I am a semi-fan of the Stargate SG-1 television show. That is, I've watched the show a lot, enjoy it a lot, and try to catch the new episodes of the show, but have probably missed around half the episodes, particularly the 6th season with the new guy. The Sci-Fi channel doesn't help, with its lousy handling of it - some people are you know, busy on Fridays, and want to watch football on Monday, or at least not want to watch TV for 4 hours straight. So I've mostly seen it in syndication.
So in this review, I'm going to call characters by general phrases or old characters the actor has played, rather than their actual names, as while if I think about it, I do know their names, I can be somewhat iffy on them (this could be confusing to those not familiar with those old shows). If this bugs you, feel free to buy me the DVD collection.
It's a big book. 488 pages. A very big book, eclipsing Traveller 20 as the biggest RPG book I have (though I know there are bigger). The margins are normal sized, as is the typeface, so this book has alot of content. So I'm also going to break up this review into two main sections, the first part, being sort of a capsule review, and the second part, a playtest review.
The first 130 pages are background info. Starting off with a synopsis of the first 6 seasons of the show. It's not a complete synposis of each season, instead you just get capsules of the most important and story arc shows. While it's not complete, they do a very good job of giving you the basic story, and making it feel like well, history.
I don't really understand how the Sci-Fi channel is running the show now, so I'm not sure if the 7th season is over or not, but at any rate, the book is a season out of date - it still has Parker Lewis (aka, Jonas Quinn, aka Corin "Corky" Nemec) on the team, and Daniel Jackson still "Ascended".
Next comes some info on Stargate command, including a general overview of the base (ie, no maps). The most interesting is a list of the 20 SG teams. Though after some comparing to fan sites, I'm not sure if the list is correct or up to date, at least when it comes to the names of the team members. (It doesn't seem fixed at any one point in time, it has some characters from the early days, but also has the Russian unit, which didn't show up until very recently)
Chapter 3 provides info on some selected worlds. 5 are called "primary worlds", and get a couple pages each of description (but again, nothing like a map or anything). Abydos (where the movie took place, and which is now destroyed), Cimmeria, which was featured on a couple of early episodes and where they met Thor; Chulak (where the Jaffa come from); Tollan (whose episodes I haven't seen), but apparently they are human, but somewhat snooty and are very high tech; and Kelowna (where Parker Lewis is from). 5 more get about a page each (little less).
Apparently they visit around 20 planets a year on the show, and around 120 total (through 6 seasons), so the selection is a bit, er sparse, all things considered. Especially since two of them are now destroyed. There is a list of planets they've visted, on two pages, but little details are provided.
Much more detailed is the info on alien races available for PCs. The Asgard come first. They are essentially "Greys" from UFO Lore. (I suspect this is because they used the props from "Roswell" the made for Showtime movie, SG-1 was originally made for Showtime, too. Just a guess, Roswell is pretty much a standard bit of folklore these days, so maybe that was the reason, but both the Asgard and the Roswell movie alien differ slightly from how the traditional "Grey" looks. Though they've later incorporated some more UFO folklore regarding the Greys, in that they are a dying race that has to clone itself, and occasionally abduct people looking for ways to borrow our DNA to help fix their cloning problems. Side note - I think I used to vaguely know a producer of SG-1 from my UFO days. Back then he worked on the Outer Limits for Showtime, but I think he moved on to SG-1. His interest in UFOs could explain the connection.)
Then come the Jaffa (what Teal'c is), the Tok'ra (they are like the Goa'uld, but good), and most interestingly (IMHO), Near Humans. Basically humans that have evolved for a while on planets other than Earth. Though evolution seems to have been speeded up a bit, as it probably takes millions of years to really work, while these people have been gone from Earth for only a few thousand. Lastly, is the Reol, which are apparently a species of shapeshifters who are born infiltrators. No picture of one is provided, so I guess they really are pretty sneaky.
