Which should i write first? Fantasy or sci-fi?

[Leeham]

So, I've been writing up some homebrew RP rules and they're pretty vague right now. I have some good ideas to make for both a sci-fi system and a fantasy one, but i can't decide wich one to devote my efforts to. Anybody want to help me decide? Thanks in advance :smallbiggrin:

[Ichneumon]

So, I've been writing up some homebrew RP rules and they're pretty vague right now. I have some good ideas to make for both a sci-fi system and a fantasy one, but i can't decide wich one to devote my efforts to. Anybody want to help me decide? Thanks in advance :smallbiggrin:

Personally I am leaning more towards Sci-fi, as I feel there are too many fantasy rpg's already. However, most people would sooner play a fantasy setting then a sci-fi setting, I think.

[Leeham]

Maybe if I put up some ideas for both, i could get a vote started? I really can't decide which to do, i love both ideas myself.


Fantasy - Free form spell casting, ritual spell casting advailable to all classes, and my personal favourite part, magic affected by your level of sanity.

Sci-fi - No classes, psychic abilities the same as the fantasy's magic, and every party gets a ship.


And common to both would be the lack of levels.

[Lord Loss]

I'd go with the sci-fi one.

[rakkoon]

Do you know who you are going to play with? Then you can have a vote. Or is it just for fun?

[Leeham]

This is just for fun really. An experiment if you will.

[Ichneumon]

I do like the sound of the sci-fi one.

[lesser_minion]

I'd suggest making a sci-fi setting, although it looks like your fantasy rules will be some way from traditional high fantasy RPGs.

There is quite a bit of ground that hasn't really been trodden by the mainstream, however. You could even try writing your own take on, for example, Gothic Punk.

[Nero24200]

If it's your first time I would recommend Sci-Fi, as it is likely to be much simpiler for a few reasons.

1. Most folk who play fantasy expect some element of magic to exist, meaning that you will most likely need to include some form of magical ability. Actually thinking of a unique means of adding magic can be pretty tough, and existing methods tend to have their own problems (such as requiring a horde of spells to work or being needlessly complex/overpowering). In a Sci-Fi, since characters will already have access to gadgets and Sci-Fi-esc abilities there is less need for "Magic" in order to make the setting stand out.

2. Sci-Fi still leaves room for fantasy elements if you really want it. If you wish for fantasy elements in a Sci-Fi you could always run a Star Ocean-esc setting where the character's crash land on "Undeveloped Planets" where the warriors still use swords. Adding Sci-Fi elements to a fantasy though doesn't always work, so creating a Sci-Fi could always leave more options open.

3. Sci-Fi provides more open ideas. If you decide to design classes for a Fantasy Game you're liable to create alot of classes similer to existing stuff (Like Knights, Mages, Rogues etc) whilst in a Sci-Fi theres more space to create classes based on other things, such as fighting styles (such as a class to accomodate Martial Arts, Army close-quaters training, wrestiling, boxing, or just standard marksmenship) or social classes (such as the Rogue Trader or Inquisitor classes from the Inquisitor game). Which means if you struggle for ideas with one style, you can always try another.

[DracoDei]

Yeah, go with Sci-Fi.

[Zeta Kai]

I say Sci-Fi. But never Syfy. :smalltongue:

[Knaight]

The fantasy in space option sounds best. Or I suppose sci-fi if you decide to get rid of psionics.

Nero24200. He/she isn't using classes(a lot of games don't these days), and is using magic either way, just changing the name in sci-fi to psionics. Read post #3.

[Gnomish Lab]

I say Sci-Fi. But never Syfy. :smalltongue:


What's Syfy?

[Knaight]

Lets just say that certain TV channel decided to make a "cool" name change to appeal to a "younger audience". Pronounce Syfy out loud, it comes to Sci-fi. Or you pronounce it as sci-fee. As a member of that younger audience, I view this as an idiotic and pointless name change, and will be calling it sci-fee channel to make a point. Of course, I'm also against text messaging far more than most people I know.

