WizO_Unicorn says, "All right everyone, let's get this chat on the road. :)"
WizO_Unicorn says, "Everyone hush up now, or I'll have to turn Ginger loose."
WizO_Unicorn raps her gavel in the podium.
WizO_Ginger slaps her black jack in the palm of her hand.
WizO_Unicorn says, "Welcome everyone to Wizards Profiles with Lisa Stevens! If you're a gamer, you've probably played something Lisa Stevens had a hand in. She's done it all: a designer and editor, art director, graphic designer, typesetter, marketing and sales director. She worked with Ars Magica, Vampire: The Masquerade, Magic and the Magic Pro Tour, Greyhawk, miniatures, and most recently, Star Wars!"
flare_vulpix leaves, heading for The Wizards Forum.
WizO_Unicorn says, "Lisa, do you have any opening remarks for us before we start the Q&A?"
woofer says, "Not really. I'm pretty much game to talk about everything from Star Wars to any of the things I have done in the past. Unleash the hounds of hell!"
WizO_Unicorn says, "Protocol is in effect. Type ? to ask a question, or ! to make a comment, and I will add you to the queue. Please have your question pretyped so that you can send it to screen as soon as you're called on. End your question with /ga. Please do not post any text to the room until a WizO calls on you, and remember to be respectful of others. If you wish to chat with someone else, please use PMs only. Thank you for your cooperation."
WizO_Unicorn says, "Lisa, when you're finished with an answer to a question, please type /ga. That'll tell me to call on the next person. :)"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Guest43, go ahead."
woofer says, "ga"
You say, "I think one of the biggest questions on everyone's minds is the secrecy."
You say, "Especially, given LucasArts's actions... are they behind the general lack of information?"
You say, "It seems we knew more about 3E when we were a similar time away from launch"
You say, "well, seems is understating it :P"
You say, "Is this because of Lucas, or because of WotC policy?"
You say, "ga"
woofer says, "There are a number of reasons why we have the secrecy. First off, we didn't want to do too much until D&D3 was out the door because they had a bunch"
woofer says, "of stuff that they wanted to unveil. Secondly, we didn't want to blow our wad too early in the game and get people excited too far in advance of the first"
woofer says, "product in November. Thirdly, we got the license in December, so our design, editing, graphic design people, marketing, sales, et al. have been working their little"
woofer says, "heinies off trying to get this ready for launch. There just wasn't much to show y'all until real recently. In contrast D&D3 was being worked on since 1997."
woofer says, "-ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Looks like we lost dark_pikachu, so..."
WizO_Unicorn says, "...MLMartin is next. :)"
MLMartin says, "Thanks for joining us here, Lisa. Any hints on what we can look forward to for STAR WARS in 2001? /ga"
woofer says, "ROFL! Man, you jump right to the tough questions. :) I really can't say much about 2001 yet, since we haven't released the catalog for it yet. However,"
woofer says, "I will say that we have a cool line-up of products, including 2 hardback books. We will also explore a couple more planets. And there will be some totally new stuff."
woofer says, "-ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "TheHans, you're up!"
TheHans says, "What are the general feelings around wotc about doing a live action version of the Star Wars RPG like West End games had?"
woofer says, "Currently we don't have any plans to do a live action version of the game. However, we are sponsoring a live action Star Wars game at GenCon. In general,"
woofer says, "we don't have any problems with live action games. I wouldn't be surprised to see it pop up down the line. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "SWRPG, your turn!"
SWRPGDatabase says, "Has Space Combat been incorporated into the main SW Rulebook? If so, can you throw us a bone and tell us anything about it? /ga"
woofer says, "Yes, there will be ship to ship combat in the core rulebook. It won't be a tactical kind of thing...we will save that for a miniatures game down the line. Instead, it will be more"
woofer says, "cinematic to capture the storytelling feel of roleplaying. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Lowan, go ahead."
