Star Wars: Invasion of Theed Adventure Game

[IronWolf]

Every generation has a legend… Every journey has a first step… Every saga has a beginning…
Slice and dice battle droids with glowing lightsabers! Blast alien pirates and destroyer droids to save Naboo! Battle forces of darkness with courage, diplomacy, and a team of brave companions at your side.

You control the action. Your create the story. You use your imagination to explore a galaxy far, far away. You take on the role of a powerful Jedi Knight, brave soldier, sly scoundrel, or daring scout. You become the Gamemaster, making the adventures come alive!

Now you can create your own adventures in the Star Wars universe with this complete adventure game. Inside this box you'll find everything you need to start playing now, including a rule book, an adventure book, a giant map, game tokens, eight hero folders and dice, plus an exclusive Hasbro action figure.

 

[billd91]

I am really surprised nobody has reviewed this before. Two and a half years out on the shelves and no review? OK then, I'll review it.

Invasion of Theed is, foremost, an introductory adventure to the Star Wars d20 RPG. The first time I played any of it, it was being used as a demo at the WotC booth at Gen Con in Milwaukee a couple years ago. Then, my daughter, a big Star Wars fan since the age of 2, won it in the prize spin. I think she mostly wanted the Chewbacca figure that comes in the box (hey, she was 4 at the time, I can live with that).

On to the material of the game: It comes with a couple of short folios, a map, and some counters. The folios include pregenerated characters written up in a very simple style and nicely laid out. It was perfect for the demos WotC ran at the Con. The adventure folio has a few very simple scenarios that players can try out to get a sense of the mechanics that go into the RPG. The map and counters are nicely rendered with plenty of color. And, of course, it comes with a cool Chewbacca action figure. I'm not really sure why since he's from the first trilogy and Theed deals with the prequels. I suspect cool factor had a part to play.

As far as the content of the scenarios, they all center around events that happen in Theed on Naboo when the Trade Federation invades. Characters can fight droids, rescue captured Naboonese bigwigs, and even get captured themselves (require a breakout). The scenarios are simple and not very satisfying for veteran gamers, though veterans could use them as a launching pad for further campaigning.

The main point of Invasion of Theed is as an introduction for new gamers/new Star Wars gamers and for young kids. As such, it's actually quite a nice package. It would make a good introduction to elementary school kids interested in playing some basic RPGs. The information is presented in easy to understand formats and with plenty of guidance for GMs who have never run a game before. On that level, I think the product succeeds. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for any family whose kids are curious about the hobby, especially since younger kids are probably more familar with Star Wars than they are with swords and sorcery fantasy.