Rediscovering Star Frontiers: An amazing Space Opera RPG from the 80s

Join Aten at We Love TTRPGs for an overview of this classic 80s role-playing game. Rediscover the charm of Star Frontiers, an easy-to-play space opera RPG from 1982, beloved for its simplicity and rich setting in the Frontier Sector. Learn about its influence on modern games like Starfinder and its connection to 80s sci-fi culture, including the Galaxy Rangers cartoon. Dive into the game's mechanics, character creation, and rich lore, and explore why it remains a fan favorite despite limited support from TSR.
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www.starfrontiers.us/node/5046

[@FMD-FullMetalDragon]

You sold me on Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers for Star Frontiers.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@dahobdahob]

Galaxy Rangers was the jam

[@MrChupacabra555]

"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.

[@SoundVoltage]

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]

Very cool! Thank You!

[@andrewlustfield6079]

@@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?

[@jphanks]

Traveler was my first rpg. I was five years old 😂 the book had no pictures! 😂 I quickly moved to dnd and start frontier

[@SoundVoltage]

@@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.

[@shirgall]

I played Star Frontiers back then, but I liked Traveller more at the time. I still have my Gamma World, 2nd Ed, too.

[@danielpasilis4046]

Whatever you decide to cover I'm here for it. Thanks for doing this one I still love Gamma World and Star Frontiers.

[@welovettrpgs]

Glad you enjoy it! Thank you for being here!

[@davidtripp2118]

Dralasite was my favorite, too. My brother liked the Vrusk.

[@welovettrpgs]

Any chance you remember "The New Shmoo" which ran from 1979 to 1980? An entire cartoon dedicated to one.

[@davidtripp2118]

@@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.

[@sharpmountaingames9303]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@sharpmountaingames9303 Long live Aberlin!!

[@praxistallyogarro]

Thank you again Aten. I enjoy these love letters so very much.

[@welovettrpgs]

You're fantastic .. no wait .. You're FUNTASTIC! Thank You!

[@dane3038]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

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!

[@dane3038]

@@welovettrpgs Awesome!

[@CountAdolfo]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@CountAdolfo]

@@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...

[@welovettrpgs]

@@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.

[@CountAdolfo]

@@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.

[@AchanhiArusa]

It was my first Science Fiction RPG, I didn't even know about Traveler until decades later.

[@hawkeyepearce1066]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

My pleasure! Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories!

[@dantherpghero2885]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@dantherpghero2885]

@@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.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@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.

[@CountAdolfo]

At least you tried

[@owenbloomfield1177]

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.

[@erikbuchanan4648]

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.

[@Angels_Did_Say]

I love your mustache! ❤❤

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank you!

[@andrewbeaton6754]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

I hadnt considered that but I can see it now!

[@stevenchilders272]

For it's time. It met everything sci-fi nerds needed to play D&D in space.

[@SpiritWolf1966]

I enjoy all of We Love TTRPGs videos 🎉

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You!

[@dahobdahob]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank you for sharing your great memories!

[@tonygonzales726]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

My pleasure!

[@alfblack2]

Ahhhh Star Frontiers. I have so many fuzzy emotions on this game

[@mikorupondsumisu6883]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You!

[@28mmRPG]

grenade tooses ? Ah the silly human editors of 1982

[@JamesECarlisle]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@h.s.lafever3277]

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!

[@welovettrpgs]

Thanks!

[@djc5102]

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!

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You! Actually, that's worth a lot! Very soon you can expect the James Bond RPG and Marvel Super Heroes!

[@Rengis33]

Loved SF! Using the Star Law platform to send characters on covert missions to seek and destroy Sathar spies. Ahh the memories 😂

[@bnickxavier6102]

+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!

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You!

[@allenbryant7740]

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.

[@borland8513]

Wow, Star Frontiers is a blast from the past.

[@therealGibralter]

Holy Shit! Not only Star Frontiers and I thought I was the only person that watched Galaxy Rangers!

