What are the best sci fi-themed tabletop RPGs?

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GamingTabletopRPG

What are the best sci fi-themed tabletop RPGs?

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Jan 17, 2024

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20 Games Considered

Best sci fi-themed tabletop RPGs	Price	PDF price	Hardcover
89 Stars Without Number	Free / paid	-	-
89 Traveller	-	-	-
-- Savage Worlds	$9.99	$ 9,99	-
-- Paranoia	-	-	-
-- Eclipse Phase	-	-	-

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score 128 · Answer 1

Stars Without Number

Top Pro

Randomly generates the whole galaxy

Has tables to randomize the whole galaxy. Including societies, factions, planets, aliens and more. See More

Top Con

It is essentially a rehash of old ideas

In a nutshell, Stars Without Numbers is old school D&D rules meets Traveller. It's nifty, if this is all you've ever wanted, but isn't really original enough to inspire gamers brought up on other games. It doesn't offer anything new. See More

DeterminedFengMeng's Experience

It is too derivative of other games to be considered original. See More

Top Pro

Faction system

Faction system provides the possibility for numerous plot hooks, and keeps the universe feeling alive and active. See More

Top Con

D20

Linear rolls are not as good as bell-curves. (As long as the level of success doesn´t affect the outcome, it´s fundamentally the same) See More

CptCommanche's Experience

My group has played 5 sessions so far, and the GM tools that the core rulebook provides are invaluable. So far my group has hardly fired a shot, but have found themselves embroiled in a complicated web of intrigue that is extremely entertaining. This would not have been possible without the faction system, which provides a great context for the galaxy that can inform how every NPC acts and behaves. This helps the world not center on the PCs, but rather they are just actors in a much larger drama. I highly recommend it, we are just scratching the surface of the potential that this system offers, and all the players are having a great time learning about a large and complicated universe. See More

Top Pro

Customization

A great set of tools, and the ability to make it your own universe without needing to stick to established setting lore. See More

Top Con

Weapons are bit too deadly

Weapons are bit too deadly, especially in lower levels, when you are lucky if you survive the bullet. See More

CromulentOxomoco's Experience

It's D&D in space with a few good ideas, but, really, keeping the D20 for combat is like buying a brand new car and discovering it uses leaded gas. Let the D20 die. See More

Top Pro

Simple

Easy to understand mechanics. 2d6+X to everything except combat which uses d20. Old school D&D but converted and modernized to fit sci-fi setting. See More

Top Con

Poorly written

AgreeableYuqiang's Experience

An assembly and update of b/x and Traveller tools to help busy GMs run a deep science fiction role playing game. Easy to adapt for any flavor of SF you could want. See More

Top Pro

Great story

Book has a lot of fluff inside. See More

DecisiveGunAna's Experience

I own and have run the revised edition See More

ConscientiousPoludnica's Experience

It's great……. if you've never played, read or heard of Traveller before. The Pros people cite are the same ideas that Traveller introduced to gaming more than 40 years ago, and it's system is not as elegant. See More

ImaginativeKulullu's Experience

A solid system, which great GM tools and top-notch writing that really sales the whole experience. See More

See All

score 94 · Answer 2

Traveller

Top Pro

It's actually science fiction

No magic, no fantasy conventions. This is actually science fiction. See More

Top Con

Retro future basis can get in the way

It's 1970's sci-fi. So some unexpected modern motifs aren't well represented (transhumanism, wireless tech, internet, etc). There are, in modern editions of the game, plenty of examples of these, however. See More

cgriffen's Experience

Traveller can be as simple as throwing together a setting on the fly or using the game's super-detailed 50-year-old setting. It can be as crunchy or light as you want it to be. Great flexibility and tons of fun. See More

Top Pro

Expansive library of reference materials

Top Con

All editions not created equal

Because of its numerous editions and rulesets, finding a proper entry point can be confusing for newcomers. See More

PersistentLeibOlmai's Experience

Own and ran Mongoose and Cepheus versions See More

Top Pro

Diversity in setting and thematic complexity

Traveller is one of the oldest science fiction roleplaying games, and has a default setting that is even older. As such, there is a lot of cumulative depth that has been developed over the years. The current version of the rules (Mongoose Traveller 2nd edition) is very accessible, however, and allows new players to approach the game without a heavy load of baggage. Anybody who has seen an episode of Firefly, or any other typical space travelling fiction, will immediately understand the tropes. From the basis of its simple system, lots of interesting sci-fi ideas can be developed and there is a lot of material to use as inspiration. See More

