Stargrave: The Last Prospector Review

The second supplement for Joseph A. McCullough’s sci-fi miniature skirmish game Stargrave adds a multi-path campaign of mystery and politicking. The Last Prospector sees your crew travelling to the Dahlgren Belt, a once vast asteroid mining operation supplying its sector with rare metals and elemental fuels. Ravaged by the war, these outposts have been left to fend for themselves and while some have become democracies, others are now being ruled by gangsters and warlords. Against the backdrop of this forgotten corner of space, your crew are trying to solve the disappearance of the titular prospector and uncover the big score he claimed to have found.

What Has Been Added

Two new backgrounds are featured in this supplement for captains and first mates. The Investigator makes their living moving from one system to the next and gathering valuable information. They take on jobs searching for people and objects and are adept at blending into the shadows when tracking a potential source. Fatewinders are oracles who can glimpse all of the possible outcomes of a certain action and use this to their advantage when determining which path to take.

Nine powers have been added that can be effectively utilised by these new backgrounds, and can also be selected by existing ones. Several new soldier types are available to recruit to your crew; the Striker, Bruiser, Engineer, and the Terrain Expert.

Campaign Trail

The core part of The Last Prospector is its narrative campaign, made up of ten scenarios. As your crew attempts to locate the missing contact, they must travel all over the star system searching for clues, with each location providing its own scenario. Instead of playing them sequentially, one player gets to decide which one to play next, perhaps giving them an advantage in the next battle.

Crews will interact with various factions present in the system, who can become allies providing additional resources or information. However, becoming too friendly with one faction may cause the others to turn on you. Your standing with the different factions provides bonuses or penalties in certain scenarios.

This supplement also features an advanced technology table, ship upgrades, and new additions to the bestiary, including the Centisaur, Harvest Tick, and Mining Robot.

*A copy of Stargrave: The Last Prospector was kindly provided for review*