The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Battlelords of the 23rd Century is an interesting game and I recommend it to anybody looking for a new, exciting, sci fi game.

Battlelords of the 23rd Century ( referred to in the rest of the review as B23 ), is a soft cover book weighing in at 282 pages plus the index and character sheets, published by SSDC Inc.

The layout is professional with everything presented in an order that makes sense. Everything is clearly labeled and information is easy to find. It features a decent table of contents and a complete index. Also included is a quick reference appendix at the back of the book with information that is likely to be looked up often, such as combat modifiers, critical hit tables, hit location chart as well as sample difficulty levels for skill tasks.

The book features a fair amount of art work, most of which is decent and relevant to the accompanying text. It helps set the feel of the setting, at times humorous, at times pretty serious. The art is all black and white.

B23 takes place in a future where humanity is part of the Galactic Alliance, a large, bloated, corrupt government heavily influenced by the Mega-Corporations of the day. 12 races make up this alliance of which humanity is the most prevalent. The alliance was created to counter common threats, particularly that of a high tech, mysterious alien race called the Arachnids, who continue to launch incursions into Alliance space.

Players take the roles of corporate mercenaries, freelancers who take dangerous jobs on behalf of various corporate interests. Whether it’s exploring a backwater world that’s part of a corporate holding, chasing down pirates raiding shipping lanes, destroying the strongholds of rebels or acting as shock troops in another of a long series of corporate wars, the life of a corporate merc is vicious, violent, brutal, and often short. But for those who survive long enough, riches and glory can be theirs. The Jaded masses of the 23rd century need heroes and the mass media creates them out of popular mercs who manage to stand out. They become superstars to the general public much like movie stars are today.

The game features 12 starting races which can be used as player characters. They are: -The Chatilian Empaths: A race of telepaths who often act as intelligence agents for the Alliance. -The Cizerack: A feline, matriarchal species. They tend to act as scouts in military units. The fact that they still operate on four legs means that they use an adapted technology specific to their physiology. -Eridani Swordsman: A martial race of methane breathers. Think a cross between a Klingon and a samurai. -Gen-Humans: Genetically enhanced humans. The natural leaders of the Alliance. -Homo Sapiens: Nuff’ said -Mazians: A species of shapeshifting goo. -Mutzachan: The most technologically advanced race of the Alliance, they have the ability to manipulate energy fields. -Orion Rogues: A bit of comic relief, they’re a cross between Han Solo and a Scotsman. -Phentari: A race of predatory, humanoid squid who value strength and cunning above all. Also methane breathers. -Python Lizards: A species of amphibious warrior lizards. Most are either cops or soldiers for the Alliance. -Ram Pythons: Same as above only they’re stronger and dumber. -Zen Rigeln: A race of pacifists. They look like walking skeletons and have the power to control bio energy, thereby allowing them to heal or, in some cases, harm others.

Each of the player races holds biases towards the others in some form or other. Most of the races were at war with one another sometime in the history of their respective worlds. This makes keeping the alliance acting in a cohesive fashion something of an exercise in futility unless they are faced with imminent danger from an outside force.

Character creation is done by randomly determining the percentile scores to eight different stats and a few other derived attributes. These are modified by the characters race. Afterwards, you assign points from a character pool to various skills. Each skill has a point cost to raise by one level. So for example, while it may cost 1 point to buy up a level in the “Climb” skill, it would cost 10 point for one level in “Alien Technology”. There are also a number of optional tables each player can roll on to flesh out some background and add a further level of randomness to the process. But fair warning, results like “ You have been left an inheritance which includes a HAW-4 anti-tank system and your grandmother’s dead rat collection.” Are among the more normal things that can happen to your character before the game even begins.

Mechanics wise, the game is percentile based. All tasks are accomplished by rolling a D100 modified by various bonuses and penalties appropriate to the situation. Skill resolution is handled as follows: the base chance to succeed at any given skill roll is 50%, plus an added 10% for every level one has in the appropriate skill, minus any penalties assigned by the GM. Combat is handled in much the same way, with the major difference being that each level in weapon skills adds 4% to the roll rather than 10% like other skills. Afterwards, hit locations are determined and damage assigned. The whole process becomes fairly intuitive once everybody in the game has done it a few times. One thing of note in the combat system however, is armor.

Armor in B23 is of PRIME importance. The game system is very balanced as long as all the PC’s have access to some kind of armor. But the moment a PC finds himself outside his armor, the game’s lethality level grows exponentially. Also, this is the first game I’ve seen where armor is this highly customizable. For example: A character could spend his money on adding arm rockets and a shoulder mounted laser cannon onto his armor if he so chose. Using the system presented in the book, it is simplicity itself to create the armors depicted in Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, for instance.

