I've tried both the d20, and ff's system and I've found both wanting. I finally got to play a season of d6 and my god, this system is perfect, and Disney should do us all a favor and give the license back to where it belongs.
I would agree. Unfortunately WEG is dead and gone and their games are in a legal limbo never to be published again. Part of me would like to blame Lucas films for the fact that WEG is gone. Ask yourself, if they hadn't lost their license and they were still around could you buy a revised edition of Ghostbusters rpg? Probably. But, out of the ashes of ruin there arises some compensation. The D6 license is now open and there are many free materials for it now: www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/468/West-End-Games?filters=0_0_0_0_0&test_epoch=0
I mean you can still get most of the books for reasonable prices on Amazon, so it's not a dead system. Furthermore Revised and Expanded is pretty much perfect in anyway so I could care less for seeing a republishing of this material with whatever crap new mechanics they'd slap in to make it "modern."
I would have fully agreed with you at one time. I was game master for my Star Wars group for 16+ years using the West End Games system. I loved it - the amount of hours we would play was unbelievable with some sessions lasting straight on through the night into the next day. We had a lot of good times and I miss my players from that time period (big HELLOs going out to Jason, Jon, Terry, Seth, Craig, Matt, and of course, Ken - the Force will be with you. Always.). However, out of curiosity I picked up the Fantasy Flight Games version of Star Wars a few years ago. I had tried the D20 system and found it nowhere near as fun or easy to use as WEG. FFG’s system was basically a walk down memory lane for me. I was curious and wanted to see what it was like. At first, the dice and the symbols seemed so foreign to me - I was so used to the simplicity of WEG D6!!!! But I gave FFG a chance. I joined new gaming groups and began to both GM and play this system. And I fell in love!!! FFG’s narrative dice system is so easy to learn - you will pick it up after only a few dice rolls. Running combat in FFG is ONE dice roll!!! In WEG D6, there was a dice roll to hit. A dice roll to DODGE the blast. A blast DAMAGE roll. A character’s STRENGTH roll.... Combat in WEG became sluggish and dragged down by grabbing fistfuls of dice and rolling and counting. Rinse and repeat... But with FFG - ONE DICE ROLL! That is it - not only do you now know if the blast or attack hit or not, but you also know the damage (if any) and the players keep track of their status. It makes GMing this game sooooo easy. FFG has done an incredible job with their core books and with their supplemental material books. The quality of artwork, writing and presentation is evident throughout. And, FFG gives a nod to WEG when a person spots equipment or ships, races or planets that true Star Wars fans know comes directly from the old West End materials. I am SO HAPPY that I have rediscovered gaming and discovered Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars RPG. The Force is with me .... again!
Actually there's a fan-made version of 2E R&E called REUP (Revised, Expanded, Updated) that includes content from the prequels and the EU including stat blocks for races like the Yuuzhan Vong. There's also D6 conversions of the Saga Edition sourcebooks as well. The wealth of fan-made conversions and content for the D6 system is insane. There's stat blocks to play as Din Djarin from The Mandalorian, play as one of Dex's race, new force powers, etc. Simply put, the D6 System is still beloved even today with new material constantly being put out by fans. If it's appeared on a show then sooner or later it will have a D6 stat block to use in your games.
Yep, I'm running a Clone Wars era campaign right now using it. Note this video was release in 2015, about the same time the latest version was released. :).
I used to run this game heavily in the 90s, still have all the books, many in new condition since they just sit in a box right now. We had a blast playing this, really liked the system.
ah, my FAVORITE rpg. My friends from high school and i have been playing this since we were 13 yrs old. We lived in a small Indiana town and there wasn’t much to do besides get into trouble (or get knocked up 🤦🏻♀️) But we would play this game ALL weekend and just laugh and laugh when we didn’t have heart pounding adventures. The Brutal Bounty Hunter was constantly at odds with the Calculating Jedi. They were both terrified of space combat. Great Game since no one character can be good at everything. You need the team! Force Points were instant drama. I can’t recommend this game enough!
I found a copy of 2e revised and expanded and it was so intuitive to run. I was a completely new GM to the game and decided to challenge myself by running a one shot at an RPG convention. The one shot had the players play padawans on the day of Order 66 and they had pre-gens and had the same amount of dice for force skills but distributed differently for each character. As well as only one character was good at computers and one was good at piloting etc. Clones were about to break into their common room, and so they broke out the window and thought to reverse gravity. It was a curveball but I figured if they rolled high enough in Alter they’d succeed. They nearly died multiple times to the Clone Troopers but got to save a group of younglings, however one did get shot. Afterward, Anakin Skywalker was near their turbolift and one of the players argued he’d have allowed the dark side to take over and attacked him, only to be cut down immediately, it was absolutely tragic and powerful. The rest of the party escaped on a freighter and bypassed the Coruscant blockade and jumped to hyperspace. It was quite possibly the best one shot I’ve ever run for any game. I’m trying to convince my weekly D&D group to switch to this game when we’re done with our campaign.
I appreciate the obvious care that was put into this video. It's apparent that you are very interested in both Star Wars and RPGs! It makes me want to finally get a group together and play this one!
I'm running a revised 1st edition campaign for six of my friends. They're playing a Brash Pilot, Pirate, and Tongue-tied Engineer (all human), a Failed Jedi (Rodian), Gambler (Twi'lek) and Tough Native (Gungan). I still love this system because it FEELS like Star Wars. Great to see that vehicles and ships from this game eventually became on-screen canon. I remember watching a Clone Wars episode and thinking, "Hang on, Ahsoka's flying the Long Shot!" Being able to download everything I needed has given me enough material to last a couple of years.
Get the revised and expanded edition of the game and the Tales of the Jedi companion book not only for the setting (which is great for both andventures and campaigns) but for the force powers compendium. All or almost all the force powers that were ever official in the game are on this book.
