This article originally appeared in d20 Weekly
Star Wars Revised Core Rulebook
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker
384 page full-cover hardcover; $39.95
Wizards of the Coast scored something of a coup when it acquired the license to publish a RPG based on the Star Wars universe. The designers created an adaptation of the d20 System that could be used to portray adventures in George Lucas's universe of Jedi knights, droids, starfighters, and space opera action.
The original d20 Star Wars Roleplaying Game had some interesting innovations that set it apart from the Dungeons & Dragons game, such as class-based bonuses to defense, a skill-and-feat-based system for representing the effects of the Force, and a very popular variant of the hit-point mechanic, the vitality point/wound point mechanic.
That said, the development time of the Star Wars game in comparison to the Dungeons & Dragons game left a few loose ends and strange decisions that made quite a few fans unhappy. The way armor interfaced with the class-based defense bonus was a little quirky, and many complained about the abstract starship combat system and the lack of rules for droid characters.
Wizards of the Coast decided to release a revised edition of the game in less than two years that would address some of these fan complaints and provide other improvements to the system. Though this is a rather short turnaround for a revised edition of the game, Wizards of the Coast hoped that by timing the release of the revised game . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: October 30, 2002
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