Star Frontiers
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Star Frontiers is a sci-fi role-playing game produced by TSR during the 1980s. The game was generic to a point but came with its own definite background. The game never really rivaled Traveller although Star Frontiers did pick up a dedicated following of people who preferred its "space opera" feel to the hard science of Traveller.
Players were expected to be "space cops" from the United Planetary Federation (UPF) fighting aggressive incursions of the alien worm-like race known as the Sathar.
Player character races
Star Frontiers takes place near the center of a galaxy (not specified to be the Milky Way or a different one) where solar-type stars are on average much closer together than they are in the actual solar neighborhood.
- Humans are a race of beings resembling Earthly humans. The likeness is not exact, however; one notable difference is an average lifespan of 200 years, versus 75 years on Earth.
- Vrusk are an insect-like (arthropoid) race with eight walking legs and two five-clawed manipulating arms. Their ant-like heads included two antennae and two mandibles. They are noted for their strong loyalty to whatever company they belong to.
- Dralasites are short, gray amoeboid creatures capable of changing their form to a limited extent by extending and retracting pseudopod limbs. Lacking a digestive system, they consume their food by surrounding and absorbing it. A network of nerves and veins intersects at a Dralasite's two eye spots.
- The Yazirian race strongly resembles Winged Monkeys of Oz, and the fictional species was rehashed as Shadow People in TSR's later Dragonlance series of campaign modules. Both species also bear a strong resemblance to the High Martians of GDW's Space: 1889 RPG. They are said to be rather violent and pushy, and have a custom to choose a "life-enemy", which could be anything; a company, person, or a concept.
These races have been republished in d20 Future by Wizards of the Coast.
- There are also other races in the Star Frontiers universe. These include the "Rim races", inhabiting planets on the Frontier's Rim, and include the Humma, Ifshnit, and Osakar. There are also the Mechanons, an intelligent race of robots, as well as the villainous Sathar.
External Links http://www.technomage.com.au/U.P.F/index.html