The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Overview

Dragonstar is pretty much "D&D in space", but should be adaptable as a generic d20 space system. Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy is both the Dragonstar sf setting, and a DMG guide of both d20 rules and GM advice. The Guide attempts to cover quite a bit of material, and, as a result, doesn't provide as much detail as a sourcebook, though about as much as a campaign book. Unlike a campaign book, the Guide provide starting locations for your first adventures.

The Guide itself is 176 pages long, about 100 pages of setting, and 60 pages of DMG d20 rules and advice. Specfically, it consists of the Dragonstar campaign setting (Chapters 1-3, about 50 pages), settings where you can start your adventures (Chapters 4, 5, and 10, about 50 pages), d20-specific rules and items (Chapters 6-8, about 40 pages), and GM advice for runnning sf rpgs (Chapter 9, about 20 pages).

This is a very beautiful book. The chapter is in color, but it's the gorgeous black and white illustrations that are the most striking. The layout and writing is very well done. The book also has a two-page index.

Note: This book is being reviewed without my have read the Starfarer's Handbook. I'll review it (and update this review as necessary) when I obtain a copy.

Chapter One: The Dragonstar Galaxy

The gods seeded worlds with not only the same races, but the same tongues and cultures. As races and cultures met each other, eventually dragons were encountered. Dragons could have chosen isolation, but they chose power instead. Great wars resulted, until King Khelorn united the dragon kingdoms -- including sharing power with the evil chromatic ones. Forty years ago, the red dragon Mezzenbone conquered the throne. Oddly, instead of disaster, the Empire turned towards conquest. Today, the empire is a little darker, yet the everyday citizen's daily life is pretty much untouched.

Geographically, the galaxy is divided into the Dragon Empire and Outlands. Draconis Prime is the planet in the center of the Empire, and each house rules a wedge-like domain of the Empire. The domains were **not** divided equally: The more powerful houses have better domains and border worlds are often contested. The Long Road, a series of teleportation portals, connects the Dragon Thronewords. Beyond the Dragon Empire lies the Outlands. Within the Deep Outlands lies the Dark Zone, rumored to be the origin of mind flayers and from which few expeditions have returned. A star map of the Dragon Empire is included.

Chapter Two: The Dragon Empire

The Dragonstar universe is ruled by a dragon emperor, followed by several feudal houses, each representing one of the dragon colors. They form a not-so-stable political arrangement brought together only as a preference to overt war. Of course, this doesn't prevent them from covert operations, nor is recently ascended emperor Mezzenbone exactly beneficent. Commerce is free and open, except in the technologically ignorant Outland worlds. However, Emperor Mezzenbone's recent economic "reforms" favor his interests more than universal welfare. Also not suprising is that the houses control most interstellar business ("Aristocorps"). The Aristocorps is based on a class structure of dragon blood ties and access to arcane magic. While the houses control large-scale commerce, lesser trade, especially in the Outland worlds, is still left to independent merchants.

The Gods are known to exist -- but comprehending them is something else entirely. Orthodox clerics see the gods of different cultures as aspects of the same god. Progressive ones see them as complex beings. And the heretical Dualism sect that says but two gods exist. Twelve gods are then presented, one or two for each alignment.

For both chapters one and two, only an overview-level of information is given, pretty much similar to a campaign book. But quite a bit of potential conflict has been set up for GMs to use as adventure seeds. Border conflict? Available. First contact? There. Freelance trading? Done. Covert operation? Got it. Evil corporation? No problem. Religious conflicts? Set up. Overthrow the emperor? Same. Any sf / fantasy adventure a GM can come up with should fit into the Dragonstar universe.

Chapter Three: The Organizations

Chapter Three introduces some of the major organizations in the Dragonstar setting. Each receives about half a page of information. Some will become PC enemies, and others will instigate adventures (see the Chapter Ten review for an example), depending on how much the GM chooses to use them. Several of the organizations are based on class (eg. Blackguard Orders, Paladin Orders, Druidic Society, Imperial Society of Arcane Magic, and Noetic Order) and they tie in to the Houses.

NPC stats of the head of each organization is included. While conventional, personally I find this unnecessary. Are the PCs really going to meet this person? If so, can't the GM create him? Much more useful, NPC stats of typical members of organizations are also included. Again, the information is presented as an overview.

Chapter Four: The Primogen System

This chapter introduces a starting point for adventurers, the Primogen System and city of Praxilus. System information, pre and post-Empire history, background of the major city Praxilus, and adventure seeds are described. Chapter Ten, an introductory scenario, takes place in Praxilus, and serves as an example how to use this city.

