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Stargrave is a tabletop skirmish game by Joseph A. McCullough that builds on Frostgrave’s popular system and transposes it to a futuristic setting where two empires have destroyed each other in a galactic war. You create a small crew trying to survive this devastation, embarking on missions where you face off against another player to see who can seize all the loot in an area or take out the other crew.
There’s a Starman Waiting in the Sky
The first step in Stargrave is to assemble your crew of sci-fi adventurers. It is up to you what kind of group you’d like to play with: pirates, merchants, treasure hunters, religious crusaders, criminals, bounty hunters... or something completely different. For the captain and first mate of your crew, you have eight backgrounds to choose from, which change the way they play by modifying their stats and altering the core powers available to them.
- The Biomorph is a genetically manipulated individual who can control different aspects of their body such as changing their skeletal structure or skin tone, growing new limbs or additional organs.
- Cyborgs are part man and part machine, with some appearing more humanoid and others looking completely robotic. They are able to create energy shields, control smaller robots, and camouflage themselves effectively.
- Mystics are deeply connected to the universe around them and can control animals, leach life from enemies, and use their powers of suggestion.
- Robotics Expert are master craftsmen who scour the universe for new technology they can utilize to build enhanced robots and other innovations. They excel at all aspects of robotics; repairing, controlling, and remotely firing their creations during battles.
- The Rogue uses their guile and luck to search the stars for deals that make them rich. These shifty characters can bribe or haggle, and if those don’t work, they always carry a concealed firearm to help them escape danger.
- Psionicists have the power to affect reality, from telekinesis and conjuring fire, to entering other people’s minds and controlling them.
- Tekkers are able to repair high-tech equipment damaged during the galactic war, using them to generate everything from electromagnetic pulses to holographic walls.
- Last but not least, the Veteran is a survivor of the war who now fights for their own cause. Trained to fight, these individuals are the ones always wearing the best armour and wielding the best weapons.
After deciding on a background, you select five powers for your captain and four for your first mate. There are over fifty to choose from and they can greatly influence the outcome of a game. When you have kitted out your captain and first mate with gear and recruited eight soldiers to join your crew, you can start your adventures.
You Can’t Take the Sky From Me
Once you have decided on your motley crew, they can head out onto the battlefield. Set up your table (this can be 2” x 2”, 3” x 3” or 4” x 4” - depending on what you have available, how many people are playing, and how spread out you want your crews to be), place terrain, and then roll a die to decide who gets to choose the starting table edge where their crew will be placed. Acquiring loot tokens is the main objective of most Stargrave games and these can either be in the form of data (information, schematics, digital currency) or physical (money, merchandise, artefacts). One token is placed in the centre of the table and then players alternate until they have put down one piece of data-loot and one physical-loot on their opponents’ half of the board.
Now it’s time to play! At the start of each turn, you roll a die to see who goes first. That player activates their captain and up to three soldiers who started within 3” of their captain, and then the next player does the same. Activated crew members can perform two actions, one being a move and the other either a second move, fighting, shooting, using a power, or a special action. After this Captain Phase, there is the First Mate Phase, where players activate their first mate and up to three soldiers within 3” of their first mate. Then there is the Soldier Phase, where any remaining soldiers on the board are activated. Finally, if players are using the ‘Random Encounters’ or ‘Unwanted Attention’ rules to add uncontrolled creatures or pirates to their game, these are activated at the end of a turn.
There are extra rules for jumping, falling, swimming, throwing grenades, critical hits, and becoming stunned, wounded or poisoned. These can lead to some fun and/or frustrating moments. One time, a soldier of mine bravely fought my opponent’s captain on top of a building and managed to push them off the edge. Another time, I rolled a one while attacking with a flamethrower and the weapon jammed.
Across the Universe
Games of Stargrave are pretty quick once you’ve got a grasp of the rules, taking around two hours. You can either play one-off games or an ongoing campaign that enables your crew to spend what they have collected and grow in power. After a game has been decided, players can check for injuries or death of crew members, use any powers specified as ‘Out of Game’, calculate experience and levels, roll for loot, and spend their loot.
In scenarios, your crew can take part in unique narrative encounters with special rules. There are ten listed in the book, from racing to uncover a valuable data vault, to investigating a derelict warship. The final chapter features a bestiary you can use to enhance your games, either by adding random encounters with monsters or unwanted attention from ruffians. There is a list of creatures, a brief description, and a stat line for each one.
See You Space Cowboy...
In conclusion, Stargrave could be a great option for those looking to get into tabletop wargaming as it is straightforward to understand and set up. It has RPG elements like character customization and ongoing campaigns, and there are a slew of supplements available that add even more depth and variety.
*A copy of Stargrave: Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy was kindly provided for review