I came across this game by chance and I was immediately drawn to it by the cover alone. When I started to read through it, it did a lot of things I liked.
As a disclaimer, a PDF copy was provided for purposes of review.
Presentation: The cover is vibrant and draws you in with visions of Flash Gordon, Ice Pirates, Star Wars, and so much more. I am also strangely reminded of Emperor Zurg. I am not sure if that was intentional or not but expanding the Buzz Lightyear universe is game worthy.The interior of the book is very well organized and has a clean layout that is mostly single column with a few pages consisting of double columns. There is black and white artwork that is seeded throughout that help conveys the intended tone of the game. The art style changes throughout the book but it makes sense and is not jarring.
Oh, and you can say what you want about Tarkin, but he did reduce Alderaan's unemployment to zero.
As a disclaimer, a PDF copy was provided for purposes of review.
Presentation: The cover is vibrant and draws you in with visions of Flash Gordon, Ice Pirates, Star Wars, and so much more. I am also strangely reminded of Emperor Zurg. I am not sure if that was intentional or not but expanding the Buzz Lightyear universe is game worthy.The interior of the book is very well organized and has a clean layout that is mostly single column with a few pages consisting of double columns. There is black and white artwork that is seeded throughout that help conveys the intended tone of the game. The art style changes throughout the book but it makes sense and is not jarring.
Character Creation: Making a player character is done in the usual d20 fashion;
Resolution: The game uses an OSR style of the d20 engine. For combat, it is d20 + mods (attack bonuses, attribute bonuses, etc) vs. Armor Class and yes, it uses ascending armor class which makes things run so much quicker and smoother. Armor class starts at 11 (unarmored) to up to Heavy Armor which is 17. Dexterity bonus modifies this. Shields ass +1 AC and then there is energy shields that absorbs x amount of laz shots.
For things outside of combat and saves, it is a d20 roll under your attribute score and you succeed on or under the relevant score. In the rules, if something is really easy you can drop down the die to a d12.
Skills start at level/rank 1 and classes give bonus skills to start out with in additional to all level one characters have 1 skill point they can put in a skill of their choice. All skills are tied to attribute bonuses which they benefit from. To make a skill check, roll a d12 and on or under your current skill level you succeed.
The game also uses the advantage/disadvantage mechanic which if a player makes a roll with advantage they roll 2d20s and choose the result they want and if they roll with disadvantage then they still roll 2d20s but the GM chooses they result. This mechanic replaces having a bunch of negative or positive bonuses to add.
Star Dogs also has a section on cybernetics which have prices and installation rules. During installation there can be minor or major malfunctions. Those tables are a fun read!
Finally, we have ship and vehicle combat. Vehicles have an AC rating, HP, Shield Points, Weapon Points, Passenger Points, Cargo Points, and attributes. Weapon points determine how many weapons in can have installed, Passenger Points determine how many people the ship or vehicle can carry, and Cargo Points represent how many galactic pallets the ship or vehicle can carry. Combat functions just like regular combat but damage is scaled up her down depending if it is ship vs. ship or ship vs. hover craft or ship vs. foot (or people).
- Roll 3d6 (adding them together) for the attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. It says that you can rearrange them if you want so they do not have to be in order (stating this in the rules makes me happy). The attributes use the -3 to +3 modifier spread.
- Choose a Race. There is a lot of cool options here the imply setting information. You have humans, Synthoids that are vat grown organic beings with an AI consciousness, Androids that are a AI consciousness in an cybernetic body, Robots that are an AI consciousness in a pure metallic body, High Gravver that are beings from high gravity worlds, and Low Gravvers that are beings from low gravity worlds. You also get to check if you are Khybe sensitive (10% chance on a d100. Khybe is like a mystical force that grants the beings who can use it various abilities).
- Choose a Class. There are also options here the help convey the setting. You have the Fighter, Rogue, Technician, Delegate, Pilot, Cultist (Oh ya - people that hang on to ancient and illegal religions), and the Khybe Monk (kinda like a Jedi).
- Record Skills. Your class determines your starting skill points and the type of skills you have access to. The skill list is nice and compact that covers more of the technical abilities. The skills are Drive Hovercraft, Pilot Spacecraft, Computing, Surgery, Electronics, Mechanics, Robotics, Interstellar Navigation, Religious Knowledge, Law Knowledge, Alien Lifeform Knowledge, Planetary Survival, Space Survival, Underworld Knowledge, and Diplomacy.
