Alternity

The last RPG from TSR.

In 1998, after TSR had been bought out by WotC, but before it was dropped as a separate brand, it released a generic rules set for science fiction role playing game. It was written by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker. Characters would be created by a points system for six statistics (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Will, and Personality) and take on one of five classes (Combat Specialist, Tech Operator, Free Agent, Diplomat, and Mindwalker). Using a dual dice mechanic of rolling a control die (d20) and situation dice (such as d4) for resolving tasks but the dice size and number rolled could change due to circumstantial modifiers. The aim being to succeed by roll low under a target number (such as a skill) then working out what degree of success or failure occurred.

Despite being a nicely-illustrated book, having good reviews and a well presented rule book, it had little in the way of actual sales. There were a few campaign settings sold for it, notably a pen and paper version of Blizzard's PC game Starcraft. The product line was discontinued but settings such as Dark Matter survived into D20 Modern. Wizards of the Coast axed the product line and instead focused on Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition.

Star*Drive

The main far-future setting of the Alternity line. Star*Drive is set at the dawn of the 26th century, and humanity has spread out across the Orion Arm. The first galactic war saw the end of colonial rule from Earth, while the century-long second galactic war forged the colonies into a dozen powerful stellar nations united into three alliances. The growing nations have encountered dozens of sentient species, of which several stand out.

Alien Races

• Fraal: The gray aliens; slender, telepathic humanoids with black eyes, the fraal arrived in the Sol system thousands of years ago, having forgotten both their homeworld and their destination. Over the centuries they attempted to communicate with humanity but without success until humans began to colonize the solar system. The combination of terran mass reactor technology and fraal gravitic propulsion made the stardrive possible, allowing faster than light travel.

• Aleerians (Mechalus): The nice borg; a fully cyborgized species. Typically pacifists but they don't regard cyberwar to be violence. Their trade agreement with the Rigunmor Consortium leases mechalus recruits as contract hackers and tech experts to anyone who can pay.

• Weren: Talking wookies. Weren are a brutish pre-modern species that recently invented flintlocks and printing, with the same effect that those inventions had on Earth (ie, enlightenment and holy wars). A small recruiting outposts in the wastelands allows individual weren to take their chances in the stars, but those who leave may never return. While most who emigrate become soldiers or mercenaries, a surprising number adopt human faiths and become missionaries.

• Sesheyans: Batpeople. A primitive race of nocturnal avians, the sesheyans have the ignominious distinction of being the first species enslaved by humanity due to not reading the fine print on their trade agreement. Most free Sesheyans live outside the law as pirates and criminals.

• T'sa: Excitable velociraptors. The t'sa colonized several systems without FTL before humanity encountered them, and consider themselves to be a sovereign stellar nation (despite being as outnumbered as the Tau). However, the t'sa have an inquisitive and cosmopolitan nature, and have emigrated throughout human space even as their home nation has continued to grow.

Stellar Nations

• Austrin-Ontis Unlimited: The south will rise again. Austrins are every stereotype of a redneck gun nut.

• Borealis Republic: A space oligarchy except with titles based on academic achievement. Really into cloning.

• Hatire Community: Space Amish.

• Insight: Hacker nation; you can't stop the signal.

• Nariac Domain: Soviet Russia.

• Orion League: The United Federation of Planets. Best pals with the Orlamu.

• Orlamu Theocracy: A theocracy that worships FTL and stardrive tech, founded by the first FTL test pilot. Discovered the weren and protects their homeworld from cultural contamination. Builds the best stardrives.

• Rigunmor Star Consortium: Rogue traders. They discovered the mechalus and are filthy rich.

• StarMech Collective: Lazy corellians. StarMechs are expert engineers with a hedonism streak. They have lots of robots to do the actual work.

• Thuldan Empire: The Imperium of Man. The largest stellar nation, thinks they should rule the galaxy and has tried to. Really into genetic engineering, really not into aliens.

• Union of Sol: Terra and everything within 50 light years of Terra. Really overcrowded.

• VoidCorp: 90's era Microsoft in space. Enslaved the Sesheyans. Every citizen is an employee.

• Galactic Concord: The New Republic. Formed to govern buffer zones after the second galactic war. Large enough to beat any one stellar nation in a war. The T'sa cluster is in Concord space.