Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope

Second Edition

by Grant Boucher

Revised and Expanded for Second Edition by Paul Sudlow

80 pages (First Edition)
98 pages (Second Edition)

West End Games

1989 (First Edition)
1995 (Second Edition)

While this review will be based on the Second Edition of the book, the First Edition will also be looked at as a point of reference.

Changes for the Second Edition

For the Second Edition, many of the characters have had their backgrounds extensively rewritten by Paul Sudlow. All of the original artwork from the First Edition has been replaced with movie stills, and a table of contents replaces the First Edition’s introduction pages. The layout and presentation has also been altered in the Second Edition, making quick reference more difficult than in the First Edition.

The Second Edition presents a bevy of new material. The First Edition was intended to be nothing more than a book of character profiles relevant to Episode IV A New Hope. The Second Edition expands the book’s horizons by adding multi-page spreads on the Jawa sandcrawler, Tatooine homesteads, creatures of Tatooine, Mos Eisley docking bays, and the starfighters used in the Battle of Yavin.

Review

This book is written as if authored by Rebel Alliance assistant historian Voren Na’al, as he documents the people, places, and events leading up to and including the Battle of Yavin. We’ll be seeing quite a bit more of this adventuring historian in future RPG book reviews.

Chapter One details Tatooine’s wilderness and its inhabitants. It opens with Voren Na’al’s account of purchasing (and retooling for the Alliance’s covert use) R5-D4, the red astromech Owen and Luke had originally intended to purchase. The first denizens of Tatooine detailed are the Jawas and Tusken Raiders. An interesting note here is that the number of Jawa sandcrawlers is slowly decreasing each decade due to malfunction and breakdown, and it is inevitable that within the next century or so, the Jawas will be forced to leave the crawlers behind and return to the dewback herds of their past.

The Lars homestead is described next. The two-page spread detailing the typical moisture farm homestead is pretty interesting -- granted, the Lars homestead has always been one of my favorite iconic elements from the films. Moving along to the desert sandtroopers, I find it curious that the Desert Sands stormtrooper unit just happened to be stationed aboard the Devastator. Is there a desert-specialist stormtrooper unit stationed aboard every Star Destroyer? R5-D4 is given a full two pages, but the entry has the Jawas picking up Artoo first and Threepio second. Isn’t this is backwards? Another two pages are briefly devoted to the bantha, dewback, and the krayt dragon, three of the best-known Tatooine creatures.

Chapter Two looks at Mos Eisley spaceport. It’s mostly a collection of some of the aliens found in the cantina during the corresponding scene in Episode IV A New Hope. They include Momaw Nadon, Figrin Da’n (now known as Figrin D’an), Dr. Evazan, Ponda Baba, Labria, Sivrak, Muftak, Kabe, the Tonnika sisters, Greedo, and Garindan. All of the aliens here had their backgrounds first developed in the First Edition of this book. The more inventive and interesting character backgrounds belong to Momaw Nadon and Sivrak, but the duo of Muftak and Kabe certainly is fun. The rest aren’t necessarily bad, just a little dry.

We also get a beautifully illustrated map of central Mos Eisley, reprinted from 1988’s Tatooine Manhunt. This map briefly describes twenty-two Mos Eisley locations. Mos Eisley is described as being the only major civilized outpost on Tatooine, which of course Episode I The Phantom Menace would prove wrong. Next, there’s a three-page spread detailing Docking Bay 99, a well-kempt, modernized Mos Eisley docking bay. We get treated to a floor plan of the docking bay as well as detailed descriptions of the dozen or so features found therein. This, along with the Mos Eisley map, are some of the treats the Second Edition of this book has to offer.

Chapter Three is a look at the forces of the Empire seen in the original film. The characters detailed include Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, Admiral Motti, and General Tagge. We also get entries on “generic” individuals found aboard the Death Star: officers, troopers, gunners, and TIE pilots. The Second Edition presents a two-page spread discussing the starfighters the Empire used in defending the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin: the TIE starfighter and the TIE Advanced starfighter. Finally, the chapter ends on two odds-and-ends entries: the IT-O interrogator droid and the dianoga. A pointless aside in the Death Star Gunners entry tells the story of how an officer completely reorganized the distribution of the gunners just prior to the Battle of Yavin, leading to gross inefficiency among the gunners. Interestingly, the First Edition states that General Tagge was responsible for this decision. The Second Edition shifts responsibility to an officer under Tagge.

