StarWars d20

[Master of Monkeys]

What do you think is better, the original Star Wars d20 or the revised book?

I was wondering about which one I should use, of the two books above. I thought the rules of the old book were perfect. The classes seemed very generic, which I thought was a good thing. The classes were very open ended and easy to multiclass with. I viewed the book as a good starting place for any d20 game. One of the reason I don't like D&D classes is because they aren't anything like this. They get a ton of abilities at 1st level or some ultra good abilities at 20th level that you are bound to miss out on.

The lack of prestige classes and such could easily be solved by a supplement or two. As could any other missing information.

So... I suppose my question is, what do you like better, the original StarWars d20 book, or the revised StarWars d20 book, and why?

 

[Skywalker]

The Revised Version is far superior than the original in my opinion. The new books presents a more complete package and draws on a number of supplements/SW Gamer already produced.

1. It treats Armour in a far better manner (DR not Def bonus)
2. The classes are more balanced.
3. There are more classes, prestige classes, races, ships and setting info. It drops some of the "novice RPGer" stuff like templates and intro game and adopts lots more material (much bigger book).
4. The Starship rules are now consistent with ground combat and vehilce combat. (If you dislike map starship combat this may nbnoy be to your liking).
5. The book is better organised.
6. All new supplements will support Revised, and some already released supplements will be updated on Wizard's site.

There are a few kinks in the revised edition but these are minor and likely to be dealt with by an errata shortly. They include Dissipate Energy feat, Deflect Blasters and erroneous stats for SW characters.

 

[Psion]

Revised book.

The two main reasons are the armor and defense rules and the improved take on character classes.

 

[dpdx]

Definitely revised

The Star Wars Core Rules are supposed to be PHB and DMG all rolled into one, FWIH. It's not just that Wizards made the rule system more playable and consistent, but they beefed up the Game-Mastering sections, too, in Revised.

I just wish they'd get behind it and update the other supplements so we can use them with this better, revised system.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I would have to vote for the Revised book as well (to be honest i don't own the original and this opinion is based off reading a friends copy and seeing the changes made). The way armour was changed and the new starship combat rules alone made it worth it.

The book is just beautiful as well. Lots of photos and drawings from the movie but not so many that it feels like they are just trying to fill up space. This is just about the prettiest RPG book I own - and I am not one who gets all excited about the looks of an RPG - I am much more a 'meat and potatoes' guy myself. I buy a rule book for rules, not pretty pictures, but this just wowed me.

Also the redrawn galaxy map is easier to use than the old one by about a factor of 1000. I would have loved to have seen this done as a 4 or even 8 panel addition but at least with the smaller 2 page spread everyone who has the book will have the galaxy map handy (that's more inportant than you'd think - at least in my game!).

So bottom line - get the Revised, you aren't missing anything important by not having the first book.

 

[bwgwl]

i prefer the revised rules by a wide margin!

but i actually like the layout/design of the original rulebook better. i liked its white background as opposed to the colored pages of the revised book (it was easier to read, IMO). anyone else notice that in the RCR, the even pages aren't numbered?

 

[Samurai]

The revised rules are FAR superior... so much so that I bought essentially the same game I'd just bought 2 years ago to have them. Character classes, starship combat, etc are all much better now.

 

[Don Carnage]

OCR by the Widest Margin

It started off nice. The thought of having a Revised book to settle the minor quibbles, the tedious bits of minutia that would rear their heads every 3 sessions or so.

Well, to be fair, two major ones (armor and starships).

Then the steaming pile of donkey crap that is the Revised Rules hit the fan, and it's wafted through my game ever since.

Here is a quick run down of what is wrong: the system doesn't portray the movies. The canon, the very source material, was not followed. When you're making a game that is based upon movies fer'gawds' sake, das a problems. Plural.

A quick list: Anakin and Luke can't do the jumps we see them make in the movies, the Deflect SQ is broken (i.e. Mace Windu or Qui-Gon Jinn never being able to get a chance to deflect a blaster bolt from a battle droid), no Force Push, the Scoundrel is now out optimized by the Tech Specialist (read: useless), does Force Mastery affect the new Deflect SQ, and why would any Force-user ever not take Dissipate Energy?

Those are what's flat broken with the system.

Other things that are of a tonal element: Why two Jedi classes when Yoda breaks that scheme in Attack of the Clones? Is it necessary to balance the Jedi downwards to make the other classes more attractive? Should the other classes be adjusted upwards? Why do Jedi get Weapon Proficiency (Blaster Pistol) and not something that is more in line with their ethos, say Martial Arts? If other technology adroit classes don't get Blaster Pistol (the Tech Specialist, the Fringer), why Jedi?

I compare this list, one which grows daily, to the Original Core Rules. Armor and a Soldier's defense score, Starship rules vs. the above.

Give me the friggin' OCR.

 

[Ranger REG]

Gee, I'm surprised you do not have a problem with the armor rules.

Force Push has become Force Strike. Force Strike is what you saw in The Phantom Menace (Jedi do not acquire DSP when used on the battle droids) and in Attack of the Clone (Count Dooku/Darth Tyrannus uses the power on Kenobi, which earns him DSP).

 

[Don Carnage]

Gee, I'm surprised you do not have a problem with the armor rules.

I sense sarcasm. Color me wacky, but like Prego, it's in there.

Trade me all the mistakes against source material in the Revised Rules, and you give me the broken, limp, and wasted old armor rules, and I'll be happier.

I'll also have less sheets of house rules.