If you wish to have a tabletop RPG adventure in a galaxy far, far away, you actually have a few options when it comes to the rules.Star Warshas three RPG systems thus far, with the most recent one developed by Fantasy Flight Games - hence the nickname Star Wars FFG for the system.
What’s curious about this system - apart from its colored, narrative dice - is the fact they have three different core rulebooks: Age of Rebellion, Edge of the Empire, and Force And Destiny. Only one is necessary to run a game, and most books cover the same topics when it comes to rules. So, what is the difference between them?
The Topics From Each Book
Though there are other differences worth mentioning, it’s worth noting thateach book focuses on a different aspect of the lore and world-building of the Star Wars series.Still, it’s the same galaxy, so the lore from one book can be used in another. All that said,all books focus on a time period between episodes IV and V,meaningthey take place during the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire.
Age of Rebellion focuses on having characters who are members of the Rebel Alliance,and their job would be to fight the Empire head-on.Edge of the Empire is focused on the criminal underworld of the Star Wars universe,where the players get to be smugglers, bounty hunters, or similar.Force And Destiny is focused on creating Jedi survivors,dealing with learning about the Force in a time when the Empire wants you dead.
There are other sourcebooks with adventures during the Clone Warsif you want to explore a different time period. Still, if you want other options, such as the First Order era,the High Republic,or the Old Republic eras, you’ll have to create content or rely on fan content.
We encourage you to use the High Republic comic series to give you world-building material, as well as the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic for Old Republic material.
Careers And Specializations
The biggest difference is that each book has different careers- they’re like classes if you’re not accustomed to this system.Each book has six careers, and each career has specializationsthat control some of the abilities you’ll have during the game.
Age of Rebellion has more militarized careers.They consist of the Ace, the Commander, the Diplomat, the Engineer, the Soldier, and the Spy. Each has three specializations to customize their abilities, but there’s also the recruit specialization that every career can get.
Edge of the Empire is focused on the scum of the galaxy.They consist of the Bounty Hunter, the Colonist, the Explorer, the Hired Gun, The Smuggler, and the Technician. Each also has three specializations, and there’s no universal specialization like the previous one. These two books work well tomake iconic characters that don’t rely on the Force.
Force And Destiny has Force-user careers.They consist of the Consular, the Guardian, the Mystic, the Seeker, the Sentinel, and the Warrior. They work just like the others, with three specializations each, and no other universal specialization. However,they have separate ability trees featuring different Force powers,as these characters have access to the Force.
Though you can’t change careers, you can learn specialization from other careers,meaning you can do a sort of multi-class by combining these ideas. And, if you are using multiple books for the same adventure, you could potentially make a Jedi bounty hunter, for example.
These books also contain other minor differences, such as having more information on dedicated gear for the careers they have and some variety in the species you can choose during character creation.
Duty, Obligation, And Morality
The other big difference between the books also happens during character creation.Each book has a narrative system that ties mechanics and experiences to themso the players can be more connected to the world.Age of Rebellion features the Duty system, Edge of the Empire features the Obligation system, and Force And Destiny features the Morality system.
The Duty system is all about your role in the Rebel Alliance.You choose or roll your position, and the group will have points to obtain and spend on experience (considering the whole group is part of the Alliance). Depending on the character’s contributions, they’ll be rewarded.
If the time period you want to play in doesn’t have the Rebel Alliance, you can replace them with another military organization, such as making soldiers of the Galactic Republic, or even bigger criminal organizations, like pirate groups orHutt Cartels.
The Obligation system is about a debt or a pending issue the character has to deal with.It can go from actual debt, to something like addiction or having to provide for their family, among other options. It also has points and mechanical consequences, making these problems potentially appear during the session and complicate things.
The Morality system is based on how your actions influence your connection with the Force.Your character will have an emotional strength and weakness, and their actions throughout the adventure can make them more attuned to the light or the dark side of the Force.
Can I Use All Three Books For The Same Adventure?
Though there will be a few clashes here and there,you can use all three books for an adventure.As fun as it is to have a full military squad, a criminal gang, or a team of Jedi, it’s a lot more fun to let each player go with what they want, right?
The biggest complication you’ll have is the narrative systems mentioned above,as they’re meant to replace one another. You could get rid of one of them, using only Duty or Obligation during the adventure, or let the player choose which works better for them.
As for the Morality system, we recommend making it exclusive to Force users and obligatory for them.Its mechanics affect the player’s Force abilities, so running a Force user without the system will require a lot of homebrewing. And, since it is tied to Force abilities, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to use this system on a smuggler character.
