The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"Star Wars Classic Adventures Volume Five" is a collection of three previously-published adventures for the Star Wars RPG by West End Games. Two of the stories ("Starfall", "The Game Chambers of Questal") are set in the period between first and third Star Wars movies, but could easily be run either before or after the events of those films. "Strikeforce: Shantipole", the second of the three adventures, depends for its backstory on events which precede the second movie. It could be modified to take place earlier or later, but it would make a bit less sense and would not have the urgency that its backstory provides.

The first adventure, "Starfall" by Rob Jenkins and Michael Stern, takes place on a crippled Star Destroyer. The Player Characters begin the game as captives, and must escape the Star Destroyer before it explodes. They also are supposed to discover some secrets along the way, secrets which are supposed to explain the Star Destroyer's current predicament. The adventure is a rather straightforward escape-the-sinking-ship scenario, and despite a few bits that stretch the bounds of credulity (An Imperial naval architect who doesn't know how to use a computer? That's like a plumber who never learned to turn a valve.), it is a well-constructed adventure which flows easily from scene to scene, and the scenes themselves offer a variety of encounters, including vehicle combat, zero-G combat, conniving 'droids, and the various environmental hazards of the crumbling starship itself. It does not present anything stunning or surprising, but it gets the job done and would be appropriate for a one-shot or convention game. It doesn't say so in the write-up, but it would also be a good introductory adventure with which to turn a band of rugged smugglers or outlaws into a team of Rebels.

The second adventure, "Strikeforce: Shantipole" by Ken Rolston and Steve Gilbert, takes place in an asteroid field, where the Player Characters are supposed to escort the not-yet-an-Admiral Ackbar's latest project, the B-wing starfighter, back to the Rebel Alliance. There is a space battle or two to deal with (since it has nothing to do with role-playing, it has always baffled me why they stress these things in RPG supplements -- I just glossed over it with a couple of task checks), and then a black-bag mission on an Imperial base to retrieve some stolen Alliance ships. All in all, it just didn't thrill me. It might make a decent convention game -- it has action, a few gunfights, and stirring theme music at the climax -- but for an actual ongoing Star Wars campaign it seems much ado about nothing. No surprises, no compelling NPCs to bring back later as recurring villains or allies, and just not much that makes it worth the effort to read rather than playing the same exact game by "winging" it. Besides which, an underlying premise of Star Wars is that technology is pretty much stagnant and has been for centuries. The backstory of this adventure is inconsistent with that premise.

The last and most interesting adventure, "The Game Chambers of Questal" by Robert Kern, takes place on the world of Questal. The premise is a staple of SF: adapt "The Most Dangerous Game" to an SF setting, and toss in some tentacled monstrosities while you're at it. However, there are enough twists in "The Game Chambers of Questal", and there are enough enduring bits (NPCs and other story elements ) to make the adventure worthwhile beyond the accomplishment of its stated goal. The climax of the adventure, the eponymous Game Chambers, are about what you'd expect, but some effort has been made to make it more than a combat-fest, with hazards and tests and a few puzzles along the way. Overall, a worthwhile use of your precious time and money.

Like all Star Wars supplements, "Star Wars Classic Adventures Volume Five" has plentiful adventure-specific advice for the game moderator on how to deal with characters who do the unexpected, and on how to maintain the mood of the game when things bog down (and how to keep them bogging down in the first place). The settings are thoroughly and colorfully described, with several maps and drawings for each, and most of the NPCs have character illustrations as well. Unlike some Star Wars supplements, two of the adventures are even easily adapted to non-Star Wars SF games, which is always a good thing. While it isn't an exceptional supplement, it is useful, clearly written, and would be adaptable to other games.

Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Star Wars Classic Adventures Volume Five
Author: various Category: game Company/Publisher: West End Games Cost: US$18.00 Page count: 125 pages Playtest Review by Brandon Blackmoor on 07/31/98. Genre tags: none	"Star Wars Classic Adventures Volume Five" is a collection of three previously-published adventures for the Star Wars RPG by West End Games. Two of the stories ("Starfall", "The Game Chambers of Questal") are set in the period between first and third Star Wars movies, but could easily be run either before or after the events of those films. "Strikeforce: Shantipole", the second of the three adventures, depends for its backstory on events which precede the second movie. It could be modified to take place earlier or later, but it would make a bit less sense and would not have the urgency that its backstory provides. The first adventure, "Starfall" by Rob Jenkins and Michael Stern, takes place on a crippled Star Destroyer. The Player Characters begin the game as captives, and must escape the Star Destroyer before it explodes. They also are supposed to discover some secrets along the way, secrets which are supposed to explain the Star Destroyer's current predicament. The adventure is a rather straightforward escape-the-sinking-ship scenario, and despite a few bits that stretch the bounds of credulity (An Imperial naval architect who doesn't know how to use a computer? That's like a plumber who never learned to turn a valve.), it is a well-constructed adventure which flows easily from scene to scene, and the scenes themselves offer a variety of encounters, including vehicle combat, zero-G combat, conniving 'droids, and the various environmental hazards of the crumbling starship itself. It does not present anything stunning or surprising, but it gets the job done and would be appropriate for a one-shot or convention game. It doesn't say so in the write-up, but it would also be a good introductory adventure with which to turn a band of rugged smugglers or outlaws into a team of Rebels. The second adventure, "Strikeforce: Shantipole" by Ken Rolston and Steve Gilbert, takes place in an asteroid field, where the Player Characters are supposed to escort the not-yet-an-Admiral Ackbar's latest project, the B-wing starfighter, back to the Rebel Alliance. There is a space battle or two to deal with (since it has nothing to do with role-playing, it has always baffled me why they stress these things in RPG supplements -- I just glossed over it with a couple of task checks), and then a black-bag mission on an Imperial base to retrieve some stolen Alliance ships. All in all, it just didn't thrill me. It might make a decent convention game -- it has action, a few gunfights, and stirring theme music at the climax -- but for an actual ongoing Star Wars campaign it seems much ado about nothing. No surprises, no compelling NPCs to bring back later as recurring villains or allies, and just not much that makes it worth the effort to read rather than playing the same exact game by "winging" it. Besides which, an underlying premise of Star Wars is that technology is pretty much stagnant and has been for centuries. The backstory of this adventure is inconsistent with that premise. The last and most interesting adventure, "The Game Chambers of Questal" by Robert Kern, takes place on the world of Questal. The premise is a staple of SF: adapt "The Most Dangerous Game" to an SF setting, and toss in some tentacled monstrosities while you're at it. However, there are enough twists in "The Game Chambers of Questal", and there are enough enduring bits (NPCs and other story elements ) to make the adventure worthwhile beyond the accomplishment of its stated goal. The climax of the adventure, the eponymous Game Chambers, are about what you'd expect, but some effort has been made to make it more than a combat-fest, with hazards and tests and a few puzzles along the way. Overall, a worthwhile use of your precious time and money. Like all Star Wars supplements, "Star Wars Classic Adventures Volume Five" has plentiful adventure-specific advice for the game moderator on how to deal with characters who do the unexpected, and on how to maintain the mood of the game when things bog down (and how to keep them bogging down in the first place). The settings are thoroughly and colorfully described, with several maps and drawings for each, and most of the NPCs have character illustrations as well. Unlike some Star Wars supplements, two of the adventures are even easily adapted to non-Star Wars SF games, which is always a good thing. While it isn't an exceptional supplement, it is useful, clearly written, and would be adaptable to other games. Substance: 4 (Meaty)