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Star Wars
- Available Resources
By
William Thomson
It has taken
a long time, but the new Star Wars RPG has finally been
released. Whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing
(in other words, whether you do or don't have the majority of
the West End Games original) is open for discussion elsewhere
on the LegendGames site.
While we wait
for WotC to release supplements and adventures, it's worth looking
around for a few of the other books that are out there at the
moment. The West End Games Star Wars supplements are still available
at cons and from some companies by mail order. These, and the
huge number of novels and comics out there, are not what I want
to look at. This is all about the official reference books.
A Guide
To The Star Wars Universe is written by none other than Bill
Slavicsek, head honcho of WotC's Star Wars design team. Now on
it's third edition, this is an excellent quick reference guide.
GMs who face a player with excessive Star Wars knowledge will
find it invaluable!
Although formerly
up a certain creek with neither paddle, boat nor swimming lessons,
Dorling Kindersley have produced a number of Star Wars
books which are well worth a look, especially as they are now
turning up here and there at massively reduced prices.
There are
Incredible Cross Section and Visual Dictionary books
available for both the original Star Wars Trilogy and Episode
One. These have been followed lately by Inside The Locations
Of Star Wars: Episode One. All of these go into massive detail
on vehicles, people, locations and technology from the films.
Critically, the photographs and illustrations are extremely useful
to GMs and players alike, particularly Inside The Locations….
Obviously
showing a debt to the West End Games RPG, the original Essential
Guide To… series of large sized paperbacks from Boxtree
are a must for GMs and players alike. The lack of stats make them
safe to hand out to players, and the amount of detail makes it
a relatively simple task to assign RPG details to the various
entries. The series includes:
The Essential
Guide to...
- Characters
- Weapons
and Technology
- Droids
- Vehicles
and Vessels
- Planets
and Moons
Buy Star Wars Essential Guides from Amazon
Most recently,
The Essential Chronology has been published by Del Ray.
Covering events from thousands of years before Episode One, and
running up to just before The New Jedi Order series of novels,
this is a fantastic book. Beautifully cross-referenced, and featuring
a detailed time-line and damn fine illustrations, this is easily
the most essential of the essential guides.
Shopping for Star Wars merchandise?
Visit Epic Heroes for Action Figures, Graphic Novels, DVD's and LOADS more!
Players and
GMs alike will be able to easily cannibalise the stunning illustrations
from The Art of Star Wars: Episode One (out in paperback
and hardback) to create new characters, vehicles and locations.
This was a habit West End Games developed in the early days of
their RPG. It is inevitable that WotC will do the same at some
point, so get in there first.
Buy the Art of Star Wars from Amazon
Both the massive
Star Wars Chronicles (going cheap these days from many
outlets) and the Best of the Lucasfilm Archives provide detailed
shots of the models and props used in the original Star Wars Trilogy.
Steve Sansweet's Star Wars Encyclopaedia is another excellent
reference guide.
Buy the Star Wars Encyclopaedia from Amazon
These books
can be found at reduced prices in many bookshops or online with
Amazon. Go for the big booksellers first, Waterstones and others
like them. Specialist bookshops tend not to drop their prices
so willingly. I managed to pick up a copy of the Incredible Cross
Section books here in London for five quid each!
Have a good
rummage next time you visit your local bookshop; you never know
what you might find.
William Thomson, November 2000
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