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61-422: Star Frontiers is a science fiction role-playing game produced by TSR from 1982 to 1985. The game offers a space opera action-adventure setting. Star Frontiers is a space opera role-playing game that is set near the center of a spiral galaxy (the setting does not specify whether the galaxy is our own Milky Way ). A previously undiscovered quirk of the laws of physics allows starships to jump to "The Void",

122-462: A GM describes the game world and its inhabitants. The other players describe the intended actions of their characters, and the GM describes the outcomes. Some outcomes are determined by the game system, and some are chosen by the GM. This is the format in which role-playing games were first popularized. In contrast, many indie role-playing games experiment with different structures of play, such as sharing

183-521: A GM role through a visual interface called a GM toolkit , albeit with abilities limited by the available technology. Another standard concept in RPGs is the player character, a character in the fictional world of the game whose actions the player controls. Typically each player controls a separate player character, sometimes more, each of whom acts as a protagonist in the story. In contrast to player characters, non-player characters (NPCs) are controlled by

244-539: A character's PSA can be bought at a discount. Unlike TSR's better-known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons , there is no character level advancement in Star Frontiers , although skills can be improved through experience. Because of the lack of magical healing found in fantasy RPGs, characters are quite durable in combat. Medical technology is also advanced, so characters can recover quickly from wounds with appropriate medical attention. Additionally,

305-543: A dead character can be "frozen" and revived later. The original boxed set includes two ten-sided dice, a large set of cardboard counters, and a folding map with a futuristic city on one side and various wilderness areas on the other. The box also includes the first Star Frontiers adventure, SF-0: Crash on Volturnus . The characters would remain marooned on Volturnus through the next few modules: SF-1: Volturnus, Planet of Mystery (1982) and SF-2: Starspawn of Volturnus (1982) In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in

366-411: A form of interactive and collaborative storytelling . Events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player in a role-playing game makes choices that affect

427-489: A half-written novel and some notes from my campaign, I applied for a design job. I went through five interviews, and gradually convinced them that I could do the job.” Niles was hired by TSR in January 1982, as a game designer . “For the first few weeks I reviewed and critiqued outside submissions, and I wasn’t too good at it. I kept pestering my boss, Al Hammack, for a design assignment, and finally he gave me an old brief for

488-546: A hyperspatial realm that greatly shortens the travel times between inhabited worlds, once they reach 1% of the speed of light . Four races — Dralasite, Humans, Vrusk, and Yazirian — have independently discovered this way of travelling vast distances, and in "The Frontier Sector", they form the United Planetary Federation (UPF). A large number of the star systems shown on the map of the Frontier sector in

549-556: A loosely defined genre of computer and console games with origins in role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , on which they base much of their terminology, settings, and game mechanics. This translation changes the experience of the game, providing a visual representation of the world but emphasizing statistical character development over collaborative, interactive storytelling. Online text-based role-playing games involve many players using some type of text-based interface and an Internet connection to play an RPG. Games played in

610-522: A lot more to commend it than that." In the November 1983 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction , Dana Lombardy commented, "Warning: these games can be addictive! Successfully completing an adventure (which sometimes means simply surviving!), or having your character obliterated in one of them, will probably make you want to play even more challenging adventures. TSR has a lot to offer the novice and experienced SF gamer in Star Frontiers ." In Issue 30 of

671-558: A note to get out of class that afternoon because she was going to be interviewed by People magazine. Her name was Heidi Gygax. I asked her why People wanted to interview her, and she told me that her father had invented the Dungeons & Dragons game. Well, I had heard of D&D , but didn’t know that the designer lived so close to me. The next day, Heidi brought me a copy of the original D&D Basic Set , and two days later, I got some friends together and played my first game. I

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732-653: A novice-level module, Cult of the Reptile God , and told me to write it. I completed it in four weeks, and it was published. I don’t know whether they liked it because it was good, or because I did it in only four weeks.” Niles worked on more than just D&D for TSR, “In the summer of 1982, I designed my first game, the Knight Hawks rules for the Star Frontiers game, with much help from my editor, Steve Winter .” Niles produced several modules for

793-411: A real-time way include MUDs , MUSHes , and other varieties of MU* . Games played in a turn-based fashion include play-by-mail games and play-by-post games . Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) combine the large-scale social interaction and persistent world of MUDs with graphic interfaces. Most MMORPGs do not actively promote in-character role-playing, however, players can use

