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What is the current printing of Star Wars RPGs? I recall that way back when, WoTC had the licence, is that still the case? Is is still a D20 system?

The most recent are fantasy flights. They are good. They are not d20.

There are 3 core books that mimic themes of episodes 4 5 and 6.

Edge of the Empire focuses on people on the outer rim. Smugglers and gak. The force users are barely force users.

Age of rebelion is like empire in that its fully engrossed in the war. More advanced force user stuff.

Force and destiny is like return of the jedi and has the most focus on jedi vs sith.

All 3 books are compatible with each other. Same systems etc. But expand races and "classes" in so much as it has them (they are starting guidelines but everyone can buy into everything).

 Lance845 wrote:
The most recent are fantasy flights. They are good. They are not d20.

There are 3 core books that mimic themes of episodes 4 5 and 6.

Edge of the Empire focuses on people on the outer rim. Smugglers and gak. The force users are barely force users.

Age of rebelion is like empire in that its fully engrossed in the war. More advanced force user stuff.

Force and destiny is like return of the jedi and has the most focus on jedi vs sith.

All 3 books are compatible with each other. Same systems etc. But expand races and "classes" in so much as it has them (they are starting guidelines but everyone can buy into everything).

I'll look for the old WoTC games then. I'm not crazy about FFG's role playing games.

Thanks!

There were two broad categories of Wotc games, they original d20 3rd edition dnd version (don't recall if it got revised for 3.5) and the later Saga edition that was a proto 4e. They're not really compatible so make sure you know which one you're getting and a dead visual giveaway besides the saga branding is that the saga books were more square than vertically rectangular like most rpg books. If you're not a fan of dnd4e (like me), saga is still an option as it looks things a bit further than pathfinder in adapting the d20 mechanics without going too far like 4e did. The only real criticism I'd give it was that Jedi were even unoptimized OP compared to other classes. I haven't played the FFG game so can't comment on that.

IMHO thebest of the WOTC stuff was SW Saga edition.

I definitely enjoyed both playing and running Saga. I only played the d20 version a couple times at conventions so can't comment much on it.

Don't forget West End Games D6 Star Wars game. The books are horribly out of print, but I think the rule set does a much better job of mapping the feel of Star Wars to a game than D&D 3.0 does.

The West End Games got a 30th anniversary reprint. I picked up a copy on Miniature's Market deal of the day, though I haven't opened it yet to check it out.

I was poking around the Fantasy Flight books while at the store today, and I definitely don't like them. The entire thing can be well summed up by the words "overly complex."

 LordofHats wrote:
I was poking around the Fantasy Flight books while at the store today, and I definitely don't like them. The entire thing can be well summed up by the words "overly complex."

I would not characterize it that way.

There's a lot of options and the FFG system is very open to letting you plug in elements from different sources but the core system is pretty straightforward: Your core stats are locked until the late game, your skill ranks can be upgraded, but your primary method of growing a character is using EXP to gain abilities along a character class flow chart which alter dice or provide other benefits under specific circumstances and buying gear and ship upgrades with the credits you earn. This levels character progression a bit to the point where a late game character is more effective than an early game character because they can loose of a bunch of accurate shots with a pair of pistols, or... have a rocket launcher, rather than being able to tank more incoming blaster bolts.

The real downside, and it's one you should consider, is that the game has a strong narrative focus. The FFG dice use 'success', 'advantage', 'failure' and 'disadvantage' facings and both you and your players need to be able to think on your feet to explain those potential combinations - Luke might successfully lock the door for a while by shooting the control panel, but that disadvantage might mean he also blasted the controls that extend the bridge they need to escape. Once you get used to it though, its relatively straightforward, and a GM can easily make up for some rule he doesn't know by kludging in some relevant skill check vs arbitrary number of difficulty dice in a pinch.

I am a fan of the old West End, but it can result in buckets of dice if you are not careful......

For those not a fan of FFG's offerings and wanting something more modern than the old Wizards stuff, there's a surprisingly thorough (and frequently updated) conversion for DnD 5e, with a full set of adapted classes, a monster manual and an expansion for starship flight and combat. The added bonus is that if you're already familiar with 5e, there's very little to actually learn so you can get going pretty much instantly.

https://sw5e.com/

Saga edition was great and is well worth tracking down.

 ScarletRose wrote:
The West End Games got a 30th anniversary reprint. I picked up a copy on Miniature's Market deal of the day, though I haven't opened it yet to check it out.

The reprint was for 1st Edition, rather than the 2nd edition that, IMHO, was the superior version. One of my players scooped up the reprint and was disappointed to find it wasn't fully compatible with any of the game books we already had.