What style of science-fiction in your D&D ?

[Turanil]

Lets say you want to add science-fiction in your D&D game, to run a campaign where science-fiction elements are added to an otherwise fantasy world. My question is, how do you envision its style ? So far I only know of:

1) Modern sci-fi: the 3e supplement Dragonstar has such a style, with modern looking sci-fi tropes and equipment, in a world where you find wizards (who use computers to record their spells) and dragons (who rule entire planets).

2) Flash Gordon style: This is really guys (and a girl) using a ray-gun and wandering across planets in a fifties-looking rocket-ship, but meeting with things, people and situation with a fantasy outlook (such as the winged hawkmen of Mondo fighting with maces).

3) Steampunk: This genre looks rather popular on the Internet, but I wonder how many people actually like to play this genre. The Dune movie by David Lynch had such a style.

4) Spell Jammer: Although magical galleons travel across the void of space, and some rhino people use muskets for firearms, I don't see it as sci-fi.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've used all of them, so my answer is "it depends."

 

[Dice4Hire]

Spelljammer or nothing, and it is 1% spelljammer for me.

 

[JeffB]

If by Flash Gordon you mean sword & planet genre, then yep.

 

[TerraDave]

You left out the only approach endorsed in the (original) DMG and what my players are going through right now:

0) Mutants and Mayhem: Send the players to Gamma World or have Gamma World come to them. Wild mutations and mutated creatures plus a motley mix of salvaged everyday objects and high tech weaponry and robots.

One variation on this, which Gygax DMed, is to send the characters into Metamorphis Alpha, aka the Starship Warden. A huge spaceship...now basically like Gamma World in space.

And of course there is Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, aka find a crashed space ship. Which is another variant on this, and inspiration for Dragon Star.

 

[TerraDave]

If by Flash Gordon you mean sword & planet genre, then yep.

Gygax also famously sent his players to Barsoom (Mars).

 

[Larkas]

You forgot a fifth genre, Cyberpunk, which is pretty much what you see in Blade Runner.

Personally, I think that these genres work better with other systems, or even more importantly, other premises. Magic and advanced technology ten to interact in weird ways =P

However, from the ones presented, the genre I can best wrap my head around is steampunk + magic. That one's easy, though: it's pretty much what you see in Eberron, not to mention gunslingers and related stuff in Golarion and dwarves, gnomes and goblins in Azeroth.

 

[JeffB]

Gygax also famously sent his players to Barsoom (Mars).

As have I, though not as famously

 

[am181d]

I've used all of these at various times before, with the exception of the retro-Flash Gordon vibe, but I gotta ask...?

3) Steampunk: This genre looks rather popular on the Internet, but I wonder how many people actually like to play this genre. The Dune movie by David Lynch had such a style.

In what sense is David Lynch's Dune steampunk?

 

[Ahnehnois]

When I've used sci-fi, it's been a time travel element, and the stuff from the future was modern scifi. No kitsch. No mixing technology and magic. Just straight-up robots and stuff.