Then there is a section on the Goa'uld. The biggest revelation for me is just how to spell it. I've seen the show but I've never seen that word written down, much like Teal'c's name, so I was never quite sure what they were saying. But also very interesting is the list of the various System Lords.
The rest of the book is more or less the rules of the game itself. As it uses the d20 system, much of it will be familiar to those who know d20, but there are a decent number of changes. There's also quite a bit of stuff repeated, like descriptions of skills, attributes, feats, etc. You still need an official WOTC d20 product for the xp chart and how to roll up stats, but that's all you need it for (which makes me wish this book could have been released without the d20 logo. BTW, If you actually need a d20 product for this, I'd suggest getting Star Wars d20 - beyond the basics you need, you can also rip off the aliens and some of the gear).
As mentioned, there are a lot of differences. Different classes, no "hit" points (it uses the wound point/vitality point system from Star Wars d20). Combat is also quite a bit different.
There are 6 core classes, 5 of which are suitable for everyone, one is for Jaffa only.
Due to layout problems, most of the description of the class is on one page, but the chart for the class is on the page below. So you have to do a lot of flipping back and forth.
Soldier, Scout, Pointman, Scientist, Explorer, and "Guardian" for the Jaffa. The classes are not really balanced compared to each other (nor to regular d20, which I mention, simply as there is a section on crossovers with regular d20 in the back of the book). For instance, as one might expect, the Soldier is very good in combat. They get the best attack bonus, a d12 for vitality points, lots of bonus combat feats and combat related abilities. But they also get 4 skill points per level. (The Guardian is more or less the same as Soldier)
The Scout, Pointman, and Explorer all get average attack bonuses, a d10 for vitality points, and 6 skill points per level.
The Scientist gets poor attack bonus, a d8 for vitality points, and 8 skill points per level.
Generally speaking, there is a decent amount of customization in half the classes. The Soldier and Explorer gets a lot of bonus feats. The Pointman can take abilities from other classes. The Guardian, Scientist and Scout are fairly rigid. I think I would have liked to have seen more differentiation between the types of Scientists. You have basically 3 scientists on the show - a medical doctor, a astrophysicist/techie, and an archaeologist/anthropologist. But only 1 class to represent all three.
Basically, I probably would have given all of the military classes (Scout and Pointman) the best attack bonus, and given the Scientist 2 more skill points. It evens things out more.
There are a handful of prestige classes. Sure to be the favorite among players is the Sniper.
While there are different races, most players will probably be human. In that case, there are specialties that are picked instead of race, that will modify the attributes and determine what bonus skills and what special abilities the character gets. It works just like race.
Though you can also play other races. Besides human, there is Asgard, which as mentioned are the Grey aliens (though I really don't think they are suitable for PCs, IMHO), Jaffa, To'kra, and Reol. The last one I hadn't heard of, presumably showing up in an episode I haven't seen, and there is no picture provided, so I have no clue what they actually look like. But they also seem a mite powerful - they are super-infiltrators, and can even alter people's memories through secretions (there's a political joke in there, somewhere)
As mentioned, combat is fairly different. Simplified in some areas, more complicated in others, like initiative.
Gone are "Attacks of Opportunity" (not surprising, as many d20 variations seem to do away with it, at least ones featuring ranged weapons as the most common sort of weapon)
Also gone are "Full Attacks", in which high level characters could make multiple attacks per round. Instead, one attack takes a half-action. So a character can make two attacks per round if they want, or one attack and one other half action. (Somewhat similar to regular d20 in which you can attack once and move)
Initiative changes the most. While its basically the same at its core, you roll a d20, add modifiers to get your initiative score, and then in each round, each combatant moves according to the highest roll, the initiative score is now "fluid". That is, it can change, depending on the action the character takes. This takes some getting used to, and it takes some effort to keep track of, from round to round.
Armor is also handled somewhat different. Each class gets a "defense bonus" to armor class, based on level. But if they use armor, this bonus is forfeited. Armor instead provides damage reduction, and in some cases, a bonus to defense (but usually a small one).
