Second disclaimer : english is not my primary language, so please act accordingly when reading this.
I received a free a copy of the book, both in PDF format and in it’s physical dead tree one in exchange of this review. It comes from Flying Mice LLC, an Indy company that also produces the StarCluster RPG game, among some others. I had very little knowledge of the FFL company before doing this review, and absolutely none about the Cold Space game.
What is Cold Space ? Just imagine for a moment … Usually, when you talk about space exploration, it’s set well beyond our time, seldom before 2 centuries in the future. And even then we barely begin to leave our comfy solar system and explore the galaxy. Not in Cold Space. In this game, the space exploration age began in the mid fifties, during the Cold War. The US, The Soviet Union, China, Warsaw pact and NATO countries, everyone is still there but instead of doing their little proxy wars on Mother Earth, they carry their conflicts in space as well. PCs come from all over the place, either from Earth or otherwise, being adventurers, scientists, soldiers and spies, and the goal is simply to survive through this tumultuous era. Let’s see if this premise is a good one.
My review will be separate in 3 parts. First, I’ll talk about the physical aspect of the book, along with the art inside. Then I’ll discuss the game itself, describing each chapter one by one. Finally I’ll get to the conclusion, and what I think about the book.
This is a capsule review, since I didn’t do a playtest. But using different methods proposed in the book I created 5 characters, put two of them in mock combat and with the help of a friend tried to get them out of some perilous situations, using the rules provided.
PHYSICAL
Cold Space is a softcover, perfect bound 186 pages book. In its PDF form, the art, the maps and some of the graphics are in color, but not in the physical book. I can understand that printing in color is quite costly, even for a small company, but I must say that some of the maps where difficult to read (compared to the PDF) because of the low resolution used in printing.
The margins are 5/8 inch left and right, and a good inch top and bottom. This leaves a nice, chunky amount of text on each page. I don’t know what font was used, but it looks like Arial 11 pts., which is easy for the eyes. I had no trouble reading the entire book. There are a lot of paragraphs, and the text is in a two columns format.
For some, the art is either a big selling point or just a mood setter. I’m more in the latter category. Art in the Cold Space book is, well … it depicts images of people or vehicles that are used in relation with the setting, but in a watercolour, kind of blurry sort of way. This is the first time I have ever seen that in an RPG. While not displeasing, it’s more abstract than anything else. However it is sparse, and mostly used when a new chapter begins.
GAME
Like I said earlier, Cold Space is a Cold War era RPG game set on Earth as well as in space.
Here is what we get when we open the cover. First, after 2 pages of thanks, there is a ‘song’ page and then the table of contents. There is a few of those ‘song’ pages scattered throughout the book, usually just before the beginning of a chapter. They are lyrics of fictional songs, by real singers and groups that existed during their respective time period, but with space themes. For example, on page 12, we get lyrics from a song (not real) from Bob Dylan in 1962. These ‘song’ pages simply set the mood for the reader, while not really useful in game.
Then we have the setting itself. Cold Space is what could have happened if Einstein found out a way to ‘bypass’ the limit imposed by the speed of light, and if we had the engines powerful enough to go that quickly. So, in the early fifties, the US were able to build a spacecraft that could land on the Moon. The Soviets, who were able to steal the technology, soon followed. The exploration of space (and its control) has begun. What we get is 50 years of an alternate timeline, which is only 8 pages long. The Korean War, the Vietnam War, all that happened, but it happened also in space. While short, this setting description is quite interesting and I found myself having lots of scenario ideas during my reading. I haven’t cross-checked historical facts, but having done a major in American history, I can say that those guys made some pretty good efforts to include major incidents that happened during this period.
After the setting we get another ‘song’ page, and then something I haven’t seen in an RPG for a long time. Cold Space allows you to play during the entire time period described, not just after it, like most other games. I think this is cool, but it’s also a 2-edges blade. PCs cannot be higher than your normal adventurous type. Yes, they can achieve fame and all, but since history is already written, there is not much leeway there. But still, there is place for good adventuring. The writers separate the 50-years timeline in 4 broad periods, and on the next 3 pages you get ideas and suggestions about what you can play as a character, depending on your type of play.
