Which Sci-Fi RPG has the richest setting?

[Tuzenbach]

Gamma World 1ed. but barring that i'm gonna vote Traveller.

What he said (regarding Gamma World, that is). Oh, but don't forget about Star Frontiers!

 

[Wil]

• Traveller: The Classic Books
• Traveller: The Classic Supplements
• Serenity (if I have enough scratch left over)
• JC (if it's still in the bargain bin

Traveller obviously has the most widespread appeal of the games I listed (and I suspect of any space-faring RPG currently on the market, actually), so that's why it wins out - I'd like to pick up a game that I can find people to actually play as opposed to yet another ultra cool
dust collector (such as Wars, Secret of Ziran or Fading Suns).

I actually think that with those four, regardless of which game you actually play, have some interchangeable bits and pieces so that you'd get some use out of all of them.

 

[WayneLigon]

• Traveller: The Classic Books
• Traveller: The Classic Supplements
• Serenity (if I have enough scratch left over)
• JC (if it's still in the bargain bin

Most of Classic Traveller's actual setting information is contained in the Supplements book, specifically the two Library Data books, and dibs and drabs from the Solomani Rim and Spinward marches books.

If you've never seen these books, here's the layout. The Library Data books are definitions of terms. A few things to make their debut there, but not a lot. The sector books are: one page of stats, facing page is the map. A little history is included at the beginning, and some minor notes are contained in the stats page if a planet is really unusual. Classic Traveller kept their bare bones customizable approach almost it's entire life. A far richer but still extremely spread out source are the three Journal of the Travellers Aid society books. The Classic Aliens contains pretty much all the info you need about each alien race. Each is stunning in their breadth and depth of info.

Now, if you're looking for long essays on the hows and whys of the Imperium, Classic Traveller ain't the place to get it unless you're willing to do all the peicing together yourself.

The Megatraveller books and (if you can find it) the issues of Megatraveller Digest (?) contain much more in the way of detailed setting info laid out in an easy-to-find manner. Far Future puts out a CDRom with all the canon Megatraveller books, but not the issues of the magazine. (If you can find it: Far Future's website is a screaming mess of stub pages and broken links).

The place to go for setting information is probably GURPS Traveller and the Spinward Marches book Behind the Claw (currently out of print; probably waiting for the 4rth ed revision). It has most of the pertinant setting info laid out in an easy-to-find manner.

 

[Haltherrion]

Another plug for 2300AD. To be honest, it's the only game on that list that I know well.

It's the only one I'm really familiar with either. I guess you could run whatever you want in the setting and rule system but I always found that its hardcore "realistic" streak got in the way of the space opera spirit. Used to play it quite a lot many decades ago but the sessions were always unsatisfying.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Being that Transhuman Space was left off the list I had to vote for Traveller.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

It's the only one I'm really familiar with either. I guess you could run whatever you want in the setting and rule system but I always found that its hardcore "realistic" streak got in the way of the space opera spirit. Used to play it quite a lot many decades ago but the sessions were always unsatisfying.

Hmmm, I do not think that it was supposed to have a 'Space Opera' spirit. So if you were trying to use it for one then you were trying to use a hammer as a screwdriver... a lot of banging to get it snug.

I used it for a military SF game, and for that it worked fine. Hard SF is a very different beastie than space opera.

The Auld Grump

 

[Haltherrion]

Hmmm, I do not think that it was supposed to have a 'Space Opera' spirit. So if you were trying to use it for one then you were trying to use a hammer as a screwdriver... a lot of banging to get it snug.

There weren't a whole lot of options at the time; Gamma world didn't do it for me

 

[jdrakeh]

Well, I grabbed The Books and The Supplements from Far Future Enterprises. I think that Traveller, despite not having a truly standardized task resolution system, will suit my needs nicely (I'll post my fix for disjointed task resolution either later tonight or tomorrow).

 

[Ghostwind]

My two picks aren't on the list. Dawning Star from Blue Devil Games and Blue Planet from Fantasy Flight Games. Both are brilliant.

 

[Wil]

My two picks aren't on the list. Dawning Star from Blue Devil Games and Blue Planet from Fantasy Flight Games. Both are brilliant.

I have to agree on BP - it's always near the top of my list. I just wish that some of the sourcebooks - like the Wormhole book and the Earth sourcebook - had been released.