The Unofficial...

ROLEPLAYING GAME SOURCEBOOK

Second Edition

Developed and Written by Mike Hall

Welcome to the Unofficial Star Wars: Episode I Roleplaying Game Sourcebook, Second Edition. Although well-received in its first incarnation, the Sourcebook nevertheless deserved a Second Edition to correct errors both minor and major and to "round out" the contents somewhat. In the time since the debut of the First Edition, I have received a great deal of extremely supportive email, even from those who disagreed with my statistical assessments of some of the technology of Episode I. Those who took the time to write and express their appreciation truly deserve the credit for this Second Edition, since the extra motivation they provided enabled me to tackle this project a second time despite my already-crowded schedule.

What's New
First and foremost among the new additions to the Sourcebook is the all-new Fifth Chapter, Adventuring in the Prequel Era. Many of the emails I received centered largely around campaign and adventure seeds, or, more specifically, how to create them in the strange new territory of this period set decades before the one with which we are most familiar. Rather than bog the reader down with numerous mini-adventures or pre-fabricated scenarios (which I categorically loathe) I have endeavored instead to provide an analysis of the themes and currents vital to the "mood" and "feel" of the period, providing GMs with what I feel is a much more useful springboard for campaign storylines. Although relatively brief, it is this Fifth Chapter that I consider to be the most important new addition to the Sourcebook.

In addition, statistics for many of the film's principal characters now appear in the Sourcebook, by popular demand. My thanks to those who submitted statistics of their own, and their opinions on the other stats already presented here. Although I chose instead to draft material of my own, I must mention Damian Bruniany in particular, whose well-contrived stats for many of the major players gave me a very powerful springboard to work from, in terms of comparison and balance. The NPC stats here are as much his as they are mine, and he is to be commended for some very solid work.

What's Different
A great deal of editing has been done to the First Edition to make the transition to the Second. Many of the stats on vehicles were called into question by a few visitors, and I have attemtped to address their concerns with the utmost in objectivity. Although I stand by the stats as they were originally written, I have nevertheless made some modifications to them to accommodate those who were less-than-satisfied. My own style of mastering game sessions crept into a few of the stats, and as such some of the methods I used in writing up more than one item were somewhat confusing to those who don't practice a similar style. Therefore, many vehicle statistics have been retooled to be more user-friendly for GMs with a more traditional approach. Also, there were a few glaring omissions in the original Sourcebook, which were bound to happen in a work of this size, but they bothered me greatly, as they did many visitors! These omissions (exemplified by the omission of the Toydarian Force-resistance) have been corrected.

What's the Same
There are some idiosyncrasies in the Sourcebook that have NOT been "corrected" or altered, and I will address those points now, as well as my motivation for leaving them as they were. Many readers have called into question some of the new Force powers, citing conflicts with the original rules (most notably "Mimic Antoher Force Power") or lack of necessity. Let me now go on record as saying that...I don't like the original Force rules. Although I work within them for the sake of order, and do admit that the system works fairly well most of the time, the system as it stands directly contradicts the films and books in many ways. In terms of the "Mimic Another Force Power" device, I still stand fast...I designed that power to correct what I perceived as a flaw in the rules (readers of the Jedi Academy Trilogy will notice that the system as it was published directly contradicted many of Luke's teachings, and by creating this power I have found a way around that glitch). Also, in regards to the powers that many felt "unnecessary" (such as "Superleap"), I mentioned in the original text that they existed merely as shortcuts designed to "speed up" the use of Force powers in the game. Star Wars action is supposed to be fast, and these powers were developed in order to restore some painfully-absent speed to the existing rules. What I have done with the Force powers I have written is to "repair" what I saw as holes in the system. Perhaps now that the motivation for those changes has been made clear, more readers will come to embrace the changes. Ultimately, however, it is your campaign, and you should never feel compelled to adopt an opinion you are not comfortable with...as I have always said in this Sourcebook, take what you like, and only what you believe in.

I hope you enjoy this Second Edition, and I thank you for your continued support.

Now...

I'M BACK!

May 28, 2000 Hello again, people...after a long hiatus, I'm back on the Sourcebook project. It's been eons since I got anything new done, and I've been woefully slow in answering email as of late, and for both of those things I apologize. It's been a hectic few months, what with getting accustomed to the demands of fatherhood and a busy schedule of tournament competition. Hopefully, none of you felt slighted by the delays in responding to your questions...I assure you, no slight was intended! Since I last posted anything here, Episode I has come out on video, and I trust you've all got a copy by now. If you see anything upon repeated viewings that you think should be included here, let me know...I may be slower in working on this page than I used to be, but I haven't abandoned the Sourcebook. Personally, I'm not terribly optomistic about Wizards of the Coast having taken control of the Star Wars RPG's future, so I intend to keep this Sourcebook alive for those out there who are reluctant to let the WEG system die. Oh, that reminds me...many thanks to everyone who has written encouraging words since the Second Edition first came into being...you have my eternal gratitude. This project is for people like you!

The first new thing I will be doing is adding a bona fide links page. Now, before you get excited and bombard me with links pages, let me say this...I will only be posting a small handful of links that are beneficial to the users of this Sourcebook in partuciular. There are a number of SW links pages out there, and I have no interest in trying to usurp them! Rather, I will link to sites with info on Episode I material converted to the minatures game rules, or sites including characters that I haven't done. I will be reviewing sites to link to very carefully, so please be patient. You folks expect quality, and so do I, and I want to make sure I don't mislead you.

Which brings me to a request...please keep writing to me with feedback and requests, but please be patient in getting a reply! I'm just really busy as of late, so if you don't get a reply for some time, it's NOT that I don't care or have lost interest...I'm just snowed under! This site has received WAY more hits than I ever expected, frankly, and I keep up as best as I can. It doesn't hurt to write me again every once in a while if I haven't answered you, because your original mail may have been lost in the shuffle...but please, try to restrain your enthusiasm. One or two reminders a month will suffice. :) As usual, thank you all SO much for your support!

I'd also like to take this time to mention again that the Sourcebook has received a very favorable review from the avid game-hounds at RPG.net. Not only am I flattered by the favorable attention, I'm thrilled with the new traffic this review has generated. Take some time out of your gaming schedule to go give this site a look, particularly if you buy a lot of game products...a well-timed review can really save the gamer on a budget.