Thundercats/Phantasy Star - Recommend me a System

[WBruce]

Hi, I am creating a campaign in a scenario similar to Thundercats/He-Man Masters of the Universe/Phantasy Star. What system would you recommend me for that?
I want it to have flying ships, laser weapons but also that the bulk of the combat still plays around swords, shields and melee in general.
I know I can use D&D for that, which would be great beccause there are a lot of monsters to use, but D&D is too much combat oriented, and I would prefer something more Storytelling oriented.

What systems are out there best suited for that?
Thanks in advance.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Hi, I am creating a campaign in a scenario similar to Thundercats/He-Man Masters of the Universe/Phantasy Star. What system would you recommend me for that?
I want it to have flying ships, laser weapons but also that the bulk of the combat still plays around swords, shields and melee in general.
I know I can use D&D for that, which would be great beccause there are a lot of monsters to use, but D&D is too much combat oriented, and I would prefer something more Storytelling oriented.

What systems are out there best suited for that?
Thanks in advance.

I'd look into some of the 3pp works for 5e dnd that expand things like loyalty, morale, etc, and that introduce more advanced vehicle rules.

Mine those products for ideas, but otherwise just play stock dnd 5e.

Seriously, all you need for what you're describing is better vehicle rules, and some social mechanics.

 

[RuinousPowers]

Cartoon Action Hour
Under A Broken Moon

 

[aramis erak]

Hi, I am creating a campaign in a scenario similar to Thundercats/He-Man Masters of the Universe/Phantasy Star. What system would you recommend me for that?
I want it to have flying ships, laser weapons but also that the bulk of the combat still plays around swords, shields and melee in general.
I know I can use D&D for that, which would be great beccause there are a lot of monsters to use, but D&D is too much combat oriented, and I would prefer something more Storytelling oriented.

What systems are out there best suited for that?
Thanks in advance.

He-man, I'd use Marvel Heroic RP... Which is goood, since the new He-man game will be using the same core engine (Cortex Plus/Cortex Prime)
Thundercats I'm less familiar with; Cortex Plus/Prime would again be my first thought, but Sentinel Comics or the old TSR Advanced Marvel Super Heroes both could easily do it. Or maybe Seraphim Guard's clone of AMSH, 4-Color.

If one had asked me in the early 1990's, I'd have said Hero System for both...

I'm totally unfamiliar with Phantasy Star other than it's a Japanese CRPG...

 

[Retreater]

You need vehicle rules, sci-fi, fantasy, magic, robots, animal people. The only thing I'm thinking is Rifts, preferably the Savage Worlds version.

 

[MGibster]

I'd go with Savage Worlds. You don't even need their version of Rifts, you could get by quite easily with the core rules. The system is rather pulpy, so people with guns can quite easily compete with people with guns, there are rules for magic, psionics, and super powers, and it's a relatively simple system.

 

[dbm]

This is the kind of thing that generic systems are great for using to throw together, as discussed recently here. For a pulp feel and tools beyond just supporting combat I agree with @MGibster that Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) would be a great choice out-of-the-box if you want something a little more traditional in feel. There is tons of support material available for SWADE, it is quite possibly the non-d20 system with the most support.

Other contenders would be Fate which also has a boat-load of support materials or Cortex Prime though I’m not sure how straightforward it is to buy Cortex Prime at the moment after Fandom acquired it.

 

[fba827]

I forget the exact name, but “ lasers and feelings”, or something like that
Or Star Trek rpg with a lot of reflavoring needed

 

[WBruce]

Thank you all for your valuable insight.
I am looking into all the ideas.
Thanks.

 

[Aldarc]

@MytosBR, there is an upcoming official He-Man RPG (i.e., Legends of Grayskull) that runs using Cortex Prime. Instead of attributes, you are ranking with dice how good you are at certain roles common in '80s science-fantasy cartoons: i.e., Machines, Magic, Might, Mind, Mischief, Mobility, and Mystery. It will also include rules for special abilities, powers, etc.

There is also Masters of Umdaar for Fate. It's meant to evoke '80s Sword and Sorcery like He-Man, Thundercats, etc. It's a small Pay-What-You-Want booklet, but I believe it's one of the next projects lined up by Evil Hat Productions to get expanded into a hardback: Fate of Umdaar.