Star Wars RPG: Age of Rebellion [RPG Book Review]

 The last time I reviewed an RPG was DnD Next. A new take on the classic d20 system.
Today I review the second installment of Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars RPG: Age of Rebellion.

A huge full color 460+ page tome.

Let me preface this review by giving a little bit of history with the FFG Star Wars RPG system.

Back when Edge of Empire was first coming out, I nabbed the starter set. It was a good deal - it came with premade characters, an adventure, introductory rules, and dice! The dice alone made it a worthwhile purchase in my mind.

However it did not go over well. The story module was not the most interesting, nor the most well written. Thus my groups first experience with the system was not what one would call a resounding success.

Perhaps it was madness, or perhaps just my current Star Wars jag... but I found the Age of Rebellion book on sale for like 60-65% off. I had to nab it.

So, I gambled.
Should I give a system a second chance?
Yes.

The Dice. Possibly the most contentious part
of the entire FFG Star Wars system.

This time the players were allowed to create their own characters instead of relying on prebuilt ones that were just not interesting enough. I built an astromech to serve as the groups companion NPC. He's a little bit like R2 and little bit like Chopper. He was meant to be the intermediary between their Rebel cell and the larger rebellion.

I ran the adventure module that was in the back part of Age of Rebellion, the Perlemian Haul. I ad libbed sections of it, but for the most part it was a far better module than the one that came with the starter kit for Edge of Empire.

We're still learning all the rules, but as each adventure passes we come to understand them better. Reading the dice has become easier. Back when we were testing Edge of Empire, the dice seemed clunky, and strange. While I am certain there are many out there who still do not like these dice, I have become comfortable with them. Enough that I can glance at the results and see what has happened.

I do need to get a Game Master's Screen, to help me with some on the spot clarifications so I don't have to delve into the book to read out a chart. 

What I can say is that the system was better than my first impressions. There are some things I know I'm not fully comfortable with, but I'm certain that as we play it more often, those problems will be ameliorated.

That all being said, here at last is my rating:

4 out of 5 stars

In all honesty the dice make a nice mechanic, the back ground for the adventure is the Star Wars universe, and the system has potential. The more I learn the more I like it. And there is nothing quite like playing a game where the players can battle in space while piloting X-wings... not that they've done that yet, but it's that kind of feeling. 

Here's a picture of R2-D2... the most important character in all of Star Wars.
Well, him and C-3P0.