I really love Rules Lite style games.
I'll also say I'm good when it comes to swords, magic, and dragon fantasy games. I may even say I've got too many of those.
But Sci-Fi is my real love.
So if you had to run a sci-fi game out of the blue, with minimal setup time for making a character for everyone, and easy to learn rules, what is your pick?
Traveller is my go to sci fi game. It is easy, has a ton of adventures, and very small rulebooks. Even newer traveller is easy-ish. But if you want simple, but well thought out, check out Classic Traveller.
If you are into B/X D&D, check out Stars Without Number. Easy, and the skill system is compatible with Traveller, so porting adventures is no problem.
If you don't mind .pdf's, check out Star Frontiers. A classic game, uses percentile dice. Easy system, so long as you stick to basic rules. Very hard sci-fi, no artificial gravity. Be warned that if you want to have the characters crewing spaceships, then that is a different supplement (Knight Hawks).
RPG Pundit put out Star Adventurer. I haven't looked at it yet.
What would the focus be? A reskinned dungeon crawl? Crash survival on an alien world? Negotiating an advantageous trade deal with the alien ambassador?
Pregen characters or fast creation?
My go to system is Fate Accelerated Edition since you can hack it to do any genre in about a minute. It is aspect based which means the descriptions on your index card sized character sheet actually become actionable items that interact with the game mechanics. You can get a similar ease of use with the PDQ system.
I have a preference for Cepheus Engine over Traveller since you don't have the baggage of the implied Imperial setting.
Those Dark Places looks like a lot of fun for blue collar sci-fi, but I have not gotten it to the table yet.
Daniel Bayn's Wushu might sound like it is martial arts only, but it is a cinematic system were the more details you give help to build your dice pool. So, if you want a big damn over the top action game, it will do sci-fi just as easily as gun-fu or car-fu. [I've used for alien wizards and dogfighter games ala Crimson Skies.]
I would probably use Tiny Frontiers. I did a quick Halloween game last year using Tiny Cthulhu, the horror version of the Tiny D6 system. We had a good time.
Quote from: Greentongue on June 03, 2022, 01:28:04 PM
What would the focus be? A reskinned dungeon crawl? Crash survival on an alien world? Negotiating an advantageous trade deal with the alien ambassador?
Pregen characters or fast creation?
If I could pick a specific sci-fi genre, then it would be Mecha pilots. Tiny D6 Mecha vs Monsters I already have, and am waiting for MvsM Evolved to come out in what feels like 2167 AD.
Sadly, we have others in the group who prefer not to be pilots, so some sort of exploration theme might do better.
With little prep time which has to include character creation...
For mecha sci-fi I'd use The Mecha Hack.
For other flavors of sci-fi I'd probably go with Tiny Frontiers, Scum and Villainy or Orbital Blues.
If I wanted fantasy sci-fi (Thundarr the Barbarian, The Herculoids, etc) I would go with Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells.
I think the key words here are "quick" and "pick-up." With that in mind, I'd suggest some variation of West End Games' D6 system - either D6 Star Wars, D6 Space (I think that's what it was called), OpenD6 or Mini Six for something extremely rules-light. They can all easily be tweaked to whatever sci-fi subgenre or concept you want to explore, and they're very easy for new players to pick up, because "number on your character sheet tells you how many dice you roll, more dice is better," and that's really the core of it.
Mekton Alpha
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1398203372387.pdf
That is the free introductory version of Mekton Zeta which is what you should be using. Accept no substitutes. Many games have tried to imitate the same feeling of anime mecha that Mekton did, and all have failed.
Pundits Star Adventurer is a good bet.
Grab the GURPS Starship Crew pdf and use the templates as characters. Pick a template and play.
Alternately d6 Star Wars is fast.
Mechanoid Invasion Book 3 pick, race roll stats, pick class, pick skills is pretty fast.
Death In Space would be a good one if you like a dark 80's sci fi vibe. Character creation is simple as its similar to Mork Borg.
