Don't Let A Dralasite Lick It...

Art by Vincent Di Fate

The admonition above is good advice generally.  Specifically, it relates to the stamp on a self-addressed envelope one should send to TSR regarding “comments and questions about the Knight Hawks Game.”  Said admonition appears on the inside front cover of the “16-page board game rules book” included in the Knight Hawks boxed set.  As the back of the box states, Knight Hawks is “Playable as an expansion to the STAR FRONTIERS™ ALPHA DAWN role playing game or as a separate boardgame.”  The board game rules are actually the starship combat rules for Star Frontiers.  These rules can be presented as a board game since they are largely distinct from the role-playing rules of Star Frontiers.  (The 64-page Knight Hawks Campaign Book includes approximately two pages of Special Combat Rules that supplement the 'board game' rules.)

The title page of the board games rules book reads, appropriately enough, “Basic and Advanced Boardgame Rules.”  However, the unillustrated cover reads UPF Tactical Operations Manual.  “UPF” means United Planetary Federation (which is completely different from the United Federation of Planets).  The military arm of the UPF is called Spacefleet (which is absolutely not Starfleet – Why would you even think that?).  The board game rules include four scenarios, two for the basic game and two for the advanced.  All of these scenarios represent incidents in the Second Sathar War.  (Given that Sathar are evil, worm-like aliens, it is to be expected that their ships have names like Carrion, Faminewind, Doomfist, and Venomous.)  Of course, “Players can make up an endless variety of scenarios on their own.”  Additionally, “Other conflicts (involving pirates, rebels, dictators or other interstellar ruffians) certainly are possible, and players are encouraged to experiment with new forces and situations.”

Included in the boxed set are 285 counters.  These are used to play out starship combat on a 22½” × 35” map sheet with a tessellation of hexes.  However, the inside back cover states, “Players interested in expanding their Knight Hawks games can use miniature metal spaceships instead of the cardboard counters included with the game.”  As one might expect, there's a plug for “TSR's STAR FRONTIERS Spaceship Miniatures, available where Knight Hawks is sold.”  With miniatures, players can forgo using a map.  If so,

Planets and moons can be cut out of cardboard and colored however the players like.  These planets can be cut to reflect their real size, unlike the counters in the game.  For example, the Earth would be 1.3 inches in diameter.  The moon would be .3 inches in diameter, 38 inches away from the Earth.

Of course, the Earth and moon are not part of the Star Frontiers setting and no comparable information for the planetary systems actually in the setting.  Regardless if a map is used, “space” is treated as if it is a flat plane, succumbing to the Khan Fallacy.  To be fair, according to the box cover, Knight Hawks is intended for “beginning to intermediate players, ages 10 and up” and a three-dimensional starship combat system would likely be too complex for the target demographic.

The basic game offers seven types of spaceships and also describes space stations.  Weapons systems are limited to lasers, rockets, and torpedoes (or “torpedos” as the rules sometimes spell it).  The described defensive systems are reflective hull (“mirror-like paint that...will often cause a laser beam to bounce off the ship...”), masking screen (“created when a ship releases a cloud of water vapor into space...”), and interceptor missiles (“small missiles that can be fired at incoming torpedoes, assault rockets and rocket battery barrages”).  Weapon type is indexed against defense type on a Combat Table to find the percentage chance of causing damage.  When a target vessel has more than one defensive system, “an attack's chance to hit is calculated against the most effective defense.”  If an attack is successful, damage dice are rolled and the result is subtracted from the target's hull points.  We are informed, “When all of the ship's hull points are gone, the ship is destroyed and the player removes it from the map.”

The advanced game introduces minelayers, light cruisers, and civilian craft.  Offensive capabilities include mines, proton beam batteries, electron beam batteries, disruptor beam cannon, and seeker missiles.  Screens are available as defensive systems in the advanced game.  A proton screen “is a field of charged particles which surrounds a ship,” an electron screen “is the opposite of a proton screen,” and a stasis screen is evidently some sort of field with an “electrical pulse.”  Each screen type happens to attract certain attack types.  A proton screen attracts electron beams, an electron screen attracts proton beams, and “a stasis screen allows missiles and rockets to home in with increased accuracy.”  When a ship with a given screen is attacked by that screen's 'nemesis' attack, the screen is used as the defense instead of the most effective defense the target may otherwise have.

Damage effects are more detailed in the advanced game.  In addition to the hull hits a weapon inflicts, the Damage Table is also consulted.  Some example results from the table include 'weapon hit' (a particular weapon system is destroyed), 'hull hit' (“double normal damage”), and 'navigation hit' (“loose maneuvering control”).  In the advanced game, crews can attempt repairs during combat.  (A combat turn lasts ten minutes and repairs may be attempted after every third turn.)  Each ship has a Damage Control Rating which can range from 30 to 200.  When attempting repairs, the Damage Control Rating is divided among damaged systems.  The amount allocated to a given system is the percentage chance that the system will be repaired.  Hull repairs can restore 1d10 hull points.

There is a section of the Knight Hawks Campaign Book titled The Second Sathar War.  This section offers “rules for a strategic level boardgame about the second Sathar attack on the Frontier.”  These rules employ the Frontier Deployment Map, an “abstract representation of the Frontier” (depicted below).

The rectangles are “transit boxes.”  For the most part, the number of transit boxes between star systems equals light years of distance as shown on Frontier map from the Expanded Rules.  However, Athor is eight light years from Araks even though there are only seven transit boxes between them on the Deployment Map.  Also, K'Tsa-Karis is five light years distant from K'aken-Kar, but only four transit boxes are shown on the Deployment Map.  Normally, ships can travel one transit box per day; however, by “risk-jumping,” they can travel up to three per day.  When a ship risk-jumps, there is a percentage chance it “will be lost for the duration of the war.”

