Publisher: Sine Nomine Publishing
If you are a game master who loves to create sci-fi adventures for your roleplaying games, you might be interested in Sixteen Stars: Creating Places of Perilous Adventure, a book by Kevin Crawford, the creator of Stars Without Number. In this review, I will explain what this book is about, how it can help you generate thrilling sci-fi scenarios, and what I liked and disliked about it.
What is Sixteen Stars?
Sixteen Stars is a 35-page book that provides game masters with tools and tables to generate adventure outlines and perils for sixteen different types of sci-fi locations. These locations include:
- Ancient Temples
- Asteroid Bases
- Barbarian Courts
- Bureaucratic Agencies
- Colonial Outposts
- Derelict Orbitals
- Disaster Areas
- Doomed Habitats
- Hellworld Settlements
- Merciless Deserts
- Planetary Starports
- Prison Colonies
- Savage Jungles
- Tomb Cities
- Vicious Slums
- War Zones
For each location, the book gives you a brief description, some tips to customize it, and a set of tables to generate the following elements:
- Antagonists: The main enemies or threats that the players will face.
- Friends: The allies or contacts that the players can meet or rely on.
- Places: The key locations or landmarks that the players can explore or visit.
- Things: The valuable or important items or resources that the players can find or seek.
- Complications: The twists or challenges that the players can encounter or overcome.
The book also provides some examples of how to use the tables to create adventure outlines, as well as some general advice on how to run sci-fi adventures.
How can Sixteen Stars help you?
Sixteen Stars is designed to help game masters who want to create sci-fi adventures quickly and easily. By using the tables and the techniques in the book, you can generate a playable night’s fun for you and your party of daring stellar heroes. You can also use the book as a source of inspiration or a reference for your own ideas.
The book is compatible with any sci-fi roleplaying game system, but it is especially suited for Stars Without Number, as it uses the same terminology and concepts. However, you don’t need to own or be familiar with Stars Without Number to use Sixteen Stars, as the book explains everything you need to know.
What did I like and dislike about Sixteen Stars?
I liked Sixteen Stars for several reasons:
- It is well-written and easy to use. The book is clear, concise, and organized. The tables are simple and intuitive. The examples are helpful and illustrative.
- It is versatile and adaptable. The book covers a wide range of sci-fi locations and scenarios. You can mix and match the elements to create different combinations and variations. You can also tweak or modify the tables to suit your preferences or needs.
- It is creative and fun. The book offers many interesting and exciting ideas for sci-fi adventures. You can find ancient mysteries, hidden dangers, exotic cultures, epic conflicts, and more. You can also add your own twists and surprises to make your adventures more memorable.
I disliked Sixteen Stars for only one reason:
- It is too short and limited. The book is only 35 pages long, which means that it doesn’t go into much detail or depth for each location. The tables are also somewhat generic and repetitive, which means that they might not capture the specific flavor or atmosphere of each location. I wish the book had more content and variety to make each location more unique and distinctive.
Conclusion
Sixteen Stars is a great book for game masters who want to create sci-fi adventures with minimal effort and maximum fun. It provides you with tools and tables to generate adventure outlines and perils for sixteen different types of sci-fi locations. It is well-written, versatile, creative, and compatible with any sci-fi roleplaying game system. However, it is also short and limited, which means that it might not satisfy game masters who want more detail and diversity for their sci-fi adventures.
Sixteen Stars: Creating Places of Perilous Adventure on DrivethruRpg