Top Con

No character development

Although this CAN be a plus, as you know what your players can/can't do and it doesn't change. Plus its easy to mod it if you want it. See More

IncrediblePemphredo's Experience

Easy-to-use system that covers most scenarios nicely, deep lore, and multiple editions to choose from. See More

Top Pro

Smooth, fast gameplay

VigilantAtaguchu's Experience

Although character gen can take a while, especially for new players, the systemis easy to grasp and you can do anything with it. Take it to any setting, use any kind of adventure with it, have many different flavours of fun. And because its quite adaptable, you can modify it to suit your tastes - PLUS all that is already done over the many, many modules available. AND its backwards compatible to earlier editions, so EVERYTHING ever written can pretty much be used. See More

Top Pro

Adaptable

Thanks to various reference materials over the years, and numerous updates, it is possible to run almost any science fiction setting you want, from 1970's space opera, to cyberpunk and transhuman games (thanks to settings like Mindjammer and the addition of cybernetics in recent editions). See More

DecentMimas's Experience

Mongoose system character generation is excellent. You can adapt this system to any setting you like. The Expanse, StarWars, Space 1999, The Road, Blakes 7, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon you could even run a modern campaign --Redo your own version of Apocalypse Now. Maybe you prefer the Roaring Twenties? Yes you could do it. Just tinker a bit and have fun. See More

Top Pro

Games-within-a-game

Traveller was, arguably, the original 'tool box' game, utilizing tables, dicerolling and design judgment, to generate things such as aliens, planets, star systems, economies, weapons, vehicles, spacecraft and characters. Character generation is a unique experience of taking risks to develop a lifepath history through career development. A bad roll could lead to unfortunate events, injury, prison or even death, while good rolls can lead to boons in skills, resources, contacts and reputation. It's actually fun to generate characters before you even begin play. See More

RobustOdin's Experience

excellent See More

Top Pro

No zero to hero

Gets away from the character leveling motif so you can just focus on role playing. Very much the story of typical people doing stupendous things. See More

Top Pro

Makes complex concepts easy

Starship combat can be a bear in many games. The current incarnation of Traveller has reduced it to a simple, fast, and easy to use game within the game that makes for fun and realistic (enough) game play that doesn't take away from the experience. The vehicle combat system and other rules subsystems work equally well. None are perfect but they enhance the flow of a good game which is what most players want more than anything. See More

See All

score 29 · Answer 3

Savage Worlds

Top Pro

Fast-paced play

Top Con

Medium complexity

Straddles the space between lightweight games like Fate, and heavyweight games like d20 System. See More

ProductiveBuchis's Experience

Savage Worlds is not a science fiction-themed tabletop RPG. It is a generic system with no setting of its own. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Extensive supplemental support for sci-fi

With the Science Fiction Companion, Interface Zero, The Last Parsec, Nova Praxis, and others, Science Fiction is a well supported genre for Savage Worlds. See More

Top Con

Basically just a combat engine

If your game is not combat-centered, look elsewhere. See More

Top Pro

Generic rule-set

The rules cater to multiple genres, and offer additional rules for GMs (or players) to create their own races, powers, etc. See More

Top Con

Atypical wound system

Players coming from Traveler or D6 System might find the fast and loose "3 hits and your out" wounds system in Savage Worlds unusual, and potentially not to their liking. See More

Top Pro

Companion books with expanded rules to support 4 major genres

Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Super Heroes. Each of which can be portrayed in a basic sense with only the core book. See More

See All

score 24 · Answer 4

Paranoia

Top Pro

Humourous in tone

There is a lot of tongue in cheek and black humour in this dystopian setting. See More

ConscientiousMnevis's Experience

A unique RPG experience you wont find anywhere else See More

Top Pro

Perfect for One Shots.

