The Best Star Wars RPG

"My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we."
     –Yoda

May the 4th be with you! As we celebrate Star Wars Day, it's a great time to take a look back at the role-playing game that helped to shape the Star Wars expanded universe: Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

Published by West End Games between 1987 and 1999, the game system was based on the D6 System, which was originally developed for the Ghostbusters RPG. The game allowed players to create their own characters and embark on adventures set in the Star Wars universe.

One of the unique features of the game was its use of character attributes and skills. Characters were given a set of six attributes: Dexterity, Knowledge, Mechanical, Perception, Strength, and Technical. These attributes were used to determine a character's abilities and limitations, and were supplemented by a wide range of skills, such as blaster, piloting, and negotiation.

The game's rulebook provided guidance on how to run adventures, including how to create encounters, determine success and failure, and resolve combat. One of the key elements of the game was its emphasis on storytelling and roleplaying, rather than just combat and dice rolls. Gamemasters were encouraged to let players drive the story and make their own choices, and to use the game's rules as a framework to support their creative ideas.

Over the years, the game system was revised and expanded, with new sourcebooks and adventure supplements being published regularly. The game's popularity led to the creation of the Star Wars Adventure Journal, a magazine series that provided additional content for the game, including new adventures, articles, and short stories.

The game's influence on the Star Wars expanded universe cannot be overstated. Many of the alien races, planets, and concepts that were introduced in the game's sourcebooks and supplements have become key elements of the Star Wars universe, and are still referenced today in new canon works.

Although the game system is no longer in production, its legacy lives on in the hearts of Star Wars fans around the world. And with the recent release of The Star Wars Roleplaying Game by Fantasy Flight Games, a new generation of players can experience the thrill of adventure in a galaxy far, far away.