Tenkar's Tavern: Games From the Basement - Starfire (Spaceship Combat Game)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Games From the Basement - Starfire (Spaceship Combat Game)

I really, really wanted to get into Starfleet Battles back in the day. There were just a few problems with it that I saw.

One - It looked really rules heavy.

Two - It seemed to have an endless supply of supplements.

Three - No one in my game group had any interest in playing it.

My solution? Starfire, from Task Force Games. One box seemed to cover everything from Introductory to Immediate, it was cheaper than Star Fleet Battles and possibly, just possibly, someone in my gaming group would play it with me.

That never happened, as I punched out (2) two, yes, (2) two starship counters. Oh, and the dice included are one of the smallest pairs of D6s I've ever seen ;)

5 comments:

JasonZavodaApril 10, 2012 at 7:48 PM
David Weber wrote a series of novels based on Starfire and I've been interested in seeing what the system is like ever since reading them. I will have to see about finding a copy.
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Erik TenkarApril 10, 2012 at 7:56 PM
@Jason - I'll let you know what happens when I'm finished packing. I've a feeling I may very well let this one go.

Not all that attached to it, as I literally never played it ;)
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Aaron E. SteeleApril 10, 2012 at 10:13 PM
This is an excellent game, its a shame you never had a chance to play it.
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Erik TenkarApril 10, 2012 at 10:15 PM
i need to take a picture later to show the unpunched counters ;)
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JasonZavodaApril 10, 2012 at 10:34 PM
You should give it a try. I've never played it but the books made it sound very cool. If you do decide to part with it please let me know.
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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Games From the Basement - Starfire (Spaceship Combat Game)

5 comments:

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