I have to admit I was more of a Traveller guy, but I spent a few happy weekends playing Star Frontier with friends in 1983 or so. Ah, nostalgia! Great video, thanks!
@@welovettrpgs Wow--what a blast from the past. Got a question: did you ever get into Top Secret. That was one of my favorite off D&D TSR games from the early 80s. They didn't publish enough modules for it, but as I remember--it was a blast. After all, what 12 year old kid didn't want to imagine himself being James Bond or in the Mission Impossible or Man from U.N.C.L.E. team?
@@andrewlustfield6079 Oh yeah, we played a lot of Top Secret! Even gave Boot Hill a good try. Nothing lived up to D&D, but it was stretching ourselves a bit.
I’m relatively young (24) and just getting into game genres other than Fantasy. Already dipped into Cyberpunk & Mothership but looking for my preferred game of Sci Fi Space Opera What did you like more about Traveller compared to Star Frontiers? Thanks :)
Were you a fan of that cartoon as well? Interestingly, when they rereleased Star Frontiers for D20 Future they renamed it "Star Law" so it seems this connection was fairly universal.
"Galaxy Rangers" was one of the few 80s animations I never got into (and, like WLTTRPGs, I was probably just a bit too old to be watching any of them anyway 😅) I keep hearing good stuff about it, though, so maybe one day I'll sit down and binge it.
Bugs in the System is a SF Adventure that most GMs will want to look over if they want to wedge a short port of call to Creepy Town without dipping into fantasy. True Sci/Fi horror here. Not Psychological Horror, not Cosmic Horror, Not Ghost Horror, Not Monster Horror, But Science Fiction horror. You can throw it in and then return to space life as normal. I've prepped it for Open D6 Space but will run it soon in GURPS. StarFinder should be no problem to convert.
I might be the only one who experienced this, but the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, gave me the feels of a kid playing Star Frontiers in the 80s.
I played Star Frontiers back in the early 90s with some friends. It was a fun game and different than what most of us were used to playing. It was the first edition game. We only played it once unfortunately as we were at Boy Scout camp. We would play into the early morning and played a few different game systems (d6 Star Wars, 2e, Rifts, Robotech and Cyberpunk 2020). We were able to pull in some fellow troop members who we never thought would ever get into gaming, but everyone had a blast. Thanks for reviewing a non-D&D game!
My Dralasite Aberlin is still out there in the frontier, just waiting for another chance to play. His combat was about 30%, but he made up for it with poor rolls in most other areas too.
I tried to introduce a couple of grognards to Star Frontiers a few years back. They had zero interest in computers or robotics. They couldn't get their heads around the retro future tech setting. They made constant jokes about how their smartphones were more advanced. After a few sessions we switched to a different game. In my opinion they never really gave it a chance.
This is definitely more science fantasy (like Gamma World) which frankly I prefer. I mean it's a game. I also think Firefly (Serenity) is good way to sell this game. Not to be taken too seriously.
@@welovettrpgs They are 2 of my oldest friends and they only want to ply fantasy, now. And they seem to have no interest in learning any new systems or settings.
@@dantherpghero2885 I'm working on a video to address that specific issue. Youre not alone. We need to change that perception among many players in the hobby. I have some suggestions to help.
I don't understand the hesitancy. As a kid in the 80s we played anything and everything, with a lot of Star Frontiers. I think we played it the most. A few of us still play together forty years later and we mix it up a lot: Savage Worlds, D&D, Harnmaster, City of Mist and now Scum and Villainy.
@@EcthelionOTF I like Mongoose Traveller 2nd Ed. Depending on your favorite Science Fiction novels, TV series, or movies, you can still recreate that feeling. While I like the setting of the Third Imperium, there are other settings possible.
Loved Star Frontiers back in the day, and as an avid D&D player as well, I maximised the bang-for-buck of my purchases, regularly mixing-and-matching parts of the modules from both systems. Had great fun running an SF player group through the Barrier Peaks, with their characters being pursued not only by the flora and fauna of the setting, but also by a group of "primitive sword and axe-wielders" who were careening about the place, causing chaos whenever they were encountered. It didn't take the players too long to realise they were up against their own D&D counterparts, which made the encounters extra entertaining. Thanks for a wonderfully informative video, which has brought back some great memories.
I ran Star Frontiers and played a borderline insane Yazirian pilot in a mini campaign a friend ran. My understanding is that later editions of Star Frontiers had some rather... questionable... material, but, I never got those so I wasn't involved with that. When I ran Star Frontiers, I tried to make them like Star Wars, where I could... but the mini campaign I mentioned was NOTHING like Star Wars. That was a great element of the game. I now own all the StarFinder stuff but haven't gotten to run it, yet. Been focused on learning FFG's SWRPG.
No, not later editions. Just that most recent attempt at co-opting the name. It wasnt official and it's a big legal mess. I'll do a video on it later perhaps.
@@welovettrpgs yes, what I meant. I was at a bar one night... can't remember where, now - not relevant... and we were discussing RPGs with this guy who had seen my "Because I'm the DM" shirt... and when this guy mentioned Star Frontiers, I said "Yeah, I remember that game... that was fun" Unaware of the latest edition's BLATANTLY disgusting content (I won't give it any press, either... when I saw what it was about, I was beyond mortified that ANYONE thought it even reasonably appropriate...) - I got, well, quite a look from the guy. When we worked out that the game I played was NOT the offender... he understood my confusion... Then, I was psyched to see they brought the races BACK for Spelljammer, only to have some racist idiots who see racism EVERYWHERE decide that it was inappropriate. Of course, I have that first Spelljammer box that has the original material... and they're not coming to my house to tell me I can't run it... *Pinkertons is probably taking notice, right now...
@@CountAdolfo I have many Spellljammer videos in the future! And I will address the racism stuff the same way I addressed the Safety tools issue. I'm still hearing from different perspectives before I put it all together.
@@welovettrpgs Excellent news, because I have always felt that Spelljammer is RIDICULOUS in all the best ways for anything to be ridiculous and it doesn't get enough love.
Star Frontiers was actually the first TTRPG I ever bought. I found it at a now mostly defunct department store called "Roses" in the boardgames section. Sometime around 1981/82. I only found about D&D because in trying to get my friends to play SF, they ended up getting me to play D&D instead. The Star Frontiers species are now part of D&D Spelljammer but with name changes. Star Frontiers -> Spelljammer Yazarians -> Hadozee Vrusk -> Thri-Kreen Dralasite -> Plasmoid Alas, it does not appear that Spelljammer has an equivalent of the Sathar.
Yup. And I'm working on a lengthy Spelljammer AD&D video but I'm trying to figure out how to respectfully address some issues with the racism allegations and just how much I despise that 5E box set let down with the Spelljammer name on it.
