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The reason this campaign guide works well is that the greatest amount of change is in the setting not rule mechanics. Wizards of the Coast does add onto many of the existing mechanics from Saga Edition, such as Class Talents, Feats, Force Powers, Prestige Classes, and equipment. There are a couple of new mechanics but they are not as big as the “Maneuvers’” mechanic in “Starships of the Galaxy.” So there is plenty of extra crunch for players but nothing that would change a character or the game drastically. Additionally, these add-ons embellish the purpose of the campaign. Wizards focuses on changing the setting from the highly restrictive background of the movies to a more open “gamer friendly” background that still keeps the elements of Star Wars without looking contrive. True, Bioware & Obsidian laid much of the settings groundwork for this, but Wizards takes that background into areas that benefit the gamer.
The Soft Chew-digesting the setting. Knights of the Old Republic’s galaxy is not as connected as in Saga Edition and much more fragmented. Most of it is charted, but not revisited. So there are thousands of backwater planets lurking out there with surprises. After all, the Great Sith War comes out of the forgotten planet of Empress Teta in the Deep Core and spreads outwards. It’s like the thirteenth century, the time of Marco Polo, where the world is mostly inhabited by developed cultures but they don’t really know that much about each other. There is only a little centralization. This opens up the imagination of any GM without having to fit in any preconceived concept. The galaxy has room for all ideas.
Which brings in the Republic, a thinly woven web of “civilization” that is under consent siege. The Republic’s goal is peace and unity, a sense of centralization, throughout the galaxy. Unfortunately, the Republic is young and over extended. A group of pirates can easily knock out an inter-connected thread leaving whole sectors isolated from the galaxy. Although the Republic throws most of their resources into the navy, they still grant extensive powers to corporations to cover systems that they cannot attend to. Although they have a standing army, it is disorganized and looks more often to the Navy for leadership and command than the senate. This provides a group of PCs to take the initiative in helping the republic with little risk to repercussion of failure with a larger payoff to success. The Sith are everywhere, either they are the boogeyman hiding under every rock or a large force trying to become an empire. This gives a never ending amount of force using opponents for GMs to throw at their players. Unlike Saga Edition the rule of two does not apply, the Sith philosophies of “Might makes right” and “survival of the strongest” is applied to society as a whole. So there is an even larger amount of non-force using Sith to fight. The great thing about the Sith in this setting is that they can play a wide range of evil roles, easily fitting into any GM concept.
The Jedi are just as plentiful as the Sith. There is no need to explain how you survived order 66; or how you were trained at Yavin. The Jedi Council does not have a lot of authority and are not in command as they will be during the Clone Wars. The Jedi Council cannot keep half of the Jedi from joining Revan and protecting the Republic from the Mandalorians. That’s right, the Council wants to be left out of the Republic’s war. This is a very different Council, one that does not have the resources to have control. Many Jedi Knights wander serving good as they deem fit. Additionally, Coruscant is not the sole Jedi Academy there are several semi-independent schools, even a lone Jedi Master can train a Padwan by their own choice. Therefore there are many different interpretations to the Jedi Code and styles on using the force. Of all the eras to play Star Wars, this is the easiest to explain a group of PC Jedi going out and doing their own thing.
The Mandalorians offer an alternative to Force Users for GM and somewhat for the PC. They are divided into two types that coexist; the Crusader, the much more independent and traditional Mandalorian, similar to the Fetts; and the Neo-Crusader, who is more of a military unit, but follows the tradition with a more command structure. Within the setting, the Mandalorians seem to be the odd man out, although Wizards develop their background, they rest within the setting as the loser or the beaten foes. Ironically, they are the instigators of the mega-plot developed by Bioware and Obsidian, but fall into the background by the conflict between the Jedi and the Sith.
Which brings on the final point of the setting; the Mega-Plot. Wizards explains the Mega-Plot of Revan and the Exile quite well, however they really focus more on the setting. There is no advice on how to incorporate game play with these storylines; although stats and descriptions are provided of the characters. Instead they suggest breaking the campaign into smaller “eras” where various aspects are more highlighted. If you want inter-Jedi conflict without the Sith start during the Mandalorian wars, if you want Sith and inter-Jedi conflict start after the Jedi civil war. Ironically, these suggestions lead to “story arcs” rather than full campaigns. The advantage is that a GM can easily bypass the Mega-Plot and create their own epic story, because the galaxy is not centralized. Saving the galaxy can be just about saving your part of the galaxy without anyone else knowing it.
The Crunchy Bits-digesting the mechanics New Species-There is an excellent representation of species from the Knights of the Old Republic. Fans of comics will be pleased to know that there are less species portrayed from the video games than from the comics. The Snivvian are the only species that appear in the films. The abilities stats are the standard format that Wizards feels creates balance. Fortunately, there is a fair amount of variety in the species special abilities, true some could be consider somewhat unbalance; yet, it is consistent to the Expanded Universe.
Character Classes- There is several new Talents for all the classes. The Jedi by far gains a wider range of “stuff” but that includes Force Powers. The Noble has much more combat benefits, the ability to use charisma bonus instead of strength in melee is a very powerful talent. The Scoundrel is developed around Attacks of Opportunity, including things that happen to allies rather than just themselves. Scouts gain a few combat benefits but focus on their piloting abilities, these seem more tactical embellishments for role-playing rather than hardcore combat. Surprisingly the soldier has the least amount of talents mostly orientated to jet-packs.
