The latest purchase from my FLGS, pt.9

The Unknown Regions - Star Wars Saga Ed. by Gary Astleford, Owen K.C. Stephens and Rodney Thompson

And so it ends, the association between WotC and the Star Wars franchise, as The Unknown Regions, the last publication of the Star Wars rpg hits store shelves. It holds a few surprises, not least of which is the number of prominent alien races detailed. I will have to go back through my SWSE library, because I find it hard to believe races such as the Nikto, Shistavanen, Anzati, Chadra-Fan and Ishi Tib have not previously been described.

There are, of course, a few new talents and feats, although at this stage, there's precious little that is interesting or new in that well. Some of the new equipment is good though as it has a distinct exploration theme, something that hasn't really been delved into in the game so far. I was especially pleased to see an homage to the Landmaster in the form of the "Jaffryes Universal Automotive ARK-II Series Landmaster" vehicle. True aficionadoes of sci-fi TV and movies might also recognize the ARK-II reference, and, of course, "Jaffryes" alludes to Dean Jeffries, the builder of the original Landmaster and other famous vehicles such as the car used in the Green Hornet series and the cars in Death Race 2000.

There are, not surprisingly, quite a few planet descriptions and mini-adventures with an exploration theme in the book. Although I would categorize this material as fluff, it looks quite useful. Perhaps it is my interest in the subject matter that affects my view on this, but the mini-adventures all seem pretty good. Overall, I'd say this book is one of the better supplements to the game, not on par with Knights of the Old Republic or Jedi Academy Training Manual, to be sure, but pretty solid.

-Rognar-