The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I will begin this lengthy review by pointing out that I have been, for many years, as staunch a critic of TSR and the AD&D system as you are likely to meet. I do not wax enthusiastic over the latest release from TSR. I do not buy TSR products at all. Not because I'm boycotting the company over their nefarious business practices, but because I feel that the great majority of TSR releases over the past 12 years or so have been of unacceptably low quality.

Well, things change. TSR is under new ownership. The Most Hated Woman in Gaming, Lorraine Williams, is off lounging under tropical suns right now (or so I imagine,) thanks to the fat payoff she got for nearly torpedoing the entire roleplaying hobby. When Wizards of the Coast took over, they promised Great Times Ahead for TSR.

I'm not entirely satisfied that we're going to see that yet. However, the newest major release from TSR, the Alternity science fiction RPG, is most definitely a step in the right direction. There *may* finally be a light at the end of the tunnel. Only time will tell if it's the open sky or an oncoming train, but there is more cause for optimism than we've seen in many years.

It took a lot of convincing to get me to take the plunge on Alternity--as I've said, I've been less than pleased with the quality of TSR products in recent years, and the other game systems which TSR has periodically attempted to launch have been disastrous failures. While I had picked up a copy of the Fast-Play rules which were being handed out at conventions, and had browsed through the Player's Handbook, and had heard some positive commentary on the net and from local players, I had been very reluctant to go ahead and make the purchase.

However, while browsing the shelves of an out-of-town game shop, I noticed a copy of the _Alternity Player's Handbook_, with the limited _Black Starfall_ adventure attached. More or less on impulse, I bought the book, under the assumption that if it turned out that I actually liked the game, I would want every product (I'm a completist,) and the limited edition modules might prove difficult to find. It turns out that they aren't *that* hard to find, but it also happens that, between its covers, the Alternity Player's Handbook presents a surprisingly solid game.

While I think that any serious player (and any GM) is going to want more than just this most essential of Alternity volumes, The Player's Handbook does contain everything that you really need to play. Complete rules for not only the obvious things like character creation, combat and task resolution, but for additional features common to many SF campaigns--starships, computer technology, cyberware and psionics, specifically. In comparison, the basic Space Master rules contain very little on Starships (just a few small sample ships, and no combat system,) some sketchy guidelines for computers, nothing on Cybernetics (you need Space Master Companion II for that, and the rules for cyberware are wretched,) and a set of "psionics" lists lifted from the Rolemaster Mentalist.

At the very front of the Player's Handbook are the Fast-Play rules, which provide a basic overview of the Alternity system and present a selection of pre-constructed characters. Using only this material, it's possible to play the game indefinitely. I wouldn't advise it, however, because to do so is to lose a good deal of the depth and flexibility that Alternity provides. The Fast-Play rules are intended to serve as an introduction for novice players. Since I am not a novice player, I tend to regard them as a waste of space and a slight hindrance for an experienced player (who will be tempted to skip over them) learning the game, since many of Alternity's most important concepts are fully explained only here, and are only peripherally explained in subsequent sections. Thus, just because you're an experienced roleplayer, don't skip the Fast-Play rules! You'll just end up needing to look in that section later. I suppose that these Fast-Play rules are a good idea, since they ease the learning curve for inexperienced gamers (and particularly gamers who have experienced little or nothing besides AD&D--doubtless a major segment of TSR's target audience for Alternity.)

At the heart of Alternity is a functional, if gimmicky, core mechanic. If you can roll under the total of your skill and attribute, you succeed at whatever task you are attempting. However, there's more to it than that. You're actually rolling *two* dice--a control die and a situation die. The control die is a d20, while the type of situation die rolled depends on the ease or difficulty of the task. The total of the situation die is added to or subtracted from the score on the control die, and the result is the total which is compared to the skill/stat number to determine success.

