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Star Frontiers: Science Fiction Role Playing Game
This boxed set is the base set for the Star Frontiers system by TSR Inc. This is the same as the original boxed set - just renamed after a number of expansions and modules started to arrive on the scene from TSR. The primary difference is the covers - which were magenta instead of blue.
- GenresGamingRole Playing Games
106 pages, Box Set
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 1, 2014
I bought this boxed set RPG waaaaay back in 1985 so I fully admit up front that at least 2 of the stars in my review are pure nostalgia.
But then again, I have recently been running Star Frontiers games and I was reminded just how cool this gem really is. The system is pretty light. It is percentile-based with the core mechanic of rolling under a score or target number on d100. The system works fine and is quite easy to learn and to game master.
However, the real charm of the game is its setting. The human, yazarian, dralasite, and vrusk races each have their own style and panache. The known world is like a huge public market of gadgets and planets and robots in the old style. Since this was written well before the internet invaded our lives its description of technology seems quaint and out dated. And it is. But that's what I love about it.
For example, in the module that came with the box set, "Crash on Volturnus", there is space ship map that shows actual computer rooms. The computers are large objects taking up entire rooms...
This game is not really for hard sci-fi. It isn't going to help you create highly realistic space battles. It is for fast, Buck Rogers style space opera action adventure. Fun in a box.
But then again, I have recently been running Star Frontiers games and I was reminded just how cool this gem really is. The system is pretty light. It is percentile-based with the core mechanic of rolling under a score or target number on d100. The system works fine and is quite easy to learn and to game master.
However, the real charm of the game is its setting. The human, yazarian, dralasite, and vrusk races each have their own style and panache. The known world is like a huge public market of gadgets and planets and robots in the old style. Since this was written well before the internet invaded our lives its description of technology seems quaint and out dated. And it is. But that's what I love about it.
For example, in the module that came with the box set, "Crash on Volturnus", there is space ship map that shows actual computer rooms. The computers are large objects taking up entire rooms...
This game is not really for hard sci-fi. It isn't going to help you create highly realistic space battles. It is for fast, Buck Rogers style space opera action adventure. Fun in a box.
November 17, 2015
It's hard to look back on ancient RPGs when you never actually played them. To review it now is almost absurd, so I'll keep this short. This book still provides a fun universe to play in, and it's noteworthy for being one of the few settings outside of Star Trek where cross-species interactions aren't motivated by perceived superiority. (I love Star Wars as much as the next guy, but the Empire is seriously racist, and yeah they're "the bad guy," but it's still a dominant paradigm in the story.)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews