Sci-Fi Confusion

[ragr]

I need some opinions based on experience of playing some of the sci-fi games currently out there; I know that this is a topic that has a similar feel to some other threads but, having read those, I'm none the wiser on choosing a game. I've also scoured the net looking for reviews and, again, have hit a brick wall in the decision making process.

I intend to play by post on a forum that I use but may do an occasional FTF session if it can be arranged with a widely scattered player base. The game therefore needs to be easy enough to run by post so no reliance on minis or maps to successfully resolve actions.

What feel do I want? Very simplistic on my part but, more Event Horizon/Aliens than Star Wars/Trek.
One essential factor; there must be a decent supply of ready to play scenarios as I'm devoting prep time to an FTF and haven't got much to spare to the pbp format.

So far I've looked at the following;

Traveller; a game I've run in its d6, Marc Miller iteration, but not for a good 15+ years. Loved it then but it seems to have multiple versions now and I'm not sure whether it's "current" enough.

2300; okay, it's Traveller basically but it looks like what I want feel wise. There seems to be some criticism of the system, however.

Eclipse Phase; some fantastic reviews but what a monster rule book and I have a suspicion that may deter players. There seem to be a fair few setting books but not a lot of scenarios.

Fading Suns; I love the look of this game and setting but, to my horror again, a lot of different versions of the game.

Blue Planet; this one looks like a great setting again but will it limit those players who like a little shipside action. And, not many scenarios?

BRP; I use BRP for my main tabletop campaign, it works well and my players know it. There are plenty of monographs with adventures but , how well does it cope with sci-fi?

All help is gratefully received.

Cheers in advance.

[old timer]

Ok, well i run a couple of traveller games on a PbP forum, and it works well, the core of the system is easy to learn. I use mongoose traveller, and there are a couple of good campaigns already written, the latest one, the pirates of Drinax is available free on their site, and a few others that are printed and available to buy.
I cant see BRP having any problems running a sci fi game either face to face or via PbP. Blue planet is very 'planet side' sci fi, and has very few scenarios for it. Eclipse phase is a monster rule book, and might be too involved for PbP, and again only a few published scenarios out for it.
Hope this helps, though i, being a traveller fan boy, would of course say go for traveller out of the above options but that just me.

[Stronty Girl]

The older version of 2300AD had quite a few scenarios published for it - you might be able to find some of those on ebay or the like. The ones I've got are:

Deathwatch Programme (starts on Earth, ends up with a space battle).
Rotten to the Core (sourcebook on the city around Earth's space elevator, plus a scenario of bioterrorists and corporate espionage).
Beanstalk (3 linked scenarios set on and around Beta Canum's space elevator, plus sourcebook on the elevator).
Bayern (2 scenarios set on a scientific exploration ship).
Kafer Dawn (war with the Kafers).
And the Nyotekundu sourcebook has a mini scenario set on a mining station.
And the Ranger sourcebook has scenarios, but really only for ranger characters.

Challenge Magazine (some issues now available on the web) was also a good source of scenarios for 2300AD, MegaTraveller, cyberpunky things and the like.

[Evilgaz]

Blue Planet; this one looks like a great setting again but will it limit those players who like a little shipside action. And, not many scenarios?

The original two systems are shonky. There's a Savage Worlds edition in the works though and its very nice. Each of the original source books has scenarios, there's lots of scenario seeds, and there's a fair amount on the web, but most of it does require some work, and there's not a dedicated scenario book or anything.

Given what you're after, Traveller is a good option, even if you just use it to nick adventures from.

[ragr]

The older version of 2300AD had quite a few scenarios published for it - you might be able to find some of those on ebay or the like. The ones I've got are:

Deathwatch Programme (starts on Earth, ends up with a space battle).
Rotten to the Core (sourcebook on the city around Earth's space elevator, plus a scenario of bioterrorists and corporate espionage).
Beanstalk (3 linked scenarios set on and around Beta Canum's space elevator, plus sourcebook on the elevator).
Bayern (2 scenarios set on a scientific exploration ship).
Kafer Dawn (war with the Kafers).
And the Nyotekundu sourcebook has a mini scenario set on a mining station.
And the Ranger sourcebook has scenarios, but really only for ranger characters.

Challenge Magazine (some issues now available on the web) was also a good source of scenarios for 2300AD, MegaTraveller, cyberpunky things and the like.