854-745: A role-playing game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief . The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. Tabletop role-playing games may also be used in therapy settings to help individuals develop behavioral, social, and even language skills. Beneficiaries commonly include young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as Autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder ( ADHD ), and dyslexia . Role-playing games are played in

915-682: A small town to the north, when he was twelve years old. Niles developed an interest in heroic fantasy , as well as wargaming , and began writing short stories and making short films in high school. Niles attended the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh , where he majored in speech and minored in English. While there, he met Chris Schroeder, whom he married three years later. After graduation, Niles began teaching Speech and English at Clinton High School , about 30 miles away from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin . “One day, one of my students came up and said she had

976-409: A timely fashion as required under federal law. But through continued sales of related products and use of the related IP, the company claims ownership via ' common law trademark rights.' It will be up to a jury to determine if that is, in fact, the case". Role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game , or abbreviated as RPG ) is a game in which players assume

1037-486: A wide variety of formats, ranging from discussing character interaction in tabletop form, physically acting out characters in LARP to playing characters virtually in digital media. There is also a great variety of systems of rules and game settings . Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game . These types of games tend to reduce or eliminate

1098-408: Is a percentile-based system and uses only 10-sided dice. Characters have eight attributes rated from 1-100, which are paired together: Strength/Stamina, Dexterity/Reaction Speed, Intuition/Logic, and Personality/Leadership. Characters also each have a Primary Skill Area (PSA), either Military, Technological, or Biosocial. Character generation uses a point-buy system to buy skills; skills falling within

1159-584: Is simply a transfer of D&D into a sci-fi world. We find the same type of scenarios, the monsters being replaced by extraterrestrial life forms, and the elves by Yazirians." In the inaugural issue of the UK role-playing game magazine Imagine , Jim Bambra liked the game, saying, "In summary, the Starfrontiers game is an excellent introduction to Sci Fi gaming, a game I heartily recommend to beginners and experienced gamers. A lot of expertise has gone into

1220-409: Is the role of a gamemaster, a participant who has special duties to present the fictional setting, arbitrate the results of character actions, and maintain the narrative flow. In tabletop and live-action RPGs the GM performs these duties in person. In video RPGs, many of the functions of a GM are fulfilled by the game engine . However, some multi-player video RPGs also allow for a participant to take on

1281-673: The Star Frontiers Referee's Screen and Mini-Module in 1983, and the Star Frontiers Character Record Sheets in 1984, a 32-page book of character sheets with cover art by Larry Elmore . Two modules published in 1984 also re-created the plot and setting of the movies 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: Odyssey Two . In 1985, TSR signalled a new expansion to the game by publishing Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space (1985) which introduced several additional races and radical changes to

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1342-779: The D&;D game, including X3 Curse of Xanathon , B5 Horror on the Hill , CM1 Test of the Warlords , and H1 Bloodstone Pass , and Dragonlance modules DL2 Dragons of Flame , DL6 Dragons of Ice , DL9 Dragons of Deceit , and DL11 Dragons of Glory . Niles is the designer of 1985's World War II: European Theatre of Operations , a grand strategic game. Niles worked on the Battlesystem Supplement, Star Frontiers modules SF4 Mission to Alcazzar and SFKH1 Dramune Run , Indiana Jones module IJ2 Raiders of

1403-430: The generation ship game Metamorphosis Alpha (1976) and the post-apocalyptic Gamma World (1978), they didn't immediately publish a space opera to rival Game Designer's Workshop 's very popular Traveller (1977). Then in the early 1980s, David Cook and Lawrence Schick developed the rules for a TSR game they called Alien Worlds . Those rules turned out to be too complex, and Cook and Schick severely edited

1464-465: The retronyms tabletop role-playing game or pen and paper role-playing game are sometimes used, though neither a table nor pen and paper are strictly necessary. A LARP is played more like improvisational theatre . Participants act out their characters' actions instead of describing them, and the real environment is used to represent the imaginary setting of the game world. Players are often costumed as their characters and use appropriate props, and

1525-405: The tabletop role-playing game (TRPG or TTRPG), is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing (LARP), players physically perform their characters' actions. Both forms feature collaborative storytelling . In both TTRPGs and LARPs, often an arranger called a game master (GM) decides on the game system and setting to be used, while acting as a facilitator or referee. Each of