Absolutely loved WEG SW. Started playing in High School a few years after it came out. Revised was an improvement however. Still have all the books (including the Journals) and would run it again in a heart beat.
Fantastic memories playing this game. My friends started with 1st edition and we played all the way through WOTC’s Saga Edition. I haven’t played the Fantasy Flight version but I think West End’s Revised Edition remains the finest version of the Star Wars RPG. I disagree that Jedi are overpowered in this edition. They have to spend double experience on Force attributes and powers while also boosting the non-Force skills. By the time a Jedi becomes truly formidable with his abilities non-Jedi characters excel in skills like blaster, piloting and other technical skills in the game. Excellent system with tons of source material that’s easily accessible online.
WEG's Star Wars, got 'em all. Sit's nicely on my shelf and still a favorite, although I do admit that the D20 rule set makes it a bit easier for modern players to tap into.
I ran a campaign of the first edition when it came out. It was simple and elegant. My only complaint was that characters were so powerful compared to stock NPCs players could just act silly and still win. I'm not just talking about force sensitive characters either. Also, they included templates for major characters like Han Solo and they were so far above the already over-powered PCs you wonder why they ever bothered to run or hide from the empire, since they could just take on legions of storm troopers in the open with no chance of getting hurt. Wookies could even shrug off shots from blasters and usually just be stunned for a round. The inclusion of so many characters... even minor ones like Wedge Antilles, that were sooo much better than you would ever be made the whole game seem a little pointless.
Very well done retrospective. I remember playing this as it was released. Wish I still had all my books. Never lost my love of the Star Wars Universe. Thumbs Up captcorajus!
This is true, I have ever version of the game, only the D6 system fits, if they brought back the system I'd buy everything, the whole line, Lets put it this way, do you think ANY other version of this game will still have fan sites, and people even making new editions of the book decades later? Nope, Only D6
Good content. I ran a star wars game home-brew, the players were TIE pilots (Wing Commander influenced). It went well and they finished. One went rebel.
In the mid-1990s, I worked in a bookstore which specialized in overstocked and seconded books. We got a huge shipment of Star Wars 2E RPG books and accessories, and I bought up everything I could. Most of the books and accessories were less than $5 each. The Star Wars Adventure Journals were incredibly helpful, and perhaps the most valuable publications IMO. Despite my eagerness to run the system, I could never find anyone to play with. My gaming group only wanted to play D&D. It's not too late, though. I have all the West End Games publications on PDF, so perhaps one day.....
Capt, I gotta say you've pretty much helped me buy about a quarter of my RPG collection. I got 1st edition Star wars with the sourcebook and rules companion after watching this review and some consideration. My shelf has to thank you for the rich material I now have. Without your reviews, I may have overlooked some of these great games and modules.
Wow! That's great to hear, and thank you. That is the REASON for the channel, to try and bring to light old school classics that might be overlooked by those new to the hobby.
If I may ask, with your old school preferences, have you tried Goodman Games' Dungeon Crawl Classics? Even if you aren't a fan of the system, the modules are great for converting to other Old school systems.
dreamakuma I love those modules to death. I haven't really tried their game system. If I really want run a game system that is old school, I run Castles and Crusades.
I have to admit that through my collecting (of almost 20 years now) this channel has positively influenced my gaming tastes as well. Thanks for the fantastic videos.
Pretty sure this Star Wars RPG was the one that I was *this close* to playing in the later elementary school/early middle school years (I want to say 1997-1999ish?) A few bits here and there definitely sound familiar, like having Technical and Mechanical stats in the character profiles. Had a friend who had at least one of the books for it and was showing me some of the system in the library one time, but living miles away from town and rarely seeing friends outside school meant we never ended up really playing. Despite that, I definitely remember having a few random characters sketched out in some of my notebooks around that time, and it was neat to find out what the names of all the obscure alien species were.
This looks really good... I had bought all the books for Star Wars Saga Edition... which are beautiful books, but when I sat down to really get playing, I realized I was faced with a system that was heavy on the crunch (the pre-cursor to 4th edition D&D, UGH!) and not what I wanted at all. I decided to run a Star Wars game using FATE, and just using those Saga Edition books for flavor and content... D6 has peaked my interest though, and I went ahead and purchased the 2nd Edition Revised (1996) book off Ebay to give it a read, and see if I may convert from FATE to D6 for my Star Wars RPG goodness. I LOVE that it has such a dedicated community for it out there... I saw they even worked on a newly cleaned up core book the can easily be printed up in hardcover if desired. THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH D6!
Great video! My cousin gave me all of his Star Wars rpg books a while back and I just dug them out of the closet because I'm trying to get some friends into tabletop rpg's. I was looking for a good overview of the second Ed sourcebook to decide if this was simple enough to play for first timers, and It looks like it is! Thank you and I better get to reading!
That was only true if you had a low strength. My players would often max out strength. If you do that, getting killed from anything less than a thermal detonator explosion was mathematically almost impossible. Apart from that, it was almost impossible to get hit if you had a high dex and bothered to dodge.
That makes me go and play D6 Star Wars again. I regulary play a homebrewed Agents of Shield Style D6 and yesterday we entered the final stage of my campaign after nearly three years. Because of its simplicity its great for telling any kind of story. Great video!
I loved running this game back in the day. The only thing I never succeeded in doing was running through the Darkstryder campaign. Probably too big a commitment for my group.
I really preferred an episodic campaign with recurring villains, with a hint of an overall arc. To me, Star Wars Rebels is the perfect Star Wars RPG campaign.
