 October 21, 2012 - 6:48am | I have been thinking about how differently SF would be if there was no shadowy adversary like the Sathar, nor a major multilateral government force like the UPF. There would still be mysterious aliens, but not as the ominous, overarching threat as presented with the Sathar. I never liked the Sathar, as they always felt shoehorned in, and they go above and beyond the keep them mysterious, thus robbing them of any real dimension or playability. Naturally, they where the product of making the game kid-friendly, as its easier to have a clearly evil enemy, then a world cast in shades of gray. In fact, the Alpha Dawn modules plays much better without them! The bast enemy the Frontier has, are themselves. Beyond the cliché nature of the Federation, they only really serve the setting to be the good guys. They fight-off the Sathar, and they keep hostilities between worlds and megacorps in check. They are the shinning light of hope in a world surrounded by dangers and darkness. Without them and the Sathar, the worlds of the Frontier would be fairly chaotic, with those in power trying seize more power. Such a climate is perfect for adventuring! Removing them is not that hard. There are enough planetary governments, corporations, criminal groups, and independent groups to fill the vacuum of both. If you sill what your worms, take an unexplored system or two and mark them as S'sessu worlds (in Dragon Magazine #96, they suggest "two stellar systems (each with one small inhabited planet) lying ten light years from the Gruna Garu system, on a line running from Dixon?s Star to Gruna Garu and on to the S?sessu worlds", and they called one of the worlds Phri?'sk). As for Star Law, they can work like normal, but they lack the support of a major multilateral government council and large space fleet. Although, planetary defense forces could get a way with larger fleet sizes - as opposed to the dinky little Militia fleets. So what do you guys think of such an alternative it the setting? |
 October 31, 2012 - 5:25am | LOL - We all seem to be old school here! I am definitely on the same page. Started gaming with the little booklets, then the box sets, then the hardcovers. I still run a 1st edition D&D game. That's what I like about Star Frontiers - straightforward & simple, with enough wiggle room for the game master to use his own ideas. My group partially adopted some things from 2nd edition (we had a 1st/2nd hybrid campaign), but it was primarily 1st edition. When they started introducing the Skills & Powers (which we jokingly called 2.5 edition), I stopped buying most of their stuff. 3rd edition was the nail in the coffin. Don't even talk to me about 4th and 5th. I like Alternity, but only the basic hardcovers & the fastplay rules. Forget all that weird FX stuff, and the additional rules every time a new book came out. The basic rules are simple and consistent, and work well. Used it ever since it first came out. So, I'm guessing there's no one here under 30?  HAHA. Astute. I loved the basic and expert sets, and moved onto Advanced for the slaver series and the Giants/Drow series. For me, anything after 1st edition AD&D does not exist. Just like the last 2 matrix movies and the Easter Bunny. Alternity came out after I stopped gaming, but I like the races and mey use them in a larger SF galaxy. Maybe. |
October 31, 2012 - 9:09am | I started back in the early '90s with Moldvay's Basic D&D, the old Dungeon Master Guide, the Monster Manual and Deities & Demigods - no modules; all second-hand stuff. It was really confusing figuring out the rules, when the rulebook said one thing, and the hardcover books would say another - its like playing SF with only the basic AD and both KH books; you dont have a lot to work with, and you know there are a missing-out on a lot of useful information! On the other hand, trying to figure things out, and trying to decipher the complex, cryptic tome called the "Dungeon Master Guide," helped me overcome a major reading disability. My first sci-fi-themed RPG was a second-hand Star Frontiers AD box with 1st ed Gamma World (with map), GW1: Legion of Gold and SF0: Crash in Volturnus (with no rules to support it). I really liked the SF book and thought tho alien races looked really neat. Eventually, I found box of assorted RPG stuff, including a near complete set of Star Frontiers, with maps and chits. What a find!!! And yes, I'm over 30 (by a few years). |
 November 2, 2012 - 8:31pm | I believe there are a few younger ones who look around the site, but yes, most of us are over 30. I myself, like Malcadon said, by a few years. |