1586-549: The Coast sued TSR Games and the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum to enjoin these companies from publishing games under the "Star Frontiers" and "TSR" trademarks. In its motion for a preliminary injunction , Wizards of the Coast wrote that TSR's Star Frontiers: New Genesis game is "despicable" and "blatantly racist and transphobic", and that the publication of such content would inflict reputational harm on Wizards of

1647-417: The Coast. Charlie Hall, for Polygon , commented that "Wizards' filing also seeks to undermine LaNasa's most powerful argument — that Wizards abandoned TSR and other related trademarks, thus opening the door to his usurping of the brand and its games. [...] Here's where things get complicated. Wizards admits that it failed to file paperwork for the registration of TSR, Star Frontiers, and other related marks in

1708-466: The French games magazine Casus Belli , Jean Bolczesak liked the game but found its science fiction content a bit simplistic, commenting, " Star Frontiers is playable, interesting and ESPECIALLY entertaining. But Star Frontiers is a game that presents a rather caricatured vision of science fiction. Since Dick and Herbert , SF is no longer necessarily a literary genre reserved for the simple-minded and

1769-452: The Ground , RPG historian Stu Horvath noted that during this time on Volturnus, "Strangely, Star Frontiers , a science fiction game about space exploration, went two years without rules for spaceships." (Rules for spaceships and space combat finally appeared in 1983, with the boxed set titled Knight Hawks .) Although TSR was a pioneer in developing science fiction role-playing games like

1830-646: The King (with Mary Kirchoff), and The Last Thane . He contributed nine novels to the Forgotten Realms line, including the Moonshae trilogy and two further trilogies in the Forgotten Realms. He has won both the H.G. Wells award and the Origins award for his work in developing adventure games. In 1990, he left TSR to write fantasy fiction. Niles has written two World War II alternate history novels, Fox on

1891-767: The Lost Ark , the World War II Game, the Sirocco Strategy Game (with Zeb Cook ), and the Endless Quest books EQ #26 Tarzan and the Well of Slaves and Super EQ #3 Escape From Castle Quarras for TSR. Tracy Hickman had gotten Harold Johnson , Jeff Grubb , Carl Smith , and Larry Elmore in on the idea of Dragonlance before Margaret Weis and Niles joined them. Niles authored the rulebook Dungeoneer's Survival Guide (1986). Niles

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1952-771: The Rhine and Fox at the Front (co-authored with Michael Dobson ). Released in hardcover by Forge , a division of TOR , "Fox" has been both a main selection of the Military Book Club and a Featured selection of the Science Fiction Book Club . Niles and Dobson also later wrote the World War II alternate history novel MacArthur's War . Niles has created two fantasy worlds in books published by Ace Fantasy. The Watershed Trilogy ( A Breach in

2013-800: The System (1985) and SF-6: Dark Side of the Moon (1985). Adventures using the Knight Hawks spaceship rules included SFKH-1: Dramune Run (1984) and a trilogy set "Beyond the Frontier" in which the players learn more about the Sathar and foil their latest plot (SFKH-2: Mutiny on the Eleanor Moraes (1984), SFKH-3: Face of the Enemy (1985), and SFKH-4: The War Machine (1985)). In addition to adventures, several game aids were released, including

2074-570: The Watershed , Darkenheight , The War of Three Waters ) was completed in the late 1990s, and it features a continent divided by mountains into three distinct basins: watersheds of pure, normal water; of magical liquid (Aura); and of vile, poisonous Darkblood. Circle at Center , Worldfall , and The Goddess Worldweaver form the Seven Circles Trilogy, which details a cosmos in which historical characters from Earth can be drawn into

2135-498: The basic rulebook are unexplored and undetailed, allowing the gamemaster to put whatever they wish there. Players can take on any number of possible roles in the setting but usually act as hired agents of the Pan Galactic corporation in exploring the Frontier and fighting the aggressive incursions of the alien and mysterious worm-like race known as the Sathar. Most published modules for the game follow these themes. The game

2196-854: The board game A Line in the Sand (1991), which focused on the Gulf War between the US and Iraq; it was one of the projects originating from TSR West, and was published the day the US started bombing because Flint Dille convinced the company president to move quickly. Niles has written numerous novels, mainly for the Dragonlance series. Niles is one of the most prolific Dragonlance authors, and in addition to Wizard's Conclave , his Dragonlance titles include The Icewall Trilogy ( The Messenger , The Golden Orb , Winterheim ), Emperor of Ansalon , The Dragons , The Puppet King , Fistandantilus Reborn , Flint

