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<\/article>\nStars Without Number
\nPublisher: Sine Nomine Publishing<\/h3>\n
Players already familiar with the mechanics of D&D will find a lot of recognizable territory in Stars Without Number, a fascinating retro sci-fi RPG that draws inspiration from the earliest days of the tabletop gaming hobby, a tradition also often called the Old School Renaissance.<\/p>\n
In this sandbox-style RPG, players band together to explore a vast sector of space in the year 3200, after humanity has spread out across the stars, and in the wake of the fall of a vast interstellar empire. While familiar trappings, including attributes like Strength and Dexterity, show the roots of the system, Stars Without Number launches into entirely different arenas in several ways. A thoughtfully imagined system supports psychic powers. Players build and control starships to move through the universe. More than anything, this \u201cfeels\u201d like the classic science-fiction setting that first comes to mind when you think about the\u00a0genre.<\/p>\n
Unlike many role-playing games, Stars Without Number encourages the PCs to adopt their own goals, and use those to drive much of the action. The sandbox element isn\u2019t just lip service; the expectation is that GMs and players work together to craft a story unique to the characters they\u2019ve rolled up, and use the setting as a backdrop to see how those tales unfold.<\/p>\n
Also Consider: Traveller, Rocket Age<\/strong><\/p>\n To discover a dose of the truly odd for a player group ready for something completely different, it\u2019s easy to recommend the aptly named RPG called The Strange. Brought to us by the same publisher as the wonderful Numenera, The Strange is a game about alternate dimensions \u2013 and some of those dimensions are downright bonkers.<\/p>\n Ostensibly, The Strange is set on Earth. But the PCs of the game are capable of traveling to parallel \u201crecursions\u201d that feature their own rules of reality, creating a vast networked multiverse of pocket dimensions. And in each, your character might appear differently, but maintain the same core consciousness and goals. These recursions are born from the stories and legends of Earth, creating a vast playground of potential alternate settings, which you jump between from one session to the next. In practical terms, it gives you permission to \u201cborrow\u201d entire settings to pull into your game, letting PCs freely pass between recursions inspired by worlds of The Matrix<\/em>, Star Wars<\/em>, The Wizard of Oz<\/em>, DC superheroes, or any other favorite story world that you like.<\/p>\n In gameplay, The Strange closely follows the freeform and narrative focus of Monte Cook Games\u2019 Cypher System. That means that a lot of action and narrative direction is driven by the players, and enormous flexibility is given to players to build a unique character. The rules are kept light, and your gaming group is provided the freedom to shape nearly every aspect of the ongoing campaign. But don\u2019t worry, The Strange has plenty of insane ideas to get you started on your adventure.<\/p>\n Also Consider: Invisible Sun, Cypher System: The Stars Are Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n While the latest edition of the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG just recently released, its history stretches back decades, and served as the inspiration and source material for CD Projekt Red\u2019s recent release of Cyberpunk 2077. No matter your feelings about that game, the latest iteration of the tabletop experience is richly imagined and a ton of fun; it\u2019s an ideal place to take your gaming group if your vision of science fiction involve near-future, neon-lit urban playgrounds, filled with gritty fights and high style.<\/p>\n For those keeping track, Cyberpunk RED is purpose-built to bridge the gap in timeline from the earliest editions of the tabletop RPG\u00a0and the new video game. Your group is given the latitude to explore Night City (or beyond) and uncover the breadth of characters living in the sometimes bleak crossover space between being fully human, and giving over fully to technology.<\/p>\n Cyberpunk RED does a standout job in\u00a0offering up a straightforward core mechanic that governs important interactions like basic combat and skills, but plenty of more involved options for players interested in going deeper, including the complexities of cyberware, and how they slowly degrade a connection to a character\u2019s own undefinable soul. This is also a game that embraces the importance of style and appearance, placing a big emphasis on how \u201ccool\u201d your character is, the clothes they wear, and the way they carry themselves. If that dynamic matches what some of the players in your group most enjoy about role-playing, it\u2019s an ideal\u00a0game\u00a0to consider bringing to the table.<\/p>\n Also Consider: Shadowrun: Sixth World, Altered Carbon: The Role Playing Game<\/strong><\/p>\n If you like your science fiction tinged with a healthy dose of horror, you likely already enjoy the universe of the Alien<\/em> films. What you may not know is that the RPG adaptation of that setting is such great fun, providing gaming groups an easy-to-learn system that ably supports truly\u00a0dark and\u00a0scary encounters against the iconic xenomorphs.<\/p>\n The Alien RPG employs the same straightforward Year Zero gaming engine found in games like Tales from the Loop and Vaesen. A combination of\u00a0character\u00a0skills and attributes determine\u00a0a pool of six-sided dice that must be rolled, with any rolled \u201csix\u201d leading to a success. But in the Alien RPG, the system has a fun added element defined by\u00a0stress, which can both give you clutch extra dice in critical moments, but also lead to particularly devastating outcomes upon failure.<\/p>\n My favorite aspect of Alien is its two styles of play. The campaign style caters to groups that really want to dive in for an extended multi-session arc \u2013 perfect for big fans who just want to enjoy a lengthy tale woven through this surprisingly rich fiction. But for many, the greater draw will be the unique cinematic mode that the game offers, built to offer\u00a0one-shot adventures that more closely resemble individual movies in the franchise. In these tight and terrifying sessions, it\u2019s quite likely that some (or even most or all) of the PCs will meet a grisly demise, but the brisk nature of the setting ensures everyone still has a great time.