The Inside Scoop on Gaming

TSR plunged into the world of sci-fi gaming with Star Frontiers or as we die hards call it "SF" during the 1980s. That era's television and movie fare (Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.) meant that a lot of kids were watching space shows and playing humans and aliens in backyards across America. SF capitalized on that phenomenon and maybe that's why it's hard to find anyone who played Star Frontiers who doesn't also have fond memories of the experience. That said, let's look at the game.

The Star Frontiers boxed set contained a basic game booklet, expanded rules, maps, cardboard counters, 2 ten-sided dice and the old stand-by white crayon. In addition to this, it had SF's first module, SF0: Crash on Volturnus. The module was also the first in a series of separately sold "Volturnus" modules. We can talk about SF modules in later reviews.

The basic game was, well, "basic". You rolled up characters and practiced basic game mechanics (percentile-based) such as ability checks (rolling to see if you could do an action based on your abilities--listed below) and skill checks. The Expanded Rules gave you more things to work with including a one page per character race precis, more diverse equipment lists and pretty much all the rules you needed to play the game (including robots, computers and vehicles), all in a very short space.

Attributes were placed in logical, associated pairs. Strength and Stamina (STR/STA) went together. Dexterity and Reaction Speed (DEX/RS), Intuition and Logic (INT/LOG), and Personality and Leadership (PER/LDR) were the other three pairings.

The skill system was simple, yet elegant. Players picked one of three primary skill areas (PSAs): Military, Technological, and Biosocial for their character and started with two skills, one of which had to come from their PSA; the idea was that you could buy skills (using experience points--again discussed later) in your PSA more cheaply than other PSA skills.

From melee fighting to setting a broken arm to hacking into a computer, a few generic, but well-thought-out skills pretty much covered it all. If there wasn't a skill for a certain task, your Referee (why do we always have to rename the blasted Dungeon Master position, by the way?) might ask you to roll under your DEX score, for example, to avoid an oncoming truck.

Technology in the game was advanced (interstellar travel, laser guns, and futuristic medicines) yet still had that 'cops and robbers' feel to it. There were three alien species you could play other than human and one set of aliens reserved as the baddies.

Vrusk were big insectoid team-player types (think cooperation, but not quite hive-mind). Dralasites were amorphous, amoebic creatures who could change their shape, within reason, and who also were noted for their bizarre senses of humor. Yazirians were known for going into berserk "battle-rages"; these tall monkey-like critters also had gliding membranes beneath their arms.

The Evil Empire in Star Frontiers was operated by the Sathar. The Sathar were a race of worm-like folks (yes, they had arms and legs, too) with a need to subvert the galaxy to their will. Though not especially good at military engagement, their secret hypnotic powers allowed them to gain allies from within the four player character races.

A great setting. A good percentile-based game mechanic. Star Frontiers had all the basics necessary for a great RPG, which it is by the way.

If you are the kind of gamer/GM (whatever we're calling it this week) that needs tons o' source material: get ready to exercise that imagination. While expansions were made for SF, much of the game's charm lies in the fact that "Dragons be Here" is still on many of the starcharts; that is, the game was designed to let gamers build a lot of their campaign themselves.

That said, several really good modules, a starship combat strategy game (SF: Knight Hawks) that tied in to the expanded game and an expansion: Zebulon's Guide to the Frontier were published to evolve the Frontier concept further. A good many SF articles were also presented in Dragon magazine. These article introduced two optional PC races and a third NPC species; they also addressed less developed ideas like undersea adventures and armored vehicle combat. Unfortunately, sales never quite matched expectations and the game was dropped mid-way through the decade. Recent attempts at reviving the setting include an article in Dragon magazine entitled Alternate Frontiers (Star Frontier conversions to TSR's Alternity system) and the Star Frontiers ListGroup. The SF ListGroup has a Webring with sites featuring fan fiction and expansions of the "Frontier". The group also hosts Star Frontiers conventions where SF is played as it was in the 80s.

If you are lucky enough to find an old SF boxed set in a garage sale, on-line at an auction site or at your local gaming store, I recommend giving it a try. Sets run anywhere (depending on their condition) from $5 to $20 and are well worth the investment. See ya on the Frontier.

