Post by boot on Apr 21, 2019 19:45:14 GMT -6
GG1: A NEW HOPE
I am reading GG1 cover to cover, and I thought I'd make some notes for you fine folks. I'm reading the 2E version, which I believe is exactly the same as the 1E version barring the extra 2E stats. Somebody correct me on that if you know better. I used to own the 1E version, but I sold it. I was neck deep in a 2E R&E campaign at the time, and I thought it a waste to have the 1E book and the 2E book, never thinking then that I'd ever revert to 1E.
Well, I have a pdf of 1E, but I like reading hard copies. So, here we are.
The book, in a nutshell, presents stats and background write ups on all the characters you saw in the film. There's some extras besides that. But, if you want to know the general gist of the book, that's it. Character bios.
Now, this may seem boring to you. And, maybe it's not useful for your game. Then again, maybe it is.
If you are running a game set in Mos Eisley, this is an excellent resource. It provides you with pages and pages of extremely detailed NPCs! And, the work that WEG did on these NPCs is FANTASTIC. Their backgrounds are extremely interesting. Which of the aliens shown in the cantina scene was not born here, but abandoned as a babe and grew up in the streets and gutters of Mos Eisely? Which is actually a Rebel spy? Were the Tonnika sisters really there, in the cantina? Or where those doubles? If so, then why?
What's Greedo's story, anyway?
Every Star Wars fan worth his salt knows that Long Snoot (Garindan is his name) turned in Solo and his passengers to the Imperials. That's why the stormtroopers show up and start blasting away as the Falcon lifts. But, who else is in the information business, of the various aliens shown in the film?
This is great stuff to fill out a game world set in Mos Eisley just before the Battle of Yavin. Heck, you can even have your PCs run into Ben and Luke. I always thought that would be cool, even if it is just a scene where the PCs are walking down the street and see this speeder pulled over by a stormtrooper road block. There sits Ben and Luke, with the two droids horizontal on the back of the vehicle.
There are some other things in this book, too. The giant sand crawlers are actually left over human ore carriers. You learn from the description of Tatooine that the place was settled as a mining outpost in the Outer Rim. Settlements grew up in the wake of this prosperity, and they stubbonly stayed when the mining dried up. As for the crawlers, the Jawas nabbed these huge machines that were deemed too big, heavy, and expensive to haul off to another world after the beating each had taken on Tatooine's harsh surface. The miners abandoned them.
The introductory adventure, Rebel Breakout, which is set in some abandon mines, could easily be transplanted to Tatooine.
If you've ever heard the Star Wars radio play (or read the extended version of the novelization of The Last Jedi), then you will know who Camie is. I thought it was cool that this character, who was cut out of the movie, is actually described in this book.
The book is divided into six chapters.
Chapter One is about Tatooine. You get stats for droids, info on the planet, info on the natives (Jawas and Tusken Raiders), and info on the beasties. There's a neat explanation about moisture farming and the homesteads out in the desert. And, there's description of the Sandtroopers
What's missing--something that surprised me--is that there are no stats for Luke's landspeeder. I would think that would be included, but it is not.
Also, there's not much on Toche Station or Anchorhead. I would think a little bit about these two settlements mentioned in the film would have been covered, especially if three quarters of a page is devoted to Camie (see above) and a full page devoted to R2 leaving C-3PO out in the desert.
Chapter Two focuses on Mos Eisley. What you get here are those nifty NPC backgrounds that I wrote about above. This takes up almost the entire chapter, but I will note that only some of the famous aliens in A New Hope are detailed. Some are missing.
One thing that is very useful for a game is the description of docking bays. Mos Eisley is the only starport on the planet. And, that hasn't been disputed yet. When Princess Amadala landed near Mos Espa, they landed in the desert. There is no traditional spaceport in Mos Eisely. What there is are the individually owned docking bays. You know how some people will buy a gas station as the family business in real life? That's what is happening here. People buy and operate docking bays--many of them built and left over from the mining boom from years past.
There is an entire docking bay detailed for you, with map. It's a roleplay setting ready to go.
Also, there's a section map of the center of Mos Eisley, keyed with several of the places seen in the film, plus other spots, like Jabba's town apartment and the Dewback stables.
