by Erick-Noel Bouchard, M.P.A. with the collaboration of Jean-Christian Drolet, L.L.B.

This reviewer has received a free PDF copy of Star Warriors from Mrs. Cynthia C. Miller of Spectrum Games for evaluation purposes.

Additionally, it comes as a logical conclusion that the people most appreciative of a given game or book are the most likely to find the time and interest to write a review of it. I have a copy of every CAH book out as of the printing of Star Warriors and I have submitted as a freelancer to Spectrum Games a campaign for publication, 'The Mecha Exodus', for another of their series book, Metal Wars. To reinforce both objectivity and appearance of objectivity, this review has been written from an analytical perspective rather than a more emotional personal perspective.

Please take note that this review only focuses on the content of the Star Warriors book itself, not the Cartoon Action Hour (CAH) game system per see or the basic rulebook.

- Extract from Star Warriors, Channel 2 (p.6)

Star Warriors is the third series book for the Cartoon Action Hour (CAH) roleplaying game by Spectrum Games, presently available in PDF format. This book expands on one of the space opera settings presented in the CAH Corebook, with additional rules (templates, space combat), new cast characters, more detailed background material, GM advice and various seeds and a mini-adventure. The structure and nature of the content is essentially similar to the previous series books (Darkness Unleashed, Metal Wars), with the notable difference that this book is less outré, more of a generic classical space opera than a veiled reference to a specific cartoon series than the previous books (GI Joe and Gargoyles for Darkness Unleashed, Transformers for Metal Wars). The book's title itself, as some readers might have noticed, could be considered a bold provocation of Lucasfilm's lawyers, despite the lack of obvious similitude in content.

This book requires the Cartoon Action Hour Corebook for play, and is not an independent 'stand alone' product by itself.

- Price of $ 7.95 (USD)

- 67 pages PDF e-book

- File size: 3,4 Megabytes (OCR captured, True Type)

- Full color cover

- B&W inner illustrations (line art)

- Detailed table of contents is provided

- Detailed PDF bookmarks are provided

- No textual index is provided

- No back cover included in the PDF version

- Main font: Palatino Roman 10

- Main header font: Oliver's Barney 12

Star Warriors features text with very clear readability, dense serif main text and very bold headers that make the document an easy read. Most sections are 2-3 paragraphs long, with occasional gray-white boxed text. The pages have a gray border on top and bottom, with page numbers in a large, dark font. The colorful cover featuring the main villains and logo are reminiscent of the Mutants & Masterminds covers, and might be the most impressive CAH book cover yet.

Compared to the previous CAH series books, Star Warriors features a high text density (simple interline, font size 10) and thus a higher word-count per page. The artwork has good visibility and should not pose a problem for most printers (no visible pixels, black and white line art) but it is sparse and more austere, in this reviewer's opinion, than the previous CAH series books. Most art features space vehicles and main cast characters, with a few full-page B&W illustrations.

These elements answer to some fan comments about the two previous CAH series books (Darkness Unleashed for image pixelization, Metal Wars for larger fonts and low text density). Cover aside (which is quite beautiful), the artwork appears much less cartoonish than the other CAH books, and thus less reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons but more similar to clipart-style art of older roleplaying games from the 1980s (e.g. Prime Directive, Traveler, Space Opera, etc.). Similarly, the portrayed NPCs look more realistic and less "over the top" (in a cartoonish perspective), conveying a more "realistic" than "toonish" feel for the setting. Visually, Star Warriors is thus more evocative of old school 1980s RPGs than 1980s comics, which is not necessarily a bad thing if the readers are looking for the feel of a "new sort of old classic game". Of course, this opinion is subjective, as other appreciation (like Mr. Charlie Dunwoody's own review at www.rpg.net) might make this observation moot. Cartooness, after all, lies essentially in the eye of the beholder.

Star Warriors is structured identically to the previous CAH series books:

CHANNEL ONE: INTRODUCTION (3 pp.) presents the book's content and features in one page the backstory of a fictional toyline, and is essentially "fluff" favor text, designed to entertain the readers but with no genuine use in actual gameplay. This type of backstory is distinctive to the CAH books and, arguably, is of special interest by its originality despite its lack of practical usability once read.

Although Star Warrior's backstory is comparable in general to that of the other CAH series books, its serious tone seems more befitting a cartoon encyclopedia. From a subjective opinion, this section should be kept but would have been better served, as a fun introduction to Star Warrior's "behind the scenes", with the subtle humor and interesting oddities found, for example, in the backstory of Kargorr's series portrayed in After these Messages #1. For emphasis that this is a cartoon game, I would have liked to see an introduction featuring idiotic producers, production problems, impossible deadlines, bloopers and animation errors and crew fighting. While the writing is clear, professional and Cartesian, a pinch of craziness (in Gamma World or GURPS IOU Illuminati University style, e.g. cactus marshals, robot cheerleaders or slingshot ships) would have been welcome, since the backstory's sole purpose is to entertain the reader and serves no game purpose.

