Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
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5 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
Perhaps the best SW RPG ever made. I own, love and have played WEG 1st for many years. I really liked what WotC did with Saga, even though I found it a bit too complex for my taste and switched to Savage Worlds quickly.The dice take just a few sessions to get used to and the way they enhance the narrative is amazing IMHO. The setting material is high quality, consistent and focused, the rules are clear and mostly intutitive. The production values... It's gorgeous!Fair warning: This book focuses on the "scum of the galaxy"; smugglers, bounty hunters, hired guns etc. If you're looking for Rebel Alliance action or Jedi adventures, check out Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook or Force and Destiny Beta.However, if you're looking for Han Solo, Kyle Katarn (early) kind of adventures, this book is for you.
Perhaps the best SW RPG ever made. I own, love and have played WEG 1st for many years. I really liked what WotC did with Saga, even though I found it a bit too complex for my taste and switched to Savage Worlds quickly.The dice take just a few sessions to get used to and the way they enhance the narrative is amazing IMHO. The setting material is high quality, consistent and focused, the rules are clear and mostly intutitive. The production values... It's gorgeous!Fair warning: This book focuses on the "scum of the galaxy"; smugglers, bounty hunters, hired guns etc. If you're looking for Rebel Alliance action or Jedi adventures, check out Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook or Force and Destiny Beta.However, if you're looking for Han Solo, Kyle Katarn (early) kind of adventures, this book is for you.
Chimpy
First Post
4 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
Played this for over year and on off, and I think the setting, character options & progression, and the layout of the book are great. I quite liked the dice pooling mechanic at first, but after a few games, my group found interpreting the dice pool a bit of a chore. Sometimes a "yes or no" result is all that is required and with the advantage/threat/triumph etc results needing roleplaying for every check it gets hard work. We eventually let the campaign drop off the radar, which is a shame as the books themselves are lovely.
-edit-
Also the vehicle/space combat rules are really confusing and hard to visualise
Played this for over year and on off, and I think the setting, character options & progression, and the layout of the book are great. I quite liked the dice pooling mechanic at first, but after a few games, my group found interpreting the dice pool a bit of a chore. Sometimes a "yes or no" result is all that is required and with the advantage/threat/triumph etc results needing roleplaying for every check it gets hard work. We eventually let the campaign drop off the radar, which is a shame as the books themselves are lovely.
-edit-
Also the vehicle/space combat rules are really confusing and hard to visualise
4 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
A rather good system and it is Star Wars!
-Combats are fast and deadly, which is great.
-In my opinion too much effort is put into character development and improvement through powers (talents) and the like, implying that and PCs end up having too many special abilities, but if u come from D&D that won't be a problem.
-The dice system is nice at the beginning, but one gets tired o interpreting the dice symbol for every roll. Additionally it does not nicely support groups with more than 4 players since the game becomes slow, and way too many symbols are rolled.
-Similarly, it is difficult to play it with advanced characters, since the outcome of every roll will include way too many symbols to interpret and the flow of the game will slow down.
In any case, if you play with small number of players 3-4 and a GM, the game is great.
A rather good system and it is Star Wars!
-Combats are fast and deadly, which is great.
-In my opinion too much effort is put into character development and improvement through powers (talents) and the like, implying that and PCs end up having too many special abilities, but if u come from D&D that won't be a problem.
-The dice system is nice at the beginning, but one gets tired o interpreting the dice symbol for every roll. Additionally it does not nicely support groups with more than 4 players since the game becomes slow, and way too many symbols are rolled.
-Similarly, it is difficult to play it with advanced characters, since the outcome of every roll will include way too many symbols to interpret and the flow of the game will slow down.
In any case, if you play with small number of players 3-4 and a GM, the game is great.
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The_Warlock
Explorer
4 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
It's a fun system, fast, without the problems of excessive power bloat due to ever increasing numbers. It can be rough at first getting used to comparing symbols rather than just doing math, but it works out, giving players and GMs the opportunity to add unique twists to encounters on the fly as success and failure are peppered with the benefits and drawbacks indicated on the dice. This feature is best for groups who like to think on their feat and shoot from the hip. The book is beautiful, but FFG continues to suffer from some odd layout and organization which hampers using it as a resource, as some rules can be really difficult to find without the index.
It's a fun system, fast, without the problems of excessive power bloat due to ever increasing numbers. It can be rough at first getting used to comparing symbols rather than just doing math, but it works out, giving players and GMs the opportunity to add unique twists to encounters on the fly as success and failure are peppered with the benefits and drawbacks indicated on the dice. This feature is best for groups who like to think on their feat and shoot from the hip. The book is beautiful, but FFG continues to suffer from some odd layout and organization which hampers using it as a resource, as some rules can be really difficult to find without the index.
Kannik
Hero
2 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
In a group with several long-time and very crunchy-game experienced players, the system never gelled for us and made the Star Wars-ian action less fun that we thought it ought to be. The dice idea is interesting, especially the advantage/disadvantage axis, however, in practice it led to complex resolution, weird results in combat, and came up too frequently to be narratively interesting or easy to adjudicate in everyday skill situations. Coupled with a very poor book layout with interlocking game rules found scattered throughout, we chose to put this game system aside.