When opposing forces are in the same system at the end of a day, there may be a battle.  Depending on the number of ships involved in a battle, different rules are suggested.  If there are more than fourteen ships, the basic rules are recommended.  When there are five to fourteen ships, the advanced rules with “no skill modifiers” are recommended.  With fewer than five ships, it is suggested that the advanced rules with “average NPC skills” be used.  Among the spaceship skills introduced in Knight Hawks, there are 'gunnery' skills that can improve chances for attack success.  Essentially, each level in a skill increases the chance for success by five percent.  However, when skills are applied to starship combat, the base chance for success is usually reduced between five and fifteen percent.  For example, against an electron screen, the base chance of success for an assault rocket is 60%; when gunnery skills are in play, the chance is 50%.

The strategic game includes rules for supply lines and enhanced repair.  There are optional rules for replacements (“available at the end of every 20 days”) and shatter drones (“A shatter drone is essentially a ship that has been turned into a huge bomb”).

The Volturnus Trilogy (part I) (spoilers)

 

Venus (Source: NASA/JPL/USGS)

The introductory adventure module included with the Star Frontiers boxed set was Crash on Volturnus, having a designation of “SF 0.”  The adventure continued with two additional modules – Volturnus, Planet of Mystery (SF 1) and Starspawn of Volturnus (SF 2) – sold separately.  All three modules are credited to Mark Acres and Tom Moldvay.

According to the Player Character Background Report in the first module:

          The Zebulon star system was first investigated 20 years ago by an unmanned exploration probe launched by Truane's Star.  This probe indicated that Volturnus was the only inhabitable planet in the Zebulon system.  It also indicated that great mineral wealth might exist on the planet in the form of molybdenum, tungsten, gold, and other heavy metals.  Truane's Star soon made a legal claim to the ownership of Volturnus, and completed exploration of a star route to the Zebulon system one year ago.
          The first manned expedition to Volturnus from Truane's Star was launched nine months ago.  The four member team of specialists was instructed to set up an outpost, gather data on the possible colonization and mining of Volturnus, and report back.
          After passing into the star system, the starship carrying the specialists was never heard from again...
          Truane's Star has found itself short of personnel and funds due to colonial troubles and associated police action on Cygnus Omicrom IX recently.  They have hired you, a team of unknown adventurers, to mount a relief expedition to Volturnus.  Your mission is to explore Volturnus, gathering as much information as possible about mineral deposits, life on the planet, and other items of interest to future colonists.  You are also to find and rescue the members of the original exploratory mission if possible.
          The government has provided you with a minimal amount of equipment, and transportation to Volturnus aboard the starliner Serena Dawn.  After dropping you on Volturnus, the Serena Dawn will return in three months to transport you (and, with luck, the original exploration team) back to Truane's Star.

Although the player characters would not realistically know this, game statistics for the members of the original expedition are provided.  Intended only for referees, the Star Frontiers™ System Brief for Zebulon indicates that Volturnus is named “after the Greek god of the southwest wind.”  This is interesting in that Earth is not part of the Star Frontiers setting.  Perhaps we are supposed to adopt a belief in Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development.  (Also, one of the locations on Volturnus is Crystal Stonehenge; described as “resembling Stonehenge on Terra...”)

While on the Serena Dawn, weapons and power packs belonging to the player characters are secured in the ship's weapons locker.  Heavy gear has been placed in the cargo hold; player characters are allowed to retain only “non-weapon tool kits.”  Anyway, when the ship enters the Zebulon system, pirates hijack the Serena Dawn.  At least the module refers to the hijackers as pirates.  I assume that pirates are interested in capturing and/or looting vessels; these pirates don't seem to have studied the job description.  They wind up destroying the Serena Dawn and, although they post guards at the cargo bays, they don't actually seem to take anything.

Additionally, I wonder why pirates would establish a base in the Zebulon system which is five light years away from the nearest system with any sort of starship traffic.  The second module establishes that the “pirates” oversee an illicit mining operation on Volturnus.  (It also establishes that the pirates work for the “Star Devil.”)  I can understand destroying the Serena Dawn to keep the mining operation from being discovered, but it isn't piracy.  Dragon #98 (June 1985) has an article which presents an “unofficial” background for Volturnus, providing a plausible explanation for the pirates as well as the identity of the Star Devil.

The player characters don't learn about the hijacking via the alarm system or an intercom announcement.  Instead, they “hear the sound of scuffling outside [their] cabin.”  There are five random encounters which take place in order.  They are random in regard to when they take place.  On each turn, there is a 10% chance of the next sequential encounter occurring.  The fifth encounter is actually an event:  “The ship begins to vibrate badly.”  The is the cue to evacuate the ship.  Meanwhile, the player characters have some amount of agency and move about the area of the ship represented on the Starship Bridge Area Map.  (The bridge, incidentally, is in two separate sections.)  One possible course of action is for the player characters to go to the cargo bays.  Aside from their equipment, player characters can find things like a “Holographic fireworks projector,” “Yazirian punching bags,” “Packets of dehydrated food,” etc.  Some of these items could be of use to enterprising players.  However, why a ship transporting an exploratory expedition would have cargo like “Large machine gears” and “High fashion Human dresses” is not apparent.

