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Star Frontiers (TSR, 1982-1985)
The cover above sold Star Frontiers for me. I walked into a hobby shop, grabbed it, and wouldn’t let go. My 11-year-old self couldn’t resist the cool hero, his hot girlfriend, and his alien buddy. The crashed spaceship in the background was the icing on the cake. I wanted to be that guy so badly, my first character was basically him. I came up with the coolest name I could think of at the time: Steve Green.
I took the game to school and introduced my friends to it. We played during recess and had tons of adventures. One of my friends would come over and we’d spend entire weekend playing. At night, we played inside on paper; during the day, we acted out our characters crashing on a desolate planet. Ah... those were the days.
I reread the rules a few years ago, and all I could do was laugh. I never played by the rules at all—but we had so much fun, I don’t care.
The game played an important role in the history of RPGs and sci-fi RPGs, all the way down to the most recent incarnation of Spelljammer. I’ve included links so you can learn more or even buy a copy yourself—plus a couple of videos explaining the rules and the setting.
Links:
Star Frontiersman - An independently published digital magazine that began in 2012.
Videos:
RPG Wishlist
DMs Guild Titles
RPG Articles
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STAR HEIST: An EXODUS Story | Episode 5 — “Mara Yama"
Hasbro CEO cosplays while playing. I didn’t expect to see this. His character is introduced at 39:00.
The Screening Room
Dungeon Masters can draw inspiration from movies to create better, more engaging sessions.
Ryan Reynolds in Early Stages of Exploring a Deadpool/X-Men Teamup Movie (Exclusive) - Ryan Reynolds is has gone all in on Deadpool.
Samuel L. Jackson, Pierce Brosnan Battle for Missing Gold in ‘Unholy Trinity’ Trailer - I’m old school, so that means I love Westerns. I was sold on this just at the mention of Jackson and Brosnan.
Minority Report (2002)
Spielberg’s direction in Minority Report is so layered and nuanced that it’s often missed on the first viewing. Look for visual metaphors in dialogue scenes, where characters move depending on which side of an argument they agree with. Watch it for free on YouTube.
Extras: