Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, written and published by West End Games (WEG) between 1987 and 1999. The game system was slightly modified and rereleased in 2004 as D6 Space, which used a generic space opera setting. An unrelated Star Wars RPG was published by Wizards of the Coast from 2000 to 2010. Since 2012 the official Star Wars role-playing game is another unrelated game, published by Fantasy Flight Games.
The game, based on WEG's earlier Ghostbusters RPG, established much of the groundwork of what later became the Star Wars expanded universe, and its sourcebooks are still frequently cited by Star Wars fans as reference material. Lucasfilm considered the West End Games' Star Wars sourcebooks so authoritative that when Timothy Zahn was hired to write what became the Thrawn trilogy, he was sent a box of West End Games Star Wars books and directed to base his novel on the background material presented within. Many of the first uses of Star Wars alien names (such as the Twi'lek, Rodian, and Quarren) appeared for the first time in WEG's Star Wars books. Even after Disney's reboot of the Star Wars Expanded Universe in 2014, much of this nomenclature still exists in new canon works.
In 1992 West End Games published the second edition of the game, in which the title remained unchanged. In 1996 a revision of the second edition saw the light of day, but its title was slightly changed from Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game - Second Edition to The Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Second Edition - Revised and Expanded.
By the end of the game's run around 140 sourcebook and adventure supplements were published for the game during its run through three editions.
In addition fifteen issues of a magazine series, the Star Wars Adventure Journal, were published between 1994 and 1998. The Adventure Journal was published in novel format of around 280 pages, and consisted of adventures and articles for the game, plus short stories intended to provide inspiration for gamemasters and news relating to Star Wars.
WEG's license to produce Star Wars material was lost after the company declared bankruptcy in 1998, and the license was later picked up by Wizards of the Coast, who held the license until 2010.
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1987.
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game uses the D6 System, originally developed for the Ghostbusters roleplaying game.
1st Edition Rules
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (1987) ISBN 0-87431-065-2
2nd Edition Rules
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game - Second Edition (1992) ISBN 0-87431-181-0
The Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Second Edition - Revised and Expanded (1996) ISBN 0-87431-268-X
All covers from all core rulebooks published during the game's run:
The Star Wars Sourcebook (1987)
Campaign Pack (1988)
Tatooine Manhunt (1988)
Imperial Sourcebook (1988)
Strike Force Shantipole (1988)
Battle for the Golden Sun (1988)
Star Fall (1989)
Otherspace (1989)
Otherspace II: Invasion
Scavenger Hunt (1989)
Riders of the Maelstrom (1989)
Crisis on Cloud City (1989)
The Far Orbit Project (1998)
Black Ice
The Game Chambers of Questal
Domain of Evil (1991)
The Isis Coordinates (1990)
Death in the Undercity
Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (1989)
Graveyard of Alderaan (1989)
Death Star Technical Companion (1991)
Mission to Lianna (1992)
Planet of the Mists (1992)
The Abduction (1992)
Supernova (1993)
Cracken's Rebel Field Guide
Flashpoint! Brak Sector (1995)
The Star Wars Rules Companion
Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope - 1st Edition: 1989, 2nd Edition: 1995.
Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin- 1st Edition: 1989, 2nd Edition: 1995.
Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back- 1st Edition: 1989, 2nd Edition: 1996.
Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races - 2nd Edition: 1994, ISBN 0-87431-208-6
Galaxy Guide 5: The Return of the Jedi - 1st Edition: 1990, ISBN 0-87431-140-3, 2nd Edition: 1995, ISBN 087431-267-1
Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters
Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley
Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts
Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters
Galaxy Guide 11: Criminal Organizations
Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens - Enemies and Allies
Galladium's Fantastic Technology: Guns and Gear
Planets of the Galaxy Volume 1
Planets of the Galaxy Volume 2
Planets of the Galaxy Volume 3
Wanted by Cracken
Dark Force Rising Sourcebook
Heir to the Empire Sourcebook
The Last Command Sourcebook
Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook
Dark Empire Sourcebook
Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
Creatures of the Galaxy
Cracken's Rebel Operatives
Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook
Heroes and Rogues
Goroth - Slave of the Empire
The Planets Collection
Platt's Starport Guide
Alliance Intelligence Report
Hideouts and Strongholds
Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook
Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids
Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
Secrets of the Sisar Run
Cracken's Threat Dossier
Platt's Smugglers Guide
Pirates and Privateers
Stock Ships
Wretched Hives of Scum and Villainy
The Black Sands of Socorro
Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear
Alien Encounters
Lords of the Expanse
The Player's Guide to Tapani
The Darkstryder Campaign
Darkstryder: Endgame
Darkstryder: The Kathol Outback
Darkstryder: The Kathol Rift
Tales Of The Jedi Companion
The Jedi Academy Sourcebook
Truce At Bakura Sourcebook
Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook - Special Edition
Gamemaster's Screen
The Politics of Contraband
Gamemaster's Guidebook
Classic Adventures Vol 1
Classic Adventures Vol 2
Classic Adventures Vol 3
Classic Adventures Vol 4
Classic Adventures Vol 5
Operation- Elrood
Gamemaster Kit
Classic Campaigns
Instant Adventures
Mos Eisley Adventure Set
No Disintegrations
Shadows of the Empire: Planets Guide
Star Wars Introductory Adventure Game
Tapani Sector Instant Adventures
The Best of Star Wars Adventure Journal Issues 1-4
Twin Stars of Kira
Star Wars Adventure Journal 1
Star Wars Adventure Journal 2
Star Wars Adventure Journal 3
Star Wars Adventure Journal 4
Star Wars Adventure Journal 5
Star Wars Adventure Journal 6
Star Wars Adventure Journal 7
Star Wars Adventure Journal 8
Star Wars Adventure Journal 9
Star Wars Adventure Journal 10
Star Wars Adventure Journal 11
Star Wars Adventure Journal 12
Star Wars Adventure Journal 13
Star Wars Adventure Journal 14
Star Wars Adventure Journal 15
Four board games were published and coincided along with the role-playing game, all of them by West End Games:
Star Wars: Star Warriors (1987)
Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star (1990, not to be confused with the 1977 game)
Star Wars: Assault on Hoth (1988)
Star Wars: Battle for Endor (1989)
A miniature wargame was also written in 1989:
Star Wars Miniatures Battles.
Five gamebooks were published by West End Games in the 1990s:
Scoundrel's Luck (a Han Solo adventure) and Jedi's Honor (a Luke Skywalker adventure), both published in 1990, were the two only gamebooks of a series titled Solitaire Adventure, a kind of Choose Your Own Adventure books.
The Imperial Doublecross, published in 1997, wasn't part of the Solitaire Adventure series and used the Star Wars D6 rules and character's die codes.
The Lightsaber Dueling Pack and Starfighter Battle Book were picture gamebooks, presenting viewpoint series of pictures and the possible next courses of action, similar to Ace of Aces.
In the early 1990s, before the advent of the modern Internet, the FidoNet Star Wars Echo ran a message forum for playing the West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game on-line on computer bulletin board systems. The game also gathered a large internet following via such mailing lists such as the SW-RPG Mailing List.
