I Need a Rule System to Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

[MukkTB]

My group is interested in playing in a space opera setting. What game system would be good for this? The last time we ran science fiction we had a D20 Modern and Future book. It worked OK. However I regularly hear a lot of dislike for D20 which implies some other system does this way better.

The only other system I'm aware of is Traveler. But I haven't read any Traveler rule books. Are there other popular systems? What are the arguments for or against whatever systems exist?

[Man on Fire]

Try universal rule systems, like GURPS or Savage Worlds. If you aim to original Star Trek and Star Wars territory, SW should do just fine.

[Yora]

Star Wars Saga is similar to d20 Future in many respects, but a huge improvement! I've never heard anyone claiming d20 modern to be actually good, but there's a number of people who think SW Saga is the best d20 game there is.

[The Troubadour]

I've always been a fan of the old Star Wars D6 system. The only problem you might have is that the difficulty levels increase by multiples of 5, which doesn't lend itself so well for a d6, but there are a couple of easy fixes for that.

[Blackfang108]

I've always been a fan of the old Star Wars D6 system. The only problem you might have is that the difficulty levels increase by multiples of 5, which doesn't lend itself so well for a d6, but there are a couple of easy fixes for that.

I miss my wookie.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Well, I'm pretty sure any system that has rules for sneaking lets you get into the women's restroom... :smalltongue:

[Fatebreaker]

The old West End Games Star Wars d6 system (3rd Edition, if you can get it) is a great system. It's easy to learn, easy to run, and nicely open-ended. It also has the benefit of being able to run "off the cuff" for when the party inevitably does something unexpected. It offers options galore. It's very customizable. If you scratch the names off everything, there's very little that ties it specifically to Star Wars, so you can use it for just about any setting you like. And it's easy enough to run out of just the core book. You don't really need anything else (though other books have a lot to offer, if you find the system to your liking). It's a shame that West End Games bit the dust. They made a fine game.

The Dark Heresy line (and its brothers Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, and Black Crusade) are also a hoot, but they're very much designed for the universe they portray. Rogue Trader would probably be your best bet, since it's focused on spaceships.

[LibraryOgre]

As has been mentioned, I like the d6 Space system for Space Opera. It's simple, it's free (drivethru rpg), and it's compatible with a lot of the old Star Wars material.

[mathemagician]

You might also check out Burning Empires.

[Man on Fire]

The Dark Heresy line (and its brothers Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, and Black Crusade) are also a hoot, but they're very much designed for the universe they portray.

And if somebody want to see if Dark Heresy can be made to work in different settings and if it's worth it, he should check out this (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Adeptus_Evangelion) or this (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Mobile_Suit_Mechanicus).

[hamlet]

My group is interested in playing in a space opera setting. What game system would be good for this? The last time we ran science fiction we had a D20 Modern and Future book. It worked OK. However I regularly hear a lot of dislike for D20 which implies some other system does this way better.

The only other system I'm aware of is Traveler. But I haven't read any Traveler rule books. Are there other popular systems? What are the arguments for or against whatever systems exist?

What kind of Space Opera were you thinking of running? It really matters since the various types of systems offer different experiences.

In addition to what's been mentioned, I'll mention Alternity's StarDrive setting, which I personally think is great.

There's James M.'s Thousand Suns game, which is quite good.

Troll Lord Games put out Star Seige: Event Horizon, which is a great toolkit.

But in the end, it really dpeends on what you're looking for in game experience. If you want something like Star Wars, I'd say pick up WOTC D20 Star Wars Revised (not Saga, I don't care for it). Star Trek? There are several Star Trek systems of varying degrees of goodness.

Heck, there's even a BSG game using Cortex rules (which are, as I read them, a version of Alternity's rules, but hey . . .).

What are you looking for in the game?

[Jayabalard]

My group is interested in playing in a space opera setting. What game system would be good for this? The last time we ran science fiction we had a D20 Modern and Future book. It worked OK. However I regularly hear a lot of dislike for D20 which implies some other system does this way better.

The only other system I'm aware of is Traveler. But I haven't read any Traveler rule books. Are there other popular systems? What are the arguments for or against whatever systems exist?

I've heard really good stuff about Transhuman space (http://www.sjgames.com/transhuman/), which is based off of GURPS.

