A Guide To The Big 4 Star Wars TTRPGs

You’ve got a good blaster at your side, your course is set, and you’re ready to punch it. You know that the Star Wars galaxy is a great place for tabletop RPG adventures thanks to its wealth of odd characters and ability to work with different genres. But if you’re new to Star Wars TTRPGs, you’ll find that you must choose a path. There are four major Star Wars systems in play at the moment. Which is your destiny? Let us guide you on your path to greatness by breaking down the four Star Wars TTRPG systems. 

Star Wars 5E

As the name implies, this system takes the nuts and bolts of Dungeons & Dragons 5E and reworks them for Star Wars. The appeal here is obvious: so many groups are introduced to TTRPGs through D&D. Getting a group to switch systems is notoriously difficult as most people feel they put too much investment into D&D to go through learning something new. The fact that Star Wars 5E uses the exact same basic rules makes it an easier sell. 

Another enticing aspect of Star Wars 5E is that it is free. Since it’s a personal homebrew project, you can find all the tools you need here. That said, you can donate to their Patreon to help support continued development if you’d like. And it pays off– Star Wars 5E supports playing as most popular alien races, starships that allow modifications, and downtime activities such as running your own faction. If you’re looking for an easy in to playing out a familiar saga, this is it. 

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Star Wars D6

This is the OG Star Wars RPG from 1987. It received an update in 1996 and several fan made additions before rights issues forced it to close shop. However, there’s still a dedicated player base that grew up on this system that keep it alive. As a result, you’re less likely to find open games of Star Wars D6, but the ones you do find will be helmed by very knowledgeable GMs. In fact, the lore of Star Wars D6 is so good that it was once used as reference material for official novels like the Thrawn trilogy. 

Star Wars D6 is a great system for beginners. The core concept is that you get to roll a certain number of D6s based on your ability scores to attempt actions. The hope is that you can roll as many as possible, both to up your chances of success but also just because rolling tons of dice is fun. You can find a lot of the books for free online, since they’re no longer in print. Of course if you’re the GM, this means you’ll need to homebrew scenarios if you plan to run long-term campaigns. 

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Star Wars: Saga Edition

After Star Wars D6 had its time, Wizards of the Coast got the rights to develop Star Wars TTRPGs. It came out with Saga Edition in 2007, earning ENnie awards for its rules and general product quality. The “Saga Edition” label represents what makes this one unique: it is the first system to span the entire movie saga at the time (meaning prequels included). Due to it being so expansive and being a WotC product, there was a LOT of content introduced during its three year run. 

Star Wars: Saga Edition uses a D20 system similar to what was seen in D&D 3E and 4E. There’s also separate rules for vehicle combat and mass combat, not to mention prestige classes. If you’re looking for a campaign that will go the distance, Saga will deliver. Although it isn’t the most popular today, so games can be hard to find. 

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Star Wars RPG By Fantasy Flight Games

As the most “current” Star Wars TTRPG, this is where you’ll want to go for the most up-to-date content. Star Wars FFG separates its core books into three: one focused on the classic Rebellion, one centered on the Force, and one that digs into the smuggler/bounty hunter life. From there, you can also branch out into expansions that cover the Clone Wars, Rogue One, and specific lore like Dathomir or the Hutts. There’s very little in terms of sequel content, however. 

Star Wars FFG uses its own system with different colors and markings of dice to represent threats, advantages, and use of the Force. This makes it the most involved to learn. On the other hand, being the most recent game carries the benefit of groups being more readily available. Also, the splitting of books and expansions makes it easier to find games set in your favorite corner of the galaxy.

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And that’s our guide to the galaxy. Hopefully one of these systems sparked your interest. If you do find a game you like, may the Force be with your dice.