Anyone running a Science Fiction game?

[nijineko]

i have a floating campaign where it is a futuristic version of d&d. rather interesting storyline involving a shady dude who hired us to beat an inevitable that's hunting him. too bad he didn't include our moral alignment in his calculations. i'm playing a rather fun soulknife/pyrokinetic type. =D

[Mulsiphix]

Is it a D20 Future campaign, D20 product, or is it a custom setting?

[Drohem]

Is it a D20 Future campaign, D20 product, or is it a custom setting?

It's a sourcebook that presents several different short campaign ideas; each with a specific class.

It provides rules on different levels of technology, equipment for various Progress Level (i.e. technology levels), mecha rules, genetic rules, new feats, expanded skill uses, etc.

It's a must have for running a futuristic game with d20 Modern.

[Vic-]

So is anyone actually running a science fiction / futuristic game? If so:

1. What genre? (e.g. Cyberpunk, Hard SF, Space Opera, Post-Apocalyptic)
   
2. What rules? (e.g. d20 Modern/Future, D6, GURPS, Traveller)
   
3. How's it going?

1.)Space Opera?
2.) D20 Future /Stardrive
3.) Not so good as we don't get to play as much as i'd like.
I am a big fan of Cosmic Encounter and use the aliens in that game as the prime bad guys in my game.

[Mulsiphix]

It's a sourcebook that presents several different short campaign ideas; each with a specific class.

It provides rules on different levels of technology, equipment for various Progress Level (i.e. technology levels), mecha rules, genetic rules, new feats, expanded skill uses, etc.

It's a must have for running a futuristic game with d20 Modern.

Sounds delicious. While I may not be playing D20 I have already started to digest "must have" settings for usage, anywhere from inspirational to direct, in GURPS. DragonMech, DragonStar, and a growing list of others

[nijineko]

i have most of the dragonstar books! =D rather fun concept, but i want to mix more spelljammer-esc elements into it. i don't go for the whole crystal spheres concept, but i liked the inter-prime travel ideas which i think would work nicely for hyperspace in dragonstar, rather than using the teleportation mechanic.

i've looked at dragonmech, and it also looks interesting.

as far as the futuristic d&d campaign. it's basically d&d ripped up and plunked down into a future background. minor tech is easily available, but beyond that the prices climb rapidly. and as we are civilians, we don't have a lot of access to military hardware. but it's still a fun feel.

[Inquisitor Tremayne]

Bump!

To see if there are any new folks with Sci-Fi games.

Let us know!

[Rabiki]

I don't have any games running right now, but I'm currently working on creating a new world to base our gaming in. Here's some of what we've got...check out rabiki.com if you want help in a collaborative world building effort.


1. It's a few thousand years in the future.

2. We've terraformed Mars, and most of humanity now lives there.

3. The inhabitants of Earth are mostly criminals looking for a place to hide in our solar system, and a few poor who were left behind, and not taken to Mars.

4. Earth's natural resources have been depleted, and our over-consumption has pretty much made it a waste-land. A literal trash planet. Ships actually fly over and dump their trash into the atmosphere.

5. Humanity has attained Faster Than Light (FTL) travel, and have colonized out as far as 1000 Light years from earth. They occasionally go farther.

6. Leaning more toward hard sci-fi... However remember this "Any sufficiently advanced technology looks like magic" – A. C. Clarke

After we get a few species ironed out, I'd like to run a few games. The games will probably be pretty quick paced...they will be play-by-post, but will try to finish a game within one or two nights.

[tesral]

After we get a few species ironed out, I'd like to run a few games. The games will probably be pretty quick paced...they will be play-by-post, but will try to finish a game within one or two nights.

You are expecting faster than light. I have never seen play by post run that fast, ever.

[boulet]

They may have the equivalent of chess blitz : after each GM post starts a 5 minutes timer, if PCs fail to reply in time foes strangle them with nasty tentacles... Just kidding.

Tesral is right, it sounds like this online game would be chat based rather than forum based

[Rabiki]

You are expecting faster than light. I have never seen play by post run that fast, ever.

Yeah...i guess it would be more like a chat game. Still undecided how to play, but lots to do as far as world-building.

[tesral]

Yeah...i guess it would be more like a chat game. Still undecided how to play, but lots to do as far as world-building.

PbP can be and usually is slower than geologic change. I have seen it take six months for a 24 hour day to pass.

Keep in mind that every extra player doubles the time between moves unless you are a move nazi and enforce activity rules.

Chat is a different animal with which I have no direct experience and thus will refrain from comment or advice.

As to world building, don't over load the game with too much data dump or frontloading. You can start the game with very little in the way of finished world. Remember, the universe is only as big as what the players can see. Paint a borad backdrop and keep their attention focued on the details that are finished.

I have seen many a grand game that never got started becasue the GM spent all his time planning, and none of it gaming. "But it will be great when it's finished!" If that is the case, write a source book. Slap down some broad strokes, get a bit of detail, whomp up a conflict and start playing.

[Webhead]

Chat is a different animal with which I have no direct experience and thus will refrain from comment or advice.

Chat-based games (of which I've run a few) can be a lot of fun and definately move more quickly than PbP. The problem with chat-based however, is that groups will very rarely survive beyond 3 to 4 sessions as all need to be in the same place at the same time, meeting each other's schedule restraints. Too often, a person can't make it one week, then the next...then a second disappears, etc. I've had a great time running some chat-based games, but they are best approached with very short-term expectations.

As to world building, don't over load the game with too much data dump or frontloading. YOu can start the game with very little in the way of finished world. Remember, the universe is only as big as what the players can see. Paint a boradbackdrop and keep their attetion focued on the details that are finished.

I have seen many a grand game that never got started becasue the GM spent all his time planning, and none of it gaming. "But it will be great when it's finished!" If that is the case, write a source book. Slap down some broad strokes, get a bit of detail, whomp up a conflict and start playing.

Very good advice. As a writer, this is concept is akin to holy scripture. Stop thinking about how you're going to do it and start doing it!

[tesral]

Very good advice. As a writer, this is concept is akin to holy scripture. Stop thinking about how you're going to do it and start doing it!

I am a writer, every GM that does their own material is a writer. Melissa Scott said I was a writer and if a pro says it, it must be so.

[Webhead]

Very true. I think the reasons why I like to write and why I like to play role playing games are the same. For me, it's all about using your imagination to tell stories. While "book-writing" tends to be a very self-contained practice, RPGs are a collaborative social practice, which fulfills my need for human interaction and spontaneity. You never know what's going to happen next in an RPG.