Anyone Here Using Osprey’s “Rogue Stars” Rules?

[Cacique Caribe]

A) If so, how do you like it?  
B) What don’t you like about it?  
C) What settings did you use it for?

Please give us the scoop.  Thanks

PS.  Full title: Rogue Stars: Skirmish Wargaming in a Science Fiction Underworld (Osprey Wargames)

https://ospreypublishing.com/rogue-stars?___store=osprey_usa

[swiftnick]

Played it a few times but didn't like it.
Seemed very crunchy and the game just didn't seem to flow.
Used it for a couple of star wars games, Strontium dog and judge Dredd.
Much prefer the Necromunda rules.

[Hobgoblin]

My son and I played quite a bit of it when it first came out - he declared it his favourite game - but we haven't played it for a while.

It's pretty good, I think, but it does different things from many other sci-fi games. Its main feature is modelling very intense and claustrophobic firefights. Movement is in very small increments, fatigue builds up quickly, and shooting is rapid and fairly deadly.

For that reason, I think it'd be best played in successive 'episodes' that collectively make up a scenario: for example, space pirates raiding a planetary bank and encountering guards outside, then in the corridors and then in the vault.

By contrast, the same author's Mutants and Death Ray Guns gives you more of a free-flowing game so that you could do all of those episodes as one.

We tend to play Mutants and Death Ray Guns a lot more - mainly because we know it virtually off by heart and because its "time to table" is very short. Rogue Stars involves counters and a lot of modifiers, so it's a bit more work to get on the table. But we certainly enjoyed it when we played it, and we'll give it another go at some point. We didn't use any specific setting for it: we just played it with a variety of sci-fi minis.

[Jagannath]

Echioing Hobgoblins advice - I played it the way I still occasionally dig out the old Inquisitor rules - small board, a limited 'scene' of an encounter, then the next scene etc. works really well then. Not really as a classic skirmish game.

[robh]

It has it's own sub forum here so people must be playing it. 
We tried it but quickly switched over to Void Pirates which does the same sort of thing but is much more "fun". Found Rogue Stars to be too "serious", it being very finicky and requiring more attention to detail.

[Dentatus]

Our game group tried it half-a-dozen times when it was first released.
To be fair, we were all hoping/expecting a fast, fun 'ASOBH in Space' (ASOBH is a group favorite) but very quickly found RS on the other end of the game spectrum. 
Words like 'clunky', 'tedious', and 'unnecessarily complicated' were thrown around. Several of the members said they'd played RPGs with faster action/combat resolution. 
Everyone was pretty disappointed.
But like I said, based on the hype and promo, and previous rule sets, we had certain (and not wholly unreasonable) expectations.
We've never played it again.

[Hobgoblin]

To be fair, we were all hoping/expecting a fast, fun 'ASOBH in Space' (ASOBH is a group favorite) but very quickly found RS on the other end of the game spectrum. 

Mutants and Death Ray Guns is precisely that game, I reckon - especially with the supplement that introduces ASOBH-style reactions. If you ignore the post-apocalyptic rules (guns and power armour jamming) and the random character generation, it's got everything you need for sci-fi ASOBH.

[clandaith]

The game has a "steep" learning curve, but is awesome once you understand it.  The big question is, what does "Steep" mean.  There are a lot of modifiers in the game.  You roll a d20 and start with a target number of 10.  The modifiers then raise or lower that target number.  The biggest part is that moving, shooting, standing up, etc all have modifiers.  This is where people get lost in the game.  And when I first played, I also got lost in it.  I didn't like the game.  It was way to fiddly and the modifiers all got in the way of playing.  The game went on the shelf and started to get dusty.

Fast forward a year or so, and I wanted to introduce one of my daughters to gaming.  I don't know why I thought RS would be the best choice for this.  I pulled the game off the shelf and decided to give it another go.  The amazing thing is that my daughter picked up the rules immediately and we were playing a game within a few minutes!  Was this the same game that my group and I had played previously?  We kept playing different scenarios and had a blast.

I reintroduced the game to my group and we all loved it.  We realized that you only needed to memorize a few modifiers.  All the ones that are listed are mostly edge cases.  And it's those edge cases that allow you to do whatever you want in the game.  You want to leap from one platform to another while switching weapons and being shot at?  Yup, we can figure out that target number.  You want to crawl on your belly through some mud while carnivorous plants are trying to eat you?  Here's your target number. 

So, this really is a gem of a game.  You can create any type of character, situation, scenario you want.  And you only have to really come up with your own designs if it doesn't fit in with all the premade ones in the book.  There are three tables that help you come up with why you're fighting:  Mission, Location, and Complications.  You can create some really awesome games with these tables.

So, like I said in the beginning, the game has a "steep" learning curve which really means to figure out what modifiers are the ones to memorize, and then you'll have a blast playing.  This really is a diamond in the rough game.

[has.been]

If you only want to have one team, & play often with that team,
it is a fine set of rules. Tension builds up & if you are stupid enough
to stand around in the open you will quickly die.
You MUST remember what your particular team members can do.
That, and the complicated points rules, mean it is best to keep the
figure count way down.
If, like me,  you like painting up Sci-Fi figures & want a quick, simple,
fun set of rules, that you can use for any set of figures/setting,
I would recommend Galactic Heroes (from the 'Fist Full of Lead' stable of rules).

[Froggy the Great]

I love Rogue Stars and the scenario generator and the gameplay.  The wounds and hit resolutions are a bit arcane.

[Cacique Caribe]

Hmm.  I was hoping for something for 10-15 figures per side.  Perhaps as many as 20 alien natives (or mining colonists) vs a ship’s small crew.

Dan

[Dentatus]

Dan, you're looking for an open miniature, player v player, RPG-lite skirmish game? How crunchy?

I know a lot of folks like the previously mentioned Mutants and Death Ray Guns and Galactic Heroes - which I've heard good things about but never played.
What about modifying Pulp Alley? (great game) Or looking into Void Pirates or Rogue Planet?

[Cacique Caribe]

Dentatus

Define “crunchy”.  I’ve been buying SciFi figures for years but never played any SciFi rule sets with them.  So I’m definitely open to suggestions. 

I want a Firefly feel if possible.  Basically a ship’s crew that is always finding trouble, even when they aren’t looking for it.

Don’t care much for specialized cards in a game.  Just want basic rules, my minis, dice and measuring stick, and some record sheets when necessary.  And, for now, it would need to be played solo.

Dan

[Arundel]

How about Savage Worlds? It plays incredibly fast, is intuitive once you get a few basic rules under the belt, differentiates between heroes and mooks in a pleasing, easy way, and can handle from a handful to dozens of figures per side. It does use a card activation system (no special cards, just a regular deck), but you could ditch that if you want to. Might be worth a shot!

[Cacique Caribe]

How about Savage Worlds? It plays incredibly fast, is intuitive once you get a few basic rules under the belt, differentiates between heroes and mooks in a pleasing, easy way, and can handle from a handful to dozens of figures per side. It does use a card activation system (no special cards, just a regular deck), but you could ditch that if you want to. Might be worth a shot!

Is this the one you mean?

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_info.php?products_id=261539&

Is it only available as a PDF?  Perhaps a paperback version?

Dan