Mr. Welch's Mad Musings: Star Frontiers

[@silverthorngoodtree5533]

Those screen shots, I knew every one. Damm makes me feel old, although it was because i binge watched VHS blockbuster as a kid.

[@NefariousKoel]

If you're looking for a newer one reminiscent of Star Frontiers, but with an improved system, check out the two 'FrontierSpace' books on DTRPG. Percentile system still a bit on the light-intermediate side, but with much needed additions and changes. Notably so in the Referee's guide which has a good amount of Traveller-style creation tables for many facets. From the same people who did 'Covert Ops', DwD Studios. Print-on-demand is quite affordable too.

[@scotttabbert2597]

I second this. I loved Star Frontiers back in the day, but FrontierSpace is an excellent successor IMO

[@Lippdinos]

Wow sweet! Is it a "thinly veiled" specifically NOT SF? Or is it different enough that it seems like a different game system?

[@Lippdinos]

Speaking of, they damn well should have called the GM "Star Master" not referee!

[@NefariousKoel]

@@Lippdinos It's a more modern d100 system, so it's a bit different mechanically. It's quite smooth in comparison, with less modifier juggling for instance. The pedigree from SF is still there, though, with stuff such as the different defensive screens and other staples. The two books also have a LOT more content and random tables for the GM to cook up all sorts of things. Including ship combat/creation, planet & system generators, etc.

[@ultimateundermountain8508]

The books and modules are all available (legally) online. PDF or POD versions, www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226710/Star-Frontiers-Alpha-Dawn

[@ezekielcarpenter-hyland850]

Nice to hear someone talking about Star Frontiers, the high I played extensively and still tinker with today. The review sold the game short a bit. True the rules were basic, but it was a fun relief from AD&D which was clunky by design and rules heavy. Star Frontiers DID have a sufficiently developed universe, which players experienced first hand when running the modules. One major way Star Frontiers jumped ahead of AD&D and other RPGs at the time was the “board d game” aspect of the system, allowing players to really see their spatial positioning (critical for constant ranged combat). Another huge step forward was how player skills were integration into space ship operations. AD&D only approximated something like this with Spelljammer, and the comparison is a poor one.

[@TheTjedge1]

I'm an old Grognard that loved this game. I have every book and module released for it. I hated Buck Rogers because it took over. I wanted more expansion to Star Frontiers and now you mentioned a link to fans that did that. Time for me to hunt that down. As a regular visitor and very minor contributor to Vaults of Pandius, I know how amazing fans can carry a game long after it's been dumped. Thank you!

[@ChibiKami]

hate Lorraine Williams for killing both Star Frontiers and Spelljammer with it, but don't hate on Buck Rogers XXVC itself. Mike Pondsmith did a spectacular job on it, the world building is fantastic, and the mechanics are a more robust D&D2e IN SPAAAAACE

[@johnbalk6091]

I own this game system and I just couldn’t get any of my friends to play it. Probably because the rules for ships wasn’t clear and nobody understood the percentile system. The art was great, though.

[@Lippdinos]

Same here...

[@Dracopol]

There WAS no artificial gravity in Knight Hawks. You had to take the ship acceleration.

[@TheGenericavatar]

Buck Rogers only came about because the new full owner of TSR who booted Gary Gygax held the rights to Buck Rogers for RPGs.

[@docnecrotic]

Yup, total cash grab. The rules were this weird AD&D modification.

[@danmorgan3685]

She actually was getting paid by TSR for every book they printed and not simply sold. It was a way of transferring TSR's money into her accounts.

[@ChibiKami]

Lorraine Williams owned Buck Rogers because her grandfather created the franchise. Were her intention honest I could at least respect her for wanting to homage his work, but she clearly just wanted to capitalize on it

[@errantknight-f2z]

Extra points for the bikini space girls thumbnail!

[@wilm3864]

5:40 - You can only change so much of the game before it ceases to be the game . . . So, is 5E still D&D when compared with BECMI and AD&D?

[@brandonrapp710]

Now there’s a trip down memory lane. I have all the materials for SF from back in the day. And even copied a few articles from Dragon that made the game more fun (power armor, anyone?). Thanks for the review and reminding me how old I am!

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

Me too

[@errantknight-f2z]

Star Frontiers did inertial gravity in its spaceship designs long before The Expanse! Eat your heart out, Rocinante!

[@erikmartin4996]

Best TSR game that got zero support. D100 systems are just d10 systems only the tens place really counts. It was so much fun but goofy at the same time. In our group it was the game that got the second most playing time

[@jackleg2007]

Star Frontiers was not their only sci fi game that received a raw deal. Alternity was also screwed over for a larger IP, Star Wars.

