What are some simple but adaptable systems capable of running pulpy sci-fi adventures with a sort of wild west/untamed frontier feel? I'd like a fairly robust system for generating alien races, if possible, rather than one using set-in-stone ones exclusively.
>>96428134Stars without Number.
>>96428134I love Outlaw Star and you are based for this screenshot and goal. Probably Stars Without Number, certain modules for Traveler, or Starfinder. You could probably rig Rogue Trader, but it'd be harder.
>>96428134Orbital Blues.
>>96428134Rogue Trader has a lot of good generators, including aliens, civilizations and star systems. Of course civ side is 40k exclusive so maybe skip that.
>>96428134GURPS
>>96428134Savage Worlds maybe.
>>96428134M-Space with the simplified combat system.Space Aces, particularly the New Guidebook edition.Pulp Space.Faster Than Light: Nomad.Black Star - although its galaxy far far away coded. Unique aliens can be made via tags.Other Worlds with Superluminary supplement.
>>96428134FrontierSpace
>>96428139>>96429440NTA, is Stars actually good for ayylmaos? I scanned the freebie copy briefly once and it seemed more focused on human shizz.>>96428134This is a weird suggestion, but the Blasters + Intrigue variant of H+I might work. It's more Buck Rogers.
>>96429704Savage Worlds can definitely work. Dunno about the vehicle stuff, though.
>>96428134Star Wars D6.
>>96431082Support this WEG d6, either Star Wars or later more generic Space book. There is also D6 Space Aliens book.>>96428134In addition:GURPS if you want more autism and number fiddling.Mutants and Mastermineds if you want higher levels of power or big space fleet battles later down the line.
>>96430748The sci-fi companion has all kinds of vehicle stuff.
>>96433492Is it any good, though? I tried the starfighter combat in the EotE game once and it was silly rocket tag.
>>96434814I haven't had a chance to play it yet, I'm just telling you, the scifi companion has vehicles, star ships, and mecha.
>>96430729The way SWN handles aliens basically places the onus on the GM to come up with the specific species, and the mechanical implementation is largely to put an attribute requirement on the species while giving some minor benefit in return, typically based on basic gear like low-light goggles or having natural weapons that function as a knife.So for instance if you wanted to make a naturally psychic species, you'd give them a Wisdom requirement, and then say the species has a natural equivalent to a Compad, where they can telepathically call other members of the species or other psychics within 1km. It's not the worst method for a simple system, but it does require more work if you're hoping to make more complex species. And if you wanted to get really fancy, you'd probably have to give any human PCs some extra starting funds to offset aliens with more 'natural equipment'. The book itself only has two examples of playable alien species, so it's definitely not a major focus in the mechanical sense.You could probably expand on it by taking some rules from Worlds Without Number, since I remember that has a system for various fantasy races, though it'd probably take a bit of conversion work.
>>96428134I've been under the impression that Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine can accomplish that.
>>96436081Doesn't exactly sound ideal, but simple enough to easily do, at least.
>>96439390Yeah, pretty much.Reading through the section in the book again, it seems like the designers were worried that if aliens were just a bunch of mechanical upsides, the players would just choose aliens for the mechanics, rather than caring about the culture or roleplay elements.And while I can understand the sentiment, it seems very dependent on the GM and playgroup about how well that will work out for a given table.