LowanCaroth says, "Lisa, what can you tell us about RPGA's Living Galaxy campaign? /ga"
woofer says, "David Wise should be unveiling something about what the RPGA has planned for Star Wars at GenCon this year, so I don't want to spoil his fun. :) /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Stimpson, you're up!"
StimpsonJCat says, "What I heard about the fisrt issue of Game Force sounds very interesting. What can you reveal to us in terms of content (authors, artists, articles...) /ga"
woofer says, "First off, the title of the magazine is changing to Star Wars Gamer. Secondly, it is going to be 128 full-color pages long and come out on a"
woofer says, "bi-monthly basis. It will cover all sorts of gaming from RPGs, to CCGs, to miniatures to computer and console games. There will also be a lot of fiction in the magazine"
woofer says, "We will have a preview issue in the Star Wars Adventure Game boxed set. As far as the authors and artists, expect to see the best in Star Wars Gamer. We will have some in-house writers (especially for the first issue) but will also have freelancers involved."
woofer says, "That is about all I can think of at this time. Chris Perkins is the editor, so give him a hollar if you want more details. He has a panel on the mag at GenCon too. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Otaku, your turn!"
WizO_Unicorn says, "Okatu?"
DoctorOtaku says, "Thanks, Lisa. The major concern about the new game in my area is converting the old material to the new game, can you give any info on that /ga"
woofer says, "We will be providing conversion information for going between the old West End d6 system and the new d20 system. It will appear"
woofer says, "in the core rulebook as an appendix. We will also put it on our website as a free PDF download."
woofer says, "Of course, you will have to do the work for the conversions yourself. :) /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Guest43, go ahead."
You say, "Are there any plans to convert material from the Alternity system to the Star Wars system?"
You say, "ga"
woofer says, "Not that I am aware of. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "MLMartin, you're up again. :)"
MLMartin says, "Obi-Wan Kenobi's stat block refers to him as a 'Jedi Guardian'. What exactly does this mean? Are there several different Jedi 'classes' in the game? /ga"
WizO_Ginger says, "((Folks, please keep on topic, okay? Thanks :)"
woofer says, "Yes, there are two broad classes of Jedi, the Jedi Guardian and the Jedi Consular. Oh, and then there are Force Adepts. Guardians are the Kips of the world, who believe"
woofer says, "that the Jedi are more of a military order (btw, that should be Kyps). Then there are folks like Yoda who believe that the Jedi are less military and more"
woofer says, "diplomatic. The Force Adept doesn't follow the Jedi traditions. That's enough for now. :) /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Guest 49, you're up!"
guest49 says, "Will the game be more slanted toward the intial Ep1-3 era? Or will it have material to play the New hope-Return of the Jedi era stuff as well, Out of the box?( Or book)"
guest49 says, "Or will there be sourcebooks for that? /ga"
woofer says, "The core rulebook will cover Ep1, the Classic Trilogy, the New Jedi Order, and much of the rest of the important Expanded Universe, especially around the time of the New Republic. The information"
woofer says, "will be enough to start a campaign with, but won't be exhaustive. Down the line, we will provide more detailed sourcebooks on the different eras. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "TheHans, your turn!"
TheHans says, "i pass my question just got answered"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Stimpson, you're up!"
StimpsonJCat says, "Can you tell how much support LFL is giving the RPG, compared to Del Rey or even Dark Horse? It was my impression that LFL did not favor a RPG /ga"
WizO_Unicorn says, "((Upcoming in the queue: SWRPG, Lowan, Markkus, guest43, Babydoll))"
woofer says, "Well, LFL is being wonderfully helpful to us. They are giving us just about anything we could ask for. There are some things happening next year which will show exactly"
woofer says, "how friendly LFL is being. We have a great relationship with them and I expect that to continue onward. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Lowan, you're up!"
LowanCaroth says, "For those of us unable to attend Gencon or Origins, will you post the revelant materials discussed at your previews on the website?"
woofer says, "There will be coverage of much of the Star Wars stuff at GenCon on our website here. It is called Virtual GenCon. If you want them to cover some specific"
woofer says, "part of GenCon, you might want to send them an email and let them know what you want covered. We'll see if we can find some other stuff to put up also. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Markkus, you're up!"
