When the animated series Star Wars Rebels premiered last year, viewers were introduced to new characters and places in the Star Wars universe. The show follows the crew of a ship called The Ghost as they carry out missions and try to survive in a galaxy now ruled by the Empire. The crew is made up of a diverse and complementary group of characters who each fill certain roles within the team. With the episodic mission format and the specialties of each crew member, it was easy to see some parallels between the show and a Star Wars RPG. Each character could easily be a PC and each episode of the show could be a gaming session. The series also introduced a vast array of new locations, characters, creatures, and equipment. With that in mind, several members of the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG community came together to create a source book based on the Star Wars Rebels series.
The idea began back in February when Drathen posted on the FFG forums showing two sample pages he had created, inspired by a campaign his group was running based on the Rebels theme. After receiving positive feedback on the pages, he asked if community members might be interested in creating a full Rebels source book. A team of community members formed. Since then, six different community members have contributed to the writing of the book, and three different people have contributed with the artwork and design. Not only does the book contain tons of material, it is presented in a professional way to make it look just like the official FFG products. Using the source books Suns of Fortune and Lords of Nal Hutta as guides, the Rebels book – entitled Spark of Rebellion – has four chapters that will have new material for both players and GMs alike.
Players will find an assortment of new equipment, including several of the weapons seen on the show. There are also two new playable species included with stats and skills – the Lasat and the Mandalorian Human. Similar to Corellian Humans presented in Suns of Fortune, the Mandalorians have a unique background and some distinct traits that differentiate them from other humans. New vehicles include the VCX-100 – the same ship model as the Ghost – and the special TIE Fighter flown by the Inquisitor.
There is also plenty in the book for GMs to use in their own adventures. Whether building a campaign around the concept of the Rebels series or supplementing their own existing campaigns, the background details on setting, new NPCs, and original modular encounters give GMs some new material to play with. The section on Lothal delves deep into the planet’s background and current state, visiting different parts of Capital City and beyond. Several new locations and NPCs are presented to build encounters or entire adventures around Lothal. Also presented is information on those trying to thwart the Rebellion before it expands. Many of the recurring Imperial characters are presented as NPCs, as are the Rebel crew members themselves, and some of the other characters and creatures seen during Season One of the show.
Lastly, the book wraps up with a chapter full of modular encounters. These encounters are intended to be leveraged by GMs to include in their campaigns and contain everything needed to easily work them in, including possible plot hooks, setting and NPC information, ways to interpret dice results based on the actions taken by the PCs, and even brand new original mechanics for some encounters. Five separate encounters are included in the first release of the book, and several of those are based upon scenes and activities from the series.
As an exclusive preview, the first modular encounter “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” is being made available today. This encounter takes players to Fort Anaxes, where they can relive the events of Season One’s Episode 5, entitled “Out Of Darkness.” What seems like a routine pick up job at an abandoned asteroid base soon turns out to be something much more dangerous than initially thought. How the players deal with the danger, and if they complete their job, will depend upon their creativity, teamwork, and toughness.
Look for the complete Spark of Rebellion source book to be released in July 2015.
EotE Rebels Source Book Preview Download
Steve "Jaspor" Orr
Holy crap, that looks really good!
This is amazing work! Great work and congratulations! I can’t wait to see the whole book!
Been looking forward to this ever since it was announced over on the FFG forums. The modular encounter looks fun, both from GM and player perspective. Good job!