Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition has gotten me more excited than many other RPG products that have come out in the past, and that excitement reached a fever pitch while I was reading it. For those who don’t want to read this whole review, let it be known: this review is primarily positive. If you like role-playing, and you like Star Wars, go out and buy this book. I’ve already geeked out about the book a little bit, so I’m going to go through the book in more depth now, chapter by chapter, and tell you what works and what doesn’t, as well as my overall impressions.

Foreword, Introduction, and Chapter 1
I’m rolling these three segments of the book into a single one because, quite honestly, they’re the least heavy on actual content. The Foreword discusses the whys of the Saga Edition, and is pretty interesting. The introduction is a bit more useful. Aside from containing the whole “What is a Roleplaying Game?” section that every Wizards game contains, as well as explanations about those funny dice and the core mechanics of the game, the introduction contains a nice example of play as well as an outline of the character creation process. This starts out standard enough for a d20 game: generate ability scores, choose your species, choose your class, assign your ability scores, etc., but this is the section where some of the changes to the system first become apparent. Wait, a 1st-level soldier gets 30 hit points? Reflex defense? Fortitude defense? Damage threshold? What do they mean by ‘trained skill’? There’s not a lot of hard crunch in this chapter, but there are a lot of tantalizing hints about what’s to come. Chapter 1: Abilities is similar. Most of it is familiar; the same six abilities that existed in previous editions (or in D&D, for that matter) exist in this game. Again, though, we see hints of what’s to come.

Chapter 2: Species
Don’t want to be a human? Fine; there are sixteen additional species to choose from (though to be fair, one of them is Ewok). They’re the same sixteen species that were in the Revised Edition, but they’ve been updated to suit the new rules system. Many of the species, for example, gain access to conditional bonus feats, feats that they only get if a certain skill is trained. Also common are species abilities that allow skill re-rolls. These re-rolls are not limited other than you can only make one re-roll per skill check, and you usually have to take the newer result, even if it’s worse. Some species have special abilties, such as the Gungan’s ability to hold his breath or the Ithorian’s ability to bellow for a cone of sonic damage, or the trandoshan’s ability to re-grow lost limbs. Most species also have ability score modifiers (only the Human and the Zabrak do not).

Chapter 3: Classes
I was most excited to see these, and I was not disappointed. There are now only five base classes (called heroic classes in this game): Jedi, noble, scoundrel, scout, and soldier. Each of these classes gains access to four talent trees, and each class gains a talent from one of these trees every odd-numbered level. Talents are a lot like feats, except that they’re restricted to specific classes and tend to be, maybe, a little bit more potent. The classes also get bonus feats, chosen from class lists, on each even-numbered level.

Some of the biggest changes, though, come in what you don’t see in the class tables. Base attack bonus is there, but there are no iterative attacks listed. Class skills are there, but you get a certain number of trained skills (more on that later) instead of getting skill points. Saves are conspicuously absent from the table; instead, each character has three ‘defenses’ (Fortitude, Reflex, and Will). These defenses are calculated with the following forumla: 10 + heroic level (total number of levels in heroic and prestige classes) + ability modifier (Con, Dex, or Wis) + class bonus + any other bonuses. So, each of your defenses has a bonus equal to your level added to it, but it also has a static class modifier. Scouts, for example, get a +2 to Reflex Defense and a +1 to Fortitude Defense, while Jedi get a +1 to all three. Also of note are the facts that you get triple hit points at first level (maximized, as usual), and you increase two ability scores every four levels instead of one.

Further, multiclassing no longer carries any kind of XP penalty. You don’t get full benefit for your first level in a new class, though. Each class has a list of three to five starting feats (generally proficiency feats, though sometimes not). You don’t get all of these if you multiclass into a new class, but you do get to choose one of them. You also do not get maximized, tripled hit points for multiclassing into a new class, and of course you don’t get that class’s starting credits. Other than that, it’s free multiclassing. The system doesn’t penalize characters for branching out, but it also doesn’t encourage cherry-picking by granting three or four new feats for a single level.

Chapter 4: Skills
Skills have been re-vamped considerably. The list of skills has been slimmed down, and several skills have been rolled into broader skills (like Spot, Listen, Search, Appraise, and Sense Motive being rolled into Perception). Further, all of your skills more-or-less level up with you. Every skill’s bonus is equal to half your heroic level plus the key ability modifier, plus 5 if you’ve chosen it as a trained skill. Some skills (like Mechanics) cannot be used untrained, while others can be used freely untrained. Many can be used in some ways untrained, but becoming trained in a skill grants you more abilities with it.

The first part of the chapter goes over the basics of skill use, including familiar mechanics like taking 10 and 20 and circumstance modifiers, but also covering new things like skill re-rolls. Because many skills have been combined, synergy bonuses are gone. The bulk of the chapter is taken up by individual skill descriptions (there are nineteen skills in all, including Knowledge, which is broken down into seven sub-skills). The chapter lays out what you can do with each skill in plain, easy-to-understand language, and specifically calls out what you can and can’t do without training, as well as when you need special equipment to perform actions with a skill.

