 | |
| Designers | Howard Thompson |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Metagaming |
| Years active | 1982 to 1983 |
| Genres | Science-Fiction Role-Playing Game |
| Systems | Starleader |
Starleader: Assault! is a science fiction microgame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1982 that was designed to introduce the rules of combat with firearms for a forthcoming science fiction role-playing game that did not get published before Metagaming went out of business.
Starleader: Assault! is a set of rules for building characters and engaging in ranged combat using a variety of futuristic weapons. A map of a starship is included.
The player distributes 32 points among three abilities: Prowess (PR), Emotion (EM), and Intelligence (IQ), although IQ must be at least 10, and PR and EM must be at least 8. [1] The final step is to equip the character with weapons and armor.
Each round of combat, the character starts with 8 action points, although points can be subtracted if the character is carrying certain weapons or armor. [1] Once final action points are calculated, the character's Prowess is added to determine an initiative order -- the highest sum of Prowess and action points going first. [1] When it is a character's turn, the character can spend its action points on moving and performing various actions. [1] An enemy can conduct counterfire during a character's turn.
When firing a weapon, the character's abilities have no bearing on success. A hit is determined by rolling four dice to try to get a number less than a value determined by adding the weapon's density to the target’s size, and subtracting the size of any obstacle in the way. [1]
Since Starleader rules focus on combat with firearms, it also includes a rudimentary conversion guide for adapting melee combat from Metagmaing's previously published games The Fantasy Trip or Melee .
Four scenarios are included:
In 1977, Metagaming Concepts pioneered the concept of the microgame, a small, simple wargame packaged in a ziplock bag. The first in Metagaming's MicroGame line was Ogre , a mini-wargame designed by Metagaming employee Steve Jackson. The third game in the MicroGame series was Jackson's Melee, and #6 was Jackson's Wizard .
Jackson wanted to develop a role-playing game to rival Dungeons & Dragons , and brought together the rules for Melee and Wizard to form what he called The Fantasy Trip (TFT). Jackson expected this would be sold as one boxed set, but when Howard Thompson, owner of Metagaming, decided to release it as four separate books, and changed the company's production methods so that Jackson would not be able to check the final proofs of the game, Jackson left Metagaming, founded Steve Jackson Games and enjoyed almost immediate success. [2]
Thompson was chagrined that one of Metagaming's most notable successes was Jackson's The Fantasy Trip, and decided to develop a science fiction role-playing game titled Starleader that would be more popular than Jackson's games. As a first step, Thompson designed and released the combat rules for the new role-playing game, Starleader: Assault!, the 21st game in the MicroGame line. [3] It proved to be one of Metagaming's most unpopular MicroGames. [4] Metagaming promoted the future publication of Starleader and supplements such as Starleader: Warships, [5] but the company went out of business shortly after Starleader: Assault was published. [3]
In The Space Gamer No. 61, William A. Barton found many problems with the rules, including the fact that character skills have no bearing on successful combat. "Johnny Starslayer, with a prowess of 14, has no better chance to hit a certain target than Eddie Earthslogger, with a prowess of 8, provided they're using the same weapon and firing at the same target at the same distance and angle." He noted that the only use for a character's Intelligence was to determine which high-tech weapons the character can use, saying, "This is a shaky assumption at best — higher [Tech Level] weapons do not necessarily take a higher intelligence to operate. After all, a pistol's a pistol's a pistol — whether it's a slug-thrower or an energy gun." Barton commented that the rules around combat were fairly simple, and recommended using all the optional rules: "There just isn't enough to the game to make it worth trying without them." Barton concluded that Starship: Assault might be usable as a simple board wargame using the scenarios provided, but "As the first module in a role-playing system, though, it's hard to accept. In the science fiction role-playing game field, S:A just doesn’t stand out enough to make it worth the effort. [1]
In Issue 27 of Simulacrum, Brian Train commented, "The counters are poorly drawn silhouettes that are hard to read. The map is [...] just a giant series of variegated and differently shaded hexagons that are supposed to represent a starship. Pretty awful work." [3]
In a retrospective review in Issue 35 of Warning Order, Matt Irsik noted that the game had "Complex rules that led you to believe that this was supposed to be far more than a microgame. The game also was on the verge of the RPG craze at the time and it seemed as if it couldn't make up its mind if it was a role-playing or man to man combat wargame." [4]
The Fantasy Trip (TFT) is a tabletop role-playing game designed by Steve Jackson and originally published by Metagaming Concepts. In 2019, TFT was republished by Steve Jackson Games as The Fantasy Trip Legacy Edition.
G.E.V. is a science fiction board wargame that simulates combat in the near future between supertanks and other futuristic weaponry. The game was designed by American game designer Steve Jackson as a sequel to his Ogre board game when he was working for Metagaming Concepts. When Jackson left Metagaming to form his own company, he took the rights to both G.E.V. and Ogre with him, and all subsequent editions have been produced by Steve Jackson Games.
Metagaming Concepts, later known simply as Metagaming, was a company that published board games from 1974 to 1983. It was founded and owned by Howard Thompson, who designed the company's first game, Stellar Conquest. The company also invented Microgames and published Steve Jackson's first designs, including Ogre, G.E.V. and The Fantasy Trip.
WarpWar is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1977 that simulates interstellar combat. It was the fourth in Metagaming's MicroGame series.
Melee is a board wargame designed by Steve Jackson, and released in 1977 by Metagaming Concepts. In 2019, Melee was revived and re-released by Steve Jackson Games.
Wizard is a game system of medieval fantasy magical combat published by Metagaming in 1978 that was designed to compliment the previously published Melee, a system of melee combat rules. Forty years later, Wizard was revived and re-released by Steve Jackson Games.
Chitin: I is a science fiction microgame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1977 in which bands of intelligent insects vie for resources.
Annihilator & One World are two board wargames released in one package by Metagaming Concepts in 1979 as the 14th addition to its MicroGame line.
Hot Spot is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1979 that simulates the battle for possession of a molten planet.
The MicroGame line by Metagaming Concepts consisted of tabletop microgames published from 1977 to 1982.
Artifact is a science fiction microgame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1980 as part of its MicroGame line that simulates combat on the moon over a recovered alien artifact.
Holy War is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1979 in which two groups battle each other inside a pocket universe.
Ice War is a board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1978 that hypothesizes a Eurasian attack against American oilfields in Alaska.
Olympica, subtitled "The U.N. Raid on Mars, 2206 A.D.", is a science fiction microgame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1978.
Invasion of the Air-eaters is a science fiction near-future board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1979 in which aliens invaders attempt to replace the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere with sulfur dioxide.
Rivets is a post-apocalyptic board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1977.
Dimension Demons is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1981 as part of its MicroGame line.
Helltank is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1981 as part of its MicroGame line. The game simulates combat in the future between a supertank and more conventional forces.
Helltank Destroyer is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1982 as part of its MicroGame line that features combat between supertanks and other futuristic weapoons systems. The game is a sequel to 1981's Helltank, which is itself based on Ogre.
Sticks & Stones is a board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1978 that is set in the Neolithic Age.