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James Cambias & Steven S. Long
 
STAR HERO
• Science Fiction Roleplaying Usinge
HERO SYSTEM 
 
Authors:
James Cambias, Steven S. Long
Editing & Development:
Steven S. Long
Layout and Graphic Design:
Andy Mathews
Cover:
Jason Engle
Interior Artwork:
Storn Cook, AndrewCremeans, Keith Curtis, Malcolm Harrison, Jeff Hebert, Bryce Nakawaga, Brad Nault, Klaus Sch-erwinski, Greg Smith, and Chris Stevens. Photoscourtesy NASA/JPL/Cal Tech.
 A WORD OR TWOOF APPRECIATION
Jim dedicates
this book to Dr. Diane A. Kelly, his favoritescientific advisor.
 The Hero staff dedicates
this book to RJM Hughes, one of our fans, who passed away in August 2002. His presence onour message boards will be missed.
Special Thanks:
We’d like to offer our special thanks to the
Digital Hero
playtesters and testreaders who reviewed the
Star Hero
manuscript, spotted typos, checked the math,offered suggestions and ideas, and generally helped tomake this book even better than it would have been. Spe-cial thanks also goes to the fans who participated in mes-sage board and mailing list discussions of what
Star Hero
 should be, and what its contents should include; it’s alwaysgreat to have the help of enthusiastic fans!
HERO System
TM
® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system.
HERO System
© 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
© 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
Champions
© 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
Justice Inc., Danger International, Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, Pulp Hero, andStar Hero
© 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or computerization, or byany information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from thePublisher: DOJ, Inc., 1 Haight Street, Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102.Printed in the U.S.A. First printing November 2002.Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.Stock Number: DOJHERO300ISBN Number: 1-58366-007-0http://www.herogames.com
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Introduction .....................................5
 The Genre
Science Fiction Subgenres ..............8 Apocalypse/Post-Apocalypse ..........8
Cyberpunk ......................................8Earthbound Science Fiction ..............9Hard Science Fiction ........................9Low Science Fiction .......................10Military Science Fiction ..................10Planetary Romance ........................10Retro-SF .......................................11Space Opera .................................12Time Travel ....................................12Utopias and Dystopias ....................13Science Fiction Elementsand Features ...............................14
Cross-Fertilization: Metagenresin SF ............................................17
Comedy ........................................17Horror ...........................................17Mystery .........................................18Romance ......................................18Satire and Social Commentary ........18Tragedy .........................................19
Star Hero 
and Other Genres ...........20
Champions .................................20Dark Champions ..........................20Fantasy Hero ...............................20Pulp Hero ....................................21Western Hero ..............................21Other Eras ..................................21
Character Creation
Racial Package Deals ....................23
Species Package Deals ..................23Environmental Package Deals .........28
Professional Package Deals ..........33Character Creation .........................39
Characteristics ..............................39Skills .............................................39Perks ............................................48Talents ..........................................50Powers .........................................52Power Advantages .........................59Power Limitations ..........................61Disadvantages ...............................61
 The Universe, Part One
Galaxies .........................................67
The Milky Way ...............................67Other Galaxies ...............................69Globular Clusters ...........................69
Star Sectors ...................................70
Stellar Cartography ........................70Interstellar Phenomena And Dangers ...............................71
Stars ..............................................73
Star System Types .........................73Orbital Separation ..........................73Star Types .....................................74Exotic Objects .............................75Sample Sector ...............................78
 The Universe, Part Two
Planetary Systems .........................80
Orbital Distance .............................80System Zones ...............................80System Anomalies .........................81
Planets ...........................................82
Orbital Effects ................................82Mass ............................................82Moons ..........................................84Planetary Rotation .........................85 Atmosphere ..................................86Climate .........................................88
Life .................................................90
Exotic Life .....................................90Complexity ....................................91Intelligent Life ................................91
Surface ..........................................92
Hydrosphere ..................................92Dominant Terrain ...........................92Resources .....................................93
Other Objects .................................95
 Asteroids .......................................95Comets .........................................96Space Habitats ..............................96Megastructures ...........................97
 The Universe, Part Three
Earth’s Solar System ...................100
The Sun ......................................100The Planets .................................100Mercury ....................................100Venus .......................................101The Moon .................................101Mars.........................................102The Asteroids ............................103Jupiter ......................................104Saturn ......................................105Uranus ......................................105Neptune ....................................106Pluto .........................................106The Kuiper Belt .........................107The Oort Cloud ..........................107Beyond Sol ..................................107Nearby Stars .............................107Further Afield ............................108
Civilizations
Future Worlds ..............................110
Utopia .......................................110Bigger Tailfins............................110Cultural Stereotypes ..................111Cultural Fusion ..........................111Dystopia ...................................112Post-Apocalypse .......................112
Creating Alien Species .................115
 Alien Archetypes ..........................115 Alien Bodies, Alien Minds .............116Creating Player Character Species ...119Package Deal Components ........120 Alien Species As NPCs .................122
 Alien Civilization ..........................124
Technology ..................................124Population ...................................124Economics ..................................127Government ................................131The Basics Of Government .........131Interstellar Governments ............133 Agencies ...................................134Languages ..................................138Diversity ......................................139Culture ........................................139
 Technology 
Technology In The Campaign .......142
Technology Levels ........................142Tech Scales ..............................142Creating A Tech Scale ................142 Alternate Tech Paths ..................143Varying Tech Paths ....................143Obsolete And AdvancedTechnology .............................143 Alien Technology .......................144
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