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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2010924" data-attributes="member: 172">Stargate SG-1 RulebookThe Stargate SG-1 RPG is a D20 System RPG based on the SF TV series of the same name. The system is published by AEG as a "powered by Spycraft" title. This essentially means that the game uses many of the same alterations to the D20 System SRD as the Spycraft game does. The game does not require Spycraft to play, but may require the PHB for basic concepts like character advancement.The Stargate SG1 RPG is written by Robert Defendi, Scott Gearin, Patrick Kapera, Don Mappin, Christina Kamnikar, Rodney Thompson, and Kevin Wilson, with addition writing by Greg Benage, Chris Dolunt, James Malisewski, Rob Vaux, and Rob Wieland.Disclaimer: Though I am familiar with the movie that started it all and will catch an episode every once in a while, I am not a follower of the TV series and cannot make any judgements on faithfulness of representation of characters, equipment, races, or events in the series.A First LookFormat: 488 page hardcover book; $50.00.Art/Graphics: The book is almost entirely illustrated (cover and interior) with full color stills from the show. Some stills are small, but they are frequent and appropriate to nearby topics. The stills are nicely selected and the book has a very handsome look. However, there are a few dry stretches and a few concepts that I felt needed illustrated that were not.Layout: As with most of AEG's big ticket d20 productions, the book uses a conservative body text font with close line and paragraph spacing. Most of the books uses a two-column format. The tables are nicely laid out with convenient shading, but some tables have text a bit small for reading purposes. Overall, the content density of this book seems very high to me.A Deeper LookThe Stargate SG-1 rulebook is organized into eleven chapters, plus two appendices, an index, and a character sheet.The first chapter is History of the Stargate. It consumes 28 pages and in addition to a brief introduction to the setting and the game, it provides an overview of the major events of the movie and the first six seasons of the series. This is all exposition; there are no game mechanics in the first chapter. This is a nice reference is you, like me, haven't caught all (nor many) of the episodes of what is now, from what I understand, the longest running SF show.The second chapter is entitled The Stargate Program. This section provides extensive information on the military organization of the Stargate Program, with procedures, organizational details, the base of operations (the Cheyenne Mountain Complex), the operation of the stargate itself, mission profiles and procedures for typical missions. Again, the chapter is primarily exposition, but there is some game speak here, including a number of plot hooks for each of a number of sample mission types.The third chapter, Through the Gate, describes the universe on the other side of the gate. Extensive details (with history) are provided for a number of worlds designated primary worlds, though there are short (1-2 page) descriptions of a number of secondary worlds and a table calling out major details of other worlds.The fourth chapter covers the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld are essentially riffs on Heinlein's puppeteers, small creatures that can dominate a larger host. In the Stargate SG-1 series/setting, these creatures are the major antagonists of the show, and a major dominating force in space. And it just so happens that humans are perfect hosts for these creatures.One major flavor element of these creatures is that the series names them after gods. The history goes that they spent some time on earth and were mistaken for deities. The chapter covers the methods and history of the Goa'uld, with several prominent Goa'uld/gods from the series.The fifth though eleventh chapters start the mechanics of the game a full 133 pages into the book. As already mentioned, Stargate SG-1 is built on AEG's Spycraft variant of the d20 System. As players of Spycraft know, some of the major innovations of that system are action dice, inspiration and education checks, vitality and wound points, and equipment acquisition governed by points derived from class and level. Further, armor is represented as damage reduction, and characters have initiative modifiers and defense class value are derived from class and level.Briefly, action dice are allotted to each player at the beginning of a session, and they can earn more during play. An action dice is the roll of one dice of a size determined by the character's level. An action dice can be invoked by the player to add to the result of many rolls, a character's defense for 1 round, heal, or activate critical threats or errors, or make inspiration checks. The GM also receives an allotment of action dice, which can be used on behalf of the NPCs.One aspect of the Spycraft system that I wondered what they were going to do with here is that of the department. In Spycraft department replaces race, representing a character's background training. I expected AEG to ditch it for race. In actuality, they split the difference by redefining this aspect as "specialty/species." Each character chooses a species and a specialty within the species. Some specialties and species have