Science Fiction RPG Round Up

Overview of Science Fiction Roleplaying Games

Sci-Fi tabletop gaming kicked off in the 1970s with Metamorphosis Alpha, Traveller and Gamma World. Traveller is widely considered the granddaddy of Sci-Fi games, and still retains its popularity today. In fact, a fifth edition was recently released, some 35 years after the original game was published.

Despite Traveller’s continued success, Science Fiction RPGs based off of licensed franchises dominate the landscape in this particular genre. One need only look at the many licensed games that have popped up over the years…Star Trek, Doctor Who, Buck Rogers, Robotech, Firefly and the Warhammer 40k series (based off the miniatures game) to see what I’m talking about.

But no franchise is bigger than Star Wars. For many years, the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game released by West End Games (WEG) has been the gold standard for play in the Star Wars universe. However, the recent edition (my personal favorite RPG) from Fantasy Flight Games is gaining ground as it contains many of the attributes that made WEG Star Wars great, but with new modern mechanics.

Below you will find a list of 10 Science Fiction roleplaying game lines that well represent the types of games you’ll find in this genre: space opera, cyberpunk, hard science, military sci-fi and transhuman science fiction.

Enjoy!

1. Star Wars Roleplaying Games by Fantasy Flight Games

Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion and Force and Destiny are a series of cross-compatible roleplaying games published by Fantasy Flight Games. Each focuses on a different aspect of the Star Wars Universe…surviving on the Outer Rim, battling the Empire and discovering the power of the Force. Here are the 3 core lines that make up FFG Star Wars:

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire

Participate in grim and gritty adventures in places where morality is gray and nothing is certain. Ply your trade as a smuggler in the Outer Rim, collect bounties on the scum that live in the shadows of Coruscant, or try to establish a new colony on a planet beneath the Empire’s notice…The Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ Core Rulebook provides everything you and your friends need to experience life in the shadiest and most remote locations in the Star Wars universe.

Grab your copy of the Edge of the Empire

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion

Take on the sinister Galactic Empire as a member of the Rebel Alliance. Wage guerilla warfare across the Star Wars galaxy as a solider, or provide crucial intelligence to the Rebels as a cunning spy. Face down legions of stormtroopers, steal secret plans and restricted codes, and stay on target in the fight against the ultimate power in the universe. No matter what role in the Rebellion you take, the fate of the galaxy rests in your hands. The Star Wars®: Age of Rebellion™ Core Rulebook provides everything you and your friends need to become heroes of the Rebel Alliance.

Grab your copy of Age of Rebellion

Star Wars: Force and Destiny

Experience the power of the Force in the Star Wars®: Force and Destiny™ roleplaying game! As a Force-sensitive outcast struggling to survive under Imperial rule, you can bring justice to the galaxy, search for the lost remnants of the Jedi order, or fall victim to the dark side’s temptations. Whether you choose the light side or the dark, a powerful destiny awaits you in Force and Destiny.

Grab your copy of Force and Destiny

2. Traveller5

Welcome to Traveller5! the ultimate edition of the Traveller science-fiction role-playing game system. Traveller has been a standard in the role-playing game field since 1977, pioneering such innovations as skills, tasks, creation systems, and an intriging universe of the far future and the fabled interstellar empire of the Third Imperium.

Traveller5 is the latest (and ultimate) edition of the Traveller system: more than ten years in the making, it refines tried-and-true rules systems while introducing new concepts that break new ground while making game play easier and always interesting.

This is Traveller’s 35th year, and author Marc Miller has worked for several years on what he calls the Ultimate Edition: Traveller5. It includes so many things that players have asked for, or that have been imperfectly handled previously.

T5 has technology beyond TL 15, clones, robots, computers, artificial intelligence, QREBS (!), alien senses, Flux. It has a whole series of easy-to-use Makers: GunMaker, VehicleMaker, ArmorMaker, RobotMaker, SophontMaker, ThingMaker. It includes mapping of star systems and worlds; there’s ever the MOARN caveat: Map Only As Really Necessary, or referees would spend all their time just making maps of worlds and systems. There’s a rationalized section on Psionics, and more, much more.

Grab your copy of Traveller5

3. Shadowrun Fifth Edition

There are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden. Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.

You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself. Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain: If you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.

