The Gaming Den

Do people here like SF RPGs? I'm into them, not much for fantasy games.

I know of no SF RPGs that are good, but would like to see one.

I heard on another forum people discussed some SFRPGs here.

Eclipse Phase is kinda cool. Not the sort of thing I'd play, but the book's got pretty nice ideas.

I wish that there were a better selection of sci-fi RPGs on the market.

We do talk about all RPG games here, so if you have a favorite that you'd like to talk about, people will be interested. Mostly we've broken down sci-f games like Eclipse Phase or Rifts and talked about their mechanics (or lack).

When we want to play SciFi games we generally use Shadowrun 4 for the mechanics and cut the magic stuff out (or turn some of the magic stuff to psionics if psionics are in).

When I do sci-fi games my group usually just goes with Magic Tea Party. Figuring out rules for the hive mind of psychic crystals or energy shielding that can get focused in various directions at the cost of weaknesses elsewhere would be way too much work, and no obvious existing systems lend themselves running a UN peacekeeping fleet in space.

Red Lantern wrote:Do people here like SF RPGs? I'm into them, not much for fantasy games.

Does Star Wars count as sci-fi? I'll understand if you say 'no'.

Star Wars pretty much ignores all the problems technology might bring to the game so it might as well be reflavored fantasy.

SciFi is a chore to do right with security, surveilance, communications, information gathering, social media for christs sake so I'm not surprised there are no good SciFi games.

Wasn't Eclipse Phase the one where you got like 1000 points at chargen to shuffle around? That is pretty much another reason why SciFi will suck. It's easier to just play an you computer I'd guess.

I have some fondness for the Ringworld RPG because of the setting. And in terms of computer RPGs I liked KotOR and Mass Effect well enough.

But in general no, I prefer fantasy and superhero RPGs where you're allowed -- nay, expected -- to beat up bad guys with (almost) no repercussions.

Rawbeard wrote:Star Wars pretty much ignores all the problems technology might bring to the game so it might as well be reflavored fantasy.

SciFi is a chore to do right with security, surveilance, communications, information gathering, social media for christs sake so I'm not surprised there are no good SciFi games.

It's not that bad if you have a "universe" that everyone is familiar with (from a movie or book) and keep the rules abstract to a point.

The WEG Star Wars is my favorite game that I have never had a campaign come together in. People here hate it less than anything else I can think of.

I remember liking the Star Trek RPG when I read it, but that was before I had good judgement. It did have a really good technobabble generator.

Traveller is balanced about like Eve online: no matter what you do, Concord will still destroy you.

I've actually heard good things about TORG, but I don't believe them.

The StarShield RPG was really intriguing. I don't know if you can find it anymore though.

Ex Machina seems really cool, but since I can't convince people to play it with me, I haven't been arsed to really look at the rules too deeply.

fectin wrote:The WEG Star Wars is my favorite game that I have never had a campaign come together in. People here hate it less than anything else I can think of.

I like Star Wars d6 and play semi-regularly in a campaign that has been off and on since 1995. I only play with a core group of folks, though, because the d6 system, by its very nature, requires a crapload of houserules and MTP.

Game On,
fbmf

I enjoy Fading Suns, but it has serious issues.
The problem really is that there are no good SF games that handle the mechanics well. Also, SF just opens up so many mini game cans of worms. Medicine, Space Travel, Computers, AI, genetic manipulation, cybernetics, bioengineering. FTL, STL FTL communications.

Eclipse Phase is not a good game. It is not even a good setting. However, it has a bunch of genuinely insightful elements in its mechanics and setting to the point that I really want to like it.

I strongly encourage people who want to write a science fiction game to purchase a legit copy of Eclipse Phase and read it in its entirety before proceeding. There are a lot of really good ideas that you will want to steal. And also a bunch of abject lessons you need to learn from.

-Username17

That's exactly it. EP was worth purchasing even though I'd laugh at the suggestion of actually trying to run it.

It's really kind of sad that as far as I know, there aren't any excellent SF RPGs out there.

EDIT: general question:
What kind of Science Fiction would your hypothetical dream SFRPG emulate?
EDIT2: actually, this might be a big enough question for its own thread...

I enjoy Traveller's 2300AD hard sci-fi setting and am working to get a new game going. I've recently taken up TechNoir which is a cyberpunk/post-modern/detective noir game and Corporation which is a sleeper far-future post-cyberpunk game.

I ran a CthulhuTech game last year which is a Cthulhian fantasy-horror/near-future anime influenced war game. While not strictly science-fiction it was enjoyable in the same general way people enjoy Shadowrun.

None of the games I've listed are perfect but they've scratched the itch.

Spinoff thread:
http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=291737

Red Lantern wrote:I heard on another forum people discussed some SFRPGs here.

If I may ask, what forum was this that directed you here, never entirely sure how well known the Gaming Den actually is.

Wesley Street wrote:I ran a CthulhuTech game last year which is a Cthulhian fantasy-horror/near-future anime influenced war game. While not strictly science-fiction it was enjoyable in the same general way people enjoy Shadowrun.

As for CthulhuTech, I was going to play in a game of that years back, never got off the ground, how does that game fair? I recall it being rather badly designed, and maybe something about getting a mecha being impossible, magic taking forever or some such. Also, could you explain the shadowrun bit?

CthulhuTech got a review thread of sorts here.

Still waiting on that anatomy of failed design post though. Most discussions of the game elsewhere get to Damnation View and then get hung up on all the rape.

-Username17

FrankTrollman wrote:Still waiting on that anatomy of failed design post though.

You seem to know that game better than we do, Frank. If not the mechanics, then at least the H.P. Lovecraft and NGE underpinnings that the setting is based on.

I find it dubious that the guy who with Prak gave us Ry'leh Piercing Copper Drill can't analyze that setting. I found the Something Awful writeup profoundly lacking.

FrankTrollman wrote:Still waiting on that anatomy of failed design post though. Most discussions of the game elsewhere get to Damnation View and then get hung up on all the rape.

You know what? Fine. Akula may have forgotten the nightmare, but I still have the Cthulhutech book collecting dust in the loft. When I get home from work, I'll dig it out.

There really aren't any good sci-fi games.

The best you can do for any modern let alone high tech games is to use shadowrun and reskin lots of it. You also have to MTP space battles if they exist.

Because there are no good sci-fi games, you don't get a lot of talk about them. Aside from shadowrun on occasion.

For a brief moment, I was hoping this would be about the Street Fighter RPG.