SF Adventures in the Solar System?

[Starfox]

I've been having a blast playing an Alien RPG campaign. Its mostly been rather low-key, with the environment itself being a major enemy. But I feel that the faster than light aspect of the game isn't really needed. So I was thinking about role-playing in the solar system.

I know of two RPG settings in the Solar System, Jovian Chronicles and The Expanse RPG - which recently launched a kickstarter for an expansion, A Little Death. I am somewhat familiar with the rules for Jovian Chronicles from playing Heavy Gear, but is that possible to get my hands on? I don't know the rules of The Expanse at all and how they have done their setting.

What I like about Alien is that though skill matters and various equipment gives relevant bonuses, you are never assured success. This makes environmental dangers feel very real.

See Also
Earlier thread on this subject. Albedo RPG sounds attractive; I missed most of the Albedo comic, but it seems to go for the kind of hard SF I'm looking for here.

 

[J.Quondam]

Solar Sagas by Stellagama is retro sci-fi using their ultra-lite rules, Quantum Starfarer.
Orbital Cold War by Zozer Games is an alt history yankees vs soviets in space. Uses Cepheus Engine, an OGL version of Traveller.
Red Venus is another "vs soviets" space opera setting, by Garnett Elliot for the Everywhen system (based on Barbarians of Lemuria).
Orbital 2100 and Far Horizon, also by Zozer Games, are hard-ish sci-fi settings using Cepheus.

I think Stellagama and Zozer Games have a few other Solar System-only settings with various spins and for various Traveller-ish systems.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

GURPS Terradyne - the lower tech option
GURPS Transhuman Space - the higher tech option
Osprey's Pressure - industrial scifi, interstellar but pretty easy to restrict to just the Solar system
Osprey's Those Dark Places - more industrial scifi, somewhat lower-tech feel

 

[Bill Zebub]

Wasn't there a Firefly RPG? That would be intra-system.

 

[Lord Shark]

The '90s Buck Rogers XXVc game was mostly set in the inner solar system.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I've been having a blast playing an Alien RPG campaign. Its mostly been rather low-key, with the environment itself being a major enemy. But I feel that the faster than light aspect of the game isn't really needed. So I was thinking about role-playing in the solar system.

I know of two RPG settings in the Solar System, Jovian Chronicles and The Expanse RPG - which recently launched a kickstarter for an expansion, A Little Death. I am somewhat familiar with the rules for Jovian Chronicles from playing Heavy Gear, but is that possible to get my hands on? I don't know the rules of The Expanse at all and how they have done their setting.

What I like about Alien is that though skill matters and various equipment gives relevant bonuses, you are never assured success. This makes environmental dangers feel very real.

See Also
Earlier thread on this subject. Albedo RPG sounds attractive; I missed most of the Albedo comic, but it seems to go for the kind of hard SF I'm looking for here.

This post also makes me think it could be fun to mod classic Traveler for Alien/Aliens. I would think it's been done.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

The '90s Buck Rogers XXVc game was mostly set in the inner solar system.

Even the exceptions (adventures out beyond the Belt) were still within the Heliopause. No interstellar travel there.

There's a retroclone of the game called Overlords of Dimension 25 and a more recent White Star hack from the same author called 5120AD Overlords of Solaria, so several options for that with minor variations.

 

[The Soloist]

wrong thread sorry.

 

[Starfox]

Lots to look in on. Thanks guys.
I looked up reviews of Expanse and Jovian Chronicles RPGs, they appear too system-heavy for my current Blades in the Dark-influenced tastes. Jovian Chronicles' (JC from now on) setting seems nice, tough I was thinking of a more anarchic entrepreneurial game than what seems a military war campaign. I think JC can do this, its just not the main aim judging by the reviews.

A friend of mine used to subscribe to DP9, he may still have JC.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I have played Expanse a handful of times, but it was some years ago.
It is indeed system heavy, however the setting and the entire transhumanism aspect of it all and how that impacts society is quite fertile ground for stories to be made.