- Optional Boons and Banes. You can choose one Boon if you take one Bane.
- Starting Credits and equipment.
Resolution: The game uses an OSR style of the d20 engine. For combat, it is d20 + mods (attack bonuses, attribute bonuses, etc) vs. Armor Class and yes, it uses ascending armor class which makes things run so much quicker and smoother. Armor class starts at 11 (unarmored) to up to Heavy Armor which is 17. Dexterity bonus modifies this. Shields ass +1 AC and then there is energy shields that absorbs x amount of laz shots.
For things outside of combat and saves, it is a d20 roll under your attribute score and you succeed on or under the relevant score. In the rules, if something is really easy you can drop down the die to a d12.
Skills start at level/rank 1 and classes give bonus skills to start out with in additional to all level one characters have 1 skill point they can put in a skill of their choice. All skills are tied to attribute bonuses which they benefit from. To make a skill check, roll a d12 and on or under your current skill level you succeed.
The game also uses the advantage/disadvantage mechanic which if a player makes a roll with advantage they roll 2d20s and choose the result they want and if they roll with disadvantage then they still roll 2d20s but the GM chooses they result. This mechanic replaces having a bunch of negative or positive bonuses to add.
Star Dogs also has a section on cybernetics which have prices and installation rules. During installation there can be minor or major malfunctions. Those tables are a fun read!
Finally, we have ship and vehicle combat. Vehicles have an AC rating, HP, Shield Points, Weapon Points, Passenger Points, Cargo Points, and attributes. Weapon points determine how many weapons in can have installed, Passenger Points determine how many people the ship or vehicle can carry, and Cargo Points represent how many galactic pallets the ship or vehicle can carry. Combat functions just like regular combat but damage is scaled up her down depending if it is ship vs. ship or ship vs. hover craft or ship vs. foot (or people).
Crunch: As far as crunch goes, the level of complexity is your standard OSR far. Low numbers to add, d20 vs. target number, d20 roll under attribute, and x in 12 skill system instead of x in 6. The resolution mechanics all work together really well and ship combat is a breath of fresh air. In a conversation I was having with the author, he stated "I couldn't find a game that had a smooth and streamlined ship combat system, so I decided to make my own."
One of my favorite things about this game systematically speaking is how it handles different distances. Each scale (foot, hovercraft, and ship) have the Close/Nearby/Far Away but the definitions change depending on scale. For example, lets use Close. For on foot close is defined as standing next to, for in a hovercraft close is defined as about a building away, and for a ship close is defined as in visual range.This is really a breath of fresh air because ship combat and distance is where a lot of sci-fi games turn into calculus.
Star Dogs also provides a quick one page monster creation engine.
Final Thoughts: The Star Dogs players handbook clocks in at 25 pages which include the cover, full page art, and table of contents. Everything within these pages hints at a larger then life space opera borderline gonzo setting which is great. Though, what really got me was the premise;
In the far flung future,
in a galaxy that never really existed,
the Grand Empire of Order is locked in eternal
struggle against the Tiamatic Cult of Khybe.
In the midst of this never ending conflict between
law and chaos,
a group of Star Dogs
(interplanetary ne'er-do-wells)
band together to scam the universe out of
as many credits as possible...
Some other highlights are:
- Roll under system
- x in 12 skill system for very technical focused skills
- beautifully simple ship and vehicle combat
I think the flavor is great and the mechanics are fun and not overly complicated. I can see this easily competing with replacing any type of space opera game on the market today. The most interesting thing about the Star Dogs Player's Guide is that that author stated, "that is was written as a vehicle for the Star Dogs Referee Handbook". The Referee handbook clocks in at 62 pages that are bursting at the seems with system agnostic setting generators for just about everything you can think of. Yes, I will be reviewing that book at a later date.
With that being said, I do wish there was a list of all kinds of cybernetics - especially after so much thought and detail was put into the various minor and major malfunction tables. I also think that the HP levels are really low for PCs and Vehicles/Ships and can limit the more space faring heroics and epic space chases or battles.
With that being said, I do wish there was a list of all kinds of cybernetics - especially after so much thought and detail was put into the various minor and major malfunction tables. I also think that the HP levels are really low for PCs and Vehicles/Ships and can limit the more space faring heroics and epic space chases or battles.
Oh, and you can say what you want about Tarkin, but he did reduce Alderaan's unemployment to zero.
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