Traveller takes a bit to generate characters, so I'd pass on it for a pick up game. Stars Without Number is a good choice, as PC creation is quick, and being a pure OSR game is easy for most gamers to understand.
There is a game that exists named StarHedge. It's good fun. You would need probably some paragraphs from some of the other sets in the series but you could just fabricate the encounters and just use the rules to create a kind of Star Trek feel sci-fi RPG.
Not that you could find anything on it anyways xD
Quote from: David Johansen on June 03, 2022, 09:05:03 PM
Alternately d6 Star Wars is fast.
On d6 Star Wars being fast and effective.....I once had a bar full of drunks, characters ready and rules understood in 15 minutes by using the Star Wars Introductory Adventure Game (which is the d6 Star Wars version of Basic D&D).
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 03, 2022, 08:45:43 PM
Pundits Star Adventurer is a good bet.
I have this one. It's very good, but we have yet to play it. Star Wars is on the to-do list, but I'm always ready to check out more games too.
TWERPS had Space and Twek supplements.
Cepheus Quantum: it's free, and an ultra-light descendant of Classic Traveller.
Star Adventurer, White Star, Death in Space, Stars Without Number for OSR sci-fi games.
Elite: Dangerous, Coriolis, Alien, Savage Worlds (with one of its many sci-fi settings like Titan Effect), and the Cortex Engine (Firefly) can all do simplified and quick to play sci-fi gaming.
Quote from: jeff37923 on June 03, 2022, 06:28:44 PM
Mekton Alpha
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1398203372387.pdf
That is the free introductory version of Mekton Zeta which is what you should be using. Accept no substitutes. Many games have tried to imitate the same feeling of anime mecha that Mekton did, and all have failed.
I really dislike this guy but I have to admit he's right on this. I had Melton zeta+ and it's a workable simple system.
There is a simple fast system called appropriately enough FAST, freestyle action story telling. A mini system not well known, they run games at local conventions in the Midwest.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/369451/FAST-RPG-Quick-Play-Guide
Quote from: weirdguy564 on June 03, 2022, 12:59:04 PMSo if you had to run a sci-fi game out of the blue, with minimal setup time for making a character for everyone, and easy to learn rules, what is your pick?
I've said multiple times that the FFG Star Wars game is fundamentally flawed. However, it works fine for low level adventures and their starter boxes are easy to pick up and run (for anyone with some DMing experience). That's what I would recommend for a pick up game as the adventure and characters are all pre-built.
D6 space is free and has some sourcebooks for it. I hear it was a rejected attenot at a star wars rpg that was repurposed as a generic setting. Seems simple.
Quote from: Battlemaster on June 06, 2022, 10:44:17 PM
Quote from: jeff37923 on June 03, 2022, 06:28:44 PM
Mekton Alpha
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1398203372387.pdf
That is the free introductory version of Mekton Zeta which is what you should be using. Accept no substitutes. Many games have tried to imitate the same feeling of anime mecha that Mekton did, and all have failed.
I really dislike this guy but I have to admit he's right on this. I had Melton zeta+ and it's a workable simple system.
Maybe there is hope for you yet....
Traveller no question about it.
here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use
roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them
pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)
pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?
You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.
Start playing.
If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)
Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.
here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use
roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them
pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)
pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?
You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.
Start playing.
If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)
Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)
Very interesting, and similar to Cepheus Quantum/Quantum Starfarer.
Free League put out Coriolis, The Third Horizon for a somewhat Expanse/Firefly-like take on sci-fi with "Arabian Nights in Space" as a setting filter. Play is fast and smooth, and character creation is even easier than Traveller.
Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 06:41:12 AM
Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.
here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use
roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them
pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)
pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?
You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.
Start playing.
If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)
Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)
I wouldn't attempt to dignify either of these proposed "systems" by associating them with Traveller. They're both more in the line of "lets just roll dice and make some shit up." Games have rules, so you're not really playing a game at all if you "play" in this manner. Still, whatever floats your boat I guess.