Hey Cap, I've finally grabbed the second edition, revised and expanded, and a few sourcebooks in NM condition in an off world trade, with this I finally have all 3 rulesets for Star Wars, started with Saga, (it Sucks) gone for FFG (it sucks less), and with this i've come full circle, this is my favorite version, the d6 one, it's sleek simple, nimble, easy, i'm sold , furthermore, It focuses on my favorite aproach to the universe, it's 100% Disney free, it's prequel free (but adaptable to include). Thank you i've first seen this video as I was reading the FFG rules, but it peaked my interest, with the complete blunder of ep. 8 i've set my mind, I will read as much as star wars as i can before Disney, and the death of the expanded universe, and for an RPG fan as myself there is no better place to do that than here, in the D6 system. A hug from Portugal May the force be with you
It's a Cash grab, no soul, it's Star war's Frankenstein, a bit of the original a bit of the prequels, a dash of expanded universe, but a much inferior product, and the dice, I still Loathe kicthy dice, not even Kurt Weigel has made me love that game, and he tried, most of RPG players here in Portugal (a very small sub-culture, but growing), go for the FFG rules, but I stand my ground for what is my vision of star wars, and a game with soul and story in the industry, not FFG cash grab, this books now are the oldest items in my collection, the former was a first edition of legend of the five rings. Keep this up, there are a lot of old jewels in the hobby that still deserve recognition, keep this up All the best
There are some good system points to it but it could been done easy with normal dice, but the "buy our 15,00 $ dice, (witch you will need 3 sets) buyour dice rolling app", it's not about the money it's about a cash grab similar to video games, and DLC, or micro transactions, it sucks, it's not consumer or player driven, it's profit driven, and that is all that is currently wrong with Disney's Star Wars.
I played this so much. It has influenced what Star Wars is to me more than than anything outside the original 3 movies. To me Canon Star wars does not exist. EU for all time for me with the inclusion of a few Disney Series which have been converted on home grown Star wars West end Games fan sites.
I loved this game. It just had 2 problems: force powers were a bit too weighty due to trying to include everything from the novels and it was too hard to hurt people. I would have my hero shoot people twice in succession with a heavy blaster set on kill (not stun) to stun them. This is fixed in the more recent generic "D6 Space" which is free online (without pirating) under the OGL.
D6 system such a underrated RPG system. We need more beginner friendly games that aren't doumb down. It's surreal watching this video years later. In hindsight the saddest day in Star Wars history for me was Disney throwing out EU from canon. This RPG added so much character and lore Star Wars fans took for granted. Shadows of the empire and Dash Rendar era was my Star Wars growing up. Dash Rendar and KOTOR HK47 canon status in Disney Star Wars still unknown.
My problem with WEG Star Wars was that Stormtroopers were as tough and capable as the PCs and Lightsabers only did as much damage as a Blaster 5D I believe with no rules for it being able to cut through armor and other tough materials with ease.
I am curious though, how the "Revised, Expanded & Updated" edition stacks up to these 3. Or at least to the 3rd one "Revised & Expanded" edition. It looks like it was also produced by West End Games but in Nov 2014?? It also still claims to be 2nd edition. I am guessing they just incorporated the new material from the prequels?? Maybe you have a video on that comparison already that I haven't stumbled upon. But if not I would like to see one :)
What you get with 'updated' is the inclusion of prequel information on races, jedi powers, creatures, vehicles and the like as well as integrating all the jedi powers from all released books into one place as well as jedi powers shown in the prequel, which obviously greatly expands the scope of the game.
Hot damn My friends and I played the hell outta that game!! West end games even made a larp rulebook way before larp was a thing! And don't forget the west end game star wars miniature rule box set!
I agree, this game rocks MASSIVELY!!! Get the books on Amazon for $12 or so. There is also a 2014 update that appears to only be available online as pdf
+captcorajus Hehe, I've only played 2nd edition, but I'm a big fan. With the latest edition being released in a few months time, it would be great to see one of your retro reviews.
I didn't always enjoy the two handfulls of D6s in that first game.....but its ship modification system was way more edifying than what they gave us in the D20 system. The D20 system seems to work more smoothly planet side though....and the feats and skills were awesome. But the West End games template system did have a charge to it.
If anybody wants to check out a simplified version (just 35 pages) there was a game from West End Games called Mini-Six Bare Bones Edition. Its also an excelent price. Free! img.fireden.net/tg/image/1452/92/1452929431285.pdf It does things such as having only 4 attributes instead of 6, only one force skill instead of 3, and nerfs to Jedi and the Force Point so they're useful, but not game breaking. Combat has 2 variants, one of which is simplified and less confusing to use. Also, a flaw of the game would be very tough characters in heavy armor being nearly unkillable. Well, there are two damage systems. There is the traditional damage states, or you can switch your game to hit points. A tough guy with hit points can be killed eventually. Also, the system is actually generic. You can use this same rulebook to play High Fantasy with castles and dragons, modern super heroes or cops and robbers, or another Sci-Fi setting like Star Trek or Firefly. It has settings in the game for Star Wars, Firefly, and Willow, steampunk Victorian ghost/monster hunters, or schlocky 1970's police, but with the actual names all changed so they won't get sued (I.E. Imperium in Revolt with Star Paladins armed with Plasma Swords instead of Star Wars Empire and Jedi Knights).
I wish I could like this more than once. I love this game, we played using the outer rim as the backdrop. The mechanic is great. Fantasy Flight are releasing the original as a once off celebration. Thanks for bringing back for discussion.
RISUS is the best D6 system ever made,make games campaigns and generate characters in minutes and it is perfect for Star Wars go check it out you won't be sorry.
More than any system I know ( at least as many as the Captain , this system deserves and needs a face lift. Open D6, the system that SW uses suffers from poor layout, boring writing and art that inspires nobody. Oh, and a magic system that some RPG developer surely dug out of there Spare Parts pile. For this, it's easy to miss that it's arguably the BEST dice mechanic of all time. And we're all sleeping on it. It's easy to tweak too.