Oh man, Star Frontiers was my high school gaming group's game. I still own everything you showed and have so many fond memories of the game. I mean, what we played had only the vaguest of similarities to the core game world. It was the kitchen sinkiest of kitchen sink games (Star Cruiser Yamato assaulting Galifrey while seeding planets with Alien eggs kinda thing), but we had a total blast. Thanks for bringing back great memories.
I love star frontiers!!! I think I was the only 10 year old in my neighbourhood who had the alpha dawn set and wanted to share it with people. But alas, no one wanted to play anything other than d&d. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
back in the day, our group used star frontiers as the universe / rules system to play space mercs serving in the slammers. hammer slammers by david drake was big back then. it was easy insert into star frontiers universe. good memories!
Shout out for Galaxy Rangers! Im currently running a campaign based on the show using Savage Worlds. Much love for Star Frontiers. It was my first sci-fi rpg and I still have my original box set.
I'm with you on Star Frontiers--it's simple, easy to run, and not tied to a single setting like Star Wars. And you're also right that Starfinder is the next generation of Star Frontiers.
Star Frontiers isn't over burdened with dozens of active deities, demons, devils, and planar beings like Star Finder. HUGE difference in tone, for the better!
I'm sure you understand talking about surface level. Also, tone is subjective. You can make the tone whatever you want. But superficially they have the same color (ie tone).
All the spiritual and paranormal activity of Star Finder definitely affects the setting and indeed the game play on an intrinsic level. I love Star Frontiers for being more focused on Traveller-esque Sci-Fi. It is just fun and simple. One crew taking on mysteries without all the magic and spiritual baggage.
Love seeing this. Star Frontiers was the second rpg i ever purchased (after DnD) in about 85 it so. Many good nostalgic memories related to it, and i think the ruleset hold up pretty well historically.
My introduction to ttrpg's was Star Frontiers back in 1984, and I still have fond memories of that game. I still have have my original rule set from then as well, but unfortunately haven't played in decades. I too would prefer it over Starfinder
I played this way back in the early 80's and Traveller in the late 80's. I still have SF, but my Traveller was stolen when I let a friend use it to run a campaign.
Some years back, I ran a short Star Frontiers campaign with a group that had never heard of it, let alone played it. For character creation, I started with this question: "Assuming reincarnation is real, in your next life would you want to be: A. A Human B. A bug C. An amoeba D. A flying monkey. " This determined the characters species: A Human B Vrusk C Dralasite D Yazirian Worked out perfectly, i had at least one of each!
+1 for connecting the Galaxy Rangers with Star Frontiers! My recollection is discovering Zebulon's Guide while recuperating in the hospital from appendicitis and being blown away by how much that one expansion just widened the entire Star Frontiers system, and bringing in an Alien Legion (the comics) feel to the setting. Anyway, great video!
I made one modification to make the game play better, I divided Stamina by 10 creating health points. Now a 1 SEU laser shot can potentially kill a person if they roll well. This gets rid of the need to trade shots for 20 rounds to kill anyone.
My friends and I ran Star Frontiers fairly often back in the day. It was an easy system to adapt whatever sci fi movie of the week we had seen into adventures. And if there was no movie inspiration, there was Star Trek! Or we could just battle some Sathar agents in Port Loren, space pirates on a starship (we put the Volturnus cover ship map to good use), or explore a new planet... Lots of good times.
I've always wanted to give this game a try since the back in the early 80s when I first saw it. Unfortunately a lack of funds didn't allow me to purchase it. Thank you for this wonderful video. And please do another one, I am beyond curious to learn more.
Don’t forget Lawrence Schick, he coauthored the TSR science fiction RPG Star Frontiers with David "Zeb" Cook. He also had a whole different take on the Sathar that was later published as a new alien race for Star Frontiers.
@@welovettrpgs - The same company put out a more streamlined version of Star Fleet Battles years ago called "Federation Commander". Fewer phases, cut out some of the less interesting bits like the ECM/ECCM bidding war, but kept much of it. Also provides two different scales for faster playing or larger fleet battles. Recommend if you want SFB but a bit faster. I think MarcoOmnigamer put up a couple video reviews on it.
I still have my copy I bought in the 80s when it came out. A channel that does the original game justice would be nice.. and a space battle which shows how one is actually supposed to be played.. Assault scouts ride fast and attack from the back.. Zebulon's guide was an awesome addition - I don't care what people say about it. I would of loved to see the other additions.. The damage tables make so much more sense than rolling the D10 for damage. Example: you have a laser that does 10d10.. but on average.. you get the statistical average of 5.. so 50 points.. even if you just barely hit.. or rolled a great hit.. In Zebulon's guide, you did more damage with a more accurate hit.. makes sense to me. and I loved the fact that you only could get 100 hit points.. so.. unlike D%D, you never really could become a GOD.. You could die.. and more so in space combat.. I hope you play some.. looking forward to other vids.
Had the purple box as a kid. Great stuff. FrontierSpace and it's two handbooks is the modern go-to successor inspired by SF. It has more streamlined modern d100 rules but also provides a lot more content and tools for the GM to work with. Especially in the Referee's Manual which has a lot of info for creating your own systems, worlds, species, vehicles, robots, etc.
Never played Star Frontiers, but I did get to play West End Games' Star Wars and Marvel Superheroes that you mentioned - both were a lot of fun. I'll never forget how my buddy fumbled an attack roll to hit Ego the Living Planet...while standing on Ego the Living Planet. And no, it was not in it's Kurt Russell form. He failed to reach down and touch the planet he was standing on. LOL
I've had and loved Star Frontiers since the pink box "Alpha Dawn" edition. A great fellow in my group ran it old school RAW for us a couple years ago and we had a blast. A couple of things if folks want to run it: I'd be VERY generous with XP, let them level up faster because the old system is kinda slow in that regard. And of course, one could always just port the races and setting over and run it in a different system. Imagine a Dralasite or Yazirian in Starfleet? Loved the video and watch all your stuff.
Great video! Yes, there has never been that much coverage of Star Frontiers on UA-cam, and coverage on Star Frontiers has been sporadic. Thanks for this excellent video on the game. Star Frontiers was my 3rd Sci-Fi game behind Traveller and Gamma World. Yes, your comparison to Starfinder is a good one. Yes, one easy way to compare them is I'd call Star Frontiers: Starfinder-light.
@@welovettrpgs One of my favorite TV shows of the late 70s and early 80s was "Captain Cosmic and Robot 2T2". I aways watched it when I got home from school in the afternoon -- watched all kind of old sci-fi stuff like Star Blazers, Ultraman, The Space Giants, and more. Good times!! Never watched Galaxy Rangers -- as by then (1986) I had already graduated from HS and joined the Army.
Star Frontiers was my go to game when it first came out. Some of my fondest gaming memories. I tried to go back to it a few years back. The mechanics have not aged well. I’m in the process of converting the settings to a more updated system.
I actually consider the rules of Star Frontiers have fared better than most of its contemporaries. A core d100 roll under system rather than the hodgepodge of D&D or the tables used in Marvel or Gamma World. A skill system with loose bundling. Its all pretty good.