Is that version d20?

[ragr]

there are a couple of good campaigns already written, the latest one, the pirates of Drinax is available free on their site,

Consider that "purchased", then.

[w00hoo]

Bit late to the party, but for your requirements I'd agree. Traveller.

I play a bit of it, I don't think it's that great as a system (it feels old to me because it retains a lot of the feel of the original and so is.) but it does the job. Most importantly, there's loads of stuff out there for it.

The party need to be willing to 'just go with the scenario' probably (definitely the case with Tripwire which is what we're playing through. There are some real hoops to jump through for no obvious reason aside from 'the scenario says jump through some hoops') but that goes for a lot of pre-written stuff and more so for SF which can be a difficult genre to play.

If you were happy with old traveller, Mongoose Traveller should slot in quite easily.

[Stronty Girl]

Is that version d20?

No, they were for the original version (Traveller 2300) and second edition (renamed 2300ad). The system was stats of 4d6 and skills of roll over a set difficulty on d10.

[Newt]

BRP; I use BRP for my main tabletop campaign, it works well and my players know it. There are plenty of monographs with adventures but , how well does it cope with sci-fi?

Cthulhu Rising by John Ossoway is your off the peg solution here. In the background book the mythos elements are a very light touch, in fact reserved to a single chapter, and easily ignored leaving you with a gritty "Cigarettes in the Ashtray" * type setting that takes in elements from Philip K Dick & Aliens.

River of Heaven, also by John, which will be out later this year, takes its cues from the like of Alstair Reynolds' Revelation Space and the Dune series. Its inspired by alot of "not quite Transhuman/Singularity" sci-fi.

[ragr]

BRP; I use BRP for my main tabletop campaign, it works well and my players know it. There are plenty of monographs with adventures but , how well does it cope with sci-fi?

Cthulhu Rising by John Ossoway is your off the peg solution here. In the background book the mythos elements are a very light touch, in fact reserved to a single chapter, and easily ignored leaving you with a gritty "Cigarettes in the Ashtray" * type setting that takes in elements from Philip K **** & Aliens.

River of Heaven, also by John, which will be out later this year, takes its cues from the like of Alstair Reynolds' Revelation Space and the Dune series. Its inspired by alot of "not quite Transhuman/Singularity" sci-fi.

Thanks, Newt.

I've also had a look at Operation Ulysses which looks decent although no reviews anywhere.

[GuyMilner]

I was about to post about how 90% of Eclipse Phase is background, rather than rules (which are basically D100 in format), but then realised this wasn't much help as you'll still need your players to have at least nodding familiarity with said background. And this is the dilemma with sci-fi, in my experience; it's very hard to start play without a bit of background knowledge.

If you want your players up and running ASAP, then Traveller and 2300AD are pretty straightforward settings to get one's head around - although this can also be a problem with Traveller as it can suffer from a dearth of plot unless you populate your setting - and PCs - with plenty to motivate them.

In your situation, if I wanted setting familiarity on a plate, then I'd be looking at either Star Wars Saga (I know, you said no minis - but I'd run Saga without them and just handwave everything - esp. in PbF) or one of FFG's W40K games. If I wanted a system that's easier to bend to my will, I'd go for a genuinely easy-to-adapt one, like Savage Worlds or Heroquest, and run it in the background indicated.

Although Traveller has the advantage of both easy-to-pick-up setting and fast-and-dirty system, so probably fits your bill better.

[ragr]

I'm surprised that no-one's expressed any views on Fading Suns; it has the look of a love or hate game to me.

Maybe it's just ho-hum, then.

[Kaiserjez]

Fading Suns seems to be in trouble at the minute. 3rd ed was due but they sacked the lead writer a few weeks ago an have left themselves a couple of months to release a different version by GenCon.
But there's plenty of stuff available for 2nd ed out there.

[dpmcalister]

I picked up the Fading Suns Players Guide a few years ago on the recommendation of DigitalMage. Liked the background but I wasn't keen on the system.

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[dr_mitch]

Fading Suns is a great background, coupled with, as dpm says, a ho-hum system. But it's as much fantasy as SF (and I wouldn't have it any other way), and doesn't much sound like what you're looking for. On another note, if you're looking for Fantasy crossed with SF, Hellas is really good. But that's going way off-topic.