Star*Drive Campaign Setting

by David Eckelberry, Richard Baker, Richard Baker

Welcome to the future's edge with this first campaign setting for the "Alternity" science fiction roleplaying game. This full-color volume hurls players into the 26th century with a galaxy of nonstop... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078690738X
• ISBN13: 9780786907380
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: TSR
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.6" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

A great "alternative" to other settings.

Star*Drive is unlike most other settings you find in science fiction today. It's a "space-opera" type setting with a brain. 13 "Stellar Nations" have colonized a region of space that was cut off from humanity when these nations went to war. When they return, all hope to profit, but aren't necessarily welcomed back with open arms. Something sinister has happened out there, and trust is no longer taken for granted. The technology is different from the standard "ray-gun" and starfighter mix, and the social concepts offer a unique flavor. Never once did I find myself thinking "Oh, that's a Star Wars / Battlestar Galactica knock-off idea.", or "Sound like Star Trek / Babylon 5." The feeling was of a setting that was unlike anything cooked up before, charged with overt and covert motives and the several layers of depth that make for good plot-building. The thing you'll probably have the most trouble with if you Game-master a S*D campaign, is introducing your player's characters to the setting's complexity and rich detail without burying your story in it. It will be worth it, for the immersive qualities of the storylines you can generate.

Excellent Possibilities for the Alternity Game

Star*Drive is a campaign setting for the popular Alternity sci-fi gaming system, and requires both the Alternity Player's Handbook and Alternity Gamemaster Guide for play. In a game that emphasizes a build-your-own world approach, the Star*Drive universe provides a quick but customizable campaign and a large selection of compatible add-ons.This 256-page book describes a 26th century world of faster-than-light speed travel, frontier exploration, alien-human commerce, war, and interstellar nations. The comparison with Star Trek is obvious but not an over-riding factor; Star*Drive has its own flavor and plenty of room for your own additions, whatever your TV, movie, or literary favorites might be. Mutants, psionics, and cybertech-enhanced beings (all optional in the basic rules) are included in this campaign. Also given are statistics and descriptions for 26th century technology (ships, military, medicine, robots, and much more), the 13 stellar nations of Old Space, and 18 solar systems of the Verge (the edge of Star*Drive's frontier). Brief histories of campaign technology, alien contact, and wars are also covered. The five alien player character species will be familiar from the Alternity Player's Handbook (Fraal, Mechalus, Sesheyan, T'sa, and Weren), as are the five basic professions; however, Star*Drive offers several subcategories under each profession (49 total) as models for your character. Accessories for the Star*Drive campaign include Alien Compendium: Creatures of the Verge, Planet of Darkness, Outbound: An Explorer's Guidebook, Arms & Equipment Guide, and Threats from Beyond. Star*Drive offers excellent possibilities for your Alternity game.--Sharon Daugherty for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

Wow! What a background!

I am NOT a TSR fan. Haven't played their games in years. But I picked this up and its great. The artwork is stunning, the information is very detailed, and the setting is very interesting. I am looking forward to adventuring in the Verge.

Great Game, Great Books

This game wouldn't be successful without the superb writing and information given in these books. It creates a -very- realistic setting for the game.

Good Job TSR

This campaign setting has got to be the best ever put out by the TSR team. In fact you could play a free lance game without dice just from the amount of information in this book. The book is very decorative and uses simple language. I have not read it cover to cover but I have read most of it and have to say !!!Good job!!! not only is it loaded with information, it also clears up a lot of the misunderstanding I had with the players hand book and the GM's guide. If your a GM and want a good place to start I suggest this book, however I do not suggest the first adventure that you can purchase seperately, untill you have put several alternity missions together, it's very confusing. Again GOOD JOB TSR!!!!