I remember Star Frontiers from its references/inclusion in d20 Future (and all of the aliens from it that percolated out into our assorted scifi RPG campaigns). Gamma World may be my most favorite RPG setting/game so I need to find your videos on that 😮
I owned Star Frontiers as a kid, but I couldn't get my friends to play it. They thought D&D was nerdy enough. At the time a sci-fi game was a bit much. Eventually, I got them to try other games, starting with Marvel Superheroes RPG. Ironically, they liked the setting of Shadowrun. We didn't like the Shadowrun system. So, I took the Shadowrun setting and rebuilt the Top Secret SI system for sci-fi. Which ends up surprisingly similar to that Star Frontiers game they refused to play years earlier 🤔
I'm the same really. I loved the shadowrun setting (living in Seattle) but wasnt at that time big on the mechanics. I'm working on a Marvel RPG video right now (and Star Wars D6) oh and a James Bond RPG video. I think we share the same brain!! :)
I moved from Traveller to Star Frontiers and introduced it to my friends. We had many hours of fun with this, and Knight Hawks, and the published adventures. Have had the available SF stuff on my DriveThruRPG Wishlist for a while now… I get a similar feel from newer games, such as Five Parsecs from Home, which is a current favourite. Cheers,
This was one of those sets that I bought but never got to the table. I even had the modules for "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010: The Year We Make Contact" (pretty weird, btw).
Ya know, all ya gotta do is just ask Aten and he will provide! 😊 We played Star Frontiers way back in the day. We had a great DM (R.I.P. Mack😢) & this was a great game! Now, we have nearly 50 yrs of Sci Fi movies & books but back then there wasn't a whole lot. Star Trek, Star Wars, et. Al. Was leading the way for our imaginations. Thank you Aten for fulfilling my request!
One of my favorite TSR games, though it was not one I got to the table all that often. I still have the Star Frontiers box cover art as my background on my PC :)
It is such a fun game, i enjoyed it! I always informed the players about the loss of stuff at the beginning of of SF0! I never got Zebulons Guide or Knight Hawks, till they were legal free remastered downloads!
Yes, please, more videos will be nice about "Star Frontiers"! During the 1980s, "Star Frontiers" and "Top Secret" showed me how to enjoy games outside D&D, and the game mechanics were more effective and sensible than trying to work with the innumerable homebrews of D&D at the time.
I've never played Star Frontiers, but as a Spelljammer fan, I owe the game a lot. Four of the Star Frontiers creatures were renamed given a fantasy reboot and imported into Spelljammer. I've had a brief look at the Star Frontiers universe and am wondering if I could Spelljammerise it and swap out the Star Frontiers science fiction elements to create more background for those imported Star Frontiers races.
@@welovettrpgs Sounds great, but I hope you do more videos on Star Frontiers first. There is a bespoke Star Frontiers forum on the D&D website I look after and I need to know more about these different versions of Star Frontiers, so I can improve my understanding of Star Frontiers. (BTW: I gave your video some signal boost over there.) And, if there is d20 Modern content for Star Frontiers, that might be easier for me to adapt to Spelljammer.
@@DavidShepheard I have a huge list of video topics! The order in which I complete any given topic has a lot to do with what I'm feeling passionate about at the time. I really want to get my D6 Star Wars video and my James Bond RPG videos done but they too are on hold until I get to some others on my list. I have an Iggwilv Lore video I have been working on since last Spring (Theres a playlist) but I promise I'll get more Star frontiers videos out as soon as I can1
Star frontiers was one of my first ventures into the ttrpg space. I enjoyed it very much. I believe the only other one in this style that I played back then was interstellar elite combat, which was several years later.
Star Frontiers is one of my favorite RPGs. Back when having only 4 races to pick from (as I call them the Core Four) was more then enough. At least before Zebs came along. Also had some fantastic artwork. Having a villain race was great. Can’t go wrong with evil mind controlling worms with tentacles! Shame that TSR let the ball drop too soon on this product. I play back in the day and online. Some still run it on the Discord channel (if anyone wants to give the system a try). Really like how you explain how to make characters in detail. Nicely done. Gotta tell you I LOVE the Galaxy Ranger reference!! Great video! Thanks, and my Vrusk character K’lik thanks you for making this.
More space ttrgps should model themselves after Galaxy Rangers and BraveStarr and others shows like that. I definitely want to look up this game now!!!
There must’ve been different printers or different markets or something. My Star Frontiers is 1982, first printing, purchased in Wisconsin, and it’s 3-hole punched and I didn’t punch it. I also know that I didn’t have access at the time to a 3-hole punch that could cleanly handle the expanded game rules book (2 covers plus too many pages). And a quick search of Dragonsfoot finds folks comparing whether theirs came pre-punched or not, which lends further support to both options having been sold. My Basic and Expert D&D books came 3-hole punched too.
I heard that from another too. I personally never saw that but someone else was saying that TSR may have eventually sold 3 hole punch versions? I don't know anything about it and couldnt find any references.
I love Star Frontiers. It was the first RPG I bought and I consider it as the sci fi equivalent to B/X D&D in terms of presentation and playability. It holds up well today, better than most TSR games. I also prefer it to Traveller, though I never understood why people saw them as substitutes. They both present very different games.
The substitute thing likely stems from TSR creating SF to get people to switch from Traveler. But yes totally different. Though I've never actually seen "Alien Worlds" my assumption is it was closer to Traveler in complexity.
@@welovettrpgs When SF came out there was only really a couple of sci fi RPGs out there, so comparisons were to be expected. I just think in hindsight it’s unnecessarily limited. Sci fi is a big genre.
Thanks for covering Star Frontiers! It was my favorite game growing up. You captured the game perfectly! I look forward to your next video on Knight Hawks.
I love Star Frontiers and Knight Hawks. Don't play them often anymore but every few years I'll pull one or the other out and run it. New to your channel and loved this video. Time to dive into your backlog!
I've wanted to try this out ever since the System Mastery podcast covered it. Most of the old or obscure RPGs they cover they just rip apart, but they had great things to say about this one, suggesting that it was ahead of its time yet still has aged surprisingly well. "Simpler than Starfinder but similar vibe" is an appealing pitch.
I preferred the GDW version of Traveller, but that’s mostly because I already knew how the combat worked from playing Twilight 2000 and I never even knew Star Frontiers existed. I got into gaming living in Europe when it was released, so I never saw it. Even the AD&D books we had there were brought over from the states, not bought in the Navy Exchange. I had been playing for years before I even had a copy of the PHB or a set of dice.