For instance, the Kevlar Vest has a Damage Reduction of 4, but a Defensive Bonus of just +1. (Most armors don't have a defensive bonus to ac at all, and some heavier armors have negative ones).
Another interesting addition is "Action Dice". These are basically additional dice that the player (or gm) can use to improve any skill or combat roll. They are generally small dice (d4s), and most characters get 3 per session to spend (you can buy more using feats and such).
Besides helping improve rolls, action dice change combat dramatically, because they are integral into how critical hits are handled. While a critical "threat" works the same, critical hits happen only when a player uses an action die. This does add to the flavor of combat, but also adds more record keeping. The GM also gets action dice, to use against players whenever he wants, and also has to use it to score critical hits. I don't think I like that idea. It makes the GM too much of an adversary, and I also think it takes away some of the GMs power
All in all, if standard D&D 3.5 combat feels like a miniatures game, Stargate SG-1 combat feels like a tactical combat game like X-com or Jagged Alliance.
The last part of the book is for GMs. Tips, charts, including all sorts of tables, including fairly decent world generation and a random mission generator. These are pretty comprehensive, though you might have to look up some of the cultures mentioned in an encyclopedia. "Clovis" for instance, is not nearly as close to the "Cletus" culture as you might guess. I've never heard of "Kabyl". And some are perhaps overly too broad, like "Muslim", "Christian", or "African", or over-represented ("Easter Island" has larger chances of showing up than some continent spanning cultures).
Also handy is the section on NPCs. It uses NPC classes (too many to mention, really, very specialized, from Academic to Goa'uld Guard), and has charts for generic stats for each class going up to 10th level.
Also two appendices, one on crossovers with other d20 settings (all D&D), including non-AEG ones like Dragonstar, Nyambe, and Mindshadows, as well as AEG's own Spycraft and 7th Sea (aka Swashbuckling Adventures), and one with stats for the shows main characters.
While it's a pretty good book, it has a number of flaws.
Call of Cthulhu, a game in which firearms are generally not the answer to defeat a foe, has more weapons described than this, a game in which most PCs are members of the armed forces, and often resolve situations by shooting their opponents.
While the guns most often featured on the show are in the game, the M16, the MP5, the P90, there are some glaring omissions. Most notably the SAW, which I'm pretty sure I've seen on the show. While it has the infamous Barrett sniper rifle, it lacks the more likely to be used M-21 or the
HK MSG-90A1, which I'm pretty sure I just saw being used as a sniper rifle on an episode (the one with Teal'c getting shot with a staff weapon)
Damages are also a bit weird. For instance, the .357 Magnum version of the Desert Eagle does exactly the same amount of damage as the .44 Magnum version, though the .44 Magnum also gets the "Takedown ability" which is handy (and in general, I like how various weapons and ammunition types can have differing effects, like the "takedown" ability). Shotguns seem a bit underpowered.
Furthermore, I'm not sure the stats reflect the show.
For instance, on one episode, trying to convince some rogue Jaffa to use guns, MacGuyver brags about how the P90 is so much more accurate than a staff weapon. Yet in the game, the Staff Weapon is -2 to hit, while the P90 is -1. The P90 is a submachinegun, and submachineguns do tend to be inaccurate, but because of it's bullpup design, has a longer barrel than most SMGs. It also has a high powered round, which should make it more accurate (flatter trajectory).
Furthermore, the Ingram Mac 10/11 gets a -2 to hit penalty, while a Czeska Skorpion gets only a -1. Both are very tiny, so I'm not sure why one gets a bigger penalty (especially as the Skorpion is really more of a machine pistol than proper SMG)
Also speaking of SMGs, according to the rules, they cannot be used 1 handed, which I found odd. I can see a large penalty, especially for automatic fire, but not being able to use them 1 handed at all? Also odd because the Skorpion was meant to be fired one handed, not ideally, but at least have it be possible)
The Staff Weapon also does far more damage than than anything else - 6d6. By comparison, the Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle does only 2d12+2. A 10 gauge shotgun does only 5d4. I'm not sure if this is accurate. For instance, I just watched the episode in which Teal'c was shot right in the belly with a staff weapon. Was he seriously hurt? Very much so. But a 10 gauge would have torn him in half.
