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 Post subject: Legacy of the Force Guide Review!
PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:10 am 
Droid Army Commander
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A Look into the Legacy of the Force Guide

By: Fool
The Legacy of the Force guidebook first gives us a brief overview of the time period which spans from the forming of the Galactic Alliance to the Imperial Civil War (which sees Darth Krayt take hold of power from then Emperor Roan Fel and depose him). After that brief introduction, the bulk of the Legacy Campaign guide is introduced.

Alike the previous guidebooks, this one brings in a few more races into the fold. Players who have waited for some of the more popular Star Wars races such as Chiss, Yuuzhan Vong or Zeltron to create their new characters need not wait any longer. Obscure races specific to this time (more so than any other) like the peculiar Codru-Ji and the interesting Nagai (race of the Darth Nihl) are also introduced. This complements some of the other more mainstream races such as Chagrian, Klatooinian and Weequay.

What separates the Legacy guidebook from the earlier guide books is provided in the next chapter of Heroic Traits and that is the Legacy Destiny. The Legacy Destiny allows a new twist on destinies by allowing characters to embrace or reject their given destinies and thus, gain a special benefit whenever the given character spends a Destiny Point. These additions allows characters to use some of the more common recurring names that appear in the Star Wars universe (such as Antilles, Skywalker, Solo etc…) and create a Character of that given Legacy allowing them to gain a bonus or incur a penalty depending if they embrace or deny their Legacy (and thus, their Destiny). Not only is this covered in detail with some of the common Star Wars names (Koon, Sunrider, Vao, Skywalker) it also covers other additional destinies to draw from.

Some of the best additions for many guidebooks and updates are obviously the new abilities and talents available. Legacy offers a few new talent trees for all of the classes allowing for some new character possibilities (especially the Yuuzhan Vong Biotech Talent Tree). We also see an influx of Skills in this guidebook and some new Feats to draw from. As the Heroic Classes receive a bonus, so does the Prestige Classes as the Bounty Hunter, Elite Trooper, Gunslinger, Jedi Knight, Officer and Sith Apprentice Classes all receiver some new talent trees. Also, two new and exciting Prestige Classes are introduced – the Imperial Knight and the Shaper both extremely fitting introductions for the Legacy time period.

The Force is leaned on heavily in the Legacy era and we see some nice new Force Talents, Techniques and of course, some new Force Powers (such as Dark Transfer, Force Shield and Stagger). Another nice addition to Force users are two new Force groups – The Disciples of Twilight (colonists from the small moon of Dyspeth – a habitable moon in the Outer Rim) as well as the interesting Ember of Vahl – a group of worshippers to the goddess of fiery destruction (which in turn introduces yet another new species, the Vahla).

The Legacy era also introduces some new weapons from the concealed dart launcher to the a few new blaster carbines. We also see the Vong weapons make their way into the Star Wars universe as Razor bugs and Thud bugs are made available. There are also the Yuuzhan Vong Biotech devices, as well as bio-implants which are available.

During the Legacy era, we see a few new Droids – everything from the P1 Series Medical Assistant Droid to the LV8-Series Guard Droid. Most are common in the Legacy Era. Covering off the new additions are the new vehicles (everything from Speeder Bikes to Air Speeders, Starfighters and larger freighters).

Chapter VII of the Legacy Campaign Guide book covers Campaigns during the Legacy Era. Although samples of specific campaigns are not covered in this section, it does go into detail about running a Campaign during this era. With the Legacy era being the “latest” era in the Star Wars timeline, the possibility of running Weapons or Vehicles from previous eras is possible and thus, it makes the Legacy Era an era without boundaries from that standpoint. It is also one of the darkest time periods in the history of the galaxy where crime is prevalent, the Empire is in control under Darth Krayt and Sith Overlords run rampant throughout the galaxy exacting their vengeance on the Jedi brethren.

With the war between the Empire under Krayt, the remnants of the Galactic Alliance and the Empire-in-Exile under Roan Fel, there are many opportunities for heroes to validate themselves and defend the good of the galaxy. That said, there are many villains that roam the galaxy freely and secret identities should be taken into consideration – especially if your heroes are in opposition to intentions of Darth Krayt’s Empire.

Before the last few chapters that cover off the key factions and characters of the Legacy era, the “Galactic Gazetteer” brings new players to the era up to speed with the status of the key planets during the Legacy Era. This is crucial information to anyone that is planning a campaign of this era to note the different state the various key worlds are in during this time period. It also highlights some of the other worlds (such as Munto Codru) which may have had little impact on the galaxy before this time period. Finally, planetary updates for the key Star Wars worlds (Coruscant, Nar Shadaa, Bespin as well as a few others) are also included to go along with many of the newer worlds introduced.

The last three chapters of the Legacy of the Force guidebook are of course the most coveted – the break down of the three key factions (The Galactic Alliance, The Galactic Empire and the Fringe) is included as are the key players of the Legacy Era. This includes a breakdown of the factions, key personnel and finally, the heroes (and villains) of the era. Because Darth Krayt wrests control of the Empire from Roan Fel, the Sith characters are also covered off in the Galactic Empire of the section. All other tertiary characters that fight for their own causes (such as Cade Skywalker) are found in the Fringe section.

Not only do we see a multitude of the key characters of this time period (Cade, Darth Krayt, Jariah Syn, Emperor Roan Fel) we also see key Vehicles (the Crimson Axe) as well as a few new Species such as Chadra-Fan as well as Sakiyan, Devaronian and Advozse. Finally, if you are collecting the Star Wars Miniatures brand of collectable miniatures from Wizards of the Coast, many of the key characters are also available in the Legacy of the Force set to help enhance your Star Wars RPG Legacy era campaign.

The Legacy of the Force Guide from Wizards of the Coast covers off the latest era in the Star Wars Saga. Although this is by far one of the darkest times the galaxy has seen, it also presents a role playing group with some excellent opportunities to help fight evil and uphold the forces of good. That said, it also presents some difficult challenges for heroes that will be constantly opposed by the Empire under the power of Darth Krayt and his minions who are looking to wipe the Jedi – as well as what is left of the old Empire and the Galactic Alliance – out of the galaxy forever…


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 Post subject: Re: Legacy of the Force Guide Review!
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2009 12:40 pm 
One of The Ones
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A little bump, and to say that this is now posted on the main home page as well!! You can find it under the Articles > Reviews menus.

Many thanks to Fool for writing this up!

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-Aaron
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"You either die a hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain."
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 Post subject: Re: Legacy of the Force Guide Review!
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:21 pm 
Droid Army Commander
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