Fantasy Flight Games, which picked up the license for Star Wars role-playing, card, and miniatures games last year has introduced a beta version of their upcoming Star Wars Role Playing Game at this weekend’s Gen Con in Indianapolis. They’ve also finally released their X-Wing Miniatures Game.
The role-playing game will be beta tested in three installments, and the first, entitled Edge of the Empire, is available (the 224 page rulebook is $30) at GenCon, online, and some select retailers. The game introduces the use of unique, custom dice as part of the gameplay, and includes sticker sheets to customize your own dice. Edge of the Empire focuses on characters at the fringes of society: those in the Outer Rim, and assorted scum and villainy. An Obligation game mechanic will help provide narrative for why the characters are out on the Rim, and what are they running from.
The upcoming beta installments, Age of Rebellion, will focus on being part of the Rebel Alliance, and bringing the fight to the Empire, while Force and Destiny introduces the powers of the Jedi… and being wanted by the Empire. Ben at Word of the Nerd has been gathering some of the buzz at Gen Con about the game, and wonders if it can top the popularity of the last RPG. 30 bucks to beta test a role playing game? I can understand the printing costs…. but… if you end up testing all 3 installments, you might be out close to a Benjamin, for something that is not the final version of the game. (Who they will make their money on: Wookiepedians!)
At Gen Con 2011, Fantasy Flight Games demoed versions of their co-op card game and X-Wing minis game. This year, the X-Wing Miniatures Game has launched, and is available at Gen Con (until it sells out), and Fantasy Flight has put the core rules up online and held a tournament for the game on Friday.
FFG will be at Celebration VI (booth 739) and has announced they will be selling (and demoing) X-Wing. I’m sure that they will also be pushing the Edge of the Empire RPG installment.
Will we also see the card game at some point? It was supposed to come out in the spring, but it was pushed back as they kept tweaking it to make it more epic (and perhaps less akin to their existing Living Card Games).