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Battlestar Galactica: The RPG is based of the new TV show on the sci-fi channel and not the original, old-school one I grew up with. The new show is dark and gritty, while the old show was pulp space adventure with feathered haircuts. In the interest of fairness to this review, I should point out that after watching them both, I’d rather watch reruns of the old one. The BSG game uses the Cortex Game System (the house system of Margaret Weiss Publishing) first used in Sovereign Stone and later used in the Serenity RPG. There is a lot of hate out there for the Serenity RPG game system as it was incomplete in its first printing (lacking an index as well as ship piloting/combat rules). Let me assure you that the BSG game is COMPLETE with all of the rules you need to run the game.
The Physical Thing
I’ve owned my BSG book for about a year (since it first came out). The binding has held up exceptionally well. The interior graphics are pictures from the first season. I’ve got no complaints in regards to its graphics and layout. However, MWP may want to consider getting a new proof reader. It seems that all of their rpg books are plagued by typos. After getting passed the occasional misspelling or bad sentence structure, there’s little I have to complain about with the book itself.
The Die Mechanic
Basically you’re attributes and your skills are rated as die types (d2-d12). You pick up your attribute die and your skill die, roll them, and add them together hoping to beat a target number. It was the die mechanic that first brought me to the Cortex System (yeah, I finally get to use all those dice in my die pack now that I’ve stopped playing D20!). Some people have complained about this being too random. Yes, it’s more random than a single die system. However, anyone who’s ever played D6 Star Wars knows what random really looks like (roll 5d6 with a score of 5-30 as a possible result). An average attribute is d6 and an average skill is d6, so an average roll is 2d6. Well the average roll of 2d6 is 7, which also just happens to be the target of an Average difficulty. So the target numbers aren’t too outrageous, plus you can spend Plot Points to enhance your roll.
Character Creation
Character creation is pretty smooth. You allocate attribute points, skill points, and then dive into the Trait system. You buy Assets (positive Traits, like Ambidexterity) by taking Complications (negative Traits, like Allergies or Addiction). The Trait system is the obligatory Advantage/Disadvantage system that most rpgs nowadays think they have to have in order to enhance role-playing. Well my friends, D6 Star Wars didn’t need them and D&D still doesn’t have them but I still managed to have fun and role-play those systems. Adv/Disadv systems invite the Munchkin, and it’s no fun playing with a bunch of glass-jawed ninjas. I can see why they’re present here. BSG the show was about human strengths as well as human frailty, but I think BSG the game would have been better served with a system like Virtues/Vices from Adventure!/ NWoD.
The Good
The BSG book is definitely beautiful and contains a lot of good information on the twelve colonies. The Cortex game system is easy to pick up and learn (I had 3 novice rpg players into the swing of the rules within an hour).
The Bad
Okay, something never sat right with me while using this system and it took me a while to really pin it down. The Cortex system that powers BSG doesn’t really know what type of game it wants to be. On the one hand, a character’s Traits and the Plot Point system make the game feel like a pulp or cinematic system. However, the combat system (with regards to taking and dealing damage) is gritty. When you combine the two, it is very easy for a player to create a character capable of killing with a single blow (and vice versa). A character with the Trait Talented: Melee Weapons would always add a third die to his melee attack rolls. So that’s three dice versus two dice the defender might use to defend himself. Also, any extra points on the die roll over the defender’s roll get added to damage (and the average amount of life points is 12). You can see what I’m talking about. Putting the same tweaked build against the same player, and he’ll be spending a lot of those Plot Points just to survive. Plot Points become a meta-mechanic that is more important than the characters natural ability. Talented is a Tait that can be applied to any two skill specialities the player chooses at character creation. Combine that with the Dogfighter Trait and they stack, allowing the player to roll 4 dice on any piltoing skill check!
Verdict
The system is complete (not missing vital rules like Serenity), and fully functional as it is presented. I’m docking Substance points because it only covers the first season and doesn’t offer rules from playing a Cylon skin-job. You could houserule something in pretty quickly, but I’m sure that it will be covered in later supplements. Full marks for Style because it is a beautiful, well put-together book. Will I run it again? Ultimately it comes down to play style, and sadly this game doesn’t suit mine as it is. I’m not one of those GMs that likes to see a character go from healthy to dead in a single attack (unless they’re up against the BBEG). My players will Munchkin the rules if the rules allow it, and any game with an adv/disadv system not only allows it but encourages it. I was hoping the Cortex could be my go-to, rules-lite game system but in the end it was not to be.
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