"Stargrave - Opinions?" Topic

Haven't seen much about this yet. Got a copy, it looks like fun to me. What do you all think?

Quite a few videos on youtube with reviews and playthroughs. I'm looking forward to getting it to the table in the near future.

Had my first game against my youngest son last night and lost lol.
Quick easy to pick up. I'm using a previously mothballed project – 25mm sci fi GZG, West End games star wars and old grenadier traveller.
Ended up with a dead Captain and a seriuosly wounded 1st Mate.

Advise read the powers carefully and think of deployment for activation as I ended up with my crew too spread out to get the initiative benefits.

I'm over 60 , he's in his early 20's we both had a great time.

It's like Frostgrave in space. If you like Frostgrave you will probably like Stargrave.

There is / was a NickStarter for this game….

Like Nigerian Lead Minister says it is basically Frostgrave in Space. If you liked that you'll like this, if you didn't I think you probably won't.

What were the grumbles about Frostgrave? I remember hearing some negatives but can't remember details.

FWIW last year I bought everything Frostgrave when Osprey gave the 1st edition for free, but I haven't been able to play it.

BTW my deleted post was meant for my B5 thread!

Personally, I really like the game.

> What were the grumbles about Frostgrave? I remember hearing some negatives but can't remember details.

The most frequent complaint about Frostgrave is that its D20-based engine relies too much on luck. People who prefer superior tactics to win games tend to dislike Frostgrave; people who enjoy letting the dice tell a story and don't worry too much about tactics or winning tend to like it.

Another complaint is that Frostgrave simplifies details and is not a rivet-counter's game. Weapons are simplified in very broad classes, so people who want lots of detail will be disappointed. People who want a fast paced and simple game will enjoy it (I'm one of these).

I disagree that people who like Frostgrave will necessarily like Stargrave. I'm a fan of Frostgrave, but Frostgrave in Space is not what I'm looking for. I want to switch engines when I switch themes, otherwise it all starts to feel samey. I don't understand people who only want to play games if the engine or setting already feels familiar to them. Isn't that boring?

Well, it doesn't make that much sense to replace the core mechanics with completely new ones for a different setting. Why change everything just because you're shooting with a laser rifle instead of an arbalest, a musket, or a bolt-action rifle? Use different rules for each different weapon, not for the action of pointing the weapon at the target, plotting lead, and pulling the trigger.
Also, have you got an hour?
youtu.be/Om0UDma_I_s

As I said, I disagree. I prefer to play different games, instead of feeling I'm playing always the same engine with a slightly different skin.

The change from fantasy to scifi ought to be something more meaningful than merely changing stats for some weapons.

Modern warfare is not ancient warfare with better weapons, after all.

I had watched that video, by the way -- it mostly convinced me it's basically the same game, regardless of what the author of the video claims. It's a pretty detailed video, I just reached the opposite conclusion.

YouTube link
Well, this guy goes on for several episodes. I think he's settled on Five Parsecs from Home.

Thanks! I also watched that series*, the guy reached the same conclusion as me, and yes, Five Parsecs sounds like just the ticket. It's also designed for solo/coop from the get go, a style of play I find myself enjoying even before covid hit. Of course, I might end up not liking it for other reasons, but at least it's a different system! :)

* Did my homework and watched and read several reviews, including the positive one by Guerrilla Miniatures where Ash starts with "of course it's Frostgrave in Space, what did you expect?".

I just skimmed through the book at a local book store, I was just surprised to see in on the shelf of the local Barnes & Nobles.

I believe I shall skip it too. I asked around the local groups and no-one else seems to be interested, and it's quite expensive even as a download.

I'm reading through the rulebook now (noticed some typos that didn't flag spellcheck, but should (would) have been caught with a read-through. ;-) I'll get around to playing a game or few with it eventually… ;-)