...Until this one hits? http://paizo.com/starfinder/
Looks really good, although I'm not a huge Pathfinder fan due to the complexity. (If there was a "Pathfinder Lite" I would be a lot more interested.)
I suppose the answer might come down to how loose your "d20" definition might be. There was a d20 Traveller (T20) game which was pretty decent and clearly a d20 product. If you allow for old-school D&D retrogames to qualify there are also Stars without Number and Terminal Space which were well done.
It does look like a cool game, however, and one I will have to check out when it appears in August. :D
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;900880What is the best d20 Sci-Fi RPG right now?...
Depends on what exactly you mean by "SF", and what you recognize by "d20".
If it's one of those "ah, everything goes as long as there are spaceships and planets" threads, then
Stars Without Number would be a good choice or, perhaps (I'm not very fond of it, but plenty of people seem to like it)
White Star. They aren't for everyone, but since I like their settings very much: d20 editions of
Bulldogs!,
Fading Suns or
Mass Effect. Then, there are certain games (
Star Tramps being one) using PFRPG's ruleset - still d20 I guess.
If it's about general, less space-y SF, then there's plenty to choose from - there's for example,
Amethyst,
Darwin's World,
Exodus, really dozens of games out there, all SF (or its subgenres).
But there's a possibility you don't look for a recommendation, that you want to discuss the game hidden under that link you've provided. In such a case, it's a cheap move and you should be ashamed of doing it this way, rather than starting a thread with more honest title. Seriously, bruh. Thousands of games out there, the majority of which are boring, repetitive, pompously written crap. there's enormous possibility that the next one is going to be exactly like that, no matter what its authors present it to be. (Fragged Empires, I'm looking at you, you underdeveloped "I'm totally not Shadowrun" little shit).
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900884Depends on what exactly you mean by "SF", and what you recognize by "d20".
If it's one of those "ah, everything goes as long as there are spaceships and planets" threads, then Stars Without Number would be a good choice or, perhaps (I'm not very fond of it, but plenty of people seem to like it) White Star. They aren't for everyone, but since I like their settings very much: d20 editions of Bulldogs!, Fading Suns or Mass Effect. Then, there are certain games (Star Tramps being one) using PFRPG's ruleset - still d20 I guess.
If it's about general, less space-y SF, then there's plenty to choose from - there's for example, Amethyst, Darwin's World, Exodus, really dozens of games out there, all SF (or its subgenres).
But there's a possibility you don't look for a recommendation, that you want to discuss the game hidden under that link you've provided. In such a case, it's a cheap move and you should be ashamed of doing it this way, rather than starting a thread with more honest title. Seriously, bruh. Thousands of games out there, the majority of which are boring, repetitive, pompously written crap. there's enormous possibility that the next one is going to be exactly like that, no matter what its authors present it to be. (Fragged Empires, I'm looking at you, you underdeveloped "I'm totally not Shadowrun" little shit).
I was very much not a fan of the D20 Fading Suns, it had some nice stuff to it, but overall...meh.
Quote from: finarvyn;900882Looks really good, although I'm not a huge Pathfinder fan due to the complexity. (If there was a "Pathfinder Lite" I would be a lot more interested.)
I suppose the answer might come down to how loose your "d20" definition might be. There was a d20 Traveller (T20) game which was pretty decent and clearly a d20 product. If you allow for old-school D&D retrogames to qualify there are also Stars without Number and Terminal Space which were well done.
It does look like a cool game, however, and one I will have to check out when it appears in August. :D
Terminal Space? I'll don't think I've heard of that one. I'll look it up.
Quote from: Warboss Squee;900886I was very much not a fan of the D20 Fading Suns, it had some nice stuff to it, but overall...meh.
If I recall correctly, FS was one of those games almost ruined by their d20 treatment (CoC and Deadlands being other examples). I recall the problem of die-hard players refusing to play such games under d20 ruleset and newcomers refusing to learn "old and obsolete" edition. Cue edition wars.
And what do you think about FS in general?
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900892If I recall correctly, FS was one of those games almost ruined by their d20 treatment (CoC and Deadlands being other examples). I recall the problem of die-hard players refusing to play such games under d20 ruleset and newcomers refusing to learn "old and obsolete" edition. Cue edition wars.
