Robot Viking

Uninhibited alien women in revealing clothing is more than a sci-fi trope - it's a tradition!

The Legacy Era in the Star Wars universe is kind of a tough sell. All the classic characters you grew up with are dead, and their descendants are a bunch of brats and losers. Sith lords operate openly, so you can’t swing a womp rat without hitting a Darth. Yet it might be the most politically and militarily complex period in galactic history, and a fertile ground for heroes struggling against the pervasive darkness. Oh, and there are space babes.

A brief review of post-Endor Star Wars history is in order to explain how the Legacy Era came about. The New Republic formed by Leia, Skywalker and company fought a civil war against the Empire, then gradually grew bloated and corrupt. They were attacked by the Yuuzhan Vong, aliens with weird bio-technology from outside the galaxy. After that war, the corruption grew to the point that they were almost as bad as the old Empire. The Republic splintered, Han Solo’s son became a Sith Lord, and another civil war resulted in the Galactic Alliance, a reformed version of the Republic. Unfortunately, all the wars gave the remnants of the Empire and the Sith Lords enough traction to gain power, defeat the Alliance and regain control of the galaxy.

So now we’re left with a new Empire that rules the entire galaxy with brutal oppression, a shard of the Galactic Alliance that fights the good fight much like the Rebel Alliance did way back when, plus a group of dissident Imperials known as the Empire-In-Exile. Pretty much everyone hates the Empire and their Sith enforcers, but no one else can manage to get along very well either. Basically, everything sucks.

The Legacy Era Campaign Guide covers the current state of the galaxy nicely, describing how player characters are in even worse shape than classic era characters, because there are very few Alliance outposts or sympathizers. Most PCs will operate from within the Alliance fleet, taking on missions for Admiral Gar Stazi. The Galactic Gazeteer explains what’s going on with a bunch of key planets, and the major NPCs are fully statted.

Technology in this era is far different from previous time periods. In some ways, it appears more primitive, as most of the old suppliers and designs were destroyed by decades of near constant war. Yet all that war has finely honed the weapons of destruction, so starfighters and capital ships are often even more powerful than before. And if you really love your old-school Star Wars tech, there are rules for retrofitted ships and even “heirloom” items passed down from heroes of the past. There’s a section that suggests ways to bring classic Star Wars heroes into your Legacy Era campaign. It might be a stretch to hope that the entire classic cast was put into suspended animation and woken up just in time to meet your PCs, but why not?

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the space babes. The Star Wars universe has always been rather chaste, so it’s kind of amusing to see these more risqué elements appearing. Among the NPCs are several sultry vixens (at least one of whom has the Seduction ability). But my favorite are the Zeltrons, a new alien race straight out of about five Star Trek episodes – they look human (but pinker) and are perpetually happy, spending their lives “indulging their passions and experiencing new things.” There’s even an attempt to scientifically explain why all Zeltrons are smokin’ hot: their efficient metabolism keeps them fit and firm no matter what they eat. “Ugly Zeltrons are unheard of.” Frankly, I think they stole this from a holodeck program Wesley Crusher wrote when he was 15.

The Yuuzhan Vong and their freaky bio-tech are given the full treatment for the first time (to my knowledge) in this edition of the Star Wars RPG. There are Vong NPCs, weapons, translators and rules from combining bio-tech with old-fashioned metal gear.

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3. Rebellion Era Campaign Guide Lets You Crush the Galactic Empire
4. Star Wars Miniatures Preview – Leia, Bounty Hunter
5. Clone Wars Campaign Guide Sneak Preview