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2021-03-31, 09:52 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2017
Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
No magic, human/earth centric with some colonised planets, not too crazy technology.
Something like a Star Trek or battlestar galactica rpg. Anything particularly good out there ?Awesome custom avatar made by Ceika
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2021-03-31, 10:09 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2020
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Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
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2021-03-31, 10:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2014
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
There's quite a bit out there that would work. What type of system are you looking for and are you planning on using an existing setting or building your own?
Just off the top of my head:
Traveller
Stars without Number
The Expanse
Cepheus
Blue Planet
Battlestar Galactica
Firefly
FATE, GURPS, Savage Worlds, etc. could also work.
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2021-03-31, 11:34 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
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- In my library
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Crazy as in plausible, or crazy as in significantly changes how society works? I'm assuming you mean the latter.
Traveller, TL 9-10 no superscience GURPS, Fate with the Space Toolkit, and Savage Worlds with the Science Fiction Companion, Modern AGE/The Expanse, a decent number of licenced games, and possibly some indie stuff all spring to mind. Maybe Scum and Villainy, it's default aesthetics are pretty far future but you could always dial that back without affecting the rules.
Knowing what sort of crunch level and where you'd rather be on the narrative-world simulation scale would be useful to help make relevant suggestions. GURPs thinks it's important you know how fast your hyperdrive is, Fate suggests you abstract it to the lines of 'you can move a few parsecs a day' unless it's vitally important (if it even matters at all). Jump Drive sppeds are vital in Traveller, because it's potentially the only downtime you get to study Skills.
I've not fully read the technology chapter yet, but it seems to tend towards relatively grounded. Lifestyles aren't going to differ much from 21st century unless they've regressed and not returned yet, and I believe the setting uses an aristocracy but I haven't finished the book yet. It would definitely work though, although there's no Earth in the setting (well there is, but the wormholes/portals back to it have been destroyed).
Actually, Coriolis is probably not worth pursuing if you don't want the setting, It's not that the mechanics are bad, but most of the book is setting and the mechanics are probably about average and actually assume widespread religion (because regularly praying gives mechanical benefits).
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2021-03-31, 04:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2021
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Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Stars Without Number would work really well for that, it would need a little adjusting but nothing too crazy.
Modern AGE would likely work for this as well."Never tell me the odds!"
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2021-03-31, 05:42 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
I find your optimism for what the world will look like in a few hundred years refreshing.
How do you feel about Transhumanity in your RPG?
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2021-03-31, 07:25 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Location
- In my library
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Yeah, my first thoughts on seeing the title eye Transhuman Space and Eclipse Phase, particularly the Fate hack for the latter. But not everybody's comfortable with Transhumanism, so I stuck to more traditional SF.
Also Mindjammer, but that's just because I'm reading the book. It's setting is another millennia or so ahead of what the OP asked for, and does little you couldn't incorporate with just the Fate Core book.
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2021-04-01, 05:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
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- Switzerland
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Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Ooh, there's a FATE hack for Eclipse Phase?
Resident Vancian Apologist
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2021-04-01, 07:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2009
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- In my library
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
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2021-04-01, 01:09 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
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2021-04-01, 02:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Location
- In my library
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Eclipse Phase has a few issues with character creation and gearing, including starting with an enhanced morph being a trap option (it costs CP that you don't get back if you move to a less costly morph, which could happen as you might not be spending so much CP on Cred and Rep), and characters who bother buying gear basically taking a trap option compared to people who buy blueprints. Oh, the core system is solid, and character building works even if it is overly complicated, but Transhumanity's Fatte has small tweaks such as Morphs costing Refresh, which you get back if you have to move to a less costly morph.
I mean, other than the character creation stuff and simplification, it's not better just different. But those things like not needing to track Blueprints versus gear, and having a vastly smaller Skill list makes it more accessible.
Although I suspect EP2 might be better designed, it certainly looked that way in previews, I've not actually read it yet. It has, I believe, sadly retained CP costs for Morphs instead of just bumling up the additional Flex from low end morphs to make them more competitive.