You can survive, even flourish, as long as you do what it takes. Sacrifice part of your soul for bleeding-edge gear. Push the limits of your will learning new and dangerous magic. Wire yourself into the Matrix, making your mind one with screaming streams of data. It’ll cost you something—everything does—but you can make it worth the price.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the newest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing worlds of all time, a fusion of man, magic, and machine in a dystopian near-future. With rules for character creation, magic, combat, Matrix hacking, rigging, and more, you have everything you need to face the challenges of the Sixth World.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

4. Warhammer 40k Franchise

Like FFG Star Wars, the Warhammer 40k series published by Fantasy Flight Games has a number of different game lines, each exploring a different aspect of the Warhammer 40k world.

Rogue Trader

In Rogue Trader, you take on the role of a Rogue Trader and his most trusted counsellors, empowered by an ancient warrant of trade to seek out profit and plunder amongst unexplored regions of space. Your ship will take you to new worlds and uncharted reaches of the void, where you will encounter rivals, pirates, aliens, and possibly even creatures of the warp. You will acquire and spend great wealth and riches, and fame or infamy will follow. You will discover ancient and forgotten mysteries and search out the unknown to find lost human worlds or never before seen celestial phenomena. You must survive the dangers of space, for beyond the threat of vacuum and deadly radiation lurk things Man was never meant to find.

To be part of a Rogue Trader’s crew is to stand on the threshold of nearly unlimited opportunity. Vast profits await for you and your fellow Explorers to find and claim. Fame and fortune reward the bold, but the unwary find only an anonymous death.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

Deathwatch

Deathwatch is a roleplaying game in which you take on the role of a member of the Adeptus Astartes - the devout, bio-engineered super-soldiers also known as Space Marines. After many years of exemplary service within your own chapter, you have been singled out and selected to join one of the most unique and specialized collectives of Space Marines - the Deathwatch.

Only the most exceptional candidates from the fighting forces of the Adeptus Astartes are invited to join the mysterious Deathwatch; to take on a new oath to safeguard the Imperium from the darkest of threats. You will now be called into service to hunt down and destroy hostile xenos forces, to seek out and crush the root of heresy and sedition, and to continually fight against the foul daemon menace that crawls forth hungrily from beyond the Warp. You are at the fore of Mankind’s war for survival against an extremely hostile universe.

For centuries, the Deathwatch have maintained their silent vigil over the ancient ruins of the Reach, but now you find yourselves on the front lines of a grand Imperial Crusade that has been launched to reclaim this vast region of space from darkness and heresy.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

Black Crusade

The intoxicating lure of Chaos leads untold millions down the path of corruption, and the noblest of intentions offers little protection against its dark influence. A soldier’s bloodlust, a politician’s ambition, a lover’s desire, and even a mother’s whispered prayer over her feverish child – they are all the playthings of the Dark Gods. Why resist? Wealth, power, and happiness await those who serve the Ruinous Powers, and the only price is your humanity.

Black Crusade is a remarkable standalone RPG that offers players an entirely new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos. This groundbreaking concept delivers the unprecedented opportunity to play as a Disciple of the Dark Gods, whether as a Chaos Space Marine or a human Servant of Chaos.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

Only War

Only War is a standalone Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game experience in which players take on the roles of soldiers in the Imperial Guard, the galaxy-spanning armies of the God-Emperor. Fully compatible with FFG’s other Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay titles, this comprehensive game system explores a previously unseen side of life in the Imperium of Man.

Join the ranks of brave men and women inducted into the God-Emperor’s armies, trained to fight and sent off to far flung stars and systems to hold the line against the coming night. Despite overwhelming opposition, or perhaps because of it, these fearless soldiers are bound to each other by a code of brotherhood and honor. They are the thin line that protects the Imperium from complete and utter destruction. They are the Imperial Guard.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

Dark Heresy Second Edition

Dark Heresy Second Edition is a roleplaying game of danger, mystery, and brutal violence set in the decaying far future of Warhammer 40,000. Players take on the role of defenders of humanity and embark on hazardous adventures into the dark heart of the 41st Millennium. As an Acolyte of an Inquisitor, you’ll serve at the front line of a great and secret war to root out dangers that imperil all of humanity.

The 448-page, full-color Dark Heresy Second Edition Core Rulebook contains everything you and your friends will need to serve the Emperor in the Askellon Sector. Rules for character creation, combat, and adversaries are supplemented by informational source materials that will help Game Masters bring the Askellon Sector and its horrors to life. The Dark Heresy Second Edition Core Rulebook can be used to enjoy enjoy standalone adventures and ongoing campaigns in the grim future of the 41st millennium.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

5. Firefly

The Firefly Role-Playing Game puts you right in the middle of the action of the wildly popular television series. You and your Crew will trade bullets with fearsome bounty hunters, folk who want what you have, or varmints that try to put out the light of hope you represent. Keep your Browncoat banner flyin’ high and dodge Alliance cruisers. Side with the Alliance and track down riff-raff to haul ’em in for justice. Explore your ‘Verse to find a crew, find a job, and keep flyin’!