And what do you think about FS in general?
I love FS. One of my favorite settings, and I've finally gotten my group to try it out once our Star Wars game wraps.
Quote from: Warboss Squee;900893I love FS. One of my favorite settings, and I've finally gotten my group to try it out once our Star Wars game wraps.
Let me guess... Proud
Hazat? :cool:
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900894Let me guess... Proud Hazat? :cool:
Nah, heavily traumatized Decados breaking with the family to join Alexius's Questing Knights. :D
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900884If it's one of those "ah, everything goes as long as there are spaceships and planets" threads, then Stars Without Number would be a good choice or, perhaps (I'm not very fond of it, but plenty of people seem to like it) White Star.
I was trying to find a Sci-Fi RPG that I couldn't remember the name of that White Star reminded me of. I guess that is a clue I didn't care much for it. Oh, here it is. Myths of the Far Future. But this is 4e stuff though.
Quote from: Warboss Squee;900895Nah, heavily traumatized Decados breaking with the family to join Alexius's Questing Knights. :D
That'd be literally my last guess. I'd sooner bet on minor houses. ;)
Oh, al-Malik here. Just don't say we're descendants of street peddlers,
effendi. We consider it gravest offense. :D
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;900896I was trying to find a Sci-Fi RPG that I couldn't remember the name of that White Star reminded me of. I guess that is a clue I didn't care much for it. Oh, here it is. Myths of the Far Future. But this is 4e stuff though.
I see.
I... Wait, this is Santiago, right? F... Resnick is one of my most favorite authors - his ability to quickly generate a 3-dimensional character with mere a few words is true gift.
Santiago series, where he puts said ability into great use is among his best works as far as I'm concerned. I didn't knew it got its RPG treatment.
Daaaaaaaaaaaamn. :o
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900897That'd be literally my last guess. I'd sooner bet on minor houses. ;)
Oh, al-Malik here. Just don't say we're descendants of street peddlers, effendi. We consider it gravest offense. :D
And you would discribe that offense with a parable that would confuse everybody in the room, you dirty Republicans. :p
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900898I see.
I... Wait, this is Santiago, right? F... Resnick is one of my most favorite authors - his ability to quickly generate a 3-dimensional character with mere a few words is true gift. Santiago series, where he puts said ability into great use is among his best works as far as I'm concerned. I didn't knew it got its RPG treatment.
Daaaaaaaaaaaamn. :o
Wait, there was more than one? We are talking about the sci-fi yarn about a guy trying to find someone to take up the mantle of the legendary Santiago, and after numerous failures, is convinced he's been the guy all along?
They made more?! :)
Quote from: JesterRaiin;900898I see.
I... Wait, this is Santiago, right?
I guess so. I just know the game. Don't know about any novels. EN Publishing did the game.
Quote from: Warboss Squee;900899And you would discribe that offense with a parable that would confuse everybody in the room, you dirty Republicans. :p
Unwashed barbarians lacking any sophistication. They don't even know how to react properly to a beautiful slating. Hmph!Quote from: Warboss Squee;900900Wait, there was more than one? We are talking about the sci-fi yarn about a guy trying to find someone to take up the mantle of the legendary Santiago, and after numerous failures, is convinced he's been the guy all along?
More or less, it's about a bunch of hunting parties attempting to catch the most famous criminal in the 'verse, known as Santiago. Little do they know, that... ;)
QuoteThey made more?! :)
Jesus, friggin' Christ on the cross, Warboss!
Spoiler
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391561509l/852954.jpg)
(http://yukonprospectors.ca/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Billy-Mays.jpg)
If I recall correctly, this also takes place in Santiago's universe.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pRC_tUWzLxc/TYnBj7o_UFI/AAAAAAAACp4/tEyPKDk0ACQ/s1600/soothsayer.jpg)
I'm not sure, but I think there were additional stories in same setting, but I'd have to confirm it.
Edit: got it.
Birthright (https://www.goodreads.com/series/113990-birthright) :cool:
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;900901I guess so. I just know the game. Don't know about any novels.