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2021-04-01, 04:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2015
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Beyond character creation the actual core mechanical setup for Eclipse Phase is just not great. d100 roll-under with comparative determinations and a weird system for counting doubles is just overly wonky. It's the kind of mechanic designed to be run using a calculation program, not by actually rolling dice. Even more broadly the setting of Eclipse Phase is extremely complex and overstuffed - because the design team looked at all the big ideas in the last two decades of highly speculative science fiction and decided their setting needed to use all of them - and paring it with a complex system imposes very high barriers to entry, especially to people who haven't read any of the source material in question.
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2021-04-02, 07:30 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Location
- In my library
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Nah, unless I'm very much misremembering the mechanics the most unusual thing about them is that they start from 0 instead of 1. But d%, roll under, high is good, doubles are special is pretty normal. Heck they even designed it so that you never have to subtract to find out if your roll failed.
It's everything sounds that system that gets problematic, like the massive skill list and the fact that resleeving requires you to recalculate every one of them.
Even more broadly the setting of Eclipse Phase is extremely complex and overstuffed - because the design team looked at all the big ideas in the last two decades of highly speculative science fiction and decided their setting needed to use all of them - and paring it with a complex system imposes very high barriers to entry, especially to people who haven't read any of the source material in question.
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2021-04-02, 07:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2017
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- Inner Palace, Holy Terra
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Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Guardsmen, hear me! Cadia may lie in ruin, but her proud people do not! For each brother and sister who gave their lives to Him as martyrs, we will reap a vengeance fiftyfold! Cadia may be no more, but will never be forgotten; our foes shall tremble in fear at the name, for their doom shall come from the barrels of Cadian guns, fired by Cadian hands! Forward, for vengeance and retribution, in His name and the names of our fallen comrades!
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2021-04-02, 09:31 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2019
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Infinity 2d20, by modiphius, the same people who makes the new Conan and star trek. If you are looking for a plausible near future, it's hard to do better. There is a few aliens races but they play a relatively small role and most human have never been in contact with one. Humanity established colonies on other planets and a few superpowers have emerged. War is rare because it's incredibly expensive to wage war in space and on other planets, so they prefer to **** with each other's in small an discreet actions. Resurrection technology allow people memory and conscience to be transferred in another body in case of death, but the ressource needed is rare and it's trade and use highly controlled to insure fair access to resurrection and prevent both large scale war between factions but also social class wars.
in terms of system it's fairly good, it has a triple aspect system, based on combat, social and hacking, and since they all work on the same general principle they aren't separated. You can use social actions or hacking actions in combat to great effect for example.
one of it's strong point is the design of weapons and tech, it's varied and effective, and it push players to use a variety of equipment and weapons.
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2021-04-03, 02:55 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2016
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
GU.RPS would be my go to. I find it works best in contemporary or near contemporary setting.
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2021-04-03, 07:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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- 30.2672° N, 97.7431° W
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Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
The Buck Rogers RPG would work
"Sleeping late might not be a virtue, but it sure aint no vice. The old saw about the early bird and the worm just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed."
- L. Long
I think, therefore I get really, really annoyed at people who won't.
"A plucky band of renegade short-order cooks fighting the Empire with the power of cheap, delicious food and a side order of whup-ass."
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2021-04-09, 07:19 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2018
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Any true nasty dystopian RPG would do. mad max themed. Dying world, lack of resources, tribal fights and all that good fun stuff.
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2021-04-16, 01:56 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2006
- Location
- Protecting my Horde (yes, I mean that kind)
Re: Best system for a game set a few hundred years in our future?
Depending on how action-adventure you want your game Mutants & Masterminds works great. I created most of the cast of Battlestar Galactica in 2E M&M as well as TNG's cast. Did the ships too, that was fun. Borg for example was a remote mind control character with a high level of telepathy limited to assimilated drones. So, it literally didn't matter how many drones got dropped you couldn't beat the Borg.