Eventually, it is assumed that the player characters will board a lifeboat and venture to Volturnus.  Unfortunately, as indicated in the module's title, the player characters crash on the surface of the planet.  With the lifeboat on fire, “The characters have enough time to remove the survival packs...but no other equipment can be removed.”  On the other side of the Starship Bridge Area Map, there is a colorful planetary map of Volturnus representing an area “about the size of the state of Colorado.”  The lifeboat crashes in a desert in the southwest quadrant of the map.

          A dashed line circles the lifeboat crashsite.  This is the movement limit for CRASH ON VOLTURNUS.  It is important the characters do not pass this line, especially if you plan to play the sequel to CRASH ON VOLTURNUS.  If the characters reach this line, turn immediately to planned encounter 3 (the Ul-Mor).  In addition, if the characters begin to die of thirst or starve, turn immediately to planned encounter 3.

The Ul-Mor resemble octopuses.  In addition to eight limbs (each ending “in five small tentacles useful for grasping and manipulation”)...

          The Ul-Mor also have a ninth limb, a tentacle about 30 centimeters long.  This tentacle is an extension of the spinal cord.  The end contains a hard cartilage point encasing a series of nerve endings.  The Ul-Mor can insert the tip of this tentacle into the fatty tissue surrounding the spinal cord of other creatures, achieving a nerve link which allows them to communicate directly with the creature's mind.  The Ul-Mor use this tentacle so effectively they can achieve a direct mind-link with any being.

Before meeting the Ul-Mor, there are various encounters the player characters can have in the desert, both random and planned.  The five random encounters are:  (1) Burrower Snake, (2) Sand Storm, (3) Funnel Worm, (4) Sand Shark, and (5) Lopers.  Often used by Ul-Mor as mounts, lopers “are two-legged reptiles the size of horses.”  The “Lopers” encounter is what I call a “bear cub” moment.  In D&D module B3, Palace of the Silver Princess, the adventurers can come across a bear cub that “appears to have been abandoned by its mother.”  Player characters can choose to adopt the cub – a type of role-playing opportunity not typically afforded in a dungeon crawl.  In the “Lopers” encounter, the Volturnus castaways find “a dead female loper that has just given birth to two babies.”  Adopting the baby lopers can result in a pay-off when the player characters eventually meet the Ul-Mor – “if the characters have the baby lopers with them, the tallest Ul-Mor will ceremoniously drop his weapons and raise four of his tentacles.”  I suppose this is a good thing.

It behooves the player characters to cultivate the good will of the Ul-Mor; the rest of the module depends upon it.  The Ul-Mor can provide food and water to the player characters only if they agree to join the Ul-Mor tribe.  Assuming they agree, the Ul-Mor will lead the characters to the Place of the True Warriors where the initiation ritual can occur.  Evidently, the safest route to this place is through the Forbidden Caverns.  In the caverns, the characters become separated from the Ul-Mor and must make their way through the science fiction equivalent of a dungeon.  This is the most detailed portion of the module.

The actual initiation (and culmination of the module) is called the Ritual of the Quickdeath wherein the player characters must fight the eponymous quickdeath, “a tiger-sized creature covered with some sort of reflective armor.”  It is “the ultimate land carnivore” and has the capability to “fling a poisonous dart” from its tail.  According to the Alien Creatures Update File, “The Sathar used an advanced form of DNA manipulation to create these hideous beasts from a common type of housecat found throughout the universe.”

The Outworlds

Art by Jeff Dee

According to the Introduction of the Space Opera rules, “...we have been most fortunate in procuring several copies of the Interstellar Survey Service's Sector Star Atlases which are standard issue to all spacecraft entering given sectors of the galaxy.”  Actually, they're called Star Sector Atlases and are indicated as such in the product listings on the inside back cover.  Almost all of the Star Sector Atlases are numbered; for instance, the complete title of the first atlas is Star Sector Atlas 1:  The Terran Sector.  In Space Opera parlance, a sector represents a cubic volume of space 100-200 light years to a side.  The rules helpfully explain, “space is very definitely three dimensional...”  Very definitely.

The only unnumbered Star Sector Atlas is titled The Outworlds.  It is unnumbered because it “is not from the same game universe” as the default Space Opera setting.  However, even the numbered atlases can be inconsistent with one another since they are derived from different campaigns and thus reflect different interpretations of the setting.  In any event, The Outworlds sector “can be added on to an existing campaign, or be used as the starting point for a new one.”  Also, “The worlds and alien races in this sector can also be used on their own; simply ignore any references to other Outworlds.”

Supposedly, “The sector is 150 LY on a side.”  However, there are two planets that are 171 light years apart on the z-axis (or “the vertical dimension” as the rules state).  At least, that's what I gather from “–78 BISTHUM” and “+93 MANO.”  The Bisthum system is home to Outpost 8.  Outposts are defined as “Planets that are being investigated and prepared for colonization” and civilization is represented by “Generally an E StarPort, a few pre-fabricated huts, and a team of lonely researchers.”  The Mano system contains the planet Goshlookout where “semi-intelligent animals” plague the colonists.

     The first beasts were six legged dinosaur-like creatures who were heavily armored and armed.  Later types grew wings, prehensile trunks, shooting spines, and other deadly weapons.  The worst beast ability is the almost total resistance to poisons and biological weapons...Each beast will have one unusual ability, such as resistance to lasers or stunners.

The Outworlds was written by Stefan Jones, who has a variety of RPG credits that span decades, including Port o' Call.  Interestingly, his first writing credit was a (capsule) review of Space Opera in The Space Gamer #33 (November 1980).  (For Trillion Credit Squadron, he is listed as one of three people having “Useful Suggestions,” so I don't think that counts.)  Was he already working on The Outworlds (1981 copyright) when he submitted that review?  Jones also wrote the Space Opera adventures Vault of the Ni'er Queyon (1982) and
Operation Peregrine (1983).

