Chris’ Quick Take: Witness the power of this Fully Operational sourcebook! This baby provides long awaited coverage for Age of Rebellion Engineers, with three specialties, three iconic specialities, some great campaign seeds, and a lot more. Did I mention vehicle and starship crafting? Not everyone is going to want this book, but those who will want it will really want it.
We don’t have too many of these left, do we? It may be a sad truth that one day all the specialization sourcebooks will be released, but for now we can celebrate the release of another solid book. Fully Operational is your source for the expanded Engineer options you are waiting for. This one is as solid as a well designed bunker. If you’re an Engineer, or you GM a game for one, take a look at this book.
My review will follow the same format as my take on Disciples of Harmony and Lead by Example. Basically, I’ll go through the book chapter by chapter and make comments as I go. This book uses the same familiar layout, with player options in Chapters One and Two and a healthy gamemaster section in Chapter Three.
Chapter One starts strong with flavorful backgrounds and duties. Backgrounds include the stereotypical eccentric Engineer, but also cover more mundane origins in academia or self-education. On duty, I particularly enjoyed how this book pays attention to the civil side of engineering and the need to take care of civilian needs during the Galactic Civil War. With this content, players have every opportunity to flesh out their characters beyond being a mere “Mechanics-Bot.”
The crunch is strong in this one. Three species are included: the Bith, Kaminoans, and Skakoans. While the Bith may seem an unlikely choice given their Intellect of 2 and Presence of 3, it is clearly elucidated in their write up that this species are technical by necessity – the damage to their homeworld means Bith must rely on technology to survive. Kaminoans provide an Intellect of 3 with a bioengineering focus, and potentially play to stereotype with a penalty to Charm checks. I suspect the Skakoans will be the go-to option for most players using this book. With Intellect 3 and automatic ranks in Knowledge (Education) and Mechanics, these suited humanoids are a clear choice for Engineers. Needing pressure suits to survive off their homeworld, players are further enticed by free starting equipment in the form of a +2 soak armor with several hardpoints. All three species provide appealing options, albeit more narratively for the Bith.
Chapter One continues with three new specializations and a duo of signature abilities. The Droid Specialist gave me and my group a double take, but yes, you read it right, this is not a reprint of Droid Tech from Special Modifications. While both trees are similar, the Droid Specialist provides more combat focused, practical options such as Repair Patch Specialization, Desperate Repairs, and Design Flaw. While not a perfect analogy, you can think of the difference along the lines of a Medic vs a Doctor. Up next is the Sapper, a true combat engineer equally capable of digging in to protect allies, with talents such as Improvised Defenses and Improvised Position, as they are taking out enemy positions, using the likes of Weak foundation and Master Demolitionist. The Sapper provides everything you need to be a competent combat engineer, making it a great starting specialization. Thirdly, the Shipwright provides a plethora of options to not only construct new vessels, but also to push existing vehicles to the limits. To me, the Shipwright fills a similar role to Strategist, it may not be appropriate to your game, but if you run vehicle heavy it is a great choice.
Closing out the chapter, two powerful signature abilities are on offer. I was surprised to see they are both mechanical, combat focused options as opposed to keeping one more narrative. The Harder They Fall allows the Engineer, and potentially some allies, to more easily strike critical blows against vehicles, structures, and droids. Unmatched Ingenuity allows an Engineer to add item qualities for several rounds. Both are powerful options, with Unmatched Ingenuity’s eventual ability to add Concussive threatening enemy action economy. However, for the steep price paid in experience, this is to be expected.
Chapter Two contains the weapons, equipment, and ships you have come to expect. As it would be a complete travesty to skimp on this section, the developers have been very generous with 26 pages for rebel operatives to drool over. Weapons include the practical, such as the DH-17C short carbine, and the awesome, with the likes of the LJ-40 concussion carbine. Several types of grenades and explosives are outlined, including planetary grenade damage explosives. Armor, equipment, and droid options are all suitable for use by players, with a variety of attachments ready to boost functionality. Two starships appropriate for party ships are in, with a few speeders ready for combat engineer use in the field. Gamemasters will love the Haven-class mobile space dock and the Mk IX orbital maintenance depot as adventure seed generation machines. If you are on the fence about buying this book, I recommend you take a flip through this chapter at your Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS).
Entitled “Crafting for Victory,” Chapter Three has the parts you need to run a great Engineer focused campaign. Expanded Mechanics rules, a long list of environmental effects, and rules for militarizing civilian facilities and vehicles will be of immediate use to any GM with an Engineer in the group. The expanded table for narrative dice results for engineering-focused checks, taking up all of page 71, provides a great array of options for GMs and players looking to spice up their check resolutions. Three campaign outlines are provided, with my favorite being the galaxy trotting Bunker Builders, which all combine an engineering focus with other elements into a balanced offering. While a GM would be wise to fill out their Holocron with these new rules, I suspect it is our next topic which will attract the most attention.
The much awaited vehicle and starship crafting rules make their debut on page 78. Those already familiar with the crafting rules outlined in other Star Wars Roleplaying Game sourcebooks will be at home in this section. My group is still digesting these rules, looking at permutations, and theorycrafting, so I’m choosing to reserve my personal judgment. The community seems to have had a mixed response so far. My bet is these rules will be perfect for a special starfighter or freighter-sized project, but may struggle for larger silhouettes and for high level play. As always, when in doubt I recommend a flip through at the Friendly Local Gaming Store to see if these are right for you.
Overall, Fully Operational sets out to satisfy the type of player attracted to the Engineer and, in my view, hits it out the park. Solid specializations (especially the Sapper!) and ample equipment will keep Engineers engaged, while an eminently useful Chapter Three gives GMs the tools needed to dive further into this play experience. While the jury is still out on the starship crafting rules, their presence in this book satisfies a long running ask from the player community. My recommendation? If you, or someone you know, is an Engineer by career, then this is a book that belongs on your shelf.
Christopher Hunt
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