“So you want to play Star Wars?
“Then pull up a chair and listen good. The name’s … well people just call me Mando, and I’m a bounty hunter. That means I’ll take most any job, if the risks are worth the money. Somebody slipped me enough credits to be your guide to the galaxy and the game… but not to hold your hand, get me? I’m only gonna tell you once so pay attention.
“You’ve seen the Star Wars movies. You’ve read the novels and the comics. You’ve played the video games. In the roleplaying game, you’ll get a chance to explore the galaxy I call home, to go anywhere, do anything… as long as the bad guys don’t catch you, that is.
“Before you can adventure in the galaxy, you better know something about it. First off, it’s big — the galaxy includes billions of worlds. Me, I’ve never seen a billion of anything, and you probably haven’t either. So you’ll just
have to take my word that you’ve got a vast galaxy out there, waiting for you.
“Who are the bad guys? The rulers — the Empire, the Separatists — the guys with all the power, and they’ll be glad to use it on anyone who gets in their way. Some planet’s government gets out of line, an Imperial or Separatist fleet will show up and blast’em until they’re … more agreeable. The bad guys call it “pacification”… but I’ve heard nastier words for it. Could be some places — like Alderaan — just gotta learn things the hard way.
“The Empire’s troops are thugs with blasters. The Separatists’ are mindless droids. You want to learn to say, “Yes, sir,” “No, sir” and “Whatever you say, sir!” Mouth off and you’ll wind up in the spice mines of Kessel.
And then there’s the Rebel Alliance and the Old Republic. They’re trying to bring the bad guys down and bring back or maintain peace and freedom. If you ask me some groups like the rebels haven’t got a chance. Fighting the Empire
gets you dead in a hurry, and some of us like breathin’.
Finally, there’s those of us in the middle. We’re the bounty hunters, the smugglers, the mercenaries… the Fringe. We work for money, and don’t forget it.
There’s lots more… the galaxy’s full of aliens and starships and landspeeders and weapons. Yeah, lots of weapons. You’d better learn about those too, if you want to survive.
Now let’s talk about the game. You’ve probably been roleplaying a long time, and just didn’t know it. Maybe you called it “Imperials and Rebels,” “Sith and Jedi,” or “Clones and Droids”… it all amounts to the same thing, the good guys against the bad guys. And they had something else in common: you were pretending to be somebody else.
Well, the Star Wars game is a lot like that. Only, instead of running around, you and your friends are sitting around a table, and all the action takes place in your imaginations.
Every player’s got a “character” — somebody you pretend to be. Maybe it’s a Rebel pilot, a Wookiee, a young Jedi, or a bounty hunter. In the back of this book, you’ll find a bunch of “character templates” that you can use to start playing right away.
Remember back when you were playing “Cops and Robbers?” There was always an argument — something like, ‘Bang! You’re dead,’ ‘No! You missed!’” Next thing you know, you were doing more fighting than playing. But not here. Star Wars has rules to make sure you and your friends get to enjoy the game.
It’s like this. Anytime you want your character to do something — swing across a chasm, blast a stormtrooper, whatever — the rules tell you how hard it is to do. Then you roll dice to see how well your character did. Sometimes you’ll succeed and other times you’ll fail.
Got all that? Good.
Okay, click the next page and keep on reading. You’re about to meet Cara Dune, a shock trooper, and she’ll be your character in a solitaire adventure called “Escape Pod Down.” All you need is a pencil and some six-sided dice (you know, the kind you find in plenty of board games). And when you’re done… we’ll talk some more.
Next: Before You Begin Your Adventure
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