of the Dark Side, as well as NPC templates for use by the Game Master to speed along adventure design. As with the gear, all of the creatures and NPCs here are found in the corpus of acknowledged continuity; there are no surprises here for those familiar with said continuity. Together, these three chapters have the crunchy content that makes this book useful to the common Star Wars gamer; this is the sweet stuff that makes theory/fluff-laden stuff like Chapter Three worthwhile (to read, to use, etc.) to Joe Gamer. I like that they’re all bunched together; it’s a organizational detail that I appreciate. Chapter Seven is all for the Game Master because it’s all about organizing and running a Dark Side campaign. From the overview of the Dark Side’s presence in various era of the galaxy’s history to the places of power where the Dark Side is strong, culminating in the exploration of a Sith-oriented campaign as a example of how to do this, this chapter is one that Game Masters will appreciate for providing useful advice and examples of how to turn the normal Star Wars paradigm on its head and retain all of the necessary meta-game cohesion required to run a successful campaign. I am very appreciative of this sort of thing, and I recommend that interested gamers read this chapter before deciding to run a Dark Side campaign. I really dig this. In conclusion, this book is useful to all but a small minority of Star Wars gamers. For the folks that want to do an in-depth exploration of the Dark Side, of villainy and evil in the Star Wars Galaxy this book is a must-have. (Especially if you’re one that likes to focus upon the Force, or if you like Jedi vs. Sith campaigns.) For everyone else, pick this one up when you can spare the cash- and don’t forget to download the PDF file that updates the prestige classes for use with the Revised Core Rulebook. The Dark Side Sourcebook remains one of the supplements that every Star Wars gamer ought to acquire sooner or later; it’s just that damned good and useful.