Mass Effect?

[Greymane]

Hello fellow Playgrounders. While talking with a few of my friends we've found that a few of us would really like to give sci-fi a shot in our games for once. A few settings have popped up. Star Wars? A definite possibility. We even have a few SWSE books that have yet to see use.

However, a few others popped up that we thought would be fun. Namely, Mass Effect and Starcraft. We all liked the games, but we're unaware if either of them have an extension into Tabletop.

That said, I wanted to ask all of you if anyone knew anything about either of those settings have a Tabletop game? And if not, which system would be best to use? We may just end up homebrewing a ton for d20 Future, on account that we don't really want to break out and learn an entirely new system, but we're open to suggestions all the same. I should note we primarily play D&D 3.5.

tl;dr, What game systems would best be used for settings like Mass Effect and/or Starcraft?

[Aroka]

GURPS both works best for scifi, and is the best for scifi. That is to say, out of all genres, GURPS does scifi best, and out of all games for scifi, GURPS is best.

There's Traveller. It's a very simple game in many ways, and there's a big focus on military stuff. The weapons and crafts and other technology are very setting-specific, though - I don't think I've seen any other settings or games with sandcasters, for instance. But it seems like it'd work for Starcraft.

Star Wars Saga Edition would probably be easy to convert; I mean, Mass Effect was pretty much a refluffed KotOR to begin with. Drop the Jedi and call the Force powers Biotics. d20 Modern with d20 Future might work, too.

[Hawriel]

No Mass Effect is not a refluffed KOTOR. Not in the least. I have no idea how you can come up with that.


Mutants & Masterminds is a very good system for doing your own thing with. It is defalted for super heros, but it's easy to ignore that. The system is D20 but is made very maluable. The superpowers in the book can be refluffed for any thing. The writers incerage it. It's perfect for biotics.

WEG (RIP) D6 Space is another system that would fit well. D6 Space is sci fi rules for any thing you want. The space ship building guide is detaled yet modular for doing just about any thing you want.

[FelixG]

I would recommend CORTEX for your game, especially as alot of the work is done for you!

http://masseffectcortex.wikia.com/wi...ffect_RPG_Wiki

Also Hawriel can you PM information to me as to where to find D6 space? i have never heard of it and would like to check it out

[Satyr]

D6 Space is nowadays a free system, and it was based on the best take on a Star Wars RPG ever made; besides, there is a fan-made conversion of Mass Effect for it. This is probably the cheapest solution, and also the one with the best price/performance ratio.

Personally, however I would prefer either Gurps (if you want to make it a bit more scientific and exact) or All Flesh Must Be Eaten + All Tomorow Zombies (if you want to make it more space opera).

[Aroka]

No Mass Effect is not a refluffed KOTOR. Not in the least. I have no idea how you can come up with that.

By playing ME and KOTOR1 and KOTOR2? Rubber-face aliens, blue chicks, Force push... same game, they just took out the lightsabers and gave you a lot of guns. You've got the space councils and space cantinas, the terrible dark enemy, awkward love interests, all same stuff.

[FelixG]

so a completly different universe, completly different aliens, different weapons, ships, ect ect, ect

with a different plot...but made by the same game company makes them a rehash of the same game? righty then!

[Bharg]

so a completly different universe, completly different aliens, different weapons, ships, ect ect, ect

with a different plot...but made by the same game company makes them a rehash of the same game? righty then!

You forgot to mention the different gameplay... ME is kind of a RTS.

[The Glyphstone]

By playing ME and KOTOR1 and KOTOR2? Rubber-face aliens, blue chicks, Force push... same game, they just took out the lightsabers and gave you a lot of guns. You've got the space councils and space cantinas, the terrible dark enemy, awkward love interests, all same stuff.

Sounds like KOTOR is just a refluffed Deep Space Nine then. It's got rubber-face aliens, lots of guns, a space cantina, a terrible dark enemy, awkward love interests....I guess the shapeshifter guy could be a blue chick if he wanted to? Kidding

[veovius]

You forgot to mention the different gameplay... ME is kind of a RTS.

Real Time Strategy? More like a 3rd person shooter. Well, the 2nd one is, anyways. I seem to remember the shooting in the first one had a lot more behind-the-scenes dicerolling, but it's been a long time.

