Mass Effect Games

[russdm]

I am wondering if there is going to be a tabletop roleplaying game for this, and if not, how exactly one would go about making one up. I have enjoyed the games quite a bit and want to try playing in a new way.

I have D&D stuff, the 20th anvis. Edition of Shadowrun, and the Edge of the Empire beta available to use. I can acquire other systems if i spend the money, plus i know wushu.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Of those, Shadowrun will probably get you closest to the feel you want.

However, I'd always recommend Spirit of the Century these days. It's designed for a Pulp Action/Adventure setting slightly after the turn of the century, but it's pretty simple to change up the skills and adjust the stunts to make a version that's customized to the world you want. If you're not afraid of a little homebrew it gives you a nicely flexible, story-and-character drive system with a fast resolution mechanic.

Just maybe give people a few more stunts as the game progresses to represent the improving abilities, and you'll have a great system.

If you want more of a combat focus (SotC doesn't really have many tactical combat rules: it's more rules-light than many other systems), Shadowrun or GURPS might be helpful to you.

[Kiero]

We've just wrapped up another stint of Mass: the Effecting, a conversion for nWoD that works very well.

You can listen to podcasts of actual play on our site. We're playing Penumbra Securities, an "ethical" mercenary company.

[Yora]

I think Star Wars Saga is perfect for that. All you need is to make new races and rework the Jedi class into an Adapt and adjust some Force Powers to Biotic Powers.

[Hunter Noventa]

Shadowrun does seem the most ready to adapt if you ask me. Hacking is a thing in ME and SR, Biotics is just more limited magic.

[LibraryOgre]

D6 is free, and there's existing conversions for Mass Effect out there, but if you're more familiar with others, go with them. I was working on SW conversion, but I haven't played anything in months, much less worked on a conversion.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I feel like Traveller could do this as well. Pretty well, too, I don't think you'd really need to change anything, would you? It's a streamlined skills-based game (2d6, add stat and skill, get an 8 or higher) with interstellar travel and gritty combat...and psionics. Pretty fast and flexible, and the lifepath character creation does a good job of bringing the setting alive.

I'd say it's generic enough to be adaptable to the ME setting, but flavorful enough to inspire characters.

[russdm]

I have played Traveller and i found it not really fun. The game of traveller i was in broke apart because half of the party wanted to do stuff to pay off our ship that was simple, while the gm wanted to run another adventure that i and another player found interesting. So the party broke in half and the game was ruined.

Have not played shadowrun, but the saga idea seems interesting. I was kinda of hoping that Bioware had did a "dragonage" thing, since there is a roleplaying system made for the rpg computer game. I think i may toy with the saga or shadowrun stuff, but given that our gaming rarely plays anything outside D&D 3.5/5th playtest, it might not happen.

[Acanous]

well, Mass Effect was built from the same stuff as Knights of the Old Republic, so I imagine that a Star Wars game could serve very well as a Mass Effect starting point.

[russdm]

I guess I will look more into it.