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| Fantasy Flight Games |
Star Wars: Rise of the Separatists
Fantasy Flight Games
Developed by Tim Cox with John Dunn, Jordan Goldfarb, Sterling Hershey, Keith Kappel, Monte Lin, and Jason Marker
The Star Wars Prequel trilogy has a dire reputation, both rightfully and wrongfully. But even so, the galaxy spanning Clone Wars forms the basis of an era almost universally loved by fans. Years of multimedia spinoffs play a part in that, the most prominent of which being the animated series simply titled Star Wars: The Clone Wars. As possibly the last part of the franchise fans won't go to blows over, the era was ripe for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars roleplaying game. Some of their final publications for the line, the Clone Wars would warrant two supplements, the first of which is titled Rise of the Separatists.
Covering the first half of the 3 year long conflict, the book provides new careers, gear, and enemies to help bring the Clone Wars to the game table. Beyond the mechanical side of things, Rise of the Separatists also covers the history of the war, along with some helpful direction for game masters.
Like the previous era sourcebook, Dawn of Rebellion, this was compatible with all three gamelines, a relatively easy feat since FFG were vigilant about keeping their releases fully compatible. Edge of the Empire does suffer for having a focus that drifts from the frontlines but Rise of the Separatists makes a decent effort there. The advice on working in the mechanics specific to each game line is underdeveloped and the selection of force powers sits at a measly two. The successor book, Collapse of the Republic, would have more content tailored to the scum and villainy of the galaxy and at least added more of the force powers.
Aside from that, it's easily one of the most substantial supplements released for this system, to the point where I wonder if this book and its companion could have made for their own core rulebook.
The Call of Duty
Rise of the Separatists gets right to the point with its careers, allowing players to take on the iconic roles that make the era so beloved: the elite clone troopers and their heroic Jedi generals. Some less expected additions are snuck in and even the more obvious careers prove for some more unique playstyles.
Most notably, the book introduces Heroic Level Play, where player characters start with over twice as much XP and a considerable stack of cash. The FFG corebooks wisely offered characters considerably less impressive than what we see in the films. Depicting the swan song of the Republic and its defenders calls for something more grand though and Heroic Level Play helps bridge the gap between the characters created by the players and the ones they see on screen.
The Clone careers prove to be more exciting than the somewhat boring soldiers and mercenaries of previous books. Rise of the Separatists tailors their talent trees towards aiding NPC allies and dealing with large swaths of foes. Its more than just a reskin of previous careers and plays to the era's trademarks.
The selection is fairly obvious, with the ubiquitous Clone Trooper and broad Clone Officer. The unassuming Clone Pilot ends up shining through as the first functional pilot career in this entire system. With the introduction of the damage reducing Barrel Roll talent, similar to terrestrial careers' Parry, the developers finally adress how absurdly lethal space combat has been up to this point.
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| Fantasy Flight Games |
Beyond that are several new Universal trees, containing some more oddball choices. Force-Sensitive outcast covers familiar ground, though representing Asajj Ventress type "Dark Jedi" means it has a far more aggressive and adaptable bent.
Republic Navy Officer covers the non-cloned officers of the Republic's military, with Scavenger picking through a galaxy left in ruins. Republic Representative is specifically to cover senate aids and career politicians.
Just as the two previous careers don't offer much new, Representative repeats most of the talents from previous social focused careers. However, they have access to talents reflecting the benefits reaped from the legitimacy of the Old Republic - as well as its corruption.The universal careers might not be major breakthroughs like the Clone or Jedi careers but they're welcome additions. Besides the new flavor, it establishes expectations for game masters and players, reminding them that Rise of the Separatists can be used to portray more than just combats against endless waves of battle droids.
The species on offer are less random than some previous books, giving players access to some of the iconic participants of the Clone Wars: Clones, Kaminoans, Geonosians, and Umbarans. Clones are a bit of a letdown, with almost nothing to distinguish them from "natural" humans or portray their engineered nature. Kaminoans' passive features makes them difficult to Charm but that goes both ways. Umbarans are possibly the most mechanically sound choice of species: a strong social buff, night vision, and a basic statline.
Geonosians are a big departure from FFG's tendency to keep species' rules close to the human baseline. Half their characteristics are at 1 but to make up for it, they can fly. I'd say that's a more than even tradeoff.
Locked and Loaded
The gear covers much of the same ground: the essentials of the era with some more inventive additions. Nearly everything you imagined your own Clone or Jedi having: DC-15A Blaster Rifles and Ilum crystal lightsabers. Even the gadgets and gizmos produced from Qui-Gon's utility belt get rules. I'll admit gear has never been my favorite part of RPGs but Rise of the Separatists has a lot to show off and isn't afraid to work in some flavor. Tying into the book's larger themes about the elaborate web of politics, trade, and production at the heart of the Clone Wars, a lot of the gear has glitches.