:eek:
I'm proud to say that I consider
Santiago to be one of best SF-adventures, borderline Space Western books ever written. I'm willing to prove the strength of my claim by entering the ring and kicking the shit out of anyone who claims otherwise, Mortal Kombat style. :cool:
If you're seeking some sources of inspiration, ideas for potential scenarios/campaign for games like
Firefly,
Traveller or
Star Wars (emphasis on bounty hunting), this is one of best things I could recommend.
I've got The Return of Santiago, very much enjoyed at that. Now I need the others.
And I will take you on any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Quote from: Warboss Squee;900904I've got The Return of Santiago, very much enjoyed at that. Now I need the others.
Whole
Birthright consists of more than 30 novels, I think. :D
QuoteAnd I will take you on any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
(http://www.picaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/angry-kitty.jpg)
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;900880...Until this one hits? http://paizo.com/starfinder/
D20 Star Wars Core Revised? Of course, it's Star Wars, but if I had to run a (non-Star Wars) Sci Fi game with D20... it would probably be with the aforementioned book.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;900911D20 Star Wars Core Revised? Of course, it's Star Wars, but if I had to run a (non-Star Wars) Sci Fi game with D20... it would probably be with the aforementioned book.
I prefer Saga Edition, myself, but I will note that Saga Edition is definitely more skewed towards pulpy sci-fi, while Revised would probably be easier to hack for 'harder' sci-fi.
I ran a Star Wars RCR game for a few years and quite enjoyed it. I like Saga though I played RCR simply because that was the game that was out at the time.
Traveller D20. Albeit, it had many warts which were smoothed over by the hard-to-find Traveller's guidebook. Had one of my favorite ship-to-ship combat systems in that it tried to give all players a role in the combat instead of just the pilot and gunner. Though I have come to prefer Mongoose Traveller, T20 had the good sense to stick with the classic High Guard system for large ships (in MongT, large ships are nigh unplayable.)
Quote from: Armchair Gamer;900913I prefer Saga Edition, myself, but I will note that Saga Edition is definitely more skewed towards pulpy sci-fi, while Revised would probably be easier to hack for 'harder' sci-fi.
I started with D20 Star Wars and moved onto Saga. Liked both of them, to a degree, and would recommend them if you want to play SW and it has to be D20.
I've sang its praises here before, and it's what got me into table-top RPGs: Buck Rogers XXVc. It's based on AD&D Second Edition, so not quite D20 but close. :) Its setting is simply phenomenal, and actually has little to do with Buck Rogers. Imagine somewhat hard sci-fi transhumanism all taking place in the solar system, but with rocket ships and ray guns. :P
Quote from: Celestial;900923I've sang its praises here before, and it's what got me into table-top RPGs: Buck Rogers XXVc. It's based on AD&D Second Edition, so not quite D20 but close. :) Its setting is simply phenomenal, and actually has little to do with Buck Rogers. Imagine somewhat hard sci-fi transhumanism all taking place in the solar system, but with rocket ships and ray guns. :P
I used to combine that with Battlesystem so I could have fleet vs fleet battles. :D
Dragonstar was one of the early tries at a d20 space setting. Think it came out before d20 Modern?
Mecha Crusade was another interesting one from Polyhedron.
d20 Future was totally unimpressed with.
I always thought Hellas was cool, though to be fair it's d20 less in the D&D sense and more in the Talislanta sense.
Quote from: Omega;900934Dragonstar was one of the early tries at a d20 space setting. Think it came out before d20 Modern?
Both came out in 2002 but I'm pretty sure Dragonstar was released first.
Asking what is the best xxxx d20 game is like asking "what's the best sexually-transmitted disease I could have?" Any answer is a major downer!
Traveller the New Era (HA! I just out thread crapped you!)
Actually, Mutant Chronicles Resurrection is pretty good, too narrativist / points economy based for my liking but even then it's pretty damn good. If only there were a way to file off the Momentum / Dark Symmetry Point system and leave a functional game. Of course, once you do that it looks a lot like Traveller The New Era (no joke).
The only thing I would classify as a good D20 'Sci-Fi' and it's a HIGHLY DEBATABLE point of contention, is Mutants and Masterminds 3e. Which yes, is mostly superheroes, but there have been settings in the Comic world that have been purely pseudo-science and cybernetic and robotic, which is why I list it. BUT I'll also freely concede that it may not be what the OP wants in terms of Science Fiction gaming.
