Master & Apprentice

Just finished reading this new book, Master & Apprentice (Claudia Gray, 2019). I was looking forward to it, as I loved Claudia's first SW foray, Lost Stars. This one didn't do it for me, sadly. I like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, but the other characters and situations and locations were not interesting enough to fully engage my attention. The time period of the tale is 40 BBY (8 years before Episode I).

We meet a basically failed Jedi, who was a Padawan to Count Dooku before Qui-Gon. We meet some jewel thieves. We learn about a planet under the thumb of a powerful intergalactic megacorporation. We are thrust into an awkward and failing Master-Padawan relationship--not sure I got from previous stories the idea that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are/were in quite such a mismatched and strained relationship. They seem better by the end of this story, to be sure, but the initial situation depicted herein is bleak.

We see too many ham-fisted episodes of foreshadowing: attempts to explain too many otherwise irrelevant details from future stories. We cross a number of lines, Jedi-etiquette-wise, and toss in some anachronistic phrases here and there that kill the suspension of disbelief. We see a climax with a twist that we aren't invested in and can't quite bring ourselves to care about.

As with any novel coming in the time before (or between) major Star Wars events depicted in the movies, there is a challenge to come up with a plot that is interesting enough to be worth reading and yet does not outshine the movies themselves in scope and sweep (we accept the movies to be the most impressive events that happened during their respective periods of history). Some books pull that off nicely. I don't think this is one of them.

That being said, there are a ton of new books on the horizon, as we move toward Episode IX. I don't think I'm all that interested in any of them. You can read about them here, on the Star Wars website:

https://www.starwars.com/news/journey-to-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-publishing-program

Upon Further Review...

I don't think the starfighter flying toward Rey is a TIE Silencer. It might be a New Order interceptor, or something analogous to the Special Forces TIE (TIE/sf), or even the Royal Guard TIE Interceptors  (all red).

Here's the Rey pic (screen capture from trailer):

Here's Kylo's Silencer (different cockpit):

Here is a New Order Special Forces TIE (TIE/sf):

One of Palpatine's Royal Guard TIE Interceptors:

Allies and Adversaries

Here's a preview of the newest book, an anthology of NPCs.

-Nate

Allies and Adversaries (P)review

This book is the second in the black-bound line of era-specific books, following Dawn of Rebellion and preceding (announced after, but arriving before) Collapse of the Republic. It's laid out a little differently from that other, with four chapters dedicated to different types of characters whom the PCs might encounter. Those are Chapter 1: Rebels and Heroes; Chapter II: Imperials and Despots; Chapter III: Scum and Villainy; and Chapter IV: Creatures and Citizens. 

Power levels for these NPCs run the gamut from generic Alliance troopers all the way up to Yoda. Some of them are familiar from previous sourcebooks, while others I don't recall seeing before. Familiar faces include Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso, Lando Calrissian, Leai Organa, Luke Skywalker, Mon Mothma, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Saw Gerrera and Wedge Antilles; Admiral Piett, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, General Veers, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Moff Tarkin; Boba Fett, Bossk, Dengar, Doctor Aphra, Hondo Onahka, Jabba the Hutt, Maul and Zuckuss. 

Creatures—which I always find useful for bolstering encounters—include the acklay, bantha, bearsloth, dewback, dianoga, gundark, krayt dragon, loth-cat and loth-wolf, Mantellian Ffutterplume, mynock and vynock, nerf, nexu, rancor, reek, ronto, sarlacc, tauntaun, varactyl and wampa. 

All in all there are some thirty characters n each category, making this a highly utilitarian book. It can supplement a collection from any of the three lines, providing access to stats that would otherwise require a stack of books to transport. 

A highlight for me is the fact that Ewoks are introduced as a playable species.

The Rise of What Now?

I like the trailer. I am intrigued...I will of course go at least once to this movie when it comes out.

What is Rey doing? Getting a ride to the record store from Kylo? 