Chapter Four details the Rebel base on the fourth moon of Yavin. Backgrounds are presented here for General Jan Dodonna, Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter and Jek Porkins, and on the whole they’re interesting and well-conceived. “Generic” Rebel soldiers and pilots are also given some time here, as well as the X-wing and Y-wing starfighters. One thing that I find curious is the mention that once Biggs joined the Alliance, he gained a reputation for having “a knack for hot-dogging TIE fighters that was unmatched until his old friend Luke Skywalker entered the scene.” It doesn’t seem to me that Biggs would have had much time to gain a reputation at all—in fact, I always thought it was safe to assume that the Battle of Yavin was Biggs’ first foray into combat as a Rebel. I also like the touch of mentioning that the Kenobi Medallions given posthumously to the pilots that gave their lives in the Battle of Yavin are displayed in the pilot’s lounge at the Rebel base on Tierfon.

Chapter Five gives us a look at the “Heroes of Yavin.” Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Chewbacca are given their due here (which means C-3PO and R2-D2 are virtually the only characters from the film not written about in this book). Each of these entries are written as a dialogue between that character and Voren Na’al as he interviews them about their opinion on making the Empire’s Most Wanted List after the destruction of the Death Star. This is a light, fun read with fairly reliable characterizations.

Chapter Six presents The Battle of Wayfar. Exclusive to the Second Edition, Paul Sudlow wrote a complete adventure set on Tatooine. Interestingly, this adventure is set concurrently with West End Game’s very first published Star Wars adventure, Tatooine Manhunt. Does this mean both adventures can’t be run with the same cast of PCs? More specifically, The Battle of Wayfar takes place three days after the murders of Owen and Beru Lars.

First Edition

The adventure is told in three episodes. Episode One opens with the PCs’ ship reverting from hyperspace over Tatooine, en route to Mos Eisley with a hold full of cargo, which promptly crashes to the surface, victim of a vicious sandstorm. This all takes place in the “read aloud” intro and thus is not alterable by the players. The players find their ship buried in a sand dune with engines so clogged they’ll blow the ship apart if started. Fortunately, they crash landed on the property of a helpful moisture farming family, the Tanners. Forced to spend the night at the homestead, the PCs are awoken in the middle of the night. A group of refugees from a recent Tusken Raider attack bring word that the Tusken Raiders are headed this way. Plenty of opportunities for roleplaying and interaction exist between the PCs and the Tanner family and their three live-in farmhands, as well as the refugees that arrive. A full-page diagram of the Tanner’s homestead is provided, and it’s a real treat. It’s a look at what moisture farm homes are like on the inside, and I must say I get a kick out of the layout of the Tanners’ home.

Episode Two begins with the Tanner family and the rest of the refugees preparing to head to Wayfar, suggesting to the PCs that they do the same. (If the PCs agree to help, the farmers will repair their ship as well as compensate them.) The rest of this episode is an in-depth look at Wayfar and the efforts to fortify the town before the Tuskens attacks. A map of Wayfar is provided, with a description of each of the 18 buildings and structures in the small town. The mayor and a handful of the residents are described. The farmers and the PCs have to figure out the best way to prepare the town for the eventual attack. Some suggestions are given in the text, but it is also left wide open for interpretation and improvisation.

In Episode Three, the Tusken Raiders attack. One-thousand Tusken Raiders descend upon Wayfar, verses the PCs and the 275 able fighters among the farmers. As one might expect, the odds aren’t good, and eventually, according to the narrative of the adventure, the Tusken Raiders are able to overcome the farmer army and storm Wayfar. That’s when a dues ex machina in the form of “desert worms” burst through the surface of the desert and begin decimating the Tuskens, leaving them no choice but to flee.

While better comparisons could be made, I think of this adventure as the Battle of the Hornburg on Tatooine. It has the potential to be an absolute blast of an adventure.

