i forgot that 2300 was even more realistic than traveller. i found my old boxed set recently and wished i had gotten into it. no artificial grav was cool and the 3D stellar cartography was killer, too. unfortunately at the time my group was too into traveller to make the switch (similiar enough as they are/were).
Sci-fi RPG
- Thread starter Thalastian
- Start date
There's tons of good scifi rpgs, you'd have to be major gaming snob not to find something to your taste (though I'm sure there are folks like this).
If you like hard scifi, your best bets are the aforementioned Transhuman Space and the Jovian Chronicles. The Jovian Chronicles are supposed to have the most realistic ship technology in SF gaming.
The next game out on the firmness scale would be 2300 AD (aka Traveller 2300 - which is actually entirely unrelated to Traveller). Out of print, but available in PDF. QLI/RPGRealms is publishing a 2320AD Campaign Setting adaptation of the T20 (Traveller d20) rules in the future.
Then there is Traveller itself, in many editions and forms, with or without the official setting. As an aside, I will note that T20's damage system is NOT VP/WP, even if it superficially resembles it. Damage vs. armor is handled much differently, in a more appropriate way for Traveller weapon and armor technology. WotC releasing VP/WP to the SRD has no bearing on T20. QLI/RPGRealms is working on a new player's manual (extra player crunch without the Ref-only design stuff), but its not a new "edition", per se.
Traveller lies in the middle of the hard-SF-to-space opera scale, so moving along we find a lot of options opening up. Starting with D20 Future, Babylon 5, StarGate SG-1, etc. I'm less familiar with this stuff, but I think there are plenty more good SF games out there.
Finally, if we're willing to start stretching boundries, there more choices in the "science fantasy" realm. I personally think Fading Suns is the coolest setting EVAR, hehe... (The Holistic website seems to be having some "issues" atm.
) Dragonstar obviously falls into this category as well.
While Shadowrun clearly fell from the cyberpunk tree, you can call this sci-fantasy as well. In fact, by discarding some of the more obvious fantasy and cyberpunk tropes, you could use either Shadowrun or Cyberpunk as SF game mechanics.
Lotsa good choices...
If you like hard scifi, your best bets are the aforementioned Transhuman Space and the Jovian Chronicles. The Jovian Chronicles are supposed to have the most realistic ship technology in SF gaming.
The next game out on the firmness scale would be 2300 AD (aka Traveller 2300 - which is actually entirely unrelated to Traveller). Out of print, but available in PDF. QLI/RPGRealms is publishing a 2320AD Campaign Setting adaptation of the T20 (Traveller d20) rules in the future.
Then there is Traveller itself, in many editions and forms, with or without the official setting. As an aside, I will note that T20's damage system is NOT VP/WP, even if it superficially resembles it. Damage vs. armor is handled much differently, in a more appropriate way for Traveller weapon and armor technology. WotC releasing VP/WP to the SRD has no bearing on T20. QLI/RPGRealms is working on a new player's manual (extra player crunch without the Ref-only design stuff), but its not a new "edition", per se.
Traveller lies in the middle of the hard-SF-to-space opera scale, so moving along we find a lot of options opening up. Starting with D20 Future, Babylon 5, StarGate SG-1, etc. I'm less familiar with this stuff, but I think there are plenty more good SF games out there.
Finally, if we're willing to start stretching boundries, there more choices in the "science fantasy" realm. I personally think Fading Suns is the coolest setting EVAR, hehe... (The Holistic website seems to be having some "issues" atm.
) Dragonstar obviously falls into this category as well.While Shadowrun clearly fell from the cyberpunk tree, you can call this sci-fantasy as well. In fact, by discarding some of the more obvious fantasy and cyberpunk tropes, you could use either Shadowrun or Cyberpunk as SF game mechanics.
Lotsa good choices...
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BrianHammack-MGT
First Post
I found this thread while browsing; it is good to see some people have taken notice of our game even while we are working on it.
Just out of curiosity let me ask you players, what do you find that interests you about a sci-fi RPG? In other words, what makes you want to play a particular SF game over another game or genre?
Just out of curiosity let me ask you players, what do you find that interests you about a sci-fi RPG? In other words, what makes you want to play a particular SF game over another game or genre?
Justin D. Jacobson
First Post
Well, I'll throw my hat -- err, radiation-shielded space helmet -- into the ring. Our d20 Future-powered setting, Dawning Star, is in the editing phase. We'll have a slew of updates and previews in the next couple of weeks. The writing, by Lee Hammock and Chad Barr, is top-notch, and the art by Gary Simpson is coming out stellar.
(FYI: The website is due for a quick update; Operation Quick Launch will be released on October 20th.)
(FYI: The website is due for a quick update; Operation Quick Launch will be released on October 20th.)