<\/p>\n Also Consider: Coriolis, Mutant Year Zero<\/strong><\/p>\n In the world of licensed sci-fi RPGs, one of the easiest to recommend is Star Trek Adventures. That\u2019s because almost everyone who might be willing to play a tabletop RPG likely has at least a passing familiarity with the setting. In addition, the game itself is smartly organized and well-tuned to focus on the sort of cooperative interactions that are the heart of most Star Trek stories. At the same time, it also takes its setting seriously enough that even hardcore Trek enthusiasts will have trouble finding reason to complain.<\/p>\n Star Trek Adventures supports a wide variety of potential styles of play, including heading back to the Original Series era of Kirk and Spock, or oven the more grounded and socially complex storylines of shows like Deep Space Nine<\/em>. But the core rulebook is most firmly focused on offering the fantasy I believe most fans will be most eager to try out \u2013 controlling a Star Fleet crew in the Next Generation<\/em> era, exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations in daring adventures.<\/p>\n The writers and designers of this Star Trek RPG exhibit a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek fiction and style, which is apparent after only a brief time digging into\u00a0the Core Rulebook. It’s\u00a0also just a great-playing game, using Modiphius\u2019 2d20 system to create tense and exciting encounters, with fun rules that encourage players to work together to take on the most difficult tasks. If you\u2019ve ever found yourself wondering if there was a way to really make up and live out the same sort of stories that unfold in your favorite Star Trek episodes, I think you\u2019ll be pleasantly surprised with what\u2019s on offer here.<\/p>\n Also Consider: Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition, John Carter of Mars<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d be remiss to not mention two of my favorite role-playing games of recent years in this article.\u00a0I hesitated to include them\u00a0as dedicated sci-fi entries, or in the companion article that focused on fantasy RPGs<\/a>, because both so perfectly straddle the line in-between. Star Wars and Starfinder are both squarely in the \u201cscience-fantasy\u201d arena, but both games are also too delightful to be overlooked.<\/p>\n Several attempts have been made over the years to capture the fun of the Star Wars universe in a role-playing setting, both in official and non-official formats. But I\u2019m especially fond of Fantasy Flight\u2019s recent efforts, which manifested as several distinct RPGs that shared a common system,\u00a0each focused on different tones of play. Star Wars: Age of Rebellion <\/strong>is all about the Galactic Civil War, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire<\/strong> handles outlaws and smugglers in the dark underbelly of the galaxy, and Star Wars: Force and Destiny <\/strong>focuses squarely on the power of the Force and its practitioners. But all three sourcebooks share a common language, and support mostly shared rules of play. Whichever \u201cstyle\u201d appeals to you, the core game itself is simply outstanding, using a set of custom dice to encourage the kind of complex narrative outcomes that you so often see in Star Wars fiction, where success and failure are often tinged by additional twists. Like many aspects of the Star Wars fiction, the Fantasy Flight RPG combines the big heart and emotional grandeur of a sweeping fantasy epic, alongside the spaceships, droids, and lasers of science fiction. If you choose to give it a try, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll be disappointed.<\/p>\n Starfinder<\/strong> undoubtedly drew some strong inspiration from the space opera richness of Star Wars, but it\u2019s a place to go if you want something a bit more fresh, and also a ruleset that doesn\u2019t veer far from the familiar environs of D&D. That\u2019s because Starfinder is a far-future spin-off of the Pathfinder RPG, which itself was an offshoot from an earlier edition of Dungeons & Dragons. As such, Starfinder maintains much of the recognizable nomenclature and structure of a D&D game, but adds in crazy aliens, ship battles, planetary exploration, and more. But just to keep your on your toes, Starfinder also maintains much of the magic and many of the creatures from the Pathfinder universe. If you like the idea of a flaming +2 plasma rifle that you use to fight necromantic liches that come from a planet of all undead, Starfinder may be right up your alley.<\/p>\n There are plenty more wonderful sci-fi RPGs to discover, so don\u2019t be surprised if you find yourself going down a rabbit hole if you decide to investigate these and other related games.\u00a0Speaking as a longtime player and GM, I can say with confidence that few things can enliven a stale gaming dynamic like introducing a new game system \u2013 so long as you can get some intellectual buy-in from all involved players to learn some new mechanics. Moving from the familiar environs of classic western fantasy and launching out into space can be especially rewarding as a departure, even if you ultimately decide to return to the excellent and highly useable systems of D&D, or whatever other game you play most.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for more recommendations in the tabletop sphere, check out our Top of the Table hub<\/a>, or dig through the recent round-up of the Best Board Games of 2020<\/a>, as well as the Best Tabletop RPG releases of 2020<\/a>. Finally, if you need help finding the right game for you and your group, feel free to drop me a line, and I\u2019ll do my best to help you find what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-sci-fi-rpgs-to-play-if-you-like-dd-2.jpg\")
<\/article>\nThe Strange
\nPublisher: Monte Cook Games<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-sci-fi-rpgs-to-play-if-you-like-dd-3.jpg\")
<\/article>\nCyberpunk RED
\nPublisher: R. Talsorian Games<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-sci-fi-rpgs-to-play-if-you-like-dd-4.jpg\")
<\/article>\nAlien: The Roleplaying Game
\nPublisher: Free League Publishing<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-sci-fi-rpgs-to-play-if-you-like-dd-5.jpg\")
<\/article>\nStar Trek Adventures
\nPublisher: Modiphius<\/h3>\n
\nHonorable mentions:<\/h3>\n
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