In a group with several long-time and very crunchy-game experienced players, the system never gelled for us and made the Star Wars-ian action less fun that we thought it ought to be. The dice idea is interesting, especially the advantage/disadvantage axis, however, in practice it led to complex resolution, weird results in combat, and came up too frequently to be narratively interesting or easy to adjudicate in everyday skill situations. Coupled with a very poor book layout with interlocking game rules found scattered throughout, we chose to put this game system aside.
bjmorga
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
My group and I thoroughly enjoy this game. While I wouldn't call this a rules-lite game, the mechanics are simple enough to grasp and pick up within a session or two. The game mechanics allow for a more narrative style story. The setting of the story is also great. My group enjoyed being rogues at the edge of civilization, unbound by the restraints of simply being a "good" or "bad" group. The variety in classes and multiclassing options were a nice touch. The skills trees allow for a great degree of character customization. The artwork and layout are both great, the art especially. They could have stocked the books with photos from the various other Star Wars media projects, but FFG did a superb job of getting artists to depict the adventures.
My group and I thoroughly enjoy this game. While I wouldn't call this a rules-lite game, the mechanics are simple enough to grasp and pick up within a session or two. The game mechanics allow for a more narrative style story. The setting of the story is also great. My group enjoyed being rogues at the edge of civilization, unbound by the restraints of simply being a "good" or "bad" group. The variety in classes and multiclassing options were a nice touch. The skills trees allow for a great degree of character customization. The artwork and layout are both great, the art especially. They could have stocked the books with photos from the various other Star Wars media projects, but FFG did a superb job of getting artists to depict the adventures.
Alphastream
Adventurer
3 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
This book has a beautiful artistic quality befitting the rich Star Wars universe, bringing it to life. The rules have many bright points, working to promote flexible characters and interesting results that trigger story. However, we found that the positive-negative die quantification and the process of turning that math into a sudden story-rich result... every time... became cumbersome. Even when the DM used the suggested conversion for benefits and penalties from the die outcomes, we found that the dice slowed down the action and created narratives that were clunky - as if Jar-Jar was intruding in every scene. Despite a lot we liked, we will likely turn to SAGA for our future Star Wars games.
This book has a beautiful artistic quality befitting the rich Star Wars universe, bringing it to life. The rules have many bright points, working to promote flexible characters and interesting results that trigger story. However, we found that the positive-negative die quantification and the process of turning that math into a sudden story-rich result... every time... became cumbersome. Even when the DM used the suggested conversion for benefits and penalties from the die outcomes, we found that the dice slowed down the action and created narratives that were clunky - as if Jar-Jar was intruding in every scene. Despite a lot we liked, we will likely turn to SAGA for our future Star Wars games.
3 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is a game that doesn't know what it wants to be. On one hand it's fairly rules light and on the other it's chart/table heavy. It introduces indy mechanics but then doesn't follow through with implementation, instead rely solely on tables for results. It's an old school game that wants to be indy but doesn't succeed. If the designers went back to the table and redeveloped some of the mechanics, reduced the number of charts, and relied more on narration, I think the game could have been superb. As it is, it doesn't deliver if you're expecting an indy game and as an old school game it just adds unnecessary confusion. Fluff and setting are great (It's Star Wars!) and I like that it places itself outside the big going-ons of the star wars universe. If you're expecting to play a Big Damn Hero, you'll probably be disappointed as the flat math keeps truly epic star wars play out of reach, which is probably fitting for the setting. Overall I'd say the game is okay at capturing the feel of the Star Wars universe, but mechanically would benefit from some good hacks.
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is a game that doesn't know what it wants to be. On one hand it's fairly rules light and on the other it's chart/table heavy. It introduces indy mechanics but then doesn't follow through with implementation, instead rely solely on tables for results. It's an old school game that wants to be indy but doesn't succeed. If the designers went back to the table and redeveloped some of the mechanics, reduced the number of charts, and relied more on narration, I think the game could have been superb. As it is, it doesn't deliver if you're expecting an indy game and as an old school game it just adds unnecessary confusion. Fluff and setting are great (It's Star Wars!) and I like that it places itself outside the big going-ons of the star wars universe. If you're expecting to play a Big Damn Hero, you'll probably be disappointed as the flat math keeps truly epic star wars play out of reach, which is probably fitting for the setting. Overall I'd say the game is okay at capturing the feel of the Star Wars universe, but mechanically would benefit from some good hacks.
Waller
Legend
3 out of 5 rating for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
This book is a pleasure to read or flip through; the art is excellent, and the setting is (of course) resonant and evocative, being Star Wars. The game itself, though, is average at best - it has some experimental dice mechanics similar to those of FFG's WFRP which sound like a good idea at first but are just that bit too cumbersome in play. Plus you have to buy those special dice separately. Lots of style, not so much substance.
This book is a pleasure to read or flip through; the art is excellent, and the setting is (of course) resonant and evocative, being Star Wars. The game itself, though, is average at best - it has some experimental dice mechanics similar to those of FFG's WFRP which sound like a good idea at first but are just that bit too cumbersome in play. Plus you have to buy those special dice separately. Lots of style, not so much substance.
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