Prestige Classes- Several of the prestige classes outlined in Saga Edition gain additional talents; of course the Force Users have a bit of a monopoly-Jedi Knights, Force Adepts, and Sith all get expanded cover. Elite trooper receives Mandalorian talent tree which is a mishmash of benefits, while the Gunslinger gains a mobility talent. That’s it, sorry Crime Lord and Officer you’re stuck with Saga Edition.
New Prestige Classes- At first glance the three new Prestige Classes seem to fit the knights of the Republic; however, in closer inspection they are more like D&D than Star Wars. The Gladiator fits with the arena scenes from the video games, but “proficient with all exotic weapons” talent is something printed right out of 3rd Edition. He has bonus to defenses to appear unflinching is something interesting. The concept of the Melee Duelist is just downright munchkin, although their mobility special ability is useful. The Corporate Agent seems to reflect the setting; until you realize that their special ability of granting +2 to attacks or defense is the same as the “Aid or Bless” spell. Now throw in the talent not be hit by a specific opponent, and the “Sanctuary” spell is covered. Then to top it off, they have the talent to have opponents not attack, possibly run away or, if the roll is really good, TURN against their allies-is a corporate insignia the same thing as a holy symbol? Although these Prestige Classes fit into Wizards overall goal of the supplement and many players will use them; I was most disappointed with this section because the mechanics and concept was just too D&D.
Skills and Feats-I don’t think we are going to see new skills for Saga Edition, but within these limited four paragraphs on skills we are introduced to new tasks covered by skills. Just in case the GM could not figure it out. As for Feats, there are 21 added, seven are directly directed at the setting, the rest are just more feats to create variety, maybe they could not get into Saga Edition. The “Military training” Feats for specific groups (which I considered a part of the setting, not the 14 random Feats mention above) are a clever feature and give both flavor and predictability to cannon fodder. Let’s face it; Stormtroopers are turning into a bland generic shadow of Lucas’ concept. If you are dealing with Sith, Mandalorians, or the Republic you know what special knacks each will have. One new mechanic, which was novel, was the benefits of combining Feats. If you have Dodge and Running Attack Feats, you have the potential of an additional minor benefit by combining them. These new benefits are not something to base your character goals on, but add a nice crunchy tid bit if you remember to use them at the right time, of course more are expected with additional supplements.
Equipment- Of all the sections of this campaign guide, this reflects the video games the most. You have Cryoban grenades, energy shields, implants, and much much more. The great part of this section is the wide variety of upgrades to weapons and armor. There are stats for lightsaber crystals. Gear templates based on manufactures, armor from Arkanian is slightly different than Echani armor. All the templates do is take normal equipment increase its cost and gain the benefit. I think it is an easy and efficient way to bring variety to equipment without having volumes of writing.
The Force-“The force is expanded in Knights of the Old Republic “is really an understatement to describe what Wizards does in this campaign guide. There are ten more Force Powers, five more other force-using traditions, ten more Force Techniques and all the talent trees from Saga Edition are added too. Overall they all fit into the setting well and provides a lot of options for Jedi. There is nothing that will really rock-the-boat between players or undermine game balance, other than the quantity of information. Also, there are no new rules for Jedi; this is all stuff that expands the mechanics in Saga Edition which keeps things focused on the PCs and the story.
Everything else- Of course there is a large amount of other stuff. Wizards puts in an exceptional amount game detail into Ships, troops, droids and planets. The additional speeders bikes, speeders, and air speeders are needed when compared to what is in Saga Edition. Another interesting thing is the description of the planet systems from Saga Edition. Overall, there is plenty of information for a GM to quickly setup a story.
“Many of the Truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view” Obi-wan Kenobi
The realist- Although Lucas strives for realistic visual effects in the Star Wars movies, the stories themselves are epic and mythical. I think Saga Edition, by design; moves away from those players who want really immerse themselves into the setting and character. Without heavy rule mechanics to promote realism, these players have the only the mega-plot to get their fix. Knights of the Old Republic moves away from that mega-plot, so there is nothing left for these players to “get into.” Essentially, the GMs out there who would want storylines that describe “what would really happen” will fine this Campaign Guide a nice outline, but still a great deal of work ahead of them. As for the PCs, they might have fun playing; but will not find anything to encourage them more than what was already in Saga Edition.
The Competitor- This Campaign Guide is focused on the competitor. Everyone grab a lightsaber, crunch out your best Jedi character, and see who kicks the most butts. No longer are you frustrated with the limited and untouchable Sith Lords because of the Mega-plot; here there are enough Sith to go around, take on, and take down. Furthermore, the expanded combat can keep you crunching for days, just remember, there is always a bigger fish.
The Novelist- Wizards actually address themes within this Guide! Additionally they provide suggestions on how to use each group based on what you want from your story. Those players whom are attracted to story elements will enjoy Knights of the Old Republic. Ironically, there is no development with Destiny. Yet, by moving away from the Mega-plot of the three “eras of play” these types of players can have their Destiny evolve instead of being wedged into something overly matured. This evolution is generally preferred by the Novelist. Both GMs and PCs of this style of play will find this supplement refreshing with their freedom.
Final Conclusion
Wizards of the Coast reaches out to their base with Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide. By creating a Star Wars setting that is flexible with playing styles; but open up the galaxy to a more traditional gaming style of D&D. Although an ambitious GM can create a galaxy saving story; Knights of the Old Republic caters to those old dogs who cannot learn any new tricks other than “Kill the Sith and take their stuff.”
5 Content- Wizards covers almost as much information as in the Saga Edition core book.
3 Style- The Saga Edition branding has set high standards for all their supplements. The artwork is not as impressive in this guide as in other Saga Edition supplements.
Peter A. A. Murray
