Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game

Last updated

Star Wars
The Roleplaying Game
Star Wars Role-Playing Game 1987.jpg
Cover based on the original movie poster by Tom Cantrell, 1977.
Designers Greg Costikyan
Publishers
Publication
  • 1987 1st edition
  • 1992 2nd edition
  • 1996 2nd edition Revised and Expanded
  • 2018 30th Anniversary edition
Genres Space opera [1]
Systems D6 System
The core system is based on that of WEG's Ghostbusters RPG.

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, written and published by West End Games (WEG) between 1987 and 1999. The game system was slightly modified and rereleased in 2004 as D6 Space , which used a generic space opera setting. An unrelated Star Wars RPG was published by Wizards of the Coast from 2000 to 2010. Since 2012 the official Star Wars role-playing game is another unrelated game, published by Fantasy Flight Games.

Contents

Development

The game, based on WEG's earlier Ghostbusters RPG, established much of the groundwork of what later became the Star Wars expanded universe, and its sourcebooks are still frequently cited by Star Wars fans as reference material.[ citation needed ] Lucasfilm considered the West End Games' Star Wars sourcebooks so authoritative that when Timothy Zahn was hired to write what became the Thrawn trilogy, he was sent a box of West End Games Star Wars books and directed to base his novel on the background material presented within. Many of the first uses of Star Wars alien names (such as the Twi'lek, Rodian, and Quarren) appeared for the first time in WEG's Star Wars books. Even after Disney's reboot of the Star Wars Expanded Universe in 2014, much of this nomenclature still exists in new canon works. [2]

In 1992 West End Games published the second edition of the game, in which the title remained unchanged. In 1996 a revision of the second edition appeared, but its title was slightly changed from Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game - Second Edition to The Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Second Edition - Revised and Expanded. [3]

By the end of the game's run around 140 sourcebook and adventure supplements had been published for the game during its run through three editions. [4]

In addition fifteen issues of a magazine series, the Star Wars Adventure Journal, were published between 1994 and 1998. The Adventure Journal was published in novel format with around 280 pages, and consisted of adventures and articles for the game, plus short stories intended to provide inspiration for gamemasters and news relating to Star Wars.

WEG's license to produce Star Wars material was lost after the company declared bankruptcy in 1998, and the license was later acquired by Wizards of the Coast, who held it until 2010.

In 2018, Fantasy Flight Games published the 30th Anniversary Edition comprising the original core rulebook, and The Star Wars Sourcebook. [5]

Game system

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game uses the D6 System , originally developed for the Ghostbusters roleplaying game.

Reception

In a 1996 reader poll conducted by the UK magazine Arcane to determine the fifty most popular roleplaying games of all time, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game was ranked 9th in the 1996 reader poll of magazine . The magazine's editor Paul Pettengale commented, "The rich and varied background already created by the movies helps a great deal, but there have been many games based on great fiction, and few of them work nearly as well as Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Everything about the system has been designed to complement the setting's unique blend of fantasy, science fiction and myth, and to recreate the same feel and atmosphere as the movies. [...] The rules system is beautiful in its simplicity, yet ably copes with everything from vicious space battles to speedy chases through narrow canyons. A clever set of guidelines covers the use of the Force, complete with details of both its Light and Dark sides, enabling characters to make heroic efforts and pull off the kind of stunts that are vital to what Star Wars is all about. [...] Perhaps the perfect system for introducing new players to roleplaying, and yet offering more than enough to keep even the most jaded gamers happy. [6]

Awards

At the 1988 Origins Awards, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game won in the category Best Roleplaying Rules of 1987. [7]

List of core rulebooks

Second Edition (1992) Star Wars The Roleplaying Game - Second Edition 1992.jpg
Second Edition (1992)
Second Edition, Revised and Expanded (1996) The Star Wars Roleplaying Game Second Edition - Revised and Expanded 1996.jpg
Second Edition, Revised and Expanded (1996)
1st Edition Rules
2nd Edition Rules

List of supplements

Star Wars Adventure Journal

Spinoffs

Star Warriors board game cover (1987, art by Ralph McQuarrie). Star warriors.jpg
Star Warriors board game cover (1987, art by Ralph McQuarrie).

