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Star Thugs is one of those very small games that goes against the traditional construction of a roleplaying game. From the writing style and art to the game play mechanics and character construction, Star Thugs heads for all new territory. Whether all that territory is good or not depends largely on your taste in games.
The basic premise of Star Thugs is that the galaxy is populated by a wide variety of weird aliens, and that you can own a ship, command a crew, and cause all manner of mayhem in the thoroughly goofy universe.
Character Creation
Though the game does not start out with a discussion of characters, an understanding of your 'character' is crucial to understanding the game as a whole. As a matter of fact, the concept of your character might be the single largest difference between Star Thugs and pretty much every other game.
In Star Thugs, players do not create just one character. They create a captain, a ship, and a crew, all of which serve as the character. You control every aspect in play, from crew-operated weaponry to piloting and medical aid. The entire ship is under your control.
Four statistics define every person (using the term very loosely). These are Engineering, Piloting, Mojo and Thuggery. Everyone from the tentacled Narxblosh to the bug-headed Arcturans have these four stats. They are very broad stats, defining much more than their names might imply.
Engineering defines how well you can fix things and keep them running. Wiring up a shield generator, cleaning a weapon and fixing a toaster are all engineering tasks.
Piloting describes your ability to operate things. If engineering is hardware, piloting is software. Piloting is used to fly a ship (obviously), but it is also used for any tasks requiring mechanical manipulation and reflexes.
Mojo is a person's force of personality. Charisma might be another word, but that word has no place in the galaxy of Star Thugs.
Thuggery is anything to do with grunt body work. It covers everything from punching and shooting to lifting and running.
In addition to these base stats, people might have skills (and they might not). Skills provide additional bonuses, and can be used to further hone how well a character performs a particular task. Captains also possess spiffiness points, which can be used to influence the game directly.
If the description of character creation so far has you wondering what kind of game would employ such goofiness, then you are beginning to understand Star Thugs. This is a funny game that almost takes itself seriously. It is tongue-in-cheek, random hilarity in which you could seriously play a game.
Rules
The bulk of the rules in Star Thugs deal with space combat. That makes sense, considering the fact that each player controls a whole ship, but it does leave a little to be desired in the area of personal interaction. The rules for space combat are quite interesting, however, and further illustrate to readers that they are not holding an average game.
All rolls in Star Thugs are performed with a d12. In general, the idea is to roll higher than your target. Skills might modify your roll, as will the base stats. These normal rolls are used for combat, for the most part.
For some reason, another type of roll exists for non-combat fighting. I actually prefer this type of roll, because it is more interesting and requires less math. In this method, characters have a stack number. This number starts at the value of your base stat, and increases with skills and other modifications. If your first roll of the d12 is under the stack number, you may roll again and add the results together. You only get to do this once - you will never roll more than twice.
Either way, if you get better than your target, you succeed. You might blow holes in ship armor, evade a missile, or fix a smoking computer. The system at this point is quite simple.
Ship combat adds a new element to the mechanic in the form of BENDable crew and systems. In each turn, each captain gets to perform as many actions as they want. The limitation is that each component BENDs when they do most actions, like adding their bonus to a gunnery roll or patching up a wounded crew member. Once BENT, a system or component cannot be reused until the turn has ended. Once everyone has acted, the turn starts again.
This mechanic blends classic CCG mechanics with roleplaying games in a unique manner. Asset allocation takes on a whole new tactical angle as players work to maximize combinations and cover deficiencies. Since crews and systems are essentially used up for a turn when they act,, captains must decide if they want to use that prime gunner now, or wait for an opportunity shot. This decision-making and unique system makes starship combat quite interesting.
The Setting
Star Thugs takes place today. In theory, it is taking place all around us right now. The government just hides the existence of alien life from us to protect us. Not because a shadowy conspiracy seeks to dominate the planet - it's more like the local alien pizza delivery guy might throw citizens a vertical smile as he buzzes the Sears Tower. The government would rather avoid such embarrassing incidents.
Star Thugs actually does a very decent job of explaining things like Internet, FTL travel, and why space combat occurs within visual range. It really does not need to do this, as the entire game is an exercise in implausible farce, but it does add to the game overall.
There are dozens of aliens in Star Thugs, ranging from cross-dressing Zarigians who specialize in fashion to super-horny Narxblosh. Some of the aliens could be taken a little seriously, while some - like the Smileys, who are giant smiley faces with arms and legs - are almost too silly to use. However, the overwhelming theme of Star Thugs is one of hilarious anarchy, and if all the aliens were gray-skinned X-Files bogeys, the game would be far too serious.
The places in Star Thugs are as bizarre as the residents. The world of Pornocon caters to adult entertainment. WHEEE-Planet is populated by some of the greatest minds alive, who all unfortunately have the bodies of cows. The Self-Gratification Consortium concerns itself with extensive hedonism, while the very stupid Smileys simply roam the galaxy looking for people to murder. The setting is about as funny as I have seen in a game, and yet is plausible enough to actually support a game.
Support
Star Thugs does not specifically come with a starting adventure. Instead, the back of the book contains a few ideas for campaigns and several charts for randomly creating an adventure. There are full stats for several different aliens, plus a sample starbase. There is less here than in many games in terms of a starting place for GMs, but there is enough to kick start a game, including several pregenerated characters.
The GhazPORK website (www.ghazporkindustrial.com) carries a few sample pages from the interior of the book. I strongly encourage anyone who is remotely interested in this game to look at the samples. While there is no support material at the web site, the site does carry the Maggott Show, which has plenty of material you could graft onto a Star Thugs campaign.
Presentation
The cover of Star Thugs is great. As a matter of fact, the cover is what appealed to me initially. The painting by Steve Argyle is amusing and interesting, with a galactic space punk covered in tattoos smoking a cigar. He looks both tough and slightly stupid, and if you have an anarchic bone in your body, he looks like a hero.
Unfortunately, the cover is the last time this book looks good. The interior layout is abysmal, the art screams rank amateur, and the font is so small I got a headache every time I read for more than a half hour. I really liked reading Star Thugs, but only in an area with plenty of light so that I could decode the tiny text.
The table of contents for Star Thugs is horrid. It refers to the right pages, but it is not organized correctly. If the TOC is to be believed, Location Descriptions fall under the heading of Character Creation. And if the rudimentary table of contents is not enough to make you curse out loud, the complete lack of any kind of index may make you tear out your hair.
The writing style in Star Thugs makes up for many of the aesthetic deficiencies. Mark Argyle writes with a very humorous and smooth voice, so that even when you are reading what amounts to Beavis and Butthead in space, you cannot help but enjoy it. Continual savvy jokes and clever witticisms make Star Thugs a fun read.
Observations and Summary
Star Thugs is a wild ride through uncharted territory. Seldom have I ever read a game book that was so compellingly funny. This game is not for kids, of course - aside from the adult references and sprinkled profanity, most people younger than high school are just not going to get many of the jokes. It is an intelligently silly book that will make you laugh, and yet is completely playable. The book's presentation is nearly horrid enough to destroy it, but the writing more or less manages to make up for the lack of organization and aesthetic appeal.
Style: 2 - The interior of this book is a graphic designer's nightmare. Only the cool cover kept this from going even lower.
Substance: 4 - Witty and unique, this is one game that small press fans should not miss.
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