Another great video. While I thought Star Frontiers was a cool game, I ultimately just continued to embrace and enjoy Space Opera by Fantasy Games Unlimited. Space Opera took may away from Traveller and Star Frontiers in the bigger picture. But you are right, Star Frontiers deserves far more credit as a solid SciFi RPG than it ever received. This video was very well done and great run through of the history was spot on and a wonderful “bringer back of great memories”. THANK YOU!!! ❤
I remember playing SF in junior high. My favorite character was my Yazarian named Filthy Harry. At one point, he acquired a ship that I re-named the Sudden Impact. If you couldn't tell the fourth Dirty Harry movie had been released at that time. I also remember playing the Second Sathar War scenario from the Knight Hawks box set with a friend one night. Fun times!
I've never played it (I don't even remember seeing it around back then, maybe it never got published in my home country), but it's a fascinating game for sure. I love the different races and am very intrigued by the skill system. I'm going to give it a deeper look as soon as I can. Thanks for your insights!
This looks really fun, the simplicity is quite appealing. A year or so ago I borrowed my friend's DragonAge rpg book to try and learn the game...... It was so complex that it was difficult to digest the material, after I returned the book we never even played a single game of it.... So yeah, I love simpler games. lol
Oh, and for melee weapon attacks, you could use 1/2 your DEX *or* 1/2 your STR score, and then 10% per level of Melee Weapon skill. And I don't see the resemblance between Star Frontiers and Gamma World rules. I got the 2nd and 3rd editions of Gamma World. Gamma World was a d20 game, borrowing from D&D-style d20 rules, but the rules seemed a bit "off" in Gamma World. You were left with questions about how to apply modifiers, and maybe you had problems adjudicating the weapons of different tech levels. Star Frontiers is a percentile game, but not like Chaosium's Basic RolePlaying games.
Still my favourite RPG! The first box, Alpha Dawn's rules, allowed for quick melee, ranged, vehicle AND aerial combat all at once. But you may have to go to school on the rules a little bit, and routinely add two-digit numbers together. Are modern fans up to that? After TSR stopped making Star Frontiers supplements, the fans kept it going and even had an informal agreement to be allowed to publish things as long as no profit was made. Fan magazines like Star Frontiersman and Frontier Explorer came out, and a "fan" edition of all the rules and many modules! But now Wizards of the Coast is allowing reprints of the games (no more fan pubs!), but the size of the maps often suffers in the all-in-one printings. I think UA-cam is trying to shadowban or throttle my Comments. Tell me if you notice anything strange about seeing or not seeing this.
Looks both interesting and fun... I vaguely remember playing Traveller (not sure which version) some time in my teens, so I might be tempted to have a closer look at Star Frontiers. And, as for the reboot version - "oh yeah, *that*, 'nuff said goes for another dose of mind bleach "
Being a European who believes that feet and pounds are very fantasy, I chuckled a bit about metric system being Sci-fi. TTRPG players are the same everywhere) I chose ICRPG Warp Shell (that is super simple and is relatively easy for me to figure out as a mainly D&D player, but it's main benefit is being in my possession) for the game I ran (and will probably return to), but this sounds interesting. If I find it (without getting into any weird situations? I feel like it's something I need to take into account), I will take a look, at least as a source of inspiration
I love your game reviews as I’m looking for other game systems to play. I remember you recommending Traveller to me on another video I wait in anticipation for your reviews of Star Wars D6 and the Marvel game (forgot its actual name). I will be buying and playing those games
Traveller is very popular still and I'll do a review of it however I felt it was too gritty and tend to prefer high fantasy gaming. Thank you very much!
I have to admit I was more of a Traveller guy, but I spent a few happy weekends playing Star Frontier with friends in 1983 or so. Ah, nostalgia! Great video, thanks!
Very cool! Thank You!
@@welovettrpgs Wow--what a blast from the past. Got a question: did you ever get into Top Secret. That was one of my favorite off D&D TSR games from the early 80s. They didn't publish enough modules for it, but as I remember--it was a blast. After all, what 12 year old kid didn't want to imagine himself being James Bond or in the Mission Impossible or Man from U.N.C.L.E. team?
Traveler was my first rpg. I was five years old 😂 the book had no pictures! 😂 I quickly moved to dnd and start frontier
@@andrewlustfield6079 Oh yeah, we played a lot of Top Secret! Even gave Boot Hill a good try. Nothing lived up to D&D, but it was stretching ourselves a bit.
I’m relatively young (24) and just getting into game genres other than Fantasy. Already dipped into Cyberpunk & Mothership but looking for my preferred game of Sci Fi Space Opera
What did you like more about Traveller compared to Star Frontiers? Thanks :)
You sold me on Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers for Star Frontiers.
Were you a fan of that cartoon as well? Interestingly, when they rereleased Star Frontiers for D20 Future they renamed it "Star Law" so it seems this connection was fairly universal.
Galaxy Rangers was the jam
"Galaxy Rangers" was one of the few 80s animations I never got into (and, like WLTTRPGs, I was probably just a bit too old to be watching any of them anyway 😅)
I keep hearing good stuff about it, though, so maybe one day I'll sit down and binge it.
I played this with "Professor Dungeon Master" in 84/85/86 and LOVED it!
That's awesome! Youre very lucky!
It was my first Science Fiction RPG, I didn't even know about Traveler until decades later.
Whatever you decide to cover I'm here for it. Thanks for doing this one I still love Gamma World and Star Frontiers.
Glad you enjoy it! Thank you for being here!
Bugs in the System is a SF Adventure that most GMs will want to look over if they want to wedge a short port of call to Creepy Town without dipping into fantasy. True Sci/Fi horror here. Not Psychological Horror, not Cosmic Horror, Not Ghost Horror, Not Monster Horror, But Science Fiction horror. You can throw it in and then return to space life as normal. I've prepped it for Open D6 Space but will run it soon in GURPS. StarFinder should be no problem to convert.
Awesome tip! Thank You! I'm pretty sure I own it but I've never ran it. I'll dig in and do a review of it in the future. Thanks!
@@welovettrpgs Awesome!
I might be the only one who experienced this, but the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, gave me the feels of a kid playing Star Frontiers in the 80s.
I hadnt considered that but I can see it now!
I played Star Frontiers back in the early 90s with some friends. It was a fun game and different than what most of us were used to playing. It was the first edition game. We only played it once unfortunately as we were at Boy Scout camp. We would play into the early morning and played a few different game systems (d6 Star Wars, 2e, Rifts, Robotech and Cyberpunk 2020). We were able to pull in some fellow troop members who we never thought would ever get into gaming, but everyone had a blast. Thanks for reviewing a non-D&D game!
For what it’s worth, your Gamma World videos are how I found your channel and I love the deep dives into these older games. I hope you continue them!
Thank You! Actually, that's worth a lot! Very soon you can expect the James Bond RPG and Marvel Super Heroes!
Thank you again Aten. I enjoy these love letters so very much.
You're fantastic .. no wait .. You're FUNTASTIC! Thank You!
Dralasite was my favorite, too. My brother liked the Vrusk.
Any chance you remember "The New Shmoo" which ran from 1979 to 1980? An entire cartoon dedicated to one.
