''Kafer Sourcebook'' is a supplement published by
Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a Board wargame, wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers.
History
Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. ...
(GDW) in 1988 for the
hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...
role-playing game ''
2300 AD
''2300 AD'', originally titled ''Traveller: 2300'', is a tabletop science fiction role-playing game created by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) and first published in 1986.
Publication history
GDW created the popular science fiction role-playi ...
''.
Description
With the introduction in 1987 of the major "Kafer War" storyline, where humanity encounters an aggressive space-faring alien race called the Kafers, ''Kafer Sourcebook'' provides detailed information for the
gamemaster
A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, storyteller, or master of ceremonies) is a person who acts as a facilitator, organizer, officiant regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer r ...
about the Kafer race, including their physiology, psychology, social structure, government and politics, language, home planet, and technology. Several ideas for adventrures are included.
Publication history
GDW published ''Traveller 2300'' in 1986, quickly retitled ''2300 AD'' to prevent confusion with GDW's previous
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
role-playing game ''
Traveller''. The following year, GDW introduced the "Kafer War" plotline in ''
Kafer Dawn'', and then published a number of supplements including 1988's ''Kafer Sourcebook'', a 104-page paperback book with a color map written by
William H. Keith Jr.
William H. Keith (born August 8, 1950) is an American author mainly contributing to military science fiction and military fiction and related game design, who writes also under several pen names, such as Ian Douglas, Robert Cain and H. Jay R ...
, with a cover by
Steve Venters.
Reception
In Issue 145 of ''
Dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
'' (May 1989),
was very pleased by the high production values,and called the alien development and psychology "very believable." He concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "The ''Kafer Sourcebook'' is a perfect example of how to design a detailed and properly motivated alien race
..There’s enough information here to please even the most ardent Kafer hunter. Once again, GDW has proved itself to be the foremost designer of alien races."
In a retrospective review of ''Kafer Sourcebook'' in ''
Black Gate'', Patrick Kanouse said "The combination of a vicious and merciless enemy, a perplexing and mysterious species with a strong contextual background, and a path for uncovering that mystery without either abject terror or killing everything on sight make the Kafers the best villainous alien in tabletop role-playing games that a I have encountered to date."
Other reviews
*''Tidewater Traveller Times'', Vol. 2, Issue 2 (July 1988, p. 3)
*''
Australian Realms
''Australian Realms'' was an Australian magazine featuring role-playing games (RPGs). Its first issue was published in 1988 by Planar Games at Willeton, Western Australia with Corey Swallow as editor and Mark Hendley as assistant editor.
Th ...
'' #5
References
{{reflist
2300 AD supplements
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1988