Star Wars TTRPG using the good old d20 system deserves more praise.
We were sad to see the old West End Games Star Wars RPG go out of print back in the day. I was prepping a huge pre Rebellion game because Phantom Menace had just been in theaters, and I was really hyped up on it. Jedi doing actual Jedi stuff. Luke is good, but he’s no Qui-Gon Jinn.
Then the turn of the century happened. Dungeons & Dragons d20 took off and became a huge hit with fans. Lucasfilm dropped WEG, sadly, and went with the big corporate money maker. It became property of Wizards of the freakin Coast. We all raised an eyebrow when it happened, but Lucas knows best, I guess. It was before Disney, okay?
I made some awesome friends with my old Star Wars blog and various forums. I was blessed with a really solid local group. Shout out to my friend Tom who loves Star Wars and runs a tremendous TTRPG game. We got a group together and had an absolute blast running d20 Star Wars.
It didn’t take too long for WotC to come out with a revised edition. They did some funky things with the printing and made the books landscape. They also took the game back to square one, more or less. I remember having to recreate several races, vehicles, and weapons.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
Star Wars is NOT Dungeons & Dragons.
Unfortunately WotC did not get the memo on that one. I remember the Force powers being pretty janky and awkward. It really made us yearn for the simple days of Control, Sense, and Alter. Saga Edition really muddied the waters for Jedi, in my opinion.
Bill Slavicsek, and Owen K.C. Stephens are veritable Star Wars RPG royalty. (In a very strange personal synchronicity I later met the famous Sev Tok on Instagram. Sev has a planet named after her in the WEG Star Wars likely because I think Bill knows her.) Both men worked on Star Wars at different times. I still get goosebumps when I run into Owen on social media.
Unfortunately, WotC randomly stuck Chris Perkins and some other D&D notables on various Star Wars projects. I don’t think the skill set is translated as well between genres. We were lucky to get the sourcebooks we got back then. Then they tried to turn the RPG into a miniatures game. In 2010, WotC announced their reign of terror was over when it came to Star Wars.
I haven’t touched a Star Wars RPG since Disney took over.
I’ve never run or played the Fantasy Flight Games versions of Star Wars. I apologize, but I just lost my taste for it after Disney took over. It’s sorta sad for me because I love Episodes 1-6 to no end. I still retain all of my old D6 and d20 Star Wars books in the vague off chance I ever get to run something Star Wars again.
I tried to get my hands on the reprints Fantasy Flight did for the D6 Star Wars and Star Wars Sourcebook for the 50th Anniversary. I got to see them in a game store in Kansas City and nearly wept tears of nostalgia. Alas, I was kinda broke at that point, so I missed out. The game was so beautiful and simple with just those two books and a ton of improvised rules and gear.
I never felt that FFG really did the game right in my opinion. I love the old format of Main Book, Arms and Equipment, Droids, Starships, Empire Sourcebook, Rebellion Sourcebook, Jedi Sourcebook… FFG kinda went sideways with theirs. It seemed like things were mixed up and around pretty good in their version. I’m not about to wade into that mess now, and they haven’t put out a new TTRPG product in how many years now? They’re still making the minis game, I guess. Yay-ish. Plus everything FFG did for the game has the trademark Disney stench all over it.
Sorry, Disney fans. Mickey’s idea of Star Wars was cute and all, but the Force should have rolled over and hit the Snooze Bar instead of Awakening. I love the Star Wars ride at Epcot. Good times, but not the TTRPG or the movies since Walt’s corporation got their hands on them.
I hope in the years ahead someone gets to pick up the Star Wars TTRPG flag and run with it.
I can name a few companies I’d love to see get the next Star Wars TTRPG license. I think I talked about that last year or possibly the year before. Right now I think Renegade Game Studios would be the leader of the pack given their successes with Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Vampire, Werewolf, Hunter and all of their many boardgame properties. Star Wars Axis & Allies would be pretty fly. On the other hand, Ravensburger is making Lorcana, but I don’t think they’ve ever tried to tackle a TTRPG.
There are several game systems I would prefer to see used for Star Wars going forward as well. I actually would not recommend Powered by the Apocalypse, however. Star Wars needs that kind of swingy cinematic fast action system. PbtA is more like a strategic roleplaying chess game. I think if Evil Hat Productions got the license, FATE would be their best course of action in terms of systems.
Hasbro just needs to stay far the Hell away from the Star Wars RPG. Look at the job WotC is doing on D&D right now. Do we really want to put them in charge of one of the most beloved IP’s of all time? Again? I certainly don’t think so. Disney would be better off randomly hiring a game designer off the street to build the thing at that point.
Long, long ago in a small town far, far away…
Okay, actually it was a small town in Iowa where more deer walk the streets at night than people. I had this dream of writing for West End Games. It wasn’t until I went to Gen Con a decade later that I learned my Force journey would meet a bitter end. WEG was awesome as a company, but good luck getting hired by them. Further, writing for Star Wars has always come with a ton of its own special rules and restrictions.
“Whaddya mean I can’t say ‘Ugnaught?’”
“Memo from Lucasfilm yesterday. We can no longer use the word ‘Ugnaught’ in any of our books.”
“Anything else?”
“We can’t show Ewoks being killed.”
“Mmkay… there goes that adventure.”
I’m sure Disney probably drops similar gems on their people. Lucas did this in a somewhat eccentric fashion with the seemingly bizarre conditions. We’re sure he had his reasons, but the WEG people kinda low key dreaded Lucas memos at times. Needless to say, the hope of me ever working on a Star Wars RPG was so distant, I’d need the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy to try to get there.
Which is unfortunate because I used to live, eat, sleep, drink, and breathe Star Wars RPG. I’ve built so many ships, characters, droids, equipment, and adventures for that game, I’ve lost track of them all. I’d pull some of it into other games and strip the specific IP, but it just wouldn’t be the same. I mean, Scum & Villainy is cool, but it’s not Star Wars.
Any unofficial Star Wars TTRPGs have a lot of potential to be fun, but it would never be able to sell commercially because of trademark and copyright. At that point the designer’s labor of love becomes just for funsies. Yay for the notoriety and fame, but there’s no above-board money for it. I mean, I guess if you really wanted to do it, great but…
I know Star Wars for 5E exists. I’m not in a hurry to go out and download it. It’s yet another D&D 5E sourcebook and I’m not too interested in anything official D&D anymore. Sorry, I just can’t get excited about it. Not to mention it’s D&D, which we’ve already proven doesn’t translate particularly well.
I will say, play/run whichever Star Wars you like.
Just because there’s no profit in writing for the game currently, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a version of it. I know plenty of people running the D6 version even today. The OG D20 game is okay before they tried to over-do the minis aspect.
Happy May 4th to all. May the Force be with you, always.
Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.
Jeff's Game Box 