PART 1: INTRODUCTION
What the Star Frontiers® game is all about
Star Frontiers® Science Fiction Adventure Game ("Star Frontiers Game" for short) is a role-playing adventure game for persons 10 years and older. In the Star Frontiers rules, individuals play the role of characters in a fantasy world where space travel is real and heroes venture out on dangerous quests in search of fame and fortune. Characters gain experience by overcoming perils and achieving goals. As characters gain experience, they grow in power and ability. At least two persons are needed to play this game, though the game is most enjoyable when played by a group of four to eight people. This game, unlike others, does not use a playing board or actual playing pieces. All that is needed to play are these rules, the dice included in this set, pencil and paper, graph paper, and imagination. The game may be more exciting if miniature lead figures of the characters and monsters are used, but the game can be played without such aids.
How To Use This Book
This book contains all the basic rules necessary to play Star Frontiers Science Fiction Adventure Game. It has been organized into eight parts.
Part one, the INTRODUCTION, explains general background information and defines many of the terms used. These and other terms are collected and defined in the GLOSSARY (in the back of the book).
Part two, PLAYER CHARACTER INFORMATION, explains how to create a player character and is arranged in numbered, easy to follow steps.
Part three, SKILLS, lists military, technical, and bio-social skills along with a description and notes on the use of each skill.
Part four, THE ADVENTURE, is filled with general information useful to all the players.
Most of the action in Star Frontiers games take place during encounters, so Part five, THE ENCOUNTER, deals with these actions, including COMBAT.
Part six, MONSTERS, contains descriptions and explanations of over 100 monsters, arranged alphabetically.
Part seven, TREASURE, explains the different types of treasure and many magical items which the player characters may find during their adventures.
Part eight, GAME MASTER INFORMATION, gives a step by-step design of a sample dungeon level plus tips to help the referee.
This rule booklet deals mostly with adventure in a dungeon and explains the different player character classes (skills) from the 1st to the 6th level of experience. (These and other terms will be explained later in this booklet.) The Star Frontiers® EXPERT SET adds to these rules, providing further details for player character classes with an expansion into space ship skills, and gives rules for adventuring in the Frontier via space ships.
Each rule booklet is drilled with holes, so that if desired, the pages may be cut apart and rearranged in a ring binder. To cut the pages apart either scissors or a razor knife and a ruler may be used.
Whenever possible, the other rule booklets will be divided into the same eight parts to make them easy to combine into one larger set of rules. Every page of the Star Frontiers BASIC rules is numbered "B# ", and each page also lists the section it is from.
Read the whole book through (except for the sample dungeon). Star Frontiers rules all fit together, and rules that seem confusing at first will become more understandable when used
with the rest of the game. This is not like any other game you've ever played before: it is more
important that you understand the ideas in the rules than that you know every detail about the game. When you understand how they work, the rules will become more understandable.
While the material in this booklet is referred to as rules, that is not really correct. Anything in this booklet (and other Star Frontiers booklets) should be thought of as changeable — anything, that is, that the Game Master or referee thinks should be changed. This is not to say that everything in this booklet should be discarded! All of this material has been carefully thought out and play tested. However, if, after playing the rules as written for a while, you or your referee (the Game Master) think that something should be changed, first think about how the changes will affect the game, and then go ahead. The purpose of these "rules" is to provide guidelines that enable you to play and have fun, so don't feel absolutely bound to them.
Definitions of Standard Star Frontiers® Terms
READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. These terms will be used throughout the rest of this booklet; they are also in the GLOSSARY at the end of this booklet. When a group plays a Star Frontiers game, one person acts as a referee and is known as the Game Master (GM). Others play the roles of fantasy characters and are called the players. Each player's character is called a player character (PC). Other characters met in the game, who are controlled by the GM, are called non-player characters (NPCs). A group of characters (PC and NPC) who travel together is called a party.
It is the GM's job to prepare the setting for each adventure before the game begins. This setting is called an adventure scenario since most adventures take place in any possible environment --- such as a city, wilderness area, or even a space station. The area involved with the scenario is carefully mapped on paper (usually graph paper). A scenario may be designed by the GM, or may be a purchased scenario, such as the one included in this set (called an adventure module). Whether creating a new scenario or carefully studying a module, the GM must be willing to spend more time in preparation than the players. The GM's job takes the most time, but it is also the most creative and rewarding.
The players will create characters by following the instructions given in Part 2, PLAYER CHARACTER INFORMATION. Each player will choose a class (profession) for their characters. The classes are chosen by looking carefully at the abilities of each character. When the GM has prepared a scenario and the players have created their characters, the game is ready to begin.
Each game session is called an adventure. An adventure lasts for as long as the players and the GM agree to play. An adventure begins when the party enters the setting, and ends when the party has left the setting and divided up any spoils. An adventure may run for only an hour, or it might fill an entire weekend! The amount of playing time depends on the desires of the players and the GM. Several related adventures (one adventure leading to another, often with the same player characters) is called a campaign.
