This is the Way: Choosing a Core Rulebook for Your Star Wars Campaign

9 min readFeb 1, 2021

Din Djarin from Disney’s The Mandalorian

Did you like The Mandalorian? Are you a fan of Boba Fett or Sabine Wren? Do you want to play in a campaign that is similar to the show? Did it pique your interest in playing a Star Wars RPG but you don’t know where to start? Are you interested in playing as a Mandalorian? Have you played D&D and wanted to give a Star Wars game a try? If so, this series will show you The Way!

In this article, I will explain the different core rule books published by Fantasy Flight and why you might choose one over the others. Regardless of which system your friends or DM chooses to run, thankfully you can play as a Mandalorian regardless of which system you’re playing in. Future articles will discuss differences with D&D, character creation, and various builds. I will skew things towards the Mandalorians since they’re my favorite Star Wars faction.

When it comes to Star Wars roleplaying games there are a lot of options, even a D20 one based on 3.5. I’ve had fun DMing Saga Edition but if you’re looking to play a campaign that captures the feel of Star Wars I recommend The Star Wars Roleplaying Game by Fantasy Flight. It is composed of three different core rulebooks — you only need one of them to play. It’s a bit different from a D20 system so there are a few things that may be confusing to someone who has played only D20 systems like 5e. I’ll cover some of the differences later. Thankfully the basics between the core rulebooks are identical and it’s very interchangeable regardless of which core set that your party uses, unlike the OOP Warhammer 40k RPG books that Fantasy Flight had previously published.

The first thing I would recommend doing if you are the GM, is what kind of Star Wars game do you want to play? What kind of game does your group want to play? Despite what some people think there are really different elements to Star Wars. Some love the dichotomy between the Jedi and Sith while others prefer emphasizing the War in Star Wars. Still, others like the political intrigue or the Western aspect of Star Wars. This is something that should be discussed in Session 0.

There are other questions that must be answered including what time period people would like to play in. So far the rules have mostly covered the Galactic Civil War, but they could easily be adapted to take place before or after the OT series. It’s even possible to do a campaign set in the Clone Wars, which has seen official releases in Rise of the Separatists and Collapse of the Republic. Another thing to consider is what kind of party you and your friends would like to play: Do you want to play a party of force sensitives trying to evade the Empire? Would you like to be a band of bounty hunters looking for their next score? Would you like to support the Rebellion against the Empire? The answer to these questions will determine which core rules your group would be best suited for.

The three core books have slightly different campaign mechanics but they overlap very well, so you can take races, classes, and weapons from separate books, even ones meant for the other core rule books! So it’s quite possible to play a force-sensitive character in a Rebel cell or one that fell in with a smuggling operation. The main difference is the group mechanics and flavor.

Age of the Rebellion

Age of the Rebellion was the second core book to be released but is often the first that comes to mind. As the name suggests you work for the rebellion and are attempting to take the fight to the Empire. As you work with the rebellion, you gain Duty which roughly represents how much trust the Rebel Alliance has with you. As you succeed with more missions and with your personal role within the rebellion they trust you with more and more resources. However, the more Duty you have, the more likely it is that the Empire will recognize you as a threat and therefore they will deploy more assets to destroy you. This book lends itself to a more heroic campaign and most closely parallels the original trilogy. It could also capture the feeling of being in the Galactic Civil War. This is the set you would utilize if you’re looking to focus on the war between the Rebellion and the Empire.

Of the three core rulebooks, it most easily adapts to other eras in the Star Wars Disney Canon and Expanded Universes. Duty can easily be adapted to the Clone Wars, just replace Duty for the Rebellion with Duty for the Republic or the Confederacy. Some have even adapted the ruleset to The Old Republic and Legacy Eras.

Edge of the Empire

The first core book to be released was Edge of the Empire. Although you may participate in the Galactic Civil War, the emphasis of the book is on living in the outer rim, outside of the law, or in places that aren’t as impacted by the war. Whereas Duty is the driving force behind the story of Age of the Rebellion in Edge of the Empire your character has Obligation. Obligation represents past obligations like old debts, belonging to a secret society, or abiding by a moral code. For example, in the original trilogy, Han Solo was in debt to Jabba the Hutt which eventually resulted in a bounty being placed on his head. Another great example is in The Mandalorian: Din follows a strict code of conduct and because of that he has to get Grogu to a Jedi. In Edge of the Empire, you can take additional Obligation in order to get even more XP or credits but this comes at a steep cost with in-game consequences.

