IronWolf
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Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
Secrets Of Tatooine is an accessory describing the planet Tatooine, for the Star Wars roleplaying game. It costs $21.95.
Production & Presentation: This is a 96-page softcover accessory. The front cover is average colour artwork. The back cover gives a very brief overview of the accessory against a background of a prisoner being thrown to the Sarlacc. The inside covers are both blank. The first three pages contain credits and contents; the last page is an ad. The layout is standard two columns of clear text bordered by a bland strip on the outer edge of each page. There is some good black & white internal artwork, which I was pleased to see did not use the typical Star Wars style art, along with many stills from the movies, and various maps – the maps of the cities are poor due to lack of detail, though some of the other maps are average.
Whats Inside:
The Introduction (1 page) introduces both the accessory and the desert planet of Tatooine.
Life on Tatooine (11 pages) includes planetary data (climate & geography), surviving Tatooine heat, thirst & weather), natives of Tatooine (Tusken Raiders & Jawas (with details on the giant mobile refineries (sandcrawlers) they travel in), and various creatures of Tatooine (including those seen in the movies, though the Sarlacc is strangely included in the geography section)
Settling Tatooine (7 pages) gives a history of the planet’s settlement, including the creepy B’omarr Monks (who immortalize victims by putting their brains in jars to contemplate the cosmos eternally), the formation of the cities of Tatooine, the arrival and domination of the Hutts (who introduced slavery and podracing), and the following pre-eminence of Jabba.
Cities of Tatooine (39 pages) describes living conditions in the cities (access, commerce, law and order and moisture farms), and Tatooine transportation. It then details Mos Espa in the time of the Old Republic, Mos Eisley during The Rebellion, and Mos Entha in the New Jedi Order era. Each of these sub-sections covers who’s in charge, law and ordinances, and important NPCs (with stats) and locations (with maps). The Mos Espa section concentrates on the rise of Jabba and slaving. The Mos Eisley section concentrates on some religious cults, the cantinas (and the shady characters found within), and crime (and Jabba and his entourage in particular). The Mos Entha section looks at the B’omarr monks and the Yuuzhan Vong, and includes a great story idea about the return of Jabba’s ex-majordomo Bib Fortuna (a revived victim of the B’omarr monks).
Podracing (12 pages) details rules for podracing, including the vehicles, racing, the pilots themselves, and track design for Gamemasters. Stats are included for various podracers, pilots, and an example track (the Boonta Classic, which Anakin Skywalker raced in).
The rest of the module is taken up with the adventure, Between Sand And Sky (for 4 characters of 4th-6th levels), which details how the PCs can get mixed up in an assassination attempt on Jabba by a minor crimelord. The adventure takes place in the Rebellion Era, and includes run-ins with bad weather, Jawas, Tusken Raiders, a rather nasty monster who lurks beneath the sand, and a finale with the crimelord and his lackeys. Information is given for adapting the adventure for less or more players, for differing levels, and for different eras. Various sidebars throughout the adventure advise Gamemasters on tactics for dealing with some likely changes that the players may want to make to the adventure as written.
The final page has a podracing template sheet to keep track of important stats during a race.
The High Points: The accessory contains information on all three eras of Star Wars, both in the sections on Tatooine itself, and the adventure. There are a few interesting ideas for adventures scattered throughout the text. The various plots, counterplots and betrayals within the Tatooine underworld particularly caught my attention in this regard. Certainly, the atmosphere generated in the movies for Tatooine has been faithfully reproduced in this accessory, and the most interesting aspects of the planet have been captured in the adventure. The B’omarr monks are well detailed in this product and several adventures could be developed around these characters.
The Low Points: The maps of the cities were extremely poor – the space could have been used more effectively to detail some of the minor locations within the cities or outside them (a Jawa or Tusken Raider underground oasis perhaps, or the inside of a Jawa sandcrawler?). Also, some of the movie stills could use titles. Not being a Star Wars anorak myself, I wasn’t able to relate some of the stills to the text. Oh, and the price – ouch!
Conclusion: Despite its high price, this is still a better buy than the Naboo sourcebook to my mind. The more entertaining writing, the decent adventure, and the portrayal of the Tatooine underworld earn this a Good rating. If only the maps had been better!
