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Dragonstar: Galaxy Guide
This has been in a box for several years. Is dusty but still in good condition.
172 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2002
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December 28, 2011
I have a serious conundrum when considering these books. As mentioned in my review of the D20 Call of Cthulhu book, I hate the D20 system with a passion. I am, however, a dracophile, and that means that if it involves or has dragons in it in some form, the odds are good that I will like it.
The Dragonstar campaign setting further compounds this problem by adding one of my favorite themes to its campaign world: what would happen if technology and magic met? At what point would it be more feasible to use a Fire Elemental to power a starship than a fusion reactor? Would the two ends of the spectrum blur so much that they could not be considered separate any more? And so on. Toss in some Firefly- and Star Wars-esque space battles, and I'm pretty well hooked.
If only it didn't have that damned D20 system, it would be perfect for me. And before you start thinking it - I've tried conversions and system changes before, and I'm no good at it.
The Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy book is just what it says it is - a listing of the "world" that the game is set in...though I think 'universe' might be more appropriate here. The book covers everything from the existing power structure of the game setting, to the kinds of worlds that can be found on the outer fringe of the galaxy, and everything in between.
While I think the political structure presented in the book (all of the existing Draconic colors have formed a rotational government that allows one representative of each color to rule for 1000 years, and the Red Dragons have just come into power) may have been a bit slap-dash and stretches even the quite-elastic bounds of believable fantasy worldbuilding, I can see what kinds of problems would have arisen otherwise. A part of me wonders, however, if the game setting wouldn't have been better served to actually have a little less structure to the universe's ruling system - i.e. to have the dragons all ruling their own territories based on their color, with border wars and skirmishes going on all the time (space should be vast enough to handle something like that, right?). Something along those lines could have really added a few elements to the game setting that I think would have been quite entertaining. Trying to transport cargo or people across borderlines between two hostile factions always makes for some tense, in-depth situations, for instance. Add the enigmatic and terrifying Mind Flayers to this mix as an independent alien race, and you could have easily satisfied any kind of roleplaying itch that gamers could possibly want, from Space Opera to Horror to Survivalist.
Despite the oddity of the political structure, I have to say that I enjoyed this campaign setting/game universe (even if the Drow Elves were used a little too heavily as the Red Dragons' secret police). If I can convince someone who is better at systems conversion than me to create one that I can enjoy, then this would be the perfect RPG campaign world for me.
The Dragonstar campaign setting further compounds this problem by adding one of my favorite themes to its campaign world: what would happen if technology and magic met? At what point would it be more feasible to use a Fire Elemental to power a starship than a fusion reactor? Would the two ends of the spectrum blur so much that they could not be considered separate any more? And so on. Toss in some Firefly- and Star Wars-esque space battles, and I'm pretty well hooked.
If only it didn't have that damned D20 system, it would be perfect for me. And before you start thinking it - I've tried conversions and system changes before, and I'm no good at it.
The Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy book is just what it says it is - a listing of the "world" that the game is set in...though I think 'universe' might be more appropriate here. The book covers everything from the existing power structure of the game setting, to the kinds of worlds that can be found on the outer fringe of the galaxy, and everything in between.
While I think the political structure presented in the book (all of the existing Draconic colors have formed a rotational government that allows one representative of each color to rule for 1000 years, and the Red Dragons have just come into power) may have been a bit slap-dash and stretches even the quite-elastic bounds of believable fantasy worldbuilding, I can see what kinds of problems would have arisen otherwise. A part of me wonders, however, if the game setting wouldn't have been better served to actually have a little less structure to the universe's ruling system - i.e. to have the dragons all ruling their own territories based on their color, with border wars and skirmishes going on all the time (space should be vast enough to handle something like that, right?). Something along those lines could have really added a few elements to the game setting that I think would have been quite entertaining. Trying to transport cargo or people across borderlines between two hostile factions always makes for some tense, in-depth situations, for instance. Add the enigmatic and terrifying Mind Flayers to this mix as an independent alien race, and you could have easily satisfied any kind of roleplaying itch that gamers could possibly want, from Space Opera to Horror to Survivalist.
Despite the oddity of the political structure, I have to say that I enjoyed this campaign setting/game universe (even if the Drow Elves were used a little too heavily as the Red Dragons' secret police). If I can convince someone who is better at systems conversion than me to create one that I can enjoy, then this would be the perfect RPG campaign world for me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review