[mikeejimbo]

Why not both? Make a generic system that can handle both of them, that is. Of course some of the rules will be optional for one or the other, but you can probably make the psionic and magic rules closely linked.

Alternatively: Steampunk. I always vote for Steampunk.

[Knaight]

Because he wants a class based fantasy game and a classless sci-fi game?

Speaking of which. Classes and levels aren't actually necessary in fantasy, a lot of really good games are made without them. If your doing that to regulate stuff like combat and magic, consider something Gurps like. If you link skills and attributes you could have combat as an attribute, which is hard to improve, same thing with magic. Then skills like sword fighting add to that. Its a more elegant way of handling what D&D does with BAB, weapon focus, more feats in that chain, etc. Magic can work the same way.

[dragonfan6490]

Lets just say that certain TV channel decided to make a "cool" name change to appeal to a "younger audience". Pronounce Syfy out loud, it comes to Sci-fi. Or you pronounce it as sci-fee. As a member of that younger audience, I view this as an idiotic and pointless name change, and will be calling it sci-fee channel to make a point. Of course, I'm also against text messaging far more than most people I know.

Amen my brother! Preach on!

[lesser_minion]

Classless v. Classed is an interesting discussion.

As Knaight pointed out, however, there is no need to go 'classed fantasy' - a classless system can still work, as long as you avoid overcomplication.

Both class-based systems and classless systems can work, so the simplest compromise may be a "build your own class" system - work out a formula for creating a character 'class', then make some character classes. Then release the formula to narrators.

This approach is essentially some way in between pure point-buy and pure protected roles (think AD&D, where certain actions are utterly exclusive to certain classes - I'm sure there are many free climbers around today who are thrilled that D&D once branded them 'thieves'). It allows some customisation, but also offers decent game balance (as all characters of a given level have access to the same things).

A less 'class-based version' which is still functionally identical is to have character levels and a skill list. The number of available skills varies with level, and each skill also increases in level with the character (so you can either have the skill or not - most skills don't have ranks or anything like that). IIRC, the Palladium rpg (it was called something like that) could be spun into this system.

[Ichneumon]

Classless v. Classed is an interesting discussion.

As Knaight pointed out, however, there is no need to go 'classed fantasy' - a classless system can still work, as long as you avoid overcomplication.

Both class-based systems and classless systems can work, so the simplest compromise may be a "build your own class" system - work out a formula for creating a character 'class', then make some character classes. Then release the formula to narrators.

This might be the best way to create classes anyway, so they are all balanced. True20 does it like that, and as far as I can see it works.

[mikeejimbo]

Because he wants a class based fantasy game and a classless sci-fi game?

Ah, therein lies the challenge! Don't game designers like a good challenge?

[Pie Guy]

Lets just say that certain TV channel decided to make a "cool" name change to appeal to a "younger audience". Pronounce Syfy out loud, it comes to Sci-fi. Or you pronounce it as sci-fee. As a member of that younger audience, I view this as an idiotic and pointless name change, and will be calling it sci-fee channel to make a point. Of course, I'm also against text messaging far more than most people I know.

Well, you can't copyright "Sci-Fi", it's been around before them. But they can copyright "Syfy" but it's a stupid name. It's that or rebranding though.

[deuxhero]

Depends. Will fantasy plagiarize Tolkien? Will Sci-fi plagiarize Roddenberry and/or Lucas?

(Note:not accusing anyone of anything, but most settings wind up doing so)

[Leeham]

Thanks for the input. So, sci-fi it is. I actually didn't expect people to react like this actually.

[Kaihaku]

So, I've been writing up some homebrew RP rules and they're pretty vague right now. I have some good ideas to make for both a sci-fi system and a fantasy one, but i can't decide wich one to devote my efforts to. Anybody want to help me decide? Thanks in advance :smallbiggrin:

An alternative option would be a Fantasy system in a Modern rather than Medieval context. Of course, it's hard to say how different how society would be if Technology and Magic developed as one (imagine something like Steampunk taken to a much higher level).