Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 793
EAN num: 9780786907281
ISBN number: 0786907282
Label: Wizards of the Coast
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: April 20, 1998
Publishing house: Wizards of the Coast
Release Date: April 20, 1998
Sale Popularity Level: 598936
Studio: Wizards of the Coast
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Amazon.com:
TSR--the company that virtually invented role-playing with their ground-breaking Dungeons and Dragons--now brings you the brave new world of Alternity, where players act out the adventures of heroes, citizens and scoundrels against a science-fiction backdrop populated with intriguing personalities and exotic aliens. While not 'generic,' Alternity is much more flexible than D&D or many other role-playing games on the market. The system promotes character creation (instead of random generation) and complete worldbuilding, and the rules allow the game to be set anytime between subsequent week to the dawn of the fourth millennium.
Alternity emphasizes storytelling over statistics, and players are encouraged to use their role-playing skills and imaginations. But your polyhedron dice will still get a workout; Alternity employs a clever method of sucess determination that uses both a 20-sided die and second 'situation' die that varies depending on the difficulty of the situation.
The Player's Handbook (along with the Alternity Gamemaster Guide) contains all the rules necessary to play, including a 'Quick Rules' section that allows players to jump in quickly. Additional sections cover character creation (featuring five alien races and several professions to choose from), mutations, psionics, weapons and equipment. --Matthew Baldwin
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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If you are tired of the d&d edition wars try alternity. It is as easy or complex as you want it. Has many 4e pros (same writers) and is VERY adaptable. I have run scifi,superheros,steampunk,hary potter and D&D (with only the 2 cor books and the fx guide). It plays a like d&d with a side of gurps and a dash of FUDG. I have played most rpgs and out of all of them this is IMO the best "all around". In the end if you want a cheaper simpler rpg than give alternity a shot. Search for "Alternity fast play rules" for a free trial.
Rated by buyers 
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Fan of this old series and was tired of the old d20 rules. These rules seem more "realistic".
Rated by buyers -
Alternity is the still the best Role-playing system for 'realistic' role-playing, or 'gritty' campaign settings. This is due to two main reasons... It's skill-based system, and it's adaptability.
Skill based systems mean that your character gets better at skills as he advances, but doesn't become super strong, or better at everything he does. This means that in Alternity, no longer can a player simply walk over and take the gun/sword/+5 earspoon away from the minor villain, because he'll only receive 6 points of damage, and he has 45 total for his character.
What this means for players is that no longer do they have to await the eventual point where they are un-defeatable, except by demi-gods, demons and all that foolishness. They can remain the space-ship captain/FBI agent/whatever-the-campaign-is for the entire time they play. The challenge remains present, the setting remains beleivable, the suspense is retained. The story becomes the driving force of the adventure, not "leveling-up".
The other part of the game that is superior to many other systems is just that adaptability. The system focuses on helping the Game-master to fit the rules to the setting... If you want to play an X-files FBI-agent, a dungeon-crawling adventurer, a Star Trek starship captain, a cop drama, Alternity rules can be adapted to the system with relatively little work. No extra feats or skills to invent, or weapons to design unless you want to. You are not limited to a particular medieval or future setting, as you are with most RPG products.
Alternity was the last release made by TSR before it was acquired by Wizards of the Coast (WOTC). The acquisition of TSR was intended mostly to capitalize on the already established AD&D titles, and WOTC was un-interested in continuing the launch of a new product. Instead, they re-focused their brand onto D&D, resulting in a third release of that product and the design of the d20 system. d20 is not a bad system for heroic and action settings, but this one is better for retaining drama, grit, and suspense.
And as for the comment that this system was not intended for public release... That person was probably in diapers in the early nineties, when TSR advertised it nationwide in their magazines and at conventions. I still have some TSR 'Dragon' Magazines with articles written for Alternity.
Rated by buyers -
Alternity is easy to understand, the game system is realistic, but the possibilities are limitless.
Rated by buyers 
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The alternity game was the forerunner to D20 it wasn't even supposed to be mainstream!
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