Star Wars must buys?

[reverendkeith]

Thanks to Knights of the Old Republic, it looks like I might be able to get my players to actually play a Star Wars RPG campaign. I'm interested in setting a game in a similar "before the prequels" setting, where I have free reign to make up whatever I want... but still have all the Star Wars trappings about to keep the flavor of the game.

I'm looking at picking up a few more books to my collection, but I'm not made of cash, nor know what my upcoming campaign will even involve. The only books I own are the core rulebook (revised) and the Starships of the Galaxy (which I think is pre-revised).

So, I am turning to everyone here for advice. Does this list (starting with most desirable to least) sound reasponable?


* The Hero's Guide seems like the next "must purchase", since it's chock full of crunchy stuff.

* The Ultimate Adversaries sounds like an updated version of Ultimate Alien Anthology (I'm guessing here), sounds like it will have plenty of templates, aliens and critters to work with. Whether the PCs are Jedi or smugglers, they will run into a variety of aliens or critters, so this sounds like a useful purchase. I just don't know the value of UA compared to UAA. *shrug*

* Power of the Jedi seems pretty useful, since odds are the game will probably involve Force powers in some shape ... it's star Wars, after all. What about the Dark Side Sourcebook, though? Does it have any useful stuff despite being from the pre-revised books? Does Power of the Jedi cover the Dark Side enough?

* Arms & Equipment guide looks like it should satisfy any mechanical geek stuff I might need... however my games tend not to have a heavy "gear" focus to them. Still, it sounds useful.

* The Galactic Campaign Guide sounds like it is completely lacking in crucnh, and the campaign ideas are probably not what I need. I'm not even remotely looking at playing a game in the default three eras, and I'll probably be making up groups, factions and antagonists as I go along. Beyond having premade location maps and a name generator, it looks like this book could wait until I picked up the ones above. Am I off base?

* Geonosis and Coruscant books look interesting, but I won't be playing the game with diehard Star Wars fanatics to correct me when I describe Yavin different than the books. Besides, there might be a good non-game book Star Wars atlas that covers these locations with enough detail so I don't need to pick up these books.


Speaking of useful non-game books for running a Star Wars campaign, anyone have any suggetions? What is out there that is invaluable encyclopedias, maps, or reference books?


Thoughts?

 

[DarkSoldier]

The Dark Side Sourcebook has good info on playing and running the dark side, and there's an update to the PrC's available at SWRPGNetwork; you'll have to do some searching, but it's there.

Ultimate Adversaries includes the creatures that weren't in Ultimate Alien Anthology.

Arms & Equipment is good, but a powergamer can fiddle around and, if properly advanced, create a character who can get an 11-20 threat range with a single weapon from the AEG. Still, there's a lot of good stuf, especially droids and vehicles.

I can't think of a single SWRPG publication that doesn't add a great deal of stuff to the game.

The Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia is a great resource; it's hosted at TheForce.Net.

 

[Desdichado]

Ultimate Alien Anthology (revised, hardback version) is the only other thing you need besides the core rulebook, IMO. And a copy of the movies, of course, for reference.

 

[Jazz]

I second that. Ultimate Alien Anthology is a great book to have in any Star Wars campaing.

Jazz

 

[Mordhiem]

Must Haves
Core Rulebook (Duh)
Ultimate Alien Anthology (180+ species? All with example statted characters? And really cool scaled pictures? Yes please!)
Hero's Guide (Lots and lots more feats (lightsaber styles - very, very good), new uses for skills, good PrC's etc.)

Really Useful
Power of the Jedi (Just overall a really cool book. For ideas and inspiration re: Jedi, it is excellent)
Galactic Campaign Guide (Tons of hints and tips in running a Star Wars campaign. No GM should be without)

Good, But Of Limited Use
Arms & Equipment Guide (Loads of new stuff, but I don't think I'll ever use more than a couple of items from it. The extra vehicles are good though)
Coruscant & The Core Worlds (Too short really. Coruscant should have its own book and each of the other planets mre than just two or three pages. Still good info though)

Really Didn't Like
The Dark Side (I just don't find it as inspiring as the others. Plus it's pre-revision)

Edit: Note these are only my first impressions (only had the books a couple of days so far!), but overall I am really impressed with the whole line. The general production of the books is second to none and all of the art is excellent.

 

[Breschau of Livonia]

In my Rebellion-era Star Wars game I noticed I got a ton of use out of the Dark Side Sourcebook - given one of the characters was a Jedi that's not too surprising.

I think the Dark Side Sourcebook would be a good reference for a Knights of the Old Republic game - lots of information on the Sith (prestige classes, feats, etc.) The WotC conversions others have mentioned brought everyhing into line with the revised rules.

Surprisingly, I got a little less use out of the Power of the Jedi sourcebook - though I suspect it would have been more useful to me for a pre-Rebellion game (lots of options for Jedi characters, some pretty neat prestige classes).

If you are looking for lots of crunch type stuff the Hero's Guide would be handy. Ditto for the Ultimate Alien Anthology - most of the entries apply to any era.

I don't think you'd get a ton of use out of Core Worlds and Outer Rim sourcebooks, though some of the non-era-specific stuff might be handy.

Equipment Guide you probably wouldn't need. And obviously the two era handbooks would be of limited use.

 

[DralonXitz]

For me, Id reccomend Dark Side sourcebook and Coruscant Sourcebook. A lot of people dont like Coruscant one, but our campaign runs for weeks at a time there, its so massive you can create any scenario. Coruscant adds a wealth of knowledge.