And All the Stars, Afire

“ . . . In short, Senator Akala, I cannot divert the Third Fleet elements to your world. I understand the fear of your constituents, but the entirety of the New Republic Defense Forces are currently guarding targets much more at risk than Giva. I—pause recording.” Borsk Fey’lya looked up at the human who had just entered his offices. “Have a seat, General Tomas.”
The General remained standing, his face grave. “I’m sorry to report, sir, that Reecee has fallen. There is a Yuuzhan Vong fleet massing there as well as Borleias.”
Fey’lya’s eyes wandered to the holomap of the galaxy that hovered over his desk. As each world had fallen to the Yuuzhan Vong invaders, its representation had turned red. Too many red lights blinked in that tiny model, too many worlds had fallen to the enemy. “They’ve got us in a pincer.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Send out the recall message.” That pre-arranged message would recall several fleet elements in nearby space. When the Vong reached Coruscant, they’d find over half the New Republic Fleet waiting for them.
As General Garv Tomas left to follow his orders, Borsk rose and went to his window, thinking. Even if the NRDF managed to repel the invaders, billions would die. If they failed to protect the capital, then billions more would die. In any case, Borsk knew one thing. His career was over. He’d played the best game of dejarik¹ he could, and he’d been bested. But there was still one final move to make.
Fey’lya moved to the communications console, turning his face away from the window as he did so. “Doctor Imala, please come to my office.”

*dejarik is that chess-like game played by Chewbacca and Threepio in the first SW movie. It's quite popular even "today"

In January, we have a 160-page full-color "galactic gazetteer" called Coruscant and the Core Worlds, which takes a very detailed look at more than two dozen planets, including Coruscant (duh!), Corellia, and Kuat, not to mention a few never-before-seen planets. The book is intended both for players and GMs and covers all eras of play. In addition to general information about each world, the product also includes lots of "crunchy game stuff," including pregenerated NPCs and "world stats" for GMs and new feats and gear for players.

In April, we release the Ultimate Alien Anthology, a 224-page full-color hardcover. Honestly, I wasn't blown away by the first Alien Anthology, which included about 50 sentient aliens and 50 nonsentient creatures in a softcover format. I also didn't care for the organization of the alien entries or the mix of film photos and illustrations. The Ultimate Alien Anthology includes 180 sentient aliens (including Episode II aliens), all playable as heroes or GM characters. We've taken out the nonsentient creatures and plan to compile them in a different book designed more for GMs. The Ultimate Alien Anthology adopts the revised rulebook's more user-friendly format for describing alien species (with sections on Physical Description, Personality, Homeworld, Language, Species Traits, and so on). Also, every alien gets a new illustration. At the back of the book, we have a chapter of new prestige classes (each with its own illustration) and an appendix of new alien-specific feats.

In June, we have the Hero's Guide, a 160-page full-color hardcover that provides new prestige classes, feats, combat tactics, Force traditions, and character options for players. The book is designed to help players create memorable Star Wars heroes and customize their characters' abilities. The book also includes variant class abilities, multiclass character archetypes (a concept first introduced in Star Wars Gamer magazine), alternative uses for skills, new equipment, and rules for cybernetics and martial arts.

In August, we release the counterpoint to the Hero's Guide -- a campaign-building book for Gamemasters. A lot of GMs want to know how to build and sustain a Star Wars Roleplaying Game campaign for heroes of 1st through 20th level. In addition to providing general tips and guidelines, the book includes dozens of useful tools and "house rules," as well as several ready-to-use adventure locations with maps (detention blocks, nightclubs, hangar bays - you name it).

We end 2003 with a 160-page full-cover hardcover book of ready-to-play adversaries -- specifically Star Wars creatures, droids, and villains. These creatures, constructs, and characters span all eras of play and include both familiar faces and new nemeses for players to overcome.