As a standard, most campaign setting books present the reader with an equal treatment of a variety of different locations. The result is a major **lack** of detailed information a GM needs to start his first adventures! Fantasy Flight Games has wisely provided new sf GMs Praxilus, a frontier-like starting point, plus some adventure seeds. Praxilus features two warring enemies: the humanoid Army of the Faceless Man, and demi-human Free Nations militia, both equally ruthless. It's arguably derived from both D&D and ethically ambiguous sf settings, but new sf GMs should find this familiarity a strength, not a drawback.

Chapter Five: Outland Station

For those who prefer an adventure in space, Chapter Five presents the Outland Station as a starting point. It has the expected outpost locations of the Bridge, the Brig, Docking Bays, The Coffin Nail tavern, etc. Seven colorful high-ranking NPCs of different races (all a far cry from The Federation!), plus their d20 stats, are included. However, typical stats of various crewmembers are not.

Chapter Six: Magic Items

In Dragonstar, magic items are still individually crafted, but some are high-tech versions ("Wands and staves may be manufactured with plastic or carbon fiber"), or truly ancient magic items. New special abilities, such as antigravity and radiation resistances, are introduced, as are utility magic items, such as a Flight Suit that adds a 10 circumstance bonus to Pilot checks. Creation requirements and guidelines are included. Random tables are included to find a specific type of magic item. A good number (sampling) of items are detailed and provided, though not an exhaustive list. New magical types, Vehicle Enhancements and Spellware are introduced. Spellware are magical items grafted onto living beings, and the XP cost is paid by the recipient of the item.

Chapter Seven: Monsters

Instead of populating the universe with unique creatures, the book encourages you to create your own and use variants of existing creatures. The introductory adventure, in fact, effectively uses a creature straight out of the Monster Manual. Otherwise, the chapter introduces new Subtypes, Radiation and Space, which describe creatures immunse to radiation and space, respectively. New Climates/Terrain are Aerial, Orbit, and Space. The rest (and majority) of the chapter includes stats new monsters, mostly space-oriented, and including Star Dragons.

I guess my problem with this chapter is that I saw little, if any, guidance about what to **do** with these monsters (the Star Dragons, of course, being an exception). Sure, a space kraken is really kewl, but what makes it so important that it should be in the book? Since Dragonstar suggests using D&D monsters, templates and suggestions to convert D&D monsters to their space counterparts and how to use them would have been more useful.

Chapter Eight: Running Dragonstar

This chapter is pretty much "nuts and bolts" information. It contains miscellaneous specifics for running Dragonstar: money, transportation, new special abilities, space environments, security systems (traps), and world building. Some short GM advice (namely, the use of a single unique interesting feature, location or NPC) is also provided. World building includes number of stars, life cycle (junior or mature), star temperature and life span (including number of planets and type of mature star (white dwarf, red giant, etc.)), types of planets (terrestrial, gas giant, asteroid belt), planet size (as well as gravity and atmospheric density), atmospheric composition, geology, hydrosphere, biosphere, population, technology -- and magic. (Rather than low-mana and high-mana, magic represents the level of magical achievement, much like technology.)

Chapter Nine: Dragonstar Campaign

This chapter provides a number of ideas for running a Dragonstar campaign. The Dragonstar Campaign section suggests various ways of introducing Dragonstar to your players. Besides the completely new campaign, the Dragonstar universe may be anything from an alternate dimension, to your PCs discovering that your D&D campaign is part of a world in the Dragonstar universe! The Adventures section gives some GM advice in running Dragonstar adventures for your players. If you've read Robin Law's Guide to Good Gamemastering, you've already read this information. The Types of Adventure section has adventure hooks for Dragonstar. The All These Worlds section provides suggestions for incorporating non-traditional worlds (steampunk, Spelljammer, modern Earth, traditional sf roleplaying) into Dragonstar. Each section is short, supplying ideas the GM then develops.

High-tech weaponry in Dragonstar is, of course, very different than the low-tech weapons of D&D. The Combat section provides suggestions for the d20 GM who's not used to technological weapons: CR modifiers based on equipment, the effect of lethal ranged weapons (no 1d6 arrows here!) on combat play, and replacing D&D's resource management model with a strategic risk one. (The resource management model of "20% of a party's resources spent during the encounter" doesn't apply well to lethal weaponry. With such weapons, it's more like "20% of a party will be dead". Thus, the party's objective changes from resource management to minimizing risk.)