The Firefly RPG uses a freewheelin’ version of the award-winning Cortex Plus System to bring the ‘Verse to life online or at your table in this 350+ page, full-color game. This corebook includes:

• Detailed Episode Guide for all 14 Firefly episodes
• 75+ Gamemaster characters including rules for Niska, Badger, Patience, and more!
• Over 30 pre-generated player-characters! Play as Mal and the Serenity crew or one of 24 archetypes.
• Original character creation – choose from dozens of Distinctions to fine-tune your concept.
• Dozens of in game examples from the show.
• Over two dozen sample ships
• Dozens of sample Assets and Complications
• Advancement rules
• Tips for world-building in the ‘Verse
• “What’s Yours Is Mine”, a fully-playable Episode – perfect for first-time GMs!
• Chinese teaching tool and phrases spoken during the show
• Maps of all five systems
• Serenity ship and engine schematic
• Interactive Crew and Ship Sheets. Print ‘em out as is or type in the details, save, and print.
• …and much, much more!

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

6. Numenera

Each world stretched across vast millennia of time. Each played host to a race whose civilizations rose to supremacy but eventually died or scattered, disappeared or transcended. During the time each world flourished, those that ruled it spoke to the stars, reengineered their physical bodies, and mastered form and essence, all in their own unique ways.

Each left behind remnants.

The people of the new world—the Ninth World—sometimes call these remnants magic, and who are we to say they’re wrong? But most give a unique name to the legacies of the nigh-unimaginable past. They call them…NUMENERA

Set in a far, far distant future, the Numenera RPG puts a new spin on traditional fantasy, creating something unique to reinvigorate the imagination of gamers everywhere. Player characters explore a world of mystery and danger to find leftover artifacts of the past: bits of nanotechnology, the datasphere threaded among still-orbiting satellites, bio-engineered creatures, and myriad strange and wondrous devices that defy understanding. Numenera is about discovering the wonders of the worlds that came before, not for their own sake, but as the means to improve the present and build a future.

With streamlined, intuitive rules, Numenera allows players to create characters in minutes and puts the emphasis back on story rather than laborious mechanics. Numenera is the latest creation of one of the biggest names in roleplaying games, award-winning designer and fan-favorite Monte Cook.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

7. Eclipse Phase

Eclipse Phase is a post-apocalyptic game of conspiracy and horror. Humanity is enhanced and improved, but also battered and bitterly divided. Technology allows the re-shaping of bodies and minds, but also creates opportunities for oppression and puts the capability for mass destruction in the hands of everyone. And other threats lurk in the devastated habitats of the Fall, dangers both familiar and alien. In this harsh setting, the players participate in a cross-faction conspiracy called Firewall that seeks to protect transhumanity from threats both internal and external. Along the way, they may find themselves hunting for prized technology in a gutted habitat falling from orbit, risking the hellish landscapes of a ruined earth, or following the trail of a terrorist through militarized stations and isolationist habitats. Players may even find themselves stepping through a Pandora Gate, a wormhole to distant stars and the alien secrets beyond.

ECLIPSE PHASE: THE SYSTEM

• Eclipse Phase uses a d100/percentile system, with some twists. It’s fast and simple; streamlined so players can dive into the world and action without being burdened by complex rules.
• Characters are skill-based, with no classes, so players can customize their team roles and specialize in fields of their choosing.
• A focused set of psi rules enables some characters to enhance their cognitive abilities.

ECLIPSE PHASE: FOR PLAYERS

• Play a role in a secretive and dangerous conspiracy that seeks to save transhumanity.
• Switch your body at will, from genetically modified transhumans to synthetic robotic shells, optimizing your character for specific missions.
• Back up your character’s mind and be restored from backup in case of death-a built-in system of “Save points” and functional immortality.