Paranoia offers a different experience to a typical roleplaying game, and tends to lead to characters suffering multiple deaths (they have 6 clones = 'lives'). While it doesn't lend itself well to long campaigns, it has a tight scenario-design formula, which makes running games off the cuff quite easy for the referee. Players don't normally need much encouragement to get into the spirit of the game - making it ideal for a short notice, one shot game. See More

Top Pro

Semi-competitive play

Secretively backstabbing other players is encouraged, setting it apart from many of its peers. See More

See All

score 24 · Answer 5

Eclipse Phase

Top Pro

Game is amazing

This game is unique without being unacceptable. The quickstart i played with a number of people and since the system is easy to grasp it was simple for players to jump in and get started using the premades. Looking into creating our own characters you still have a depth of complexity for how you can create your character while still being approachable if you just want to have a character made for you. To comment on two of the Cons i see people posting first "Mental Illness" not being treated well i don't see this issue in the game. Maybe they are talking about the system where you can get mental trauma for things and that it is a mechanical part, really that is pretty standard in alot of these styles of games and i have seen them be used for good and for ill. On the "Worldview" one....well i mean this is a Transhumanism and deeply cyberpunk influenced game so its going to have that "Corporations are evil and only care about money, and not about human rights" Ideology. That can be changed if you don't like it, but that is one of the standard pillars of any cyberpunk genre. See More

Top Con

Progressive Politics

AgreeableYuqiang's Experience

Hilarious when the "Top Con" is actually a PRO reason to play this game. See More

Top Pro

Great setting

The setting, like everything about Eclipse Phase, is great. It has depth and scope, offering a huge array of themes and prospects for adventure, though underlying it all is a noir, tragic feeling, both refined and raw. There´s no subterfuge or apologies. The world is violent, it´s deadly, it´s a tragic affair but one the beckons living. There´s a universe out there to discover but you have to look no further than your own habitat to find both light and darkness, and most of all shadow. See More

Top Con

Treatment of mental illnesses and poor gamesystem

FearlessBrigid's Experience

If you character lacks strength of character they may go insane, but hey playing insane people is funny. Oh and the game system is rubbish combat requires so many rolls that playing by the rules you will still be resolving the first fight when mankind has colonies on Mars for real. See More

Top Pro

High standard of quality

Production value and quality of each and every product is on par with the best, and far, far above your average RPG, even your classic "best sellers". See More

Top Con

The political system is heavily biased

The creators tried to push their worldviews through the setting's story. Fortunately this can be changed easily. See More

Top Pro

Free and Fantastic

For the price - which is free for the first edition - you really can't go wrong. Much more in-depth and crunchy than most other free TTRPGs. See More

Top Pro

Comprehensive and intuitive D100 system

The basic mechanics are easy and familiar but it offers a robust system that can deal with pretty much anything you can thrown at it. See More

Top Pro

2nd edition cleans up the system

While it can still be awkward to find what you're looking for, character creation and "resleeving" are a breeze in 2nd edition. See More

See All

score 36 · Answer 6

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire

Top Con

You need custom dice, and they take some getting used to

This game doesn't use the regular dice so common in most RPGs, but requires the use of a special set of dice that only Fantasy Flight sells. It's kinda pricey, and it takes some getting used to the weird symbols on the dice. There is a die roller app. But it's worth mentioning that the dice comes with any of the Beginner Box Sets or Edge of the Empire/Age of Rebellion/Force and Destiny. Also, there are downloadable sticker sheets if you want to save the money but spend time putting them onto the correct sided die. See More

Top Pro

Drives improvisation through its die roll mechanics

The die roll mechanic leads to more than just a simple success and failure. The result often requires positive and negative side effects; sometimes dramatic ones! Very rewarding with a GM who's good at making stuff up on the spot. See More

DecisiveGunAna's Experience

Have played in multiple campaigns See More

Top Con

Three flavoured "separated" subvariants for smuggler theme, rebel stories and Jedi path

A lot of redundant text in the there "corebooks". The rest of the subgames lines are similar structured with in depth class type rule books. Patterns of the lines are very similar: Core book, beginner box, class types expansions and adventures books. You can mix the variants. Rules are compatible. See More

Top Pro

The Star Wars setting

Who doesn't love Star Wars with its scoundrels and rebels and bounty hunters? This version of the game specifically aims at the seedier side of the Star Wars setting. Other products focus more on the Rebels versus The Empire, or on Jedi and Sith. See More

Top Con

All the worst money-grabbing faults in RPG design incorporated here

Multiple, nearly redundant corebooks. Supplements are high on price and low on content. It even has custom dice. Fans should be able to apply for a second mortgage at the fantasy flight website. See More