+dannalbob Absolutely, though I never played the Saga edition. They weren't bad, and its important to keep in mind that WOTC was wise enough to assign Bill Slavichek to oversee the department in this. However, it is still D20. Not that D20 is bad, however, even at its most simplest, D20 tends to skew towards the hobby gamer as opposed to the uninitiated. I liked D6 because it was so easy to 'bring a newbie into the fold' as it were, with the simple character creation. D20 still takes at least an hour, and there a LOT of explaining to do. Also... while the leveling aspect might be great for scenario design, and determining character power levels, it also tends to 'balance' the character classes against one another at equal levels. So... a 10th level Finger is equivalent to a Jedi Knight, unlike D6 was where experienced force users became quite powerful. In game terms, that might be for the best, but as a reflection of the Star Wars universe, it tends to diminish the Jedi, IMHO. Also, I think D6 plays faster, and is more cinematic in its approach.
Great video. Clear concise professional. I appreciate videos that respect the viewer by abstaining from shtick. Question ....what is broken in 1e WEG Star Wars?
Yes, I don't care too much for videos where they just drag on without getting to the point. The BROKEN parts of the original rules were several. First there was no initiative system.. the forgot to include it. There was also no difficulty scale. These things didn't become clear until the game was already released. Game stores carried a four page 'addendum' to the rule to fix it, the four pages were included in all module releases for the 1st edition, and it was integrated into the the Star Wars Rules Companion released two years later in 1989
captcorajus I would beg to differ. I prefere 1st edition Star Wars over any other, and one of the principal reasons is that there is no initiative. The game works much better without. The person who gets the highest roll is the first to shoot, apply the results. In my mind Greg Costikyan knew what he was doing. The game plays faster and looser and his more exciting this way. Unfortunately it seems that Costikyan left WEG after the core rule book was released. I still think his version of the game is the best.
I still love the old D6 version of Star Wars, running it with my 13 year old son and his friends, and they think it's great. I just did a video on West End Games who published it, ruclips.net/video/BmKvlrKcNHU/видео.html
West End Games lost the rights because Lucas Films wanted all the gaming stuff handled by Wizards of the Coast which was owned by Hasbro who made all the toys. That is the only reason why d20 Star Wars existed. Third Edition D&D (that's all d20 is) was a terrible fit for Star Wars. To do anything like what the character's in the movie could due would require so many levels as to make the whole thing pointless. I've yet to see an attempt at a Star Wars RPG after WEG that really did the setting justice. Of the d20 version Star Wars Saga edition was playable and got rid of a lot of the crap that made D&D such a bad fit. Still nothing like WEG Star Wars.
Actually no. West End Games went into bankruptcy, following mismanagement between West End Games and its then-parent company, shoe importer Bucci Retail Group. That's why they lost their license. WOTC acquired the license and hired Bill Slavicsek, the same person who was in charge of Star Wars at WEG to handle the property.
Noh, Rebels has some awesome character moments, and excellent additions to the story. The entire Ashoka arc is phenomenal. Lets not forget the emotional scene between Darth Maul and Obi Wan Kenobi. Its not nearly as perfect as Clone Wars, but the characters were fun, and it was enjoyable. I'm a TRUE Star Wars fan. Love the Mandalorean, not a fan of the third trilogy. Dave Feloni is amazing. 'Nuff said. :)
My first rpg then D&D . I don't play D&D any more . Have tried the later D20 and FF editions but prefer the original. I also forget later films other than Rogue 1 for expanded universe . A great universe and game before Disney ruined it
I've tried both the d20, and ff's system and I've found both wanting. I finally got to play a season of d6 and my god, this system is perfect, and Disney should do us all a favor and give the license back to where it belongs.
I would agree. Unfortunately WEG is dead and gone and their games are in a legal limbo never to be published again. Part of me would like to blame Lucas films for the fact that WEG is gone. Ask yourself, if they hadn't lost their license and they were still around could you buy a revised edition of Ghostbusters rpg? Probably.
But, out of the ashes of ruin there arises some compensation. The D6 license is now open and there are many free materials for it now:
www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/468/West-End-Games?filters=0_0_0_0_0&test_epoch=0
I mean you can still get most of the books for reasonable prices on Amazon, so it's not a dead system. Furthermore Revised and Expanded is pretty much perfect in anyway so I could care less for seeing a republishing of this material with whatever crap new mechanics they'd slap in to make it "modern."
I said WEG is dead. So you cannot give the license back to them. It's too late.
@@InfamousPeanut Fantasy Flight Games has Reprinted the Original Role
playing Game and Source Books
I would have fully agreed with you at one time.
I was game master for my Star Wars group for 16+ years using the West End Games system. I loved it - the amount of hours we would play was unbelievable with some sessions lasting straight on through the night into the next day. We had a lot of good times and I miss my players from that time period (big HELLOs going out to Jason, Jon, Terry, Seth, Craig, Matt, and of course, Ken - the Force will be with you. Always.).
However, out of curiosity I picked up the Fantasy Flight Games version of Star Wars a few years ago. I had tried the D20 system and found it nowhere near as fun or easy to use as WEG. FFG’s system was basically a walk down memory lane for me. I was curious and wanted to see what it was like. At first, the dice and the symbols seemed so foreign to me - I was so used to the simplicity of WEG D6!!!!
But I gave FFG a chance. I joined new gaming groups and began to both GM and play this system. And I fell in love!!!
FFG’s narrative dice system is so easy to learn - you will pick it up after only a few dice rolls.
Running combat in FFG is ONE dice roll!!! In WEG D6, there was a dice roll to hit. A dice roll to DODGE the blast. A blast DAMAGE roll. A character’s STRENGTH roll.... Combat in WEG became sluggish and dragged down by grabbing fistfuls of dice and rolling and counting. Rinse and repeat...
