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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 2786192" data-attributes="member: 5435">I agree that the lack of well-defined science is the great weakness of science fiction gaming.  The challenge is to make it seem different from Fantasy In Space.  I personally would buy a Science Grimoire if it were well done, but the science sections in existing games that I've seen don't go far enough.  Even GT, for all its excellence, makes cyberware into a parallel magic item creation system.  Science can't do everything, that's the role of magic.  But it should be able to do a great many things, and it should encourage clever ideas on the player's part.To this end, I would see a fictional scientist build something like a wizard or cleric with no spellcasting, only crafting. The domain idea is a good one; let them start with two specializations, and add more as they go up in levels.  Each 'science domain' would define a fairly wide array of predefined tasks, but also give DCs for more general, creative goals.  A fictional scientist should also be equally good in theory and practice within their specialization.e. g.Warp Field TechnologyFaster-than-light travel is achieved by harnessing the immense energy output of antimatter power plants and exotic materials to manipulate the gravitational field around the ship.  A bubble-shaped 'warp field' forms around the ship that propagates through space at virtually any speed while obeying the normal constraints of sublight speeds inside the bubble.  Scientists specialized in this domain can make repairs to the power plants and exotic materials, perhaps jury-rigging a last burst of speed or maintaining minimal performance in damaged equipment.  They can also modify the field configuration on the fly to improve the performance of the ship.  Experienced warp engineers, given sufficient time and resources, can manipulate space-time in the vicinity of the ship to control gravity within the limits of the ship's energy output.Sample Tasks (each should have a DC and PL requirement, and some of them should cause damageto the ship or cost a lot in shipboard resources)Extend Warp Bubble (giving smaller ships a piggyback ride, as it were)Modify Ship's Gravity Field (increasing weight or turning it off altogether in selected areas of the ship,rather than everywhere at once)Displace Image (like the spell, but for the ship)Produce Exotic Particle Beam (using the antimatter engines to produce the desired particles)Produce Gravity Wave (causing knockback or loss of maneuverability in other ships)Produce Gravity Shield (for passing through crowded space, e.g. a meteor swarm)Mass Sensor (detect cloaked or otherwise invisible ships, planets, black holes, etc.)Mass Driver (use small meteors or shipboard junk as a weapon)Navigate Wormhole (with no damage to ship)Induce Time Dilation (modifying the FTL travel so that you 'skip over' a certain period of time)Gravity Whip Time Travel to Past (classic star trek plot device)Controlled Time Travel to PastCreate Tachyon Signal (arrives before you send it)Create WormholeTranscendence (bye-bye, Wesley)The problem is, you need a scientist to judge what kinds of 'creative tasks' could possibly be done for each specialization.Notice also that none of these can be done without access to your ship.  This is why the 'ship as character' approach is such a good one--the ship contains all the resources you need to take advantage of your technological prowess.  This is why science-fiction characters stay on their ship so much--they can do quite a lot with it.Ben</blockquote>

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