Top Pro

Easier to play online

Because the Star Wars RPG focuses more on story and role play and less on combat, maps and hard stats, it is easier to play online using Voice Software like Skype, Google Hangouts or Discord. There are also online platforms such as Roll20 that allow for digital dice rolls and resources. See More

Top Con

No Jedi or Sith

This version of the game does not include Jedi or Sith as player characters. You'll need Star Wars: Force and Destiny for that - which is a separate (but compatible) game. See More

Top Pro

Super-customizable character creation system

The Star Wars RPG's point-buy system allows characters to easily gain skills outside their career while still making each build feel unique. Focused builds are rewarded, but, in the narrative system, min/maxed characters are no more overpowered than their (equally rewarded) all-around counterparts. Players can easily create a bounty hunter, ambassador, or mystic, or even all of them in one character. Rigid classes ("I am a cleric") are a thing of the past. Your character is no longer defined by such constraining borders—he is what you want him to be. The level-less system places literal millions of possibilities at your fingertips. See More

Top Con

The old WEG edition is so much better

This is clunky and doesn't create a heroic STAR WARS feel. See More

Top Pro

Set in the Star Wars Universe

The Star Wars Universe is arguably one of the largest and most beloved in the world, and this RPG captures it's depth and diversity very well. Players can choose from hundred of class and specialization combinations for creating unique characters and stories set in classic Star Wars settings, or create entirely new worlds and stories. See More

Top Con

Very little digitally distributed content

While Fantasy Flight has added a few digitally distributed (PDF) resources that are all free - such as character sheets, pre-generated characters and campaigns - there are no official digital versions available for any of their print materials. See More

Top Pro

Story focused instead of combat focused

Rather than focus on combat encounters and character stats, Fantasy Flight Games system allows the group to focus on telling a great Star Wars story. The players and the GM alike are major contributors due to FFG's unique system and dice mechanics. See More

See All

score 27 · Answer 7

Shadowrun

Top Pro

In-depth character creation

Top Con

Character creation can take a long time

CharmingAsaruludu's Experience

Yes, the RAW are clunky. But what TTRPS is ever played RAW? Does your GM have you track your encumbrance? When was the last time your fighter was forced to don his armor for 10 minutes before a fight? There are plenty of rules in Shadowrun that can bog down play. Ignore these, at least until you have a handle on them, and open yourself up to some of the greatest fluff ever written for a PnP game system. See More

Top Con

Urban Fantasy isn't for everyone

LuckyBathala's Experience

cool merge of fantasy and sci fi with interesting magic system, thought large amount of 6 sided dices need is a little bit disturbing See More

Elle's Experience

AdventurousHuitaca's Experience

Fantasy not science fiction See More

See All

score 50 · Answer 8

Esper Genesis

Top Con

This is just an exceptionally bad reskin of 5E.

It's just terribly reskinned 5E. The classes are literally just 5E classes with the serial numbers filed off and a scifi paintjob. The Engineer, for example, is just a cleric in disguise. There's no undead in space, so they turn robots instead. There's a space warlock, a space ranger, a space paladin, a space fighter, a space wizard etc. See More

Top Pro

Smooth blending of feel for Firefly/Mass Effect/Galactica

The rules are familiar enough that they don’t get in the way like they do with some other sci-fi rules systems. Space combat seems to flow better than other systems. The setting presented seems much like the mass effect universe prior to reapers. See More

Joe De Bari (togashi_joe)'s Experience

Esper Genesis is great for players that like 5e. It shares a lot of 5e's faults, but those are few and far between. What's fun about EG to me is the ability to mesh D&D fantasy and EG sci-fi and the simplicity of 5e's ruleset. All 8 EG classes are fun to GM for (as I have yet to play them, but I have GMed 50+ hours of EG). Space combat is interesting too since it's run like regular combat, but the ships in the core rulebook are severely lacking. I've had to create a lot of content for EG 5e by converting the Starfinder Dead Suns adventure path, but my group and I are having tons of fun. The art in the EG book is kinda meh sometimes, and not baking environment protections into armor is kinda silly. Hopefully, with the release of the Threats Database and Technician's Guide, the game should only grow and become something really special. See More

Specs

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Top Con

Equipment options in the core book are kinda meh

No oxygen mask / filtered re-breather or way for players to deal with vacuum/toxic environments as purchasable equipment in the Core manual. See More