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| Fantasy Flight Games |
Rotary Cannons can overheat and even iconic phase 1 armor has optional mobility issues due to design oversights. There's also plenty beyond weapons of war, with scavenger gear and diplomatic trappings. Medals, genuine or fake, come in handy for navigating the Republic's labyrinthine bureaucracy and scavenger suits enhance senses at the risk of disorienting feedback.
If every game gave its gear so much personality, I'd probably care a lot more about it.
On the GM side, Rise of the Republic stats out a range of Republic and Separatist vessels. Most of the recognizable ones make their way in, with a few less common or new additions. The emphasis is mainly on larger, capital class ships, another mainstay of Clone Wars media. Coupled with the Republic Navy Officer career, it gives some focus to another previously underdeveloped side of the system. It's not that substantial but it's something.
The NPC section offers the basics but doesn't go much further than that. The basic variants of droids, Droidekas, B1s, and Super Battle Droids. Some basic Clone trooper profiles are provided as well. Previous FFG publications had more varied NPCs on offer but I don't object to Rise of the Separatists keeping it bare bones. There are so many distinct characters and concepts to cover that it understandably doesn't leave much room for stranger picks. I do appreciate the senator profile, as like it or not, that's a major part of this era.
Truth and Lies
Speaking of, politics is one aspect of the Clone Wars Rise of the Separatists refuses to shy away from. The background section is an exhaustive summary not just of the early phases of the Clone Wars but the events leading up to it. While visually and mechanically the book is a product of the 2008 TV show, this section is chock full of references to the Legends continuity. As a diehard fan of that body of work, it was a real treat to see references to the Stark Hyperspace War and The Essential Guide to Warfare.
Beyond fanservice, Rise of the Separatists captures the elaborate web of political intrigue that caused the conflict: the dissatisfaction of the outer rim, the corruption of the core worlds, and the hidden actors taking advantage of both. The senate and economics of the war get as much focus as the military actions and Rise of the Separatists communicates that the two are intertwined.
The major players of the Republic and the Separatists are established. There are even fully statted profiles for several film characters, namely Padme Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress. I personally make a point of not using film characters as anything more than cameos in my games. It just ends up overshadowing the players and the profiles given here would definitely do that. Even so, it's fun to see these characters represented in the system.
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| Fantasy Flight Games |
Beyond the big names, the various political factions vying for control in the Republic and Separatist governments are explored. It touches on the depth of the conflict and does a good job conveying how the Separatists could ever get the support for this war and why anyone would bother defending the Republic.
At the same time, the flagrant abuses of power of both factions are pointed out. The Separatists rampant corporate oligarchy makes them somehow worse than the Republic, as the book says many a political idealist discovered.
But the Republic is quickly losing their moral high ground, between their citizens' dwindling freedoms and the actions of its protectors. Rise of the Separatists emphasizes the Jedi have morphed into an entirely military organization, a transformation they actively struggle with. Even the existence of their clone army is an ethical issue they've simply accepted as a cost of war. The book also details the individual factions vying for power on both sides of the war. Ideological groups, corporations, and political organizations all squabble for the future, oblivious to whose really behind it all.
Previous sections of the book are on the clumsy side but this concise yet detailed account of the Clone Wars has to be some of FFG's best writing, in any of their games. It captures the Clone Wars, both on and off the battlefield, as well as its important themes.
A section is set aside for a few of the iconic worlds seen in the prequels as well. Unfortunately, outside of a major battle or two, most are far from the frontlines, so I'm not sure if they were the best pick. Each one has a brief modular encounter, which are sparse and underdeveloped. The characterful NPCs they include, like Tusken Raiders and Geonosian drones, are welcome though.
The book also provides some more concrete advice for running a Clone Wars campaign. Their guides on Troupe Play and handling recurring villains offer solid advice, reminiscent of the advice White Wolf would offer in their games. Instead of just imitating existing Clone Wars media, it encourages GMs to go to the source, classic adventure serials, to help them capture the essence of the era.
The advice on running large battles is considerably less helpful, if only because it lacks the mass combat rules previously published. We'd have to wait until Collapse of the Republic for that. It does at least include squad rules, a must for the throngs of NPC allies this book's careers rely on. There's also an atmospheric rules for running the seemingly endless droid phalanxes Jedi cut through.
Begun, the Clone Wars Have
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| Fantasy Flight Games |
Rise of the Separatist is an easy contender for the best supplement FFG has published for their sprawling Star Wars RPG line. The range of atmospheric, high quality art improves those odds. Aside from some glaring instances of copy/pasting, it captures the feel of the Clone Wars without just feeling like a retread of existing imagery. It easily has some of the most atmospheric spreads I've seen in any Star Wars book. It perfectly channels the sense of a familiar universe still large enough to have things we've never seen before. And it's up to the players to find them...
The bells and whistles I've come to expect from a lot of FFG books might be absent but the quality doesn't suffer at all. Rise of the Separatists has zeroed in on the essentials, letting the designers do everything justice. The sheer amount of content makes it feel much longer than its 144 page count. All in all, I strongly any recommend that any Star Wars game master add this one to the ranks of their collection.
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