GURPS has several other flavors of space (For example, they have a lensman specific setting book, though I don't know how good it is)

[hamlet]

GURPS has several other flavors of space (For example, they have a lensman specific setting book, though I don't know how good it is)

Not terribly. Though not horrible.

[Bagelson]

I can't see that anyone's mentioned FATE yet, so I'll toss in a few. Diaspora is a hard sci-fi FATE game, perhaps not the best if you want opera flavour. Starblazer Adventures is a little more action oriented (free preview at rpgnow.com). Bulldogs! is the most approachable and lightest version, barely clocking 160 pages; it's what you want for cowboys in space.

[Autolykos]

I've heard really good stuff about Transhuman space (http://www.sjgames.com/transhuman/), which is based off of GURPS.

GURPS has several other flavors of space (For example, they have a lensman specific setting book, though I don't know how good it is)
Transhuman Space is good, but it's not Space Opera. It's more "ten minutes in the future" hard sci-fi (fits very well with the setting in Stanislaw Lem's novels).
If you want to do Star Wars, Ultra-Tech is the way to go. "Space" and "Psionics" are also nice to have, at least for 3e. I don't know the 4e books on this topic, so I can't tell if they're any good - but the 4e of GURPS is one of the very few RPG updates that does not suck; they only fixed what was broken and left the rest alone.

[gkathellar]

Always, without exception, consider Wushu Open. Whenever you have a campaign idea, think to yourself: "would this be a good game to run with Wushu Open? Do I have the right group to play Wushu Open?"

If it is and you do, play Wushu Open.

Also, anything involving Cyberpunk should be played with Eclipse Phase, full stop, because it's basically Ghost in the Shell IN SPACE!

[R00kie]

I've heard really good stuff about Transhuman space (http://www.sjgames.com/transhuman/), which is based off of GURPS.

Transhuman space is great - but 'Space Opera' it most definitely is not.

When I think of Space Opera I think of games like Bulldogs, Starblazer Adventures, Star Frontiers, Space Master, and Buck Rogers (the old TSR game).

Transhuman Space falls into the hard or near-hard sci-fi camp.

[Severus]

I'm a fan of the Hero system. I think it is far, far better than GURPS if you're looking for a generic flexible system that is detailed.

It is, however, complicated and perhaps not best if you aren't a systems geek.

[Mando Knight]

If you want something like Star Wars, I'd say pick up WOTC D20 Star Wars Revised (not Saga, I don't care for it).

Heresy.

If you want something more Macross, though, I'd recommend finding Mekton Zeta.

[hamlet]

Heresy.


:smalltongue:Until the Inquisition comes and tells me otherwise, I'll keep saying that the revised edition was better.

And, hell, this is a rare occurance, a semi-grognard saying that the D20 version is better than the WEG D6 version.

Even still, I think Alternity is the best of the lot for Space Opera.

[jaybird]

I second Rogue Trader - tons of fun.

[Jayabalard]

Transhuman Space is good, but it's not Space Opera. It's more "ten minutes in the future" hard sci-fi (fits very well with the setting in Stanislaw Lem's novels).
If you want to do Star Wars, Ultra-Tech is the way to go. "Space" and "Psionics" are also nice to have, at least for 3e. I don't know the 4e books on this topic, so I can't tell if they're any good - but the 4e of GURPS is one of the very few RPG updates that does not suck; they only fixed what was broken and left the rest alone.It really depends on what he means by space opera; people use it to mean a wide vareity of sci-fi (or even hemi-demi-quasi-sci-fi)

[Knaight]

It really depends on what he means by space opera; people use it to mean a wide vareity of sci-fi (or even hemi-demi-quasi-sci-fi)

It's usually used for fantasy-in-space, when one doesn't want to use the term sci-fi. Take Star Wars/Trek/Gate, which isn't science fiction by any reasonable definition, but where the term Space Opera fits perfectly.

[hamlet]

It's usually used for fantasy-in-space, when one doesn't want to use the term sci-fi. Take Star Wars/Trek/Gate, which isn't science fiction by any reasonable definition, but where the term Space Opera fits perfectly.

Actually, early Star Trek was fairly hard Sci-Fi, for its time.

Later versions, though, got softer and softer until DS9 basically threw up its hands and declared itself fantasy in some regards.

One might argue it was improved by that . . .