I know, I might sound like an NRA member, but bear in mind, the show does tend to feature a gunfight every other episode or so. Like I said, Call of Cthulhu takes guns more seriously than this game does, and guns are not the focus of that. And I really shouldn't have to go out and buy the Spycraft gun book to get guns that have been used on the show, sometimes very prominently.
This is really a nitpick (and I didn't count it for the final grade), but I think the stats for the show characters are possibly too low (and wrong).
For instance, MacGuyver has an Intelligence of 10. While he's not as smart as on MacGuyver, he's clearly smarter than the average bear (or person). The blonde haired lady (Dr. Samantha Carter) has a PHD in Astrophysics, yet only has an Intelligence of 15. While it's true, at first I thought Teal'c was a bit odd because he wears makeup, he's probably the shows most amusing character - a 9 Charisma seems pretty low (especially as he also seems to be something of a ladies man). And
the Doctor is definitely more than a 14 Charisma.
Wow! Does that look like a 14 Charisma to you?
24, more like it)
They kind of munged up the OGL a bit. In section 15, they put in every Spycraft product, which they didn't have to. The OGL is a license to use "Open Content". If you already own the content in question, you don't need to use "Open Content", its already yours. (This is why WOTC doesn't have to put the OGL in their products - they own the stuff in the SRD, so they don't have to use the OGL to license it). They put in just about every Spycraft product, but they didn't put in this product, Stargate SG-1.
They also put in a non-OGL book, WOTC's Star Wars. And they used the term "Core Rulebook", to describe the SG-1 book, which is also a no-no, I think.
Also, while the chapter on crossovers with fantasy settings was interesting, I think it would have been more interesting to have a section on alternate campaign types, rather than just emulating SG-1. For instance, SG-13, where you have a team of investigators solving interplanetary paranormal problems. SG-007, an espionage/super spy team (there is some talk about a spycraft crossover in the book, but very little, 6 paragraphs, mostly on rules). SG-0, a black ops team (to borrow from someone's idea on RPG.net).
So that's the book itself. How does it play?
Well, not bad. If you're familiar with d20, character creation is easy enough. Though it seems to imply characters should start at 1st level, I thought it made more sense for them to start at a higher one (I mean, why would 1st level characters be picked for a top secret program like this, that would attract the best of the best), so I started them at 6th (that is the what the "Low Level" versions of the SG-1 members are). I also used the point buy method, only giving the players 30 points instead of 25 (again, thinking that they should be better than average).
The book has a lot of new feats, including a lot of feat trees, so it can take a while for players to figure out what they want. Especially as they'll probably be fighting over the book. (Pull out versions of the graphical feat trees would have been very helpful).
The most confusing part was trying to figure out everyone's military rank. Especially as I had a smart ass player who wanted to play a member of the Coast Guard (I just used "Naval Technician" but it doesn't have Navy ranks in the book, much less Coast Guard, just Air Force rank). Quite frankly, there is no excuse (IMHO) for not having the military tranks for the 3 other military branches. It could have fit on a single chart, since they all use the same pay grade scale, you can convert easy enough.
I also think you start off at too high a rank - Officers start at "Major", despite the Blond Haired lady and the doctor being a "Captain" for much of the show's run, and the listing of SG teams having a lot of people less than that.
Coming up with an adventure on short notice was also a bit of a problem. I ended up altering "The Hamlet of Thumble", changing the Halflings of Thumble into Near-Humans (I rolled on the culture chart and got "Samoan", which was somewhat tricky coming up with names for) and the Kobolds into rogue Jaffa. It would have been nice to have a scenario included in the book, but I guess its big enough as it is.