[@welovettrpgs]

:)

[@RealLordFuture]

Aten, I love that you make videos about TTRPG history. After all, they formed the foundations fo the systems we have today.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thanks!

[@muertosama]

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.

[@MrBracey100]

I loved Star Frontiers back in the day. This makes me want to collect all the material and introduce it to my players!

[@welovettrpgs]

Great! I also think SF is good for younger players since its easy to learn.

[@uwtartarus]

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 😮

[@TenchiBushi]

Oh wow! A blast from the blast! I remember this!

[@keithrawson3167]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank you!! It's been great to see the support this game still has!

[@dennislaffey]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank you for sharing your memories! It's a fun game!

[@WileyGames]

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.

[@lukejw11]

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.

[@billyinabox2278]

I love these old school rediscover Overviews.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thanks!

[@ryanellis8784]

I actually loved your Gamma World videos. It brought me to your channel.

[@briangilmore6804]

One minute in, and RANGERS ARE FOREVER!!! Take your like

[@welovettrpgs]

:) That's awesome! Thank You!!

[@badfrankenstein5732]

I still have my Alpha Dawn Kinght Hawks box sets, Zebulon's Guide and all the modules. All in great condition.

[@djeternaldarkness3769]

Freaking loved Star Frontiers. I've also used their modules in SO MANY other SciFi games

[@welovettrpgs]

Oh thats awesome! Thanks buddy!

[@BloodRedRook]

This brought back a lot of fond memories!

[@roberthartley8516]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

That's awesome!

[@AxelDominatoR]

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!

[@adriandavis3931]

I love Star Frontiers, it was my first game. I still have all the books and supplements / magazines. Good review. Thank you!

[@welovettrpgs]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@almitrahopkins1873]

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.

[@sharpmountaingames9303]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You! Great tips too!

[@doomhippie6673]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Sure thing! Thanks!

[@kailenmitchell8571]

Star Frontiers Knight Hawks is also my first tabletop war game. Love Love Love Star Frontiers.

[@welovettrpgs]

I think that Star Trek spaceship game ... oh what was it called ... was my first.

[@captainhrothgar4637]

Star Fleet Battles? If so it still exists, sold by the company's webstore.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@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.

[@NefariousKoel]

@@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.

[@mightyeroc7284]

Love Star Frontiers! Looking forward to more!!

[@spaceranger7683]

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

[@welovettrpgs]

Great memories!

[@NefariousKoel]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thanks for the info!

[@JesseMcCullough]

Ah, the nostalgia. I forgot that this was how I learned about the metric system.

[@JustinKase1969]

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 :)

[@welovettrpgs]

Thats awesome!

[@Ian_Butterworth]

Thank you, Aten. I have always been interested in Star Frontiers but knew nothing about it. This video has been very helpful.

[@welovettrpgs]

My pleasure! Thanks! Now go check out Galaxy Rangers on KZbin! :)

[@quantus5875]

Great video! Yes, there has never been that much coverage of Star Frontiers on KZbin, 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]

Thank You! Pretty sure I'm going to also do a Galaxy Rangers video! :)

[@quantus5875]

@@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.

[@patkelley8293]

I bought Star Frontiers when it first came out but there just weren't any of my friends interested. It was more adult oriented.

[@spacemandan5906]

Thanks for this I remember a great set of adventures in a round 1984 when I started college.

[@welovettrpgs]

My pleasure!

[@daveinsel]

The Gamma World video was awesome. I watched it twice.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You!

[@Autocratik]

Star Frontiers was the first RPG I bought and GM’d and I miss it dearly. Maybe I should get those Drivethru hardcovers…

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@manlypedro75]

Galaxy Rangers is dope! Fantastic background soundtrack!

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@tombolenbaugh4030]

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!

[@welovettrpgs]

Welcome!

[@vickyguarnieri9385]

That was great! Thanks for making it. I really enjoyed it!

[@welovettrpgs]

My pleasure! Thanks for your support!

[@shallendor]

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!

[@RD22TT]

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!!!

[@welovettrpgs]

Awesome!

[@robbperez1278]

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).