Short Stories

There are nine short stories included in both editions of Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope. They’re a mixed bag, with the best being Camie’s Story, Tatooine Debriefing, and Dodonna’s Story.

Camie’s Story is an account from one of Luke’s childhood friends, Camie. In it, she waxes on about Luke and his relationship with his adoptive aunt and uncle. It’s a nice little piece, very sentimental, and paints their family life in a different light. It wasn’t all bickering about joining the Academy and doing chores. Interestingly, Owen bought Luke his prized T-16 skyhopper just after Biggs left for the Academy—obviously Owen was trying very hard to convince Luke to stay on Tatooine. Also of note is the fact that Imperial officials in Mos Eisley were blaming the Lars’ murders on Luke himself.

Artoo’s Tale, about the astromech droid’s flight from the Lars homestead in search of General Kenobi, is just a rehashing of information we know from watching the film. It’s neither interesting nor enlightening.

Tatooine Debriefing, told from the account of the senior officer of the sandtrooper unit sent to Tatooine to recover the stolen data plans, fills in some gaps in the film and expands on what we know. Apparently it took several days to locate the Jawa sandcrawler that picked up Artoo and Threepio. The droids must have been in the sandcrawler for days before being sold. The only thing missing is where and how the stormtroopers got their dewback mounts.

One That Got Away is a tale told by bounty hunter Jodo Kast about his efforts to capture or kill Doctor Evazan. Kast is eventually thwarted by Ponda Baba. I assume Kast is only here because of his appearance in Tatooine Manhunt (1988). It is interesting to note that apparently Kast is the one who mangled and scarred Doctor Evazan’s face.

Double Vision is a story about the Tonnika Sisters, and their interactions with Han and Lando. It starts off with a great premise: Han wants to use the sisters to pull a con on Lando as a prank. But as the story goes on, it becomes clear the author had no idea how it was going to end. It just fizzles out, and it’s a really lame idea for a con to begin with.

Crossing the Dark Lord is another disappointing short story. It’s apparently an account told to cadets of the Imperial officer corps meant to inspire fear in them of Lord Darth Vader. As the story goes, Vader clears out the bridge of a Star Destroyer in order to “commune with the galaxy.” The captain of the ship decides to spy on Vader using security cameras, but Vader feels the intrusion and kills the captain from afar. It’s a childishly-written story. It also uses a still image from The Empire Strikes Back of Captain Needa lying dead at Vader’s feet. Wrong film and it doesn’t fit the story.

Dodonna’s Story is a great little story about how General Dodonna discovered the fatal flaw in the Death Star’s construction. It seems odd, however, that the general, after analyzing the data from R2-D2 (at first finding nothing useful), went to sleep with the Death Star attack looming the next morning. It certainly didn’t feel from the film that there was a night spent at the Yavin base before the battle after Luke and company arrived, and even if there was, I’d like to think that General Dodonna would have stayed up all night planning for the attack and not gone to bed. Regardless, this was an enjoyable tale.

The Letter Home is a letter an unidentified Rebel pilot wrote to his mother before attacking the Death Star. His mother obviously didn’t agree with his ideals and he spends the letter explaining why he’s about to sacrifice his life.

Wish You Were Here is also a letter, this time written by Biggs Darklighter to Luke Skywalker just weeks before the events of A New Hope. It’s a confusing read, with Biggs at one point seemingly almost ignorant of and uninterested in the Rebellion, while at the end he strongly hints he has already joined them. It doesn’t really seem as if he’s being coy either. Biggs also states that Luke was the best pilot of them all back on Tatooine, only to state at the end that he was better than or at least equal to Luke. Biggs also comes off as a bit arrogant towards Luke in the letter. Regardless, it’s not a bad little “story” and certainly serves as a historical curiosity.

Conclusion

While far from essential reading, this book is a fun romp through the first film. While much of the book could be considered dry reading, there are enough interesting passages and (especially for the Second Edition) topics to generally prevent boredom. Unfortunately, while some of the short stories are enjoyable little reads, most of them are inconsequential and forgettable. The Battle of Wayfar will no doubt be the most useful to today’s Star Wars gamers. It can easily be set anywhere during any era. If you’re looking for a Helm’s Deep-style adventure for your Star Wars game, look no further. 

5 / 10