If you're not adverse to hunting through Ebay and/or using PDFs ($5 each at rpgnow.com), I would recommend Alternity. It has a great skill system and a somewhat lethal damage system (most hits don't kill, but the system's version of critical hits have a tendency to at least put you out of the combat and make you need surgery in order not to die). The most-supported setting for Alternity, StarDrive, is sort of a Forgotten Realms of sci-fi - it has opportunities for lots of different campaign styles: exploration, military, trading, intrigue, and so on. It's definitely more on the space opera side of things (as opposed to hard sf), but it's still more realistic than Star Trek or Star Wars.
what's a good sci-fi rpg product and why?
- Thread starter jollyninja
- Start date
evildmguy
Explorer
I think Alternity would also work very well for what you want to do.
The biggest downside to it is that it is OOP. It is available on eBay and at some gaming stores (nobleknightgames.com used to carry some. There are also some things in PDF format at svgames) and usually for reasonable prices, if you are patient. In fact, with the increase in prices for printed material, Alternity is priced no more expensive than today's games and can sometimes be picked up for less.
The only other downside to it is that it is a new system to learn and it will take time to learn all of the nuances, which it does have.
Having said that, it is a GREAT game! It has your laser guns, rocket launchers and other SciFi elements. It has great options like mutations, psionics and cyborgs built into the system as well. It does allow for a chance at death in combat while still being heroic. It also has penalties for damage that are easy to track and will put a character down but not kill them.
As it is OOP, there are a finite number of books that can be picked up for it, which is both good and bad. There are 4 books that expand on the basic ideas in the PH and the GMG. One hasn't gotten good reviews but it is still useful in my opinion. The others are good and have a lot of good ideas.
There are two settings that can be found for it. Star*Drive is the futuristic setting with space ships and aliens. It did feature a good meta plot that can be used or not in its limited run of books. (Again, I have seen all of the books on eBay and sometimes elsewhere.) There are probably a dozen books or so and all are quite good. I have used this and do like what they set up for the setting. (If I were to do it again, with my players permission, I would probably do something more like a Firefly type game and this would handle it easily.)
Dark*Matter is a setting of conspiracies. (If you read d20 Modern, many of the elements from D*M have been used in some of the books.) It is a very good book, detailing conspiracies. The setting allows from some FX (magic) but nothing that can get very powerful. It would be possible to run X-Files to Buffy using this. btw, many people think that d20 Modern "watered" down a lot of the things from D*M. There were maybe a half dozen books for D*M, if that many. I have also used this and really like it for modern gaming! I think it does a great job!
(I am biased of course but I really like Alternity. I am currently using it for a Fantasy game and it is working out very well! I couldn't be more happy with how well the rule set is working for my games!)
Finally, there is still good community support for it at alternity.net and tequilastarrise.net, which is specific for S*D. There is a fan ezine, including a lot of back issues, a character generator and lots of other downloads to support the game.
I have been really happy in using Alternity as my role playing game of choice. I hope this has interested you enough so that you will check it out!
I hope you find something that makes you happy! Have a good one! Take care!
edg
btw, there are several reviews for Alternity at rpg.net if you want to read more about it. Those are the only ones I know of right now.
The biggest downside to it is that it is OOP. It is available on eBay and at some gaming stores (nobleknightgames.com used to carry some. There are also some things in PDF format at svgames) and usually for reasonable prices, if you are patient. In fact, with the increase in prices for printed material, Alternity is priced no more expensive than today's games and can sometimes be picked up for less.
The only other downside to it is that it is a new system to learn and it will take time to learn all of the nuances, which it does have.
Having said that, it is a GREAT game! It has your laser guns, rocket launchers and other SciFi elements. It has great options like mutations, psionics and cyborgs built into the system as well. It does allow for a chance at death in combat while still being heroic. It also has penalties for damage that are easy to track and will put a character down but not kill them.
As it is OOP, there are a finite number of books that can be picked up for it, which is both good and bad. There are 4 books that expand on the basic ideas in the PH and the GMG. One hasn't gotten good reviews but it is still useful in my opinion. The others are good and have a lot of good ideas.
There are two settings that can be found for it. Star*Drive is the futuristic setting with space ships and aliens. It did feature a good meta plot that can be used or not in its limited run of books. (Again, I have seen all of the books on eBay and sometimes elsewhere.) There are probably a dozen books or so and all are quite good. I have used this and do like what they set up for the setting. (If I were to do it again, with my players permission, I would probably do something more like a Firefly type game and this would handle it easily.)
Dark*Matter is a setting of conspiracies. (If you read d20 Modern, many of the elements from D*M have been used in some of the books.) It is a very good book, detailing conspiracies. The setting allows from some FX (magic) but nothing that can get very powerful. It would be possible to run X-Files to Buffy using this. btw, many people think that d20 Modern "watered" down a lot of the things from D*M. There were maybe a half dozen books for D*M, if that many. I have also used this and really like it for modern gaming! I think it does a great job!
