Experience the excitement and epic scope of the greatest space fantasy of all time! Defend the Republic against the sinister plots of the Sith, join the Rebellion against the oppressive might of the Empire, or save the New Republic from the tyranny of the Yuuzhan Vong. The only limit to the adventure is your imagination.
Welcome to Star Wars SAGA Edition
The Star Wars Roleplaying Game SAGA Edition is a d20 system at heart. If you have played D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder, you already know how this game moves: six ability scores, a base attack bonus progression, skill points, saving throws, and a d20 roll plus modifiers against a Difficulty Class. A blaster rifle is a longsword with a power pack; a Force Point is a hero point with a darker edge; a feat chain in Starship Gunnery reads exactly like a feat chain in archery.
The parallels run deep, and on purpose:
| D&D concept | SAGA Edition equivalent |
|---|
| Ability scores | Same six: STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA |
| Skill points / ranks | Skills with trained-only options |
| Base attack bonus | Same progression, drives your attack roll |
| Saving throws | Reflex, Fortitude, Will |
| Feats | Feats, plus heroic specializations in place of deity boons |
| Multiclassing | Character levels in classes; Prestige Classes at higher levels |
| Downtime / magic items | Credits, equipment, and the Hyperspace campaign economy |
If you are new to d20 games entirely, don't worry — everything you need is covered in this handbook, starting with the ability scores and a character's six core statistics.
Modifications for this module
This is not the rulebook as it rolled off the press in 2007. A number of changes were made to make SAGA Edition run smoothly as a Craft world, and you should know about the most important ones before you build a character:
Talent trees are gone from heroic classes. In the original game, every heroic class gained Talents from branching talent trees — a flexible, sometimes overwhelming system of hundreds of interlocking options. Here, heroic classes instead receive class abilities: fixed, meaningful features granted at specific levels, in the style of D&D class features. A Jedi gains Force-sensitive abilities on a schedule; a Soldier earns combat tricks on a schedule. Fewer forks, clearer progression.
The expanded class list. Alongside the classic Jedi, Noble, Scoundrel, and Soldier, this module adds the Scout, plus two Force traditions as playable classes: the unaligned Force Sensitive and the Sith Initiate (with Gamemaster approval). See the Classes chapter for all seven.
Prestige Classes carry the customization. What you gave up in branching talents, you get back in breadth of Prestige Classes. Specialization — Ace Pilot, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter, Officer, and many more — is now the main way to make your character distinct. A Soldier who takes Ace Pilot plays nothing like a Soldier who becomes a Commando, and the class abilities of each path are written to make that difference felt at the table.
Everything else is the game you remember. Condition tracks, area attacks, the vehicle rules, and Force Powers — all here, tuned to this setting.
What you need to play
Your character. Built from the chapters in this handbook: species, class, ability scores, skills, feats, and equipment.
The rules in this book. Chapters on Skills, Combat, Vehicles, and The Force cover everything a player rolls.
A Gamemaster running the world. This world uses an AI Gamemaster — The Archivist — so no separate GM is required; you simply play the world as it is presented to you.
How to use this handbook
Start with Characters to learn the six ability scores and the shape of a character sheet, then follow the creation steps through Species, Classes, Skills, and Feats. The Force covers the powers and traditions of the Jedi and their enemies. Combat is the heart of the game — read it before your first session. Vehicles and the vehicle combat chapters cover starfighters, transports, and the art of not exploding. Finally, Prestige Classes shows where your hero can go after first level.
Welcome to a galaxy at war. May the Force be with you.
