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Star Wars Resume – Role-playing Games

Concluding my Star Wars Resume!  In 1992 a former classmate named Serv and I assembled a group of folks to try the West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game.  Serv and I didn’t really know each other that well at the time, we just both happened to share an interest in Star Wars and RPGs.  Little did we know, but that group would be the catalyst that would lead Serv and me to become college roommates and life-long friends.  Serv, Bob, Ed, Pat, and I had a blast with that group and we continue to stay in touch through THE UNIQUE GEEK.  I’ve been a part of a few other Star Wars RPG groups since then, each of them full of great players and classic moments.

The West End Games (WEG) system was released in 1987 during Star Wars‘ wilderness years.  After Return of the Jedi in 1983, Star Wars fanaticism began to cool off.  By 1987 Star Wars was positively old news, so the WEG game didn’t really make a big splash.  However, people began to take notice once the system was awarded the “Origins Award” for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1987.  Not only did the game contain a decent rules system, the books were chock-full of new Star Wars ideas and information.  In fact, it’s widely accepted that WEG established much of the groundwork of what later became the Star Wars Expanded Universe.  Lucasfilm considered their sourcebooks so authoritative that when Timothy Zahn was hired to write what became the Thrawn trilogy, he was sent a box of WEG Star Wars books and directed to base his novel on the background material presented within.  How’s that for an endorsement!  Once Star Wars popularity began to rise again in 1991, WEG was well-positioned to take advantage of the resurgence.  In 1994 WEG took to publishing its own original fiction in their quarterly Star Wars Adventure Journal, featuring stories from authors like Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, Kevin J. Anderson, Barbara Hambly, and Kathy Tyers.  Sadly, WEG lost the Star Wars license to Wizards of the Coast around the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Below you’ll find all my Star Wars RPG books.  Click the image to enlarge.

Star Wars RPG - West End Games and Wizards of the Coast

WEST END GAMES

  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game – First Edition
  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game – Second Edition
  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game – Second Edition – Revised and Expanded
  • Gamemaster Handbook
  • Gamemaster Screen – Second Edition
  • Gamemaster Screen – Second Edition – Revised
  • Star Wars Sourcebook – Second Edition
  • Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
  • Rebel Alliance Sourcebook – Second Edition
  • Imperial Sourcebook – Second Edition
  • Tales of the Jedi Companion
  • Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
  • Heroes and Rogues
  • Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races
  • Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts
  • Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
  • Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters
  • Galaxy Guide 11: Criminal Organizations
  • Rules of Engagement: Rebel Specforce Handbook
  • Platt’s Starport Guide
  • Pirates and Privateers
  • Fantastic Technology
  • Fantastic Technology: Droids
  • Fantastic Tech: Personal Gear
  • Cracken’s Rebel Field Guide
  • Wanted by Cracken
  • Wretched Hives of Scum and Villainy
  • Flashpoint! Brak Sector
  • Classic Adventures: Volume 2
  • Classic Adventures: Volume 3
  • DarkStryder Campaign Box Set
  • Adventure Journal Volume 1, Number 7
  • Adventure Journal Volume 1, Number 9
  • Adventure Journal Volume 1, Number 11

WIZARDS OF THE COAST

  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game
  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition
  • Gamemaster Screen
  • Star Wars Gamer Magazine Numbers 1 – 5

NON-ROLEPLAYING BOOKS I FOUND USEFUL WHILE GAMING (not pictured)

  • Star Wars Encyclopedia
  • The New Essential Guide to Characters
  • The Essential Guide to Droids
  • The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
  • The Essential Chronology
  • The Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook

Such a great game!  Even if you don’t care about the RPG rules themselves, you can sit down and read these books for hours as they are so interesting and truly flesh out the Star Wars universe.

This is going to wrap-up my Star Wars Resume for now, but check back tomorrow for some really unique Star Wars comic art.

8 thoughts on “Star Wars Resume – Role-playing Games

  1. Fun times. It really was a shame when the franchise went over to the D20 dark side. The WEG system was one of the quickest, most dynamic and cinematic systems I’ve ever played.

    Still bummed that my “young Jedi” character never had her moment of confrontation with the big bad. I had her speech all worked out and everything.

  2. Those were good times. I miss playing that game. It’s really hard to believe that it has been almost 20 years since I last played with you guys.
    Ya know, since Serv, Bob, and I will be at DragonCon this year, maybe we should schedule a character reunion. Go on one more mission. Lumi and Kie may be long in the tooth but I am sure they can still handle their own.

  3. Dude, the WEG Star Wars player’s guide was the first RPG I ever owned! I still have it. Every now and then I pull it out and flip through…

  4. I am so glad my son didn’t see this post…he is nuts for Star Wars and so is hubby!
    Thanks for coming by on SITS Day!
    Holly

  5. Shig/Ed – I truly enjoyed the WEG Star Wars RPG. We had some GREAT times together! In every group I participated in, the players were totally into it! Man, I miss that.

    Ed – I’d be up for a reunion with Kie, Lumi, Paxton Blitz, Race, and Garm.

    Shig – I would have loved to have heard Skata’s speech.

  6. I know i could be talked into doing a SW RPG reunion. How difficult would it be to do RPG over the internet…webcam and skipe?

  7. Actually, I take that back. We would not be able to use the webcam with Skype as it only allows a maximum of two on the conference. We would have to use something like Stickam or Oovoo.

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