But that's the only thing I can think of that's decent, D20 and CAN have Sci-Fi. Again, personal opinion.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;900949The only thing I would classify as a good D20 'Sci-Fi' and it's a HIGHLY DEBATABLE point of contention, is Mutants and Masterminds 3e. Which yes, is mostly superheroes, but there have been settings in the Comic world that have been purely pseudo-science and cybernetic and robotic, which is why I list it. BUT I'll also freely concede that it may not be what the OP wants in terms of Science Fiction gaming.
But that's the only thing I can think of that's decent, D20 and CAN have Sci-Fi. Again, personal opinion.
If you're going to include M+M then you might as well add True20 to the mix. The original book had Lux Aeternum, Mecha vs Kaiju and Borrowed Time as settings.
Quote from: Krimson;900952If you're going to include M+M then you might as well at True20 to the mix. The original book had Lux Aeternum, Mecha vs Kaiju and Borrowed Time as settings.
Is it still being sold? I thought it was discontinued. I stand corrected, and your suggestions, Krimson, is more in the spirit of the thread.
I enjoyed True20 quite a bit, and the fact it was more or less compatible with Mutants and Masterminds 2e was a bonus. I could use the Bestiary in M+M games and drop in monsters mostly without changing a thing. I liked the Lux Aeternum setting as well. It would be nice to see that updated for Green Ronin's AGE system or something.
Speaking of AGE, if that counts then I would also include Titansgrave.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;900911D20 Star Wars Core Revised? Of course, it's Star Wars, but if I had to run a (non-Star Wars) Sci Fi game with D20... it would probably be with the aforementioned book.
I've often thought that the D20 Star Wars game would make a great generic sci-fi setting. I think you could even run a cyberpunk setting with it. I'd pull out the Force. Or change it to a 'psionics' system. Under Pathfinder I'd use Dreamscarred Press's psionic rules.
Quote from: Omega;900934Dragonstar was one of the early tries at a d20 space setting. Think it came out before d20 Modern?
Mecha Crusade was another interesting one from Polyhedron.
d20 Future was totally unimpressed with.
Dragonstar was great. I remember some fan tried to get a Pathfinder version off the ground. The generic D20 sci-fantasy books Arsenal and Factory are must haves if you are doing a D20 setting.
Quote from: Tetsubo;900975I've often thought that the D20 Star Wars game would make a great generic sci-fi setting. I think you could even run a cyberpunk setting with it. I'd pull out the Force. Or change it to a 'psionics' system. Under Pathfinder I'd use Dreamscarred Press's psionic rules.
I once did something like that for d20 Modern, though I think I used the system from Saga. It's been a few years but here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h9Qzc-wrtcSi55_S6WAyw9auNezzTBufhvqfRIOV2FM/edit?usp=sharing) is the link.
I just remembered another game that might be useful, Dawning Star: Helios Rising. Used copies seem to be pricey though. I just saw that there is a PDF available for $13.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;900949The only thing I would classify as a good D20 'Sci-Fi' and it's a HIGHLY DEBATABLE point of contention, is Mutants and Masterminds 3e. Which yes, is mostly superheroes, but there have been settings in the Comic world that have been purely pseudo-science and cybernetic and robotic, which is why I list it. BUT I'll also freely concede that it may not be what the OP wants in terms of Science Fiction gaming.
But that's the only thing I can think of that's decent, D20 and CAN have Sci-Fi. Again, personal opinion.
I'd consider that sci-fi. Will check it out the next time I'm at the store. I figured it used its own system.
I played quite a bit of DragonStar. But I'd say the most consistent rules wise would be Stars Without Numbers.
I want to like Starfinder, I really do. And I hope it sells well and is a nice system. But if it has the modifier soup that 3.X games are known for, I might hold off on buying more than a pdf copy.
What flavor of scifi?
If you want D&D in space, check out Hulks & Horrors.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/111781/Hulks-and-Horrors--Basic-Black-Edition
If you want D&D's system in space, I highly recommend Stars Without Number.
I'm actually one of the few people who liked D20 Fading Suns, but it was a missed opportunity on many levels.
Hulks & Horrors is great. Vastly under-rated book.