The equipment section of the game is absolutely packed with weapons, sensors, mines, computers, cyberware, survival gear of every sort, medical equipment and much, much more. In fact, part of the charm of this game is that it appeals to gamers of the “pack rat” variety. Gamers who like to have characters with LOTS of stuff, each item with it’s particular use. In a way, I find this very appropriate for a sci fi game of this scope. Going to an unsurveyed world? Gotta have a CS-7 Chem suit, maybe Radiation treatment serum and a Enviro tent as a base of operations. Set up a mine field to keep any hostile aliens at bay and make sure the Comm uplink is functional. And everybody keep their PC-6 Pulse rifles in serviceable condition. Don’t forget the extra clips.

I love saying stuff like that in a game.

The game also includes rules for psychic powers, or as it’s termed in the game, “matrix manipulation”. It’s a power point based system, ie; power X costs Y amount of power points to use. Once the points are used up for the day, that’s it. As the character gains experience, he gains more points and his powers become more potent. It’s not the most elegant system I’ve seen, but it gets the job done.

The final few chapters of the book go into detail about the setting. Life in the Alliance, the Rebel threat, the Arachnids and other foes the PC’s will run across. It does a good job of dealing with the day to day aspects of the setting. Modes of transport, communication, the various Mega Corps, the ranking system they use for mercs and so on. Also included is an introductory adventure designed to help capture the feel of the game.

By and large, this a solid game with a lot going for it. An easy to learn system, enough weapons and equipment to keep most players happy forever, a wide range of races to add variety and a pre-packaged, if somewhat cliched setting. Furthermore, if you’re not fond of the races or the setting, the game is easily adaptable to any generic sci fi setting. I for one have used B23 to great effect in running an “Aliens vs Colonial Marines” game.

The one beef I have with the game, the one oversight that I consider truly an unforgivable foul up, is the complete lack of any starship design and combat rules anywhere in the book. Or for that matter, any vehicle rules at all. Heck, I could even let that go if I knew that there was a supplement out there that covered this, but of the ½ dozen or so support books out for this game, not one deals with starship/vehicle design or combat. And considering that SSDC has covered damn near everything else, this a great shame. Were it not for this glaring omission, I would have ranked the game higher.

Still and all, it’s a good game that’s worth checking out if you want a solid sci fi game that has a lot of built in flexibility. You can find out more at www.ssdc.com