I assume that's Kylo's TIE Silencer...but it has a red stripe like the TIE/sf (Special Forces TIE). So perhaps it's actually a bad guy. A Knight of Ren, perhaps?

I really don't understand the title. I thought we've been over this--I guess it could refer to Kylo...a good bait and switch trick, like how we thought the Clone Wars referred to the primary opponent...when it referred to the ally. Here we see Rey, hear about "Skywalker". Bait and switch?

Interesting. But I feel sad that I don't care as much as I wish I did. This sequel trilogy has been rough on my fandom.

Queen's Shadow

Just finished reading this nice new young adult book, Queen's Shadow (E.K. Johnston, 2019). It covers Padmé Amidala's story as she moves from Queen of Naboo to being the Senator from Naboo. She and her handmaidens have to adjust to the at times dangerous new life on Coruscant, amid the movers and shakers of the galaxy.

A very pleasant tale which fits effortlessly into the existing canon, Johnston fills out the picture of Amidala and this time of transitions before the Rise of the Empire. The tale takes place during 28 BBY, four years after the events of Episode I and six years before the Clone Wars erupt.

Well written, good characterizations of Amidala, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, R2-D2, among others. The ending makes me want to learn more about Sabé's potential role in the Rebellion...

Tierfon Mission: Downtime

Detailed here are some of the training exercises in which the PCs can participate during their downtime in a Rebel base, be it at the Tierfon Outpost, on Yavin or Hoth, or in similar locations.

-Nate

Downtime

Tierfon Mission: Downtime

This collection of activities is intended to be used at times when the PCs have time between missions, whether it be at Tierfon Base, or at similar Rebel Alliance outposts. They can be run in the same manner as modular encounters, as featured in the supplement Strongholds of Resistance. Alternately, they could be used as a stand-alone session for PCs who've been newly recruited to the Rebel Alliance, giving them a taste of a soldier's life and thus earning some XP with which to start developing the appropriate abilities.

Target Practice

One of the more common activities for Rebels in training is target shooting, both with pistols and rifles—as befits the different situations in which they might need to operate.

• This involves five shots using either Ranged (Light) or (Heavy) or Gunnery skill checks.
• The range can start out at short, with one difficulty die, and then escalate to medium and long.
• The character with the highest number of successes after five shots is the winner; advantage can be used to break any ties.
• Target drones could be used to provide moving targets.

The Obstacle Course

This activity combines general physical fitness—that is, running—with a series of barriers that help development different skills.

• The running part requires Athletics checks, with the difficulty determined by the length of time.
• A climbing wall also requires an Athletics check, with the difficulty adjusted based on the height, slope and number of handholds.
• Various parts of a ropes course, such as crossing a narrow beam, crawling under a net, or the like, require a Coordination check.

Hand-to-Hand Combat

Another important aspect of training is unarmed and melee combat. This can be run as a typical combat between characters, with the following considerations.

• The characters fight with padded staves, which means that they do damage to each others' strain thresholds rather than wound thresholds—unless, of course, some chooses not to do so.
• They are also issued padded armor, which provides some protection from the attacks and thus makes the training bouts run longer than might otherwise be the case.
• At any time, one of the competitors can call off the bout after recognizing a superior opponent.

Medical Emergencies

While not part of the ordinary training process, it's likely that characters skilled in Medicine will be called upon to help in various situations.

• When a transport returns carrying wounded Rebels, refer to the Critical Injury table (from page 231 of the Core Rulebook) to determine the problems with which the medic must deal.
• After the initial first aid, characters can make Medicine checks to provide medical care for ongoing recovery, as detailed on pages 232-3 of the Core Rulebook.
• The medic could also be called on to deal with the outbreak of a disease in the base, requiring the collection of appropriate medicines and the treatment of those affected by it.

Wilderness Training

Given the potential for Rebels to find themselves stranded on alien worlds with hostile environments, they must know how to find shelter, water and food.