Markkus says, "Do you think you've done a better job than WEG with Star-Wars?"
JDWiker enters.
woofer says, "I really don't want to compare what we are doing to WEG. Different times and different companies. What I can say is that I have this awesome group of really"
woofer says, "dedicated folks, such as JD Wiker who just entered (Hi JD!) who are doing a helluva job with Star Wars. I am very proud of what we are doing and think it will be"
JDWiker says, "Hiya, Lisa!"
woofer says, "an awesome game! WEG did some great stuff...you have to give them their due for that. We will also do some really nice stuff. Nuff said. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Okay SWRPG, go ahead. (Sorry about that!)"
SWRPGDatabase says, "Can you tell us when we should expect to see some cover and interior artwork, or is our best bet the aforementioned Virtual GenCon? /ga"
woofer says, "We have an RPG preview sketchbook that we are handing out at conventions. We started this part weekend at San Diego Comicon and will continue handing it out at"
woofer says, "Wizard World and GenCon. It has sketches and artwork from both the covers of some of the products and also the interiors. There are also some miniatures sketches in that. Some of the pictures have ended"
woofer says, "up on some of the various Star Wars collectibles websites. We will also have more artwork appearing on our website as we march down the road to the launch date. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Guest43, go ahead!"
You say, "George introduced midichlorians in Episode 1, which implied there was a maximum level a Force-user could obtain in the Force. Is there any such maximum, or even a discussion of midis in the core book? /ga"
WizO_Unicorn says, "((Upcoming the the queue: Babydoll, Stimpson, Aerakon, guest43, guest49))"
woofer says, "Bill Slavicsek had this to say at San Diego: "There are NO midichlorians in the Star Wars RPG." /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Babydoll, you're up!"
woofer says, "-ga"
Babydoll says, "I can't help but wonder, after all that you've worked on, is there anything that stands out in your mind as the most fun, or your special pet project? (No fair comparing them to children! ;o)) /ga"
woofer says, "That's a really tough question. There is never anything as exciting as your first product...holding Ars Magica 1st edition in my hands and smelling the ink."
woofer says, "However, there is quite a bit of me in Vampire: The Masquerade and it was a thrill to work on a project that not only expanded the industry, but"
woofer says, "reached out to female gamers to give them the type of game that they wanted. Magic: The Gathering was incredible because we were inventing a whole"
woofer says, "new genre of gaming product, so there was no road map to follow. Greyhawk is what I played when I first started to roleplay, so there was quite a bit of nostalgia there for me. The Game Center was so cool, because we were given a whole bunch of money and told...make us"
woofer says, "the ultimate game center. It was like being a kid in the candy factory. And Star Wars...well, heck, my life is filled with Star Wars from top to bottom, as both a fan"
woofer says, "and a collector, so being so close to what is happening in my favorite IP is just incredible. :) /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Stimpson, your turn!"
StimpsonJCat says, "are there plans to publish SW RPG articles in magazines like Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron. I have to know so I'll subscribe to them :) /ga"
woofer says, "Dragon and Dungeon are really focused on D&D, so you won't see anything from Star Wars in there. All those articles will instead appear"
woofer leaves.
guest44 says, "My computer crashed, so I am over on this account now."
Yob_Evets leaps to the stage to fill in....
Yob_Evets says, "I just flew in from Seattle and boy are my arms tired!"
guest44 says, "We'll boot my computer up ...but let me continue with my answer."
WizO_Ginger thwaps Evets into unconciousness.
Yob_Evets is Steve Miller... one of the designers on the 'Star Wars' team.
WizO_Ginger says, "Oh, sure, yeah, like we're supposed to believe THAT."
guest44 says, "All those articles will instead appear in Star WArs Gamer magazine. Polyhedron will also more than likely have some STar Wars content. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn raps her gavel soundly on the podium.
woofer enters.