2257-549: The competition." Whether or not this was the reason, TSR ultimately lost a bidding war for the Star Wars rights to West End Games . After TSR's takeover by Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the Star Frontiers campaign setting was resurrected and updated for WotC's d20 Modern role-playing game system in the science fiction supplement d20 Future (2004); the new revision was titled Star Law . In Issue 37 of White Dwarf , Andy Slack stated that "Unfortunately, I can't say

2318-520: The deceased Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) co-founder Gary Gygax , and Justin LaNasa. They announced plans to release tabletop games and operate the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, which is located in the first office building of the original TSR. In July 2022, TechRaptor reported on a leaked Star Frontiers: New Genesis (a reboot of Star Frontiers ) playtest created by LaNasa's TSR; the content contains "blatantly racist " descriptions of character races and

2379-436: The definition of role-playing games. Although some amount of role-playing activity may be present in such games, it is not the primary focus. The term role-playing game is also sometimes used to describe other games involving roleplay simulation , such as exercises used in teaching, training, academic research, or therepeutic settings. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be

2440-544: The designing of this product and the result is a very enjoyable and easy to learn game." Also writing for Imagine , Stephen Nutt reviewed Star Frontiers Character Record Sheets , and stated that "it makes up handsomely for the originals in the boxed set, which are rather pedestrian in comparison." In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games , game critic Rick Swan called Star Frontiers "a streamlined, easy-to-learn game stressing general concepts while minimizing complicated mechanics." Swan concluded by giving

2501-421: The game a solid rating of 3 out of 4 and a qualified recommendation, saying, "It's an excellent game for beginners, but experienced players may be disappointed that it lacks the scope of more elaborate science-fiction games such as MegaTraveller ." Scott Taylor revisited Star Frontiers several times for Black Gate In 2021, a new iteration of TSR Games was launched by a group including Ernie Gygax, son of

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2562-484: The game to produce a more streamlined system — a 1984 article in Dragon noted that much of the material excised from Alien Worlds "was felt to be too complex; playability was emphasized in the final version over complete realism." The revised game was titled Star Frontiers and was published by TSR in 1982. In 1983, Mike Gray, Allen Hammack, Harold Johnson, David C. Sutherland III, and Steve Winter revised and expanded

2623-410: The game's mechanics. Although several more volumes were planned, they were never published, as TSR abruptly ended support for the Star Frontiers game. Various reasons for this sudden termination have been proposed — RPG historian Stu Horvath presented the possibility that TSR was angling to gain the game license for Star Wars and "ditched Star Frontiers on the hubristic assumption they could outbid

2684-470: The game; this was released as Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn . About the same time, TSR released Knight Hawks (1983), designed by Douglas Niles , which provided rules for using starships, and for starship combat. TSR released several more adventures to take advantage of the expanded rules in Alpha Dawn , including SF-3: Sundown on Starmist (1983), SF-4: Mission to Alcazzar (1984), SF-5: Bugs in

2745-482: The gamemaster or game engine, or by people assisting the gamemaster. Non-player characters fill out the population of the fictional setting and can act as antagonists, bystanders, or allies of the player characters. [REDACTED] Media related to Role-playing games at Wikimedia Commons Douglas Niles Niles was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin , a suburb of Milwaukee , and his family moved to Nashotah ,

2806-525: The games' communication functions to role-play so long as other players cooperate. The majority of players in MMORPGs do not engage in role-playing in this sense. Computer-assisted gaming can be used to add elements of computer gaming to in-person tabletop role-playing, where computers are used for record-keeping and sometimes to resolve combat, while the participants generally make decisions concerning character interaction. One common feature of many RPGs

2867-503: The late 1990s due to competition from online MMO RPGs, role-playing video games , and collectible card games. However, TTRPGs experienced a resurgence in popularity between the mid-2010s and early 2020s due to actual play web series and online play through videoconferencing during the COVID-19 lockdowns . The tabletop format is often referred to simply as a role-playing game . To distinguish this form of RPG from other formats,

2928-578: The mentally ill. You can be passionate about space opera without being completely stupid." Bolczesak also pointed out the lack of content about spaceships and planet creation. Despite this, Bolczesak concluded, " Star Frontiers is not a bad game, however, far from it. To be honest, it is even excellent for all 'dungeoners' who dream of exploring the galaxy. Especially if they like action and sci-fi, but not 'hard science.' The French games magazine Jeux et Stratégie dismissed this game as fantasy masquerading as science fiction, commenting, "The fact remains that it