[Project_Mayhem]

Star Wars Saga Edition would probably be easy to convert; I mean, Mass Effect was pretty much a refluffed KotOR to begin with. Drop the Jedi and call the Force powers Biotics. d20 Modern with d20 Future might work, too.

Drop the Jedi and call the Force powers Biotics

Drop the Jedi

Jedi

You mean the defining part of Star Wars that everyone seems to focus on and are probably the best recognised part of the series?

In other news, real life is just Interview with a Vampire without the Vampires, and I'm basically Eric Clapton with out the musical genius

[Bharg]

Real Time Strategy? More like a 3rd person shooter. Well, the 2nd one is, anyways. I seem to remember the shooting in the first one had a lot more behind-the-scenes dicerolling, but it's been a long time.

Whoops! I meant something like a Real Time Shooter... I guess something like TPS may be right...

[mr.fizzypop]

I've seen two Savage Worlds conversions for mass effect. Here's one of them...

Whoops! I meant something like a Real Time Shooter... I guess something like TPS may be right...

Mass Effect is more of a half watered-down shooter and half watered-down rpg.

[Thinker]

Mass Effect is totally Star Wars (SPECTRE = Jedi, Biotics = Force). The similarities are uncanny and if you don't believe it, you're just fooling yourself. The plot could be any generic SW plot. Even the galaxy is aligned very similarly.
Also, Dragon Age is just Star Wars in a medieval setting (Grey Warden = Jedi, Magic = Force). Bioware doesn't know how to do anything but Star Wars.

[Siosilvar]

Bioware doesn't know how to do anything but Star Wars.

What were Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights then?

[Optimystik]

You can do the biotic/tech powers in d20 with the Recharge Magic system. The guns... not so much.

I guess I'm not being very helpful. I <3 Mass Effect?

[The Rose Dragon]

What were Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights then?

Well, spirit monks were Jedi, and the martial arts and magic and transformation were the Force.

And in Neverwinter Nights...

I have no idea what Neverwinter Nights was. Frankly, I don't want to know. The plot was so mind-numbingly dull that I don't want to go back to that bleak place.

More importantly, what about MDK 2?

[Optimystik]

I have no idea what Neverwinter Nights was. Frankly, I don't want to know. The plot was so mind-numbingly dull that I don't want to go back to that bleak place.

Screw plot, NWN let you DM a 40-person game. Nothing's forcing you to stick to their prepackaged campaign. It was a great product.

[The Rose Dragon]

Screw plot, NWN let you DM a 40-person game. Nothing's forcing you to stick to their prepackaged campaign. It was a great product.

I don't play multiplayer games, though.

[Optimystik]

I don't play multiplayer games, though.

So that's why I never saw you online

All joking aside, NWN was groundbreaking. I agree that the story was pretty bland (at least the original - HotU was much better), but it was definitely still another notch on Bioware's gun.

[Aroka]

What were Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights then?

Well, Jade Empire was just KOTOR again. NWN is a different deal, though - it's Baldur's Gate with multiplayer (quite possibly the reason they used the name of the original multiplayer D&D game).

And yeah, Dragon Age is, again, KOTOR (but better - the combat system is awesome).

Now if someone would make a game with KOTOR2's NPC discussion (you could actually go light/dark just by talking philosophy with your mates), NWN2's alignment system (more than 2-3 options, and the ability to reach the same conclusion from different premises!), and Dragon Age's combat system...


Seriously, though, the point is that SWSE would be ridiculously easy to convert into a ME RPG.

[Mikeavelli]

When people say keep the mechanics and exchange the fluff, why do people feel the need to point out that the fluff is different? Of course it's different! That's why you're changing it! The mechanics and structure are nearly identical.

Of course, the same charge could be leveled at nearly every story ever, good story structure hasn't changed much in the past thousand years or so.

What were Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights then?

Jade Empire was awesome, that's what Jade Empire was.

[shadow_archmagi]

Bioware doesn't know how to do anything but Star Wars.

On the contrary, Bioware started with Baldur's Gate. Bioware doesn't know how to do anything but D&D.

Now, because I enjoy the "vague-it-until-identical" game, let's compare Mass Effect and Kotor.

In Knights of the Old Republic, the player is a soldier who is then trained as an elite warrior-diplomat charged with protecting the Republic and is given missions by a wise council. The main villain is a former member of this elite group too. The player travels between several worlds, and uncovers ancient artifacts that give them visions. The visions point the way to an enormous droid factory. The droid factory wiped out the last empire, and could destroy the current Republic as well if it were allowed to exist. It's also extremely evil, and anyone who goes near it slowly becomes evil too. There's also an awkward choose-your-own-adventure romance, and the player has like eighteen sidekicks but only two of them are allowed to hang out at the same time.

