Back in 1987, at the start of what is now often referred to as The Dark Times, a number of Star Wars staples were coming to a close. Marvel had ended their run of their record-breaking comic, while Kenner were done with their childhood-defining line of 3 3/4″ figures, and though this indicated the start of a barren period for Star Wars it was actually far from it. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue would open on 9th January at Disneyland and later that year Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game launched, expanding upon and refining the D6 system developed for West End Games Ghostbusters Roleplaying Game and bringing an incredible amount of detail to a galaxy that until then still referred to Ithorians a Hammerheads and Aqualish as Walrus Men.
So how did “Star Wars” get its vocabulary? Why do we know that Hammerheads are really called Ithorians and that Snaggletooth is really a Snivvian named Zutton? You know what a Twi’lek is, right? And you know that the Imperial Center is Coruscant?
Well, the reason is simple: The 1987 “Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game” from West End Games.
1987 was the 10th anniversary of “Star Wars,” and West End Games had picked up the license to make a roleplaying game set in a galaxy far, far away. Bill Slavicsek was then an editor for West End Games and was very upfront with Lucasfilm. He said, “We told them that to do a role-playing game, we are going to have to expand your world, and are you okay with that? They said, yes, so long as they got to approve it.”
Back in 2012 our Roleplay Editor Jonathan Hicks interviewed Bill Slavicsek, where he discussed how he came to the position.
There were a lot of firsts in those early Star Wars RPG products. They were the first RPG products to incorporate color printing. They were the first products to add to the Star Wars mythos since the original trilogy had wrapped up three years earlier. And they were the first Star Wars products to give names and back stories to the various aliens that inhabited the background of the films. Suddenly Hammer Head was an Ithorian, Bib Fortuna was a Twi’lek, and Greedo was a Rodian. The universe was more real. Later, novelists and comic book writers and action figure makers and creators of the animated series would use the names I had come up with. But at the time, all I was trying to do was add context and believability to the universe we all loved so much.
- A LIMITED EDITION VERSION OF THE CLASSIC RPG: Few books or games have had as enduring an impact upon the Star Wars galaxy and its fans as Star Wars The Roleplaying Game. Now, 30 years after West End Games first published Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, its books make their return in this highly collectible Anniversary Edition.
- OWN A PIECE OF STAR WARS HISTORY: These collectible high-quality, hardbound books are presented in a stylized slipcase. You'll find all the original game materials presented with the same graphic design, in-universe Star Wars advertisements for the Imperial Navy, the R2 astromech Droid, and more.
- CORE RULEBOOK: In just 144 pages, this rulebook opens the way to boundless adventures among the stars and its rules systems are as fast and effective as ever. All you and your friends need to enjoy this seminal roleplaying experience are the core rulebook, pencils, paper, and a bunch of six-sided dice.
- THE STAR WARS SOURCEBOOK: Weighing in at 144 pages, this Sourcebook offers a wealth of information about the starships, vehicles, creatures, alien races, Rebel bases and Imperial garrisons that can help ground your games fully within the Star Wars galaxy.
- NUMBER OF PLAYERS AND AVERAGE PLAYTIME: This classic Star Wars RPG is suitable for ages 10 and older. Average playtime is 1 hour.