2989-438: The number of players in a LARP is usually larger than in a tabletop role-playing game, and the players may be interacting in separate physical spaces, there is typically less of an emphasis on tightly maintaining a narrative or directly entertaining the players, and game sessions are often managed in a more distributed manner. Tabletop role-playing games have been translated into a variety of electronic formats. As early as 1974,

3050-845: The other players takes on the role of a single character in the fiction. Several varieties of RPG also exist in electronic media, such as multiplayer text-based Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) and their graphics-based successors, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Role-playing games also include single-player role-playing video games in which players control a character, or team of characters, who undertake(s) quests. Role-playing video games may include player capabilities that advance over time using statistical mechanics. These electronic games sometimes share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, but emphasize character advancement more than collaborative storytelling. Some RPG-related game forms, such as trading/collectible card games (CCGs) and wargames , may or may not be included under

3111-466: The race design "plays into Nazi eugenics ". The content also contains " homophobic , transphobic , and anti-semitic content, as well as additional material of a discriminatory nature". IGN Southeast Asia highlighted that in this playtest game a black "race is classified as a 'Subrace' and having 'average' intellect with a maximum intelligence rating of 9, whereas the 'norse' race has a minimum intelligence rating of 13". In September 2022, Wizards of

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3172-492: The realms of magic, through sorcery both deadly and erotic. Niles has designed dozens of games for TSR, Inc. and SPI , including award-winning boardgames based on Tom Clancy 's novels The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising , and has also created numerous historical military boardgames, including the massive games European Theatre of Operations and Pacific Theatre of Operations . Niles resides in Delavan , in

3233-460: The responsibility for creating setting details and NPCs among all players. The first commercially available RPG, Dungeons & Dragons ( D&D ), was inspired by fantasy literature and the wargaming hobby and was published in 1974. The popularity of D&D led to the birth of the tabletop role-playing game industry, which publishes games with many different themes, rules, and styles of play. The popularity of tabletop games decreased in

3294-431: The roles of characters in a fictional setting . Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines . There are several forms of role-playing games. The original form, sometimes called

3355-517: The same year as the release of Dungeons & Dragons, unlicensed versions of it were developed on mainframe university systems under titles such as dnd and Dungeon . These early computer RPGs influenced all of electronic gaming, as well as spawning the role-playing video game genre. Some authors divide digital role-playing games into two intertwined groups: single-player games using RPG-style mechanics, and multiplayer games incorporating social interaction. Single-player role-playing video games form

3416-408: The story. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story. While simple forms of role-playing exist in traditional children's games of make believe , role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea with additions such as game facilitators and rules of interaction. Participants in

3477-486: The system struck me as especially realistic; but if you like action adventure, thinking with your fists, and Star Wars (and who doesn't from time to time) you can have a lot of fun with this game." Slack concluded by giving it an overall rating of 7 out of 10. In the February 1983 issue of The Space Gamer , William A. Barton commented, " Star Frontiers probably isn't going to lose TSR any money. But I wish there were

3538-420: The use of dice and other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM, rather than those created by the players. This type of game is typically played at gaming conventions , or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop (TTRPG) and pen-and-paper (PnP) RPGs are conducted through discussion in a small social gathering. In traditional TTRPGs,

3599-423: The venue may be decorated to resemble the fictional setting. Some live-action role-playing games use rock paper scissors or comparison of attributes to resolve conflicts symbolically, while other LARPs use physical combat with simulated arms such as airsoft guns or foam weapons . LARPs vary in size from a handful of players to several thousand, and in duration from a couple of hours to several days. Because

3660-535: Was already working on a trilogy of novels with a Celtic theme to be published by TSR, Ltd., which he then modified to become the first novels set in the Forgotten Realms , starting with Darkwalker on Moonshae (1987). Niles also co-authored The City of Greyhawk boxed set with Carl Sargent , for which he designed the 96-page booklet Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess . Niles and Paul Lidberg designed

3721-531: Was the DM.” A few years later, one of the players in Niles' D&D campaign went to work for Dragon magazine. According to Niles, “One day, he told me that TSR was hiring editors, and I applied for a job. I took the editing test, which consisted of a 14 page manuscript I was supposed to mark up. I only found three things to change. . . and flunked the test. But TSR was also hiring game designers, and so, armed with

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