Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (Second Edition)

The second edition of Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races is a supplement to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game revised for the second edition by Chuck Truett in 1994. From an in-universe perspective, the book purports to consist of excerpts from the Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy by an Imperial sentientologist named Obo Rin, who was commissioned by Darth Vader to catalog the intelligent species of the galaxy. The introduction consisted of Imperial communiqués between Rin, Major Vontenn, and Lieutenant Pandur giving an in-universe look at the production of the Catalog.

While many of these species did appear in the original trilogy, some were invented for the game. The background information for several of the alien races who had appeared on screen was also invented for the game. However, many of the new species and backgrounds were used in later works in the Expanded Universe with little modification. However, some retcons are needed to bring Galaxy Guide 4 in line with the prequel-era Expanded Universe. The most common retcons necessary are those where a species described as having its first contact with the Galactic Empire are shown in later works to have some contact with the Galactic Republic. Since the text depicts Obo Rin as a source with an Imperial bias, these retcons usually blame inaccuracies on deliberate Imperial propaganda and misinformation.

The second edition, in addition to rewriting the game mechanics for the second edition rules, expanded and reorganized the description of the various alien species. The introductory matter was rewritten as well, with different Imperial communiqués. Accordingly, the second edition of Galaxy Guide 4 referred to the Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy, Revised Edition.

Text and facts from the “Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (Second Edition)” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.