Top Pro

Familiar 5th edition rule set

Based on D&D 5th edition rules for familiarity by many RPG players. See More

DecentVagitanus's Experience

Esper Genesis has a great backstory for heroic sci-fi play. It fits on the chassis of the 5th edition rules well. See More

Top Con

Some art in the book is not so great

Top Pro

Sci-fi/Fantasy setting

This setting has a great sci-fi/fantasy setting feel with space travel, lasers, ships, and aliens, but also magic-like powers and psionics. See More

Keith Dalrymple's Experience

Fully fleshed-out sci-fi setting using the 5e system mechanics, plus great rules for starship combat! See More

Top Pro

The book's construction is very solid

Pages are thick and sturdy. No binding issues. See More

PowerfulCronus's Experience

A lot of fun, easy to hit the ground running with because of 5e compatibility but distinct enough to be a new and exciting experience See More

Top Pro

Class and race options are fun and well-balanced

PoliteFodla's Experience

I played Esper Genesis in a one-shot at a con, and the system was so atrocious that I literally walked out. See More

Top Pro

Really creatve creatures and new, but familiar, sci-fi villians

AdventurousHuitaca's Experience

Fantasy not science fiction See More

See All

score 45 · Answer 9

Starfinder

Top Pro

Art is top notch

Top Con

It's fantasy not science fiction

Yes, it has Science Fiction elements, but magic is not science fiction See More

DecentMimas's Experience

To complex. The problem with pathfinder too. If you like roll playing and not role playing this is your game. Min/ax heaven. See More

Top Pro

Equipment is very varied and armor has built in environment protections

Top Con

Fantasy not science fiction

Magic and fantasy in space is not science fiction See More

SuccinctNinhursag's Experience

An incredible balancing-act of tight tactical design and made-of-tropes narrative flexibility. You'll be amazed at the range of stories you can tell & how satisfying it is to run. See More

Top Pro

Amazing setting full of fantastic Sci-Fi/Sci-Fantasy ideas

Top Con

Only 7 classes and only 4 of these are OK

Soldier is excellent, Specialist is very good, and Mystic & Technomancer are ok, but Envoy, Mechanic need much more, and Solarian is pretty horrible. See More

Joe De Bari (togashi_joe)'s Experience

I played Starfinder for several months after release, both as a DM of the Dead Suns adventure path and as a player in Starfinder Society. The Dead Suns adventure path is fun but combats were excessive and took too long, especially for an average group of players who were not 100% optimized for combat. I switched to Esper Genesis 5e and converted the Dead Suns AP. My players and I have much more fun now. Starfinder has great lore in my opinion, cool races, lots of equipment choices, but too few and lackluster options for classes and feats. See More

Top Pro

Major bookbinding issues upon release and 2nd release

Top Con

Characters are forced to optimize to be viable

It's unfortunate, but characters are forced to optimize to be viable in combat. This was very evident at the conclusion of the Dead Suns Adventure Path, part 4, which has an adversary so difficult to hit, it was ridiculous. Combats take excessively long and a Vesk unarmed soldier with max Strength is very broken. See More

Top Con

Solarion is cool in concept, but too multi-ability dependent (MAD)

Charisma as a primary stat makes no sense. See More

Top Con

Major bookbinding issues upon release and 2nd release

See All

score 10 · Answer 10

Cyberpunk 2020

Top Pro

Universal Stat+Skill+d10! roll-system for determining success

There is a universal roll of using a character's appropriate Stat, a Skill related to that stat and to the action needed, and an exploding d10 die (if you roll a 10, you will start to have adequate "critical hit" thrills by rolling some more, but if you roll a 1 that is a potentially dangerous Fumble on the Fumble Chart, 60% of the time). See More

Top Con

Netrunning can be a slog

Netrunning can easily take the focus away from the party and onto the single netrunner during combat and other encouters for too long sometimes. This seems to also be a problem in other cyberpunk games, like Shadowrun, so Cyberpunk 2020 isn't unique in this regard. See More

Top Pro

Deep character creation and fast-paced action

With its system for creating character traits and backstory, CB2020 inspires players to build well-rounded characters with adventure seeds built directly into their histories. Skill-checks are based on a D10 roles plus attribute and skill values against difficulty levels, and combat tends to be quick and dirty, keeping the focus on the action and allowing for cinematic gameplay. See More

