I received the new Star Wars Edge of the Empire Beginner’s game in the mail yesterday, and thought I’d share with you the contents of the box. I can’t speak yet to the actual playing experience, that won’t happen for another week or so, but I can comment on the contents of the game. It’s worth noting that I also own the Beta book put out by Fantasy Flight Games. This box is an extremely stripped down version of that game, using the same mechanics and framework.
Here are the contents of the box:
- Adventure book
- 48 page rulebook
- Introduction sheet
- Double sided poster map
- 4 Character Folios
- 14 Custom Dice
- 8 destiny Tokens
- 35 Character Tokens
- 5 Vehicle Tokens
It’s important to note that while yes the game includes maps and tokens, this is not a game that relies on them for combat. They are there to help new players get a visual idea of what they are looking at. This is not a tactical game like for example, 4e D&D.
Upon first glance, I am really happy with the production value of this game. Fantasy Flight Games has created a nice intro box set that I think may actually draw new players in, if they position it correctly. Star Wars is one of those licenses that has the power to draw people in, all you have to do is walk the aisles at Target or Walmart to see the amount of stuff available with the license. If this game were to sit on a mass market shelf, it may get some traction, who knows. I saw the XWing miniature game for sale at Target, so it’s not too far-fetched to see this box there as well.
The books are softcover, but the rule book has a stronger backing than the adventure book. The paper is glossy, and of high quality. There is new artwork, and gorgeous one at that, throughout the game. They didn’t just lift art from Lucasfilm, they commissioned artwork. One thing that I don’t like is the box itself. It’s a flimsy box with a flap opening, and an insert to hold it in place. It is not a sturdy box by any means.
The included adventure in the game does a great job of introducing you step by step to the mechanics of the special dice, which drive every aspect of the game. The way the intro adventure is laid out, it teaches you the mechanics of the game, and the character folios are fully created characters, allowing the players to join the action right away. So no, there are no rules for character creation, although character advancement is possible.
I am really excited about this game, and can’t wait to try it out. I took a few pictures of the stuff in the box, click on each pic for a hi-res version…
The front of the box.
The back of the box.
The “what is roleplaying” explanation we are all familiar with by now…
The back of the rulebook explains skills and dice symbols.
Cardboard tokens.
A cantina, city, and spaceport control map.
A YT1300 floorplan.
The back of each character folio has backstory.
Open character folio.
More new artwork examples…
48 page rulebook.
New artwork is used throughout the game.
The adventure teaches the rules as it goes along…
Maps and minis are not required…
I plan to write about my experiences with the game as soon as I can run it after the holidays, but I’m liking what I’m seeing.
You can help support NewbieDM.com by checking out the Star Wars Edge of the Empire Beginner Game on Amazon.
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Russell
December 20, 2012
I’m looking forward to reading about your play experience. I’ve got my copy on order right now!
newbiedm
December 20, 2012
Yeah, I’m pretty excited about it. I’m a sucker for SW rpg’s and this game is looking good to me right now. I was a little hesitant about the funny dice, but I’ve come around.
TheSheDM
December 20, 2012
I played it when we had a playtest copy, it was a frustrating experience.
newbiedm
December 20, 2012
Why?? Do tell.
BrainCloudsvid Flor
December 20, 2012
I gotta say, that sure looks pretty. I’ll have to try this out some day.
TheSheDM
December 21, 2012
The players felt the dice system was overly complicated at no benefit to the game’s roleplaying. We played for three weeks and then all the players announced to the GM they unanimously wanted to quit and play something else.
Alphastream
December 22, 2012
I was talking to someone in TheSheDM’s group tonight about that. Yeah, it sounded really frustrating. I never had a chance to play, though I do really wonder why the dice are so incredibly numerous and non-intuitive. Has it grown on people? I am really impressed with the quality of the boxed set, and I like the idea of releasing that first. Probably makes a few more sales that way and if they are smart the material can still be really useful for DMs to help new players along.
newbiedm
December 22, 2012
The dice are split into two groups, 3 positive and 3 negative dice, with 1 force die. There are 7 die in all. Green, yellow and light blue are positive, while purple, red and black are negative. Once you understand how the dice system works, it’s pretty neat. In a nutshell: i make a skill check using green dice… The difficulty of the check determines how many purple dice i add to that pool. So im rolling green and purple, but the dm adds a setback (perhaps it’s dark in the room where Im trying to pick the lock) so he adds the black setback die to my pool.
I roll my pool, and the success symbols on the green die are cancelled out by failure symbols on the purple die and black die. Any success symbols left over after all cancellations are counted means the check succeeded, it’s pretty simple.
The neat part is the following: even a failed check can create an advantage, and a successful check can create a complication, based on the dice. And players can narrate what these are as well. The system isn’t difficult, but it isn’t as binary as d20. I’m looking forward to trying it out.
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January 1, 2013
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