In the atlas, information about each planet of interest is conveyed through two documents provided under the auspices of the United Federation of Planets.  (Really?  They couldn't go with the Federation of United Planets or the Combined Federation of Planets?)  The two documents are:  Form 217/DIS.8JE from the Department of Interstellar Survey and Form 550/CS.6MV from the Contacts Service.

Blank Survey Evaluation Form

Example Contacts Service Form:  Alkast

“Technological Level” appears at the top of the Contacts Service form, right next to the planet's name.  Whereas weapons and various items of equipment are assigned Tech Levels, what 'Tech Level' means with regard to a society is not expressly established.  Tech Levels range from one to ten but “Tech/7” is the standard level for galactic civilization.  Tech Levels correlate to “Type of Government.”  For instance, Anarchy results in a Tech Level range of 1 – 4; Representative Democracy offers 4 – 10.

Societal Strength also ranges from one to ten; a score of one “signifies a collapsing society” while ten “signifies a very strong society, highly resilient to sudden changes because of the sheer determination of the people and the social institutions to survive and adapt.”  Societal Strength is based on Social Organization.  A Caste Society has a 2  – 5 range; a Communist Society has a 1 – 7 range.

The Xeno-Acceptance Factor (shown as 'Xeno Acceptance Index' on the form) “is the percentage chance that a member of the culture will be prejudiced in his dealings with an 'alien' not demonstrably of his race and general cultural background and beliefs.”  Isn't that the opposite of acceptance?  Regardless, the lower the Societal Strength of a culture, the greater the chance of prejudice.

None of the Outworld planets have a listed Bureaucracy Level.  This is just as well since this concept is not defined in the rules.  Support Index refers to the portion “of the population which will support the present governmental system in a 'crunch'...”  Loyalty Index is the “chance that a given individual citizen will be loyal to the present system.”  Repression Index indicates the “percentage of the population 'repressed' by various discriminatory measures under the present social and/or political system.”  Corruption Index is the “chance that a given government official will accept a 'bribe' or 'gift' or 'token of appreciation'...”  Law Level ranges from one to twenty and is mainly concerned with weapon restrictions; the greater the level, the stronger the restrictions.

The Trade Acceptance Index is “the percentage chance that a trader will find a ready market for his goods on the planet.”  The rules inform us, “The index does not assure a sale, but it makes an attempt possible once per week that an offer comes up.”

Among the nine new alien races described in the The Outworlds there is what humans call the CULT; sometimes spelled with all capitals, sometime with only an initial capital.  An illustration of a CULT member is presented at the beginning of the post.

     The minds of the entire species are linked together by a sort of mechanical telepathy, using communicators implanted within the brain of each individual.  The CULT lives in space craft or on (or in) asteroid bases...They have five strong tentacles and a bulbous central body, all encased in a segmented exoskeleton... Cult walk on three of their tentacles at a time, leaving two free for manipulative functions.  The thick shell is usually light gray in color, the skin in [sic] dark red or purple.
     Behavior patterns of the Cult are very erratic...Trade missions sometimes dump valuable goods on the StarPort landing field and leave without collecting payment.  These abberations [sic] are thought to be due to malfunctions in the computer and communications equipment of the Cult mass-mind network.

Another Outworld race is referred to by humans as Greenstar Demons (or 'Green Star Demons' as the atlas also calls them).  How the Demons refer to themselves is unknown, as is their homeworld.  This race occasionally...

     ...raids the Outworlds and is believed to be the cause of many ship disappearances.  The Demons get their name from their bodily appearance, and from a mysterious force field they use that seals off systems they are raiding.  This force field has the side effect of causing the primary of the system to glow bright green...
     The Demons are xenophobic and highly intelligent monsters.  They take intelligent beings for use as food animals, slaves and other horrid purposes.  Demon ships shoot on sight, trying to disable and board any ship they come across.

Before leaving the Outworlds, we owe it to ourselves to address the spice mines of Kessex.  (That's Kessex – not Kessel – OK?  Call off the lawyers.)  In “deep underground spice caverns,” slaves gather fungoids.  “Luxury Goods (Spice Products)” are the major exports of Kessel Kessex; however, neither the value of such products nor their use is indicated.  Kessex is in the Rant system (the companion star is is Rave).  The only system within twelve parsecs is Kherm, containing the planet Agar.  The Lazkee Corporation 'owns' Agar, an ocean world where an “algae-like plant...is processed and converted into edible foodstuffs for shipment to other worlds.”  This is an important distinction; the market for inedible foodstuffs is negligible.

Characters in Space Opera (part I)

Art by Allen Anderson

The best way to learn about characters in a given role-playing game is to generate a character.  As such, we shall endeavor to create a Space Opera character in this and subsequent posts.

The first step is to choose a class from among the following six:  Armsman, Tech, Research Scientist, Medical Scientist, Engineer Scientist, and Astronaut.  Let's go with Astronaut.

