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When I heard that Wizards were releasing a new version of the D20 rules, but this time with extensive modifications, I was initially sceptical but as details began to emerge I began to realise that they might have actually got it right this time.
And so, here it is, the book is sitting on my desk right now and initially it looks excellent, and I feel the need to go and round people up to play right away. For the purposes of this review I'll go through chapter by chapter and look at some of the changes that have been made and how they look on paper.
First Impressions The book itself looks really nice, 9x9 and black, with Darth himself gracing the front cover. On the back you have the intro blurb along with images of some of the other main characters from the films. Whilst the format isn't traditional and it sure doesn't fit with the other books on my shelf, I like it, it's easy to pick up and read and it certainly has a distinctive look.
Introduction After the Foreword by Christopher Perkins, one of the game designers, we plunge straight into the standard introductory chapter, which runs through the traditional "what is a roleplaying game" before quickly describing some of the key concepts of the game. The artwork in this section is very nice, beginning with the start of the chapter where you see some movie stills of Luke, Darth and Obi Wan, amongst other things. A good starting point for new players, it doesn't swamp you with information but still presents a chapter worth reading, even for grizzled veterans.
Chapter 1 - Abilities A short chapter, which simply details how each of the 6 abilities works. If you know D&D, then you'll be fine here. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma are the core stats. Force-using characters should note that Wisdom and Charisma are the key stats here, as they directly affect the number of Force powers you know, along with your Use the Force skill check, but more on that later. There is a separate box which details how Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma relate to each other, which is nice, as it then gives examples of how characters with certain combinations of ability scores can play out in game. Worth noting is the fact that ability increases occur every 4th level, and you can increase 2 stats each time, which really gives you the sense that Star Wars characters are way more heroic than your average Joe.
Chapter 2 - Species Very similar to the Revised Core Rules (RCR for short), even down to the recycled artwork in some cases (a common theme for this book sadly). As well as Humans, you can play many of the more popular races from the movies, including Wookies, Twi'lek and Rodians. Sadly they also allow you to be Ewoks and Gungans, but no-one's perfect! Each race comes with certain modifiers to their basic stats, and the occasional bonus ability, such as a Twi'lek's ability to Deceive others, and a Gungan's ability to swim. There is a side box about using various species in the core timelines (Rise of the Empire, Rebellion and New Jedi Order Eras) which is a nice touch.
Chapter 3 - Heroic Classes This is where the major changes start to happen, and for the better in my opinion. Gone are several of the previous classes from the RCR, and in place of them you have 5 core classes. These are Jedi, Nobles, Scoundrels, Scouts and Soldiers. Each class gives you a starting bonus to some or all of your defences (Reflex, Fortitude and Will) as well as a Base Attack Bonus at each level. You add half your level to any damage rolls you make, which is a good idea as it represents every class getting better at dishing out the hurt as they get better, even if they aren't a combat character. Starting characters get a reasonable number of hit points at startup, at least 18 plus any bonuses from a high Constitution. This prevents starting characters from dying to single blaster shots (well, most of the time!) as well as rogue housecats et al! This increases by a dice+Con at each level (between D6 and D10 depending on the class).
Jedi characters have good hit dice and Base Attack bonuses, plus the ability to Use the Force and Lightsabers. A 1st level Jedi is equivalent to a Padawan learner, but already has some good abilities from the word go, unlike both the D6 and D20 versions that have come before, which both displayed real problems with handling low-level Force-users. Every character gets access to Talents as they progress (awarded at odd-numbered levels) and a Jedi can choose to take Talents from the Consular, Guardian, Sentinel or Lightsaber Combat Talent Trees, very much like the Knights of the Old Republic video games. This is an excellent addition and I had a lot of fun looking over all the new abilities and seeing how they gave the Jedi a great new look and feel. When you get to Level 7, you can build your own Lightsaber and as a result can qualify for the Jedi Knight Prestige Class.
Nobles are one of the weaker characters physically, but their Talents are wide ranging and can be used to affect either the enemy or your own side to hinder and help respectively, alternatively you can use your status to garner money, favours and training to help you on your way. No group should be without a Noble for sure.
Scoundrels.....erm......the Hans Solo class, need I say more? Oh, alright then, whether you want to simply be the luckiest guy alive, the sneakiest person around, hacker extraordinaire or an ace starship jockey, the Scoundrel is for you. You'll find Sneak Attack popping up here, along with Gambler and Slicing. The sidebar here gives you rules for gambling. Another class I'm sure people will love to play, there's a lot here to interest anyone.
