Favorite Sci-Fi system/setting?

[Goobermunch]

Stargate SG1 - d20 modern system, rich background.

Dark Hersy - Warhammer!

Star Wars

I'll second Dark Heresy. I love the WH40k fluff.

But my favorite sci-fi setting is Fringeworthy, by TriTac Systems. DO NOT attempt to use it with the system it comes with. The rules are horribly written, confusing, and terribly edited. But the fluff is awesome. Import it into D20 modern or D20 Future.

--G

 

[diaglo]

Metamorphosis Alpha.

 

[Olli]

it´s not d20 but you should look at blue planet. it´s one of the engaging settings i have ever seen (and i don´t play that much scifi)

 

[Desdichado]

D20 future seems a little incomplete, and Star Wars doesn't get my motor runnin'. Do any of you folks have a favorite setting or system to recommend?

A little incomplete? In what way? It seems to me that d20 Modern + d20 Future is really complete.

If you want the darker cyberpunk vibe, you probably need to add d20 Cyberscape to it, though. d20 Future doesn't cover that angle nearly as well, and seems much more suited for a Star*Drive type game.

Speaking of which, Alternity + Star*Drive is pretty darn good. It feels like Traveller warmed over, though—and I'm a big fan of the original. Actually, my favorite Traveller incarnation was MegaTraveller, but I've also heard pretty good things about the "T20" rules (although little to no setting is presented with the book) and the GURPS conversion.

If you want to run a little further afield, Blue Planet got rave reviews a few years ago.

If you want the darker stuff, I'll also throw out Fading Suns and the new Dark Heresy WH40k RPG. The latter is one of the best looking RPG books I've ever seen. Holy cripes. Pretty.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

My two-year long Eberron campaign is wrapping up soon (Tsochari invasion, fun times), and I'd like to take a break from fantasy and get into some sci-fi.

I've considered hunting down Last Uincorn's Star Trek game as I've heard rave things about it, but I might decide to opt for a somewhat darker setting, maybe something with cybernetics, mega-corporations and galactic virtual reality nets (or similar shenanigans).

D20 future seems a little incomplete, and Star Wars doesn't get my motor runnin'. Do any of you folks have a favorite setting or system to recommend?

You should take a look at SLA Industries. The 1.0 version can be downloaded for free here. It's not d20, but I believe the setting will fulfill your needs. Darker setting? Check. Cybernetics? Check. Mega-corps? Check. No VR that I can remember, but a fair share of alien races, high-tech stuff and other features you may want to check yourself.

Cheers,

 

[Aus_Snow]

Thanks for the info, Darrin (Whisperfoot, that is) - I couldn't for the life of me remember what the name of that setting was. I really might have to look into that one, possibly to port into M&M (although, given that I own True20 + a few supplements for it, I might not go to that trouble.) Reality Deviants is pretty high on my list of companies to watch.

 

[Khairn]

Favorite Sci-Fi Setting and System in order are ...

1) SpaceMaster
2) Dawningstar
3) Fading Suns

SpaceMaster because its so complete, DawningStar because its story is so great and Fading Suns because its just so damn cool!

Eventually I'll play Dark Heresey and we'll see where that fits into the list.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Thanks for the info, Darrin (Whisperfoot, that is) - I couldn't for the life of me remember what the name of that setting was. I really might have to look into that one, possibly to port into M&M (although, given that I own True20 + a few supplements for it, I might not go to that trouble.) Reality Deviants is pretty high on my list of companies to watch.

I agree. The reason I went to Reality Deviant with the proposal is because there's just too much awesomeness with the Blood Throne setting and they like to publish modern and future oriented stuff, such as Technothriller and that killer book on Aliens. On a tangent, I just picked up the Blight Elves and Blighted Bestiary for Blood Throne and they're both full of worthwhile material for Bloodthrone.

At any rate, I forgot to mention in my previous shameless self promotion that RDP has decided to go full color with the core Reign of Discordia setting book. It will be released in both PDF and print with the option to upgrade to a printed version at a substantial discount through their print partner RPGObjects if you first buy the PDF. So far some art sketches and the maps have come in and they're looking very nice. It's always cool when you have a vision and the artists are able to bring it to life.

 

[jdrakeh]

For me, it's currently a tie between Hunter Planet and Manhunter (not of the Rifts variety).

Hunter Planet is a very 'old school' first generation sci-fi RPG (despite its publication date) that is very system light and chock full of weird humor that revolves around aliens coming to Dirt (Earth) to hunt humans on safari. [Edit: To clarify, the humor is pretty dark.]

Manhunter is a second generation RPG that is rather rules-heavy and arguably unremarkable. . . except for its premise (bounty hunters in space, which was unique at the time) and ship creation rules (a truly awesome set of abstract rules for ship creation).

Star Munchkin bears some mention, too, as its remarkably simple approach to streamlining d20 is currently my preferred method of playing d20-ish games.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

What, no one has mentioned Transhuman Space yet? It's probably the best hard SF setting out there, if not the best SF setting in general - despite having no aliens, no FTL drive, and no psychic powers. It extrapolates from current technological and sociological trends and manages to portray a future that's equally bright and optimistic as well as frightening in many respects. Frankly, even if you aren't going to play in it you should still buy the setting for the inspiration.

Another good setting is Blue Planet, where most of the action takes place on a newly settled water world - it was found when a stable wormhole was discovered on the fringes of the solar system. Now there's a gold rush atmosphere as valuable organic compounds are discovered in the surface of the planet, tensions mount between newcomers and old timers, the colonial government and the corporations, and to top it off there are strange creatures gliding through the depths of the oceans which might or might not be intelligent - and possibly have their own plans for this world, and humanity.

Furthermore, you should buy the latest incarnation of GURPS Space, which is an incredibly useful resource no matter what system you actually use. The book is almost system-less, and the few rules that do exist (for rolling up star systems and alien creatures - including intelligent ones) are pretty much system-independent.

GURPS in general works well for space campaigns, especially for the more gritty and realistic end. As long as you remember that high-tech weapons are supposed to be pretty lethal (and thus wear enough armor in a fight), you should do fine. GURPS Ultra-Tech also has a large range of useful gear for any tech level.