CHANNEL TWO: PLAYER ‘S GUIDE (6 pp.) summarizes the 'series guide' (setting essentials), a synopsis of the series, a description of the genre, space combat rules and three templates for character creation (Combatant, Blaster and Brainiac), plus three 'packages' for each template (featuring powers and equipment).

This section features some bits of interesting style advice ("(...) planets are only covered by one climate type (desert worlds, ice worlds, city worlds), races only have one distinctive thing about them (warrior race, psychic race, mutant race), and everything is amplified and expanded to gigantic proportions") and one of the book's most important crunchy bits: the Space Combat Rules (4 pages). These rules use a relative abstract system for range and speed, based on the Perception, Maneuverability and Speed attributes which emphasizes detection and dogfights. Range, damage and maneuvers use verbal description tables, allowing for interesting combat narration results (e.g. "The other ship is filling your vision, and your main concern is not colliding", p.7). Exported to other CAH settings, the ship combat system also seems adequate for submarines, airplanes and "flying beasts" fights, and is a very strong crunchy bit of Star Warriors as to the book's overall game usefulness.

The potential buyer should note that a general and somewhat paradoxical characteristic of the CAH system is a tendency towards simulationist realism in rules (in a GURPS, Tri-Stat or Silhouette fashion), rather than favoring a rules-light approach perhaps more immediately intuitive for cartoon-style roleplay (in a Feng Shui, Wushu or Over the Edge fashion). This tendency towards "strong crunch" bears into Star Warriors' new rules, although the preference over much or less "crunch" in game systems, like in cereals, is essentially a matter of personal taste.

This trend differs from systems basing the result of a character's action on the degree of "cartoonness" of his actions, as with the Wushu, Toon or Extreme Vengeance RPGs for example. Nevertheless, players who enjoy the CAH game system's tactical emphasis will likely be pleased, and the supple yet action-oriented style of space dogfights seems superior in simplicity and evocative ability than similar rules found in most other RPG systems (e.g. Star Wars D6, D20 Future, etc.).

CHANNEL THREE: THE UNIVERSE LEAGUE (11 pp.) presents the setting's history, hero groups, politics, aliens and technology. As with other CAH series books, Star Warriors features an iconic modernist setting where heroic defenders resist the onslaught of a diabolical tyrant and his legions of cronies, in the style of the old Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica or Buck Rogers space fantasy.

The Star Warriors' organization is described in 1 1/4 page, the UN-like Universal League in 3/4 of a page and 3 supporting cast members in 1 1/2 pages. Not unlike the Darkness Unleashed series book, the setting features a united world-wide government not unlike Star Trek's federation where the players are the members of a special forces group (in this case, the Star Warriors) deployed for delicate missions. (These rough similarities between these two series book allow for swapping of equipment, templates and villains, notably.)

Seven alien races are described along with game attributes:

- Humans

- Mentons (placid psychics)

- Deceptoids (hypnotist fish-men)

- Flamites (emotional pyrokinetists)

- Fangors (Wookies)

- Mutants

- Zarian (magical goblins, of which only Lord Zarnon is left)

Rules and descriptions for alien races are comparable in style with those of the basic CAH rulebook: three paragraphs describing physiology, society and homeworld plus a short sentence for game attribute modifiers (e.g. "Flamites gain a +1 to Artist or Performer and well as to Appearance, but a -2 to Willpower."(p.18))

This section also includes descriptions for 7 pieces of equipment (5 weapons, space suit and jetpack) and 7 vehicles (6 of which are illustrated).

From a political perspective, although the Star Warriors' missions and purpose could be criticized as mildly neo-conservative, and the Universal League's centralized government structure and principles might be criticized as somewhat liberal, such simplifications of "galactic organizations" were common in old cartoons and fit the genre's classical characteristics as described by the authors themselves ("As you take in this massive scale, smaller details get a bit fuzzier", p.6). Partisan politics are not present in Star Warriors, which is a good thing in this reviewer's opinion, as it leaves the players free to choose their own play style in this regard. Unlike other RPG game company products, Star Warriors thus has the quality of remaining politically neutral and thus the potential to appeal to a wider base of players: this game is after all about villain trashing by "space police" heroes.

While the NPC stat blocks for nemesis are useful, evil creatures and monsters could have replaced those for heroes for better play value. Some of the heroes' equipment and special powers remain more generally useful however, and perhaps should have been included with the gear descriptions with only a page reference in the heroes' stat block for ease of reference.

