DEBRIEFING: THE STARGATE SG-1 ROLEPLAYING GAME

Stargate Command Logo

SGC COMMANDSPECIALTY/SPECIESCLASSESBACKGROUNDSMECHANICSTECHSTARSCAPEMISSIONSDM MISCELLANY

ORIENTATION

"All right, we came here in peace, we expect to go in one… piece.”
- Jack O'Neill, Stargate SG-1, "Touchstone"

This is a debriefing of the Stargate SG-1 roleplaying game produced by AEG, andd how it can intersect with Farscape. AEG produced a core book for Farscape in 2002 and one for Stargate in 2003. Four Stargate supplements followed (while Farscape remained a single-book venture). Eventually, AEG lost the Stargate license and the last book they planned to do was never made. The Farscape book, Stargate core book, and First Steps supplement are all currently available in PDF through DrivethruRPG.

Those books - and this site - were made before these awesome sci fi series were complete, so later aspects of the shows aren't covered. I don't see this as a flaw. The books cover the basics and I was able to extrapolate freely, without worrying about the canon (particularly when bridging Stargate and Farscape's universes together). I didn't have complete information but I didn't need it, and I got to enjoy the possibilities that resulted. I never got to run Starscape (what I call the melding of the two franchises), unfortunately, but I know it would have been cool. And what I pulled together is still here, if you're interested.

In 2020, Wyvern Gaming ran a successful Kickstarter to create a new, officially licensed Stargate book via the 5e Open Gaming License. This book has the advantage of being made well after the show's completion (along with its spin-offs). There's a wealth of material to choose from and the creators don't have to worry about going against future precedent. It's likely to be the gateway for people to play Stargate, since 5e is a very popular system.

But I don't know if I'll ever run the new system, and I enjoyed AEG's version, which was based on the d20 OGL. There was never a lot of information about Stargate games online, which is part of why I started this little site in the first place. What I came up could still be of use to people, too. With some tweaks, a number of concepts will work just fine in 5e. And although Wyvern Gaming has released the new core book, as far as I've seen, they only plan to publish materials related to their living RPG series (Stargate: PHoenix) on their forums in the future. If there are plans for supplement books, I have yet to hear of them. So you might find value in tracking down older materials.

The Products

The Stargate SG-1 core rulebook book is a tremendous resource. It has information you can use in Stargate games and other modern d20 games, as well. It's about 500 pages in length, in full color, with tons of content and some pictures and diagrams for reference. It also has a decent index for a book of such a length. What's more, you really don't need much else to play the game. You don't even have to have the Player's Handbook with you, if you instead use the SRD available for free (and linked below).

The four supplements were all printed on on the same nice paper, fully in color. They all present information that is not offered in the main book, so it's not like you're buying redundant products. Most of these books present game mechanics for things that have been shown on the television show, as well as characters. All of the books have new information, however, and one of them (I forget now which) features extended information on vehicles, which is missing from the main book. They had decent print runs and can still be found, but their prices are inflated.

You'll need the core book to play, but the extra sourcebooks are just that: extra. They're good for more definition and flavor, but you can play quite well without them. Watching the shows again can reveal a wealth of uncovered ground and plot hooks, particularly if you expand your viewing to include Atlantis and Universe, neither of which were covered in the RPG. If you want to run Stargate as it was in the later years of the original series, you'll also want to hit up guides to the show's later seasons, since so much happened that the game didn't cover. In addition, if you run other space-faring games, those books will likely have things that you can throw into Stargate, or you could take Stargate's millieu and run it in a different system altogether.

If you run AEG's Stargate, it helps to have at least two copies of the core book. One reason for this is that the core rulebook has an amazing amount of gear, and players can choose new gear once per mission. Having more than one book for players to use makes this stage faster. Another concern is that there are a great deal of different combat rules, feats, and skill uses that players may need to look up for certain situations. Whether you have PDFs or printed copies doesn't seem like it will matter much.

Links

Fantasy Name Generators: There's a staggering number of different name generator types at this site, which can work well for planet-hopping campaigns.

Farscape Encyclopedia Project: A Farscape wiki.

Gateworld: This site covers the franchise, from SG-1 through SGU.

Richard Dean Anderson's Web Site: R.D. Anderson's site is a great resource about SG-1. He wasn't just the original show's leading actor, he also seems to be quite the fan!

SGCommand Stargate Wiki: A wiki for the Stargate universe.

Stargatecaps: This site has some truly beuatiful screen captures from the show, and plenty of them.

Stargate Wiki: A wiki for the franchise.

RanGen Planet Generator: Generate not only planet names but also the basics with this tool.

The Hypertext d20 SRD: Since AEG's Stargate game is based in the d20 system, this could come in handy.

The Stargate SG-1 Cartoon: If you're a fan of the show, the comics here are hilarious!

Recent Updates

August 4, 2023

I was just going to fix coding on this site quickly and move on, I swear! Instead, I've done a lot more than that. I've been updating language so things flow and read better. I removed broken links and added a couple of others, and removed a page or two (like the Updates page, since this site isn't updated regularly). I worked on improving tables so they're easier to reference and understand.

Then I created a planet designation generator so you can roll up numbers for planets that sound like those in the show, all at the push of a button. I also made downloadable Google Docs for all of the missions I offer here, as well as the Stargate/Farscape crossover material. Since there aren't many Stargate roleplaying sites out there (as far as I could find), I'll be leaving this material up. Even if the system I was using here is outdated now, the ideas might inspire you and they can be ported elsewhere. No matter what, I wish you happy gaming!

April 7, 2022

So, umm...hi! As you can see from the date of the last big update, it's been a long time since I spent real time on this site. Nearly a decade. I've glanced at it briefly while updating the disclaimer's date after each new year, but that's about it. Except that today, I just couldn't stand the way it was. I've learned some things since 2013 about web design and wanted to put that to use to make everything more readable and organized here. I also added quotes all over the place because it was fun and took me on a nostalgia trip. Is the new site the greatest? No. Could it be fancier? Certainly. But is it a hell of a lot better than it was? You bet!

I suppose one of the reasons I spent real time on it today is because a new Stargate game is being made. I remember what it was like when AEG's Stargate came out and I went hunting on the internet for things I could use. There were screencap sites and some general wikis, but there wasn't a lot out there about the Stargate gaming experience. So I made this little site. I've kept it up because every once in a blue moon, someone lets me know they're glad it exists. I think it could serve to inspire folks looking to play the new game system, and I really hope Wyvern Gaming's book draws people into rewatching the shows and playing in the Stargate universe. There's so much material to use, so many places to explore, and so much fun to be had!