It's a quick and dirty system for a pick up game, and it's based on classic Traveller where the referee is encouraged to make stuff up.
Have you ever talked with anyone who has played in a game run by MWM recently?
Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 10:46:12 AM
It's a quick and dirty system for a pick up game, and it's based on classic Traveller where the referee is encouraged to make stuff up.
Have you ever talked with anyone who has played in a game run by MWM recently?
Yes, I've played with Marc in fairly recent times. He uses a roll under stat system; you can't use a stat again until you've rolled on the other stats. I'm not saying that was much chop either.
No mention of HardNova 2 (http://rpg.deals/hardnova)? I'm about to cry :)
Ready to use character templates and scenarios included.
Quote from: Dylan on July 22, 2022, 10:16:56 AM
Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 06:41:12 AM
Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.
here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use
roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them
pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)
pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?
You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.
Start playing.
If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)
Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)
I wouldn't attempt to dignify either of these proposed "systems" by associating them with Traveller. They're both more in the line of "lets just roll dice and make some shit up." Games have rules, so you're not really playing a game at all if you "play" in this manner. Still, whatever floats your boat I guess.
Go home, change your full diaper, put on a fresh one, and go look up who Andy Slack is and skim through his published articles in White Dwarf - he's got the chops for Traveller.
Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 11:20:55 AM
Quote from: Dylan on July 22, 2022, 10:16:56 AM
Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 06:41:12 AM
Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.
here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use
roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them
pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)
pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?
You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.
Start playing.
If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)
Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)
I wouldn't attempt to dignify either of these proposed "systems" by associating them with Traveller. They're both more in the line of "lets just roll dice and make some shit up." Games have rules, so you're not really playing a game at all if you "play" in this manner. Still, whatever floats your boat I guess.
Go home, change your full diaper, put on a fresh one, and go look up who Andy Slack is and skim through his published articles in White Dwarf - he's got the chops for Traveller.
Well of course, and no need for condescension Jeff (as hard as it is for you academics to avoid). That's not to say his abbreviated rules are anything other than slack: as slack as a catamite's sphincter, one might say.
Mekton Zeta looks like a good game. It's back story may need some script doctoring to make it more to my liking.
However, it's not going to be good for rules lite.
I'm leaning toward Tiny D6 Frontiers and Mecha vs Monsters. I'm just waiting for Mecha vs Monsters Evolved, hopefully in August.
Heh, I just realized that I have never played or ran Mekton/Mekton Zeta in Algol. It was always a custom setting. It is pretty easy to hack to meet your needs.
Quote from: brettmb on July 22, 2022, 11:09:34 AM
No mention of HardNova 2 (http://rpg.deals/hardnova)? I'm about to cry :)
Ready to use character templates and scenarios included.
It was cheap. Under $5. I bought it. Now, I'll probably never play it, but I'm a bit of a collector. It's worth it.
Quote from: Premier on June 03, 2022, 05:21:47 PM
I think the key words here are "quick" and "pick-up." With that in mind, I'd suggest some variation of West End Games' D6 system - either D6 Star Wars, D6 Space (I think that's what it was called), OpenD6 or Mini Six for something extremely rules-light. They can all easily be tweaked to whatever sci-fi subgenre or concept you want to explore, and they're very easy for new players to pick up, because "number on your character sheet tells you how many dice you roll, more dice is better," and that's really the core of it.
This is the objectively correct answer.
I've never run a more fluid system.
Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 11:20:55 AM
Quote from: Dylan on July 22, 2022, 10:16:56 AM
Quote from: jeff37923 on July 22, 2022, 06:41:12 AM
Quote from: Anfelas on July 22, 2022, 06:30:24 AM
Traveller no question about it.
here are the quick and dirty character generation tools I use
roll 2d for each characteristic Str, Dex, End, Int, Edu, Soc or assign 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 between them
pick a service for prior history Army, Navy, Marines, Merchants, Scouts, Other (tell me about your career in one word)
pick how many years you served for (I will convert that to 4 year terms mentally for the next bit) and your final rank if any. Were you exposed to danger?