The next step is to determine personal characteristic scores.  The fourteen 'basic' characteristics are grouped into six sets:

• Physique / Strength / Constitution
• Agility / Dexterity
• Empathy / Intelligence
• Psionics / Intuition
• Bravery / Leadership
• General Technical Aptitude / Mechanical Aptitude / Electronics Aptitude

Scores range from 1 to 19, but scores are determined by rolling percentile dice.  Each characteristic 'set' has a column on a chart where the percentile roll result indicates a score.  For example, a roll of 50 for Psionics or Intuition means a score of 9; the same roll for Bravery or Leadership indicates a score of 13.  Our rolls are as follows:

• Physique (27)/ Strength (28)/ Constitution (47)
• Agility (38)/ Dexterity (55)
• Empathy (27)/ Intelligence (47)
• Psionics (49)/ Intuition (50)
• Bravery (08)/ Leadership (78)
• GTA (02)/ MechA (88)/ ElecA  (17)

Each class offers a number of points which can be used to modify the results for certain characteristics.  Astronauts have forty points that may be allocated among Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, Intuition, Bravery, Leadership, and General Technical Aptitude.  A careful distribution of points results in the following:

• Physique (27 = 11)/ Strength (28 = 11)/ Constitution (47 = 13)
• Agility (41 = 12)/ Dexterity (55 = 13)
• Empathy (27 = 9)/ Intelligence (51 = 12)
• Psionics (49 = 9)/ Intuition (51 = 10)
• Bravery (8 = 4)/ Leadership (81 = 16)
• GTA (26 = 9)/ MechA (88 = 17)/ ElecA (17 = 7)

Only 35 of the 40 points were allocated.  The five remaining points cannot raise the scores of any of the allowed characteristics any higher (except for Bravery).  Since the minimum Bravery for Armsmen and Astronauts is 11 (lower scores may be raised to 11), we need not spend points on that characteristic.  The rules establish that player characters “tend to possess 'superior' personal characteristics, compared to those of typical members of their race” and “rarely will they be truly deficient in any of their personal characteristics.”  Accordingly, the percentile roll results tend to provide higher rather than lower scores.  Echoing your humble host's feelings on the matter, Space Opera proclaims, “To inflict the usual 'averaged' characteristics upon PCs and the players running them is a failure to recognize that PCs are 'heroic' in not only their drive to reach goals that lesser men cannot hope to attain, but also their capacity to actually win through to those goals.”  For some characteristics, the baseline score indicates 'normal' ability.  For example, an Intelligence score of 01 “represents the equivalent of contemporary IQ 95 - 105.”

For the most part, the definitions of the personal characteristics are intuitive.  Empathy, however, is defined as “the unconscious and largely uncontrolled broadcast of a character's personality aura and its interaction on auras of those around him.”  We learn that a character with an Empathy score of 01 - 06 is “a man without a conscience in search of a personal, living 'god' to give his troubled life security and purpose, a sword looking for a strong hand to wield it.”  Say what?

The next step is to determine that nature of the character's home planet through a series of die rolls.  A result of 11 an a d20 tells us our Astronaut is “a native of a planet with a standard 'Terran' gravity field of 0.9 G to 1.1 G.”  This result allows a 50% chance of either +1 Strength or +1 Stamina.  The percentile roll result is 33 and I elect to have +1 Strength.  A result of 13 on another d20 indicates a planet with “an atmosphere of more or less Terran quality.”  Planetary Climate is determined with a percentile roll.  A result of 70 establishes our Astronaut's homeworld as Planetary Type 2: Terran Planet without Seasonality.

Assume hydrographic features cover 50% to 75% of the planetary surface.  The climate will vary considerably over the entire surface of the planet, but fixed and unchanging belts of climate occur.  Inhabitants will tend to pick the most favorable and comfortable zones to be settled, making forays into the hinterlands.  As water tends toward the 75% of surface area range, the equatorial and tropical regions develop dense jungle belts.  As the water tends toward 50% of surface area, the equatorial and tropical regions tend toward desert.

“Once the personal characteristics and the planet of birth have been determined for a PC,” section 2.3 explains, “the player will have to decide on the interstellar race to which his character belongs.”  To belong to a particular race, a character must conform to specified characteristic minima/maxima and come from an appropriate planetary type.  The default option, naturally, is human.  We learn that “Humanoids are representative of human races who evolved from the basic racial type during the long isolation of the Interregnum between ForeRunner Civilization and the rise of the current starcultures.”  Presumably, the ForeRunners are the Space Opera equivalent of the Ancients in Traveller.  Transhumans “seem to represent individual evolutionary mutations pointing toward a new stage of [human] racial development.”  There are, however, two Transhuman races, the members of which are Vulcans with the serial numbers filed off.

Most of the playable interstellar races – aside from humans – are anthropomorphic animals:  pithecine, canine, feline, ursoid, avian, and warm-blooded saurians.  The races are presented as types – there may be several (presumably interfertile) races of a given type in the setting galaxy.  For instance, among the feline races, there are the MekPurrs and the Avatars.  “The MekPurrs are the acknowledged masters of cybernetic engineering...” while the Avatars eschew “many of the trapping[s] of technological 'civilization' as decadent...”

Our Astronaut does not meet the requirements for any non-human race other than humanoids or Avians.  Really, who wants to be a humanoid or an Avian?

Height and Weight are derived from from a character's Physique score.  A chart is consulted based on gender and race.  A male human with a Physique of 11 is 180 cm tall and weighs 80 kg.  However, the +1 Strength bonus obtained earlier causes an increase of body mass by 5 - 10%.  A roll of 1d6 results in a 2, so there is an increase of 6%.  The modified weight is therefore 84.8 kg.

The formula for determining Carrying Capacity (CC) is:

( [Physique + Strength + Constitution] / 3) × body mass × racial factor

The CC racial factor for humans is 0.05.  As such, our Astronaut's Carrying Capacity is 51 kg.