Star Wars Saga Edition is my favorite "d20 sci-fi system" by far.
The Force was strong with that one, even if they have a few hiccups here and there.
Quote from: PaladinCA;902989Star Wars Saga Edition is my favorite "d20 sci-fi system" by far.
The Force was strong with that one, even if they have a few hiccups here and there.
What are the main differences between Saga edition and D20 SW Revised? I've only ever played D20 SW revised, and always heard good things about Saga edition but never looked into it.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;902994What are the main differences between Saga edition and D20 SW Revised? I've only ever played D20 SW revised, and always heard good things about Saga edition but never looked into it.
There are a lot of differences.
The skill system was cleaned up (less skills).
Classes were condensed (Soldier, Noble, Scout, Jedi, Scoundrel).
Combat system was revised and streamlined quite a bit.
The Force rules were completely reworked to emulate the genre better than ever. The use of vitality (health) to use Force Powers was always nonsensical to me given what we see in the movies. Saga ditched that entirely.
The talent trees were a cool addition letting one customize their character beyond just the choice of skills, feats, and class abilities.
Most of the supplements were top notch and it covered all "eras" of Star Wars play.
Most importantly, Jedi did not really outdo PCs of other classes by default. A level 12 Soldier for example is still very much a threat to a level 12 Jedi.
All PCs can cut down your flunkies and riff raff like the chaff that they are, which is very much in tune with the movies. With a few minor house rules, this can even be done without a lot of bookkeeping.
I ran two good solid mini-campaigns with Saga Edition and the games were among the best I've experienced. Probably worthy of film cans.
Quote from: PaladinCA;903000There are a lot of differences.
The skill system was cleaned up (less skills).
Classes were condensed (Soldier, Noble, Scout, Jedi, Scoundrel).
Combat system was revised and streamlined quite a bit.
The Force rules were completely reworked to emulate the genre better than ever. The use of vitality (health) to use Force Powers was always nonsensical to me given what we see in the movies. Saga ditched that entirely.
The talent trees were a cool addition letting one customize their character beyond just the choice of skills, feats, and class abilities.
Most of the supplements were top notch and it covered all "eras" of Star Wars play.
Most importantly, Jedi did not really outdo PCs of other classes by default. A level 12 Soldier for example is still very much a threat to a level 12 Jedi.
All PCs can cut down your flunkies and riff raff like the chaff that they are, which is very much in tune with the movies. With a few minor house rules, this can even be done without a lot of bookkeeping.
I ran two good solid mini-campaigns with Saga Edition and the games were among the best I've experienced. Probably worthy of film cans.
Well, shit, I'm gonna have to hunt Saga books down...
No fans of StarSIEGE from Troll Lord Games?
Quote from: Imaginos;903007No fans of StarSIEGE from Troll Lord Games?
It actually came out? I remember hearing about it in... 2013? And then it vanished from the net.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;903019It actually came out? I remember hearing about it in... 2013? And then it vanished from the net.
Apparently there is a boxed set of rules. The system seems to be 'old school'. Not to my tastes.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;903003Well, shit, I'm gonna have to hunt Saga books down...
It starts to stagnate at or around lvl 10, with the way defenses scale compared to attack bonuses, but overall I found it to be a lot of fun. It also has splats for just about every Era, WotC did a good job supporting it.
Just watch out for the fact that almost every ship and NPC has an erroneous stat block, and wonkiness like Vader needing a crit to Force disarm Han Solo.
On the other hand I can just see Darth Vader's inner child going YES! when he pulled it off :D
Darth Vadar as the guy who just had lucky rolls.
The most badass thing about that scene was Solo and his instinctual reaction.
See Vader -> Draw and Fire. :D
Quote from: David Johansen;903089On the other hand I can just see Darth Vader's inner child going YES! when he pulled it off :D
Darth Vadar as the guy who just had lucky rolls.
I doubt Vader's inner child does anything but wimper in the corner and hope it doesn't get the same treatment that Vader gave to all the other kids.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;903003Well, shit, I'm gonna have to hunt Saga books down...
I wish you luck. While some of the books are found online for a fair price, there are some really good ones that have highly inflated and somewhat absurd asking prices on them.
Since they are out of print, it certainly is a seller's market but still....
