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The Book Itself
Starblazer Adventures (from here on known as SBA) is a huge 632 paged hardcover. This book is thick reminding me of books like Pathfinder’s core, HERO 5th edition, and The World’s Largest Dungeon. The cover is a nice piece that shows a large ship in the foreground and an Earth-like planet in the background. The inside of the book is all black and white. Several of the pages are taken up by, what I assume is, strips from the Starblazer comic. The art looks old and is not remarkable by today’s US comics, but it does convey the pulp style science fiction well, which is what I assume Starblazer is.
Not A Chapter Breakdown
Normally in my reviews I do it in a chapter breakdown style. SBA is such a large book with 34 chapters and some appendices. Trying to describe everything would make a huge review, and I am afraid many would be bored by that. So instead I am going to talk about what I noticed on an initial read through. I am not intimately familiar with FATE like many RPGnetters are, but I do own Spirit of the Century, and I have worked on my own hack to play Exalted with it. I never have gotten to actually play so some of my thoughts, impressions, or statements may be way off, or just plain wrong.
SBA has a large section devoted to new players, it explains the basic premise of the game, the genre, the hobby, and more introductions probably better than any game I have read. However, this strikes me as odd seeing that FATE often reads more complicated than it actually is. How many people get their start with a game like this? This brings me to the previously stated thought. SBA (and other FATE games) uses a lot of pages to explain a game that really isn’t that complex. Looking at the page count and the amount of repeating information would make one think it was a game that needed excruciating levels of determination to learn, but it’s truly not the case.
I find that the 34 chapters are broken down into a structure that easily allows me to find the rules I am looking for. Stunts have their own chapter, world creation has one, and so does starship combat. Everything is broken down for ease of finding, and with a book of this size that is almost a necessity. Nearly every chart one could need quick in-play access to is also reprinted in the back of the book.
Differences From SotC?
I am not a FATE guru; however, even I noticed many changes from SotC to SBA. The most noticeable is that SBA ditches using Fudge Dice for its main mechanic. Instead the roll becomes a d6-d6. This changes the range from -4,+4 to -5,+5. In theory I like this idea. It adds a larger range for the PCs to accomplish the occasionally and truly magnificent feat. Also most players I have come across wouldn’t know Fudge Dice if they saw them; yet, everyone has some old d6s lying around.
SBA has a large chapter on careers and character types. This may be something I am forgetting from SotC, but I really like it. It adds a more detailed level to the description of the PC by being able to add a sort of archetype to the character. It gives them specific stunt-like abilities based upon their area of expertise. I personally feel this allows more creativity with the character, so as everything is not relying entirely on Aspects to describe what your PC’s personality and style are like.
There is also a large section on equipment, which covers all the science fiction items you could think of, and rules on how to acquire these items. SBA is pretty exhaustive in its equipment and gadgets. I am starting to see some levels of complexity show up here also, as a lot of the different types of items have their own separate rules. They don’t necessarily deviate from the basic mechanics of the game, but there is enough differences to warrant several explanations on the items use or how the rules work for them. There is a huge list of equipment form Starblazer the comic, many of the items you would need to be familiar with the comic to know what in the world it is. There are also rules for building and creating your own gadgets.
What Else Is In There?For the most part the basics of FATE have stayed the same; SBA has just added options and minor tweaks to make the ultimate sci-fi FATE cookbook. Skills are close to the same as SotC, but with the staple science fiction skills replacing 20th century only skills. The same goes for Stunts; they seem changed for the genre with a similar amount in the list as SotC.
Where SBA truly shines is with all the extra optional rules for everything you can think of science fiction. This is what makes SBA work for any type of sci-fi game you could want to run. The genius part is it all works with the FATE rules. If you know and understand FATE all the rules meld onto that knowledge to accomplish lots of handy world building, combat, and other science fiction specific rules. There are rules for creating Alien races and Mutants that use aspects and skills to apply alien and mutant traits to a character. There are rules for creating Star Monsters and War Machines, Star Empires and Battle Fleets, Hover Cars, Robots, and Mandroids, and Starships. All of these use similar rules, but geared towards their specific area. Starships particularly get a lot of page space covering their creation and their own stunts and aspects. SBA also uses a size chart to show what effect different size beings and objects have on one another. Human versus Star Destroyer and Star Destroyer versus Nova Star are two examples you can figure with the chart. Ship combat ends up very similar to using the basic rules only with ships. As I said before the basic ideas of FATE are everywhere, but there are so many different areas covered that you want to feel the game is too complex, till you realize it’s all using the same rules with different stuff. Before getting to the more setting specifics, we get a large section of ship write-ups and templates.
Besides the index and appendices, the rest of the book covers setting specific information. I being not familiar with the comics find the setting info reads like a textbook. It has pages of pages of planet listings and each with a paragraph of information. I can appreciate this for a more adventure snippet section, or for a quick “need a planet” section. However, its information overload for me, and my eyes glaze. It is very useful information, but not for memorizing or entertaining reading.
Starblazer does offer three different eras to play in. They consist of:
- The Trailblazer Era- “Space Cowboys and Smoking Lasers”: It details Earth’s first steps into the Solar System and their first fights with alien invaders.
- The Empire Era- “Fortress Earth and the Thermal Wars”: This era covers many different Earth empires and Terran federations fighting for control of known space.
- The Cosmopolitan Era “Who Elected the Guy With Two Heads?”: This era covers the rise and fall of galactic civilization.
The book finishes with appendix one that lists every issue of Starblazer with its title, author, and illustrator. Appendix two is a summary of the main game rules. Appendix three is almost every chart in the book reprinted. Appendix four has all the sheets for your characters, worlds, and ships. Appendix five is several pages of maps, and appendix six is the design notes for the game. The book ends with an exhaustive index and a few ads.
Overall
The size of SBA is truly staggering. The book is loaded full of charts, rules, and examples that would make a FATE and science fiction fan squeal with joy. This book is very much a complete toolkit for playing any sci-fi setting with FATE. The setting information seems sparse, and I don’t really feel like I know what Starblazer is all about setting –wise. However, I feel like the authors were more geared towards making it universal for whatever setting the GM wanted, and the Starblazer setting was a side bonus. If you love science fiction, and FATE is a great system to you, this book could last you a lifetime of gaming nights.
Ratings
Style is getting a 3. It is all black and white art, and personally I don’t like the Starblazer comic art. It just doesn’t suit me. However, it is abundantly in the book in appropriate places and does add to the feel of the setting. I feel for the industry the style is average for the industry.
Substance is getting a 5. There is no question on this. SBA is crammed full of everything you could possibly need for a science fiction game using FATE. I am not sure there are too many other RPG books out there that are as complete of a toolkit for running science fiction games.
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