But with FFG - ONE DICE ROLL! That is it - not only do you now know if the blast or attack hit or not, but you also know the damage (if any) and the players keep track of their status. It makes GMing this game sooooo easy.
FFG has done an incredible job with their core books and with their supplemental material books. The quality of artwork, writing and presentation is evident throughout.
And, FFG gives a nod to WEG when a person spots equipment or ships, races or planets that true Star Wars fans know comes directly from the old West End materials.
I am SO HAPPY that I have rediscovered gaming and discovered Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars RPG. The Force is with me .... again!
Actually there's a fan-made version of 2E R&E called REUP (Revised, Expanded, Updated) that includes content from the prequels and the EU including stat blocks for races like the Yuuzhan Vong.
There's also D6 conversions of the Saga Edition sourcebooks as well. The wealth of fan-made conversions and content for the D6 system is insane. There's stat blocks to play as Din Djarin from The Mandalorian, play as one of Dex's race, new force powers, etc.
Simply put, the D6 System is still beloved even today with new material constantly being put out by fans. If it's appeared on a show then sooner or later it will have a D6 stat block to use in your games.
Yep, I'm running a Clone Wars era campaign right now using it. Note this video was release in 2015, about the same time the latest version was released. :).
My first RPG ever. Still as much fun as it was back in '87.
I used to run this game heavily in the 90s, still have all the books, many in new condition since they just sit in a box right now. We had a blast playing this, really liked the system.
Oh man I had some good times playing this with friends. My character was a mechanical tinker, I kept improving our gear and ship.
ah, my FAVORITE rpg. My friends from high school and i have been playing this since we were 13 yrs old. We lived in a small Indiana town and there wasn’t much to do besides get into trouble (or get knocked up 🤦🏻♀️) But we would play this game ALL weekend and just laugh and laugh when we didn’t have heart pounding adventures. The Brutal Bounty Hunter was constantly at odds with the Calculating Jedi. They were both terrified of space combat. Great Game since no one character can be good at everything. You need the team! Force Points were instant drama. I can’t recommend this game enough!
I would love to see you do an overview of the MERP system. Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP) by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE).
I found a copy of 2e revised and expanded and it was so intuitive to run. I was a completely new GM to the game and decided to challenge myself by running a one shot at an RPG convention.
The one shot had the players play padawans on the day of Order 66 and they had pre-gens and had the same amount of dice for force skills but distributed differently for each character. As well as only one character was good at computers and one was good at piloting etc.
Clones were about to break into their common room, and so they broke out the window and thought to reverse gravity. It was a curveball but I figured if they rolled high enough in Alter they’d succeed. They nearly died multiple times to the Clone Troopers but got to save a group of younglings, however one did get shot. Afterward, Anakin Skywalker was near their turbolift and one of the players argued he’d have allowed the dark side to take over and attacked him, only to be cut down immediately, it was absolutely tragic and powerful. The rest of the party escaped on a freighter and bypassed the Coruscant blockade and jumped to hyperspace. It was quite possibly the best one shot I’ve ever run for any game.
I’m trying to convince my weekly D&D group to switch to this game when we’re done with our campaign.
Best RPG game ever! Great system and setting... loved all the content! ☺
This is true,
I appreciate the obvious care that was put into this video. It's apparent that you are very interested in both Star Wars and RPGs! It makes me want to finally get a group together and play this one!
D6 is the best version. Thanks for this
I'm running a revised 1st edition campaign for six of my friends. They're playing a Brash Pilot, Pirate, and Tongue-tied Engineer (all human), a Failed Jedi (Rodian), Gambler (Twi'lek) and Tough Native (Gungan). I still love this system because it FEELS like Star Wars. Great to see that vehicles and ships from this game eventually became on-screen canon. I remember watching a Clone Wars episode and thinking, "Hang on, Ahsoka's flying the Long Shot!" Being able to download everything I needed has given me enough material to last a couple of years.
Get the revised and expanded edition of the game and the Tales of the Jedi companion book not only for the setting (which is great for both andventures and campaigns) but for the force powers compendium. All or almost all the force powers that were ever official in the game are on this book.
I've never actually played an RPG board game, but I find this video highly interesting.
Absolutely loved WEG SW. Started playing in High School a few years after it came out. Revised was an improvement however. Still have all the books (including the Journals) and would run it again in a heart beat.
Fantastic memories playing this game. My friends started with 1st edition and we played all the way through WOTC’s Saga Edition. I haven’t played the Fantasy Flight version but I think West End’s Revised Edition remains the finest version of the Star Wars RPG. I disagree that Jedi are overpowered in this edition. They have to spend double experience on Force attributes and powers while also boosting the non-Force skills. By the time a Jedi becomes truly formidable with his abilities non-Jedi characters excel in skills like blaster, piloting and other technical skills in the game. Excellent system with tons of source material that’s easily accessible online.
WEG's Star Wars, got 'em all. Sit's nicely on my shelf and still a favorite, although I do admit that the D20 rule set makes it a bit easier for modern players to tap into.
I ran a campaign of the first edition when it came out. It was simple and elegant. My only complaint was that characters were so powerful compared to stock NPCs players could just act silly and still win. I'm not just talking about force sensitive characters either. Also, they included templates for major characters like Han Solo and they were so far above the already over-powered PCs you wonder why they ever bothered to run or hide from the empire, since they could just take on legions of storm troopers in the open with no chance of getting hurt. Wookies could even shrug off shots from blasters and usually just be stunned for a round.
The inclusion of so many characters... even minor ones like Wedge Antilles, that were sooo much better than you would ever be made the whole game seem a little pointless.
Man, I had those books,and guess what, I still have them!