ECLIPSE PHASE: FOR GAMEMASTERS

• A setting custom-built for numerous scenario types, from faction-based intrigues to high-tech dungeon-crawls, from mind-scarring mysteries to dangerous exploration of alien worlds via wormhole gates.
• An eclectic assortment of intriguing factions, from techno-anarchists to future-chasing hypercorps, from soul-trading criminals to uplifted animals.
• A range of NPC antagonists to choose from, including rogue AIs, extreme posthuman factions, standoffish aliens with their own agenda and transhumans infected and transformed by the virulent Exsurgent virus.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

8. Mindjammer

Grab your blaster, thoughtcast your orders to the starship sentience, and fire up the planing engines — come and defend the light of humanity’s greatest civilization as it spreads to the stars!

The ENnie Award-winning transhuman science-fiction RPG setting returns, in a new edition updated and massively expanded for the Fate Core rules. Mindjammer is an action-packed tabletop roleplaying game about heroic adventurers in the galaxy of the far future, filled with virtual realities, sentient starships, realistic aliens, and mysterious worlds. Using the popular and award-winning Fate Core rules, Mindjammer lets you play hardened mercs, cunning traders, steely-nerved pilots, intrigue-filled spies and culture agents, aliens, divergent hominids, artificial life forms, and even sentient starships.

500 pages containing all the rules needed to play, including:

• Full rules for starships, organisations, and culture operations
• Detailed character cultures, genotypes, and occupations — play a sentient starship!
• New and innovative rules for describing planets, star systems, and alien life
• Deep background material on the New Commonality of Humankind
• Rules for the Mindscape and virtual worlds
• Starmaps and planet descriptions, histories and background
• Hyper-advanced equipment, weaponry, enhancements, starships, and more.

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.

9. Stars Without Number

Stars Without Number is a retro science fiction role playing game influenced by the Old School Renaissance and partially inspired by the great fantasy role-playing game editions written by Tom Moldvay and Frank Mentzer. The contents are compatible with most old school clones and are designed to be easily imported to your own favorite gaming system. In addition to a complete pre-made stellar sector, Stars Without Number offers GMs and players the tools to create their own sandbox-style adventures in the far future.

• Classic mechanics adapted for science-fiction adventure in the far future
• Extensive GM support for building adventure-crammed sandbox settings more quickly and easily
• World building resources for creating system-neutral planets and star sectors
• 100 adventure seeds and guidelines for integrating them with the worlds you’ve made
• Old-school compatible rules for guns, cyberware, starships, and psionics
• Domain rules for experienced characters who want to set up their own colony, psychic academy, mercenary band, or other institution

While Stars Without Number can be fitted to a wide range of settings, the backdrop provided is a vast canvas of scattered stars awaiting exploration by intrepid spacefarers and bold explorers. Tramp starships flit from world to world, trading the treasures of distant suns as reckless wanderers find adventure beneath alien stars. Elite mercenary bands launch surgical strikes from orbit, grav-tank dropcraft crashing down on the heads of native kings while guerilla fighters plot to draw knives in the dark of two moons. Alien eyes watch human interlopers from the acidic mists of forbidden worlds, their shining, poisonous relics plundered by daring hands. All the classic elements of sci-fi adventure have room to shine in Stars Without Number. Come make them your own!

Grab your copy of Stars Without Number

10. Doctor Who Roleplaying Game

Imagine you could go anywhere. This world or countless others, encountering strange alien races, new cultures or hostile environments. Now imagine you could travel to any time. Meet Robin Hood (and duel him with a spoon!), discover what terrible monster lives under your bed, journey inside a Dalek or travel to the end of time itself. Where would you go?

With Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who Roleplaying Game, the power is in your hands! You can go anywhere or anywhen in the universe. It’s not going to be easy. It’ll probably be dangerous. The universe is a hostile place, full of Daleks, Zygons, Sontarans, the Boneless, Cybermen, Clockwork Robots, Silurians and worse. There will be fear, heartbreak and excitement, but above all, it’ll be the trip of a lifetime.

The Doctor Who Roleplaying Game is a set in the universe of the world’s longest running science fiction show on TV – the BBC’s Doctor Who. This new edition of the rulebook, fully updated with imagery from the Twelfth Doctor’s adventures, presents all the rules and background you need to have your own adventures in time and space in a single volume, including:

• A complete set of rules for playing the game.
• Rules for creating your own characters, gadgets and more.
• A guide to creating your own adventures, as well as two new adventures.
• Ready-made character sheets for the Twelfth Doctor and his companions, including Clara Oswald, Danny Pink, Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax.
• Rules and background for some of the Doctor’s most infamous enemies – including Missy!
• All-new imagery from the Twelfth Doctor’s adventures.
• And much more besides!

Grab your copy in Print or Digital Format.