In Mass Effect, the player is a soldier who is then trained as an elite warrior-diplomat charged with protecting the Republic and is given missions by a wise council. The main villain is a former member of this elite group too. The player travels between several worlds, and uncovers ancient artifacts that give them visions. The visions point the way to an enormous droid. The droid wiped out the last empire, and could destroy the current Republic as well if it were allowed to exist. It's also extremely evil, and anyone who goes near it slowly becomes evil too. There's also an awkward choose-your-own-adventure romance, and the player has like eighteen sidekicks but only two of them are allowed to hang out at the same time.

EDIT: That said, I enjoyed both games.

[Aroka]

Just because a story is unoriginal doesn't mean it's no good. Indeed, there are very few original stories by now. (Avatar is Pocahontas is Dances With Wolves is... you get the drift.) Some tropes are just more popular than others.

Check out The Belgariad/The Wheel of Time/Eragon/the original Star Wars films. (Admittedly, all three book series mentioned are awful.)

[Project_Mayhem]

Avatar has a plot now? I didn't notice.

And the point I was trying snidely to make was that you can make almost any two things of a similar genre sound the same if you vague them enough. Star wars has many generic elements. Mass Effect is kind of a send up of the entire genre that Star Wars created. Hence the basic chassis is likely to be similar.

[Optimystik]

Sure Mass Effect was formula, but it's a testament to Bioware's top-notch writing that they created an independent IP that can stand toe-to-toe with their licensed, 30-years-of-established-fanbase work.

[Bharg]

On the contrary, Bioware started with Baldur's Gate. Bioware doesn't know how to do anything but D&D.

Now, because I enjoy the "vague-it-until-identical" game, let's compare Mass Effect and Kotor.

In Knights of the Old Republic, the player is a soldier who is then trained as an elite warrior-diplomat charged with protecting the Republic and is given missions by a wise council. The main villain is a former member of this elite group too. The player travels between several worlds, and uncovers ancient artifacts that give them visions. The visions point the way to an enormous droid factory. The droid factory wiped out the last empire, and could destroy the current Republic as well if it were allowed to exist. It's also extremely evil, and anyone who goes near it slowly becomes evil too. There's also an awkward choose-your-own-adventure romance, and the player has like eighteen sidekicks but only two of them are allowed to hang out at the same time.

In Mass Effect, the player is a soldier who is then trained as an elite warrior-diplomat charged with protecting the Republic and is given missions by a wise council. The main villain is a former member of this elite group too. The player travels between several worlds, and uncovers ancient artifacts that give them visions. The visions point the way to an enormous droid. The droid wiped out the last empire, and could destroy the current Republic as well if it were allowed to exist. It's also extremely evil, and anyone who goes near it slowly becomes evil too. There's also an awkward choose-your-own-adventure romance, and the player has like eighteen sidekicks but only two of them are allowed to hang out at the same time.

EDIT: That said, I enjoyed both games.

Hey, you didn't spoil the main part of the KOTOR story that makes it actually a bit different from ME. I also played both games - one after another. A lot of how the story and game is made up is quite similar, but I think the stories are still unique and very engaging. ME Universe and Gffa are very different and so are the Paragon/Renegade Paths and the Light/Dark Side.

ME 2 was kinda different, though. Liked it even better.
Didn't miss the option to increse my damage another 0,75% with every skillpoint...

[Optimystik]

I agree, Paragon/Renegade has a lot more nuance and a lot less cartoon morality than Light Side/Dark Side.

Paragon is more about Law than Good, just as Renegade is more about Chaos than Evil.

[Bharg]

I also thought they weren't as contradicting...

[shadow_archmagi]

I agree, Paragon/Renegade has a lot more nuance and a lot less cartoon morality than Light Side/Dark Side.

Paragon is more about Law than Good, just as Renegade is more about Chaos than Evil.

Really? Because to be honest, Renegade was unpleasant most of the time, while Paragon was almost invariably good. I remember most dialogue options being like

Paragon: "Let's take him in and throw the book at him. "
Renegade: "Let's beat him up now"
Renegade: "Let's offer him a job"