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View Full Version : Any good Sci-Fi DnD supplements? [3.5]



Axolotl
2011-01-28, 02:57 PM
Essentially I just want to ask the question in the thread title. Are there any decent rules for science fiction style games based on the 3.5 ruleset?

And before anyone asks why I want to twist the 3.5 system instead of just playing an actual Sci-Fi RPG it's because I'm fairly proficient with the system, it has more stuff that I can use than any other system I know of and it fits the playstyle I want.

Now of the actual supplements I've got access to D20 Future has some useful rules but suffers from being based on the D20 modern system which I'm not a big fan of (I don't like the generic classes for a start) and it's just not very good as a whole.

I've also got Dragonstar which I like but it's just DnD but with a higher tech level whereas what I want is actual science fiction not just Fantasy in space, I'm fine with some "magic" as long as it's based on science fiction books/films and not just fantasy magic ported into space.

Squark
2011-01-28, 02:59 PM
Well, there is Star Wars Saga Edition, but that's, well, Star Wars.

Hammerhead
2011-01-28, 03:31 PM
The closest thing that comes to mind is Starjammer, but it epitomized Fantasy... IN SPACE! and only got about half a conversion to 3e anyway.

You might want to check out BESM or Mutants and Masterminds. Neither would be well suited to hard scifi, but they can both incorporate some of the pulpy soft scifi archetypes into a d20 game.

Axolotl
2011-01-28, 04:05 PM
Well, there is Star Wars Saga Edition, but that's, well, Star Wars.I could probably use Star Wars as a base, I'm fine with psychic type stuff since that's a staple of Sci-Fi. Whats the system like? I mean how compatable is it with most other 3.5 based books? What are the classes like?

Ravens_cry
2011-01-28, 05:26 PM
Mytans and Masterminds is pretty good, though (for someone used to level based systems) complicated. D20 Future is all over the sci-fi flavour and its in the SRD, (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/msrd) which is nice. How good it is, I can't say, as I have not played it.

Lord Loss
2011-01-28, 05:33 PM
The closest thing that comes to mind is Starjammer, but it epitomized Fantasy... IN SPACE! and only got about half a conversion to 3e anyway.


I think you mean Spelljammer. The 3.5 conversion can be found here (http://www.spelljammer.org/).

lightningcat
2011-01-28, 05:47 PM
Dragonstar is Sci-Fi D&D.

Galatic empire ruled by dragons.
Drow secret police.
Dwarven astroid miners.
Computerized scrolls.
Orcs wearing power armor.
Starships using teleport to move FTL.

Alas, it uses the 3.0 ruleset. Although I'm sure you can find (or make) a conversion.

EDIT: Dragonstar is by Fantasy Flight Games, and is still availible as PDFs at least.

Clepto
2011-01-28, 07:21 PM
Star Wars Saga Edition might work, but it's not my favorite. I preferred the previous version myself, but mostly because I owned almost all of the books, and I still have the Star Wars Insider issues that had supplements. Unfortunately, it's based off of D&D 3.0 rather than 3.5.

Saga Edition is a pretty solid game though. Most of the crunch is similar, if a little bit different. They made some mechanical changes, most of which I agree with, though I'm still not sure about using my Reflex save in lieu of AC. All in all, if you're familiar with 3.5, it's REALLY easy to get into Saga Edition.

Except for one more problem. At the end of last year, WotC elected not to renew their license with Lucasfilm for it (or Lucasfilm revoked it, I'm not exactly sure). It's pretty much officially Out of Print now, though you may be able to find odd copies here and there. I know a couple of local bookstores around here have a couple, and one at my FLGS, so it depends on your area I guess. Amazon has them, I'm sure. Even though the license thing happened at the beginning of 2010, I think the license didn't actually expire until somewhere in the 3rd or 4th quarter last year, so some distributors may still be able to acquire them.

Steveotep
2011-01-28, 08:56 PM
Trinity and Fading Suns both have D20 versions.