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Star Wars Wednesday - Cyphers and Masks Unmasked

in

Star Wars Age of Rebellion Cyphers and Masks is interesting in that there have been few past Star Wars RPG resources devoted to spies and espionage. Infiltration and working behind enemy lines is obviously a major element in Rebel era games and touched on often in all kinds of sourcebooks. WEG's various Cracken's books were intelligence oriented, some with gear, though most concentrated more on providing NPC adversaries and some adventure ideas. Cyphers and Masks is the first to really pull together in one place, everything from character options to spy gear to campaign ideas, to new ways to use the narrative dice with skill checks.

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Star Wars Wednesday - Various Updates

in

So, with a week to go before The Last Jedi release, I'm still largely in spoiler avoidance mode. I've done a pretty decent job avoiding the rumor mill. The only Journey to the Last Jedi books I've read it are a couple of out of order issues of the Captain Phasma comic. Out of order because there's been a couple of hiccups in my recent comic book store deliveries. 

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Star Wars Wednesday - Gen Con 50

in ,

Gen Con 50 was last week, and with it came a couple of announcements. One I should have covered here before the show, but had issues trying to use a mobile app to update the blog. I eventually just had to give up. The convention was fun. It was also sold out at 60,000 unique badges and over 200,000 visitors, however that is calculated. It felt more crowded at times, but not as overwhelming as it might have been. Part of that was expanding into Lucas Oil Stadium, I'm sure. 

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30 Years of Star Wars Roleplaying Games at Gen Con

in ,

With Gen Con 50's advance event schedule going live and wish lists available, I'm happy to announce the "30 Years of Star Wars Roleplaying Games" event, with myself, Sam Stewart of Fantasy Flight Games, and Bill Slavicsek formerly of West End Games and Wizards of the Coast.

Fantasy Flight Games is generously sponsoring the event. It is part retrospective, part panel discussion about 30 years worth of roleplaying in a galaxy far, far away across multiple companies and game systems, featuring some of the designers involved. 

Join us at GenCon on Saturday 8/19/17 in Westin Capitol III at 5:00pm (Gen Con Game ID SEM17112485).

Things are still developing, so click here for the latest updates. 

Star Wars Wednesday - Planet Comicon Wrapup

in ,

Planet Comicon was a whirlwind. It grew yet again in size and likely attendance, though the numbers haven't been announced as far as I can tell. Last year was 70,000. I spent most of my time in the game room, which was much bigger and as busy as the rest of the convention. I wasn't the only one running Star Wars RPGs. There was an impressive table set up...

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Star Wars Wednesday - Rebels and Rogues

in

Rebels and Rogues...I feel like that would make a good title for something beyond a blog post. In any case, this week includes a few thoughts about how Rogue One and Rebels reveals details about the state of the Rebel Alliance, and how that might impact RPG sessions. Then I'll switch gears and note a few things about the rapidly approaching 2017 convention season.

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Star Wars Wednesday - Rogue WEG

in

Something has become clear in the weeks since the Rogue One release: it provided a major opportunity for a great intersection of new work and old surrounding the classic trilogy (and beyond). It has inspired official, unofficial, and fan material from books to art to games. Not coincidentally, there are obvious and not-so obvious connections to West End Games Star Wars RPG.

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Star Wars Wednesday - Rogue One Sources for the RPG

in

I'm finally getting through a load of Rogue One books and material, so as I went I thought I would note a few ideas about using the information for Star Wars role playing game sessions. I was largely waiting until I was able to see the movie multiple times before diving too much into the available background material, novel, etc. I wanted a chance to form my own ideas and opinions based on just the movie, as well as take advantage of multiple showings to really get a good look at everything going on in the background.

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Star Wars Wednesday - More Rogue One

in

Rogue One continues to draw, and I'm hearing quite a few positive comments from some I wasn't sure would be into the movie. Because of my association with Star Wars, a lot of people want to get my opinion, share their opinion, or both. At first, most didn't want to hear too much, but wanted to know basically if it was good. After they saw it, then the comments and questions really started rolling. No one has said they dislike it, and a few have called it their favorite (for now). 

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Star Wars Wednesday - MidAmeriCon II Worldcon 74

in ,

It's not every year that the world's most prestigious literary science fiction convention comes to town, so Worldcon was definitely not an event to miss. Then I found out there was a gaming area, so I knew I had to try and participate. Then they announced they were having a Star Wars Day, and I definitely wanted to be involved in some capacity. I went in for pretty much the full Worldcon experience, buying a membership early on and getting in on the Hugo award voting process. 

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Star Wars Wednesday - Gen Con 2016

in ,
Star Wars Wednesday - Gen Con 2016

Last week brought another successful Gen Con, with around 60,000 gamers packing the convention center and surrounding hotels in downtown Indianapolis. The dealer hall expanded yet again, and the show extended all the way into Lucas Oil Stadium. Despite some early concerns, I got through without straining an Achilles tendon, though I did cut down on the walking some. Fantasy Flight Games that several major Star Wars boardgame and card game announcements. My product Age of Rebellion Forged in Battle was released at the show, and should be available in stores soon if not already.

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MidAmeriCon II / Worldcon 74 - Panel & Games

in ,

This year, the 74th annual World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) is being held in Kansas City as MidAmeriCon II, August 17-21, 2016. Among the events, such as the noted Hugo awards, is Star Wars Day. The original MidAmeriCon hosted Worldcon in 1976, and featured a promotional panel of an upcoming sci-fi movie called Star Wars. Mark Hamill, Charles Lippincott and producer Gary Kurtz attended. This year's convention is welcoming back Lippincott and Kurtz for a return visit, along with novelist Alan Dean Foster.

There will be a number of other events for Star Wars Day. I will be part of the Star Wars Tie In panel, discussing novels, games, and other elements beyond the movies. Stephen Saffel (past Del Rey editorial director for the Essential Guides, etc.) will be the moderator, and the other panelists are Kevin J Anderson (Jedi Academy Trilogy, etc.), Rebecca Moesta (Young Jedi Knights series), and William Dietz (Dark Forces trilogy).

I will also be running Star Wars RPG games and demos. The demos will feature the just-released Star Wars the Force Awakens Beginner Game RPG. The full 4-hour games will feature the main RPG lines. I am also running one session of Dungeons & Dragons (5e).

My full schedule is here.

Sign up for games ahead of time on Warhorn. My events are not yet listed, but hopefully will appear soon. My games are listed on my full schedule (link above).