Edge of the Empire is generally grittier and greyer than the other two core books. It’s what I’d recommend if you wanted to play a game in which your character is just trying to make their way in the universe.

Force and Destiny

The third core book is Force and Destiny. Like its name implies its emphasis is on force-sensitive characters and running a campaign entirely based around them surviving the Empire. It has a morality system and there’s the possibility for a character or party to fall to the Dark Side and even to be redeemed. It’s possible to play force-sensitive characters in the other core books but Force and Destiny place them front and center.

If everyone or the vast majority of players want to play Jedi or force sensitives, this is the core rulebook you should consider. It can also be a good start if one is looking to replicate Knights of the Old Republic.

Playing Mandalorians in F&D and AoR

What if your GM does not follow The Way and chooses to do either a Force and Destiny or Age of the Rebellion campaign? Fear, not, since the system is very flexible it is still possible to not deviate from The Way. Although it’s not common, we do know that there was a Mandalorian Jedi at one point in time. This Mandalorian crafted the dark saber. This is the same weapon that would later be wielded by Mandalore or the leader of the Mandalorians. So, even playing a Mandalorian Force wielder could be possible. Personally, I’m not so interested in playing a Jedi Mandalorian as it is very rare and any Mandalorians that were taken into the Jedi would really not be connected to the culture of the Mandalorians, which is what makes them Mandalorian. If you want to run a Mandalorian Jedi and the DM is lax, more power to you! But if you’re like me and you’d rather not play a Jedi, you could still pull it off by making a Mandalorian who is force sensitive. It’s not uncommon for force-sensitive characters to not realize they are force sensitive and it just manifests in what seems like luck or talent. If I had to play in F&D I would most likely choose the Starfighter Ace specialization and play it from that angle. If you didn’t want to play a force-sensitive character at all and had your heart set on a Mandalorian you could still tag along not unlike Canderous Ordo in Knights of the Old Republic.

Age of the Rebellion could have Mandalorian characters too. Mandalorians often find themselves on both sides of conflicts as we got to see in Rebels. There were many Mandalorians that willingly fought for the Empire and we also know that others resisted, such as Sabine Wren. Ultimately it didn’t end well for the Mandalorians that took up arms against the Empire, but they did side with the Galactic Alliance. There can be a few different reasons that a Mandalorian could fight for the Republic. Perhaps the Mandalorian sees the Empire as a greater foe that would bring more honor in combat. Or maybe the Mandalorian is a mercenary or bounty hunter whose personal interests just so happens to align with the Rebellion. Either way its possible.

Mandalorians that fought for the Empire.

Conclusion

There are valid reasons to play any of the three core rule books. If you’re looking to be a part of a major Star Wars war then Age of the Rebellion will fit the bill. If you’re an aruetii that likes to wear bathrobes and wave their hands around like a lunatic, then Force and Destiny would be a great book for you. If however, you want to follow The Way of the Mandalorian, Edge of the Empire is the core rule book that you would want. Its Obligation system fits in pretty well with Mando’s code of honor which is the driving force behind his actions in the series. Out of all three systems, this one feels the most like a Western and The Mandalorian. In my opinion, it also works out well if one is looking to do a campaign based around a heist, Noir, or simply exploring the galaxy. Edge of the Empire is also perfect if you are looking for a greyer campaign, especially if you are setting it outside the reach of civilization like in the Outer Rim, Nar Shaddaa, or even the lower levels of Coruscant.

What are your thoughts? Is there a particular system you prefer? The next article I will write will be about the dice and difficulty, and how they differ from typical D20 systems like 5e.

This article contains affiliate links.

If you’re interested in playing I’ve put together some useful links! The Starter Sets have some pre-created characters, a small adventure, dice, and some tokens. The Master Kits have GM screens and some additional optional rules, for example, the AoR kit has a section on squad and squadron combat.

Age of the Rebellion Core Rulebook

Age of the Rebellion Starter Set

Age of the Rebellion GM Master’s Kit

Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook

Edge of the Empire Starter Set

Edge of the Empire GM Master’s Kit

Force and Destiny Core Rulebook

Force and Destiny Starter Set

Force and Destiny GM Master’s Kit

Star Wars RPG Dice

Boba Fett Miniature

Sabine Wren Miniature