Four board games were published to coincide with the role-playing game, all of them by West End Games:

A miniature wargame was also written in 1989:

Five gamebooks were published by West End Games in the 1990s:

In the early 1990s, before the advent of the modern Internet, the FidoNet Star Wars Echo ran a message forum for playing the West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game on-line on computer bulletin board systems. The game also gathered a large Internet following via mailing lists such as the SW-RPG Mailing List.

Fantasy Flight Games reprint

In 2018, Fantasy Flight Games, the current holders of the Star Wars RPG licence, released a re-print of the original core book, in a deluxe slipcase format, along with the Sourcebook supplement. [22]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cyberpunk</i> (role-playing game) Tabletop science fiction role-playing game

Cyberpunk is a tabletop role-playing game in the dystopian science fiction genre, written by Mike Pondsmith and first published by R. Talsorian Games in 1988. It is typically referred to by its second or fourth edition names, Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk Red, in order to distinguish it from the cyberpunk genre after which it is named.

<i>Heroes Unlimited</i> Tabletop role-playing game

Heroes Unlimited is a superhero role-playing game written by Kevin Siembieda and first published by Palladium Books in 1984. The game is based upon the Palladium Books Megaversal system and is compatible with other games that use the Palladium system.

<i>Torg</i> Fantasy tabletop role-playing game

Torg is a cinematic cross-genre tabletop role-playing game created by Greg Gorden and Bill Slavicsek, with art by Daniel Horne. It was first published by West End Games (WEG) in 1990. Game resolution uses a single twenty-sided die, drama cards and a logarithmic results table, which later formed the basis for WEG's 1992 sci-fi RPG Shatterzone and 1994 universal RPG Masterbook. WEG produced over fifty supplements, novels and comics for the first edition. A revised and expanded core rule book was produced in 2005, with a single adventure. After WEG closed in 2010, Torg was sold to Ulisses Spiele, who, after a successful crowdfunding campaign, published a new edition called Torg: Eternity in 2018.

<i>Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game</i> Tabletop fantasy role-playing game

The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a fantasy role-playing game published by Palladium Books in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D6 System</span> Tabletop role-playing game system

The D6 System is a role-playing game system published by West End Games (WEG) and licensees. While the system is primarily intended for pen-and-paper role-playing games, variations of the system have also been used in live action role-playing games and miniature battle games. The system is named after the 6-sided die, which is used in every roll required by the system.

<i>Ghostbusters</i> (role-playing game) Tabletop comedy role-playing game

Ghostbusters is a comedy role-playing game published by West End Games (WEG) in 1986 that is based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters.

<i>Conspiracy X</i>

Conspiracy X is a role-playing game (RPG) originally released by New Millennium Entertainment in 1996, and since revised and released by several publishers including Steve Jackson Games and Eden Studios, Inc. In all versions, the setting posits that aliens are insiduously taking over the world, reminiscent of The X-Files.

Nigel D. Findley was a Canadian game designer, editor, and an author of science fiction and fantasy novels and role-playing games (RPGs).

Marc Gascoigne is a British author and editor. He is the editor, author or co-author of more than fifty books and gaming related titles, including Fighting Fantasy books, Shadowrun novels and adventures, Earthdawn novels and adventures, the original Games Workshop Judge Dredd roleplaying game, and material for Paranoia, Call of Cthulhu and many others listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamemaster's screen</span> Equipment of tabletop role-playing game

A gamemaster's screen, also called a GM's screen, is a gaming accessory, usually made out of either cardboard or card stock, and is used by the gamemaster to hide all the relevant data related to a tabletop role-playing game session from the players in order to not spoil the plot of the story. It also hides any dice rolls made by the gamemaster that players should not see. In addition, screens often have essential tables and information printed on the inside for the gamemaster to easily reference during play.

Greg Gorden is an American game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.