Maverick, Psychlos and Sapphire in particular would have been more attractive with more obvious toy gimmicks (e.g. a module-detachable weapon port in Centurions/Micronauts-fashion for Maverick, a hypnotic rotating spiral in Psychlos' chest and "genuine princess hair" with multiple colored capes and sparkling jewels for Sapphire, as the iconic "girl's toy in a boys' toyline"). A love interest between Sapphire and Lance would also had been more "1980s-ish", as serious independent female characters weren't typical space opera archetypes 20 years ago, except perhaps as villains (e.g. G.I. Joe's Baroness or Flash Gordon's Princess Azura). Princess Leia was a very unusual move away for the norm in those days, for that matter.

CHANNEL FIVE: GAME MASTER ‘S SECTION (5 pp.) overviews the space opera genre and alterations to a more serious or lighter play style (as in the previous CAH series books). Planetary generation provides guidelines, a random table and suggestions for climate, technology, population and "hooks" (special exotic features) in three dense pages.

The authors' deliberate move towards the classical side of space opera (e.g. Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica) rather than its wilder side (e.g. World of Tiers, Red Dwarf, Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy) can possibly appeal to a wider base of players, but might be considered a negative point for people seeking less traditional space opera in a crowded RPG market. This editorial choice was deliberate:

Admittedly, this preference is more representative of the general 1980s cartoons, but it pits Star Warriors in competition against a vast array of analogous RPG settings (e.g. Star Wars, Traveler, GURPS Space, Star Trek), setting the stakes higher for market visibility.

CHANNEL SIX: THE ENEMIES OF THE UNIVERSE (4 pp.) summarizes the history, mission, organization and headquarters of the villains and their technology (2 weapons, 1 drug, 4 vehicles with 2 illustrated).

Game attributes and point-based improvements for the Palace of Dread and Star Warrior Central "playsets", based on CAH's vehicle construction rules, is a nice addition and nifty idea which conveys the fun of the old Star Wars toys and kits. This idea is a strong one, and should be eventually explored and improved on in further CAH series books with templates and packages for bases and vehicles to simulate a vast array of "vehicle toys" for the heroes, perhaps related to a group pool of Character Points.

CHANNEL SEVEN: ZARNON ‘S EMPIRE (10 pp.) presents the series' main villains, along with their full game attributes. The main villains are essentially an "Emperor Ming" type robed goblin wizard (Lord Zarnon), a cyborg scientist (Dr. Roboticus), a lizard man (Mutamon), a chameleon-man spy (Baron Hypno), a flame throwing White Queen (Infuriana) and a robot sergeant with a jukebox head (Cyberchief). Attributes are provided at the "basic" and "post-movie" (upgraded) level.

As a rule, the master villain's court is analogous to those of Nekrottus in the Guardians of Iconia setting presented in the CAH rulebook and the Darkness Unleashed series book: a sorcerer lord, a wise lieutenant, a dumb but strong henchman, a sexy witch foil with her own agenda, which fits with 1980s cartoon stereotypes. Having the head bad guy being an "ethnic minority" with human minions isn't quite 1980s canon, but it is an interesting variant on the space opera theme.

CHANNEL EIGHT: THE BEST OF STAR WARRIORS (11 pp.) features 12 episode seeds (including summary, GM notes and meta-game 'production notes') plus a description of the 'movie' feature, and a complete adventure, 'Jewels of the Jungle Planet'. The out-of-game fictional toy/TV backstory is again linked with each seed, making for an entertaining (if not really useful) read, albeit these descriptions tend towards the technical side rather than odd and amusing tidbits about the series' heights and lows, and lack somewhat in entertaining ludicrousness.

APPENDIX 1: RECOMMENDED SOURCES (1 p.) is a short annotated bibliography of 5 cartoons, 3 movies and 1 roleplaying game. Unfortunately, the bibliographic section is extremely short and does not encompass much of the 1980s toys and cartoons series that could have inspired GMs and players of Star Warriors (e.g. Captain Harlock, Goldrake, Bravestarr, Micronauts, Robotix, Defenders of the Earth, Teenagers from Outer Space, etc.). Complete references and ISBN are not provided. This appendix is the weakest of the book in content, with only nine titles to summarize the space opera classics of a very prolific decade.

Who is this book meant for?

Star Warriors is recommended for Cartoon Action Hour enthusiasts looking for additional rules for starship combat, futurist equipment, generic aliens, and planet creation. It will also appeal to players who enjoy the CAH system but seek a more traditional space opera setting, less silly than Kargorr's doomed series, similar perhaps to the style of Silver Age comics.

