Battlestar Galactica RPG Corebook HC

not nearly as useful or usable.I'll begin by stating that I am a huge fan of the classic series and of the remake of Battlestar Galactica and I bought this game for two reasons: to recreate the saga of my own way of the long search for a new home for the derelict humanity and have some first-hand information on the technologies and the vehicles of the series, as the TV series from this point of view is rather stingy, with a view to then use these statistics with a gaming system that I'm more congenial with.I instead found myself with a most beautiful, expensive and colorful book from which I was not, however, able to draw a damn thing.This is because the Margaret Weiss has had the wonderful idea to base (yet) its products on the so-called "storytelling" that was the prevailing fashion until a few years ago, where trifles such as size, mass, speed, weapons etc. pass completely overshadowed by the mental masturbation of unlikely, angst-ridden heroes full of themselves.In fact, the game statistics that apply to the characters are also applied to inanimate objects and technological constructs alike, Let's take for example the workhorse of the series, the Viper space fighter: it is not described in terms of power, performance, or other physical measurements, as one would expect, since it IS ultimately a combat aircraft but in terms of ... aspects, quantified by the dice that you can use in the game, from which we can deduce that it is small, fast, relatively well-armed and fragile compared to the Galactica... and thanks my ass!... I would say, so far I could get there myself without having to buy this useless brick of a book!The remainder of the volume does water everywhere, including on the background and the various aspects of the series, because it was published with the TV series still going on and and I do not miss that much if I say that the MW prod. did not have at the time the faintest idea of how things actually were or where they would go.Beautifully useless (and expensive!)

A few things right off the bat that are missing:1) No stats for Pegasus.2) The weapon list is woefully incomplete.3) No list of the ships in the rag-tag fleet.4) No Blackbird.The game system is good. I'm REALLY hoping for some support system for the game, even downloadable updates and source material will be appreciated.Still and all, its a start, and a fairly good one. If you're looking for some sort of comprehensive guide to the BSG (rebooted) universe, look elsewhere.

The Battlestar Galactica RPG book is an excellent resource material for the gamer and fan alike; I'd recommend it for the serious RPGer interested in running a Battlestar campaign as well as a fan of the show just looking for an additional reference material on the show.- Sample character creation sheets are included, featuring the main characters from the show- Raptors, Vipers and Cylon Raider vehicle stats are featured, as are some minor deck plans/ship images for some of the other ships that make up the rag tag survivor fleet.- Weapons with RPG stats are featured, most without pictures- Layout of the book is done well, with each chapter forewarded by a "character comment".

This role-playing game is a nice addition to the Battlestar universe. Using basically the rules system as the Serenity RPG, this game lets players take on the rolls of the survivors of the Cylon attack on the colonies. It provides lots of different options so that your game is not a carbon copy of the tv show. Role-players and Battlestar fans should check this out.

This book is clear and just a fun read and play. Easy game play and informative. I recommend for all levels of gamers

Exactement ce que j'attendais ! Merci beaucoup

The Good:Nicely organized: Chapter and section headings match what they are about. Also, an index. This might seem like an odd point, but... I've seen some things over the 30 odd years that I've been gaming to lead me to believe otherwise.Pretty pictures: Stills from the show showing the topic at hand, also, the schematics of the Galactica and Colonial One are nice.System: While not a huge fan of the system, it seems workable.The tonality: Nicely done, and the way it's written, brings home the points of the series. While no direct comparisons are made, the point is brought home to avoid the technobabble - this is not Star Trek, where the problem of the week will be solved by reversing the polarity of the subspace transfusion warp capacitors, the problem will be solved by people.The Bad:Ship Design: Rules forthcoming... want to design your own ship, or fill out the fleet? Wait till that book is published, or, do what I'm going to, and fudge the Serenity ship building rules.Sometimes the "in game" tonality of the rules is a little intrusive. On some occasions I find that I feel like Saul Tigh is growling the rules at me... take that how you will.The Quick Start rules feature an introductory scenario, and sample PCs. Perhaps a continuation of the scenario and more sample PCs would have been a good idea.Edited to add:Among the other Good features is a lexicon listing common terms from the show and the game, like what exactly DRADIS stands for.There is also semi-official support at this website: cortexsystemrpg.org, which includes the official errata list.The Ugly:I'm not a grammar or a spelling Nazi... but dear lord, for the price, and coming from professionals, I expect more. There's a typo in the introduction by Richard Hatch ( which, by the way, I think is pretty cool that they got him to write one). There's misspellings, the wrong use of words ( I don't think the character is "knew to the fleet"), lack of spaces between words, etc. I had the same experience with the Serenity RPG - the feeling that the book is already late, and there's just not time for one more pass by the proof reader. Well, for the record, take the time.Overall:Why the 4 star rating? Because they don't offer a 3.5, the bad and the ugly don't outweigh the good. A statement up front that the RPG only covers the events of the first season (and I'm not sure it even goes that far) would have been good.Hopefully, later printings will see a cleaned up book, and the supplements will fit out the cracks. A search on Amazon shows a GM screen for the game, but no due date.I'd recommend this game for people looking to role play in the reimagined BSG universe.

