Need ideas: Space Faring game.

[Blue_Kryptonite]

A recent visit from a long-time and now distant member of my group as well as the re-appearance of another old friend on my MUX and my son getting a full-time job has lead me to finally convince everyone to try gaming by post. I've got our regular game, our Eberron game, and our Mutants & Masterminds game all set and ready. However, I was also asked to DM a space game. Unfortunately, I am anomalously dry on that front.

What's known: We play a bit upbeat, cinematic, low angst, low grit, and very heroic games. They don't want to play in any actual published settings, so it'll be at least nominally homebrew. I know I want FTL, Energy Weapons, and a balkanized galaxy. Everything else is up in the air.

So I'm asking you to tell me about great space games you've played, nifty settings from novels, anything you think might get the Doctor's poor dry DM Headbone back to Nomalousity.

Thanks.

 

[Turanil]

I just see Traveller d20. It has numerous PDF for settings like you describe. Then you could either use the Traveller d20 rules, or d20 Modern + Future.

 

[exile]

It's probably a little grittier and angstier than you are looking for, but you might be able to snag some ideas from the Cowboy Bebop anime series. It's available on DVD and defintely worth watching (even if you don't port any elements of it into your game).
Chad

 

[Dwarven Godfather]

This might not be what you are looking for but I know it was a big hit until Fantasy flight stopped publishing it and is really cheap right now from them which is the Dragonstar Universe. you get 5 or 6 books for $40.00.
With the travelling ways you can either travel through portals or use spacecrafts to travel. You would not have to use the setting just some of the concepts from the books and get other ideas from these books as well. I highly recommend this system if you do a space thing since it still has the elements from D&D and uses the Core classes as well.

 

[Blue_Kryptonite]

Ignore...

Un-Bump so I can get this thread off my "Subscribed" panel.

...And, that didn't work. Hm. Anyone who knows how to clear dead threads from auto-subscribes, or if they clear themselves, etc, let me know.