Next we get into the tasks resolution system. Cold Space is based on the StarCluster game engine, which like I said earlier I had very little knowledge. So I won’t try to compare both. Cold Space uses a percentile tasks resolution system, and is heavily based on skills. Want to accomplish something ? You have X per cent chance of doing it. Easy and very logic. Initiative and combat are explained first. When initiative is rolled, the character who won goes first, but has the privilege to state his actions last. That means he can wait till everybody explain their actions, but is the first in doing it. The last game I remember that did that was the good old Mechwarriors 2nd edition book. To-hit rolls are simple : you roll a percentile dice against your chance of hitting, and see if you make it or not. Damage, range, cover, healing, everything is explained briefly. Briefly, but with a little note that simply made my heart miss a beat : judgement calls from the GM. WHAT ? This is something that I haven’t heard from a long time, a long time indeed ... When was the last time I’ve seen a book that SUGGEST to do a judgement call on a rule ? This reminded me my hey-days when we used to play Twillight:2000 first edition with lots of house-rules from our GM. Ah the memories …
After the tasks resolution part, which is 10 pages, the character creation procedure begins. Cold Space has two methods for creation characters, random roll and point-based. When I created my 5 PCs, I was able to get more points using the random roll procedure on 3 of them. Maybe I was lucky with my rolls that time … Each character has 7 attributes : Strength, Endurance, Coordination, Luck, Charisma, IQ and Cash. Luck, IQ and Cash are percentages, while the four others are on a scale from … this is one thing that I would have like to know. There is no comparative table explaining what a score of 9 in Strength means, or is there a human limit. You simply roll 2 6-sided dice, and take the number you rolled.
Next, you get quite a very detailed character creation process. Since all PCs begin at age 10, you have to ‘educate’ your character. Here is how it works : For the next 4 years, you get to pick (or random roll) 4 skills or attributes increases (and double two of them) when your character goes through Junior High School. Repeat for High School, until you get at age 18. Afterwards, you can get into College, or begin working (by selecting a related profession) or, well, you get the idea.
I like this kind of character creation process. It enables me to personalize to the point of being unique, because the sheer number of different options is staggering. Of course, my 5 made-by-me characters were far from being similar one another. The only gripe I can have about this procedure is that it’s based on a U.S.-based type of educational progression. What happens if you are born, let’s say in Europe ? A creative GM can always work something out, but I could have liked some broader perspective about this. Also, there is no example of “John is creating his character, a burly soldier, and here is what he did” kind of method description. I would have like that (even though I had very little problems creating my own guys).
What follows is a very detailed NPC generation method that enables you to create almost everybody the PCs will meet in their career. From simple thugs or canon fodder to the recurring mastermind, almost nothing is left out (like wealth and a mission table). Including a page of ‘watercolour’ art, this is a lengthy section of 10 full pages. The last two pages however display a list full of character templates, to be used for quick generation of your PC. Why is this information located there instead of the Character creation section, I don’t know. Simply a little mistake ?
Ah the skills … Like I stated before, Cold Space is mostly skill-based, and uses percentages for tasks resolution. Each player has a 45% base chance of successfully do something. Experience and attributes may increase this score. Physical stats modify the chance of success at a rate of 5% for every 2 points over 7 - i.e. at 9, 11, 13, etc. For IQ, it’s one point per point over 120. All skills are related to an attribute, all six pages of them. You get anything from Pilot to Streetwise, Gunnery, Climbing, etc. Pretty standard fare here. There are no ‘special’ powers or feats in Cold Space, only the raw ability to accomplish something using your own body, making this game very gritty.