Scouts incorporate aspects of the old Fringer class from the RCR, along with a bundle of Talents to help you get around in unfamiliar territory. Scouts tend to see further, react quicker and shoot straighter than most. They also get the "Shake it Off" Feat at startup, so make sure they have Con 13 and the Endurance Skill to take advantage, it's a nice thing to have straight out.
Finally, you get the Soldier, but no longer is he just the grunt class who just gets loads of Feats, now you can build any sort of combatant you fancy, from a footslogger to a pilot, a martial artist to an armoured bounty hunter. They get access to most of the Feats available for them to choose as level bonuses. With Talent Trees covering Armoured Combat, Brawling, Commando and Weapon Specialist (both Ranged and Melee) there is a lot of variety here.
The chapter ends with a quick summary of how to multiclass, which is really easy to be honest, and it is a really good option, especially if you want to get hold of Class Skills from other classes.
Again the artwork is recycled, but it looks perfectly fine in this chapter.
Chapter 4 - Skills Each character gets a number of Trained Skills, which is based on your Class plus your Int modifier. Jedi get fewer skills, Nobles get the most. Each Class has a list of Class Skills which you can select from when you are picking your Trained Skills. Again Jedi get the fewest choices, the other classes get much more choice.
Skills have been greatly simplified from the RCR. Now there is a shorter list of skills to pick from. Rather than having Ranks in a skill, your final total comes from half your character level, plus the modifier from the ability linked to your skill, plus a +5 bonus if you are trained, and a +5 bonus if you boost the skill with the Skill Focus Feat. So a 4th level character with Dex 12 (+1) who is trained in Acrobatics would roll the following:
D20 + 2 (Level Bonus) + 1 (Dex Bonus) + 5 (Trained)
It's really simple to do this once you've got your character sheet up and running, and it's far less fiddily than the standard D20 method of doing things. Most skills can be used untrained in certain ways, so a Star Wars character is going to be able to make a reasonable fist of doing most things, which is nice, very much like the old D6 system, which gave a character a chance to succeed, even if they lacked the ability of a well-trained character.
Use the Force should come in for a special mention here. It is the only indication of how you go about....well, using the Force! You get a range of basic abilities to start you off, such Telepathy, Move Object and so on, so even budding Jedi have a range of useful things they can do. Again, it's a really nice way of representing the Force and when you consider that all rolls to use the Force come from this skill, it's a lovely slick mechanic. Thumbs up Wizards!
Chapter 5 - Feats This should be a little more familiar to D20 fans and owners of the RCR. Note should be made of the new Feats like Extra Second Wind, Improved Damage Threshold and Strong in the Force, which assist you when using some of the revised mechanics found throughout the book. Characters get a Feat at 1st Level and thereafter at 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 18th levels. Your chosen class will also give you bonus Feats from a cut-down list, so you will have the chance to buy lots of Feats for your character as you go on. You can buy Feats to give you more Trained Skills and Skill Focus bonuses, which can give you a +10 bonus when combined on any given skill, handy if you have characters who really go in for a few chosen skills.
Taking Force Training when you are a Jedi gives you access to more Force Powers, and there are several Feats which allow you to tailor exactly what sort of connection your character has with the Force.
There is also a summary of all of the Feats for ease of reference, making this a good chapter, I even think a piece of artwork used here may be new!
Chapter 6 - The Force This chapter begins with a quick descriptor of what the Force is, before plunging into how you use it in your games. The Force is represented in game by Force Points, which every character gets. You gain a certain number of points each level, based on your Class, and any unspent points are lost when you level up, thus avoiding issues caused by players hording points. They're there to be spent, so be heroic and go spend them!
Force Points can either give you extra dice to add to a roll, or they can be used to activate Force Abilities if you're a Force-user. You can also use Force Points to save yourself from dying, instead simply falling unconscious.
There then follows a quick look at the Dark Side, how to fall and how to atone, this should be familiar to anyone who has read any previous versions of the RPG, or indeed if you've seen the films ^_^
You then get a list of Force Powers, each of which can only be used once per encounter, unless you spend a round recovering a spent power, or you use a Force Point to get a power back. If you roll a natural 20 when using a power you regain all of your spent powers, the Force is truly with you!
Light Side and Dark Side powers have special restrictions affecting their usage, again something that Knights of the Old Republic made use of to good effect. The list of powers is quite small, but replicates pretty much everything you see in the films, rather than reading like a D&D Spell list. Control, Sense and Alter make their way in at this point, represented by Talent Trees which boost the Force-user in various ways depending which path you pick. There is also a Dark Side Talent Tree for all of you evil-doers out there. This gives you quick and easy power, but as always, it comes with a price, namely the liklihood that your character will be heading for NPCdom sooner rather than later!