Damage factors – representing a character's ability to withstand physical injury – can be calculated thus:

( [Physique + Strength + Constitution + mass] / 10) × racial factor

The DF racial factor for humans is 2.5, indicating a value of 30 for our Astronaut.

Stamina Factor is determined through the following:

(Strength + Constitution) × racial factor

The SF racial factor for humans is 3.0; therefore, the character's Stamina Factor is 75.

In the next post, the character will engage upon a career.

Inspiration: The Fantastic Journey

Long ago, in a magical time called the Seventies, there was a brief television series called The Fantastic Journey.  With only ten episodes, there was insufficient material for re-run syndication; however, that single viewing captivated your humble host's youthful imagination.  Thanks to the Information Age – and YouTube specifically – the shows can be viewed again.

The Fantastic Journey is quite similar to a role-playing campaign.  In fact, the introductory narration for each episode describes the protagonists as “a party of adventurers.”  Each episode, the party encounters a different 'civilization of the week' and the plot would include an allegory in the vein of Star Trek (which is hardly surprising given that D.C. Fontana was one of the story editors).  Yes, The Fantastic Journey is like a campaign; however, it is a campaign with a player retention problem.

The premise of the series is rooted in the Bermuda Triangle, which was something of a fad at the time.  A scientific expedition becomes shipwrecked after encountering an eerie, green cloud in the triangle.  Among other personnel, the expedition includes a 'famous' scientist, the son of said famous scientist, Scott (played by Ike Eisenmann of Witch Mountain fame), and the token minority, Fred (played by Carl Franklin), a recent graduate of medical school.  Because the night sky has no moon or stars (only a “strange glow”), they realize they are experiencing something out-of-the-ordinary.  They decide to hike inland where they see mountains and the television audience sees stock footage of koalas, giraffes, and other animals of disparate biomes.  It seems our protagonists are somewhere beyond normal reality.  Then they meet up with Varian (played by Jared Martin).  Of course, they don't know it's Varian – all they know is that he's some guy in a wig and a loincloth.

I didn't like Varian, but at the time my young mind didn't understand the difference between character motivation and plot contrivance.  At first, Varian doesn't say anything and the protagonists assume he's an Arawak Indian.  He slips away from the camp at night and Scott, the kid, follows him.  Varian explains that he is from the year 2230 and he shows Scott his – now inoperable – futuristic craft.  Naturally, when morning comes, Scott's father and the other members of the expedition form two search parties and go looking for Scott.  Varian and Scott are found by Scott's father.  Varian explains that he disguised himself as an Arawak Indian because, when he first arrived in the area, he was captured by English privateers from the 16th century.  He couldn't reveal himself to the expedition until he was certain they weren't affiliated with the privateers.  Of course, when he was certain, he didn't reveal himself but walked off in the middle of the night instead.  So, the other search party gets captured by 16th century privateers because Varian didn't bother to warn people they might get captured by 16th century privateers.  But it's OK because everything works out, right?  No, a guy dies because of the privateers!  Thanks Varian.

The uncaptured protagonists decide to wait until night to rescue the captured protagonists.  Meanwhile, Varian regales everyone with how awesome and New Age-y the 23rd century is.  It turns out than Varian is a musician, but in the 23rd century musicians are healers.  (Yeah, Varian is stepping on Fred's skill set.)  Varian is able to heal people by using the “sonic energizer,” a device that looks like a crystal tuning fork.  Actually, Varian can use the energizer for all kinds of things (i.e., whatever the writers need it to do); essentially, it is a deus ex machina gizmo (although that sounds redundant).  Yet using the energizer for purposes other than healing is “draining,” so there's a reason he doesn't use it at every opportunity.  Varian is also a pacifist; he won't even destroy inanimate objects to cause a distraction in the rescue attempt because “it's wasteful.”  (My RPG analogy breaks down at this point because I can't imagine a player character that wimpy.)  One more thing about Varian before I continue:  In another episode, he's asked to help free an oppressed group of people.  Although he doesn't condone such oppression, he's not willing to do anything about it because it's none of his business.  (He does end up helping, but that's beside the point.)  I still don't like Varian.

The pilot episode ends with Varian and the (surviving) members of the expedition heading east.  Varian relates that the Arawak say there's a place to the east where anyone can find a gateway back to his own time.  (Note that no Arawak characters appear in the show.)  Eventually, we learn that this Bermuda Triangle version of Emerald City is called “Evoland.”  In order to reach Evoland, the party must traverse various “time zones” that are separated by invisible doorways.

After the pilot, the series was retooled.  Originally, the producers intended the protagonists to encounter displaced persons from various eras of history in the time zones, but a decision was made to forgo the historic angle and just concentrate on the science fiction elements.  Also, the expedition members other than Fred and Scott were removed from the cast, leaving Varian as party leader.  With regard to story continuity, it was necessary to explain the absence of the missing cast members .  This leads us to the second episode, “Atlantium.”  (Don't worry, I'm not going to cover every episode.)

So, Atlantium is a city of Atlanteans run by “The Source.”  (Exterior and interior shots of Atlantium were filmed at the recently constructed Bonaventure Hotel.)  “The Source” is a throbbing pile of brain pudding marinating in a bubbling liquid.  It needs to be rejuvenated by a fresh intellect – said intellect being destroyed in the process.  Apparently, the missing cast members “went ahead” of the others and “The Source” sent them back to their original time (because they weren't suitable to replenish him or whatever).  I think the audience was supposed to believe that the characters really did go home yet, even as a child, that sounded fishy to me.  When Fred and Varian become bothersome, “The Source” makes arrangements to eliminate them.  Why would he bother to send the others through time?