@@welovettrpgs Kind of a Scooby-Doo-like show, wasn't it? I don't think it made it into my regular toon-watching, but I remember some episodes.
My Dralasite Aberlin is still out there in the frontier, just waiting for another chance to play. His combat was about 30%, but he made up for it with poor rolls in most other areas too.
@@sharpmountaingames9303 Long live Aberlin!!
I tried to introduce a couple of grognards to Star Frontiers a few years back. They had zero interest in computers or robotics. They couldn't get their heads around the retro future tech setting. They made constant jokes about how their smartphones were more advanced. After a few sessions we switched to a different game. In my opinion they never really gave it a chance.
This is definitely more science fantasy (like Gamma World) which frankly I prefer. I mean it's a game. I also think Firefly (Serenity) is good way to sell this game. Not to be taken too seriously.
@@welovettrpgs They are 2 of my oldest friends and they only want to ply fantasy, now. And they seem to have no interest in learning any new systems or settings.
@@dantherpghero2885 I'm working on a video to address that specific issue. Youre not alone. We need to change that perception among many players in the hobby. I have some suggestions to help.
At least you tried
I don't understand the hesitancy. As a kid in the 80s we played anything and everything, with a lot of Star Frontiers. I think we played it the most. A few of us still play together forty years later and we mix it up a lot: Savage Worlds, D&D, Harnmaster, City of Mist and now Scum and Villainy.
I played Star Frontiers back then, but I liked Traveller more at the time. I still have my Gamma World, 2nd Ed, too.
Got a suggestion for your top Space Opera for a 20 yr old? Looking to get into Sci-fi
@@EcthelionOTF I like Mongoose Traveller 2nd Ed. Depending on your favorite Science Fiction novels, TV series, or movies, you can still recreate that feeling. While I like the setting of the Third Imperium, there are other settings possible.
I enjoy all of We Love TTRPGs videos 🎉
Thank You!
Loved Star Frontiers back in the day, and as an avid D&D player as well, I maximised the bang-for-buck of my purchases, regularly mixing-and-matching parts of the modules from both systems. Had great fun running an SF player group through the Barrier Peaks, with their characters being pursued not only by the flora and fauna of the setting, but also by a group of "primitive sword and axe-wielders" who were careening about the place, causing chaos whenever they were encountered. It didn't take the players too long to realise they were up against their own D&D counterparts, which made the encounters extra entertaining. Thanks for a wonderfully informative video, which has brought back some great memories.
My pleasure! Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories!
I ran Star Frontiers and played a borderline insane Yazirian pilot in a mini campaign a friend ran.
My understanding is that later editions of Star Frontiers had some rather... questionable... material, but, I never got those so I wasn't involved with that.
When I ran Star Frontiers, I tried to make them like Star Wars, where I could... but the mini campaign I mentioned was NOTHING like Star Wars. That was a great element of the game.
I now own all the StarFinder stuff but haven't gotten to run it, yet. Been focused on learning FFG's SWRPG.
No, not later editions. Just that most recent attempt at co-opting the name. It wasnt official and it's a big legal mess. I'll do a video on it later perhaps.
@@welovettrpgs yes, what I meant.
I was at a bar one night... can't remember where, now - not relevant... and we were discussing RPGs with this guy who had seen my "Because I'm the DM" shirt... and when this guy mentioned Star Frontiers, I said "Yeah, I remember that game... that was fun"
Unaware of the latest edition's BLATANTLY disgusting content (I won't give it any press, either... when I saw what it was about, I was beyond mortified that ANYONE thought it even reasonably appropriate...) - I got, well, quite a look from the guy. When we worked out that the game I played was NOT the offender... he understood my confusion...
Then, I was psyched to see they brought the races BACK for Spelljammer, only to have some racist idiots who see racism EVERYWHERE decide that it was inappropriate. Of course, I have that first Spelljammer box that has the original material... and they're not coming to my house to tell me I can't run it...
*Pinkertons is probably taking notice, right now...
@@CountAdolfo I have many Spellljammer videos in the future! And I will address the racism stuff the same way I addressed the Safety tools issue. I'm still hearing from different perspectives before I put it all together.
@@welovettrpgs Excellent news, because I have always felt that Spelljammer is RIDICULOUS in all the best ways for anything to be ridiculous and it doesn't get enough love.
For it's time. It met everything sci-fi nerds needed to play D&D in space.
Star Frontiers was actually the first TTRPG I ever bought. I found it at a now mostly defunct department store called "Roses" in the boardgames section. Sometime around 1981/82. I only found about D&D because in trying to get my friends to play SF, they ended up getting me to play D&D instead.
The Star Frontiers species are now part of D&D Spelljammer but with name changes.
Star Frontiers -> Spelljammer
Yazarians -> Hadozee
Vrusk -> Thri-Kreen
Dralasite -> Plasmoid
Alas, it does not appear that Spelljammer has an equivalent of the Sathar.
Yup. And I'm working on a lengthy Spelljammer AD&D video but I'm trying to figure out how to respectfully address some issues with the racism allegations and just how much I despise that 5E box set let down with the Spelljammer name on it.
Oh man, Star Frontiers was my high school gaming group's game. I still own everything you showed and have so many fond memories of the game. I mean, what we played had only the vaguest of similarities to the core game world. It was the kitchen sinkiest of kitchen sink games (Star Cruiser Yamato assaulting Galifrey while seeding planets with Alien eggs kinda thing), but we had a total blast.
Thanks for bringing back great memories.
Thank you for sharing your great memories!
I love star frontiers!!! I think I was the only 10 year old in my neighbourhood who had the alpha dawn set and wanted to share it with people. But alas, no one wanted to play anything other than d&d. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
My pleasure!
back in the day, our group used star frontiers as the universe / rules system to play space mercs serving in the slammers.
hammer slammers by david drake was big back then. it was easy insert into star frontiers universe. good memories!
Thanks!
Shout out for Galaxy Rangers! Im currently running a campaign based on the show using Savage Worlds.
Much love for Star Frontiers. It was my first sci-fi rpg and I still have my original box set.
grenade tooses ? Ah the silly human editors of 1982
I'm with you on Star Frontiers--it's simple, easy to run, and not tied to a single setting like Star Wars. And you're also right that Starfinder is the next generation of Star Frontiers.
Thank You!
One minute in, and RANGERS ARE FOREVER!!! Take your like
:) That's awesome! Thank You!!
Ahhhh Star Frontiers. I have so many fuzzy emotions on this game
Star Frontiers isn't over burdened with dozens of active deities, demons, devils, and planar beings like Star Finder. HUGE difference in tone, for the better!
I'm sure you understand talking about surface level. Also, tone is subjective. You can make the tone whatever you want. But superficially they have the same color (ie tone).
All the spiritual and paranormal activity of Star Finder definitely affects the setting and indeed the game play on an intrinsic level.
I love Star Frontiers for being more focused on Traveller-esque Sci-Fi. It is just fun and simple. One crew taking on mysteries without all the magic and spiritual baggage.
