Generic Space Opera Supplements

[tbug]

Okay, so it looks like the answer is that the various d20 science fiction publishers are all supporting their own setting (or license) but that these books can theoretically be used with one another. Traveller d20 is making a conscious effort in this regard.

Nobody is making generic science fiction d20 supplements, and nobody has announced any intention of doing so. If someone were to write a generic supplement the options would be to self-publish, adapt it for a specific setting, or send it to a periodical. At this time no one has chosen to self-publish such a thing.

Have I finally got it right? Thanks again to everyone for help clearing this up.

 

[RPGRealms]

Okay, so it looks like the answer is that the various d20 science fiction publishers are all supporting their own setting (or license) but that these books can theoretically be used with one another. Traveller d20 is making a conscious effort in this regard.

Nobody is making generic science fiction d20 supplements, and nobody has announced any intention of doing so. If someone were to write a generic supplement the options would be to self-publish, adapt it for a specific setting, or send it to a periodical. At this time no one has chosen to self-publish such a thing.

Have I finally got it right? Thanks again to everyone for help clearing this up.

If you have a good generic sci-fi adventure or supplement idea that can be used in many different setting we'd be more than happy to consider it for publication.

 

[s/LaSH]

I'd like to know just how many FTL (faster-than-light) transit systems there are that have been modeled. I can think of huge loads off the top of my head: Star Trek warp (which goes in a straight line but can drop out at any time), Farscape starbursting (which I don't understand too well but is weird), Traveller-style fire-and-forget jumps that you can't control after initiation, Babylon 5 jumpspace which is just a shorter distance to travel, Star Shatter's quantum drive which is nearly instantaneous... how many of these have been modeled in d20?

I haven't seen the full Traveller d20 rules, but the lite version was definitely awesome. If they've gone beyond the Traveller paradigm and included rules for things like teleporter beams and different types of FTL, I'm sold. (It's tempting either way, but I'm poor.)

Meanwhile, I'm working on my own scifi setting (for personal use) which is a little unusual in that I'm basically just giving the PHB classes new names. Oh, and writing seventy pages of races. It's details like that that will make any generic d20 SF source difficult to create. I mean, I've got insect-people that melt in water. Is anyone going to publish rules for that any time soon?

 

[RPGRealms]

The main T20 book doesn't cover alternate forms of FTL, but I am tinkering with something along those lines in my spare time and considering publishing them as part of an alternate tech supplement of some form.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Thanks, Tyler. I didn't know about those. Is I:T related to Transhuman Space?

Not that I know of... the designers have no links to GURPS. They're newbies, as far as I can see... but damn good ones. The basic idea of the game, from the material they've shown me, is a far-future (250,000 years from now) setting based loosely off of some of the sci-fi works of Vinge and Niven, with more of an emphasis on problem solving, research, and philosophy than upon physical combat.

The system, although keyed to a specific setting and vision of the future, is very universal- in fact, they're designing most of the systems to be based off of components instead of individual units- for example, they have systems for building your own weapons (rather than picking and buying them off a list), transport systems, solar systems, even societies. There is a very subtle psionics system integrated into the ruleset, as well as a not-so-subtle set of nanotechnological skills and feats. There is a slew of playable races (all human or human-derived- no aliens, as far as I know), and six core classes- the Soldier, Explorer, Athlete, Scientist, Philosopher, and Diplomat- I haven't seen any of the prestige classes yet.

However, the most intriguing system that I've seen in the materials is the Memetic Feat system- this is a set of bonus feats that characters recieve as they advance, reflecting basic worldviews and paradigms, ranging from basic instincts and power drives to transcendental ecstacies and cosmic union. From what I understand, a big part of the game is learning to master different "states of consciousness" that are reflected in how the character is roleplayed- sort of like an alignment system, only you gain special abilities by playing your character according to it's worldview. (For example, my Soldier character with his "Survival Sense" feat might gain a bonus to his combat ability or his survival checks if I play him as intensely visceral and aware of his surroundings- but if I play him as a soft and forgetful character, would lose the bonus. On the other hand, my Philosopher might have the "Rational Perception" feat- he might gain a bonus to his Profession (Biologist) checks as long as I'm playing him as a discerning, rational, skeptic, but the minute that I start howling at the moon and using my microscope to search for fairies- goodbye, bonus!)

The I:T material provides lots of useful food for thought... or will, if it ever gets released to the public. (It's nice having one of the designers for a DM... )