[@welovettrpgs]

The 2001 and 2010 adventures were really out of left field for this game.

[@coachlarry6773]

Great video, I have the first box set and the first three modules. This game is very underrated. Thanks for the video. Great job.

[@welovettrpgs]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@earthenkindquests]

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.

[@helixxharpell]

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!

[@welovettrpgs]

My pleasure buddy! Thanks for your support!

[@Dracopol]

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 KZbin is trying to shadowban or throttle my Comments. Tell me if you notice anything strange about seeing or not seeing this.

[@trollsmyth]

Loved Star Frontiers (abbreviated SF, get it?) as a kid. The dralasites remain one of the few truly unique races in sci-fi games that are a blast to play. Your comment about the PCs being harder to kill than in most OSR-y type games is so true. Had a PC and an NPC shooting at each other from across a service elevator. The PC had slug-thrower and the NPC had a gyrojet weapon. They both emptied their magazines, reloaded, emptied their magazines again, and finally started clubbing each other to death with their empty guns. Granted, this was a first adventure, the PC was fairly low level, and the NPC was scaled to that level, so they spent a lot of ammo missing each other. That poor elevator was such a mess by the end of it. ;D We were horribly put off by Zebulon's Guide, mostly because we were looking forward to new stuff to add to our existing game, not a new game! We never used the stuff in Zeb's, but did include a lot of the material in the Ares section of Dragon. I'm a bit surprised to hear you compare it in feel to Starfinder, since SF doesn't have any supernatural elements in it, not even pseudo-scientific psionics, which are so central to Starfinder. Or maybe y'all added that? I leaned heavily on the Humanx Commonwealth and Heinleinian juveniles for inspiration, but I know a lot of folks adopted Star Wars as their model.

[@welovettrpgs]

I mean surface level atmosphere, not mechanically. I mean if somebody likes one they'll like the other. that's all. Pathfinder is to D&D what Starfinder is to Star Frontiers. They're not the same game in anything other than general flavor.

[@johnmagowan6393]

**Desire to know more intensifies**

[@GKahla]

We blew up sooo many Sathar bases... The "playable" space opera game is right; I'm a huge fan of Traveller, but it isn't until the later editions (when they determined a single mechanic for die rolls) that the game becomes less opaque. Star Frontiers was handily playable. You're spot on in observing it ramps new players and GMs into the hobby with minimal trouble. My favorite character was a human tech called "Skeeter" who collected robots. Cheers! 🍪☕

[@welovettrpgs]

Long live Skeeter!

[@saschafeld5528]

In Germany the Game was called "Sternengarde". Starguard in english I guess.

[@lukejw11]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@lukejw11]

@@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.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@lukejw11 I agree. the two are nothing alike.

[@Wolf359inc]

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,

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@DavidShepheard]

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]

I'm a huge AD&D Spelljammer fan. I'll be covering it soon.

[@DavidShepheard]

@@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.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@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

[@welovettrpgs]

@@DavidShepheard Yes D20 Modern has "Star Law" which is Star frontiers. And thank you!!

[@carsonm7292]

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.

[@wolfleclair1399]

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

[@welovettrpgs]

I was really surprised to learn this used to be called "Alien Worlds." It's good they simplified it.

[@angelg9070]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You! Galaxy Rangers Forever!

[@Bluestreaktemjin]

Man, you unlocked a memory when you mentioned Galaxy Rangers. Still a banger opening theme imo.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@agilemonk6305]

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!!! ❤

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank you!!

[@drwatkins68]

Another great video, it certainly brings back memories! I look forward to seeing your Knighthawks video too.

[@emperorclint]

'BraveStarr' and 'Saber Rider & The Star Sheriffs' aired at about the same time as Galaxy Rangers....each a space western great for its own reasons.

[@welovettrpgs]

I'm thinking about doing a Galaxy Rangers video and I'm just now learning there was an idea back then that "Space Westerns" were going to be the next big thing.

