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The universe is big, really big, mind boggling big and once you wrap your mind around just how big it is, take it and multiply it by three and you have Star War’s Expanded Universe for Saga Edition. For many Sci-Fi genres the setting is the galaxy, but mostly a very finite aspect of the galaxy. Star Wars has the galaxy, all of it, as a setting; to make matters worse it is a fairly well established galaxy, which means that even the unknown parts are known as unknown parts. The galaxy wasn’t even big enough for the setting; they had a race come from another galaxy to create a plot and conflict. Then, just to top it off, take the Star Wars Expanded Universe and allow gamers to play in three distinct points of history of this setting, even more as additional supplements come out. Have I established the enormity of the task that Wizards of the Coast had in writing this compendium? I hope so, and I happy give them credit for finding solutions to grapple with this large task.
The practical solution to this large task was to focus on character archetypes, a generic portrait of professionals and types of people that you will meet in your galactic neighborhood. Instead of listing the traditional “specific creature” with their own unique special abilities, most of the supplement focuses on NPC’s class combinations based on the Saga Edition core book. This works well for the GM, who can quickly grab stats for unexpected scenes, such as; can your scoundrel swipe and extra bacta from his doctor visit while bartering a lower price? Additionally, by keeping to the core book stats many NPCs have familiar, expected talents and feats allowing some predictably by the heroes. Another practical solution to these NPCs is that most are designed from being human (despite the artwork), so species conversion is relatively simple. Furthermore, each NPC archetype follows a traditional formatting; stats followed by a description with a second “encounters with” description. Personally, I do not feel that the “encounters with” was a successful decision in production. Traditionally this would highlight tactics of a specific creature or group pointing out the unique combat abilities. By using archetypes, the specific tactics are loss and many NPCs will probably not be in a combat environment, therefore the “encounters with” section is repetitive with the regular description and has simple common sense worthless to them. After all, do I really need to be told that a pilot NPC fights best by flying a starship?
One of the aspects of the Star Wars franchise that contributes to George Lucas’ genius is that Star Wars has multiple medias in which satisfies the largest range of fans. Although many fans are content with the movies, there are novels, television cartoons, comic books, card games, video games and MMORPGs; each contributing to the Expanded Universe setting. Ironically, it was a table top RPG that laid the foundation for the Expanded Universe. West End games in the beginning had the corner market for developing the setting, second only to Lucas. This was overshadowed eventually by more popular media and West End loss their license. Now, Wizards of the Coast and Saga Edition, a table top RPG, is playing catch up. Saga Edition is not creating the Expanded Universe but rather trying to document and convert the large amount of ideas back into this one medium. It is a marketing nightmare, when you consider the space available, demography, multiple mediums and work involve. Regrettably, the result is that no matter what choices the designers make, some part of the fan base will be disappointed. Disappointing part of your customer base is not an ideal for a business plan.
Although using archetypes is Wizards’ major solution to this challenge, the company could not apply it well to the two other sections of the supplement, creatures and droids. These two parts cover a small cross section from the many of the other Medias, favoring the films. Although it was fun to go through and see what creatures and droids were included, I was not, at first, compelled to read up on any of them beyond just what was listed. Another way that Wizards confronts this problem is by giving examples of archetypes that are specific characters or more specialized classes. Darth Bane & Lumiya stats are listed under Sith Lord archetype, while Bothan spy is listed under spy and twi’lek Saboteur listed under saboteur. Overall I all these solutions work well, although some fans will be wishing for some specific stats, the overall generic practical stats with specific examples stats allow enough templates to quickly make up specific NPCs not listed. I used the Diplomat archetype adding a level of solider to create the Ugnaught King Ozz-talk about finding an obscure character.
My biggest criticism of Threats of the Galaxy is that it lacks the energy and excitability that leads to inspiration. There is nothing presented within the supplement that had me say “that’s cool, I am putting it in my next adventure.” Maybe this is too high of an expectation to place on a “Monster Manual” for something as big as the Star Wars setting. I have given credit that for the designers at Wizards there are major challenges for them in producing this book and they had to make those solutions their top priorities. Plus these solutions worked, but by having them work, the supplement lost that “something new” spark. I get the impression that the designers were aware of this, and did attempt a small solution; by peppering “new” things throughout the book. Several textboxes have new species, equipment, talents, and feats. These were more interesting to read than the archetypes. However, the garnish should not be more exciting than the main course.
My biggest complement of Threats of the Galaxy is that; it is a well crafted necessary tool. By combining the nature of the D20 system with the setting of Star Wars, such a supplement is absolutely necessary for any Gamemaster. Wizards could have easily cut a hundred corners, knowing full well that GMs would have to buy it anyway, even if it met only half of their expectations, but Wizards of the Coast did not. They kept the production quality high, consistent with Saga Edition format, and found practical solutions to make this supplement invaluable to the GM. Although I found Starships of the Galaxy better supplement, I have used Threats of the Galaxy ten times more often, saving me hours of work. Several other Saga Edition supplements end up sitting for days on the bathroom counter, Threats of the Galaxy stays right next to my computer where I have to work.
“Many of the Truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view” Obi-wan Kenobi
The Realist- Those who hunger for realism or those juicy tid-bits that makes one feel more connected within the setting, will be the most disappointed with this supplement. Threats of the Galaxy strives for range not in-depth detail. Although an excellent source for templates, the desire for details could end up with this type of GM over-hauling NPCs and rewrites. However, this supplement could be invaluable if GMing for this type of player, as those unexpected role-playing scenes pop up. A quick solution when the player wants to interact with the bureaucrat who is issuing speeder licenses.
The Competitor- Those who enjoy the good fight or the completely one-sided fight will find Threats of the Galaxy very useful. There is plenty of combatants listed and various CL to soften up, bulk-up, or stand-up to whatever the heroes have. This saves the GM time to spend on really pimping out their own beloved villain who is going to wipe the heroes out at the end anyway. This supplement might not be so valuable for GMs who are playing with a competitor, as they have a way to memorizing stats and assessing situations, you will definitely need to tweak some things as a surprise and throw them off guard. Be prepared for the heroes actions to be based on stat knowledge, like when they notice that the interrogation droid has a better Treat Injury skill than the doctor archetype-“I’m hurt, take me to the interrogation room.”
The Novelist- Those players who focus on the story or all the “what ifs…” might not enjoy Threats of the Galaxy at first, simply because there is no exploration of destinies. However, the archetypes provides a constant to compare too when developing those plotlines of “what ifs.” Everyone knows what to expect from a Medic, what if the heroes have to deal with Trandoshan Medics? The fact that Threats of the Galaxy is a plethora of generic NPCs allows the GM to really explore the novelties that the Expanded Universe has to offer. Unfortunately, this subtle comparison might be lost if you are dealing with this type of player. These players lend themselves to focusing on characters and “bigger picture” which makes Threats of the Galaxy part of a GMs palette in which to paint something.
Final Conclusion
Threats of the Galaxy is an absolutely necessary supplement for any Gamemaster playing the Saga Edition Star Wars. It will be money well spent saving time and work; providing more energy for any GM to focus on more important aspects of their game. Despite the many challenges that Wizards of the Coast faced in designing this supplement they certainly found good solutions and overcame them. This is a noble product, a well crafted tool, which ironically contributes to its only fault; it is about as exciting as a screw-gun. Utterly invaluable for carpenters but not something they display in their living rooms.
Peter A A Murray