(I am biased of course but I really like Alternity. I am currently using it for a Fantasy game and it is working out very well! I couldn't be more happy with how well the rule set is working for my games!)
Finally, there is still good community support for it at alternity.net and tequilastarrise.net, which is specific for S*D. There is a fan ezine, including a lot of back issues, a character generator and lots of other downloads to support the game.
I have been really happy in using Alternity as my role playing game of choice. I hope this has interested you enough so that you will check it out!
I hope you find something that makes you happy! Have a good one! Take care!
edg
btw, there are several reviews for Alternity at rpg.net if you want to read more about it. Those are the only ones I know of right now.
I'll also put in a voice of support for Traveller. I'm biased of course, being both a playtester and writer for Traveller D20. But I have played several SF games, and always come back to Traveller. I won't repeat the above introduction to T20, but if you come over to the COTI Citizens of the Imperium boards, we'll all give you a warm welcome.
NeuroZombie
Explorer
If you are interested in using Star Trek as a base setting or what not, I reccomend the newest version by Decpher whole-heartedly. IMHO, it is the best iteration of Trek to date.
The system is similar to d20, so it would be a relatively easy learn if you are familiar with any d20 game, but it is different enough that it make for a unique experience. In many ways, I like it better than d20, in some ways, less so.
Unfortunetly, it seems as tho Decipher has put the whole shebang on hold for some reason, so there may not be anything else made for it. SUX!
If you are set on d20, however, I will make another vote for T20. I think it is the best iteration of a Traveller game since Megatraveller (which I still like better.) If you want deadly combat, use as is. If you want a little bit more cinematic combat, use as is, but change the way Stamina & Lifeblood works to the way Vitality and Wounds work is Star Wars d20.
The system is similar to d20, so it would be a relatively easy learn if you are familiar with any d20 game, but it is different enough that it make for a unique experience. In many ways, I like it better than d20, in some ways, less so.
Unfortunetly, it seems as tho Decipher has put the whole shebang on hold for some reason, so there may not be anything else made for it. SUX!
If you are set on d20, however, I will make another vote for T20. I think it is the best iteration of a Traveller game since Megatraveller (which I still like better.) If you want deadly combat, use as is. If you want a little bit more cinematic combat, use as is, but change the way Stamina & Lifeblood works to the way Vitality and Wounds work is Star Wars d20.
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Psion
Adventurer
In addition to T20, I can state that Alternity was not bad. It has a bit more Space Opera flavor than Traveller, and the SF setting for it (Star*Drive) is very Space Opera, but I have to say it never pulled me in the same way the Traveller setting did.
I don't think ship or planet gen for alternity is as flexible as T20, but its chargen and mechanics are nice. It's sort of class based and has levels, but they are a lot looser than in d20. It has a strange dice-combo roll-under system, but I sort of like it.
I don't think ship or planet gen for alternity is as flexible as T20, but its chargen and mechanics are nice. It's sort of class based and has levels, but they are a lot looser than in d20. It has a strange dice-combo roll-under system, but I sort of like it.
Ed Cha
Community Supporter
Bulldogs is a new d20 sci-fi RPG:
http://www.galileogames.com/bulldogs/
I took a look at it recently and it has great layout and looks interesting, too.
http://www.galileogames.com/bulldogs/
I took a look at it recently and it has great layout and looks interesting, too.
Morte
Explorer
johnsemlak said:
Don't know Star Frontiers. You could do SW and ST, but you'd die an awful lot if you tired to recreate the sort of things you see in that material. You might be better off using a more forgiving system (or adding "hero point" mechanics to traveller).
Traveller is good if you like your gaming somewhere on the spectrum from Firefly to Alien (not Aliens).
In traveller, you might start out playing a 34 year old Marine 4/Rogue 2 character who just mustered out. Those guards you're trying to get past are probably 34 year old Army 4/Mercenary 2 types. Sure you rolled 4d6-drop-lowest and they got 10s, but then it's legal for them to wear body armour and carry automatic weapons. One burst will usually kill you. So consider your options carefully...
Desdichado
Hero
For Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon style sci-fi, yeah -- Traveller d20 probably would work fairly well. I never thought of Traveller as that type of setting, though -- it's much more Isaac Asimov and Larry Niven, etc.
If you're homebrewing the setting anyway, I'd probably just use d20 Modern, maybe with some "futuristic" weapons and gear swiped from some other source.
Or, depending on your timing, just wait for d20 Future to come out. Are you looking more for settings, systems, or what?
If you're homebrewing the setting anyway, I'd probably just use d20 Modern, maybe with some "futuristic" weapons and gear swiped from some other source.
Or, depending on your timing, just wait for d20 Future to come out. Are you looking more for settings, systems, or what?
Morte
Explorer
jollyninja said:
For that style, maybe you should look at something from Guardians of Order, the BESM people. It's a clean, not-too-heavy system, with an assortment of SF/anime/supers/etc crossover materials in cheap PDFs to mine. Their core rules (Tri-Stat dX) are available as a free PDF.
It wouldn't suit me, but it's probably a better fit to what you want than Traveller, or anything in d20/GURPS.
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