Chapter Ten: The Hostage

*** SPOILER ***

This adventure is meant to introduce GMs and players to Dragonstar: "combat, conspiracy and intrigue, roleplaying and interaction, and elements of horror and fantasy". The plot of the adventure is that an undercover paladin (!) of the Royal Marshall Service can't compromise her journalism cover, so hires the PCs to rescue the journalist Korig. He's been captured by a Free Nations militia, who are now penned in by the Army of the Faceless Man in an abandoned tenemet. The AFM thugs are outside, content with sieging the militia until they -- and Korig -- are dead. It's up to the PCs to rescue Korig.

The adventure takes place in Praxillus, the city introduced in Chapter 4. The adventure also has suggestions for scaling the adventure to higher levels (including, as mentioned in Chapter 9, simply giving opponents high-tech ranged weapons).

The format of the adventure is straightforward. Find out what happened, where they need to go, get into a little trouble on the way, and get in a lot of trouble when they get there. Information is given out D&D-style, through legwork and talking. With a little modification, you could give the adventure a little Call of Cthulhu or X-Files flavor.

The adventure does, however, accomplish the many tasks it sets out to do. I particularly appreciated its use of a conventional D&D monster in an unconventional (urban) environement. The adventure is also detailed and the most developed chapter in the book.

*** END SPOILER ***

Conclusion

D&D has done quite well with its generic setting, and Dragonstar provides more of the same. Dragonstar, in fact, reminds me of your typical fantasy and superhero worlds: Everyone has these neat crunchy bits, yet the world (or in this case, universe) doesn't seem affected. If this isn't a problem with your sf games, you won't have a problem with Dragonstar.

The Guide does suffer the same problem as campaign books: You can't cover everything in detail. As said, the Guide attempts to describe both a campaign setting and provide both DMG-style d20 rules and GM advice. Every two chapters kept feeling like the first two chapters of an rpg supplement. The Guide does, however, have starting points for adventurers.

My own wish list is that Fantasy Flight Games took the d20 Modern approach: Create a generic space d20 system and GM advice in one book, and a Dragonstar sourcebook as another. That way, d20 gamers who wanted to play Traveller, Blue Planet, or even Spelljammer would have a d20 space system.

Nonetheless, if you want D&D in space, buy Dragonstar. If you're looking for a d20 space system, you should be able to modify Dragonstar to suit your setting. Dragonstar is well written, covers many topics, and assists GMs new to sf rpgs.

Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy
Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy Capsule Review by Washu! ^O^ on 27/12/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) D&D. In space! Product: Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy Author: Greg Banage and Matt Forbeck Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games Line: Dragonstar Cost: $27.95 Page count: 176 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 158994057-1 SKU: DS02 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Washu! ^O^ on 27/12/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction	Overview Dragonstar is pretty much "D&D in space", but should be adaptable as a generic d20 space system. Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy is both the Dragonstar sf setting, and a DMG guide of both d20 rules and GM advice. The Guide attempts to cover quite a bit of material, and, as a result, doesn't provide as much detail as a sourcebook, though about as much as a campaign book. Unlike a campaign book, the Guide provide starting locations for your first adventures. The Guide itself is 176 pages long, about 100 pages of setting, and 60 pages of DMG d20 rules and advice. Specfically, it consists of the Dragonstar campaign setting (Chapters 1-3, about 50 pages), settings where you can start your adventures (Chapters 4, 5, and 10, about 50 pages), d20-specific rules and items (Chapters 6-8, about 40 pages), and GM advice for runnning sf rpgs (Chapter 9, about 20 pages). This is a very beautiful book. The chapter is in color, but it's the gorgeous black and white illustrations that are the most striking. The layout and writing is very well done. The book also has a two-page index. Note: This book is being reviewed without my have read the Starfarer's Handbook. I'll review it (and update this review as necessary) when I obtain a copy. Contents Chapter One: The Dragonstar Galaxy The gods seeded worlds with not only the same races, but the same tongues and cultures. As races and cultures met each other, eventually dragons were encountered. Dragons could have chosen isolation, but they chose power instead. Great wars resulted, until King Khelorn united the dragon kingdoms -- including sharing power with the evil chromatic ones. Forty years ago, the red dragon Mezzenbone conquered the throne. Oddly, instead of disaster, the Empire turned towards conquest. Today, the empire is a little darker, yet the everyday citizen's daily life is pretty much untouched. Geographically, the galaxy is divided into the Dragon Empire and Outlands. Draconis Prime is the planet in the center of the Empire, and each house rules a wedge-like domain of the Empire. The domains were not divided equally: The more powerful houses have better domains and border worlds are often contested. The Long Road, a series of teleportation portals, connects the Dragon Thronewords. Beyond the Dragon Empire lies the Outlands. Within the Deep Outlands lies the Dark Zone, rumored to be the origin of mind flayers and from which few expeditions have returned. A star map of the Dragon Empire is included. Chapter Two: The Dragon Empire The Dragonstar universe is ruled by a dragon emperor, followed by several feudal houses, each representing one of the dragon colors. They form a not-so-stable political arrangement brought together only as a preference to overt war. Of course, this doesn't prevent them from covert operations, nor is recently ascended emperor Mezzenbone exactly beneficent. Commerce is free and open, except in the technologically ignorant Outland worlds. However, Emperor Mezzenbone's recent economic "reforms" favor his interests more than universal welfare. Also not suprising is that the houses control most interstellar business ("Aristocorps"). The Aristocorps is based on a class structure of dragon blood ties and access to arcane magic. While the houses control large-scale commerce, lesser trade, especially in the Outland worlds, is still left to independent merchants. The Gods are known to exist -- but comprehending them is something else entirely. Orthodox clerics see the gods of different cultures as aspects of the same god. Progressive ones see them as complex beings. And the heretical Dualism sect that says but two gods exist. Twelve gods are then presented, one or two for each alignment. For both chapters one and two, only an overview-level of information is given, pretty much similar to a campaign book. But quite a bit of potential conflict has been set up for GMs to use as adventure seeds. Border conflict? Available. First contact? There. Freelance trading? Done. Covert operation? Got it. Evil corporation? No problem. Religious conflicts? Set up. Overthrow the emperor? Same. Any sf / fantasy adventure a GM can come up with should fit into the Dragonstar universe. Chapter Three: The Organizations Chapter Three introduces some of the major organizations in the Dragonstar setting. Each receives about half a page of information. Some will become PC enemies, and others will instigate adventures (see the Chapter Ten review for an example), depending on how much the GM chooses to use them. Several of the organizations are based on class (eg. Blackguard Orders, Paladin Orders, Druidic Society, Imperial Society of Arcane Magic, and Noetic Order) and they tie in to the Houses. NPC stats of the head of each organization is included. While conventional, personally I find this unnecessary. Are the PCs really going to meet this person? If so, can't the GM create him? Much more useful, NPC stats of typical members of organizations are also included. Again, the information is presented as an overview. Chapter Four: The Primogen System This chapter introduces a starting point for adventurers, the Primogen System and city of Praxilus. System information, pre and post-Empire history, background of the major city Praxilus, and adventure seeds are described. Chapter Ten, an introductory scenario, takes place in Praxilus, and serves as an example how to use this city. As a standard, most campaign setting books present the reader with an equal treatment of a variety of different locations. The result is a major lack of detailed information a GM needs to start his first adventures! Fantasy Flight Games has wisely provided new sf GMs Praxilus, a frontier-like starting point, plus some adventure seeds. Praxilus features two warring enemies: the humanoid Army of the Faceless Man, and demi-human Free Nations militia, both equally ruthless. It's arguably derived from both D&D and ethically ambiguous sf settings, but new sf GMs should find this familiarity a strength, not a drawback. Chapter Five: Outland Station For those who prefer an adventure in space, Chapter Five presents the Outland Station as a starting point. It has the expected outpost locations of the Bridge, the Brig, Docking Bays, The Coffin Nail tavern, etc. Seven colorful high-ranking NPCs of different races (all a far cry from The Federation!), plus their d20 stats, are included. However, typical stats of