Top Con

A future that is almost an alternate history at this point

Set in a time that is almost upon us, the 1980s vision of the dark future can seem anachronistic, and it may require serious suspension of disbelief for anyone who did not grow up with the genre. Imagine cassette tapes were still around, mobile phones were still the size of a brick, and wifi was rare and expensive. See More

Top Pro

Faithful rendition of "cyberpunk" fiction

Top Pro

Fun and fast lifepath character generation system

Character background, relationships, and motivations are a fun minigame that's part of character creation, like Traveller or SWN's lifepath system but simplified. See More

See All

score 17 · Answer 11

Dark Heresy

Top Pro

In-Depth character creation and well-supported for long campaigns

The Universe of Warhammer 40K is very rich in Lore, and Dark Heresy has a very detailed Point-Buy system with expansions such as Ascension in order to allow characters to level-up past the concepts of the base game, into things like Sisters of Battle, Vindicare Assassins, or even Inquisitors themselves. See More

Top Con

Difficult for beginners

Character Creation can be very difficult for someone who is not used to RPGs, especially Percentile-based RPGs, to understand, and the setting as a whole tends to lend to unforgiving interpretations of the rules, which can be frustrating for some players. See More

Top Con

d100 task resolution

Percentile dice are the most frustrating task resolution mechanic out there. Most systems that use them, and DH is no exception, give you incredibly low odds to succeed at basic tasks with a newly create character. The thing your character is supposedly good at will probably only have a 40-45% chance of succeeding, with AT MOST +20% for a very easy task. You can just not bother rolling for the things you're not so good at. See More

Top Con

Fantasy not science fiction

Top Con

Sub-faction Specific: Designed for Inquisitors

The FFRPGs are known for being subfaction specific, which is both good and bad. Sadly, FFRPG never really put out a series which allows players to do Xenos/nonhumans really well. See More

See All

score 26 · Answer 12

W.O.I.N.

Top Pro

Once you know the system it is easily adjustable

You can use all three books; New, old and now, in any genre. See More

Top Con

Does have a slight learning curve and combat can be confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it combat is very smooth

CulturedIoMatuaKore's Experience

My main system for si-fi. I run a very traveller-esque game and this system work better for the cinematic element I am going for See More

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score 11 · Answer 13

D6 Space

Top Pro

No special dice required

The game can be played with common six-sided dice. See More

Top Con

Complicated magic system

Top Pro

Free to download

This is old (but still great) system used for the original Star Wars RPG. So although it's a free download it's an excellent, mature system. See More

Top Pro

FREE, multi-genre support, D6 Star Wars compatibility

Top Pro

Good introductory section

See All

score 5 · Answer 14

GURPS 4th Edition

Top Pro

Modular rules

GURPS can be as crunchy as you like, with rules available to cover any situation, but at its core, there are only about three rules you need. See More

Top Con

Requires too much GM babysitting

Too many options with no setting structure and the freedom to do whatever is a liability, not a perk. See More

AuthenticAlastor's Experience

If you want an out-of-the box setting, GURPS has several. One of my favorites is their Transhuman Space setting. But for those of you who, like me, want to bring your own vision to life, GURPS has the tools. See More

Top Pro

Option for Cinematic Rules

There is an option to make combat far less deadly. See More

Top Con

Option paralysis

Sometimes having so many dials to turn is not a good thing. It can be hard to create a game with so many options available. See More

Top Pro

Great sourcebooks

GURPS sourcebooks are famous for being comprehensive guides to the settings/genres they describe, to the degree that even people who don't play GURPS find them useful. See More

Top Con

Long character creation

The lion's share of the work in GURPS is front-loaded: characters are built on points, pieced together with attributes, advantages, disadvantages, quirks, skills, powers, spells, cybernetics, and whatever else your game requires. Expect to spend easily an hour or more creating your character. See More

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score 17 · Answer 15

Star Frontiers

Top Pro

Fast percentile combat-system able to combine personal, vehicle and aerial combat together

Percentile combat-system is based on a Base Skill % + 10%/Level of Skill. Skill levels are from 1-6. Combat occurs in six-second turns. Modifiers for melee, ranged, vehicle and aerial combat are added to the base %'s. Rolls of 01-05 are automatic successes, 01-02 in addition are "Knockouts". But rolls of 96-00 are Failures no matter how good you may become. See More

