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I picked this up on a whim. All of the other d20 books I had bought were based upon franchises I was familiar with. I have to say I am happy with my purchase. I've found a game that mixes my sci-fi with my fantasy and shoots out Drow Elves in jackboots carrying laser weapons and working as a sort of Imperial Gestapo. What more could a gamer ask for in a setting?

Dragonstar, from Fantasy Flight Games, is based around the idea that Dragons rule a huge chunk of the universe. All of the expected races are present and can be found on a wide variety of worlds. What happened was Dragons started finding ways off of their worlds and ran into technology. They fused the technology with their magic and found more worlds. The more worlds the dragons went to, the more they started realizing how few dragons any given world had.

Eventually after a couple of permutations and a massive war, a single Draconic Empire was founded. It has lasted over 5,000 years to the present game setting. Currently a red dragon sits on the throne, aided by his Imperial Police Special Directorate, IPSD, manned almost entirely by Drow.

I was unsure about playing this game after reading the book, because the Starfarer's Handbook is only a Player's Handbook and doesn't carry all of the background information a GM would want. So far, it hasn't been much of a worry, and the GM's book will be available by the time of this printing.

The book is set up much differently than the Star Wars or Cthulhu book; it relies heavily upon the core books. While making a character, you'll find yourself referring back and forth between the Player's Handbook and the Starfarer's Handbook. Kind of a pain, but there isn't any way around it.

All of the core races are available along with Drow, Soulmechs and Half-Dragons. There are also a couple of new classes and some variations when it comes to the original classes. Something I find interesting is that you can choose to play a standard D&D character with no knowledge of technology. This can lead to some entertaining situations in figuring out how to use lights, or even a bathroom.

Soulmechs are androids who have had the soul and intelligence of a person implanted. You're still able to choose from almost any character class with a soulmech, but you'll always be different. Cure spells don't work for you and you don't have a Con score. I've played a couple of games now and have seen both a Soulmech wizard and a bard.

Druids and Sorcerers kind of come into their own with this game. Since Dragons rule the society, sorcerers are much more highly regarded than those pitiful things who have to study in order to use magic. Druids face a tough time upholding their beliefs in nature while traveling between star systems. A strictly traditional Druid can find herself trying to start a fire in the cargo hold in order to cook dinner. Using a replicator for food, or making use of technology, can cost the character her druidic abilities.

If a player chooses to play a primitive, after playing for one full level in which the character interacts with technology the character gains the Technical Proficiency Feat for free. All other characters start out with it.

1st level characters need to tread carefully when going into combat. Being shot with a blaster pistol (dam 3d8 crit x2) can be downright deadly. Being hit with a crit often leaves a bloody spot on the ground where the character was.

There are some new spells that reflect the inclusion of technology into the world. Wizards now sort of have a 'cure' spell of their own: repair. The repair spell comes in the same increments as the clerics cure spells, but is only usable on machinery. Any Soulmechs want to make fast friends of the wizards in their parties. Without a repair spell, a soulmech needs the services of a mechanist to "heal" any damage. What spell-caster is going to be able to pass up adding the 8th level Irradiate spell to their repertoire when they get the chance?

Some aspects of the setting require a strong suspension of disbelief, but the game is still fun. With the release of the GM's book, characters will be able to make use of Spellware. Simply put, spellware is the cyberware of Dragonstar. The only difference is so far there doesn't seem to be a limit. No adventurer should leave home without his or her trauma symbiote (good for an extra 20hp).

Like most games I review, I like this game. I've been able to play in a few games, and even run a couple of scenarios. The game flows just as easily as 3E, and isn't a trial to learn. The guys at Fantasy Flight games are willing to answer questions, and have been very nice in sneaking some of us on their E-group some early glances at cool stuff. This game gives me hope for the future of the open content system and I look forward to more of their offerings.