Of note is the Use the Force skill. The skill can be used untrained, but requires the Force Sensitivity feat (which, in turn, makes it a class skill for anyone with the feat). However, if you’re trained you get access to some very cool abilities, like the ability to enter a recuperative trance and the power to move light objects with your mind, as well as the ability to use force powers (more on that later). Also of note is the fact that, with certain talents, Jedi can use the Use the Force skill in place of other skills, like Perception, Persuasion, or Initiative (that’s right, Initiative is now a skill).

Chapter 5: Feats
There are some familiar feats here, but there are a lot of new ones, too, and many old feats have changed. Virtually all of the feats are potentially useful. Even feats like Skill Focus, which I never really considered getting before, now grants a +5 bonus, which is notable. In addition, the Skill Training feat allows you to select another class skill as a trained skill.

Fighting with two weapons has been simplified. You now suffer a -10 penalty when doing so (to all attacks), but you can reduce or even negate this penalty with a chain off three Dual Weapon Mastery feats. And remember when I said that iterative attacks were gone? They’ve been replaced by the Double Attack and Triple Attack feats, which add additional attacks at the cost of accuracy. Rules like the bantha rush and grappling have been converted into feats, and there are several feats that allow you to add to your defenses or increase the number of damage dice you roll.

Chapter 6: The Force
This chapter discusses Force points (a lot like action points in d20 Modern), which allow you to improve skill rolls and also power many Jedi abilities, as well as the Dark Side, Force powers, and other Force abilities.

Force powers, gained by the Force Training feat, allow you single-use Force abilities that tend to be pretty potent. Each requires a Use the Force roll, and most of them have tiered effects, with higher rolls granting bigger benefits. Some are called out as Dark Side powers, while others are called out as Light Side powers. While these are single-use abilities, they are limited per encounter rather than per day. This seems to be a theme in the game; I only found a handful of per-day abilities in the whole book.

There are also Force talents, which any Force Sensitive character can select from when he gains a talent from a class. This is where Control, Sense, and Alter went; along with Dark Side, they are each talent trees in the new game. Force techniques, usable by Jedi Knights and other Force-using prestige classes, improve the way your Use the Force skill works, or even your ability to use Force points. Force secrets, usable by Jedi Masters and other, really powerful, prestige classes are like meta-magic feats for Force powers.

There’s also a discussion of various Force-using traditions, such as the Jensaarai or the Witches of Dathomir, along with accompanying talent trees for characters who want to belong to those groups.

Chapter 7: Heroic Characteristics
This chapter talks about height, weight, personality, and other such things, but it also discusses a new mechanic: destiny. If you so choose, your character can have a destiny. When you move towards that destiny, you gain short-term benefits, while when you move away from it you suffer short-term penalties. If you fulfill your destiny, you gain permanent benefits. You also get a destiny point at every level, which you can use to do things like automatically score a critical hit or act out of turn, effectively breaking the rules for a round. The section discusses specific, example destinies that you can give your character, as well as what happens when a destined character dies (with specific, mechanical effects).

Chapter 8: Equipment
Though simpler than in previous editions, this chapter contains pretty much what you’d expect. It talks about money, commodities, restricted items, and the black market, then dives right into weapons. Weapons tend to do a lot of damage in this game, probably to facilitate quicker more tense and exciting combats. A standard blaster pistol, for example, does 3d6 points of damage. There are a few pages of weapon descriptions, along with tables of stats for them, and then the game discusses explosives and armor. Armor grants a bonus to your Reflex Defense, though this bonus supersedes the bonus you get from heroic level unless you have certain talents. Some armor also grants you an equipment bonus to Fortitude Defense, as well as to some skills.

Some rules have been made more general. Range increments, as we know them, have been eliminated, opting instead for four increments: point blank, short, medium, and long, each having an associated penalty. These have been made generic across type, as well; all pistols have the same range, for example. Similarly, armor penalties only apply if you’re not proficient with the armor, and all light armor offers the same penalty, as does all medium armor or all heavy armor.

There is also a discussion of various pieces of adventuring gear in the chapter, and the list of adventuring gear has been trimmed down to only the stuff that’s actually important to the game. Prices for clothing, for example, are not present. Finally, there is a list of services and some discussion of encumbrance. Encumbrance follows a Strength-based formula that probably will require a calculator, but it is discussed as an optional rule, and is given very little real estate on the page.

Chapter 9: Combat
This is where the bulk of the changes have been made, and they have resulted in a slimmer, easier to understand, and probably faster game. Actions that you can take in a round are spelled out in a very clear and easy to understand way, and swift actions have been incorporated into the game. Characters now get a damage bonus equal to half of their level, too, which brings me to the next part: the condition track.

