Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook

The Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition Core Rulebook is the core rulebook for the new Saga Edition game system of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game released by Wizards of the Coast on June 5th 2007. Previous versions of the Core Rulebook are Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook (2000) and Roleplaying Game Revised Core Rulebook (2002).

It includes stats from all of the Star Wars films as well as Expanded Universe. Also there are five major changes to the rules system. These changes take the form of

(1) Utilization of a "Use the Force" skill with a simpler Force system.

(2) Compressing skills into more compact categories (i.e. spot and listen have been removed in favor of a perception skill, etc.).

(3) Merging of the two base Jedi character classes and removal of the fringer, force adept (which became a prestige class), and tech specialist character classes (the tech specialist returned as a Talent Tree in a Wizards of the Coast web supplement).

(4) Character talent trees to allow diverse character concepts to be available through the various base and prestige classes.

(5) Removal of the vitality/wound point (VP/WP) system in favor of a more conventional hit point (HP) system.

(6) A revised combat system to make combat run faster, particularly at higher levels.

Many combat examples in the book have been illustrated using the Star Wars Miniatures pieces in place of characters. .

Basic Summary
Saga Edition is based on the d20 system, which uses a twenty-sided die for most of its core mechanics - such as skill checks and attack rolls. For damage rolls, health, and starting credits, other dice are used, such as ten-sided, four-sided, six-sided, and twelve-sided dice.

Unlike the fourth-edition RPG Dungeons and Dragons (which is published by the same company), there are only five base classes. These are the Jedi class (though generally used for actual Jedi, the class is also occasionally used for force sensitives of similar skills), the Noble class, which is primarily buffing and social skills, with low-level combat abilities and health. In addition, there is the Scoundrel class, which offers the ability to focus on certain skills (such as slicing), as well as debuffing abilities. The scoundrel is usually seen as the 'Han Solo' of the group. Complementing the specialization of the other classes is the well-rounded Scout class. For the main combat and tanking role, the Soldier class is used. There are also Prestige Classes, which allow more specialization and defenses, in return for fewer feats (which are essentially special abilities or talents in the game). These can only be taken after the characters have progressed at least somewhat (usually around seventh level).

Additional Materials

 * Dawn of Defiance (November 2007 - October 2009)

Awards

 * Gold ENnie: Best Rules, Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition, Wizards of the Coast
 * Gold ENnie: Best d20/OGL Product, Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition, Wizards of the Coast
 * Gold ENnie: Best Game, Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition, Wizards of the Coast
 * Silver ENnie: Product of the Year, Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition, Wizards of the Coast