Battlelords of the 23rd Century
Battlelords of the 23rd Century Capsule Review by Alex Hanna on 29/09/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) A fresh sci fi game with lots to offer. Product: Battlelords of the 23rd Century Author: Lawrence R. Sims Category: RPG Company/Publisher: SSDC Inc. Line: Battlelords Cost: $25.95 US Page count: 286 Year published: 2000 ISBN: 0-9679400-0-1 SKU: SSDC101 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Alex Hanna on 29/09/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction	Battlelords of the 23rd Century is an interesting game and I recommend it to anybody looking for a new, exciting, sci fi game. Battlelords of the 23rd Century ( referred to in the rest of the review as B23 ), is a soft cover book weighing in at 282 pages plus the index and character sheets, published by SSDC Inc. The layout is professional with everything presented in an order that makes sense. Everything is clearly labeled and information is easy to find. It features a decent table of contents and a complete index. Also included is a quick reference appendix at the back of the book with information that is likely to be looked up often, such as combat modifiers, critical hit tables, hit location chart as well as sample difficulty levels for skill tasks. The book features a fair amount of art work, most of which is decent and relevant to the accompanying text. It helps set the feel of the setting, at times humorous, at times pretty serious. The art is all black and white. B23 takes place in a future where humanity is part of the Galactic Alliance, a large, bloated, corrupt government heavily influenced by the Mega-Corporations of the day. 12 races make up this alliance of which humanity is the most prevalent. The alliance was created to counter common threats, particularly that of a high tech, mysterious alien race called the Arachnids, who continue to launch incursions into Alliance space. Players take the roles of corporate mercenaries, freelancers who take dangerous jobs on behalf of various corporate interests. Whether it’s exploring a backwater world that’s part of a corporate holding, chasing down pirates raiding shipping lanes, destroying the strongholds of rebels or acting as shock troops in another of a long series of corporate wars, the life of a corporate merc is vicious, violent, brutal, and often short. But for those who survive long enough, riches and glory can be theirs. The Jaded masses of the 23rd century need heroes and the mass media creates them out of popular mercs who manage to stand out. They become superstars to the general public much like movie stars are today. The game features 12 starting races which can be used as player characters. They are: -The Chatilian Empaths: A race of telepaths who often act as intelligence agents for the Alliance. -The Cizerack: A feline, matriarchal species. They tend to act as scouts in military units. The fact that they still operate on four legs means that they use an adapted technology specific to their physiology. -Eridani Swordsman: A martial race of methane breathers. Think a cross between a Klingon and a samurai. -Gen-Humans: Genetically enhanced humans. The natural leaders of the Alliance. -Homo Sapiens: Nuff’ said -Mazians: A species of shapeshifting goo. -Mutzachan: The most technologically advanced race of the Alliance, they have the ability to manipulate energy fields. -Orion Rogues: A bit of comic relief, they’re a cross between Han Solo and a Scotsman. -Phentari: A race of predatory, humanoid squid who value strength and cunning above all. Also methane breathers. -Python Lizards: A species of amphibious warrior lizards. Most are either cops or soldiers for the Alliance. -Ram Pythons: Same as above only they’re stronger and dumber. -Zen Rigeln: A race of pacifists. They look like walking skeletons and have the power to control bio energy, thereby allowing them to heal or, in some cases, harm others. Each of the player races holds biases towards the others in some form or other. Most of the races were at war with one another sometime in the history of their respective worlds. This makes keeping the alliance acting in a cohesive fashion something of an exercise in futility unless they are faced with imminent danger from an outside force. Character creation is done by randomly determining the percentile scores to eight different stats and a few other derived attributes. These are modified by the characters race. Afterwards, you assign points from a character pool to various skills. Each skill has a point cost to raise by one level. So for example, while it may cost 1 point to buy up a level in the “Climb” skill, it would cost 10 point for one level in “Alien Technology”. There are also a number of optional tables each player can roll on to flesh out some background and add a further level of randomness to the process. But fair warning, results like “ You have been left an inheritance which includes a HAW-4 anti-tank system and your grandmother’s dead rat collection.” Are among the more normal things that can happen to your character before the game even begins. Mechanics wise, the game is percentile based. All tasks are accomplished by rolling a D100 modified by various bonuses and penalties appropriate to the situation. Skill resolution is handled as follows: the base chance to succeed at any given skill roll is 50%, plus an added 10% for every level one has in the appropriate skill, minus any penalties assigned by the GM. Combat is handled in much the same way, with the major difference being that each level in weapon skills adds 4% to the roll rather than 10% like other skills. Afterwards, hit locations are determined and damage assigned. The whole process becomes fairly intuitive once everybody in the game has done it a few times. One thing of note in the combat system however, is armor. Armor in B23 is of PRIME importance. The game system is very balanced as long as all the PC’s have access to some kind of armor. But the moment a PC finds himself outside his armor, the game’s lethality level grows exponentially. Also, this is the first game I’ve seen where armor is this highly customizable. For example: A character could spend his money on adding arm rockets and a shoulder mounted laser cannon onto his armor if he so chose. Using the system presented in the book, it is simplicity itself to create the armors depicted in Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, for instance. The equipment section of the game is absolutely packed with weapons, sensors, mines, computers, cyberware, survival gear of every sort, medical equipment and much, much more. In fact, part of the charm of this game is that it appeals to gamers of the “pack rat” variety. Gamers who like to have characters with LOTS of stuff, each item with it’s particular use. In a way, I find this very appropriate for a sci fi game of this scope. Going to an unsurveyed world? Gotta have a CS-7 Chem suit, maybe Radiation treatment serum and a Enviro tent as a base of operations. Set up a mine field to keep any hostile aliens at bay and make sure the Comm uplink is functional. And everybody keep their PC-6 Pulse rifles in serviceable condition. Don’t forget the extra clips. I love saying stuff like that in a game. The game also includes rules for psychic powers, or as it’s termed in the game, “matrix manipulation”. It’s a power point based system, ie; power X costs Y amount of power points to use. Once the points are used up for the day, that’s it. As the character gains experience, he gains more points and his powers become more potent. It’s not the most elegant system I’ve seen, but it gets the job done. The final few chapters of the book go into detail about the setting. Life in the Alliance, the Rebel threat, the Arachnids and other foes the PC’s will run across. It does a good job of dealing with the day to day aspects of the setting. Modes of transport, communication, the various Mega Corps, the ranking system they use for mercs and so on. Also included is an introductory adventure designed to help capture the feel of the game. By and large, this a solid game with a lot going for it. An easy to learn system, enough weapons and equipment to keep most players happy forever, a wide range of races to add variety and a pre-packaged, if somewhat cliched setting. Furthermore, if you’re not fond of the races or the setting, the game is easily adaptable to any generic sci fi setting. I for one have used B23 to great effect in running an “Aliens vs Colonial Marines” game. The one beef I have with the game, the one oversight that I consider truly an unforgivable foul up, is the complete lack of any starship design and combat rules anywhere in the book. Or for that matter, any vehicle rules at all. Heck, I could even let that go if I knew that there was a supplement out there that covered this, but of the ½ dozen or so support books out for this game, not one deals with starship/vehicle design or combat. And considering that SSDC has covered damn near everything else, this a great shame. Were it not for this glaring omission, I would have ranked the game higher. Still and all, it’s a good game that’s worth checking out if you want a solid sci fi game that has a lot of built in flexibility. You can find out more at www.ssdc.com