When Wizards of the Coast announced an official crossover between Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars, I was more cautious than excited. The publisher is all in on crossovers across all its properties, as Magic: The Gathering players can attest. As far as crossovers though, Star Wars is a property WoTC already has history with. In the 2000s, the publisher released D20 Star Wars, a system now iconic thanks to its adaptation in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
But can modern WotC make Star Wars feel like Star Wars in DnD 5.5e?
On October 9, 2026, WotC revealed Star Wars: Tyro Squadron Adventures at New York Comic Con as a supplement to the upcoming D&D Star Wars Core Rules book. The publisher states it will follow a secret Rebel crew in a fight against the Empire, specifically set during the Original Trilogy. These details, unfortunately, do little to answer my biggest concern with Star Wars in modern D&D: Force powers. While some DnD classes have options to emulate the Force, I’m a firm believer that the Force mustn’t be treated the same way as spells.
The excellent Star Wars RPG from Fantasy Flight Games does a stellar job of adapting the Force with a modern rule set. However, I will focus on WotC’s previous foray into the Force. In Star Wars: Saga Edition, the Force manifests in so much more than just spell slots. Every character, just as in the canon, can “use the Force”, affecting their rolls via a pool of Force Points, which refresh at the GM’s discretion.
For those who want the cooler Force powers, they must build towards it with feats, gaining access to even more powers and talent with unique backgrounds, ala DnD races. Best of all, there was no need for a finite Short Rest after every encounter to refresh uses. Force users can simply meditate for one minute and regain all of their Force Powers, which keeps the pace free-flowing.
I say all this to paint a picture of how 5.5e as it stands cannot be the basis for Force powers. The rest system and spell slots are limiting for the stories that Star Wars tells, particularly with the generous use of Force powers. The Fighter subclass Psi Warrior, DnD’s attempt at a Jedi Knight, is severely underpowered in 5.5e, especially compared to Battle Master and Echo Knight. Force powers need to feel cool and accessible every encounter, and they must be more than just a spell to cast every nap.
I recently covered the DnD versions of WoW classes, and even for a franchise that is inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, WotC didn’t quite capture the energy of its collaborator. WotC certainly doesn’t need to rehash anything they’ve done from a decade ago, but I hope they learned lessons from it. There’s not much detail on what the D&D Star Wars Core Rules will contain in 2027, but hopefully, it does more than just repaint 5.5e in Star Wars colors.
While you wait Star Wars D&D to come out, why not discuss its place in the TTRPG landscape with other tabletop fans over at the Wargamer Discord?
Source: Wargamer
