Sci-Fi RPG systems/settings/core rules
Sci-Fi RPG systems/settings/core rules
This is meant to be a non-exhaustive list, in stream-of-consciousness order.
Dedicated systems
- Traveller (in its many incarnations throughout the past nearly 50 years and derivatives such as Cepheus, Hostile)
- 2300 AD (now a setting for Traveller)
- Cyberpunk (2013, 2020, V3.0, Red)
- Paranoia
- Eclipse Phase
- Lancer
- Star Wars roleplaying (different games by different publishers: WEG d6, d20, FFG NDS)
- Warhammer 40K
- 3:16: Carnage Amongst the Stars
- Shadowrun
- Apocalypse World
- Coyote & Crow
- SLA Industries
FATE based systems
- Bulldogs!
- Mindjammer
- Nova Praxis
- Diaspora
- Atomic Robo
OSR/d20 based systems
- Stars Without Number
- Starfinder
- Mothership
- CY_BORG
Year Zero
- Mutant: Year Zero
- Alien: The RPG
- Blade Runner: The RPG
- Coriolis – The Third Horizon
GURPS
A host of modules and supplements named after the subgenre, GURPS-style. GURPS Transhuman Space, Cyberpunk, etc.
Other systems
- Star Trek Adventures (Modiphius 2d20)
- Dune: Adventures in the Imperium (Modiphius 2d20)
- Rifts (Palladium)
- Robotech (Palladium)
- Scum and Villainy (FitD/PbtA)
Solo friendly
- Stoneburner
- Ironsworn: Starforged (PbtA)
- Hostile (Cepheus/Traveller)
Out of print/No longer developed
- Firefly RPG (Cortex Plus)
- Serenity RPG (Cortex Classic)
- Battlestar Galactica RPG (Cortex Classic)
- Gamma World (D&D)
- Space Opera
- Other Suns
- Albedo
- Space Master
- HARP SF
- Blue Planet
- Ringworld
- Living Steel
- High Colonies
- Jovian Chronicles
- Heavy Gear
- Justifiers
- Star Frontiers
- Universe
- CORPS
Have a suggestion to improve this? Your favorite game missing? Leave a comment.
For solo players, Ironsworn: Starforged is a must.
Done and thank you!
Blue Planet is getting an update - Blue Planet: Recontact
The Kickstarter closed some time ago, and several beta PDFs have been provided.
I'm enjoying this blades in the dark adaptation quite a lot
Added, thank you.
There is a new version of Robotech from after Paladium Games lost the license, but I have not looked at, or played it.
And there is the old d6 system for Star Wars from West End Games, and the new books use I think the
FATEEDGE system. There was also the short lived d20 system from WoTC.You also have Battletch, but dont know Robotech to say if the systems are similar
Rifts is a classic, but also a very strange animal. And for some reason I thought Robotech was a minis game (must be confusing with something else).
Star Wars is already listed. I know those are technically different games, but I'm trying to keep the list as concise as possible (grouping the multiple versions of the same setting under one entry). I don't know much about the history of star wars RPG though. How would you summarize it?
(WEG d6, d20, Fate)?And for some reason I thought Robotech was a minis game (must be confusing with something else).
There was a Robotech minis game, that was a huge debacle, and why Paladium games lost the license. But you are likely thinking of BattleTech, which is historically a mini game but also has an TTRPG version initially called MechWarrior, but I think it has a new name now.
How would you summarize it?
(WEG d6, d20, Fate)?Yes. They all play totally differently, and the newer stuff has newer source books. But the last time I looked the community had taken the newer stuff and adapted it to work with WEGd6.
And despite something being listed, I think if there are multiple versions (not just different editions, but these are totally different games set in the same universe. But to keep the list concise, a note that there are different versions from different publishers.
Another I just remembered, is there is a Firefly RPG, I forget the publisher (possibly Lost Unicorn Games) I will look it up later.
Strong recommend for Stars Without Number. It’s a great hard sci-fi system if you leave out the optional psychic stuff.
What makes it interesting is that it’s very lethal. A level 5 party can easily get murdered by a group of level 1s if they get trapped or ambushed.
It makes for games where players think hard before committing to combat.
I used it to run a game set in Alastair Reynolds‘ “Revelation Space” universe and it worked well. I chose it because it does not force a very specific sci-fi universe on you. Super happy.
Sounds like you’d like Hostile by Zozer Games. They have a solo version too where you control a crew.
...i've wanted to play the original alternity / star*drive for twenty-five years, but i hear dark*matter is a pretty good campaign setting for the system, too...
🤦♀️ How did I forget Alternity?
...may as well throw in star frontiers while you're at it...
Some here that I didn't spot on the list:
- Space Opera
- Other Suns
- Albedo
- Space Master
- HARP SF
- Blue Planet
- Ringworld
- SLA Industries
- Living Steel
- High Colonies
- Jovian Chronicles
- Heavy Gear
- Justifiers
- Star Frontiers
- Universe
- Timelords
- Warp World
- CORPS (first edition was SF, second was generic)
If I dig through my collection I'll probably find a few (dozen) more.
https://greenroninstore.com/collections/the-expanse-rpg
Based on the Modern AGE ruleset.
The irony is that The Expanse was first conceived as an online RPG setting. They couldn't get funding, so they played it "mail in" style on a forum. This became the basis of the first book. The book series was, in turn, turned into an tabletop RPG. We've almost gone full circle.
I tried the Star Trek Adventures recently and liked it. It felt like a middle ground between FATE games and Cortex games. Worth a shot for anybody on the fence.
Are we counting splatbooks like Fabula Ultima: Techno Fantasy