What are some good systems for science fiction?

[gomipile]

A friend of mine is planning on GMing a Traveller/Firefly style science fiction campaign, and it taking suggestions on what system to use.

He like GURPS, but some of the players are too accustomed to systems like D20 and Heroes which are more forgiving with regards to player death, etc.

So, suggestions, anyone?

[Ozreth]

Star Wars Saga sounds perfect to me. It is a highly praised system (and is d20 so will be comfortable with your group) and you could even use a lot of the weapons/items/whatever in the book and just change the fluff to have them suit your game.

It's kind of a mix of 3.5 and 4e.

Or shadowrun maybe?

[Cespenar]

d20 Future (http://spellbooksoftware.com/d20mrsd/future.html)?

[dsmiles]

Serenity?

and of course...RISUS. Not only is it highly adaptable, and rules-light, it's FREE! :smallbiggrin:

[Xefas]

Burning Empires and Free Market are two systems that will definitely not steer you wrong. The former if you want loads of action and drama. The latter if you want creepy science transhumanist awesome.

[Yora]

Having played d20 modern and future, I think it's a really klunky system. I suppose it works, but if you're picking up a new game anyway, I wouldn't recommend it.

However I do agree that Star Wars Saga works very well for such things. You can easily remove the alien races and everything Force related without creating any holes that would need to be filled. It works perfectly well for a group of normal humans with laser guns. I even used it for normal humans with normal guns, simply reducing weapon damage from 3dX to 2dX.

[The Rose Dragon]

There is Unisystem, which I tend to aggressively suggest to people. I would buy All Tomorrow's Zombies along with All Flesh Must Be Eaten, but I'm sure you can add to that.

There is also Diaspora, which uses FATE, and Rogue Trader, which uses something all Warhammer 40000 games use lately.

[hamlet]

Nothing wrong with using Firefly or Traveller systems to emulate the Firefly or Traveller worlds.

Also, my old standby recommendation for Sci-Fi is Alternity. It does, literally, anything, but needs lots of work sometimes to get it to what you want. It's a proto-universal system that defaults to space opera, but can do just about anything else if you're willing to fiddle with stuff.

[UserClone]

I'm going to go ahead and recommend Lady Blackbird (http://www.onesevendesign.com/ladyblackbird/). I haven't actually played it, but it looks like it's a hoot, and you could easily parlay it into a campaign, or modify it/create your own characters, with a bit of creativity.

Actually, I would go so far as to call it perfect for the type of scenario you have in mind, with an absolute minimum of customization.

[Kylarra]

Space D6 works for this (or WEG's Star Wars using the same engine).

[Odin the Ignoble]

I vote for Hero System. It scales up to interplanetary conflicts better then most games. The rules for damage based on mass, acceleration and other tid bits also make it allot easier to do hard sci-fi well.

[gbprime]

Hero system doesn't do normal people very well, though. When all your stats are 20 or below, the system devolves into multiple choice. IMO anyway.

I don't have the Star Wars Saga system. What's it's advantage over d20 future if you're not using force powers?

[Odin the Ignoble]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

In my experience it does normal people better then any other system. Life sort of is multiple choice. There aren't that many people that are professional bodybuildeers/Olympic sprinters/noble prize winning physicists. But if you try really hard you can be one.

Unless you mean that when you play "normal" people you aren't "heroic". In which case you can change that by playing at the heroic level.

[Psyborg]

Eclipse Phase. Plus, it's released completely under Creative Commons and therefore perfectly legal to download the PDFs from wherever. (Though I certainly hope you'll throw a few bucks their way if you like it.)

[mint]

Star Wars Saga is a kind of excellent. But are you looking for a system that arbitrates combat well or a system that has more stuff that adds to storytelling and roleplaying?

Eclipse Phase is -ing rad. But not for everyone.
Like, they put some thought into rendering a future on the basis of modern technology. Transhumanism, a singularity event, the future of information technology and neuroscience, and stuff.
It is very much not space opera, out of the box. It is gritty, weird, fun and kind of jarring.

[Mando Knight]

I don't have the Star Wars Saga system. What's it's advantage over d20 future if you're not using force powers?

Saga, even after filing off the Star Wars label, is basically d20 Future the way it was meant to be, including some actual first-party support.

[KnightDisciple]

To add another system suggestion (though Star Wars Saga edition sounds like a solid choice), I'd put forth Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition. Just keep the PL a bit lower (5-7 range), and maybe restrict powers more thoroughly. You can make ships without a huge amount of trouble, or even powerpoint investment.

Heck, the Death Star is only 8 Power Points! (http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2198&start=10#p59061) (More HQ/Ships can be found here (http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2198).)

[SurlySeraph]

Another d20-based system that's worth considering is True20; the quickstart (http://true20.com/files/True20_quickstart.pdf) should give you a good idea of whether you're interested in it. Star Wars Saga will probably be the easiest, though.

[gbprime]

I'm looking at taking a group that does pretty much nothing but D+D 3.X and running a hard sci-fi game. (Star Frontiers, only with a skill system that really works.) Anything based off d20 would make the learning curve for the players much easier, but d20 Modern has issues. I'll check Star Wars Saga out, thanks.


I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

In my experience it does normal people better then any other system. Life sort of is multiple choice. There aren't that many people that are professional bodybuildeers/Olympic sprinters/noble prize winning physicists. But if you try really hard you can be one.

Unless you mean that when you play "normal" people you aren't "heroic". In which case you can change that by playing at the heroic level.

Mostly that Hero System doesn't really come alive until you're over the 150 point mark. It's the best system in the universe for superheroes and similar things, but the fewer points you have to work with, the less dynamic the system is.

[Eric Tolle]

I'm looking at taking a group that does pretty much nothing but D+D 3.X and running a hard sci-fi game. (Star Frontiers, only with a skill system that really works.) Anything based off d20 would make the learning curve for the players much easier, but d20 Modern has issues. I'll check Star Wars Saga out, thanks.

In that case, I'll echo the recommendation for True20. It's basically 3.X reduced down to three general classes, a damage-save mechanic instead of hit points, and a lot of flexibility. I find it easy to make any character from Jedi Knights to Dominic Flandry. You can also find the complete set of rules in one inexpensive volume now.

[UserClone]

Also, there's only 1 die type involved, so it's very easy to determine ad-hoc bonuses and penalties. Yep, True20's a solid choice of system.

[Eric Tolle]

Also, there's only 1 die type involved, so it's very easy to determine ad-hoc bonuses and penalties. Yep, True20's a solid choice of system.

I would honestly consider it the best system to come out of the D20 era. It's not perfect, but it is a sweet game.

[gbprime]

Good feedback, thanks. I'll check out True20 as well.