FFG's STAR WARS License Renewed - and Includes Episode 7!

There's not much that has come out of GAMA yet (although I'm sure some stuff will), but word has reached me that Fantasy Flight Games - which produces Edge of the Empire and other Star Wars RPGs - has had its license renewed. Not only that, but the license includes material from Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Edge of the Empire was released in 2012, and has two sequels: Age of Rebellion and Force & Destiny (the beginner game of which is apparently at the printer right now, and the full game expected May-ish).

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[fjw70]

Hopefully they got the pdfs written into the agreement too, but probably not.

 

[TrickyUK]

This is good news. Really like Edge of the Empire, not so interested in Age of Rebellion, but looking forward to Force and Destiny.

 

[Queer Venger]

Awesome, no one does SW like FFG, as a fan of West End SW this is the best iteration of the classic space opera franchise. Congrats to these great folk at FFG!

 

[Henry]

This news has actually surprised me - I would have expected Disney to reevaluate all the Lucasfilm decisions - FFG must be doing pretty darned well, and has shown that the license is in good hands. Congrats to FFG for the good news, and congrats to some really great communities like d20Radio for a very healthy RPG future!

 

[Henry]

Awesome, no one does SW like FFG, as a fan of West End SW this is the best iteration of the classic space opera franchise. Congrats to these great folk at FFG!

I wish I could get into the system, but I tried the story dice mechanic with Warhammer FRP 3, and it left me very cold - I just have a hard time getting into it. But I do know people who are having a lotta fun with it, and I'm glad they're not getting left in the cold. My Saga Edition books ain't going anywhere for me.

 

[Wolfx]

How long was the license renewed for?

 

[jeffh]

The system's all right, but the rulebooks... oh dear. They're bigger than the 5th Edition Player's Handbook for what's at heart a much less "crunchy" system and the main reason is that they never use five words when seventy will do. Things that could be explained in one sentence routinely have a longish paragraph devoted to them, not including examples. Then under the next heading, surprisingly often there's a second paragraph-long explanation of the exact same thing, in words just different enough to confuse the issue. I don't know what their editors are thinking.

 

[Evenglare]

Hopefully this will force them to change their error of the Lightsaber Pike as the shadow guard is no longer canon, and the jedi guardians are.

 

[Jhaelen]

The system's all right, but the rulebooks... oh dear. They're bigger than the 5th Edition Player's Handbook for what's at heart a much less "crunchy" system and the main reason is that they never use five words when seventy will do.

I've initially been put of by the bulk of the rulebooks, as well. However, once I started reading them, it wasn't that bad. I actually like the repetition of some key rules, since it means you're more likely to find the rule when searching for it.

I'm currently reading 'Edge of the Empire' and 'Age of Rebellion' in parallel, comparing them chapter by chapter. I felt it's a bit bold, that they're selling you roughly 60% of the same content three times (if you're including 'Force and Destiny' in the count). However, there's small differences everywhere that remind you which of the books you're currently reading, e.g. for races that are included in both rule books, you get different descriptions, pointing out how they fit into a campaign for EotE or AoR, respectively.

Although I haven't played it yet, I think, I like the custom dice system. It's less complicated than I initially thought, and the books give plenty of good examples on how to interpret the results. The only thing I slightly dislike are the dice themselves: If you're buying a starter set or a dice set, you don't even get enough dice for a single character! That's why I'll be using the dice app, instead.