Das BG-Rollenspiel erfindet das Rad nicht neu, aber es macht auch nichts falsch.Für alle die es etwas genauer wissen wollen umreiße ich hier den Inhalt des Buchs, die anderen können getrost zu Fazit vorspulen.Nach einer kleinen Einleitung (was ist ein Rollenspiel etc), gibt das erste Kapitel eine Beschreibung des Galaktika-Universums.In Kapitel Zwei wird die Charaktererschaffung abgehandelt. Das Spielsystem hält die Charakterwerte in Würfeln fest. Bei Proben werden einfach die Würfel für Attribut und Fertigkeit geworfen und zusammen addiert. Simpel aber praktisch. Tatsächlich wird hier auch eine (kleine) Innovation eingeführt: Plotpunkte. Dies sind Punkte die Spieler sich für gutes Rollenspiel verdienen können. Diese Plotpunkte kann man ausgeben um die Geschichte oder zumindest die Umgebung leicht zu seinen Gunsten verändern zu können. Wenn man beispielsweise in ein Gefecht in einem Raumschiffkorridor verwickelt wird, so kann man ein paar Plotpunkte ausgeben, damit in diesem Korridor Kisten herumstehen die man als Deckung nutzen kann.Kapitel Drei behandelt ausführlich die Fertigkeiten und Talente. Talente sind besondere Vorteile (oder Nachteile) wie Glück oder Sechster Sinn. Kapitel Vier erklärt die eigentlichen Spielregeln, und Kapitel fünf enthält Ausrüstung und ein paar Erklärungen zur Wirtschaft in einer Raumflotte auf der Flucht. Kapitel Sechs beschreibt Raumschiffe, Jäger und Raumkampf.Kapitel Sieben wendet sich an den Spielleiter und gibt dabei durchaus sinnvolle Tipps und Hilfestellungen. Kapitel Acht enthält Werte für bekannte Personen und andere NPC's. Abgeschlossen wird das Buch von einem Anhang in dem auf Militärische Ränge und Begriffe eingegangen wird, sowie den Charakterdokumenten und einem guten Index.FAZIT: Das Buch ist ein sehr solide Grundlage, und man kann sofort lospielen, ohne weitere Regelwerke kaufen zu müssen (vorausgesetzt man schreibt selbst Abenteuer). Die Idee mit den Plotpunkten gefällt mir sehr gut und das Kampfsystem ist recht Tödlich, was ich als Positiv empfinde (die Spieler werden dazu ermutigt Gewalt NICHT immer als beste und einfachste Lösung zu aktzeptieren). Das Buch ist durchgehend farbig und enthält viele Fotos aus der Serie (jedoch ohne dabei aufdringlich zu sein oder unnötig viel Platz zu verschwenden).Das einzige Problem liegt weniger im Spielsystem als vielmehr darin, das ich es für sehr schwierig halte eine Kampagne im Galaktika Universum zu Spielen. Ich gehe fest davon aus, das einem in dem begrenzten Umfeld einer Raumflotte auf der Flucht schnell die Abenteuerideen ausgehen. Die Serie nachzuspielen stellt auch keine Lösung dar, denn diese kennen die Mitspieler ja womöglich schon, und außerdem sollen ja auch die Spieler die Hauptrollen spielen. All dies wird im Spielleiterkapitel zwar angesprochen, aber eine echte Lösung wird hier nicht gegeben. Wer sich zutraut damit umgehen zu können, dem kann man dieses Rollenspiel bedenkenlos empfehlen. Alle anderen können das Regelwerk ja immer noch benutzen um Abenteuer in anderen "Universen" zu spielen.

Having enjoyed 'wizards of the coast' rpgs such as D&D and Star Wars for many years and more recently Dark Heresy, i wondered if BSG could provide the immersive detail my group is use to.I found that BSG is straightforward to pick up (created my first character in under 20 minutes) and has the potential for more depth than the rpgs mentioned above.Why?Because the rules structure encourages you to bring into play your character's internal landscape, background and psycology as well as the usual skill-sets players of other systems will be familiar with. BSG achieves this through its 'Traits' system which is divided into two categories: 'Assets' or positive personality aspects and 'Complications,' or negative flaws. Don't worry though, complications can be used to gain advantages in the game too. With a little creative thinking both the 'Assets' and 'Complications' help you sculpt believable, or dare I say it, realistic characters, which to my mind is in keeping the TV series' success.Every decision can be creative and character-focused and really gives you a sense your choices have a significant bearing on the story through the Traits and, when you really need things to go your way, 'Plot Points.' The game flows at a cracking pace and never seems to get bogged down in rules-complications, while allowing players and the GM to flesh out the action democratically.With such a cool rule system, geared towards playing detailed characters, the BSG world becomes rich with potential and enables the group to explore new and inventive scenarios never covered in the series. For me, this system has a lot of scope in terms of exploring many 'home-made' solutions to in-game challenges. I think my fellow players would agree we've never felt boxed-in by the dictates of the franchise either. Instead, the game has given BSG a new lease of life for us and let us own a place in the Cylon/human war of our own making.The book's equipment section is thorough and all the notable ships (Vipers, Raptors, Raiders, Basestars and Battlestars etc) are covered.The game is well-balanced (and the Centurions suitably tough) and whether frequent combat or deep, descriptive roleplaying is your thing (or a mixture), I found it delivers on both fronts.Grab your gun and bring in the cat: buy the frakker.

Nice quality hard cover book. I bought it as a present for someone so I have not read it. Mine was shipped by Boat from the moon, took weeks to get here and there was no option to choose airmail or anything.

Fantastically well written, by people who clearly have plenty of love for the series. If you liked Battlestar and you like Role Playing then this is the game for you the Codex system fits very well into the universe and the lore very well. Highly recommended by a huge BSG fan!

Did not realise that this was autographed! Added bonus :)