@@RadeFoxxy I am also glad Star Frontiers never tried to put in magic.
Love seeing this. Star Frontiers was the second rpg i ever purchased (after DnD) in about 85 it so. Many good nostalgic memories related to it, and i think the ruleset hold up pretty well historically.
My introduction to ttrpg's was Star Frontiers back in 1984, and I still have fond memories of that game. I still have have my original rule set from then as well, but unfortunately haven't played in decades. I too would prefer it over Starfinder
I played this way back in the early 80's and Traveller in the late 80's. I still have SF, but my Traveller was stolen when I let a friend use it to run a campaign.
I love your mustache! ❤❤
Thank you!
Some years back, I ran a short Star Frontiers campaign with a group that had never heard of it, let alone played it.
For character creation, I started with this question:
"Assuming reincarnation is real, in your next life would you want to be:
A. A Human
B. A bug
C. An amoeba
D. A flying monkey. "
This determined the characters species:
A Human
B Vrusk
C Dralasite
D Yazirian
Worked out perfectly, i had at least one of each!
+1 for connecting the Galaxy Rangers with Star Frontiers! My recollection is discovering Zebulon's Guide while recuperating in the hospital from appendicitis and being blown away by how much that one expansion just widened the entire Star Frontiers system, and bringing in an Alien Legion (the comics) feel to the setting. Anyway, great video!
Thank You!
@@bnickxavier6102 I would imagine the Galaxy Rangers are patrolling in the frontier along with the Silver Hawks and Bravestarr.
I still have my Alpha Dawn Kinght Hawks box sets, Zebulon's Guide and all the modules. All in great condition.
I made one modification to make the game play better, I divided Stamina by 10 creating health points. Now a 1 SEU laser shot can potentially kill a person if they roll well. This gets rid of the need to trade shots for 20 rounds to kill anyone.
I like that!
My friends and I ran Star Frontiers fairly often back in the day. It was an easy system to adapt whatever sci fi movie of the week we had seen into adventures. And if there was no movie inspiration, there was Star Trek! Or we could just battle some Sathar agents in Port Loren, space pirates on a starship (we put the Volturnus cover ship map to good use), or explore a new planet... Lots of good times.
Thank you for sharing your memories! It's a fun game!
Frontier Space by DWD Studios is the Spiritual Successor. Uses the d00lite system. Probably a better fit for newer gamers...
Great tips!
This was my favorite non-D&D game back in the day. It was also the only non-D&D game I could get some of my friends to play back then, it was a blast.
Thank you!! It's been great to see the support this game still has!
I loved Star Frontiers back in the day. This makes me want to collect all the material and introduce it to my players!
Great! I also think SF is good for younger players since its easy to learn.
Loved SF! Using the Star Law platform to send characters on covert missions to seek and destroy Sathar spies. Ahh the memories 😂
I've always wanted to give this game a try since the back in the early 80s when I first saw it. Unfortunately a lack of funds didn't allow me to purchase it. Thank you for this wonderful video. And please do another one, I am beyond curious to learn more.
Sure thing! Thanks!
Don’t forget Lawrence Schick, he coauthored the TSR science fiction RPG Star Frontiers with David "Zeb" Cook. He also had a whole different take on the Sathar that was later published as a new alien race for Star Frontiers.
Star Questions: starfrontiers.fandom.com/wiki/Q%26A_(StarQuestions)
Great video. Star Frontiers was my go to sci fi rpg for about a decade and a half. I still love to host an adventure for my players in that system.
That's awesome!
Star Frontiers Knight Hawks is also my first tabletop war game. Love Love Love Star Frontiers.
I think that Star Trek spaceship game ... oh what was it called ... was my first.
Star Fleet Battles? If so it still exists, sold by the company's webstore.
@@captainhrothgar4637 Thats it! 100% I've seen some good deals on Ebay I've thought of buying to cover it. I was into that game in the 80s.
@@welovettrpgs - The same company put out a more streamlined version of Star Fleet Battles years ago called "Federation Commander". Fewer phases, cut out some of the less interesting bits like the ECM/ECCM bidding war, but kept much of it. Also provides two different scales for faster playing or larger fleet battles. Recommend if you want SFB but a bit faster. I think MarcoOmnigamer put up a couple video reviews on it.
I still have my copy I bought in the 80s when it came out. A channel that does the original game justice would be nice.. and a space battle which shows how one is actually supposed to be played.. Assault scouts ride fast and attack from the back.. Zebulon's guide was an awesome addition - I don't care what people say about it. I would of loved to see the other additions.. The damage tables make so much more sense than rolling the D10 for damage. Example: you have a laser that does 10d10.. but on average.. you get the statistical average of 5.. so 50 points.. even if you just barely hit.. or rolled a great hit.. In Zebulon's guide, you did more damage with a more accurate hit.. makes sense to me. and I loved the fact that you only could get 100 hit points.. so.. unlike D%D, you never really could become a GOD.. You could die.. and more so in space combat.. I hope you play some.. looking forward to other vids.
This brought back a lot of fond memories!
Had the purple box as a kid. Great stuff.
FrontierSpace and it's two handbooks is the modern go-to successor inspired by SF. It has more streamlined modern d100 rules but also provides a lot more content and tools for the GM to work with. Especially in the Referee's Manual which has a lot of info for creating your own systems, worlds, species, vehicles, robots, etc.
Thanks for the info!
Never played Star Frontiers, but I did get to play West End Games' Star Wars and Marvel Superheroes that you mentioned - both were a lot of fun. I'll never forget how my buddy fumbled an attack roll to hit Ego the Living Planet...while standing on Ego the Living Planet. And no, it was not in it's Kurt Russell form. He failed to reach down and touch the planet he was standing on. LOL
Great memories!
Wow, Star Frontiers is a blast from the past.
I've had and loved Star Frontiers since the pink box "Alpha Dawn" edition. A great fellow in my group ran it old school RAW for us a couple years ago and we had a blast. A couple of things if folks want to run it: I'd be VERY generous with XP, let them level up faster because the old system is kinda slow in that regard. And of course, one could always just port the races and setting over and run it in a different system. Imagine a Dralasite or Yazirian in Starfleet? Loved the video and watch all your stuff.
Thank You! Great tips too!
Oh wow! A blast from the blast! I remember this!
Love Star Frontiers! Looking forward to more!!
Holy Shit! Not only Star Frontiers and I thought I was the only person that watched Galaxy Rangers!
:)
Great video! Yes, there has never been that much coverage of Star Frontiers on UA-cam, and coverage on Star Frontiers has been sporadic. Thanks for this excellent video on the game. Star Frontiers was my 3rd Sci-Fi game behind Traveller and Gamma World. Yes, your comparison to Starfinder is a good one. Yes, one easy way to compare them is I'd call Star Frontiers: Starfinder-light.