ExcellentDeimos's Experience

Played it when it first came out. The players and I had a lot of fun with it. See More

Specs

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Joseph Keenan's Experience

One of the originals has been ipdated a few times by fans. Still worth playing. See More

See All

score 10 · Answer 16

Legacy: Life Among the Ruins

Top Pro

Incredible replayability

Excellent World Building Tools See More

Douglas Mota's Experience

With a post apoclyptic approach, Legacy covers a wide variety of science fiction scenarios, from biopunk, to alien interactions, and even kaiju fiction! See More

score 7 · Answer 17

Spacemaster

Top Pro

Realistic, expandable, character vehicle ships together

d100 system, fights can be deadly, unlike d20 system power creep of players at higher levels. Many possibilities for GMs. See More

Top Con

GMs need to go look up at specific tables

InterestingTskarishdida's Experience

Spacemaster is full system for any kind / theme / tech-level of SciFi RPG games, complete with vehicles, starships, aliens, psionics etc. And, its recommended setting is actually optional. See More

Specs

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Top Con

Need all 3 books; Gm, Tech and Player

See All

score 8 · Answer 18

Mindjammer

Top Pro

Very flexible in what you can do

You can play as a sentient starship or even as a whole organisation. All rules included. See More

Top Con

Lore is still a bit scarce

Mindjammer Press is constantly publishing new material, but as of the time of writing this, the source material out now is still quite limited. Especially compared to the more established systems. See More

VigilantAtaguchu's Experience

Very little - actually still prepping my first game. See More

Top Pro

Uses FATE

This could be a pro or con. A well known foundation as rules. Also you don't need to buy the FATE rules, as all you need is included in the rulebook. See More

Top Pro

This is a simple but very flexible system, with enough credible, modern sci-fi setting to play most kinds of games with

The system is story-focused and the the setting is human focused but transhuman, so its broad. And massive. But you can also ignore it, easily. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 19

20 Games Considered

My Recommendation for Stars Without Number

My Recommendation for Stars Without Number

Randomly generates the whole galaxy

It is essentially a rehash of old ideas

Faction system

D20

Customization

Weapons are bit too deadly

Simple

Poorly written

Great story

My Recommendation for Traveller

My Recommendation for Traveller

It's actually science fiction

Retro future basis can get in the way

Expansive library of reference materials

All editions not created equal

Diversity in setting and thematic complexity

No character development

Smooth, fast gameplay

Adaptable

Games-within-a-game

No zero to hero

Makes complex concepts easy

My Recommendation for Savage Worlds

My Recommendation for Savage Worlds

Fast-paced play

Medium complexity

Extensive supplemental support for sci-fi

Basically just a combat engine

Generic rule-set

Atypical wound system

Companion books with expanded rules to support 4 major genres

My Recommendation for Paranoia

My Recommendation for Paranoia

Humourous in tone

Perfect for One Shots.

Semi-competitive play

My Recommendation for Eclipse Phase

My Recommendation for Eclipse Phase

Game is amazing

Progressive Politics

Great setting

Treatment of mental illnesses and poor gamesystem

High standard of quality

The political system is heavily biased

Free and Fantastic

Comprehensive and intuitive D100 system

2nd edition cleans up the system

My Recommendation for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire

My Recommendation for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire

You need custom dice, and they take some getting used to

Drives improvisation through its die roll mechanics

Three flavoured "separated" subvariants for smuggler theme, rebel stories and Jedi path

The Star Wars setting

All the worst money-grabbing faults in RPG design incorporated here

Easier to play online

No Jedi or Sith

Super-customizable character creation system

The old WEG edition is so much better

Set in the Star Wars Universe

Very little digitally distributed content

Story focused instead of combat focused

My Recommendation for Shadowrun

My Recommendation for Shadowrun

In-depth character creation

Character creation can take a long time

Urban Fantasy isn't for everyone

My Recommendation for Esper Genesis

My Recommendation for Esper Genesis

This is just an exceptionally bad reskin of 5E.

Smooth blending of feel for Firefly/Mass Effect/Galactica

Equipment options in the core book are kinda meh

Familiar 5th edition rule set

Some art in the book is not so great

Sci-fi/Fantasy setting

The book's construction is very solid

Class and race options are fun and well-balanced

Really creatve creatures and new, but familiar, sci-fi villians