Good stuff.
I am reading GG1 cover to cover, and I thought I'd make some notes for you fine folks. I'm reading the 2E version, which I believe is exactly the same as the 1E version barring the extra 2E stats. Somebody correct me on that if you know better. I used to own the 1E version, but I sold it. I was neck deep in a 2E R&E campaign at the time, and I thought it a waste to have the 1E book and the 2E book, never thinking then that I'd ever revert to 1E.
Well, I have a pdf of 1E, but I like reading hard copies. So, here we are.
The book, in a nutshell, presents stats and background write ups on all the characters you saw in the film. There's some extras besides that. But, if you want to know the general gist of the book, that's it. Character bios.
Now, this may seem boring to you. And, maybe it's not useful for your game. Then again, maybe it is.
If you are running a game set in Mos Eisley, this is an excellent resource. It provides you with pages and pages of extremely detailed NPCs! And, the work that WEG did on these NPCs is FANTASTIC. Their backgrounds are extremely interesting. Which of the aliens shown in the cantina scene was not born here, but abandoned as a babe and grew up in the streets and gutters of Mos Eisely? Which is actually a Rebel spy? Were the Tonnika sisters really there, in the cantina? Or where those doubles? If so, then why?
What's Greedo's story, anyway?
Every Star Wars fan worth his salt knows that Long Snoot (Garindan is his name) turned in Solo and his passengers to the Imperials. That's why the stormtroopers show up and start blasting away as the Falcon lifts. But, who else is in the information business, of the various aliens shown in the film?
This is great stuff to fill out a game world set in Mos Eisley just before the Battle of Yavin. Heck, you can even have your PCs run into Ben and Luke. I always thought that would be cool, even if it is just a scene where the PCs are walking down the street and see this speeder pulled over by a stormtrooper road block. There sits Ben and Luke, with the two droids horizontal on the back of the vehicle.
There are some other things in this book, too. The giant sand crawlers are actually left over human ore carriers. You learn from the description of Tatooine that the place was settled as a mining outpost in the Outer Rim. Settlements grew up in the wake of this prosperity, and they stubbonly stayed when the mining dried up. As for the crawlers, the Jawas nabbed these huge machines that were deemed too big, heavy, and expensive to haul off to another world after the beating each had taken on Tatooine's harsh surface. The miners abandoned them.
The introductory adventure, Rebel Breakout, which is set in some abandon mines, could easily be transplanted to Tatooine.
If you've ever heard the Star Wars radio play (or read the extended version of the novelization of The Last Jedi), then you will know who Camie is. I thought it was cool that this character, who was cut out of the movie, is actually described in this book.
The book is divided into six chapters.
Chapter One is about Tatooine. You get stats for droids, info on the planet, info on the natives (Jawas and Tusken Raiders), and info on the beasties. There's a neat explanation about moisture farming and the homesteads out in the desert. And, there's description of the Sandtroopers
What's missing--something that surprised me--is that there are no stats for Luke's landspeeder. I would think that would be included, but it is not.
Also, there's not much on Toche Station or Anchorhead. I would think a little bit about these two settlements mentioned in the film would have been covered, especially if three quarters of a page is devoted to Camie (see above) and a full page devoted to R2 leaving C-3PO out in the desert.
Chapter Two focuses on Mos Eisley. What you get here are those nifty NPC backgrounds that I wrote about above. This takes up almost the entire chapter, but I will note that only some of the famous aliens in A New Hope are detailed. Some are missing.
One thing that is very useful for a game is the description of docking bays. Mos Eisley is the only starport on the planet. And, that hasn't been disputed yet. When Princess Amadala landed near Mos Espa, they landed in the desert. There is no traditional spaceport in Mos Eisely. What there is are the individually owned docking bays. You know how some people will buy a gas station as the family business in real life? That's what is happening here. People buy and operate docking bays--many of them built and left over from the mining boom from years past.
There is an entire docking bay detailed for you, with map. It's a roleplay setting ready to go.
Also, there's a section map of the center of Mos Eisley, keyed with several of the places seen in the film, plus other spots, like Jabba's town apartment and the Dewback stables.
Good stuff.