[@ChibiKami]

to be fair, Alternity was TSR's last hurrah before the WotC buyout. I only played it a little bit but it seemed to have a significant flaw mechanically in that whether your situation die was a bonus or penalty was entirely up to the whim of the GM and where they felt the challenge rating of a particular task was on the chart

[@potatoradio]

I loved this cover maybe played once...

[@darnellsimpsin556]

They should, bring it back.

[@murgel2006]

I played Star Frontiers back in the day. And I can agree the system had a bunch of restrictions that my friends and I did not like. In fact, we disliked them so much that we changed systems and went on to play Space Master which is in itself also not a great system but...

[@Z1gguratVert1go]

I'm putting together a from-scratch sci-fi setting and I decided to use D20 Future as the basis for the rules.

[@tssteelx]

Wasn't there a dragon artical that updated to alternity? Hummm... have to check.

[@SwordlordRoy]

As someone who likes the Campy, Newspaper comic strip pulp sci-fi of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, am I allowed to Blame She who must not be Named instead? I'm to understand TSR in general functioned IN SPITE of her rather than because of her.

[@sharker2003]

What series or movie are these live action stills from?

[@Mr_Welch]

A huge variety of some of the worst 80s sci fi

[@MrfnordTim]

I don't think Buck Rogers XXVC died so much because nobody wanted to play Buck Rogers as because *everybody* wanted to play Buck Rogers. He was the interesting bit, not whatever 25th centiry they cooked up for him to inhabit.

[@erikmartin4996]

Totally disagree when BR came out I thought it was something made for my Dad. My Dad always talked about Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials he saw as a kid. However no one in the 10-20 age group wanted anything to do with Buck Rogers. Erin Grey maybe but not Buck

[@Winterydee]

If you're trying to convert 2500 to Roman Numerals it would be MMD. M = 1000 & D = 500. XXVC would end up in a negative number... if Roman Numerals had either a Zero, let alone negative numbers.

[@MrfnordTim]

@@Winterydee Yeah, but that's how TSR did it. I think it was supposed to be 25 in roman numerals and C for century.

[@Winterydee]

@@MrfnordTim - lol! Well that just goes to show that it should have been avoided at all costs because real nerds would have done the numbering right! They would used MMD or XXV Century! Not something that looks like it's Roman Numerals but is anything but that.

[@Octarinewolf]

It didn't help that it was a new version of the Buck Rogers background that didn't match the TV show or the film versions or even the original Armageddon 2419 AD. The second Buck Rogers was closer to that last but no where near as good a game.

[@BigsZone]

ah yes, Only War, time to grind up the guardsmen.

[@aubreymorris9183]

We all hate wizards of the coast completely.

[@28mmRPG]

I believe there is a site online that has the old rules available for free as pdf's... IIRC it was the writers that run the site.

[@mkiss73]

You should add a guide to the still images in your videos.

[@danmorgan3685]

The best you can reasonably expect for Star Frontiers is Hasbro sells the rights to a third party. In that case they would probably not use the rules but the setting instead. I don't think that will work for reasons you mentioned in the review. If it stays in house you might get a 5e version pushed out as a one and done book.

[@drjohndee4322]

I thought it was a fun game. We had some fun campaigns.

[@BillionSix]

Hi, I recently discovered your channel, and I really like it so far. The only problem I have is that the playlists are in reverse order, so I can't watch them in chronological order as God intended. :)

[@docnecrotic]

WotC did bring some Frontiers stuff in D20 Modern, so there is that.

[@GojiKaichou]

Now that we have Starfinder, and can add the races from Star Frontiers into our games, who needs a reboot? (Hot take, I know... But when you think about it, Starfinder is the modern successor to SF in a lot of respects. In a lot of ways, it's better.)

[@thecosmic8248]

Really I’m surprised they haven’t already re launched it. Their 5e system is already insanely popular so new player’s already familiar with dnd can jump in if they choose to do that.

[@Z1gguratVert1go]

Do you really want them to relaunch it though? If they relaunched Star Frontiers today there would be no mechanical difference between any of the playable species and the game would force you to run a coffee shop next to a high school where all gameplay revolved around gender angst.

[@willnorman-bargo]

Could you do mutant claws classics?

[@Mr_Welch]

I don't think I've ever seen that one

[@willnorman-bargo]

@@Mr_Welch here's the link, I would love to see your mad musings on it. www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/244345

[@rosskwolfe]

​@@willnorman-bargo I imagine he's more likely to get to it if you buy him a copy than if he has to buy the copy himself.

[@ShadesinMirra]

I think we have some hard copies at my FLGS

[@hamster2845]

Everything was d10 or d100. Everything.

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

Nice.