6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Essential Element For An Exciting New Game, October 23, 2000
This review is from: Alternity Gamemaster Guide (Hardcover)
A core rulebook for TSR's new science fiction roleplaying game, the Alternity Gamemaster Guide provides ideas and essential rules for running an Alternity campaign. Alternity brings flexibility to the sci-fi gaming universe, allowing the gamemaster to create any sort of campaign, from friendly exploration and alien contacts to gritty, grim wars of vast planetary destruction.
Use of this book assumes ownership and working knowledge of the Alternity Player's Handbook. It covers the basics of running a roleplaying game for novices, Alternity's special quirks for the experienced gamemaster, adventure and campaign design, and fast-play rules for the impatient. Sections deal with details of handling character creation, personal statistics and their effects, hero careers, and non-player characters. Tips are given for designing new hero careers, alien races beyond the five provided in the Player's Handbook, and a variety of vehicles, star systems, individual planets, spacecraft, and alien artifacts. The Guide contains many short tables for effects and characteristics, and for determining species lifespans (as determined by technology level). Brief optional rules are also presented for mutants, psionics, cyborgs, artificial intelligence, and "special effects" (any magic, miracle, or superpower beyond the other rules provided).
For players' displeasure there are statistics for 15 dangerous animals from good old Terra and 20 generic alien creature types to modify for every alien need. TSR fantasy fans will find an appendix of conversion rules for bringing AD&D characters, races, equipment, and spells into an Alternity game.
For ease in using published adventures and accessories, a sample nonplayer character statistics form with explanatory notes is provided. Also included are forms for ship design, ship status, and solar system design/record. There is an index of both this book and the Player's Handbook.
Alternity Gamemaster's Guide is an essential element in what promises to be an exciting new game in the science fiction game genre.
--Sharon Daugherty for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What's in it is cool; what's NOT in it..., June 26, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Alternity Gamemaster Guide (Hardcover)
The Alternity Gamemaster Guide is one of the more solide products TSR's published recently. The Player's Handbook, however, set a high standard for Alternity - and the Gamemaster Guide falls a bit short.
That's not to say that it's bad. (Actually, it's almost as good as the Player's Handbook.) With a random star system generator, starship and vehicle components, artifact rules better than AD&D's, templates for NPCs and aliens, and the FX system, what more could you ask for? The answer is "a lot."
The FX rules are a good example of this. The system is way out of whack; for a chapter predestined to attract attention, the rules on Faith, Arcane Magic and Super Powers need serious revision. The same goes for starships; if you don't like stardrives, you're outta luck. And these are only the start of the list of bugs. The alien creation rules seem designed to spawn supermonsters (check out the Elves in the Appendix), and need a point-based system. The system generation rules also need to be defaulted off of. (According to the list, A5 and R5 environments don't exist in the universe!) No equipment creation rules? No random encounter system? In a game touted for its all-encompassing flexibility, the Alternity Gamemaster Guide is almost a fluke. Don't get me wrong; this is still a crucial book to buy. If you get it, though, get Starships (and maybe the Arms & Equipment Guide, even if you don't use Star*Drive). You'll be glad you did.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best RPG ever!, January 5, 2009
This review is from: Alternity Gamemaster Guide (Hardcover)
D&D 4e may get all the attention, but Alternity is a superior system. This GM guide gives you the basics you need to do starships combat and build a universe. Not bad for something under $20! ;-)
This flexible, intuitive system only died because the Star Wars RPG replaced it. Star Wars has the brand, but its RPG system is inferior to Alternity. Alternity's way of handling hit points and damage is far more realistic. Same goes for Modern d20, although poor replacement to Alternity.
Thanks to Amazon, you can get all the Alternity books today for cheap and play away!
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