The
Star Wars
galaxy is a big place with a lot of stories. There was a time when I
could set myself to reading all of the novels in a matter of months,
but that was before the explosion of publishing during the
mid-Nineties. In this post, I'd like to look at some recommendations
for those Star Wars
books that are particularly relevant for an Edge
of the Empire campaign.
It's only fitting, for a number of reasons, that I start with the Han
Solo Trilogy. For one
thing, these three novels present the background story of Han Solo,
the most famous smuggler and scoundrel in the galaxy. It also seems
fitting, though, because Ann C. Crispin, the author of this trilogy,
lost a lengthy battle to cancer just two days ago.
Thinking
of those who haven't read the books, I don't want to give away too
much of the plot. Suffice it to say that the books start with a young
Han Solo being raised aboard a ship of scallywags, where he is taught
how to lie, cheat and steal. Eventually he pursues a career in the
Imperial Navy, but things go awry. What follows then is a burgeoning
career working for the Hutts, and some entanglements with the
up-and-coming Rebel Alliance. The story then sets the stage for the
iconic scene from A New
Hope when Luke Skywalker
and Ben Kenobi walk into the cantina looking for passage to Alderaan.
For
the GM and players in an Edge
of the Empire campaign,
the novels present lots of valuable details. The notion of a shipload
of scoundrels a la the Trader's
Luck is an interesting
one, rife with plenty of possibilities for various schemes. There are
many scenes on Nar Shadaa, the Smuggler's Moon, too, showing what
life is like in that wretched hive of scum and villainy. These
stories also present some interesting ways in which the Rebel
Alliance can be worked into a campaign on the fringe, providing a
chance for more heroic-minded characters to do some good. Finally,
Han Solo's interactions with and participation in the machinations of
the Hutts gives useful insight into how those nemeses can be
incorporated into numerous plotlines.
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