Sci-Fi based BRP game that is not dead?

[SMAY63]

I've added some files to the GORE (downloads) section, also check the goblinoidgames - forum - gore - scifi section.

It's possible you and others may find some ideas.

The above may be relevant to your search.

See what you think.

[CelestialFury]

Technically, Call of Cthulhu is Sci-fi, since the "magic" presented in it is actually super science in the vein of Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." The "Gods" in Call of Cthulhu are also just EXTREMLY highly evolved alien beings. Call of Cthulhu is BRPs bread and butter too, so it has lots of support.

If you are looking for a more traditional Sci-Fi, there is Future World, though I'm not sure how much support it has.

[pansophy]

IMHO it is hard to find a nice descent hard-scifi setting. If there would be something out there that really attracts me, it would be easy to convert it to BRP. Problem is I do not see a descent hard-sci-fi setting (any system) that I or my players want to play.

Looking at sci-fi novels there is also nothing current out there that would make me want to start a game in. It is either all old and no longer developed or new and uninspiring. Or simply not enough source material to start a setting on.

I would love to have an established setting mixing "The Black Hole", "Aliens", "2001", "2010", "Serenity", "Pandorum" and some others into something good. But all I can find is something like "Star Wars" or something weird that includes strange magic and psychics. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing that we want to play.

Maybe I am looking in the wrong places and somebody can tell me where to look.

And until I find something better we will stick (or be stuck) with the 2300AD setting, which is old, does not feel very futuristic nowadays, is too focused on the Bug war and no longer developed. But it does provide a solid base to build up on and I can mix the TTA setting into it and some other ideas without running the risk something official comes out that renders my developed universe obsolete.

But it would be nice to have a ready made setting for BRP, I agree. And if it just would be for NPC stats and equipment. But then, all that is provided by "Operation Ulysses", which not too many people realise as a foundation for a sci-fi setting. It is done very well, looks good - but I guess Eric did not get enough feedback to convince him to further advance the setting.

So my point: before complaining "there is no current hard sci-fi setting out there", try Operation Ulysses, email Eric how it is and write a descent review. Eric is willing to write something, so people have the chance to actually support him and maybe influence the setting. It is a chance to develop something, to be part of it and to advance it to something people want to see. Spawn some ideas, give him something to work with - instead of just sitting around and wait for "the one setting" - it will never happen. Well, this includes me, too. I really should write the review now.

Sorry, I didn't want to sound rude, but I think the last part needed to be said.

[rust]

Maybe I am looking in the wrong places and somebody can tell me where to look.

There are a couple of good science fiction settings out there which are at least as

hard as 2300AD, two examples which use the Traveller system would be Orbital

by Zozer Games and Outer Veil by Spica Publishing:

Orbital - Zozer Games | DriveThruRPG.com

Outer Veil - Spica Publishing | DriveThruRPG.com

[jp42]

What would be more valuable? A generic "here's how to do Sci-Fi with BRP, now go make your own universe" book, or specific settings, whether based on existing fiction or not?

[rust]

What would be more valuable? A generic "here's how to do Sci-Fi with BRP, now go make your own universe" book, or specific settings, whether based on existing fiction or not?

I would prefer the generic science fiction toolbox, for example something similar

to GURPS Space, but from an economic point of view a "killer setting" would pro-

bably be better for Chaosium.

[Canis latrans popus]

IMHO it is hard to find a nice descent hard-scifi setting. If there would be something out there that really attracts me, it would be easy to convert it to BRP. Problem is I do not see a descent hard-sci-fi setting (any system) that I or my players want to play.

Looking at sci-fi novels there is also nothing current out there that would make me want to start a game in. It is either all old and no longer developed or new and uninspiring. Or simply not enough source material to start a setting on.

I would love to have an established setting mixing "The Black Hole", "Aliens", "2001", "2010", "Serenity", "Pandorum" and some others into something good. But all I can find is something like "Star Wars" or something weird that includes strange magic and psychics. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing that we want to play.

Maybe I am looking in the wrong places and somebody can tell me where to look.

And until I find something better we will stick (or be stuck) with the 2300AD setting, which is old, does not feel very futuristic nowadays, is too focused on the Bug war and no longer developed. But it does provide a solid base to build up on and I can mix the TTA setting into it and some other ideas without running the risk something official comes out that renders my developed universe obsolete.

But it would be nice to have a ready made setting for BRP, I agree. And if it just would be for NPC stats and equipment. But then, all that is provided by "Operation Ulysses", which not too many people realise as a foundation for a sci-fi setting. It is done very well, looks good - but I guess Eric did not get enough feedback to convince him to further advance the setting.

So my point: before complaining "there is no current hard sci-fi setting out there", try Operation Ulysses, email Eric how it is and write a descent review. Eric is willing to write something, so people have the chance to actually support him and maybe influence the setting. It is a chance to develop something, to be part of it and to advance it to something people want to see. Spawn some ideas, give him something to work with - instead of just sitting around and wait for "the one setting" - it will never happen. Well, this includes me, too. I really should write the review now.

Sorry, I didn't want to sound rude, but I think the last part needed to be said.

Have you looked at Eclipse Phase?

[pansophy]

Have you looked at Eclipse Phase?

Yes, nice idea, nice setting - but the mind transfer was a bit over the top.

[pansophy]

Orbital - Zozer Games | DriveThruRPG.com

Outer Veil - Spica Publishing | DriveThruRPG.com

Orbital seems to be interesting! Thanks, rust

[Canis latrans popus]

Yes, nice idea, nice setting - but the mind transfer was a bit over the top.