Thank You! Pretty sure I'm going to also do a Galaxy Rangers video! :)
@@welovettrpgs One of my favorite TV shows of the late 70s and early 80s was "Captain Cosmic and Robot 2T2". I aways watched it when I got home from school in the afternoon -- watched all kind of old sci-fi stuff like Star Blazers, Ultraman, The Space Giants, and more. Good times!!
Never watched Galaxy Rangers -- as by then (1986) I had already graduated from HS and joined the Army.
That was great! Thanks for making it. I really enjoyed it!
My pleasure! Thanks for your support!
Thank you, Aten. I have always been interested in Star Frontiers but knew nothing about it. This video has been very helpful.
My pleasure! Thanks! Now go check out Galaxy Rangers on UA-cam! :)
I love Star Frontiers, it was my first game. I still have all the books and supplements / magazines. Good review. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Star Frontiers was my go to game when it first came out. Some of my fondest gaming memories.
I tried to go back to it a few years back. The mechanics have not aged well. I’m in the process of converting the settings to a more updated system.
I actually consider the rules of Star Frontiers have fared better than most of its contemporaries. A core d100 roll under system rather than the hodgepodge of D&D or the tables used in Marvel or Gamma World. A skill system with loose bundling. Its all pretty good.
I remember Star Frontiers from its references/inclusion in d20 Future (and all of the aliens from it that percolated out into our assorted scifi RPG campaigns).
Gamma World may be my most favorite RPG setting/game so I need to find your videos on that 😮
Thanks for this I remember a great set of adventures in a round 1984 when I started college.
My pleasure!
Freaking loved Star Frontiers. I've also used their modules in SO MANY other SciFi games
Oh thats awesome! Thanks buddy!
I owned Star Frontiers as a kid, but I couldn't get my friends to play it. They thought D&D was nerdy enough. At the time a sci-fi game was a bit much.
Eventually, I got them to try other games, starting with Marvel Superheroes RPG. Ironically, they liked the setting of Shadowrun. We didn't like the Shadowrun system. So, I took the Shadowrun setting and rebuilt the Top Secret SI system for sci-fi. Which ends up surprisingly similar to that Star Frontiers game they refused to play years earlier 🤔
I'm the same really. I loved the shadowrun setting (living in Seattle) but wasnt at that time big on the mechanics. I'm working on a Marvel RPG video right now (and Star Wars D6) oh and a James Bond RPG video. I think we share the same brain!! :)
@welovettrpgs I believe so!
Let me know if you ever want to collab on a project
@@direden Sounds great!
I moved from Traveller to Star Frontiers and introduced it to my friends. We had many hours of fun with this, and Knight Hawks, and the published adventures. Have had the available SF stuff on my DriveThruRPG Wishlist for a while now…
I get a similar feel from newer games, such as Five Parsecs from Home, which is a current favourite.
Cheers,
Thank You! I'm really surprised (and delighted) to discover how many of us old folk loved this game. I expected this video to be another flop.
SF is my all time favorite rpg. Thank you for showing the game some love.
It is great for sure!
Aten, I love that you make videos about TTRPG history. After all, they formed the foundations fo the systems we have today.
Thanks!
This was one of those sets that I bought but never got to the table. I even had the modules for "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010: The Year We Make Contact" (pretty weird, btw).
The 2001 and 2010 adventures were really out of left field for this game.
Ah, the nostalgia. I forgot that this was how I learned about the metric system.
Ya know, all ya gotta do is just ask Aten and he will provide! 😊
We played Star Frontiers way back in the day. We had a great DM (R.I.P. Mack😢) & this was a great game!
Now, we have nearly 50 yrs of Sci Fi movies & books but back then there wasn't a whole lot. Star Trek, Star Wars, et. Al. Was leading the way for our imaginations.
Thank you Aten for fulfilling my request!
My pleasure buddy! Thanks for your support!
One of my favorite TSR games, though it was not one I got to the table all that often. I still have the Star Frontiers box cover art as my background on my PC :)
Thats awesome!
I actually loved your Gamma World videos. It brought me to your channel.
Great video, I have the first box set and the first three modules. This game is very underrated. Thanks for the video. Great job.
Glad you enjoyed it!
It is such a fun game, i enjoyed it! I always informed the players about the loss of stuff at the beginning of of SF0!
I never got Zebulons Guide or Knight Hawks, till they were legal free remastered downloads!
Star Frontiers was the first RPG I bought and GM’d and I miss it dearly. Maybe I should get those Drivethru hardcovers…
I use the reprints for gaming but you can also occasionally find good deals on eBay of the originals as Star Frontiers still isn't in high demand.
Yes, please, more videos will be nice about "Star Frontiers"! During the 1980s, "Star Frontiers" and "Top Secret" showed me how to enjoy games outside D&D, and the game mechanics were more effective and sensible than trying to work with the innumerable homebrews of D&D at the time.
I've never played Star Frontiers, but as a Spelljammer fan, I owe the game a lot. Four of the Star Frontiers creatures were renamed given a fantasy reboot and imported into Spelljammer.
I've had a brief look at the Star Frontiers universe and am wondering if I could Spelljammerise it and swap out the Star Frontiers science fiction elements to create more background for those imported Star Frontiers races.
I'm a huge AD&D Spelljammer fan. I'll be covering it soon.
@@welovettrpgs Sounds great, but I hope you do more videos on Star Frontiers first. There is a bespoke Star Frontiers forum on the D&D website I look after and I need to know more about these different versions of Star Frontiers, so I can improve my understanding of Star Frontiers. (BTW: I gave your video some signal boost over there.)
And, if there is d20 Modern content for Star Frontiers, that might be easier for me to adapt to Spelljammer.
@@DavidShepheard I have a huge list of video topics! The order in which I complete any given topic has a lot to do with what I'm feeling passionate about at the time. I really want to get my D6 Star Wars video and my James Bond RPG videos done but they too are on hold until I get to some others on my list. I have an Iggwilv Lore video I have been working on since last Spring (Theres a playlist) but I promise I'll get more Star frontiers videos out as soon as I can1
@@DavidShepheard Yes D20 Modern has "Star Law" which is Star frontiers. And thank you!!
Star frontiers was one of my first ventures into the ttrpg space. I enjoyed it very much. I believe the only other one in this style that I played back then was interstellar elite combat, which was several years later.
Star Frontiers is one of my favorite RPGs. Back when having only 4 races to pick from (as I call them the Core Four) was more then enough. At least before Zebs came along. Also had some fantastic artwork. Having a villain race was great. Can’t go wrong with evil mind controlling worms with tentacles! Shame that TSR let the ball drop too soon on this product. I play back in the day and online. Some still run it on the Discord channel (if anyone wants to give the system a try). Really like how you explain how to make characters in detail. Nicely done. Gotta tell you I LOVE the Galaxy Ranger reference!! Great video! Thanks, and my Vrusk character K’lik thanks you for making this.
Thank You! Galaxy Rangers Forever!
