Help me find the right game!

[Sword of Spirit]

[MENTION=20461]Kealios[/MENTION]

Definitely focused on setting and fluff. A good system is always a plus, but if I don't like it I can use the system I'm working on myself, or default to another if I can't get it ready in time.
[MENTION=2]Piratecat[/MENTION]

How expansive is the setting of Ashen Stars? The mechanics aren't my style, but there is something appealing about the setting, as long as you aren't limited to policing the Bleed.

Still looking through the others; liking the variety. Keep 'em coming!

 

[Piratecat]

I like GUMSHOE (despite the all-caps) and Ashen Stars because it assumes ultra-competence. The system predicates that you're really good at your job, and that always makes me happy (as opposed to D&D and Savage Worlds which somewhat have an assumption of mediocrity. Not that this makes me unhappy; it's just a different approach. Slipstream is super-cool.)

The setting of Ashen Stars is designed to be familiar to anyone who's a fan of Firefly or Star Trek. You're off at the ass-end of the galaxy, banging around a section of space that has lost touch with the galactic core due to an utterly devastating war with hostile aliens. Self-governance for the 7 major races is a huge question, and there are still ultra-rich theme planets amidst the post-war devastation. By default the PCs are freelance investigators, but I don't think that's mandatory.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

It looks like it's between Traveller's Third Imperium and Star HERO's Terran Empire.

Can anyone give me a comparison of the two settings? I think I'm going to stick with another rules system, so I'm just focused on getting a great setting at this point.

 

[Nojo509]

Ashen Stars is close, but lacks mechanized suits.

That's right.

Ashen Stars has a pretty simple combat system. It wouldn't take much effort to add mechanized suits. It's got psi, AI, nanobots in your bloodstream, and tons of cybernetics.

If you want to add complexity to the personal combat system, you can steal from other Gumshoe games, like Night's Black Agents' Thriller Combat Rules. I'm doing that now. Every game I add one new rule from Thriller Combat Rules, so we ramp up the complexity slowly.

 

[GhostShip Blue]

There's a thread here about SF settings. This is about GAMES, which brings mechanics into it.

Traveller

Traveller is a popular go to, although the complaints about characters being fundamentally incompetent is right. Mechanically, it's a reliable 2d6 system, but in order to succeed at things 8 is the target number. Which means, without some kind of a bonus, you fail more than half the time. For things a character has skill in they'll get a bonus and it's not so much of a problem, but when they don't (which is more often than you would think) it can be a pain. Nothing a little handwavium won't fix though.

There are alien races, but they're mediocre in my opinion. The Aslan replacement for the Kzin of versions gone by is the strongest entry by far. The two "human" empires are extensive and expansive. The various frontiers and border areas provide a lot of room for Firefly style adventures with the opposing titan empires as part of the background. Which, if you ask me, is where the game is at it's best. As an aside it may be worth waiting for Marc Miller to release Traveller 5. I'm involved in an Ars Magica campaign (there's a thread about that elsewhere) while we wait.

Where Traveller excels is the long history of essentially backwards compatibility which means there is a TON of stuff available and the ship construction rules are really pretty good.

In truth, it's a strong all around package.

Hero

I'm not familiar with the Star Hero setting, but I'm a LONG time fan of the Champions/Hero games. And the mechanics are robust and you can do virtually anything you want. Pip and Flinx? Sure, the mechanics can model that. Lensmen? Sure. Dune? Yep. Problem is, if it's not the published system, you'll have to build it and that can be an overwhelming project.

Ships, vehicles - pretty much anything can be built. The vehicle combat rules are robust and not too difficult after one time through.

Others

Fading Suns comes to mind. The mechanics are good, the setting is grim, but makes more sense than 40K, but it has the same human-centric player posture as the 40k RPG line. It's also all but dead. That could be a deal breaker.

Cthulhu Tech: I love this one. We've got mechs, flying spaghetti monsters, aliens from beyond, violence aplenty. Cool mechanics (the poker inspired dice mechanics are fun and do make for some "game" in role playing game). Only one playable alien race, and they're about as alien as D&D elves. Single system, but there is a lot going on in it and there are plenty of hints and opportunities for things far beyond our little corner of the universe. While not quite Laser Pistols and Lovecraft it does kind of lean that way. I love it and highly recommend it. But I'd tell you Phoenix Command is cool too, just so you know.

 

[Nojo509]

I've played a lot of Traveller, and the setting has always bothered me. It's so obviously implausible yet is presented in all seriousness. It's a mashup of multinationals, the Roman Empire, and feudal Europe. Aliens include cats and dogs. Since most people live only on one planet, and each planet has a random government, what being a citizen of the Imperium means is beyond me.

Compare that to 40k. It's obviously implausible and makes no bones about it. Space orcs and elves, 10,000 year old lich as the Emperor, starships that look like baroque cathedrals, and more. Nothing makes sense, and it never bothers me. Perhaps because I didn't expect it to?

In any case, you might want to check out Rogue Trader if you find the over the top 40k world appealing. Players can win planets in card games and the party owns a ship with a crew numbering in the tens of thousands. The other FFG 40k games all have the players working for the man (or the chaos-lord), but Rogue Trader has them out defining their own fate. No nano-tech, but plenty of psychers, battlesuits, cybernetics, and a fun starship battle system.

 

[GhostShip Blue]

I always forget about the RT entry in the 40K rpg line. I GM Deathwatch and dislike Dark Heresy - the Inquisition bugs me. I'm like you, I can forgive the 40K universe because it knows and embraces that it's a game-verse. Bolt rifle (nee bolter) does the same damage as a bolt pistol just at a longer range. Wield either in one hand and a chainsword in the other so long as you're in power armor - Astartes looks cool doing though, doesn't he?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I'll take another look at Ashen Stars.

For those familiar with Star HERO, can I just buy the Terran Empire sourcebook and get all I need for the setting (assuming I'm using a different rules system), or is there a lot of stuff I need in Star HERO?

 

[GhostShip Blue]

Discussions like this get me thinking about the stuff in my collection (which is ridiculous - WEBS anybody? Fading Suns 1st edition hardback? MWWG and any of her daughters? Fvlminatvs?) and the Politically Incorrect Games "Shatterzone" caught my eye. PIG is very good at narrative games in my opinion and this one might be worth a look too. Typically PIG titles are reasonably priced as well.

 

[Mike Eagling]

I like Traveller but I've never really stuck to the default setting. There are lots of compatible settings and supplements though.

Starblazer Adventures is kinda fun too. It's Fudge/FATE based and adaptable to pretty much any style of Sci-Fi setting. There aren't that many published setting for it though so might need some work.