At the beginning of the episode, Varian, Fred, and Scott appear through a doorway and find that the others aren't waiting for them.  A guide from Atlantium explains to the trio that the others went to the city; the guide then leads them there.  Arriving at Atlantium, the trio are told that the others have gone to their correct time, but the trio can't immediately follow because whatever powers the time travel needs to “recharge.”  Would Scott's father have left him like that?  Of course not, but Scott needs some reassurance – as does the audience – that his father's departure is legit.  The Atlanteans produce a letter written by Scott's father that satisfies everyone's concerns.  Varian informs Scott that his father really wrote the letter because he can sense the father's aura in it.  (The father could have written it under duress or in a trance state, but whatever.)  Later, Varian's marvellous aura detection ability fails him utterly when a Scott simulacrum fools him.  (The real Scott is being prepared to rejuvenate “The Source.”)  In another episode, Varian says he can also detect “alpha waves.”

Anyway, as hinted at above, “The Source” selects Scott to rejuvenate him.  By the time the episode ends, “The Source” is destroyed and the Atlanteans are free to rule themselves.  However, without “The Source,” the Atlanteans have no more time travel (if they ever had it in the first place).  So our heroes set out to find Evoland via the doorways.  They are joined by Liana (played by Katie Saylor) and Sil-El (uncredited) as regular cast members (although they drop out for the final two episodes).

Liana has an extraterrestrial mother and a father “of Earth.”  Apparently, she was born on her mother's world (which has stronger gravity than Earth) and came to Atlantium at an early age.  She joins the party on their quest for Evoland because she wants to return to her mother's beautiful “City of Spires.”  Aside from her heavy-gravity enhanced physiology, she can cause people (or men at least) to lose consciousness by staring into their eyes.  She could also telepathically exchange information with Sil-El by staring into his eyes (or maybe her eyes).  You see, Sil-El is a cat.  As John Kenneth Muir states, “It was a daring and original move to include a cat as a regular character.”  Nowadays, we have LOLcat memes, but positive feline role models were rare in Seventies' media.  Excellent for reconnaissance, Sil-El became a valued member of the party.

I can has Evoland?

The third episode introduces the final member of the party, Willaway, “a rebel scientist” (played by the inimitable Roddy McDowall).  Rather than the Bermuda Triangle, Willaway was lost in the Devil's Sea (another of Ivan Sanderson's vile vortices).  Actually, Willaway is the villain of the episode.  Instead of trying to find a way back to his own time (1963), Willaway has set himself up as the ruler of a time zone and surrounded himself with servile androids.  With regard to interacting with genuine humans, Willaway states, “Society and I do seem to have our problems.”  Also problematic is the fact that the androids belong to an alien community.  By taking over their androids, Willaway caused the community to flee to the swamps.  By the end of the episode, Willaway is deposed and the aliens occupy their rightful place.  Varian invites Willaway to join the party, introducing an interesting dynamic to the team.  When Willaway asks why, Varian reminds him he's from the future and says, “I know more about you than you do.”  Not to slight the capable performances of Eisenmann and Franklin, it was McDowall who made the series memorable.

What was my point?  Oh yes, The Fantastic Journey as a role-playing campaign.  In the show, party composition could easily change from episode to episode, similar to a campaign with an inconstant player roster.  Aside from a 'new' setting from week to week, there is the big picture to consider.  Do people appear in the time zones through random chance or is there some overarching logic at work?  “Evoland” suggests evolution.  Perhaps people are brought into the time zones for some grand purpose (or to serve penance, such as the case with Marcus Apollonius in the episode “Funhouse”).  Perhaps people are taken to the time zones to be tested and/or to improve themselves.  Perhaps Evoland is not just a location, but a state of being.  One one occasion, a red cloud envelopes and transports the party.  Perhaps there are clouds of different colors working at cross purposes.  In the surreal episode “Riddles,” the party encounters one of the mysterious “riders” that help guide travellers to Evoland.  There must be some organization, some intelligence that sustains the riders.

The Fauna of Wizards' World

Art by Tracy Cameron Mansfield; “Humor” by ?

As mentioned last week, there is no setting description in Wizards' World.  Yet there are clues to the flavor and tone of the campaign(s) from which the game developed.  Humor – or what could charitably be described as such – is in evidence.  For instance, the game's section on coins makes reference to “quatloos,” a thousand of which equal the value of a copper piece.  The descriptions of original creatures tend to offer the most insight into the Wizards' World 'playtest' environment.

All Wizards' World creatures have a 'profession' (or more than one profession) and a range of 'levels' to represent their ability.  For example, weasels are thieves of first or second level; war horses are warriors of second through fifth level.  A creature's experience value is determined by its level; specifically, “the sum of the squares of its levels times 100.”  So, an amethyst dragon having two warrior levels and two wizard levels is worth 800 experience points.

“Humor” also appears in the creature descriptions.  For instance, “Valley Giants are often seen wandering about saying things like 'bitchin´ to the max' and 'like, totally'.”  (Valley Giants are “jesters” of ninth to sixteenth level.)  Also, “Rhasti are similar in appearance to weasels...[they] are peculiar in that no matter what language they use, and even if they communicate telepathically, they have a British accent.”  Additionally, “A place guarded by a troll that will accept bribes is often call [sic] a 'troll booth'.”

