Re:OT: Hard Sci-Fi Role Playing Games...

I'm somewhat partial to Star Wars as a base rules set [1]. For hard
sci-fi I'd combine Traveller tech with Star Wars rules for
character-level stuff. And the dificulty numbers from space combat will
translate, since SW also uses a difficulty level system.

To recap the SW rules, each attribute or skill is the number of d6
you'll roll for a test on that skill. Difficulty numbers are a fixed
number, with named ranges as guidelines and conversion aids. There are
6 attributes, each rated as a dice code such as 4D+2 (pretty good).
Character creation is by assigning a dice total to the attributes,
typicaly 21-24 dice between the six; 10-14 dice are then added to the
controlling attribute to set skill levels. Combat is done by opposed
rolls for the most part.

Nothing beats it (except possibly Teenagers From Outer Space) for new
gamers. Almost anybody can remember "roll that many dice, high is good"
or "both of you roll so many dice, doubling up the other guy is good."
A set of fantasy rules took 20 minutes to hack out the basics, with
magic converted from Ars Magica. Other games that convert very easily
to the "D6 System" (as it's sometimes known) include Traveller, you
just juggle the character creation to taste, but most of the numbers
carry over, after conversion to dice (divide by three in most cases).
For Cyberpunk or Mekton, subtract one from the stat in question, and
count that as 'pips' (one-third of a die). I suspect Champions would
scale as well. Note that the conversions retain all the chrome from the
original game, but replace the core rules with an extremely elegant and
fast playing system.

[1] This system first appeared in "Ghostbusters" by "Chaosium".

At 7:50 PM -0700 6/3/99, Mark A. Siefert wrote:
>Hello:
>	I'm seriously thinking getting back into role-playing,
>particularly a
>hard sci-fi RPG.  Does anyone have any suggestions on a good system.  I
>have narrowed it down to a few likely candidates:
>
>	Alternity
>	GURPS (Either Space or Traveller)
>	Marc Miller's Traveller
>
>	I am looking of a system that is simple and isn't bogged down
>with over
>mechanics.  Does anyone have any suggestions.
>--
>Later,
>Mark A. Siefert
>
>	"People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence,
>	 they're begging for rule by brute force, when the biggest,
>	 strongest animals among men were always automatically
>	 'right.'  Guns ended that, an social democracy is a
>	 hollow farce without an armed populace to make it work."
>
>					--L. Neil Smith
>					"The Probability Broach"
>
>E-MAIL: cthulhu@csd.uwm.edu		 WWW:
http://www.uwm.edu/~cthulhu
>=======================================================================
==

Michael Carter Llaneza
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1991-1950
Devolution is very real to me.
Whenever I hear the "Odd Couple" theme, I get this image of Dennis
Rodman borrowing Marge Schott's toothbrush.
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