My group is considering starting a space-based campaign and having finally gotten Pathfinder, I'd really like to use the Paizo system. Is there a sci-fi rule-set out there that works well with PF? I haven't looked at the d20 Modern/Future stuff and only played the Star Wars d20 game once.
Any suggestions?
Infinite Futures is perhaps the only (mostly) PF compatible product available, but I can't recommend it thanks to poor editing and a few strange mechanics. Lots of really good stuff wrapped around a few severe problems that keep me from using it.
Never liked D20 Modern/Future (good ideas, bad mechanics), so I'd only recommend that product-line as "related reading".
So tell us what kind of scifi setting you're going for, level of technology, magic or no magic, etc.
I would suggest the Dragonstar universe, although you'll need to make the same basic 3.5 > PF conversions.
World-building is still ongoing, but some of the broad brushstrokes are in place. As our discussions have advanced, it seems they want to play an "Age of Exploration" type setting. FTL travel between planets is "slow," equating to something like age of sail travel between continents. There is a "Confederation of Sentient Planets" that works in many ways similar to a United Nations format, but not like Star Trek's UFP. There are a number of governments with varying degrees of influence and strength with a variety of coinciding and conflicting goals.
I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and this setting is an outgrowth of some fan-fiction I've written - but as I've gone along, some very NON-SW elements have started creeping in. So, I decided to totally overhaul the setting. I do like the idea of psionics, so I am open to suggestions there. The "Wild West" will have its influence, as smaller colony worlds may look like Old West forts, mining towns, or cattle towns - complete with shootouts at High Noon and hired guns of the mining companies trying to horn locals off their land, etc.
Pirates are out there, with at least three major groups already identified - both planet-based and space-going. Bounty Hunters like Spike and Fett (Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars references, there) will go after them, along with all the other criminals and scum in the galaxy.
Trade routes tend to be fairly well-established and clearly defined. I think part of this is a technological issue with navigation being incredibly difficult for some reason. Inhabited systems have nav-beacons that provide flight-plans to a number of other locations and outbound ships simply plug in the instructions from the beacon and make the jump. Outer orbits of a star tend to see the major interstellar traffic, as another technological hurdle inhibits travel by large vessels into the inner orbits of a system (something like power requirements go up exponentially beyond what a civvie plant can provide)
Galactic society is OLD - thousands of years old. Some of the technology in everyday use isn't even understood any more. There may have been a Dark Age, brought about by a war - possibly against rebellious droids who targeted the knowledge bases. (this would explain the existence of the Confed system, as everyone banded together to defeat the threat)
The new "age of exploration" has been ushered in by a technological advancement allowing ships to travel to a region of space that has been out of reach for recorded memory (exact details yet to be determined). Now, the race is on as various governments, businesses, and families begin the task of codifying and occupying (and exploiting) this new region.
A generation or two into the new age sees our Heroes as they begin play - civilized space has exported itself into a new region, and the old ways of doing things aren't always the best way to handle new challenges. New civilizations are being discovered regularly. New creatures abound on every new planet. Star Wars meets Serenity meets Indiana Jones meets African Queen meets Bonanza.
A lot of this is still under development, obviously, but I think you can see more or less where I want to go with this.
Despite what I've said earlier, Infinite Futures will definitely get you started; especially with the lack of d20 Modern/Future pdfs legally available.
Unleashed Psionics will be useful if you are insistent upon psionics; Infinite Futures includes a "psychic section that might cover your needs.
Dredan is a hybrid of Pathfinder and Traveller which might prove useful, but I've never tried it because one roleplaying system at a time is enough for me.
I would not recommend Dredan. I purchased the product and was HIGHLY disappointed with it. Most of the material requires Traveler T20. On top of that, the majority of the information centers on the main bad guys. I mean there is everything there to play them as PCs, but they are never meant to be PCs. I just found the entire product too amateurish.
Necro - thanks for the suggestions. I've grabbed the IF demo from DTRPG and will give it a look to see how it feels. $10 is a fairly cheap investment to get started, I guess. Since psionics aren't the main focus of my world (unlike the Jedi in Star Wars), I may wait for a while on that - depends on what my players want.
Got me a copy of Infinite Futures last night. Now to start reading and learning.
I see there's some "WTF?" connected to it - what are the major shortcomings of IF that I should be alert for and plan to work around?
It's not a rules system, but a basic overview of Golarion's solar system is included in Pathfinder #14, "Children of the Void."
Dear deific entities, I am having to fight HARD to resist the urge to print out the IF book and work it over with a highlighter!!! Actually, I may give in to that urge if doing so helps stave off the burning desire to actually correct my copy on my computer. :D
My crew was excited to learn it used the PF skill system - "Yes, Virginia, it really IS PF-compatible!" - and the class defense bonus.
I'm still working on my first read-thru, trying to be sure I understand what is going on. I already know I need plenty of new races, but that's a much easier task than creating the entire product from scratch on my own.
Look out, frontier-space - here they come!!
Yes, I can definitely see SJ being soon-to-appear, even if only in a plain brown wrapper version!
Yes, I can definitely see SJ being soon-to-appear, even if only in a plain brown wrapper version!
Keep watching for this on the horizon.