Force Techniques come next and are acquired when characters become more experienced, allowing for improved Force Abilities, either speeding up or amplifying effects. Force Secrets are high level techniques akin to Metamagic Feats from D&D, so you'll see fixed damage boosts, faster power usage and the like. That's what you get for being a Jedi Master!
Finally you get a couple of other Force-using Traditions, such as the Witches of Dathomir, I'm guessing more will follow if the range is expanded, but creating you own Talent Trees should be pretty easy.
Chapter 7 - Heroic Traits A short chapter, designed to help you flesh out your character. You get some modifiers for older or younger characters, but you also get the chance to grab yourself a Destiny. Having a Destiny gives you access to Destiny Points, which have a variety of powerful benefits. You must try to fulfil your Destiny, gaining bonuses if you work towards it but taking penalties if you are diverted from your course. As a tool to encourage players to think big about their characters, it's great, and I'd push at least one or two characters to take a Destiny, it's like generating plot for free!
Chapter 8 - Equipment Does exactly what it says on the tin. The main point to note here is that Armour gives you bonuses to your Reflex Defence, but can also improve your Fortitude Defence, making your damage threshold higher. Armour is good at lower levels, but the higher you get, taking your class bonus to your Defences starts to make more sense. It is however now worth it, unlike previous editions, although it certainly isn't a magic bullet.
The rest of the chapter serves up standard fare like blaster, Lightsabers and the like. The old Arms and Equipment Guide would probably still fit in here with little adaptation required.
Chapter 9 - Combat Ah, the crunchy bit! The combat rules are one of the areas that really needed work and I think that Wizards are on the right track here, I haven't tested the rules as yet buy early signs look good.
Initiative is now a skill and Initiative Order determines who acts first in combat. Surprised characters will be Flat-footed and will be easier to hit. Everyone gets 3 types of action they can do in their turn, a Standard Action, a Move Action and a Swift Action. You can trade the Standard Action in for either of the other two, and a Move Action can become a Swift Action. If you need to, you can use all three to take a Full Round Action for more complex actions.
Attack rolls are standard actions, and as is usually the case with D20, you roll D20 plus your Base Attack Bonus plus any Ability Bonuses, Strength for close combat and Dexterity for ranged combat. If you equal or beat the Reflex Defence of your target, you hit them. Natural 20s do double damage, natural 1s simply miss.
The three types of Defence are then explained in detail, again this should be pretty standard for D20 regulars, then main difference being Reflex Defence replacing AC as the target for people to hit you.
Hit Points are now a single value, replacing Vitality and Wound points from the RCR. When you lose them all, you fall unconscious, unless you took damage equal or greater to your Damage Threshold, in which case you are dead, dead, dead! Don't forget those Force Points now! Your Damage Threshold is equal to your Fortitude Defence plus any modifiers for size or the like.
The next major change is the Condition Track. By taking various types of physical and mental damage you can become gradually less effective before slipping out of the fight. Every time you take an attack which exceeds your relevant Defence, you slide down the condition track. Spending actions or using some Talents and Force powers can get you back up the track. This is a really nice feature because your Condition may not necessarily relate to how many Hit points you have left, which means that there is far more that can happen to your character without him simply losing all his Hit points and passing out or dying as a result.
The rest of the chapter is fundamentally similar to D&D and the old RCR. Attacks of Opportunity, Flanking, Damage Reduction and the like all appear. Stun Weapons and Ion Weapons now have well crafted rules, making them viable to use in combat in conjunction with the new Condition Track.
All in all, a real boost, I can't wait to try this stuff out. Note that a lot of the fun stuff isn't actually contained in this chapter, you'll find a lot of the modifications nestling in other chapters, such as being able to parry Blaster Bolts with your Lightsaber. Definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
Chapter 10 - Vehicles Having never done much vehicle combat in D20, it remains to be seen how these rules will work in practice. However, they have been streamlined to bring them into line with the combat rules in the previous chapter, and the whole things looks to be simple and well thought out, with a basic set of actions that characters can take in vehicle combat, to accommodate people using shields, firing guns, dogfighting etc. This is great news for people who were bored during space combat, having nothing to do whilst your pilot flew and the gunner shot. Now you can assist with boosting the shields, rerouting power to recover up the condition track and the like, which should help give everyone something to do.
Stats are given for the old favourites, such as TIEs and X-Wings, along with the YT-1300. Missing are such things as B-Wings, A-Wings, Z-95 Headhunters and any other type of Space Transport beyond the YT-1300. I sense an expansion in the Force!
Chapter 11 - Droids Having never played a Droid as a PC, nor seen one in action as a PC, this is a welcome chapter, as it allows Droids to be created as PCs or supporting cast, picking from a variety of parts in a clean, modular construction method.
