What's the best (non-Star Wars) sci-fi system/setting for fans of D&D 5e?

[Umbran]

5e seems to hit that right balance of ease of play for the casuals and enough streamlined strategy for the lifers, so I was looking for something sci-fi with the same happy medium.

I might suggest Alternity, though it is out of print. Copies can be found cheap even on Amazon, though.

It has the benefit of having what may still be the best setting supplement ever written - Dark*Matter. This is for playing something like X-Files level sci-fi. Star*Drive, the full on space opera setting for the game is also excellent.

 

[neobolts]

T:NE was probably the height of complexity as Traveller goes. I'd suggest either Mongoose or Classic Traveller would be a pretty good system, or one of the BRP/d100 SF games like River of Heaven. Traveller has a huge amount of setting information available for the Official Traveller Universe, though there's other settings too which might work better if they've the sort of features you particularly want.

I actually have T20 sitting on my shelf, but haven't touched it. It also looked too fiddly for our table. If Star Frontiers (bonus: it is free) and Alternity Star*Drive don't fit the bill, perhaps I will visit some of the Traveler systems you've mentioned.

 

[innerdude]

Savage Worlds.

Sorry, that wasn't strong enough --- SAVAGE WORLDS x100



Savage Worlds is very much in line with the "streamlined, but still having a decent number of character options." Pick up the Savage Worlds core rules + Sci-Fi Companion, plus either the Slipstream or Last Parsec campaign settings. Your grand total for all of that will be approximately $65-$70. $10 for core rules, $20 for the companion, and another $30-$35 for the campaign setting.

Slipstream is very much in the Buck Rogers / pulp space opera vein. Last Parsec is more Star Trek-like, with a heavy dose of Aliens thrown in.

 

[neobolts]

Easily Numenera for me. Not even something I have to think about.

We're run and enjoyed Numenera before. I never actually thought of it as sci-fi (which is not saying it isn't sci-fi). We had planetside adventures and plenty of weirdness. I'm looking for something set IN SPACE! Umbran used the term "space opera" which I haven't heard used in a while.

 

[Morrus]

I dunno. N.E.W. is designed with lots and lots of fiddly-bits as a selling point. 5e is a step away from that sort of design.

Very optional modular fiddly bits though. I hope that the core system is nice and easy to grasp.

 

[Adammar]

Stars without Numbers. Good Support. Base game is free. In the 5e realm of complexity.

 

[WayneLigon]

We're run and enjoyed Numenera before. I never actually thought of it as sci-fi (which is not saying it isn't sci-fi). We had planetside adventures and plenty of weirdness. I'm looking for something set IN SPACE! Umbran used the term "space opera" which I haven't heard used in a while.

You might want to check out the Monte Cook site - the sister systems of The Strange and the basic Cypher System have plenty of starship/space stuff for them, which is directly compatible with Numenera.

Savage Worlds is another good suggestion. There is a space-opera-y setting for it, High Space. You can also find SW versions of Nova Praxis and Eclipse Phase, both of which also deal with space travel. Kitbash some stuff from Interface Zero and you are ready to roll.

Classic Traveller is about as rules-lite and 'no charts' as you're likely to find outside of FATE. 2d6 roll, roll + skill, roll over an 8. That's it. Further editions add some degrees of success, etc. There is a new playtest edition of the Mongoose rule-set that you might want to check out, but the Mongoose first ed set is also good enough - it adds enough to the basic Traveller without overwhelming the underlying simplicity.

 

[Imaro]

We're run and enjoyed Numenera before. I never actually thought of it as sci-fi (which is not saying it isn't sci-fi). We had planetside adventures and plenty of weirdness. I'm looking for something set IN SPACE! Umbran used the term "space opera" which I haven't heard used in a while.

I was going to say Numenera as well... but instead I'll just bring your attention to the fact that they just recently released the space sourcebook for Numenera... "Into the Night". Haven't had a chance to get it yet but it's definitely on my list.

 

[Jabborwacky]

If you want cyberpunk, the best of the best right now is the new Interface Zero 2.0 setting for Savage Worlds. They are working on ports to Pathfinder and the Fate system. I'd love to see a 5th edition version just to see its popularity spike. It even has rules for building mechs!

You might want to check out the Monte Cook site - the sister systems of The Strange and the basic Cypher System have plenty of starship/space stuff for them, which is directly compatible with Numenera.


Savage Worlds is another good suggestion. There is a space-opera-y setting for it, High Space. You can also find SW versions of Nova Praxis and Eclipse Phase, both of which also deal with space travel. Kitbash some stuff from Interface Zero and you are ready to roll.


Classic Traveller is about as rules-lite and 'no charts' as you're likely to find outside of FATE. 2d6 roll, roll + skill, roll over an 8. That's it. Further editions add some degrees of success, etc. There is a new playtest edition of the Mongoose rule-set that you might want to check out, but the Mongoose first ed set is also good enough - it adds enough to the basic Traveller without overwhelming the underlying simplicity.

Out of the two, my pick is Eclipse Phase. I like the art and creativity that went into making Nova Praxis, but Eclipse Phase mercifully leaves details of real world religions out of the book (a gross oversimplification of things that comes off as offensive, to say the least). The author of Eclipse Phase also has a better grasp of transhumanism than the author of Nova Praxis.

 

[Ancalagon]

I might suggest Alternity, though it is out of print. Copies can be found cheap even on Amazon, though.

It has the benefit of having what may still be the best setting supplement ever written - Dark*Matter. This is for playing something like X-Files level sci-fi. Star*Drive, the full on space opera setting for the game is also excellent.

The Alternity system is ... erm... it has issues. That being said, Dark*Matter is astonishingly good - it's a better read that many novels honestly.