Difficulty is measured in "steps." Positive steps are bad for the characters (since a positive situation die will add to the control die roll, and you want to roll low,) while negative steps are beneficial, subtracting from the control roll and thus increasing the chance of success. The Gamemaster adds all of the appropriate positive and negative steps, and applies them to a chart, which tells him what the situation die is going to be. For example, a task attempted at +1 step will have a situation die of +1d4. A task with a difficulty of -3 steps uses a -1d8 situation die. Once you get the hang of this, the chart becomes unnecessary.

This is a novel method for handling difficulty, and is, as stated above, both simple and functional. This core mechanic is also more abstract than I tend to prefer, but I suspect that this won't bother many people. I am not a statistician, but the probability range seems quite reasonable, while at the same time allowing for a healthy amount of unpredictability.

The first thing that struck me when going through Alternity's character generation rules was that the name for characters are "Heroes." This is hardly a fatal flaw, but I found myself growing annoyed at the references to "All Heroes receive..." and "A starting Hero may purchase..." This is an example of one of those tiny, nitpicky flaws that gets under my skin. It's a *character*--call it a character. I understand that the designers wanted to detach the game from AD&D to some extent, but they use AD&D conventions and terms in various other places throughout the rules, so replacing a standard RPG term like "character" seems to me unnecessary.

Five nonhuman races are provided for players to pick from. None of them are particularly interesting or innovative, though I can't say that I found any of them particularly lousy, either. Alternity's alien races are far more intriguing than those found in, say, Star Trek, but decidedly inferior in concept and execution to those of Traveller, or those from ICE's Aliens & Artifacts, the best book of aliens ever to see print in the roleplaying hobby. In comparison, the Alternity aliens are nothing special, but they're certainly usable, either as PCs or as part of the GM's background color.

An interesting concept, albeit one which I don't particularly care for, is that these are *generic* aliens, intended to be used in any Alternity campaign in much the same way that Elves and Dwarves can be found in almost all AD&D games. I personally feel that an original SF setting ought to have its own unique aliens, so this idea rubs me the wrong way. If you're using the official StarDrive background from TSR, this set of aliens will work just fine (since that setting is designed in part around them,) but if you're going to go to the trouble of designing your own setting, you may as well build your own unique alien races using the rules found in the _Alternity Gamemaster Guide_.

The character statistics found in Alternity parallel those found in AD&D, though there are some differences. There are 6 such "abilities": Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Will and Personality. Each character receives 60 points to distribute among these 6 stats. The are racial minimums and maximums, as well as requires scores for each of the professions. An ability score is also the target number required to succeed at a skill or stat check. If the character does not possess the required skill, his ability score is halved for that purpose. Alternity has no saving throws--though characters might be called upon to make a resistance check against a stat.

A common misconception that is held by many people who haven't taken the time to look closely at Alternity is that it's just "AD&D in Space." Well, there is a kernel of truth to that, but no more. Alternity does use a few of the same conventions as AD&D, but these are applied in a *much* less repressive and arbitrary manner. Yes, this means that Alternity uses those most demonized of system features, character classes and levels.

There are four "professions" which are central to Alternity: Combat Spec (a soldier, law enforcement official or weapons expert,) Diplomat (a character dependent on social skills, not necessarily a true diplomat, but possibly a merchant, salesman, entertainer or theologian,) Free Agent (a multifaceted individual reliant on skill and cunning to get by, often a bounty hunter, spy or crook,) and Tech Op (a specialist in a technical field, whether it be a pure or applied science.) There is also the optional Mindwalker, presented with the Psionics material in the back of the book.

Distinction must be drawn between the classes of AD&D and the professions of Alternity. While AD&D classes are among the most restrictive in the roleplaying hobby, professions in Alternity are among the most relaxed and flexible. Their primary game effect is to grant characters a discount when purchasing certain skills. This is not a new idea--Rolemaster and its companion SF game, Space Master, have used the mechanism for years. However, the range of skill costs by profession in Alternity is much less steep that in Rolemaster (or perhaps more appropriately, Space Master.) In Space Master a given skill might cost a Pilot 3 points and a Researcher 20. In Alternity the discount is a flat 1 point. This far smaller difference tends, I think, to let the player use the profession to illustrate the character, rather than as a min-maxing tool.