Very well done retrospective. I remember playing this as it was released. Wish I still had all my books. Never lost my love of the Star Wars Universe. Thumbs Up captcorajus!
Thanks!
Star Wars D6, an elegant system for a more civilized age.
This is true, I have ever version of the game, only the D6 system fits,
if they brought back the system I'd buy everything, the whole line,
Lets put it this way, do you think ANY other version of this game will still have fan sites, and people even making new editions of the book decades later?
Nope,
Only D6
No other Star Wars game actually INFLUENCED actual Star Wars.
@@captcorajus Good point
Man, this sounds awesome! I never played it when I was a kid. I've played many hours of star wars computer games.
Good content. I ran a star wars game home-brew, the players were TIE pilots (Wing Commander influenced). It went well and they finished. One went rebel.
There's even conversions of campaign guides from the later D20 system.
In the mid-1990s, I worked in a bookstore which specialized in overstocked and seconded books.
We got a huge shipment of Star Wars 2E RPG books and accessories, and I bought up everything I could. Most of the books and accessories were less than $5 each.
The Star Wars Adventure Journals were incredibly helpful, and perhaps the most valuable publications IMO.
Despite my eagerness to run the system, I could never find anyone to play with. My gaming group only wanted to play D&D.
It's not too late, though. I have all the West End Games publications on PDF, so perhaps one day.....
Capt, I gotta say you've pretty much helped me buy about a quarter of my RPG collection. I got 1st edition Star wars with the sourcebook and rules companion after watching this review and some consideration.
My shelf has to thank you for the rich material I now have. Without your reviews, I may have overlooked some of these great games and modules.
Wow! That's great to hear, and thank you. That is the REASON for the channel, to try and bring to light old school classics that might be overlooked by those new to the hobby.
If I may ask, with your old school preferences, have you tried Goodman Games' Dungeon Crawl Classics?
Even if you aren't a fan of the system, the modules are great for converting to other Old school systems.
dreamakuma I love those modules to death. I haven't really tried their game system. If I really want run a game system that is old school, I run Castles and Crusades.
I have to admit that through my collecting (of almost 20 years now) this channel has positively influenced my gaming tastes as well. Thanks for the fantastic videos.
Lol... thanks. Yeah, I'm running a 5E game for my friends, but also a C&C game on Fantasy Grounds. :)
Pretty sure this Star Wars RPG was the one that I was *this close* to playing in the later elementary school/early middle school years (I want to say 1997-1999ish?) A few bits here and there definitely sound familiar, like having Technical and Mechanical stats in the character profiles. Had a friend who had at least one of the books for it and was showing me some of the system in the library one time, but living miles away from town and rarely seeing friends outside school meant we never ended up really playing.
Despite that, I definitely remember having a few random characters sketched out in some of my notebooks around that time, and it was neat to find out what the names of all the obscure alien species were.
You know you've found a great youtuber when a video that's 20 minutes feels like just a few. Good job.
Oh wow, thank you!
I didn't realize Sandy Peterson made Ghostbusters.
This looks really good... I had bought all the books for Star Wars Saga Edition... which are beautiful books, but when I sat down to really get playing, I realized I was faced with a system that was heavy on the crunch (the pre-cursor to 4th edition D&D, UGH!) and not what I wanted at all. I decided to run a Star Wars game using FATE, and just using those Saga Edition books for flavor and content... D6 has peaked my interest though, and I went ahead and purchased the 2nd Edition Revised (1996) book off Ebay to give it a read, and see if I may convert from FATE to D6 for my Star Wars RPG goodness. I LOVE that it has such a dedicated community for it out there... I saw they even worked on a newly cleaned up core book the can easily be printed up in hardcover if desired. THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH D6!
Great video! My cousin gave me all of his Star Wars rpg books a while back and I just dug them out of the closet because I'm trying to get some friends into tabletop rpg's. I was looking for a good overview of the second Ed sourcebook to decide if this was simple enough to play for first timers, and It looks like it is! Thank you and I better get to reading!
Love your videos, Captain; been a fan for years. We play your videos in our game store up on our TV in the retail area. Great stuff.
Wow! What an honor. I've got a new batch of videos coming out this month! Thank you!
This was very well done and informative!
Love the d6 system for its simplicity. One thing I remember about this game was that it was easy to die: one hit could kill you.
That was only true if you had a low strength. My players would often max out strength. If you do that, getting killed from anything less than a thermal detonator explosion was mathematically almost impossible.
Apart from that, it was almost impossible to get hit if you had a high dex and bothered to dodge.
@@nehukybis this. The game was notorious for how high strength characters easily become invincible.
That makes me go and play D6 Star Wars again. I regulary play a homebrewed Agents of Shield Style D6 and yesterday we entered the final stage of my campaign after nearly three years. Because of its simplicity its great for telling any kind of story. Great video!
I loved running this game back in the day. The only thing I never succeeded in doing was running through the Darkstryder campaign. Probably too big a commitment for my group.
I really preferred an episodic campaign with recurring villains, with a hint of an overall arc.
To me, Star Wars Rebels is the perfect Star Wars RPG campaign.
Man I loved the old d6 game. Didn't get to play it much but I loved it and the group I played with. I was a smuggler. pew pew!
Hey Cap, I've finally grabbed the second edition, revised and expanded, and a few sourcebooks in NM condition in an off world trade, with this I finally have all 3 rulesets for Star Wars, started with Saga, (it Sucks) gone for FFG (it sucks less), and with this i've come full circle, this is my favorite version, the d6 one, it's sleek simple, nimble, easy, i'm sold , furthermore, It focuses on my favorite aproach to the universe, it's 100% Disney free, it's prequel free (but adaptable to include).