Ranger REG
Explorer
For me personally, if I can emulate Star Trek in a sci-fi RPG. It doesn't have to have an "official, authorized," or "whatnot" label.BrianHammack-MGT said:
johnsemlak
First Post
And Farscape as well.Ranger REG said:
There is a non-d20 game for Star Trek, but it's seems to be pretty unsuccessful (is it being supported still even?)>
johnsemlak said:
Decipher holds the license for Star Trek RPGs in all eras, but I believe the RPG rights were basically an add-on to the collectible card game license (Decipher is mostly a CCG company). Apparently Decipher are going to make some kind of announcement regarding their RPG division in the near future, but until then the Star Trek RPG - and their other major RPG property, a little setting folks might have heard of called Lord of the Rings - are unlikely to see any new releases.
As well, Star Fleet Battles - which through a quirk of licensing is sort of an alternate look at the original Star Trek setting - has an RPG called GURPS Prime Directive. It uses the GURPS engine under license, with the initial book containing enough of the GURPS rules to play, along with new material and background for the SFB universe. Amarillo Design Bureau, the SFB folks, appear to be actively supporting the system (I really enjoyed the Klingons supplement). I think it's a pretty good alternative for original series-style gaming.
the_dunner
First Post
There are actually 3 (yowza) out of print Star Trek RPGs.
The original was published by West End Games as "The Star Trek Adventure Game." I've only ever seen the boxed set. To my knowledge there were no expansions for it. This came out in the late 70's to early 80's. I've absolutely no idea what the game system on this one was like.
FASA published The Star Trek RPG in the early '80's, and supported it quite well until around 1990 or so. I've played the Starship combat simulator that they published for Star Trek III, and it was very good. To this day, the game has dedicated adherents. I believe the system was d6 based, but I recall very little beyond that. To my knowledge only one NextGen book was ever published for this system.
Last Unicorn Games picked up the license for the Star Trek RPG in the late '90's. I think they held it until the company was bought out by WotC. If memory serves, they published 3 separate core rule books -- TOS, TNG, and DS9. The system was fairly popular at the time and the production quality was very, very good. Product support was fairly extensive, and I regularly still see sourcebooks in bargain bins. Somewhere in my gaming closet I've got the TOS core rules, but never really examined the system closely. I seem to recall that it was d10 based. (This game company used the same system for the VERY limited edition Dune RPG.)
The original was published by West End Games as "The Star Trek Adventure Game." I've only ever seen the boxed set. To my knowledge there were no expansions for it. This came out in the late 70's to early 80's. I've absolutely no idea what the game system on this one was like.
FASA published The Star Trek RPG in the early '80's, and supported it quite well until around 1990 or so. I've played the Starship combat simulator that they published for Star Trek III, and it was very good. To this day, the game has dedicated adherents. I believe the system was d6 based, but I recall very little beyond that. To my knowledge only one NextGen book was ever published for this system.
Last Unicorn Games picked up the license for the Star Trek RPG in the late '90's. I think they held it until the company was bought out by WotC. If memory serves, they published 3 separate core rule books -- TOS, TNG, and DS9. The system was fairly popular at the time and the production quality was very, very good. Product support was fairly extensive, and I regularly still see sourcebooks in bargain bins. Somewhere in my gaming closet I've got the TOS core rules, but never really examined the system closely. I seem to recall that it was d10 based. (This game company used the same system for the VERY limited edition Dune RPG.)
You missed one. Prime Directive, published in 1993 by Task Force Games! OK, but not great.
As for other Sci-Fi RPGs- I have to second everyone who suggested Traveller. I've been playing that through all of its incarnations. Great game- the D&D of Sci-Fi RPGs.
Based on quality, Universe was a strong contender to dethrone early Traveller, but SPI went out of business shortly after the game's release.
I have played TORG, Rifts, Shadowrun, Mechwarrior and Gamma World, enjoyment depending on who ran them.
I also own copies of Fading Suns, Deadlands: Hell on Earth and Lost Colony, Dragonstar, Star Wars D20, Alternity, X-Crawl and Dream Park. Each has potential, IMHO. D20 Future looks good too.
Paranoia, despite being comedic, is nonetheless a great sci-fi game, and can be played straight up if you like playing in dystopias as depicted in Brave New World, 1984, THX1138, and We.
Space 1889 is EXCELLENT for doing Vernian/Wellsian type victorian sci-fi. Probably could handle steampunk pretty well too.
HERO also has the flexibility to run sci fi, and has a sourcebook to make it easy. Despite my love of the game, it IS number-crunching intensive. Still- no system is more flexible.
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Dannyalcatraz said:
Eh... might have beens are always difficult to resolve, but I don't think Universe ever had a shot (I have a copy). IMHO, it's complicated in places where it needs to be light, and far too light in places where a sci-fi game benefits from complexity. Traveller is pretty much the reverse - plays quickly so it's fun at the table, with sufficiently complex systems for equipment and ship designs that gearhead types have plenty to amuse themselves when they're not actually playing.
Dannyalcatraz said:
Hmm, this is one of those games that IMHO has an utterly fantastic setting but really forgetable rules. I'd love to see this as a setting sourcebook for GURPS or Hero, but it looks like Frank Chadwick isn't interested in doing anything like that. Too bad.
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