You know all the stuff your Edu stat and your career experience are likely to have taught you.
Start playing.
If we need to roll the dice to determine if you are successful at something you will either roll 2d vs the characteristic of your choice (roll equal or lower to succeed), or roll 2d with a target number of 8 or more. If the roll could involve a characteristic that you have a value of 8 or more in gain a +1 DM. If you think it is something connected with your career then you can buy a +1 (you have a number of points equal to 2 per 4 year term)
Have you seen Andy Slack's Classic Traveller Ultralite?
(Attachment below)
I wouldn't attempt to dignify either of these proposed "systems" by associating them with Traveller. They're both more in the line of "lets just roll dice and make some shit up." Games have rules, so you're not really playing a game at all if you "play" in this manner. Still, whatever floats your boat I guess.
Go home, change your full diaper, put on a fresh one, and go look up who Andy Slack is and skim through his published articles in White Dwarf - he's got the chops for Traveller.
Greetings!
*Laughing* Jeff! I think Brett just drew down and smoked Dylan. *BOOM* Dylan has been ban-hammered!
I don't think I've seen Brett ban-hammer anyone before. *Laughing*
You see? The "Eye of Sauron" never sleeps! ;D
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: SHARK on July 22, 2022, 09:58:54 PM
*Laughing* Jeff! I think Brett just drew down and smoked Dylan. *BOOM* Dylan has been ban-hammered!
I don't think I've seen Brett ban-hammer anyone before. *Laughing*
Wasn't me. I was saving him for pundit. I generally only take care of spammers and malicious stuff. Doesn't mean I wasn't watching him though.
Quote from: Premier on June 03, 2022, 05:21:47 PM
I think the key words here are "quick" and "pick-up." With that in mind, I'd suggest some variation of West End Games' D6 system - either D6 Star Wars, D6 Space (I think that's what it was called), OpenD6 or Mini Six for something extremely rules-light. They can all easily be tweaked to whatever sci-fi subgenre or concept you want to explore, and they're very easy for new players to pick up, because "number on your character sheet tells you how many dice you roll, more dice is better," and that's really the core of it.
I would give D6 Space a thumbs down, you can get D6 Star Wars just as easily, and it's a more complete game.
All of the generic D6 games that WEG put out at the end of their run were pretty half-baked, and none of them have any real sense of setting or character. They're just setting-less rules, and even as rule-sets they are not really complete.
I don't think d6, other than Star Wars d6 1E, qualifies as pick up or quick. The later generic d6 games were over-bloated.
Quote from: BronzeDragon on July 22, 2022, 09:50:48 PM
Quote from: Premier on June 03, 2022, 05:21:47 PM
I think the key words here are "quick" and "pick-up." With that in mind, I'd suggest some variation of West End Games' D6 system - either D6 Star Wars, D6 Space (I think that's what it was called), OpenD6 or Mini Six for something extremely rules-light. They can all easily be tweaked to whatever sci-fi subgenre or concept you want to explore, and they're very easy for new players to pick up, because "number on your character sheet tells you how many dice you roll, more dice is better," and that's really the core of it.
This is the objectively correct answer.
I've never run a more fluid system.
I have run Mini-6 solo. It was terrible at first. I hated the basic sword combat. But then I found an awesome fix called Dueling Blades by Griffon Publishing.
http://griffonpubstudio.blogspot.com/p/schweigs-d6-resources.html?m=1 (http://griffonpubstudio.blogspot.com/p/schweigs-d6-resources.html?m=1)
It's great for a number of reasons. It adds movement as one of the results, letting you force an enemy into a position you want. I killed an enemy in a lightsaber duel by forcing them into an airlock and blowing the baddy into deep space.
Ironically, the next plan is to play in the age of sail as swashbuckling adventurers on the high seas.