Thank you i've first seen this video as I was reading the FFG rules, but it peaked my interest, with the complete blunder of ep. 8 i've set my mind, I will read as much as star wars as i can before Disney, and the death of the expanded universe, and for an RPG fan as myself there is no better place to do that than here, in the D6 system.
A hug from Portugal
May the force be with you
Yeah, the FFG version I have no interest in. I've tried to accept the use of the specialty dice, but its way to complex.
It's a Cash grab, no soul, it's Star war's Frankenstein, a bit of the original a bit of the prequels, a dash of expanded universe, but a much inferior product, and the dice, I still Loathe kicthy dice, not even Kurt Weigel has made me love that game, and he tried, most of RPG players here in Portugal (a very small sub-culture, but growing), go for the FFG rules, but I stand my ground for what is my vision of star wars, and a game with soul and story in the industry, not FFG cash grab, this books now are the oldest items in my collection, the former was a first edition of legend of the five rings.
Keep this up, there are a lot of old jewels in the hobby that still deserve recognition, keep this up
All the best
yeah, guaranteed.. 20 years down the road, no one will be playing that game. Why? Because they won't be able to find the dice!
There are some good system points to it but it could been done easy with normal dice, but the "buy our 15,00 $ dice, (witch you will need 3 sets) buyour dice rolling app", it's not about the money it's about a cash grab similar to video games, and DLC, or micro transactions, it sucks, it's not consumer or player driven, it's profit driven, and that is all that is currently wrong with Disney's Star Wars.
I played this so much. It has influenced what Star Wars is to me more than than anything outside the original 3 movies. To me Canon Star wars does not exist. EU for all time for me with the inclusion of a few Disney Series which have been converted on home grown Star wars West end Games fan sites.
I loved this game. It just had 2 problems: force powers were a bit too weighty due to trying to include everything from the novels and it was too hard to hurt people. I would have my hero shoot people twice in succession with a heavy blaster set on kill (not stun) to stun them. This is fixed in the more recent generic "D6 Space" which is free online (without pirating) under the OGL.
Great video! I just bought the anniversary edition and can't wait to give it a go!
Great review! I look forward to more retro reviews!
D6 system such a underrated RPG system. We need more beginner friendly games that aren't doumb down. It's surreal watching this video years later. In hindsight the saddest day in Star Wars history for me was Disney throwing out EU from canon. This RPG added so much character and lore Star Wars fans took for granted. Shadows of the empire and Dash Rendar era was my Star Wars growing up. Dash Rendar and KOTOR HK47 canon status in Disney Star Wars still unknown.
My problem with WEG Star Wars was that Stormtroopers were as tough and capable as the PCs and Lightsabers only did as much damage as a Blaster 5D I believe with no rules for it being able to cut through armor and other tough materials with ease.
I am curious though, how the "Revised, Expanded & Updated" edition stacks up to these 3. Or at least to the 3rd one "Revised & Expanded" edition. It looks like it was also produced by West End Games but in Nov 2014?? It also still claims to be 2nd edition. I am guessing they just incorporated the new material from the prequels?? Maybe you have a video on that comparison already that I haven't stumbled upon. But if not I would like to see one :)
What you get with 'updated' is the inclusion of prequel information on races, jedi powers, creatures, vehicles and the like as well as integrating all the jedi powers from all released books into one place as well as jedi powers shown in the prequel, which obviously greatly expands the scope of the game.
Hot damn My friends and I played the hell outta that game!! West end games even made a larp rulebook way before larp was a thing! And don't forget the west end game star wars miniature rule box set!
This was fantastic… thank you 🙏🏼
One of my favorite game systems that I have often thought about converting to a fantasy setting. Thank you for the great video!
I agree, this game rocks MASSIVELY!!! Get the books on Amazon for $12 or so. There is also a 2014 update that appears to only be available online as pdf
Jedi and other Force Users are like the old school Magic User, weak (ish) at first then powerhouses at the end.
Request for Paranoia the RPG for your next review.
+Andrew Cousins ooo... that's a good one.
+captcorajus Hehe, I've only played 2nd edition, but I'm a big fan. With the latest edition being released in a few months time, it would be great to see one of your retro reviews.
I've got to find a group to play this version
I didn't always enjoy the two handfulls of D6s in that first game.....but its ship modification system was way more edifying than what they gave us in the D20 system. The D20 system seems to work more smoothly planet side though....and the feats and skills were awesome. But the West End games template system did have a charge to it.
Hi, great video! Very informative and useful :)
Love your videos. Any chance you can do a review of Traveller? Have a lot of fond memories playing that in high school. Thanks.
If anybody wants to check out a simplified version (just 35 pages) there was a game from West End Games called Mini-Six Bare Bones Edition. Its also an excelent price. Free! img.fireden.net/tg/image/1452/92/1452929431285.pdf
It does things such as having only 4 attributes instead of 6, only one force skill instead of 3, and nerfs to Jedi and the Force Point so they're useful, but not game breaking. Combat has 2 variants, one of which is simplified and less confusing to use. Also, a flaw of the game would be very tough characters in heavy armor being nearly unkillable. Well, there are two damage systems. There is the traditional damage states, or you can switch your game to hit points. A tough guy with hit points can be killed eventually.
Also, the system is actually generic. You can use this same rulebook to play High Fantasy with castles and dragons, modern super heroes or cops and robbers, or another Sci-Fi setting like Star Trek or Firefly. It has settings in the game for Star Wars, Firefly, and Willow, steampunk Victorian ghost/monster hunters, or schlocky 1970's police, but with the actual names all changed so they won't get sued (I.E. Imperium in Revolt with Star Paladins armed with Plasma Swords instead of Star Wars Empire and Jedi Knights).
I love the weg star wars rpg its a ton of fun to play and run i run just space battles with my wife as a rebel pilot character she created
Well done! I am considering GM:ing this and have started researching this game
I wish I could like this more than once. I love this game, we played using the outer rim as the backdrop. The mechanic is great.
