October 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the Star Wars Roleplaying game(s), counting all of its incarnations. Having been involved in all editions, (at least a player, but sometimes as a playtester and often a freelancer), I thought I'd take a shot at relating the history of the game... at least as I recall it. In the interest of full disclosure, I was a freelancer for West End Games and continue to freelance for Wizards of the Coast for both the RPG and minis games. I've double-checked a few things, but you'll have to forgive me if my memory and sources aren't perfect in all details.

The West End Games Years

The RPG was originally released as Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game in 1987, sporting a Star Wars The First Ten Years logo on the back cover. The 142 page rulebook from West End Games (WEG) contained enough material for players to take on any role in the Star Wars universe, provided it was from Episodes IV - VI, and you wanted to play the good guys. The system itself, later known as the d6 sytem, evolved from WEG's short lived but influential Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters International RPGs.

What really fleshed out the Star Wars universe, though, was the fantastic Star Wars Sourcebook, which contained a lot of truly new information, ILM photos and artwork. It was targeted at both the gaming audience, and the general Star Wars fan. These two books formed the basis of the RPG and many concepts introduced in them continue on into the present incarnation.

The game was released at a time when many regarded Star Wars as a dead license. No more movies were thought to be in the offering, and the Marvel comics series were discontinued. Despite this, the game found an audience and soon gained in popularity. It won the 1998 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules and the 1988 Gamer's Choice Award for Best Roleplaying Game.

WEG created a lot of new material, under the eye and approval of Lucas Licensing. This essentially became the early Expanded Universe. Stories circulated that Lucasfilm was using material written for the game in their own archives. When the new line of novels started, WEG products were shipped to the authors as background material. It wasn't long for information to flow both ways, as some of the novels based on the sourcebooks were created with direct help from authors such as Timothy Zahn (Heir to the Empire Series) and Kathy Tyers (Truce at Bakura Sourcebook).

Over the next 20 years, the game would evolve as Star Wars itself would evolve. The designers often say that the most challenging aspect of creating the RPG is that the Star Wars universe keeps changing. You set up the rules to emulate what you see in the movies, then a novel or comic book (and later, of course, George Lucas) comes along and changes what can be done, especially with the Force.

The first rules advancement was not long in coming. The Star Wars Rules Upgrade came out in 1988. This 4 page pamphlet was released as an insert in early adventure/modules and, if memory serves, the Campaign Pack/GM screen. Though short, it became the first to tweak several rules that would be fiddled with again and again in almost every d6 edition - the combat sequence and starship combat.

Only a year later, in 1989, The Star Wars Rules Companion was released. This slim paperback volume updated and clarified the original rules and the Rules Upgrade. Once again, the combat sequence and starship combat were modified, along with new revision regulars: the movement system and the Force. It also introduced a system of scaling between weapons of various sizes (character to starship). Interestingly, a conversion system between the RPG and the stand-alone Star Warriors wargame (which simulated starfighter combat) was also provided. This was the earliest use of a tabletop game board for use in conjunction with the RPG, but the concept would eventually disappear from later d6 products.

The next revision came three years later in 1992. Called Second Edition, the SWRPG was the best selling game system for West End by now, and the new Expanded Universe novels were beginning to hit store shelves. The Second Edition featured more depth than the original in source material and rules. As with all new gaming editions, this created the first split within the fan base - those who preferred the original, simpler rules, and those who enjoyed the options of a deeper, somewhat more complex game. Once again, the movement, combat, Force, scale system and starship combat were revised. The possible eras of play expanded for the first time: The New Republic had arrived.

The Star Wars line expanded with the new edition and New Republic. A multitude of sourcebooks and adventures were produced, covering both the New Republic and "classic" eras. Later books extended play into the Dark Empire and Tales of the Jedi stories from Dark Horse Comics.

A new regular periodical called the Star Wars Adventure Journal started publication in 1994, which included new Star Wars fiction by established and new authors. Some of these short stories would be consolidated later in some the "Tales of..." series of books from Spectra. The Adventure Journal proved to be a popular addition to the line, and covered a wide variety of material.

Second Edition lasted 4 years, before the publication of Second Edition: Revised and Expanded in 1996. This became the first full color Star Wars rulebook. The revisions it contained were not enough for WEG to advertise the book a third edition. In fact, the revisions were available as another Rules Upgrade to those players who didn't want to purchase the new volume. This upgrade was available upon request and in the Star Wars Adventure Journal No. 11 (Nov 1996)*. The revisions attempted to speed up the game to give it to a more cinematic feel...a goal that later editions would also aspire to. Yet again, there were revisions to skills, starship combat, the Force and the scale system.

Though the Star Wars line was running strong, West End Games was not. At some point during this time, WEG discussed a deal with rival Wizards of the Coast regarding the license in an effort to raise much needed cash, but from what I've heard so far, nothing came from it. West End Games went bankrupt in 1998, costing them the Star Wars RPG license, which reverted back to Lucas Licensing. Though a version of WEG would eventually emerge from bankruptcy, the company lost or transferred much of its intellectual property and has never been the same since.

The Star Wars RPG would continue, but not with West End Games.

Next up: The Wizards of the Coast years


* More on this particular SWAJ in a future blog ....

Related links:
For continuing examples of WEG's work, see many of the entries in the Hyperspace Source Archive (Hyperspace members only).

WEG Star Wars Product List.

See Pablo Hildago's entry on Rookies, regarding the first SWRPG adventure, included in the original rulebook.

Also, the picture above shows the same poster used for the cover of the original rulebook, in English, of course.