There is now a condition track on the character sheet, with Normal at the top, Helpless at the bottom, and various levels of penalty in between. When you suffer more damage than your Damage Threshold, you move down a step on the condition track. But that’s not the only way that it’s used. Conditions are used for poisons, diseases, starvation, radiation, dehydration, and countless other special cases, and the mechanic serves to make such cases much easier to work with, requiring less memorization of obscure rules. Characters no longer have to deal with negative levels or ability score damage; instead they have to deal with persistent conditions, which are lifted in logical ways. A persistent condition from starvation, for example, is lifted by eating a nutritious meal.

Negative hit points have also been eliminated. Instead, if you take damage that drops you to 0 hit points and that damage exceeds your Threshold, you die. If you are unconscious, you make Constitution checks to wake up; fail by 5 or more and you die. If you die, you can spend a Force point to instead by unconscious. It’s simple and elegant, and I can’t wait to use it. It also means that hit points are not the only thing you have to worry about; it is possible to die when you still have hit points, even from normal damage.

The bulk of the chapter is taken up with definitions of various terms and explanations of how they work, as well as a clear list of what actions you can take in combat. Attacks of opportunity have been simplified, as have things like cover and concealment. Nonlethal/subdual damage is gone (replaced, instead, by stun damage that moves you down on the condition track). There are pictures using Star Wars miniatures used to illustrate things like line of sight and attacks of opportunity, and the game is very miniatures-friendly (it even lists speeds in ’squares’). However, it’s probably also pretty easy to play entirely without miniatures and a battle map, due to the simplified range and attack of opportunity rules. In fact, I think that’s how I’m going to play it.

Chapter 10: Vehicles
Vehicles, too, have been simplified. Instead of using their own systems and statistics, they use statistics and rules already familiar to players, seeking to make the experience as seamless as possible. There are a few new things to keep track of, but nothing too complicated. There’s also a list of vehicles that you can drop right into your game, complete with crew bonuses and Challenge Levels.

Chapter 11: Droids
In addition to playing one of the seventeen available species, you can play a droid, and this chapter has rules for either playing a stock droid or creating your own, unique model. Again, droids follow many of the same rules as normal players, though the creation of a droid does follow a point-buy-esque system, buying various components with credits to create your ’species’. You can then add character levels, as normal. If you don’t want to go through all that, you can take a standard droid off the shelf and add levels to it.

Chapter 12: Prestige Classes
In so many games, there seem to be wasted prestige classes, classes that simply don’t pack the oomph of the others. That is not the case in this game. There are twelve prestige classes in Saga Edition, and each one of them is both viable and really, really cool. Prestige classes get talent trees of their own, but the also allow access to talent trees that belong to various heroic classes, allowing you to mix and match your abilities a bit. They do tend to be much more specialized than the heroic classes, but they also tend to be a little bit more powerful, granting more hit points on average, more Force points, and overall more potent, if more specific, abilities. They do not grant new class skills, though; in this system, they really don’t need to.

Chapter 13: Galactic Gazetteer
This chapter imparts information on a dozen or so planets in the Galaxy. This information is imparted in the form of Knowledge check DCs, so that it both gives the GM when he needs to know and allows him to determine what the PCs know easily. There’s also a discussion of travel in the Galaxy, outlining the hows of astrogation and hyperspace travel.

Chapter 14: Gamemastering
A good chunk of this chapter is generic material, talking about the hows and whys of GMing. If you’re a new GM, a lot of it will probably be useful. If you’ve GM’d a few times before, most of it will be review. There is a discussion of experience rewards, as well as a table of how much experience to award per Challenge Level (again, much simpler than in previous editions). There is also a section on hazards, such as acid, falling objects, poisons, diseases, vacuum, and smoke, as well as sections on gravity and visibility. Most of the hazards utilize the condition track, and most are very easy to use.

Chapter 15: Eras of Play
This chapter discusses the three core eras of play: Rise of the Empire (Episodes I-III), The Rebellion (Episodes IV-VI), and the New Jedi Order (the expanded universe from the novels). There’s a lot of useful information here, as well as statistics for various characters in the movies. While most people probably won’t actually use these stats, it’s nice to see the rules put into practice in this way; it provides a frame of reference.

Chapter 16: Allies and Opponents
Finally, a discussion of beasts and nonheroic characters, as well as examples of each. There is a generic beast class used for constructing your own beasts, as well as examples like the rancor and the wampa. The nonheroic class is used to build the extras and cannon fodder, and there are a number of examples of these characters, from stormtroopers to clone troopers to street thugs.

What I Liked: Just about everything. This book is a new and intriguing step for the d20 System, and I think it’ll do a great job of capturing the fast-paced, epic feel of the Star Wars universe.

What I Didn’t Like: Not much. I’m not crazy about the fact that distance is usually expressed in squares, but it’s pretty easy to multiply that by 1.5 for meters or 5 for feet. The book does have its fair share of typos and formatting errors, but they don’t detract overmuch from the experience.

The Bottom Line: If you like Star Wars and roleplaying, then go buy this book. Go. Buy. This. Book.

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