Star Warriors' main edge is to bring more detailed space opera for CAH enthusiasts, rather than bring science fiction enthusiasts to Cartoon Action Hour. In all likeness, CAH players will seek Star Warriors for the new rules and game mastering hints rather than players of other games using this book as a setting for their own games. The series book appears made to appeal directly to the CAH fan base rather than attract new players to the game, in opposite perhaps to the Metal Wars series book about giant transforming robots, which is more evocative of a specific toy franchise still marketed and popular today.

For CAH players, the crunchy bits in Star Warriors are useful, but not indispensable as a generic tool to create one's universe, although the dogfight rules notably are of high quality and easily adaptable to other CAH settings. Likewise, the game material presented is more intended for play in a specific world than a "build your own universe" toolbox (although the aliens are easily transferable to other series). A clear organization, higher word density per page and compatibility with other CAH settings is another strong point for Star Warriors. The setting's general familiarity is ideal for introducing quickly new players to the CAH system, and flexible enough to include all sorts of strange characters. Less favorable elements include the lack of illustrations and general visual austerity (although, inversely, these are advantages for printing PDFs, both for ink economy and ease of print), an austerity that also extends in the writing tone and seems, to this reviewer at least, more appropriate to classical space opera games than a game who's special focus is 1980s cartoons.

- Detailed table of contents

- Good and pleasing readability

- High text density, i.e. more material per page

- Evocative and quick & easy starship dogfight rules

- Detailed equipment and vehicles

- New rules (aliens, planet creation, space combat), fully compatible with all CAH settings

- References to specific pages in the CAH Corebook are provided and precise when necessary

- No political bias or veiled ideological message: political neutrality

- Low price ($7.95 USD for 67 pages of dense content)

- Few templates compared to the other CAH Series Books

- The alien races are not all illustrated

- Stern toyline backstory and lack of strongly distinctive setting elements ("gimmicks")

- No rules specifically for robots and exotic environments

- No printed index

- Sparse and somewhat austere artwork

- Short bibliography, many titles of which are similar to those of the Metal Wars series book

- Include artwork (at least facials) for all the setting's alien races

- Reinforce the writing to be more ironic, comical, even clownish at times, taking example on After these Messages #1, to enhance the cartoon aspect of the series versus other space opera games

- Substitute artwork that is more evocative of Saturday morning cartoons (at least in this reviewer's humble opinion)

- To enhance this cartoon aspect, make the villains and characters' look more iconic and/or kitsch (e.g. Zarnon with an immense high-collared cape, Dr Roboticus with an exposed brain, Mutamon with underwear above his pants and a logo on his shirt, heroes with rainbow spectrum colored uniforms as in Power Rangers/Captain Harlock, and a "less threatening and more plastic" looking Roboman)

- Present stats for equipment, characters and vehicles in grid tables to optimize space (e.g. like equipment lists in the D20 corebooks)

- Provide more templates for characters and design customizable templates/packages for vehicles and bases

- Provide rules/hints and crunchy bits for robots/androids/mecha and space threats/exotic environments in general, perhaps in the form of a table in the random planet creation section

- Provide "wilder" elements in the setting for greater distinctiveness (e.g. planets linked by space railroads, mysterious conspiracies, artificial sentient cannibal planets, giant combining robots, etc.)

- To increase the nostalgia value, include more iconic elements of 1960-1980s science-fiction cartoons (Goldrake, Power Rangers, The Black Hole, Captain Future, Mazinger Z, Voltron, G-Force, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Captain Harlock, Robotix, Space 1999, Doctor Who, etc.)

- Mention the series seeds (pp. 54-61), Dr Tolkien (pp. 25-27) and Baron Hypno (pp. 51-52) in the table of contents, which were omitted

- Spell Dr Tolkien/Tolken's name with greater standardization

- Provide a more complete bibliography

Style 3: Although there is no questioning the writing skills of the authors, Star Warriors' visual appearance and narrative style are Cartesian but somewhat dispassionate. Precise and serious, the writing of Star Warriors is however less tongue-in-cheek and thus amusing than the basic CAH rulebook. Printing ease for the line art is a good point, but the art/design style is at the level of an independent publisher compared to the more luxurious means of large-scale editors such as WotC, that raise the style standards for the whole industry. As such, Star Warrior's style can be described as honest, if not astonishing.

Substance 4: Despite a classical setting choice, Star Warriors delivers in quantity, consistency and usefulness of the rules and crunchy bits with respect to the CAH system and will thus be useful for players and GMs alike. The low number of character templates, lack of modularity rules for equipment and vehicles and general setting traditionalism deter however from a perfect score.