Pyramid Pick
Dragonstar: Starfarer's Handbook (for d20)
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
Written by Greg Benage & Matt Forbeck
Illustrated by Andy Brase, Darren Calvert, Mitch Cotie, Jesper Ejsing, David Griffith, Dave Lynch, Klaus Scherwinksi, Brian Schomburg, Simone Bianchi, Jean-Pierre Targete, Kieran Yanner
178-page b&w/color hardback book; $27.95
Over the years there have been several attempts to combine the rather vanilla flavored fantasy of D&D with other genres. Ravenloft added gothic horror, and wooden space going ships were added for a "Space 1492" feel in Spelljammer, but there has been no direct combination of classic fantasy and classic science fiction in an D&D setting. This situation changes with the d20 system and Dragonstar, which is the first big science fiction and fantasy setting that is not merely an adaptation of an already existing game.
Dragonstar: The Starfarer's Handbook is the launch title for FFG's new setting and the pattern of releases is modeled on the core d20 books. Thus Dragonstar: The Starfarer's Handbook is the setting's equivalent of the Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook, with everything you need to get started -- characters, races, feats, skills, combat and equipment -- but which is otherwise light on background. It does open with a sixteen-page color chapter giving basic information on the Dragonstar galaxy, but the DM will still need to buy FFG's equivalent of the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Galaxy Guide, before a gaming group can get the most . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: January 25, 2002
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