Fantasy Flight are releasing the original as a once off celebration.
Thanks for bringing back for discussion.
Well I had to go and buy a copy of the game now. Thanks!
+Mark Humphries Lol... glad I could help! Have fun.
RISUS is the best D6 system ever made,make games campaigns and generate characters in minutes and it is perfect for Star Wars go check it out you won't be sorry.
13:25...Luke's gettin' kinda "cuddly" with Han, there, ha ha!
clear teal dice with a red wild die, that's how I did it when I played it lol
ahh the days before Patreon.
More than any system I know ( at least as many as the Captain , this system deserves and needs a face lift. Open D6, the system that SW uses suffers from poor layout, boring writing and art that inspires nobody. Oh, and a magic system that some RPG developer surely dug out of there Spare Parts pile. For this, it's easy to miss that it's arguably the BEST dice mechanic of all time. And we're all sleeping on it. It's easy to tweak too.
Oh man, now I really want to play!
Loved the D6 system. Star Wars was awesome!
another great job! Thanx for taking the time to make these video's.
Oh my God.. this was the best of the Series
Did you ever play the D20 version from WotC? The books looked good, I never got a chance to play though.
+dannalbob Absolutely, though I never played the Saga edition. They weren't bad, and its important to keep in mind that WOTC was wise enough to assign Bill Slavichek to oversee the department in this. However, it is still D20.
Not that D20 is bad, however, even at its most simplest, D20 tends to skew towards the hobby gamer as opposed to the uninitiated. I liked D6 because it was so easy to 'bring a newbie into the fold' as it were, with the simple character creation. D20 still takes at least an hour, and there a LOT of explaining to do. Also... while the leveling aspect might be great for scenario design, and determining character power levels, it also tends to 'balance' the character classes against one another at equal levels. So... a 10th level Finger is equivalent to a Jedi Knight, unlike D6 was where experienced force users became quite powerful.
In game terms, that might be for the best, but as a reflection of the Star Wars universe, it tends to diminish the Jedi, IMHO.
Also, I think D6 plays faster, and is more cinematic in its approach.
this was a huge part of my life age 13-25
I used to have the second edition blue cover version.
Great video. Clear concise professional. I appreciate videos that respect the viewer by abstaining from shtick. Question ....what is broken in 1e WEG Star Wars?
Yes, I don't care too much for videos where they just drag on without getting to the point. The BROKEN parts of the original rules were several. First there was no initiative system.. the forgot to include it. There was also no difficulty scale. These things didn't become clear until the game was already released. Game stores carried a four page 'addendum' to the rule to fix it, the four pages were included in all module releases for the 1st edition, and it was integrated into the the Star Wars Rules Companion released two years later in 1989
captcorajus I would beg to differ. I prefere 1st edition Star Wars over any other, and one of the principal reasons is that there is no initiative. The game works much better without. The person who gets the highest roll is the first to shoot, apply the results. In my mind Greg Costikyan knew what he was doing. The game plays faster and looser and his more exciting this way. Unfortunately it seems that Costikyan left WEG after the core rule book was released. I still think his version of the game is the best.
which is the best edition for this game?
Best...roleplaying game...EVAAAAHHHH!!!
I won't argue. I love this game.
Great video!
great review, very informative
I still love the old D6 version of Star Wars, running it with my 13 year old son and his friends, and they think it's great. I just did a video on West End Games who published it, ruclips.net/video/BmKvlrKcNHU/видео.html
The Force system us unmatched
SWRPG was an awesome game.
Uploaded while I watched the overview. haha thank you
West End Games lost the rights because Lucas Films wanted all the gaming stuff handled by Wizards of the Coast which was owned by Hasbro who made all the toys. That is the only reason why d20 Star Wars existed. Third Edition D&D (that's all d20 is) was a terrible fit for Star Wars. To do anything like what the character's in the movie could due would require so many levels as to make the whole thing pointless.
I've yet to see an attempt at a Star Wars RPG after WEG that really did the setting justice. Of the d20 version Star Wars Saga edition was playable and got rid of a lot of the crap that made D&D such a bad fit. Still nothing like WEG Star Wars.
Actually no. West End Games went into bankruptcy, following mismanagement between West End Games and its then-parent company, shoe importer Bucci Retail Group. That's why they lost their license. WOTC acquired the license and hired Bill Slavicsek, the same person who was in charge of Star Wars at WEG to handle the property.
Well, you get the "Licence" via blind bidding, (they make an offer, the highest wins)
Being bankrupt could hinder that...
@@captcorajus shoe importer?? 🤨
@@DerekLippold Yep.
Can you review F.A.T.AL? lol
+Jacob Benko You a funny guy.
Ok. Let me stop you right there. True Star Wars fans would out right ignore Rebels. It was made using Disney Wars canon. Which is not Star Wars.
Noh, Rebels has some awesome character moments, and excellent additions to the story. The entire Ashoka arc is phenomenal. Lets not forget the emotional scene between Darth Maul and Obi Wan Kenobi. Its not nearly as perfect as Clone Wars, but the characters were fun, and it was enjoyable. I'm a TRUE Star Wars fan. Love the Mandalorean, not a fan of the third trilogy. Dave Feloni is amazing. 'Nuff said. :)
don't FFG own the modern license on Star Wars RPG's?
Yes
My first rpg then D&D . I don't play D&D any more . Have tried the later D20 and FF editions but prefer the original.
I also forget later films other than Rogue 1 for expanded universe .
A great universe and game before Disney ruined it
I would encourage you to watch the Clone Wars. That is an awesome series!!
I have thought about it . Will look to purchase as totally bored with TV programs
Thanks for advise
Saga edition or gtfo
Nah. D6 is the best! :P
D20 Revised is better