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

STAR FRONTIERS Boxed Set
Author: Edited by Steve Winter Category: game Company/Publisher: 1982 TSR Line: Star Frontiers Capsule Review by Daron "Dan" Patton on 12/11/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Space	TSR plunged into the world of sci-fi gaming with Star Frontiers or as we die hards call it "SF" during the 1980s. That era's television and movie fare (Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.) meant that a lot of kids were watching space shows and playing humans and aliens in backyards across America. SF capitalized on that phenomenon and maybe that's why it's hard to find anyone who played Star Frontiers who doesn't also have fond memories of the experience. That said, let's look at the game. The Star Frontiers boxed set contained a basic game booklet, expanded rules, maps, cardboard counters, 2 ten-sided dice and the old stand-by white crayon. In addition to this, it had SF's first module, SF0: Crash on Volturnus. The module was also the first in a series of separately sold "Volturnus" modules. We can talk about SF modules in later reviews. The basic game was, well, "basic". You rolled up characters and practiced basic game mechanics (percentile-based) such as ability checks (rolling to see if you could do an action based on your abilities--listed below) and skill checks. The Expanded Rules gave you more things to work with including a one page per character race precis, more diverse equipment lists and pretty much all the rules you needed to play the game (including robots, computers and vehicles), all in a very short space. Attributes were placed in logical, associated pairs. Strength and Stamina (STR/STA) went together. Dexterity and Reaction Speed (DEX/RS), Intuition and Logic (INT/LOG), and Personality and Leadership (PER/LDR) were the other three pairings. The skill system was simple, yet elegant. Players picked one of three primary skill areas (PSAs): Military, Technological, and Biosocial for their character and started with two skills, one of which had to come from their PSA; the idea was that you could buy skills (using experience points--again discussed later) in your PSA more cheaply than other PSA skills. From melee fighting to setting a broken arm to hacking into a computer, a few generic, but well-thought-out skills pretty much covered it all. If there wasn't a skill for a certain task, your Referee (why do we always have to rename the blasted Dungeon Master position, by the way?) might ask you to roll under your DEX score, for example, to avoid an oncoming truck. Technology in the game was advanced (interstellar travel, laser guns, and futuristic medicines) yet still had that 'cops and robbers' feel to it. There were three alien species you could play other than human and one set of aliens reserved as the baddies. Vrusk were big insectoid team-player types (think cooperation, but not quite hive-mind). Dralasites were amorphous, amoebic creatures who could change their shape, within reason, and who also were noted for their bizarre senses of humor. Yazirians were known for going into berserk "battle-rages"; these tall monkey-like critters also had gliding membranes beneath their arms. The Evil Empire in Star Frontiers was operated by the Sathar. The Sathar were a race of worm-like folks (yes, they had arms and legs, too) with a need to subvert the galaxy to their will. Though not especially good at military engagement, their secret hypnotic powers allowed them to gain allies from within the four player character races. A great setting. A good percentile-based game mechanic. Star Frontiers had all the basics necessary for a great RPG, which it is by the way. If you are the kind of gamer/GM (whatever we're calling it this week) that needs tons o' source material: get ready to exercise that imagination. While expansions were made for SF, much of the game's charm lies in the fact that "Dragons be Here" is still on many of the starcharts; that is, the game was designed to let gamers build a lot of their campaign themselves. That said, several really good modules, a starship combat strategy game (SF: Knight Hawks) that tied in to the expanded game and an expansion: Zebulon's Guide to the Frontier were published to evolve the Frontier concept further. A good many SF articles were also presented in Dragon magazine. These article introduced two optional PC races and a third NPC species; they also addressed less developed ideas like undersea adventures and armored vehicle combat. Unfortunately, sales never quite matched expectations and the game was dropped mid-way through the decade. Recent attempts at reviving the setting include an article in Dragon magazine entitled Alternate Frontiers (Star Frontier conversions to TSR's Alternity system) and the Star Frontiers ListGroup. The SF ListGroup has a Webring with sites featuring fan fiction and expansions of the "Frontier". The group also hosts Star Frontiers conventions where SF is played as it was in the 80s. If you are lucky enough to find an old SF boxed set in a garage sale, on-line at an auction site or at your local gaming store, I recommend giving it a try. Sets run anywhere (depending on their condition) from $5 to $20 and are well worth the investment. See ya on the Frontier. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

STAR FRONTIERS Boxed Set