WizO_Unicorn says, "No more talking out of turn now. Or I'll set Ginger on the lot of you. :)"
guest44 says, "<--I'm woofer. I had someone standing by on this guest account in case my computer crashed."
guest44 says, "Ahhh, there, my other computer has started back up...brb..."
WizO_Unicorn says, "All right, Guest44 is now Lisa. :)"
WizO_Unicorn says, "Or not..."
Yob_Evets leaps back into the audience, cape trailing dramatically!
woofer says, "OK, I'm back on this computer. :)"
WizO_Unicorn says, "Welcome back, woofer!"
WizO_Unicorn says, "All right, Aerakon is next. :)"
Aerakon says, "How will the sw core books be separated (e.g. dnd has DMG, PHB and MM) and what will they be priced at? (sorry if I could get this info on teh site, I'm lazy ;) )"
woofer says, "Hey... bet that was the first time that somebody was THAT prepared for a computer crash. :)"
JDWiker says, "Gee, Lisa--most people would just get a better computer ..."
WizO_Ginger thwaps JD
woofer says, "There will only be one Star Wars core rulebook, instead of the three-way split of the D&D system. It is a hardback packed with information for $34.95. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "((Queue is now closed to new questions, folks. Everyone currently in the the queue will get a turn.))"
WizO_Unicorn says, "Guest 43, you're up!"
You say, "Quick question about the stat block - FP, what does it stand for and what do they do? /ga"
woofer says, "FP = Force Points. These are the connection that every character has to the living Force. They can be used to do heroic things during the game. You get more"
woofer says, "Force Points by doing heroic actions. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Aer, your comment?"
Aerakon says, "((force power? ;) )) ya hoo I was right! ;) ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Guest49, go ahead."
guest49 says, "what are the names of the classes and races that you can list? That are in the intial rulebook? Will there be prestige classes in Star Wars? /ga"
woofer says, "I really don't want to sit here typing in all the classes and races. Let's just say that you can do pretty much anything that you want to. The classes are very loose and"
woofer says, "you modify them with skills and feats to create the character that you want. As for races, you should be able to play almost anything in the Star Wars universe, though"
woofer says, "there are a number of races that will receive more attention in the core book. And, yes, there will be prestige classes."
woofer says, "-ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "SWRPG, your turn!"
SWRPGDatabase says, "Can you explain the difference between the VP/WP system and what we D&Ders and WEGers are used to? /ga"
woofer says, "VP = Vitality Points and WP - Wound Points. When you take "damage" in battle, they come off your VP. This represents your character getting worn out and worn down. VP come back at a pretty fast pace. If you run out of VP, then ou start to take"
woofer says, "WP. Characters don't have many WP. They heal very slowly. When you run out of WP, you are dead. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "MLMartin, you're up!"
MLMartin says, "All right, you've told us about Force Points--now how about Reputation? :-) How does that work?"
woofer says, "I don't think we have a specific system for Reputation. (JD? Steve?)"
WizO_Ginger leaves.
JDWiker says, "Yes, we do ... but it would take quite a bit to explain. Essentially, Reputation helps you with certain social interaction skills."
Yob_Evets points to JD... has his mouth filled with popcorn.
MLMartin says, "Well, that 'Rep 4' in Kenobi's stats has to mean _something_, doesn't it? :-) /ga"
woofer says, "What JD said. (see you learn something new all the time...still haven't seen some of the chapters...) /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Stimpson, you're up!"
StimpsonJCat says, "I know there's a big deal about multi-classing. But is the system still XP-based?"
woofer says, "Yes...though you don't get XPs for killing the monsters and getting treasure. Instead, the XP awards are story based. /ga"

WizO_Unicorn says, "Lowan, you're up!"
LowanCaroth says, "Will the Unifying and Living Force be detailed as separate mechanics? /ga"
woofer says, "Not that I am aware of... :) /ga"