macro-specialties or species that define characteristics common to all specialties or species that fall under it. These characteristics include ability score modifiers, skill modifiers, and bonus feats.Base classes in Stargate include the explorer, guardian (warriors that were trained to follow the Goa'uld), pointman (a leader and team-builder type character that should be familiar to Spycraft veterans), scientist, scout and soldier. Prestige classes include the bodyguard, field analyst, field medic, officer, prime (trusted servants and honor guards of a Goa'uld system lord), and sniper. All base classes are 20 levels and all prestige classes are 10 levels.Much like Spycraft, Stargate SG-1 uses a modified selection of skills suitable for modern action. As mentioned earlier, one of the major differences is that most skills have the possibility of critical successes and failures on extremely high and low rolls, though it takes action dice to activate these (the equivalent of a threat for a critical failure is an "error".) Each skill entry has a description of the possible effects of each.Feats follow the pattern of Spycraft, with some tweaks for the differences in genre and setting. Feats are divided into combat feats, covert feats, gear feats (grant more options for equipment), skill feats (provides bonuses and a wider critical threat range for a cluster of skills, or other benefits with skills you already have the basic skill feat for), species feats, style feats, and terrain feats (provides survival benefits in certain types of terrain.)Gear in Stargate SG-1 is provided to characters on a team by three methods. First, characters receive a standard bundle and a bundle corresponding to their mission type (bundles are pre-package selections of useful equipment.) Second, each character gets a number of gear picks for basic equipment, armor, and weapons. Finally, characters get a pool of resource points for experimental and alien devices (this roughly corresponds to Spycraft's gadget points.One new aspect of handling character toys is rank. Rank determines a characters pay, personal belongings, and possibly can provide additional gear picks.The combat mechanics are essentially similar to the Spycraft version of the d20 combat mechanics. The major differences between Spycraft and the SRD combat mechanics are the lack of iterative attacks or standard actions, which streamline the game significantly, and the fact that flatfootedness ends when you are successfully attacked.One aspect of the system that is a departure from Spycraft is fluid initiative, which was an optional rule introduced in the Spycraft Modern Arms Guide. Essentially, certain actions or events modify a character's initiative count, such as aiming a weapon or suffering a critical hit. I can see advantages and drawbacks to the fluid initiative system. On the bright side, it adds a little grit and depth of realism to the game. On the other hand, it does seem to complicate the combat mechanics, which runs counter to the streamlining of the system that we see elsewhere. Ultimately, I am not sure it was a good idea to make this a default instead of an option.The last chapter of the book is the obligatory gamemastering chapter. In addition to defining the GM side of a number of common tasks and mechanics such as action dice, handling encounters and hazards, it includes many setting specific tasks such as using the stargate, creating destination worlds for the PCs to visit.Another aspect borrowed from later Spycraft books is that of NPC classes such as academics, diplomats, and guards. NPC classes in Spycraft are structured differently from PC classes in this or any other d20 System game. They have 10 levels and have pre-defined vitality points. Instead of class skills and skill points, each NPC class has a listing of "full skills" and "half skills." The character has the full skills at the character's class level, and the half skill at half the class levels. This helps make creating quick NPC challenges easy.An NPC exclusive prestige classes included in the chapter is the Ashrak. These are Goa'uld trained as assassins.A collection of tables in the back summarize many details from planet creation and hazards to mission creation. The random missions remind me of a table out of the old ICE Spacemaster book; nonetheless, it's a useful way to generate quick missions.The first appendix is an interesting twist. As the name Crossovers implies, it provides ideas for mixing Stargate SG-1 with other d20 System games and settings by both AEG and other publishers. The most obvious of these is AEG's Spycraft. However, it discusses using a number of other settings such as (yes) FFG's Dragonstar, Green Ronin's Naranjan (Mindshadows), Atlas Games' Nyambe, and AEG's Theah.The second appendix includes major characters from the series. As with NPCs in many Spycraft books, the characters are presented in low, mid, and high level versions. There is also a small selection of alien creatures.ConclusionThis certainly is an impressive chunk of a book. Although I am not into the setting and can't say that the book made me want to play it, I can say that the mechanics were generally solidly done and well presented, and it made me wish that AEG did as good a job on Farscape.Overall Grade: B+-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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