The Inside Scoop on Gaming

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

KAFER SOURCEBOOK, OVERVIEW.

"Kafer Sourcebook", by William H Keith Jr, is background sourcebook published for GDW's "2300AD" (aka "Traveller 2300"), a 'hard' SF sequel to "Twilight 2000".

The book provides the GM with background information on the Kafer (Vah) race, a hermaphroditic, vaguely insectoid species, whose war with Mankind forms the dominant narrative thread in the "2300AD" gameworld.

The first section covers the psychology and organizations of the Vah race and how these have been affected by the physical conditions under which they evolved and their remarkable system of 'short-term' intelligence (They are only smart when exposed to danger.).

The second section of the book details what humans know about Vah technology & language immediatly prior to the Vah attack on Hochbaden.

The third section provides information on the major systems of Vah space, a rough sphere 20 light years across, centred on the star Gamma Serpenti, the Vah homeworld.

The last section is about the Ylii, a race that the Vah have been enslaving over the past 300 years.

KAFER SOURCEBOOK, COMMENTS.

The first thing one notices about this book is the grotesque Steve Venters cover, it has to be one of the most off-putting things I have seen plastered across the front of a gaming book in recent years. This is a pity because inside the book is, for the time, one of the more comprehensive attempts at detailing an alien race for an rpg.

While not particularly likeable beings, the material in the book at least makes the actions of the Vah understandable to the GM and thus makes it easier for him to portray them to a group of PC's. Other useful information contained in the book includes rules on how to identify what a particular piece of equipment is used for and writeups for the important systems within Vah space, including several of the systems surrounding Aurore, one of which is the setting for 'Energy Curve' (See review at: http://www.rpg.net/news reviews/reviews/rev_5319.html).

The book is not without problems, one thing that should have been in the book was a language generation table for Vah words, all of the equipment should have had a Vah as well as a human name and there are two full-page illustrations, which, while looking nice simply take up space that could have been used for something else.

A final item of concern is that the back cover blurb makes mention of a "..Sigma class starship...", however no such ship appears within the book unless it was to have appeared on the pages used for the full-page illustrations.

KAFER SOURCEBOOK, VERDICT.

In conclusion, I feel that despite the flaws, this is still a useful book, if for no other reason than that, along with "Bayern" (See review at: http://www.rpg.net/news reviews/reviews/rev_6566.html) it gives "2300AD" GMs a glimpse at what lay outside the 50 light year circle around Earth contained in the rule book.

Kafer Sourcebook
Kafer Sourcebook Capsule Review by Graham Donald on 09/10/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) A comprehensive look at the Kafer Race Product: Kafer Sourcebook Author: William H. Keith Jr Category: RPG Company/Publisher: GDW Line: 2300AD Cost: Page count: 104 Year published: 1988 ISBN: 0-943580-65-X SKU: 1014 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Graham Donald on 09/10/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction Space	WARNING: This review contains spoilers. KAFER SOURCEBOOK, OVERVIEW. "Kafer Sourcebook", by William H Keith Jr, is background sourcebook published for GDW's "2300AD" (aka "Traveller 2300"), a 'hard' SF sequel to "Twilight 2000". The book provides the GM with background information on the Kafer (Vah) race, a hermaphroditic, vaguely insectoid species, whose war with Mankind forms the dominant narrative thread in the "2300AD" gameworld. The first section covers the psychology and organizations of the Vah race and how these have been affected by the physical conditions under which they evolved and their remarkable system of 'short-term' intelligence (They are only smart when exposed to danger.). The second section of the book details what humans know about Vah technology & language immediatly prior to the Vah attack on Hochbaden. The third section provides information on the major systems of Vah space, a rough sphere 20 light years across, centred on the star Gamma Serpenti, the Vah homeworld. The last section is about the Ylii, a race that the Vah have been enslaving over the past 300 years. KAFER SOURCEBOOK, COMMENTS. The first thing one notices about this book is the grotesque Steve Venters cover, it has to be one of the most off-putting things I have seen plastered across the front of a gaming book in recent years. This is a pity because inside the book is, for the time, one of the more comprehensive attempts at detailing an alien race for an rpg. While not particularly likeable beings, the material in the book at least makes the actions of the Vah understandable to the GM and thus makes it easier for him to portray them to a group of PC's. Other useful information contained in the book includes rules on how to identify what a particular piece of equipment is used for and writeups for the important systems within Vah space, including several of the systems surrounding Aurore, one of which is the setting for 'Energy Curve' (See review at: http://www.rpg.net/news reviews/reviews/rev_5319.html). The book is not without problems, one thing that should have been in the book was a language generation table for Vah words, all of the equipment should have had a Vah as well as a human name and there are two full-page illustrations, which, while looking nice simply take up space that could have been used for something else. A final item of concern is that the back cover blurb makes mention of a "..Sigma class starship...", however no such ship appears within the book unless it was to have appeared on the pages used for the full-page illustrations. KAFER SOURCEBOOK, VERDICT. In conclusion, I feel that despite the flaws, this is still a useful book, if for no other reason than that, along with "Bayern" (See review at: http://www.rpg.net/news reviews/reviews/rev_6566.html) it gives "2300AD" GMs a glimpse at what lay outside the 50 light year circle around Earth contained in the rule book.