Secrets Of Tatooine is an accessory describing the planet Tatooine, for the Star Wars roleplaying game. It costs $21.95.
Production & Presentation: This is a 96-page softcover accessory. The front cover is average colour artwork. The back cover gives a very brief overview of the accessory against a background of a prisoner being thrown to the Sarlacc. The inside covers are both blank. The first three pages contain credits and contents; the last page is an ad. The layout is standard two columns of clear text bordered by a bland strip on the outer edge of each page. There is some good black & white internal artwork, which I was pleased to see did not use the typical Star Wars style art, along with many stills from the movies, and various maps – the maps of the cities are poor due to lack of detail, though some of the other maps are average.
Whats Inside:
The Introduction (1 page) introduces both the accessory and the desert planet of Tatooine.
Life on Tatooine (11 pages) includes planetary data (climate & geography), surviving Tatooine heat, thirst & weather), natives of Tatooine (Tusken Raiders & Jawas (with details on the giant mobile refineries (sandcrawlers) they travel in), and various creatures of Tatooine (including those seen in the movies, though the Sarlacc is strangely included in the geography section)
Settling Tatooine (7 pages) gives a history of the planet’s settlement, including the creepy B’omarr Monks (who immortalize victims by putting their brains in jars to contemplate the cosmos eternally), the formation of the cities of Tatooine, the arrival and domination of the Hutts (who introduced slavery and podracing), and the following pre-eminence of Jabba.
Cities of Tatooine (39 pages) describes living conditions in the cities (access, commerce, law and order and moisture farms), and Tatooine transportation. It then details Mos Espa in the time of the Old Republic, Mos Eisley during The Rebellion, and Mos Entha in the New Jedi Order era. Each of these sub-sections covers who’s in charge, law and ordinances, and important NPCs (with stats) and locations (with maps). The Mos Espa section concentrates on the rise of Jabba and slaving. The Mos Eisley section concentrates on some religious cults, the cantinas (and the shady characters found within), and crime (and Jabba and his entourage in particular). The Mos Entha section looks at the B’omarr monks and the Yuuzhan Vong, and includes a great story idea about the return of Jabba’s ex-majordomo Bib Fortuna (a revived victim of the B’omarr monks).
Podracing (12 pages) details rules for podracing, including the vehicles, racing, the pilots themselves, and track design for Gamemasters. Stats are included for various podracers, pilots, and an example track (the Boonta Classic, which Anakin Skywalker raced in).
The rest of the module is taken up with the adventure, Between Sand And Sky (for 4 characters of 4th-6th levels), which details how the PCs can get mixed up in an assassination attempt on Jabba by a minor crimelord. The adventure takes place in the Rebellion Era, and includes run-ins with bad weather, Jawas, Tusken Raiders, a rather nasty monster who lurks beneath the sand, and a finale with the crimelord and his lackeys. Information is given for adapting the adventure for less or more players, for differing levels, and for different eras. Various sidebars throughout the adventure advise Gamemasters on tactics for dealing with some likely changes that the players may want to make to the adventure as written.
The final page has a podracing template sheet to keep track of important stats during a race.
The High Points: The accessory contains information on all three eras of Star Wars, both in the sections on Tatooine itself, and the adventure. There are a few interesting ideas for adventures scattered throughout the text. The various plots, counterplots and betrayals within the Tatooine underworld particularly caught my attention in this regard. Certainly, the atmosphere generated in the movies for Tatooine has been faithfully reproduced in this accessory, and the most interesting aspects of the planet have been captured in the adventure. The B’omarr monks are well detailed in this product and several adventures could be developed around these characters.
The Low Points: The maps of the cities were extremely poor – the space could have been used more effectively to detail some of the minor locations within the cities or outside them (a Jawa or Tusken Raider underground oasis perhaps, or the inside of a Jawa sandcrawler?). Also, some of the movie stills could use titles. Not being a Star Wars anorak myself, I wasn’t able to relate some of the stills to the text. Oh, and the price – ouch!
Conclusion: Despite its high price, this is still a better buy than the Naboo sourcebook to my mind. The more entertaining writing, the decent adventure, and the portrayal of the Tatooine underworld earn this a Good rating. If only the maps had been better!
