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TauntaunScout
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Joined: 20 Apr 2015
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 Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:46 pm Post subject: Weird little 90's game have I found |
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So today I ran across a little black Darth Vader suitcase full of stuff for "Star Wars: Missions". It seems to be like SW meets Oregon Trail. Pretty neat. Looked it up on Wookiepedia, I appear to be missing a book, a membership card (though it still has the piece of paper that the card was glued to in shipping!) and a 6 sided die but that's about it. Maybe I'll try and replace the missing book via eBay.
It's dated 1997 making it firmly in the WEG era though I don't think any of the same folks worked on it. It's by Scholastic who probably had capable enough staff, though names from 90's Star Wars novels and comics do appear all over it. |
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Pel
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Location: Texas
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| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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I recall seeing a few of these, but didn't realize they're RPG books. Is it a Choose Your Own Adventure setup?
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TauntaunScout
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| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Pel wrote: | | I recall seeing a few of these, but didn't realize they're RPG books. Is it a Choose Your Own Adventure setup? |
It appears to be. The cards and stuff are still shrink wrapped so I don't actually know. It does use the word "roleplaying game" in the little pamphlet inside though yes. It doesn't have the starter module with it but it seems like modules are the size of a young adult novel and are like $5 a dozen used.
It seems somewhat influenced by it but it's not straight up Choose Your Own Adventure. It uses dice, and characters appear to have keyword-based abilities. |
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Pel
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| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, well if it has dice then it's more like a traditional rpg. Choose Your Own Adventure, Twistaplot, and others followed a simple branching choice narrative, e.g. "If you chase the Yeti, turn to page 47. If you run the other direction and seek the nearest bar, turn to page 5". The Scoundrel's Luck and Jedi's Honor solo adventures followed a similar concept but also used dice for skill rolls. Maybe the Missions books are like these?
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TauntaunScout
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| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Pel wrote: | | Maybe the Missions books are like these? |
Yeah I suspect that when I find a mission book or two it'll turn out to be a lot like the solitaire adventures WEG published to "show you want an RPG is like". It's a story tree but your options can be altered by dice rolls.
It also comes with a bunch of star system maps which is kinda cool. |
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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 10402
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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Cool find, TS.
| Pel wrote: | | The Scoundrel's Luck and Jedi's Honor solo adventures followed a similar concept but also used dice for skill rolls. |
No, they don't use dice rolls. These two 1990 books are a scam.
On the front covers they say, "Solitaire Adventure... A Complete Adventure Game. On the back covers they say, "This is a complete stand-alone adventure game. And it features "A hidden game system that does what no other solitaire adventure can - it puts you so completely in the hero's world, thoughts, and feelings..." Finally it says, "It's a novel - but you decide the course of the story! It's a game - but you interact with every twist to determine what happens!" The introductions on p.2 say, "...Make your choice, and flip to that section number. Continue reading from there. Simple, isn't it? There are no dice to roll, no tables to consult."
Despite the word adventure having RPG connotations, I can completely give them a pass for calling these an "adventure" since they are just Star Wars 'choose your own adventure' books. But WEG Star Wars books called a "solitaire adventure" are really pushing it because they have had a couple so-called "solitaire adventures" in books that did have actual game mechanics and dice rolling in them.
But I vehemently object to them calling these a "game". There is no "game system", hidden or otherwise. These are pure and utter 'choose your own adventure' books. Choices only. No game mechanics. No dice.
I remember seeing these in the store back in '90, flipping through them, realizing what they really were, and putting them back on the shelf disgusted by the false adventuring. I only got these a few years ago because I thought it would be fun to read them to my son and let him make the choices. We did a couple of the Luke adventures and neither one of us cared for it.
WEG did later publish one actual solitaire adventure book with game mechanics and dice rolling, Imperial Double-Cross.
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