Quote from: Christopher Brady;903019It actually came out? I remember hearing about it in... 2013? And then it vanished from the net.
Yep. My copy from a trade arrived today. I hope to get into it this weekend.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;903003Well, shit, I'm gonna have to hunt Saga books down...
I actually preferred Star Wars D20 revised. It was probably a bit more generic, but I felt that it also didn't get bogged down in a bunch of little 'special tricks'. It felt to me like Saga edition was trying too hard.
Quote from: RPGPundit;903991I actually preferred Star Wars D20 revised. It was probably a bit more generic, but I felt that it also didn't get bogged down in a bunch of little 'special tricks'. It felt to me like Saga edition was trying too hard.
My only issue with Revised is, well there are two, firstly it cleaved to closely to the D&D based D20 system it was based on, and secondly, the skill system was actually worse for SW Revised than it was for 3rd Edition, since not only did you have to track class and non class skills, but you had to spend skill points to raise your force abilities as well.
Saga fixed a lot of my issues, but then brought in it's own, the gimmicky force powers being one of them. One thing I will give Revised though, it felt like playing Star Wars. Saga felt more like Force Users were freaking superheroes, and was way more over the top than the original movies portrayed them.
Quote from: Warboss Squee;904002My only issue with Revised is, well there are two, firstly it cleaved to closely to the D&D based D20 system it was based on, a
To me that's a feature, not a bug.
Quote from: RPGPundit;905477To me that's a feature, not a bug.
I've got no issue with that. I really enjoyed the time I spent using it.
I made this for some fans of the old D6 Star Wars game. Still seems appropriate...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]218[/ATTACH]
Quote from: RPGPundit;905477To me that's a feature, not a bug.
I wouldn't say that Star Wars RCR is the best iteration but it is certainly the one I had the most fun running. Plus there was the added bonus of trolling players who would cite every EU source by pulling out a 3.5e Monster Manual or using Dungeon Dice to randomly generate maps of ships and space stations. :D
Quote from: Krimson;905836I wouldn't say that Star Wars RCR is the best iteration but it is certainly the one I had the most fun running. Plus there was the added bonus of trolling players who would cite every EU source by pulling out a 3.5e Monster Manual or using Dungeon Dice to randomly generate maps of ships and space stations. :D
I did a bit of that myself.
Quote from: RPGPundit;906703I did a bit of that myself.
I think the most fun that I had running it was for a group from the local Fan Force. It was during a convention (where I got to meet Jeremy Bulloch and Larry Niven) so they were all dressed like Jedi. The world I took them to was basically Granbretan from Hawkmoon. :D
Quote from: Krimson;906719I think the most fun that I had running it was for a group from the local Fan Force. It was during a convention (where I got to meet Jeremy Bulloch and Larry Niven) so they were all dressed like Jedi. The world I took them to was basically Granbretan from Hawkmoon. :D
I've often thought it would be fun to run a D&D game with nothing but races from Revised Star Wars.
Quote from: Tetsubo;906720I've often thought it would be fun to run a D&D game with nothing but races from Revised Star Wars.
Look up Star Wars 1942 sometime. I've thought about that and I'd probably do it that way. I have a good chunk of the Star Wars species programmed into Fantasy Grounds for D&D 5e already.
Quote from: Krimson;906722Look up Star Wars 1942 sometime. I've thought about that and I'd probably do it that way. I have a good chunk of the Star Wars species programmed into Fantasy Grounds for D&D 5e already.
Yea, I've seen some of the alternative Star wars custom figures. 'Historical', pulp, WW II and I think Old West.
Quote from: Tetsubo;906724Yea, I've seen some of the alternative Star wars custom figures. 'Historical', pulp, WW II and I think Old West.
I have considered a straight fantasy setting with Star Wars species as well though nothing has really got my creative juices going. Amusingly, I was thinking of something similar last night but with Star Frontiers species.
I've never really found one that worked for me unless you count comic book sci-fi with M&M 3e.
Quote from: Krimson;906732I have considered a straight fantasy setting with Star Wars species as well though nothing has really got my creative juices going. Amusingly, I was thinking of something similar last night but with Star Frontiers species.
Dralasites would make great Rogues.
The correct answer is Stars Without Number. In fact, it will remain the correct answer after Starfinder comes out.