Jim Bambra is a British designer and reviewer of fantasy roleplaying games (RPG), and a former company director. He is particularly known for his contributions to Dungeons & Dragons, Fighting Fantasy, Warhammer, and Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game which was based on the Star Wars films. Later he became head of design at MicroProse, then managing director of Pivotal Games, a publisher of video games including Conflict: Desert Storm.

<i>Dark Empire Sourcebook</i> Tabletop space opera role-playing game supplement

Dark Empire Sourcebook is a supplement published by West End Games in 1993 for the science fiction role-playing Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

<i>Dark Force Rising Sourcebook</i> Tabletop space opera role-playing game supplement

The New Republic: Dark Force Rising Sourcebook is a supplement published by West End Games in 1992 for the science fiction role-playing Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

<i>The Darkstryder Campaign</i> Tabletop space opera role-playing game supplement

The Darkstryder Campaign is an adventure published by West End Games in 1996 for the science fiction role-playing game Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

<i>Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back</i> Tabletop space opera role-playing game supplement

Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back is a supplement published by West End Games in 1989 for the science fiction role-playing game Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, which is itself based on Star Wars.

<i>Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens - Enemies and Allies</i> Tabletop space opera role-playing game supplement

Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens - Enemies and Allies is a 1993 role-playing game supplement published by West End Games in 1993 for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, itself based on the popular Star Wars franchise.

<i>Heir to the Empire Sourcebook</i> Tabletop space opera role-playing game supplement

The New Republic: Heir to the Empire Sourcebook is a supplement published by West End Games (WEG) in 1992 for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, itself based on the Star Wars franchise.

References

  1. ↑ Booker, M. Keith (2020). Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema. Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts. Rowman & Littlefield. p.  390. ISBN   9781538130100.
  2. ↑ Veekhoven, Tim (October 30, 2015). "West End Games: Expanding That Galaxy Far, Far Away". Starwars.com. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game Covers". RPG.net.
  4. ↑ "The Star Wars Collectors Bible: West End Games". Sandcrawler.
  5. ↑ Jarvis, Matt (December 11, 2020). "Star Wars: The RPG's 30th anniversary edition". Dicebreaker. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ Pettengale, Paul (Christmas 1996). "Arcane Presents the Top 50 Roleplaying Games 1996". Arcane. Future Publishing (14): 25–35.
  7. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1987)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  8. ↑ Costikyan, Greg (October 1987). Eric Goldberg; Paul Murphy; Bill Slavicsek (eds.). Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (Hardcover ed.). New York: West End Games. p. 142. ISBN   0-87431-065-2.
  9. ↑ Smith, Bill (October 1992). Ed Stark (ed.). Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game - Second Edition (Hardcover ed.). New York: West End Games. p. 176. ISBN   0-87431-181-0.
  10. ↑ Smith, Bill; Schweighofer, Peter; Strayton, George; Sudlow, Paul; Trautmann, Eric S.; Farshtey, Greg (August 1996). The Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Second Edition - Revised and Expanded (Hardcover ed.). New York: West End Games. p. 288. ISBN   0-87431-268-X.
  11. ↑ "Star Wars: Star Warriors". BoardGameGeek.
  12. ↑ Woods, John (April 1988). "Flexible Fighting". The Games Machine . No. 5. Newsfield. p. 99.
  13. ↑ "Star Wars: Escape From The Death Star". BoardGameGeek.
  14. ↑ "Star Wars: Escape From Death Star Game". BoardGameGeek.
  15. ↑ "Assault on Hoth: The Empire Strikes Back". BoardGameGeek.
  16. ↑ "Star Wars: Battle for Endor". BoardGameGeek.
  17. ↑ "Star Wars Miniatures Battles". BoardGameGeek.
  18. ↑ "Item - Scoundrel's Luck". Demian's Gamebook Web Page.
  19. ↑ "Item - Jedi's Honor". Demian's Gamebook Web Page.
  20. ↑ "Item - Lightsaber Dueling Pack". Demian's Gamebook Web Page.
  21. ↑ "Item - Star Wars Starfighter Battle Book: X-Wing vs. TIE Interceptor". Demian's Gamebook Web Page.
  22. ↑ "Don't Underestimate the Force – Star Wars™: The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition". Fantasy Flight Games. August 16, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.