Off the Shelf: White Star Galaxy Edition

I pulled White Star Galaxy Edition off the shelf recently. I have a great sci-fi game in FrontierSpace, so why do I need another?

I boxed up Starfinder recently, and I have a shelf full of Starfinder pawns that will just sit there or get boxed up with it. Starfinder is an excellent game, but for solo play, it is unmanageable tracking a small 4-person party of different species and classes. Starfinder is one of those 3.5 games with too many rules and books, and the rules for everything go into so much depth that a computer is needed to manage characters and know what is going on. Like Pathfinder 2, you need a group and players to fully understand their classes for fun to happen - and it takes work to manage all that solo.

I love you, Starfinder, but I can't play you alone.

So, I have a spot open in my playlist for fantasy slash sci-fi gaming. One where I can have tech characters and magic characters in a shared universe of adventure, and I can pull in a B/X dragon and put it beside a sci-fi game xenomorph. And I can use all my pawns and have some fun with space monsters and cool-looking sci-fi characters. A sci-fi mercenary can adventure alongside a "space cleric" and have cure light wounds cast on them in a pinch.

White Star, a game compatible with Swords & Wizardry and the excellent White Box Fantasy Adventure Game - smiles and says, "I am on the shelf, and you know how this game works already."

Yes, the OSR is fantastic, and all of B/X is cool. Do I have a ton of Swords & Wizardry stuff? Yes! Do I need a sci-fi game to go with it? Well, since I collect OSR, I have it already, and it isn't an expensive buy. Will Starfinder pawns work well with the game? I do not see why not.

The combat system works like S&S, attack bonus, ascending AC, one saving throw number, hit dice, and all the usual things I know how to use. Combat? Just like S&W.

The only change I will make is to have goblins be a more intelligent and serious race than their Starfinder counterparts, where they seem to be shoved into every other room as a cheap combat encounter you aren't supposed to feel bad for killing. They aren't "stupid idiots" you are meant to kill. I love Pathfinder and Starfinder; I just can't stand the goblins these days. Yes, they are cute, but there is a difference between an intelligent and malicious race and one that feels exploited for cheap combat thrills and laughs.

For me, White Star is the better game. Runs fast, simply uses all my stuff, and works excellently solo, and with large parties, one person can run them without that much effort.

Problem solved.