Quote from: Premier;907066The correct answer is Stars Without Number. In fact, it will remain the correct answer after Starfinder comes out.
You like having 2D6 skill rolls with your D20 rules?
Quote from: Tetsubo;906744Dralasites would make great Rogues.
Too much fantasy has its nose firmly up Tolkien's bottom. Never mind mixing PC races, just play in either Majipoor or the Land of the True Game.
Quote from: Tetsubo;906744Dralasites would make great Rogues.
Well there's already a conversion for D&D 5e (http://www.tribality.com/2014/10/04/star-frontiers-5e-conversion-part-1/) so that would be easy enough to do. :D
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;907093You like having 2D6 skill rolls with your D20 rules?
I'm personally more of a fan of LotFP 1d6 skill rolls, but I don't have a problem with this, either. d20 doesn't have to be slavish...there are five other kinds of dice (at least), and you can roll them for situations other than damage and random tables. It won't kill ya. One thing I find refreshing about OSR is that it doesn't try to force every roll into a single universal die roll. It's tempting to try to unify mechanics, but I think you always end up at some point forcing it.
I'm wondering if anyone has tried Strange Stars. The initial system-neutral content was a bit slight, but rich enough to imply an entire setting. There's now a FATE adaptation, which interests me only because it's probably a bit more detailed than the original document.
Quote from: Edgewise;907223I'm wondering if anyone has tried Strange Stars. The initial system-neutral content was a bit slight, but rich enough to imply an entire setting. There's now a FATE adaptation, which interests me only because it's probably a bit more detailed than the original document.
It's only 31 pages for the non-FATE version? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oclOk9CX6SY I'm curious how they fit a setting in there.
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;907244It's only 31 pages for the non-FATE version? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oclOk9CX6SY I'm curious how they fit a setting in there.
It's quite a feat, but Trey Causy pulls off something special. It's not like I could run a campaign straight out of the SS setting book without any embellishment of my own. What the book manages to do is provide a lot of random details that add up to a ton of flavor, to the extent that an enterprising GM could easily fill in the blanks, perhaps on the fly. Even if you don't run a SS campaign, every page is exploding with ideas that you can rip off. Also, it's got some excellent art.
Quote from: Edgewise;907412It's quite a feat, but Trey Causy pulls off something special. It's not like I could run a campaign straight out of the SS setting book without any embellishment of my own. What the book manages to do is provide a lot of random details that add up to a ton of flavor, to the extent that an enterprising GM could easily fill in the blanks, perhaps on the fly. Even if you don't run a SS campaign, every page is exploding with ideas that you can rip off. Also, it's got some excellent art.
I see. I may have some GM books like that. Where settings are like expanding fractals, as far as generating settings from generated hooks kind of a deal.
Another +1 for SWSE. It does require a little house ruling to make the math work between attacks and defenses, especially for skill based attacks like the "Use the Force" skill with the feat "Skill Focus". I think a sliding scale like granting +1 lvls 1-4, +2 lvls 5-8 etc was a good fix.
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;907093You like having 2D6 skill rolls with your D20 rules?
In fact, yes.
As Edgewise mentioned, the 1d6 skill roll from LotFP works well for me. However, with 2d6 roll I can have high attributes matter slightly.
You know, I have to say that while SWN is a good game, and probably the best overall sci-fi OSR game, Hulks & Horrors has been a lot more useful to me as a book. I've used a lot of it while running my DCC campaign.
Quote from: RPGPundit;908440You know, I have to say that while SWN is a good game, and probably the best overall sci-fi OSR game, Hulks & Horrors has been a lot more useful to me as a book. I've used a lot of it while running my DCC campaign.
I hardly ever buy OSR books with the intention of playing the game as is. I have my old books so I generally buy them as supplements. As such I also find books like Mutant Future and Starship and Spacemen to be useful.
Quote from: Krimson;908514I hardly ever buy OSR books with the intention of playing the game as is. I have my old books so I generally buy them as supplements. As such I also find books like Mutant Future and Starship and Spacemen to be useful.
That's a big part of why Hulks & Horrors was more useful to me than SWN. H&H has tons of stuff that can be switched over to other OSR games that use sci-fi elements.