Starting the adventure was a bit of a problem, too - at least trying to figure out what gear is available. While the Gear Points and Resource points were easy enough to figure out, "Bundles" were confusing, at least the type/number of extra picks they get. It goes immediately into the least important aspect of equipment (for duplicating the show, anyway), personal belongings. Like I need to know if they own a gameboy or not.
But you have to look on the section describing the benefits of each rank, then look it up to see how and what sort of extra bundles they get. Not too intuitive, at least at first. And in some cases, it seems extreme - should someone always get any weapons bundle they want? (Enlisted troops always get the option of taking any weapons bundle they want, according to the rules).
I mean, all the weapon bundles are weighted evenly when it comes to picking them, but they vary greatly in power. For instance, one bundle gives you a missile launcher. Another bundle gives you two .45 pistols. Another bundle gives you a police revolver and a pair of handcuffs. Are they really even? Won't players tend to always take the most damaging stuff? Obviously, good players won't abuse the system, and there are occasions where you'd want a pair of handcuffs instead of a missile launcher, but I'm just pointing out there is the potential for abuse.
Once it got started, it went pretty well. Combat is actually not that bad, though you'll probably want to use minis (I can only hope for Stargate-Clix, but I won't hold my breath). You'll also probably want to use official character sheets - it has a nice summary of combat actions on back. The damage dice are sometimes weird, you might have to use a lot more d4s than you normally do in most games. At least at low levels, characters tend to get hit a lot more than in regular d20/D&D, since everyone is wearing armor (which doesn't provide a defensive bonus, but damage reduction). So its a bit weird at times, like watching American TV shows dubbed into Spanish. But fun. Which is the main thing.
So, is it worth $50? Or worth buying (it seems to be going for around $35 on ebay)?
Personally, I have a lot of mixed thoughts about the SG-1 rpg. It's actually a fairly good game, but it seems a bit slower paced than I was hoping for. Removing the Attack of Opportunity from combat was a good thing, but didn't simplify combat all that much (as those are mostly used in melee combat), and conversely, many of the added options, especially the fluid initiative, made combat more complex.
It's definitely not for those new to RPGs - I would have to suspect newcomers would be very confused. And if you're familiar with d20, it's also confusing, as there really isn't a listing of the changes (again, mostly in combat, but also feats and some other stuff), you have to read the entire book and see what is different. Presumably it should be quick to pick up if you are familiar with Spycraft, but I don't have it.
And as mentioned, for all it's bulk, it's somewhat lacking in the amount of equipment. There is some wasted space - did we really need bundles for console gamers or internet fans, but not much. Frankly, I probably could have done without the appendix on crossovers in exchange for more equipment.
It's also kind of an ugly book. There's a small (often very small) photo about every other page or so, but the borders of the photos are weird, often having notches or hunks cut out of them. In some cases this is to fit the text in, but in many, there is no real reason for it. So it gives the impression there is much more white space than there probably is. Especially the larger photos, which have huge chunks missing from them. This is also very subjective, but I think there should be a lot more photos of the Doctor, who I think is very very cute (14 Charisma - hrrmph).
There are real layout problems. As mentioned, the class charts are often on a different page than the abilities, requiring you to flip back and forth. Not uncommon, but always very annoying in use. Similarly, it's hard to find things, being a large book, and there are no chapter numbers in the margins or anything to help you. There is an index, but it could be better - the two times I've tried to use it, I didn't have what I was looking for (Most notably, I had to stop combat to figure out what a laser sight did. For some reason "Laser sight" is not in the index. Though it's better when it comes to things like feats and SG related info).
So, yes, it's worth buying. I bought mine new for $45 and don't regret it. But it could have been done better.
B-
Also, looking at the Product Identity section of the book, there looks like there will be at least 9 more books coming in the line (1 for each season, plus one on System Lords, and one on newly discovered worlds), plus you'll probably need to get the Spycraft gun book (though I hear a couple more guns will be added in the errata for the book), so this game line will likely be a serious cash drain. Just a mention.