In addition, the professions each have a special ability of some sort. The Combat Spec, for example, can choose an extra skill from a list of combat-related abilities. All of the special abilities are fairly low-key--the Diplomat, for instance, starts the game with extra contacts--unlike the character-defining powers which are central to, say, AD&D's Paladin. Each profession also grants a flat bonus to the Action Check score (a mechanism used for initiative.) The highest such bonus is granted to the Combat Spec (3 points,) while the Tech Op and Diplomat get only 1 point.

In addition to the professions, Alternity also provides "careers" from which characters can select. These are essentially pre-built skill packages costing a varying number of points, designed around one of the professions. They are entirely optional--youi can select one of the 25+ given in the book, or you can design your own by simply buying your skills individually. I like this option, as it allows the luxury of using a career as a basis for defining the character, while allowing players flexibility should they wish to create a character who doesn't fit neatly into one of the provided selections.

Levels in Alternity are just as different from their AD&D iterations. Experience in Alternity is measured in Achievement Points, which are more or less similar to character points in GURPS or the Hero System, in that they can be spent to increase abilities and skills. In Alternity, Achievement Points turn into skill points when the character gains a level, and can then spent or stored as the character desires. Characters average (according to the Player's Handbook) 1-3 Achievement Points per adventure. It takes a character 6 points to reach 2nd level. The implied average of 2-3 adventures per level sounds about right to me. Note also that the cost for gaining levels goes up at each enhancement--the 2nd level character needs 7 addition points to reach 3rd level, the 3rd level character needs 8 additional points to reach 4th level, and so on.

My first impression was that this mechanism would result in some high-powered characters developing fairly quickly, given the gradual increase in cost, but a review of the numbers involved dispels that idea. Also remember that, unlike in AD&D, the amount of experience gained in each adventure is going to be fairly uniform over the course of a long campaign. Thus, a 12th level character will have earned at least 121 Achievement Points. Even if the GM is handing out a generous average of 3 APs per adventure (let's assume the player is a good roleplayer,) those 121 points are going to take 40 adventures to earn. I find this entirely acceptable, and preferable to the jumpy sort of level increases one sees in AD&D, given the wide variation in experience which gets handed out.

Some commentators have expounded the idea that the professions and levels of Alternity can be dropped entirely. It's not so easy as this. Too many features of the character creation and advancement systems are reliant on these features to simply ignore them--adjustments will have to be made. For example, Alternity allows players to buy off flaws, purchase new perks, and increase ability scores. All of this is dependent on the character's reaching a certain level. A Tech Op can only raise his Constitution once he reaches 6th level. A Diplomat can only buy the Danger Sense perk after he reaches 7th level. To just disregard these restrictions could well have an unbalancing effect on the game, if the GM is not careful.

While classes and levels can indeed be dispensed with, such an action should be undertaken with care, and is, in my opinion, not worth the trouble, given the minimal effect they have on actual play. In addition, both professions and levels serve the purpose which they should be limited to in AD&D--professions to give the novice player a conceptual framework around which to build a character, and levels to serve as a broad gauge of character power.

Players can also purchase perks for their characters. These are similar to the advantages found in GURPS and the Hero System, and along with them come flaws, which can net you additional skill points to spend for taking them on.

Alternity is a skill-based system, to about the same extent that Rolemaster and Space Master are. That is, a character's profession affects the costs for purchasing skills, but any character can buy any skill. (And, as previously stated, the costs of the various skills are much more uniform in Alternity.) Two types of skills exist--broad skills and Specialty skills. All characters receive some broad skills for free during character creation, the exact skills granted varying by the character's race. In addition, characters can purchase both broad and specialty skills using skill points, the allocation of which is controlled by the character's Intelligence score. Not only does this make sense, but it will discourage the formidable but stupid characters that most players familiar with point-based character generation systems have seen too often.

