Our Universe, My View of Sci-Fi Gaming

As a kid, my parents had a subscription to National Geographic. Somewhere along the way, I (well, really "we" as a family, but I sort of commandeered it) came into possession of the National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe (Roy A. Gallant, published by TBS The Book Service Ltd, 1980). I'm not sure if it was giveaway as part of a subscription, or if it was a book for purchase that my parents thought I (and my siblings) would appreciate. Regardless, it became THE book that informed my knowledge of the solar system, and what the solar system might be like in an alternative sci-fi-informed reality. To this day, it one of the 2 books that forms the foundation for how I "see" sci-fi gaming (the other is Profiles of the Future by Arthur C. Clarke). I won't go into too much detail on how this book inspired me, because Brian Koberlein has done a nice, concise job of expressing the same sentiment.

Long ago, the book left my parents house. I believe it went to Goodwill or similar. Well recently, I came across a copy at an estate sale, and could not pass it by... especially for just a few bucks. So I thought I'd share a few things from the book that I find particularly striking.

Let me start with the image that first struck me... the cover. It's a killer painting of star cruiser by John Berkey. If that names sounds familiar, it's likely because he's did a number of paintings/illustrations for Star Wars Episode IV. In the bigger scheme, his contributions were fewer than Ralph McQuarrie, but important nonetheless. BTW, though Berkey died in 2008, many of the paintings he left behind are available for licensing (and I'd love to see somebody in the community license his art for a cover). In fact, should I ever get back to Starmasters, Berkey's, I hope to do just that myself.

Now let's look at a couple of key images from the interior. One of the first things that struck me were the "What if..." images, speculating what alien life would be like on our solar system's planets and their moons. Check these out!



And then, the pages for each planet almost read like an appendix to Deities & Demigods.



I'll leave it at this for now. I just wanted to share a little slice of my childhood that was recently re-found, and share that with you.

More sketches from the mid-90s Vault... Sci-Fi Comic Pages

These are more pages from the sketchbook recently "unearthed" in my garage. If I recall, the title of the comic was Terra XT-20 (or something like that), which stood for "terrestrial exploration team 20" (a military planet exploration/recon team). It wasn't anything I'd really planned on finishing; rather, it was more an idea I liked... played around with... but never took any further.

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury (1920-2011): A Few Links

A Bio of Ray Bradbury
from Lovecraft1890 at Wordpress

A PDF of an FSU Conversation
with Ray Bradbury in 2004

A 1976 Letter from
Ray Bradbury to Robert Heinlein

Interview with Gygax mentioning it was
Ray Bradbury that got him hooked on sci fi

10 Most Influential Space Westerns List

1982: Role-playing Infancy and Infantry

I officially declare 1982 as "The Year of the RPG Sucker!" That was the year that saw mainstream outlets like Waldenbooks scrambling to stock their shelves for gaming enthusiasts primed for the hustle. That was the year I bought The Highest Level of All Fantasy Wargaming. (To this day, I still have a particular fondness for Margaret Welbank's illustrations from the book.) It was also the year that I that I bought Daniel Douglas Hutto and Roger Allen Esnard's Space Infantry.

I won't get into detail about the system mechanics or offer too deep a review; you can find that here. The real point of this post is not to criticize, but rather praise. You have to applaud any gamer back then with his own set of rules for having the wear-with-all to organize said ruleset, then dig into their pockets to pay for production and printing (which included typesetting, paste-ups, filmwork and stripping, plates, and then the biggest expense of all... offset printing, because digital printing wouldn't begin to be an option for a couple of decades plus.)

I think more than any other game I ever owned (even D&D), Space Infantry may be the most responsible for my deciding to create my original edition of The System on my dad's Wang (ahem) and copy machine. (It was all I could afford.)

I think we now all take for granted for the ease of the personal computer and the downright bargain of print-on-demand services like Ka-Blam and Lulu. It's led to some really interesting offerings like X-plorers and Planet Eris. Unfortunately, it's also led to some blatant copyright infringement in an attempt to turn a profit.

I always have an appreciation for those who do it for the love of the hobby, regardless of the quality level of the content, mechanics, or layout. It's the scam artists and opportunists that disgust me.

Cover and first 3 pages from The System,
self-published in 1985.

Starmasters Preview: Üroti (Character Race)

Üroti: (plural only used; no singular; pron. “yoo-RAH-dee”)

OVERVIEW

The Üroti are a diminutive and graceful blue-skinned race, similar in appearance to humans, save for slightly pointed ears and a small pair of antannae on their foreheads. The Üroti appear in two forms, the more common lighter-skinned variation (“Light Üroti) and a rarer darker-skinned variation (“Dark Üroti.”) While all Üroti possess a degree of psionic ability and are traditionally known as healers, the darker-skinned Üroti are naturally more more potent and capable in their healing powers than their lighter-skinned brethren. Dark Üroti are customarily cloistered and secretive of their rituals and traditions, while Light Üroti are much more sociable, welcoming and open to non-Üroti beings. Certain sensory extremes are painful to both varieties.

They once ruled a great empire with their greatest leaders being mystics, but they were utterly defeated in a war, which nearly destroyed them completely. Their government is now essentially non-functional and they control only one planet—an icy, high-gravity, mineral-poor world that is known for its relatively few life forms.

Attribute modifications: -2 STR, +1 ACC, +1 MOV, +1 INT, ±0 HPs.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

The Üroti are natural psionicists. To determine the POW rating of a Üroti, roll 3d6 and add the character’s INT rating, then divide the total by 4, rounding up.

Psychic Healing: All Üroti are trained as younglings in the art of Psychic Healing. Most young adult Light Üroti operate at 2 RPs, while the eldest operate at 5 or 6 RPs. Dark Üroti operate slightly higher, with young adults at 3 RPs and the eldest Dark Üroti at 8 RPs.

Other Psionic Abilities: The secrets of training Üroti for psionic attacks are held close to the vest by the Dark Üroti. While it is not unheard for Light Üroti to be trained in attack abilities, there is only a 1 in 20 chance that a Light Üroti will have access to the proper training. The player should work with the GM to arrange for training a Üroti character (Dark or Light) and determining RPs in specific psionic abilities.

Infra-red Vision: Due to their evolution on their icy home planet, Üroti have developed the ability to “see heat” through Infra-red Vision. It reaches its pinnacle at young adulthood, with 5 effective RPs and operating at a level of 5. Both the RPs and the level of the ability will deteriorate over time, usually falling to half the normal RPs and level by the time most Üroti reach old age.

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Starmasters is the old-school science fiction game of interstellar exploration, conquest, and proliferation. (Currently in development from New Big Dragon Games Unlimited.)