[@emperorclint]

​@@welovettrpgsPerhaps a video about each cartoon? I like that you mentioned the Dragon annual that has the Alternity conversion. Many of those Alternity supplements & adventures from the late '90s can be used for Star Frontiers.

[@emperorclint]

@@welovettrpgs There is a cartoon from a few years earlier in the '80s called 'Thunderbirds 2086' that I consider to be a "prequel" of sorts to Galaxy Rangers.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@emperorclint Thank you for the tip! I'll check it out!

[@nabra97]

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

[@welovettrpgs]

In many way we are still very medieval over here in the States. :) Thanks!

[@direden]

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 🤔

[@welovettrpgs]

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!! :)

[@direden]

@welovettrpgs I believe so! Let me know if you ever want to collab on a project

[@welovettrpgs]

@@direden Sounds great!

[@kithutchinson2461]

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!

[@welovettrpgs]

Long Live Filthy Harry!

[@natbarmore]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

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.

[@Blackbird2004]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

Thank You!

[@Dracopol]

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.

[@coinopanimator]

SF was great. And I think Josh whedeon loved it too. (Firefly reminds me of Sf)

[@welovettrpgs]

Totally agree

[@doomhippie6673]

Gosh and now I have ordered it from Drive Through. Thank you for pointing me into that direction. Oh, and maybe you could talk a little about any published adventures etc? Here in Germany it never really got too much attention even though there was a translation at least for the beginners box.

[@welovettrpgs]

Absolutely, for sure. And you might find copies on Ebay that are in Europe?

[@RadeFoxxy]

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!

[@welovettrpgs]

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).

[@RadeFoxxy]

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.

[@welovettrpgs]

@@RadeFoxxy I am also glad Star Frontiers never tried to put in magic.

[@Dra8er]

Frontier Space by DWD Studios is the Spiritual Successor. Uses the d00lite system. Probably a better fit for newer gamers...

[@welovettrpgs]

Great tips!

[@7thsealord888]

Never had much to do with Star Frontiers, no objection to it but not a lot of interest in my circle. Traveller, Space Opera, Aftermath, FASAtrek (the Star Trek RPG by FASA) and a little Battletech were our main things SF-wise. Yeah, deliberately separating a Character from all of his / her / its "stuff" never goes down well, even temporarily. As a DM with established Players, I MIGHT do this once, if ever, drawing on long-time trust and promising eventual return / compensation. As a starting scenario, having this deprivation as part of a tutorial sounds good in theory but that's all. I think too, that the very distinct lack of any kind of space ships, or even information about them, was a real killer for this game early on. Star Wars was on most people's minds at the time, absolutely. Everybody wanted a TIE or an X-Wing or a Millennium Falcon, even if only to look at.

[@mdpenny42]

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 "

[@MythwrightWorkshop]

🎶SPACE AAAAAAAAAHH-PERAAAAAH! 🎶

[@vonether]

I'd say if you loved Esper Genesis, you'd dig Star Frontiers.

[@welovettrpgs]

Yeah thats great and I thing they have a Bag of Holding deal going on right now too. (They did a few days ago at least).

[@interstellardave]

I never really understood why Sci-Fi RPG’s never took off to the degree that Fantasy did. I always preferred Traveller, Star Frontiers, Gamma World, etc. Even in recent years I will run such Sci-Fi games, and let my friends run D&D.

[@welovettrpgs]

I've put a lot of thought into that. I prefer reading sci-fi. I prefer watching sci fi. I'm a big sci fi nerd. And I'm pretty sure I've never seen all of the LotR movies and I know I havent watched any of the streaming shows. Yet I prefer fantasy TTRPGs. I think for me it comes down to how in fantasy roleplaying I can accept the damage and death mechanics more than I can in sci fi - where despite also being fantastic - it's more difficult for me to accept the results of mortal wounds. While in Fantasy I can just say, "It's Magic!" Anyway, those are kinda my thoughts on it. Gamma World, Star Frontiers and Star Wars D6 are all sci fi and only beaten by AD&D for favorite games. (My current 5E campaign involves a huge mothership buried in the desert with alien technology.)