More space ttrgps should model themselves after Galaxy Rangers and BraveStarr and others shows like that. I definitely want to look up this game now!!!
Awesome!
There must’ve been different printers or different markets or something. My Star Frontiers is 1982, first printing, purchased in Wisconsin, and it’s 3-hole punched and I didn’t punch it. I also know that I didn’t have access at the time to a 3-hole punch that could cleanly handle the expanded game rules book (2 covers plus too many pages). And a quick search of Dragonsfoot finds folks comparing whether theirs came pre-punched or not, which lends further support to both options having been sold.
My Basic and Expert D&D books came 3-hole punched too.
I heard that from another too. I personally never saw that but someone else was saying that TSR may have eventually sold 3 hole punch versions? I don't know anything about it and couldnt find any references.
I love Star Frontiers. It was the first RPG I bought and I consider it as the sci fi equivalent to B/X D&D in terms of presentation and playability. It holds up well today, better than most TSR games.
I also prefer it to Traveller, though I never understood why people saw them as substitutes. They both present very different games.
The substitute thing likely stems from TSR creating SF to get people to switch from Traveler. But yes totally different. Though I've never actually seen "Alien Worlds" my assumption is it was closer to Traveler in complexity.
@@welovettrpgs When SF came out there was only really a couple of sci fi RPGs out there, so comparisons were to be expected. I just think in hindsight it’s unnecessarily limited. Sci fi is a big genre.
@@lukejw11 I agree. the two are nothing alike.
Galaxy Rangers is dope! Fantastic background soundtrack!
100% I've decided to do a video on just that show. A little out of range from the normal things I cover but I think it'll be fun.
Thanks for covering Star Frontiers! It was my favorite game growing up. You captured the game perfectly! I look forward to your next video on Knight Hawks.
Thank You!
I love Star Frontiers and Knight Hawks. Don't play them often anymore but every few years I'll pull one or the other out and run it. New to your channel and loved this video. Time to dive into your backlog!
Welcome!
I've wanted to try this out ever since the System Mastery podcast covered it. Most of the old or obscure RPGs they cover they just rip apart, but they had great things to say about this one, suggesting that it was ahead of its time yet still has aged surprisingly well. "Simpler than Starfinder but similar vibe" is an appealing pitch.
I preferred the GDW version of Traveller, but that’s mostly because I already knew how the combat worked from playing Twilight 2000 and I never even knew Star Frontiers existed.
I got into gaming living in Europe when it was released, so I never saw it. Even the AD&D books we had there were brought over from the states, not bought in the Navy Exchange. I had been playing for years before I even had a copy of the PHB or a set of dice.
Another great video. While I thought Star Frontiers was a cool game, I ultimately just continued to embrace and enjoy Space Opera by Fantasy Games Unlimited. Space Opera took may away from Traveller and Star Frontiers in the bigger picture. But you are right, Star Frontiers deserves far more credit as a solid SciFi RPG than it ever received. This video was very well done and great run through of the history was spot on and a wonderful “bringer back of great memories”. THANK YOU!!! ❤
Thank you!!
I remember playing SF in junior high. My favorite character was my Yazarian named Filthy Harry. At one point, he acquired a ship that I re-named the Sudden Impact. If you couldn't tell the fourth Dirty Harry movie had been released at that time.
I also remember playing the Second Sathar War scenario from the Knight Hawks box set with a friend one night. Fun times!
Long Live Filthy Harry!
Another great video, it certainly brings back memories! I look forward to seeing your Knighthawks video too.
I've never played it (I don't even remember seeing it around back then, maybe it never got published in my home country), but it's a fascinating game for sure. I love the different races and am very intrigued by the skill system. I'm going to give it a deeper look as soon as I can. Thanks for your insights!
This looks really fun, the simplicity is quite appealing. A year or so ago I borrowed my friend's DragonAge rpg book to try and learn the game...... It was so complex that it was difficult to digest the material, after I returned the book we never even played a single game of it.... So yeah, I love simpler games. lol
I was really surprised to learn this used to be called "Alien Worlds." It's good they simplified it.
Oh, and for melee weapon attacks, you could use 1/2 your DEX *or* 1/2 your STR score, and then 10% per level of Melee Weapon skill.
And I don't see the resemblance between Star Frontiers and Gamma World rules. I got the 2nd and 3rd editions of Gamma World. Gamma World was a d20 game, borrowing from D&D-style d20 rules, but the rules seemed a bit "off" in Gamma World. You were left with questions about how to apply modifiers, and maybe you had problems adjudicating the weapons of different tech levels. Star Frontiers is a percentile game, but not like Chaosium's Basic RolePlaying games.
Still my favourite RPG! The first box, Alpha Dawn's rules, allowed for quick melee, ranged, vehicle AND aerial combat all at once. But you may have to go to school on the rules a little bit, and routinely add two-digit numbers together. Are modern fans up to that?
After TSR stopped making Star Frontiers supplements, the fans kept it going and even had an informal agreement to be allowed to publish things as long as no profit was made. Fan magazines like Star Frontiersman and Frontier Explorer came out, and a "fan" edition of all the rules and many modules! But now Wizards of the Coast is allowing reprints of the games (no more fan pubs!), but the size of the maps often suffers in the all-in-one printings.
I think UA-cam is trying to shadowban or throttle my Comments. Tell me if you notice anything strange about seeing or not seeing this.
I loved that game as a kid. Liked Gamma World even more.
Two of my favorites! How about Star Wars D6?
Looks both interesting and fun... I vaguely remember playing Traveller (not sure which version) some time in my teens, so I might be tempted to have a closer look at Star Frontiers.
And, as for the reboot version - "oh yeah, *that*, 'nuff said goes for another dose of mind bleach "
Being a European who believes that feet and pounds are very fantasy, I chuckled a bit about metric system being Sci-fi. TTRPG players are the same everywhere)
I chose ICRPG Warp Shell (that is super simple and is relatively easy for me to figure out as a mainly D&D player, but it's main benefit is being in my possession) for the game I ran (and will probably return to), but this sounds interesting. If I find it (without getting into any weird situations? I feel like it's something I need to take into account), I will take a look, at least as a source of inspiration
In many way we are still very medieval over here in the States. :) Thanks!
The Gamma World video was awesome. I watched it twice.
Thank You!
I bought Star Frontiers when it first came out but there just weren't any of my friends interested. It was more adult oriented.
I love these old school rediscover Overviews.
Thanks!
Man, you unlocked a memory when you mentioned Galaxy Rangers. Still a banger opening theme imo.
I had to resist dropping some of that in here. I probably would have got past any copyright issues but I didnt want to risk it.
I love your game reviews as I’m looking for other game systems to play. I remember you recommending Traveller to me on another video
I wait in anticipation for your reviews of Star Wars D6 and the Marvel game (forgot its actual name). I will be buying and playing those games
Traveller is very popular still and I'll do a review of it however I felt it was too gritty and tend to prefer high fantasy gaming. Thank you very much!