Broad skills are handled simply--the character just buys them. You either have them or not--there are no ranks or skill ratings. If a character has a broad skill, he is free to purchase the specialty skills which relate to it. Unlike broad skills, proficiency in specialty skills is measured in ranks, each granting a +1 to the target number of a check made against that skill.

This is a simple and effective method for handling skill groups, a subject any number of game systems have stumbled over. Math and point-shifting are both kept to a minimum, while still allowing the player the flexibility of point-based character generation.

Finally there are character Attributes, which detail an individual's motivations, personality and moral standing. Fortunately, these do not resemble the alignments of AD&D at all. They could, in fact, easily be dropped, though I don't see why anyone would want to--using them correctly can't help but encourage good roleplaying, and can serve as a yardstick by which the GM can measure this for the purpose of handing out experience.

The remainder of Alternity's basic game system can be found in the "Heroes in Action" chapter. Combat, damage, recovery and movement are all covered in adequate depth. Various play situations are also covered--falling damage, zero-gravity operation, and so forth. A number of guidelines are also presented for handling Alternity's task resolution system.

Alternity also employs Last Resort Points, similar to the Fate Points, Luck Points or Karma Points used in other game systems. (Or the infamous "Ass-Saver Points" of CORPS.) These are bought with skill points and can be spent to modify the outcomes of actions. Unlike the Possibility Points used in TORG, however, they cannot be spent to nullify the Last Resort Point just spent by somebody else. Thank heavens--that option bogged down TORG combats and was one of the worst features in a game system filled with bad features.

The weapon and equipment listings--always a key feature of any science fiction game--are solid, if a bit underdeveloped in places. I, for one, would have preferred to have seen more general equipment, but perhaps the limited selection is understandable, given _Alternity's_ stated goal of being able to support play in any science fiction setting. The given equipment is thus rather generic, though the weapon and armor selections are quite adequate.

I would be remiss if I didn't discuss Alternity's handling of starships and vehicles. Insofar as the rules given in the Player's Handbook are concerned, the two are one and the same, and are handled in a very simple manner. A basic system for resolving vehicular combat is provided. These work in a manner similar to the method for character combat. They are quick and clean, but detail hounds and gearheads will find them inadequate, especially since no construction rules are provided, and the selection of sample vehicles is small and generic. (And there aren't any sample starships at all, though there is a discussion of starship systems.) The _Alternity Gamemaster Guide_ contains more extensive rules for starship construction and combat, and the newly-released _Starships_ volume provides much greater detail.

Aficionados of Star Strike or Brilliant Lances (or even High Guard) probably aren't going to be satisfied with this treatment of starships, but it is perfectly adequate as an adjunct to the roleplaying game, rather than as a tactical exercise in itself. It is also, in most ways, more appropriate for inclusion in the roleplaying campaign than those detail- and tactics-heavy starship combat simulations.

Alternity measures technological capability using Progress Levels. These are similar to the tech levels found in Traveller and GURPS, but with a broader scale than in either game. There are ten Progress Levels--we on modern-day Earth are currently at PL 5. A near future campaign, employing fusion power, cyberware and travel within the solar system will occur at PL 6. A far future campaign, with FTL travel, gravity control, and man-portable energy weapons takes place at TL 7. This may seem at bit coarse at first, but in fact it's structure makes sense, being based on campaign style rather than when we think technology ought to be developed (which is pretty much a crapshoot even for the best hard SF writers.) This system is less structured, but perhaps more practical, than those of GURPS or Traveller.