various crewmembers are not. Chapter Six: Magic Items In Dragonstar, magic items are still individually crafted, but some are high-tech versions ("Wands and staves may be manufactured with plastic or carbon fiber"), or truly ancient magic items. New special abilities, such as antigravity and radiation resistances, are introduced, as are utility magic items, such as a Flight Suit that adds a 10 circumstance bonus to Pilot checks. Creation requirements and guidelines are included. Random tables are included to find a specific type of magic item. A good number (sampling) of items are detailed and provided, though not an exhaustive list. New magical types, Vehicle Enhancements and Spellware are introduced. Spellware are magical items grafted onto living beings, and the XP cost is paid by the recipient of the item. Chapter Seven: Monsters Instead of populating the universe with unique creatures, the book encourages you to create your own and use variants of existing creatures. The introductory adventure, in fact, effectively uses a creature straight out of the Monster Manual. Otherwise, the chapter introduces new Subtypes, Radiation and Space, which describe creatures immunse to radiation and space, respectively. New Climates/Terrain are Aerial, Orbit, and Space. The rest (and majority) of the chapter includes stats new monsters, mostly space-oriented, and including Star Dragons. I guess my problem with this chapter is that I saw little, if any, guidance about what to do with these monsters (the Star Dragons, of course, being an exception). Sure, a space kraken is really kewl, but what makes it so important that it should be in the book? Since Dragonstar suggests using D&D monsters, templates and suggestions to convert D&D monsters to their space counterparts and how to use them would have been more useful. Chapter Eight: Running Dragonstar This chapter is pretty much "nuts and bolts" information. It contains miscellaneous specifics for running Dragonstar: money, transportation, new special abilities, space environments, security systems (traps), and world building. Some short GM advice (namely, the use of a single unique interesting feature, location or NPC) is also provided. World building includes number of stars, life cycle (junior or mature), star temperature and life span (including number of planets and type of mature star (white dwarf, red giant, etc.)), types of planets (terrestrial, gas giant, asteroid belt), planet size (as well as gravity and atmospheric density), atmospheric composition, geology, hydrosphere, biosphere, population, technology -- and magic. (Rather than low-mana and high-mana, magic represents the level of magical achievement, much like technology.) Chapter Nine: Dragonstar Campaign This chapter provides a number of ideas for running a Dragonstar campaign. The Dragonstar Campaign section suggests various ways of introducing Dragonstar to your players. Besides the completely new campaign, the Dragonstar universe may be anything from an alternate dimension, to your PCs discovering that your D&D campaign is part of a world in the Dragonstar universe! The Adventures section gives some GM advice in running Dragonstar adventures for your players. If you've read Robin Law's Guide to Good Gamemastering, you've already read this information. The Types of Adventure section has adventure hooks for Dragonstar. The All These Worlds section provides suggestions for incorporating non-traditional worlds (steampunk, Spelljammer, modern Earth, traditional sf roleplaying) into Dragonstar. Each section is short, supplying ideas the GM then develops. High-tech weaponry in Dragonstar is, of course, very different than the low-tech weapons of D&D. The Combat section provides suggestions for the d20 GM who's not used to technological weapons: CR modifiers based on equipment, the effect of lethal ranged weapons (no 1d6 arrows here!) on combat play, and replacing D&D's resource management model with a strategic risk one. (The resource management model of "20% of a party's resources spent during the encounter" doesn't apply well to lethal weaponry. With such weapons, it's more like "20% of a party will be dead". Thus, the party's objective changes from resource management to minimizing risk.) Chapter Ten: The Hostage * SPOILER * This adventure is meant to introduce GMs and players to Dragonstar: "combat, conspiracy and intrigue, roleplaying and interaction, and elements of horror and fantasy". The plot of the adventure is that an undercover paladin (!) of the Royal Marshall Service can't compromise her journalism cover, so hires the PCs to rescue the journalist Korig. He's been captured by a Free Nations militia, who are now penned in by the Army of the Faceless Man in an abandoned tenemet. The AFM thugs are outside, content with sieging the militia until they -- and Korig -- are dead. It's up to the PCs to rescue Korig. The adventure takes place in Praxillus, the city introduced in Chapter 4. The adventure also has suggestions for scaling the adventure to higher levels (including, as mentioned in Chapter 9, simply giving opponents high-tech ranged weapons). The format of the adventure is straightforward. Find out what happened, where they need to go, get into a little trouble on the way, and get in a lot of trouble when they get there. Information is given out D&D-style, through legwork and talking. With a little modification, you could give the adventure a little Call of Cthulhu or X-Files flavor. The adventure does, however, accomplish the many tasks it sets out to do. I particularly appreciated its use of a conventional D&D monster in an unconventional (urban) environement. The adventure is also detailed and the most developed chapter in the book. * END SPOILER * Conclusion D&D has done quite well with its generic setting, and Dragonstar provides more of the same. Dragonstar, in fact, reminds me of your typical fantasy and superhero worlds: Everyone has these neat crunchy bits, yet the world (or in this case, universe) doesn't seem affected. If this isn't a problem with your sf games, you won't have a problem with Dragonstar. The Guide does suffer the same problem as campaign books: You can't cover everything in detail. As said, the Guide attempts to describe both a campaign setting and provide both DMG-style d20 rules and GM advice. Every two chapters kept feeling like the first two chapters of an rpg supplement. The Guide does, however, have starting points for adventurers. My own wish list is that Fantasy Flight Games took the d20 Modern approach: Create a generic space d20 system and GM advice in one book, and a Dragonstar sourcebook as another. That way, d20 gamers who wanted to play Traveller, Blue Planet, or even Spelljammer would have a d20 space system. Nonetheless, if you want D&D in space, buy Dragonstar. If you're looking for a d20 space system, you should be able to modify Dragonstar to suit your setting. Dragonstar is well written, covers many topics, and assists GMs new to sf rpgs.

Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy