Rogue One continues to draw, and I'm hearing quite a few positive comments from some I wasn't sure would be into the more war-like movie. Because of my association with Star Wars, a lot of people want to get my opinion, share their opinion, or both. At first, most didn't want to hear too much, but wanted to know basically if it was good. After they saw it, then the comments and questions really started rolling. No one has said they dislike it, and a few have called it their favorite (for now).
Being so heavily invested in Star Wars and around so many others who are, it's often a bit surprising to me when I get asked some of what I would consider basic questions. Where it falls in the timeline is the most common question before they see it. Trying to understand the difference between the "episodes" and the "stories" is the next most common. After that, the relationship with the Force and several characters is up for discussion.
Another benefit - the movie is inspiring more RPG players to try, return to, or continue with the Star Wars RPG. Much like Rebels, this movie is very RPG friendly. Much like Episode IV, if you're concerned about staying within canon, it can be challenging to use some locations that are destroyed.They can still inspire similar locations. I'll get more into the RPG ideas in future entries.
Someone who surprisingly had never tried a Star Wars RPG is in a new Edge of the Empire/Age of Rebellion Campaign: Wil Wheaton. As noted on his blog. He was already an X-Wing Miniatures fan and featured the game on his show Tabletop in 2014. It now has over 1 million views! There's an extended version as well. Wil also featured RPGs on his show previously, so who knows, maybe it will be inspiring enough to appear in a future episode.
Over at starwars.com, I've been having some fun with the Rogue One helmet creator. I like both, but probably the second a bit more because it is easier to make out more detail, and doesn't look as "heavy." Fireblue Squadron was actually one I created for the d20 Saga Edition Legacy Era Sourcebook (along with their signature I4 Ionizer starfighters). I also created several other squadrons and their ships (plus several other ships) for the book: Twisted Star (Jumpstar HPF), Farsight (Twilight RC-2), and Phantom (a collection of ships) squadrons. Interestingly, I didn't name the original Y-Wing squadron I created for the new Rebel base in Flashpoint! Brak Sector. Oracle Squadron would be logical, to fit with the base name, but also a bit of a giveaway from an intelligence standpoint. I'd probably try to come up with some play on the nebula where the base was located.