Wizards' World includes some standard fantasy standards like orcs (first to second level warriors), werewolves (sixth through ninth level attackers), and succubi (third though ninth level wizards / second level black knights).  There are also recognizable creatures with new names and cosmetic changes:  azara (second to fifth level warriors) are “like lions, except they are dark blue in colour,” rogoroth (sixth to ninth level attackers) are giant eagles, and zilman (first through third level warriors) are effectively D&D troglodytes.

Here are some odd creatures original to Wizards' World:

Krang “appear as men, except their clothing is lighter.”  They are warriors of sixth through fifteenth level and can teleport anywhere at will.

Yaka “closely resemble rabbits” but have the “ability to possess others.”  They have one to three levels as wizards and one to three levels as spies.  If a yaka successfully possesses a player character, it “will have the unfortunate player [sic] attack his own party” for the ultimate purpose of acquiring the party's treasure.  Possession only lasts for a number of minutes but, evidently, “they retain all knowledge that the victim had.”  Yaka have an intelligence range of 16 - 20, in excess of the 'normal' intelligence level of the player character races.  Would such entities be satisfied with treasure?  What use do they have for it?

Wolverenes are wolverines that can “fire a bolt of electricity from their bodies.”

“Tasnics seem to have no aim in life other than to have fun and collect treasure.”  They are wizards of second through nineteenth level and – even though they “can transform into humanoid form at will” – tasnics usually appear as “furry winged serpents.”  Among their special abilities, tasnics have “eye beams” and can “view reality.”

“Epsilons are bull-like creatures with red horns and eyes and black fur.”  They “can fire green colored bolts of energy that inflict...damage and cause paralyzation.”

Vexaxaxi (sing. vexaxax) “look like green gorillas with tusks.”  They have eight to twelve levels as attackers and nine to sixteen levels as assassins.  “They are supremely designed to deal out death.”  Not only do “vexaxaxi have retractable fangs that hold...poison,” they “can fire a death bolt from a single horn growing out the back of their skulls.”

Definition of 'Role-Playing Game'

Clio, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Calliope,

Terpsichore, Urania, & Melpomene

It is the nature of a role-playing game…to bring the world it reflects to life in an especially dynamic manner by allowing each player to assume the role of a major character of that world and permitting the players to interact…


From whence did this definition come?  Well boys and girls, it came from the very first licensed role-playing game.  Some of my younger readers may not realize which license was first in the RPG market; it wasn't Tolkien and it wasn't Star Trek.*  That's right everybody, pull on your cowboy boots and dust off your Stetsons 'cause we're going to DALLAS !

Perhaps more incongruous than a prime-time soap opera as the basis for the first licensed RPG is the fact it was published by SPI, a company noted primarily for its wargames.  Alas, with the benefit of hindsight, it's not surprising that this venture was a failure.  However, to fully appreciate what SPI was trying to accomplish, we must journey back decades to a magical time called 1980, when anything was possible.

By 1980, role-playing games had been growing in popularity; as of the previous year, D&D products were “distributed to the book trade” by Random House.  RPGs being accepted by the mainstream was not an absurd prospect.  If RPGs were to become that popular, 1980 was the time to take action.  Of course, the right vehicle was necessary; elves and wizards were fine for kids, but adults might find it easier to relate to something less fanciful.  A game based on a television show was ideal – all it took was sitting in front of the boob tube to understand exactly what the game was about.  Dallas was popular, so it was a good bet.  In fact, it was an excellent bet; when the game was released, the show was the pinnacle of pop culture.  “Who shot J.R.?” was the catchphrase for the summer of 1980.  Dallas: The Television Role-Playing Game could have captured a huge demographic and expanded the market for RPGs...but it didn't.

In a 1988 interview, prominent game designer and SPI executive Redmond Simonsen stated:

As to DALLAS: we didn't print 250,000 of them. More like 80,000 (in two runs). That was about 79,999 more than anyone wanted. DALLAS didn't kill SPI, but it didn't save it either (as some had vainly hoped). Essentially, anyone who is wired on DALLAS (the TV show) is not also wired on games.

Yes, in hindsight, the Dallas license was an odd choice.  Yet, had it been successful, we would be look back with our wonderful hindsight and say something along the lines of, “It was obvious...perhaps inevitable.”  Dallas is not a bad game, but SPI learned the hard way that the (tabletop) RPG market is limited after all.  Dallas occupies a sort of limbo, an area where role-playing games and the general public would have overlapped.  Alas, fans of Dallas were not interested in RPGs and gamers were not interested in role-playing J.R. and his ilk.

Anyway, to continue with the Dallas definition of role-playing game:

There are two key elements to a role-playing game, which distinguish it from other types of games and imparts a sense of drama to play:

Character Roles:  Each player assumes the role of one major character from the television show, Dallas, and acts the part of that character throughout the game.  To help players assume their roles, the game includes Character Sheets which detail the Values assigned to each major character.  These Values reflect the various strengths and weaknesses of each character in dealing with other characters.

The Director:  The Director is the one player who does not assume the role of a character.  The Director’s role in the game is to create the circumstances of the Episode being played, to introduce new characters and situations as the game progresses, and to act as the final authority on all rules interpretations.

SPI published (the original) War of the Ring, so they had dealings with the Tolkien Enterprises.  As long as we're indulging in hindsight, is it not feasible SPI could have acquired the RPG license for Middle Earth?  Rather than attempting to capture the larger, uncertain market of Dallas viewers, SPI could have focused on existing role-players, many of whom were fans of Tolkien.  Middle Earth could have been the first licensed role-playing game.  Perhaps it would have been successful enough to keep SPI solvent.

*UPDATE (January 24, 2015)
I wrote this post prior to learning of the existence of Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier published by Heritage in 1978.