After that you get many tables for weapons and various equipments, with their price, weight and availability through the timeline. The lists are a bit small (not in size but in quantity) but everything a good adventurer would need is there. A big let down is the weapon listing. Ok, I don’t need the Jane’s All the World’s Guns (for those who don’t know what I’m talking about, here is a link to Jane’s Defence Web site : http://www.janes.com/defence/), but a description of what an automatic rifle is (game terms and real life) could have helped. The lists provided are way too generic for my taste. For example, my player wants an M-16. Is this gun available in 1951 ? I have to do myself my own research in order to find out. And what about ammunition or any given weapon’s magazine capacity ? Those are nowhere to be found.
I was surprised to see a quite lengthy chapter based on spaceships (which comes next). First we get some description of various spacecrafts used during the period. Unfortunately, there are few images in this chapter, only a small one (bottom of page 108), which is bad because I have no idea what a ‘Lockheed Lightning II Long Range Fighter’ looks like. Following is a list of different weapon systems or other devices that can be attached to the ship. From your normal every day Missile Launcher to a Triple Small Reaction Cannon Turret or a Big Galley for a quick meal between firefights, there is a pretty good selection. A clever and creative GM (or his players) could spend lots of time creating or modifying ships using those stats. No price on modules or weapons are given though.
Afterward, on two pages, we see some sort of schematics for two ships, with non-gaming related text. Something we don’t see often in SF material (not just in RPGs) is the fact that in space, there is no air. There is no need for a sleek pointy design if you don’t care about aesthetic. So friction and aerodynamics don’t apply much there. If your ship is a big rectangle, it doesn’t matter. Some of the spacecrafts in Cold Space are just like that : the big flat part is a the front, which astounded me at first.
Next, just after another ‘song page’ we get to a section called Star Travel and Combat. Pretty self-explaining, each ‘action’ needs a certain amount of ‘thrust units’ to achieve. Like changing orbits or escaping a planet’s gravity. There is a very detailed example of how these ‘thrust units’ work, something I was glad for, but nowhere did I find a table for distance between solar systems. Am I supposed to make them up ? For example, a bunch of players lift off from the moon with their brand new ship. They want to go to the 82 Eridani system. How far is it ? I have looked everywhere, and found no such info.
Space combat is a mix of narrative play and tactical wargaming. Players say what their characters do, they roll dice, and calculate damage. While I’m not the authority on spaceship combat, I found that there is a lot of dice rolling during these fights. “For each weapon, Radar rolls an astronomy check” (taken from page 104), and THEN for each weapon that fired you have to roll again for hitting targets, and THEN for each weapon that hit you have to roll for damage. And if you do critical damage, roll again. For a ship carrying only two cannons, this could be workable. But just imagine your big hauler with its 10 Medium Reaction Cannons with 500 shots, that’s up to 30 rolls each turn ! At least there is a very nicely detailed example on how space combat works, which is a good thing.
Concluding this chapter are some explanations on how Cold Space engines work, mostly fluff text that gets you in the mood.
Then we get to a very long chapter describing nearly all colonies that have been built along the years. In this section, while getting good information on many planets, I found that maps are much better in the PDF version than in the print version. Orbit, Temperature, Gravity, Minerals, among others are given for 23 planets.
Finally we get to some appendices, optional rules and info about the game.
An index (always good to have in a RPG) and a 3 pages character sheet (with a character design worksheet, another thing I haven’t seen since Twillight:2000) conclude this book.
THE GOOD
Lots of information are packed into those 186 pages. Like I said earlier, a creative GM could go a long way into designing enjoyable adventures for his players. The character generation system is a charm, but could have been better with a few examples. Setting is very nonconforming. The judgement calls from the GM approach.
THE BAD
Some tables are either missing or simply forgotten (like for weapons and space travel distances). A ‘the GM could create more using this method’ kind of helpful advices would have been welcomed. More pictures (it could be drawing) of spacecrafts would benefit greatly. Space combat is for those who like dice.
FINAL VERDICT
Will I play this game ? Definitively yes. With some work to be done, this game could be a winner. For now, it needs just a little polishing and refinement. I think the authors needed to put a lot of stuff in the book, while missing some. Bear with me : the game is complete as it is, it’s simply missing just a few things. Style is there, but the substance is lacking a little. For those interested in a different space opera setting, closer to home, this could be a good choice.