Roll for your stats as normal, then adjust these scores for Chassis Size. Pick a method of Locomotion, what your Appendages are, what type of Processor you have and any Accessories you may have acquired. Nice and easy! The chapter finishes with a smattering of sample Droids, including R2 Astromechs and 3PO Protocol Droids. Good stuff!
Chapter 12 - Prestige Classes Similar in construction to the Core Classes, these special classes require certain Feats, Talents and the like to qualify to take levels in them. You get the Ace Pilot, Bounty Hunter, Crime Lord, Elite Trooper, Force Adept, Force Disciple, Gunslinger, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, Officer, Sith Apprentice and Sith Lord.
Some of the stuff you get in here is really sweet, especially being able to select what Lightsaber Combat form you use when you get to being a Jedi Knight. Some of the classes come with their own Talent Trees, the Jedi Knight and Sith Apprentice Trees being exceptionally nice. Using material from this chapter really allows you to flavour your Force-user to taste. With the added classes shown, you could have a good stab at making any character from the films without too much trouble.
Chapter 13 - Galactic Gazetteer Moving quickly on (anyone still with me?) we get to the chapter covering basic details about some of the locations from the films including Tatooine and some locations from the Expanded Universe, mainly home planets for the races detailed earlier in the book. If you have any of the Galaxy Guides from the D6 game or the two RCR books with planetary information, just use those as reference. There are basic details the GM can give to players if they pass a Galactic Lore test at a variety of difficulties, but there is little information there to give. This chapter should definitely be backed up with further info from older books or the Internet.
Chapter 14 - Gamesmastering This is a reasonably long chapter detailing some of the basics of running the game, along with tips on making the game feel like Star Wars, and how to keep things fast and exciting. It's pretty standard stuff, repeated in previous material. Having all the RCR books, I saw a lot that was very similar to those books and they haven't fixed what wasn't broken from then. The chapter ends with various nasty ways to die, including being irradiated, drowning and being set on fire, always handy for dealing with your players if they get uppity! (my GM had me swallowed by a giant space worm, but I digress!)
Chapter 15 - Eras of play With a couple of chunky sections of text about each of the three main eras to set a Star Wars game around the time of the movies, the chapter then gives us stats for some of the main characters from the films. We get Darth as at EpIV, Obi-Wan and Padme at EpIII, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Lando, RD-D2 and C3PO from EpVI. You also get Yoda and Palpatine from EpIII, Boba Fett from EpIV and General Grievous. Alec Guiness is noticeable by his absence, along with any version of pre-Vader Anakin. No Qui-Gon or Darth Maul, and no Count Dooku. Again I sense a supplement! A little light on characters here, but if you can't wait for the book with the rest of the character stats, those presented here give you a good starting point to work from to build your own.
As in previous editions of the D20 rules, the characters don't go above Level 20, which is annoying. I was converting an old character of mine to the new system from D6, and there were many things I couldn't take because I had to hold her at Level 16, because Vader was sitting there at Level 19, and with her stats at D6, Vader would smash her in seconds. Epic rules would have been appreciated here, in some way, shape or form, 20 levels feels a little constraining, but that's just my own personal preference, I do play a lot of Epic D&D so you could argue I'm a bit of a loony anyway, so as always YMMV here!
Chapter 16 - Allies and Opponents You get stats for Storm Troopers, nuff said really, the Yuuzhan Vong squeak in here, but not enough to spoil the book ^_^ (what!?)
Extras You get a 1 page Index, which helpfully differentiates between Talents and everything else, and a 2 page character sheet, which is nice and compact. It's available on the Wizards website and my Level 16 Jedi fit happily onto it, so no problem there.
Phew! Nearly done, hopefully that's given you all some idea of what the new book offers. I was very impressed when I looked at it, and I still need to read some of the chapters in more detail to see how much stuff they've managed to cram in. The text is small and there's a lot of info here. Character generation is nice and quick, most of the in-game processes have been streamlined and the game has been altered to facilitate cinematic play. Stuff like Second Wind, which you can invoke to get some Hit Points back to keep you in the fight, evokes the feel of the films better than any previous attempt.
Basically SAGA Edition blows the RCR into the weeds and I really think that it will usurp the old D6 rules as my favourite set of rules for playing Star Wars, although the proof will be in the Playtest! It loses one Style Point for some slightly wonky printing of parts of the text in my copy, along with the reused artwork. They also make the mistake of combining movie stills with conventional artwork in the chapter opening pages, which jars somewhat. Minor quibbles, but worth noting.
The content however is excellent, credit to Wizards for having a go at revamping the system, it has paid off and I hope the game line continues.
