what's a good sci-fi rpg product and why?

[d4]

i have also been thinking about doing a sci-fi campaign at some point soon, but i think i'm going to wait until d20 Future comes out in August.

from what i've seen and heard, T20 has too "gritty" a feel for me. i prefer a more cinematic style of game. no mook should be able to cap a PC in one shot in my game...

 

[Arnwyn]

If you are looking for something with mecha then Mekton Z from R. Talsorian Games may be a good book for you to check out. It uses the Fuzion system(the system is a free download from their site) and is quite customizable I have found. It could work without using the big robots, but that is its main focus.

Actually, it uses the Interlock system (but it's compatible with Fuzion, since Fuzion is a mix of Interlock and HERO).

 

[buzz]

I'll chime in and emphasize HERO as a consideration. HERO works very well for cinematic genres, and the Star HERO supplement is probably one of the most comprehensive and definitive RPG books ever printed on SF gaming in general.

Alternity is the only other game I thought worked well as a "generic" SFRPG. I have high hopes for d20 Future and the new edition of GURPS, but we'll see.

 

[buzz]

If you're going to homebrew the setting, then I recommend Fuzion.

As a staunch advocate of HERO, it's my duty to recoil in horror at any reccomendation of Fuzion.

:recoils in horror:

That said, there's a Fuzion-based SFRPG called Lightspeed that's gotten quite good reviews. You'd have your work done for you.

 

[milotha]

I have to admit that I enjoyed Alternity. It's a bit more Space Opera/Fantasy than realism though. It had an interesting mechanic, and I actually enjoyed the character creation.

 

[Anime Kidd]

*snip*

@Anime Kidd: The PDFs of the full manuals can actually be had for a small fee (like $5 each) on RPGnow or SVgames.

Was just putting up a link there for anyone who want to give it a try without spending the cash before hand.

 

[Impeesa]

Alternity holds a very special place in my heart. Play Alternity. You know you want to. Excellent resource: Alternity.net. The fans there do a good job of archiving new material and stuff to help expand the game even though it's out of print.

--Impeesa--

 

[Krieg]

BTW alternity.net is a GREAT site, but first time visitors should be aware that more than a few of the die hard Alternity fans aren't overly fond of D20. There are some hard feelings over Alternity's death, D20's birth and the relationship between the two (although to be fair some of that bitterness has faded over the last few years).

That being said alternity.net's message boards has some of the best members around and are a great source for background material.