I am pleased with this setting. It feels like "firm" science fiction with a believable culture. As a setting for science fiction adventures it works, with less baggage than some others I can name.

This is not what you might expect. It is not a new set of monsters or new pc classes allowing them to become genies. There are options related to that, but it is not the point of the book. It is instead a mythology of Genies you can drop into your game with associated game elements (spells, magic items, creature stats) to tie into that mythology. That is a much harder thing to do and do right. I think Colin succeeds here. Definitely worth a read.

So, this is a good book. It offers some useful alternate choices in Sorcerors. The alternate Sorcerous Origins are all thematically interesting and are not unballanced while offering interesting things to do. I have played with the Royal Sorcery option and had fun. It allows for a very different style of play.

This is a pretty simple idea for a product, yet it is something I am surprised Wizards of the Coast had not done already on their own. Races in fantasy worlds are often distinct from human cultures. They have seperate identities and cultural touchstones, so it is not unreasonable to believe they might have a different set of personality traits in common. This is a simple book with personality traits for the other races, based on their races cultural identity.

Also, from aqvisual design sense, it is lovely. I want the cover as a poster.

Okay, I will go ahead and write review. I covered this on youtube, if you want more rambly version.

First, the only reason I give this a 4 instead of a five is there is no 4.5. I like the game, overall, but I would not say it is for everyone. It is a system meant to be hacked, like the old D&D often was. If you have the bug of a game designer, and you are just looking for a framework to make stuff, this is awesome. It is structured off the old school model of D&D, using a complete compatibility with Swords and Wizardry. It is, by design, stripped down and simplified. The game is a start to a project.. I want to make something and here is my start point.

There are a lot of people that will not work for. Many games come complete with all you need to slip into them. No need to hack a bunch of stuff to fit in. The worlds are detailed in many books, with a lot of lore to learn. I love those games too, but White Star is not like that. You have a basic system to learn, some little bits of lore give you starting point, and you do the rest yourself. If you are not looking for that, this game may not be for you. There are a number of third party people making content for White Star, so you really can fill a lot of stuff it might lack, but the main reason to buy it is to try your hand at making your own stuff. It does that job really well.

Beyond the game design elements, the actual published work is solid. It is well laid out, and has a good amount of art. The art is better than a lot of indie publishers manage. The text is easy to read, and I spotted no glaring errors in the text. It is a professionally put together pdf.

Anyway.... those are my thoughts. I don't write many reviews, but maybe I should do that more.