Sorry, Guys, but I'm the sort to call a spadea spade, not a "Soil Evacuation Implement"...
And "Space and Steel" just isn't very good!

As an RPG, it's a complete disaster...
The rules are far too brief to cover even the basics, and when they do cover something, the Game Mechanics clash, horribly, with the setting's intentions!
Far from being a Game System that supports High Adventure, it's a random, dicey, system that leaves BOTH the GM and the Player feeling like nothing in the game is under their control!

On the setting side, this product offers four or five 'seeds' for a campaign setting, any one of which would need some fleshing out to make a complete Magazine article...
None are exactly 'ready to play'!
Now, that wouldn't be so bad...
Except that none of the campaign 'seeds' are particcompatible with any other!
I feel very much like the writer charged me money to say, "Wouldn't it be cool to run a Science Fiction RPG? Why don't you do so, while I just sit back and watch?"

I rate this one "Back to the Drawing Board"...

I found this gem of an RPG by reading the review on rpg.net. Let me preface this review by stating what I was looking for when I happened upon Space and Steel. I was looking for a sci-fi RPG with clear rules and a decent setting ... but I also needed the game to leave plenty of room for customization. I just finished reading the rules, and I'm very impressed (for a $2.50 pdf/$8 print, this book is a bargain). With a little tweaking of some of the rules, Space and Steel could surpass most of the sci-fi rpg's out there.

The introduction alone should draw readers in, and, if not, one of the better pieces of rpg intro fiction immediately follows. The influences that McMullan cites (Burroughs, Aasimov, Heinlein, Bradbury), combined with the setting (just enough info for a good GM to bring in his/her vision) give the book a "science fantasy" flavor--exactly what the author was going for.

The art in Space and Steel is appropriate to the setting, and it is the best art I've seen in a small-press/self-published rpg. The cover art (a breathtaking color piece) captures the sci-fantasy feel perfectly, while most of the interior art (all black and white)is good. A couple of pieces seem out of place or of lower quality, but for the most part the art is excellent, and it really gels with the feel and setting.

There are occasional grammar goofs (a sentence fragment or two, among other things). These are minor issues in an otherwise well laid-out and edited game.

Space and Steel is rules-light compared to games like Spacemaster or d20 Modern/Future/Star Wars. It is definetely a step up in complexity from, say, Star Frontiers. With some tweaks to the combat rules (reviewed very well by another reviewer at this site), Space and Steel could be comparable to D6 Space or Hardnova.

Character creation (classless, point-based) involves four Attributes (covering physical and mental aspects of the character). Next, Traits are chosen. There is no description of what a Trait is--the sample Traits (of which there are plenty) are simply listed. Some traits modify or specialize attributes: You could tweak your "Physique" attribute to make your character either very muscular or very lithe. Some Traits add talents or racial characteristics (Extra Limbs, Hellish Appearance--one of my favorites!, claws, etc); other traits resemble d20 Feats (Armor Use, Directional Sense). There are solid, balanced rules for creating new traits, so any character concept is possible.

Combat is not explained extremely well, but there are two examples provided that help to clarify things. I hope that a future revision (the near future, please--I really like this game!) can address the issue. Starship combat is also explained ... and for those of you who prefer to import your own starship combat systems (Full Thrust, Silent Death, etc), they would adapt well. Again, the system will run just fine on its own (the combat system is good; it's just not well-explained. One or two test combats should resolve any questions).

Overall, Space and Steel an excellent game that goes back to the roots of sci-fi. It's fun, balanced, and flexible. I'll be hanging up my other SF rpg's for the forseeable future. Thanks to the author--looking forward to seeing more of your stuff!

An elegant and easy-to-grasp pulp science fiction setting with strong, iconic art and a clear vision, Space and Steel offers play in the tradition of John Carter's Martian stories, the planetary romances of Jack Vance, or even the superscientific adventures of Saturday morning cartoons. At over 50 pages there is enough information to run a full campaign, though enough ideas stand on their own to make the game useful for "idea harvesting" for other games.

The system is functional, though not flashy, with four basic stats and a trait system that lets players design custom abilities for human or alien protagonists.

The game's backstory of a millennia-old psychic empire, recently collapsed to free humans and other races from servitude, provides a broad-stroke backdrop to a setting defined by interesting planets to visit and exciting things to do there. The asteroids of Hylan, for example, offer a Buck Rogers feel, with jetpack-wearing patrolmen keeping space safe.

Space and Steel, while drawing on several sources, fills a very specific niche: space pulp adventure. It does so very well, with eye-catching art, exciting descriptions of creatures and places, and an uncomplicated system.