At the start of the game, the players enter the scenario and the GM describes what the characters can see. One player should draw a map from the GM's descriptions; that player is called the mapper. As the player characters move further into the dungeon, more and more of the dungeon is mapped. Eventually, the GM's map and the players' map will look more or less alike.
To avoid confusion, the players should select one player to speak for the entire group or party. That player is named the caller. When unusual situations occur, each player may want to say what his or her character is doing. The caller should make sure that he or she is accurately representing all the player characters' wishes. The caller is a mediator between the players and the GM, and should not judge what the player characters should do.
As details of the scenario are revealed, the player characters will meet "monsters" which they will have to avoid, talk to, or fight. A monster is any animal, person, or supernatural creature that is not a player character. A monster may be a ferocious cybernetic beast or a humble vrusk merchant. For game purposes, any creature not a player character is a monster. Character class monsters are often called nonplayer characters (or NPCs) to separate them from other monsters.
A meeting between player characters and monsters is called an encounter. During an adventure the player characters will also discover valuable items and try to avoid dangerous traps as well as encounter monsters. Sometimes, of course, the player characters will have to fight monsters. Such a fight is referred to as a melee.
In Star Frontiers rules, player characters try to gain experience, which is earned as experience points (or XP). Experience points are given out by the GM at the end of each adventure. Player characters continue to gain experience points for each adventure they participate in. Although
this rule book only explains the abilities of characters operating in a personal encounter basis, further supplements will explain advanced character skills such as space ship operation, bionics, & cybernetics, and business ventures.
Use of the Word "Level"
EXPERIENCE: The word "level" has several different meanings in the Star Frontiers® Adventure Game. A "level of experience" is a general term meaning an amount of experience points. When a character earns a given amount of experience points (XP), that character gains one level of experience. All player characters begin the game at the first level of experience, and will gain levels of experience through adventures.
MONSTERS: A "monster level" indicates how tough and ferocious a type of monster is. A monster's level is equal to the number of hit dice (a measure of how much damage a monster can take and still survive; see MONSTERS, page B29) it has. Some monsters have special powers and the DM may consider them one "monster level" (or hit die) higher than the number of their hit dice.
SKILLS: The term "skill level" indicates the difficulty of a skill. For example, "beam weapons” as a first level skill allows a character to utilize any energy weapon, but the second level skill allows the player to do so with a greater degree of accuracy.
SCENARIOS: "Scenario Level" is used to refer to the difficulty of one area of a setting. For example, the 3rd level of a setting would mostly contain monsters with 3 hit dice or NPCs with 3 experience levels, but the 1st level would mostly contain easier (1 hit die) monsters or first level NPC skills.
These uses of the word "level" will become quite familiar to the players once they have played a few games.
How To Use the Dice
In Star Frontiers rules, many different kinds of dice are used to give a variety of results. Though these dice appear strange at first, they will quickly become a familiar part of the game. Dice included in this set are a 4-sided die, a 6-sided die, an 8-sided die, a 10-sided die, a 12-sided die, and a 20-sided die. For easy reading, all of the dice are marked with numbers instead of pips (dots).
When referring to dice, an abbreviation is often used. The first number in the abbreviation is the number of dice to be rolled, followed by the letter "d" (short for die or dice), and then a number for the type of dice used. For example, 5d8 means an 8-sided die thrown 5 times, and would generate a total from 5 to 40.
The d4 looks like a pyramid. The best way to "throw" or roll a 4- sided die is to spin it and toss it straight up. It will land on one face (side) with three faces showing. The bottom number on each of the three faces is the same; this number is the result of the throw.
The other dice are rolled normally and the top face gives the result. The 0 on the d10 is read as "10". The d10 can also be used to generate a percentage (a number from 1 to 100). To do so, roll the d10 twice: the first roll gives the "tens" number, and the second roll gives the "ones" number. For example, a roll of 5 followed by a roll of 3 would be read as 53. A roll of 0 followed by another roll of 0 equals 100. Generating a number from 1 to 100 will be referred to as rolling percentage dice (or d%).
How To "Win":
"Winning" and "losing", things important to most games, do not apply to Star Frontiers games! The GM and the players do not play against each other, even though the GM often plays the role of various antagonists which threaten the player characters. The GM must not take sides. He or she is a guide and a referee, the person who keeps the action flowing and creates an exciting adventure. Player characters have fun by overcoming fantastic obstacles and acquiring wealth, but this does not end the game. Nor is the game "lost" when an unlucky player's character dies, since the player may simply "roll up" a new character and continue playing. A good Star Frontiers campaign is similar to the creation of a fantasy novel, written by the GM and the players.