Also included are a fairly extensive set of rules for computers, software and cybernetics. These are about as detailed as those of GURPS, and should provide as much for the detail-oriented player as any SF game system. Material on neural jacks, artificial intelligences and "the Grid," the successor to the modern Internet, is also provided, along with other features of the cyberpunk genre. I should also point out that there is a supplement already released, _Dataware_, which covers these topics in greater detail. Nevertheless, the rules provided in the Player's Handbook should more than suffice for anything but a hard-core cyberpunk campagn--if anything, they're more detailed than they need to be. The designers could easily have reserved three-quarters of this material for _Dataware_, and not harmed the game at all. Don't get me wrong--I'm happy to get this level of detail in the basic rulebook, and it adds to the overall flexibility of the game, but I'm surprised that TSR, widely considered the most mercenary RPG publisher, didn't stick this material in a supplement, forcing players and GMs who wanted it to cough up more dough.

When looking through the perhaps aptly-numbered Chapter 13, I couldn't help but envision a situation that runs something like:

GM: "Okay, Bob, what kind of character to you want to play?"
Bob: "Gonna build myself a FREAK!"

Yes, Alternity does include an entire section on mutations and mutant characters. It is, of course, optional, and I wouldn't recommend using it to any GM planning to run something resembling a hard SF game. Old-timers may shudder at the thought of TSR's Gamma World, with its terribly unbalanced mutations which resulted in characters who were virtual gods or, conversely, were almost totally worthless. I'm *very* happy to say that Alternity's handling of the topic is nothing like Gamma World's, and is in fact balanced within the context of the game system. In fact, those so inclined could very easily use the Gamma World concepts and background with Alternity mechanics and get a very good campaign. Mutants and non-mutants can actually play in the same party on equal footing. None of the mutations themselves appear to be overwhelmingly powerful, and none of the drawbacks appear to be fatal disadvantages, though there are a few that I, as GM, would keep a very tight rein on. (Deadly Immunity springs to mind immediately.) Overall, the mutation rules are very solid, even if they may not be suitable for a majority of campaigns.

Also noteworthy is Alternity's treatment of Psionics. This is another optional section, which some GMs may elect not to use. Psionic abilities are handled as skills, and are purchased and used in the same manner as regular skills. There are 29 individual abilities, groups into 4 broad skills, each of which is described in some detail. Like the rules for mutations, the Psionics rules are well-balanced, flexible and consistent with the rest of the game system. I will also add that if AD&D's psionics rules were anywhere near this good, I might not have pitched my copy of the Complete Psionics Handbook. Alternity psionics are not on par with the rules provided in GURPS Psionics, in my opinion, but they are nevertheless entirely acceptable, and are certainly better-developed than those of Traveller or Space Master.

Alternity is, of course, a TSR product, and adheres to TSR usual high standards for graphical quality. TSR has *no* possible excuse for putting together a product which looks shoddy, and they don't need to make any excuses here. From cover to cover, the art ranges from good to absolutely stunning, much of it by the capable hand of r. k. post. The art at the chapter headings is particularly outstanding, though I don't know which artist is responsible.

The book is well-organized, though there are a few basic concepts found in the Quick-Play rules which I would have clearly reiterated in the appropriate sections. And to my great joy, there are none of the rotten attempts at fiction which plague so many new roleplaying products.

Alternity compares very favorably to the games to which it might reasonably be compared: Imperium's Traveller 4th Edition and ICE's Space Master. It is far simpler than either, but the game system has comparable depth in most places. And I find Alternity to be far superior, from a rules viewpoint and in terms of flexibility and utility, to either the Star Trek or Star Wars games which are currently on the market. The Silhouette system, found in Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles games, has, I think, a firmer mechanical foundation, but Alternity gives you many more tools to work with.

Overall, Alternity is a very solid set of rules, flexible for both the players and the GM, easy to learn, run and play, but with sufficient depth to keep everyone busy for quite a while. There is no setting built into the game, but, for me, this enhances its appeal, since I've been working on my own SF background. And if you want a commercial setting, you can use TSR's StarDrive material, which promises to be well-supported. I think Alternity will be seeing a lot of play over the coming years.

It's good enough to get me buying product from TSR again. I can't give a higher recommendation than that.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)