In search of a Sci-Fi system

[Eyes of Nine]

Whoa! How did that bit of trivia pass me by all these years?

Hard to substantiate but here's some speculation...

Is Joss Whedon's Firefly based on the Traveller RPG he played?

Internet rumours abound that Joss Whedon's Firefly series is based on the RPG Traveller, first released in 1977. The game itself is about living hand-to-mouth, trying to pay off debts by trading

scifi.stackexchange.com

 

[kingpin000]

So I am looking for a game that is not too dark (so Warhammer, Mothership, Alien and Hostile are out, as is Star Wars but for other reasons), allows for some flexibility while at the same time not being too crunch-heavy. Can someone give me some pointers?

Sci-Fi is a very broad genre. Do you have a certain setting in mind?

The easiest way to get into a system a little faster, is by taking a RPG based on a known IP. So you have already removed Star Wars from your list (maybe the Genesys system could cover what you want) and unfortunately the Firefly RPG became unavailable to buy. Other options could be Star Trek Adventures or The Expanse RPG (maybe too dark for your taste).

 

[Lidgar]

Another vote for 2e Mongoose Traveller with Pirates of Drinax campaign. You can spend years in this, very flexible, and accommodates a large variety of play styles (exploration, combat, empire building, etc.)

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I would also recommend the Cypher System. You can pick up the Cypher System Rulebook and run sci-fi game easily. Its flagship setting Numenera is science-fantasy, while The Stars Are Fire is harder sci-fi.

This is what I was going to post. Consider this seconded.

 

[Derren]

Whoa! How did that bit of trivia pass me by all these years?

Not sure how official it is, the default Traveller game certainly looks a lot like Firefly. Several widely different people, a ship and lots of debt.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

I'm still very partial to Star Frontiers (Digitally Remastered). The "Remastered" version is the improved, expanded and errata'ed version that the SF community worked on and put out over the decades....with WotC's nod of approval, mind you. Then, when WotC decided it was going to sell PDF's of the original game books, they "rescinded that nod". That said, I'm sure you can find them somewhere on the net.

But if you want it easier...just go to DriveThru and pick up the WotC original PDF's. They are very well done, and you can even get them in PoD Softcover (I did; I even picked them up in Hardcover; although I still prefer, and use, my SF Digitally Remastered 'community improved' version...it's just better).

No matter which route you go, picking up the fan-made "Frontiersman" e-Mag's is almost a must-have. They offer soooo much good, creative-fueling ideas, examples, adventures, new equipment, new 'subsystem skills' to tweak the game system itself, etc. that you'd be a fool not to grab at least a couple of them to check it out. HIGHLY recommended!


A recent newcomer, if you don't mind "setting specific", is The Expanse RPG. It uses the AGE system by Green Ronin. I did the kickstarter on this one and have my hardbacks, screen, etc, as well as the PDF's. I've given it a skim-over, but haven't read it...I have the series on DVD and have watched it twice+, and I also have the DragonAge three-box set, the AGE System books (all of them), and have played it and read it....so, yeah. Anyway, if it sticks mostly to the lore of The Expanse, and the AGE System with some changes to reflect the setting (which it seems to do), then I could see it being a great sci-fi game system! (EDIT: Just thought...'unless you want FTL travel to strange, alien planets' and all that....then it's NOT the expanse)/

Other than those two specifics, the generic RPG systems might be worth looking into. Masterbook and Silohuette CORE are my go-to's for "not too crunchy, but very flexible"; Masterbook is the lesser-crunch of the two.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[cbwjm]

Advent horizon looks cool. I've only had a chance to read through the book but it is based off 5e (sounds like that might kill it for that friend of yours) but has additional customisations like skill specialities. I'm possibly going to try to run a game with my current group at some point in the future.

 

[Bluenose]

Another vote for 2e Mongoose Traveller with Pirates of Drinax campaign. You can spend years in this, very flexible, and accommodates a large variety of play styles (exploration, combat, empire building, etc.)

While I would also recommend MgT2, I think Pirates of Drinax would be a very large project to start with, and it also might not be to every group's taste (lots of politics, space battles, and undercover action, and it can be a bit much for players not familiar with the setting). If your players want a campaign based more around exploration and mystery, then The Great Rift would be a good alternative. I'd say get Pirates and use the sector it describes along with some of the Reach Adventures (set in that sector) to introduce the players to both the environment and the main alien race that's in the area (those adventures are more varied than the ones in Pirates, and Reach Adventure 5 has a great cover showing what happens when you refuse to but encyclopedias from the door-to-door salescat). Then if they're enjoying it after a few adventures where they've had some success have the King of Drinax give them a call, with the players having a better idea of what's involved in the mission he wants them to take on. An added benefit is that the last few Drinax-related materials are appearing in the next few months and they can be added to the campaign from the start.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

If you want to see what Original D&D looks like when adapted for SF, look at this Whitebox-based game. You can try it out for free and there is a newer version (Galaxy Edition) available as well:

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Von Ether]

If you want more of a Star Wars, I'd say either Star Wars or Cypher System.
If you want hard SF, I'd say The Expanse.
If you change your mind about 5e, I'd say Esper Genesis.