• Characters should make Survival checks in order to provide for their basic needs.
• Success means that they can pass a relatively comfortable night in the wilderness, and maybe even accrue boost dice for future business; failure, on the other hand, inflicts setback dice on ensuing endeavors.
• There's always the chance the a native creature could come prowling, forcing the PCs to scare it away, placate it, do battle, or handle the situation in some other manner.
• Finally, in the event that bad weather occurs during one of these exercises, the PCs might even need to make Resilience checks to deal with exposure, or could be called upon to rescue other Rebels who've been caught unprepared in such conditions.

Stalking and Guard Duty

This activity also takes the PCs outside the base; in this case, some of them are positioned in a particular location, while the others are tasked with sneaking up on that position, as detailed below.

• The approaching characters start out in the extreme range band from their fellows, and advance one band—to long, medium, short, and then engaged—with each successful Stealth check opposed by the stationary characters' Perception efforts.
• There could be some kind of target for the stalkers, in the style of capture-the-flag; the character who can close to engaged range can claim it.
• In that case, the defending characters could be armed with weapons set on stun, in order to address those who are not stealthy enough.

Technical Difficulties

There is plenty for mechanically-minded characters to to in a Rebel base, including the following.

• It would be necessary to wipe the memory of a captured droid so that it can be used by the Alliance; in this case, success means that it has not remaining memories and serves faithfully, while failure means that it retains some old programming and could act against the Rebellion.
• Just as with critical injuries, technicians could be called upon to repair critical damage to ships, vehicles and other equipment; refer to the table on page 258 of the Core Rulebook for details.
• Characters could also be tasked with picking or locks or pockets, requiring Skullduggery checks opposed to the targets Perception efforts.

Vehicular Patrols

The Rebel base routinely runs patrols of the surrounding territory, either speeder bikes or airspeeders on the ground, or starfighters in space. To that end, the PCs involved in these tasks should make Piloting (plantary) or (space) checks as needed.

• These patrols normally follow pre-established routes, which means that characters need only make piloting checks in order to run the usual courses.
• Here again, native beasts could complicate these activities by attacking the vehicles that pass through their territory.
• In the event that a vehicle suffers damage, PCs trained in Mechanics could be called upon to make repairs during battle.

Star Wars Reading in 2019

We have a small-ish slate of books to look forward to in 2019, but they are not from the Sequel timeline, so they're promising.

Starting with a Young Adult novel on March 5, entitled Queen's Shadow, by E.K. Johnston. This one traces Amidala's path after stepping down as Queen of Naboo, but before becoming the Senator from Naboo. An intriguing time to explore. I am a fan of both Amidala and E.K. Johnston (author of 2016's Ahsoka and co-author of the short story By Whatever Sun found in the "From a Certain Point of View" anthology.)

Next in the sequence is another Prequel era book: Master and Apprentice, by Claudia Gray (Lost Stars, Bloodline, Leia: Princess of Alderaan). This one deals with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan before the events of The Phantom Menace. Interesting! Love both of those characters, and quite like Claudia Gray (Lost Stars and Leia were better than Bloodline). April 16 release date, here.

Then we have a strangely named book (considering the SW inhabitants have Aurabesh, no Alphabet): Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed. This one is the start of a trilogy from the author of the excellent Battlefront: Twilight Company and the very good novelization of Rogue One. This one is slated for June 11. This one will also tie-in to a 5-part Marvel comic series called Star Wars: TIE Fighter (tie-in...get it?).

July 23 will see the release of Thrawn: Treason, by fan favorite Timothy Zahn. This is the sequel to Thrawn: Alliances. I didn't care for that one, but I will very likely read this one, too.

The last books for the year are set to be a part of the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge media project, promoting the new attraction at Disney. First (in August) is a Young Adult Novel called A Crash of Fate. Then (in September) comes an adult novel Black Spire.