It's probably axe-able from the setting.

[pansophy]

don't think so, it is a big deal of the history and setting.

[seneschal]

Science fiction doesn't get much harder than this (courtesy of Weird Al)

[rust]

Science fiction doesn't get much harder than this ...

Very hard indeed, because that video is "not available" from Germany.

[seneschal]

Hmmm, try these ones ...

"Weird Al" Yankovic - It's All About the Pentiums - YouTube

Although the official music video is funnier.

[rust]

Hmmm, try these ones ...

Thank you very much, the GEMA guys who black out You Tube videos in order

to force Germans to buy the stuff instead of listening to it for free missed one

of the three.

[Lemnoc]

Traveller -> BRP:

How might one quickly translate the Traveller Dice Modifier (DM) to BRP? Seems like it should handled be through the difficulty modifier.

DMs could translate to straight 10 percent increments (+6 DM = +60%), but this is more granular than how the difficulty modifier ordinarily works (i.e., skill doubled, skill halved). Anything up to DM +/-3, Normal; up to DM +/-6 Hard, Easy; numbers above DM +/-6 Impossible, Automatic? Looking for a quick rule of thumb to do these conversions on the fly. Wonder how others have resolved this.

[rust]

Wonder how others have resolved this.

I basically ignored it. Once a character was converted from the Traveller system to the

BRP system I only used the BRP game mechanics in playing that character.

[soltakss]

Traveller -> BRP:

How might one quickly translate the Traveller Dice Modifier (DM) to BRP? Seems like it should handled be through the difficulty modifier.

I would ignore it as well.

Once converted to BRP, use BRP rules and ignore Traveller rules. Where equipment adds a bonus/penalty then take the equivalent BRP bonus/penalty

That way, Traveller can be used for setting, but BRP for rules, as I think BRP is better at rules than Traveller.

[Lemnoc]

Where equipment adds a bonus/penalty then take the equivalent BRP bonus/penalty.

Right; but what is the equivalent BRP bonus/penalty? That was my question.

MgT provides a handy chart that translates the DM bonus/penalty into actual percentages of success, but that seems a little fiddly. Looks like everything above/below DM +/-2 should be considered Easy/Hard, until you get to +/-5, when it becomes Automatic/Impossible.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Lemnoc

[soltakss]

Right; but what is the equivalent BRP bonus/penalty? That was my question.

Ah, I see, that wasn't very clear.

MgT provides a handy chart that translates the DM bonus/penalty into actual percentages of success, but that seems a little fiddly. Looks like everything above/below DM +/-2 should be considered Easy/Hard, until you get to +/-5, when it becomes Automatic/Impossible.

Unfortunately, I'm not that clear on Traveller rules and don't have a feel for what a DM +/- 2 means, so I am not the best person to ask.

Just had a quick google and I can't find anything particularly useful.

I'd go with straight adds, +10, +20, +30 and so on. The exact values would depend on what the DMs would mean in a Traveller game.

[1d8+DB]

I would love to have an established setting mixing "The Black Hole", "Aliens", "2001", "2010", "Serenity", "Pandorum" and some others into something good. But all I can find is something like "Star Wars" or something weird that includes strange magic and psychics. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing that we want to play.

This plays up the science fiction survival horror theme with a liberal spritzing of HPL, and counts most of the films you mentioned as thematic touchstones:The Void.

I'm sure Eclipse Phase has come up in the conversation before: it is a great take on the transhuman setting. Eclipse Phase.

[jp42]

Unfortunately, I'm not that clear on Traveller rules and don't have a feel for what a DM +/- 2 means, so I am not the best person to ask.

It's a 2d6 + skill level + DMs > 8 system for the most part, so a gentle bell curve.

[fmitchell]

It's a 2d6 + skill level + DMs > 8 system for the most part, so a gentle bell curve.

More of a triangle really: a straight line from (2, 2.78%) to (7, 16.67%) and another back down to (12, 2.78%). The standard deviation is 2.42. Here's the probability table in CSV format:

2,2.77777777778

3,5.55555555556

4,8.33333333333

5,11.1111111111

6,13.8888888889

7,16.6666666667

8,13.8888888889

9,11.1111111111

10,8.33333333333

11,5.55555555556

12,2.77777777778

[Gollum]

For game systems with 2d6 :

• a +/- 2 corresponds to about +/- 30%
  
• and a +/-5 to a +/- 50%.
  

If the start is the average, of course, because +2 has much less impact when you have 9 than when you have 7 for example.

In my humble opinion, the decision to rule that +/-2 is like an easy/difficult action and +/-5 is like an automatic/impossible action sounds fine. Indeed :

• 50% - 30% is about the same as 50% / 2
  
• 50% - 50% is 0%
  

Furthermore, doubling or halving numbers has more impact on higher numbers than on lower ones - even if the statistic results with 2d6 are not the same (bonus and penalties have more impact on average numbers than on extreme ones, low or high).

Edited August 5, 2013 by Gollum

[wbcreighton]

This plays up the science fiction survival horror theme with a liberal spritzing of HPL, and counts most of the films you mentioned as thematic touchstones:The Void.

I'm sure Eclipse Phase has come up in the conversation before: it is a great take on the transhuman setting. Eclipse Phase.

What about Traveller 2300 ? There are conversion docs in the downloads section.

2300AD to BRP - Downloads - Basic Roleplaying Central

2300AD BRP: Mission Acrturus - Downloads - Basic Roleplaying Central