New to Obsidian and new to D&D

facialfail
facialfail
edited January 2016 in Player Lounge
So, I recently joined Obsidian to see if I could play some D&D. I have limited experience with the game, having played home brew adventures with my older brothers. I want to make a space or futuristic setting with custom races, but I do not know what system I would use, how to run it, or how to balance it. I also do not know all the lingo, but I am willing to read guides. Any help, criticism, tips, or advice in general would be appreciated

Comments

  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998
    Welcome facialfail to Obsidian Portal!
    Outside of D & D there are some good systems that specialize in Space. There is GURPS, Traveller, Gamma World, Rifts, Star Wars, Robotech, and more. If you want to focus on space you may want to check those out.

    Just trying to help out.

  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006 edited January 2016
    Hi facialfail and welcome to the portal.

    I have very limited experience with space campaigns but agree with KVP that one of his suggestions would be better tailored to a SPACE RPG than a generic game like D&D or Pathfinder, although either of those could be used and probably have "add ons" for implementation of space rules. There tend to be quite a few STAR WARS games being run on OP, so you may want to have a browse through some of the Campaigns to have a look. At the tabs at the top, choose "Campaigns", drop down to "All Campaigns" and flick through.

    Here's a couple that might put you on a good start:
    https://roguetraders.obsidianportal.com/
    https://star-trek-late-night.obsidianportal.com/
    https://edge-of-the-empire-6.obsidianportal.com/
    https://star-wars-dawn-of-darkness.obsidianportal.com/
    https://star-wars-the-wild-cards.obsidianportal.com/

    Good luck!

    twiggyleaf
    CURRENT CAMPAIGN: "Mysteria":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/mysteria - set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
    Previous CotM Aug 2012: "Shimring":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shimring
    Post edited by twiggyleaf on

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • andreww38
    andreww38
    Posts: 239
    Heya facialfail,

    Welcome to the site.

    If you'd like dark sci-fi stuff, then the Warhammer 40k stuff from UK games publisher Games Workshop might be up your alley.

    Check out the "GW site":http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-40-000.

    Besides a tabletop wargaming element, there's also a RPG element to it, together with a bunch of books, comics under the Black Library imprint.

    Oh, yeah, 40k is a mashup of fantasy stuff brought into the future, think Orcs in space armor (Orks), elf on sleek jetbikes (Eldar), armored human knights (Space Marines), and no game would be complete without demons/daemons in the distant future (the forces of Khorne the blood god, Nurgle the plague god, Tzeentch the bringer of change and Slaneesh the god of lust, pain, pleasure and other good stuff.

    -
    Also, for future stuff, there's holocaust type of stuff (think fallout, zombies), or space opera/space saga stuff (Palladium's robotech stuff), so you might want to look around more, then decide what reasonates with you.
  • AaSampson
    Posts: 20 edited January 2016
    Welcome facialfail.

    I'm the community manager here at OP and on behalf of the population I'd like to welcome you to the family.

    I'd suggest Shadowrun myself if you don't mind a bit of magic in your Sci-Fi, but once a Street Samurai always a street samurai. (How much more convincing do you need? I just outlined samurais armed to the teeth in a dystopian magic/cybernetic future)

    If we have any other new users to Obsidian Portal. Don't be shy to drop your name and a casual question or three. Welcome to the forums.
    Post edited by AaSampson on
  • UselessTriviaMan
    UselessTriviaMan
    Posts: 546
    Howdy facialfail, and welcome. :-)

    I agree with the guys above who beat me to the punch. D&D and Pathfinder are good at what they do, but they're designed to be fantasy. If you want a sci-fi game, there are LOADS of options out there that don't require you to change the rules to fit (which can be a hugely daunting task).

    My question for you would be what type of sci-fi game are you interested in? Star Trek? Star Wars? Firefly? Flash Gordon? Cyberpunk? Futuristic fantasy? Pacific Rim?

    All of these can be very easily done with existing sci-fi games, but it depends on which flavor you prefer. :-)

    Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year

    "Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life."  - - Kevin Smith

  • facialfail
    facialfail
    Posts: 3
    Hey guys, just got back from school.
    Thank you for all the answers, sorry I couldn't check them earlier.
    I wanted it to be a more hombrew thing, mostly because it's all I ever played, and it sparked my imagination. I can't write, draw, or animate, so I've never been able to put my ideas into a shareable form.
    If you need a link to my campaign (it is no where near done, I still have a lot to do, figure out, and I want to edit the pages, too) I'll put it here:
    https://ironclad.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
    Any feedback would be appreciated

    also, if Facialfail is too long, I'm used to being calld "Iron"
  • Basileus
    Basileus
    Posts: 585
    If you're in the market for a system, I have to plug my favorite: "Fate Core":http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/

    There's also an online SRD, so its free to use: "Fate SRD":http://fate-srd.com/

    Basically, its a narrative focused system that tends to be light on rules/crunch (though it can get crunchier if you add in extras). Its fairly easy to learn and adapt to whatever genre or setting you want to play in (making it good for homebrew).
  • UselessTriviaMan
    UselessTriviaMan
    Posts: 546
    You're looking at a _major_ overhaul of the D&D system rules. I don't want to discourage you - at all - from creating your world, but you're making a lot of unnecessary extra work for yourself.

    If I were creating a new sci-fi world, I'd do it in "Savage Worlds.":https://www.peginc.com/product-category/savage-worlds

    It's a generic RPG system, it's cheap, and it's VERY easy to use.

    Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year

    "Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life."  - - Kevin Smith

  • Basileus
    Basileus
    Posts: 585
    Savage Worlds would be next on my list too. It and Fate have very similar philosophies (and both are sort of "one size fits all" systems).
  • facialfail
    facialfail
    Posts: 3
    I'll read through savage worlds, see if I can find what I need
    I do plan to change things though, but I wanted to do things in a way that I could understand
    sometimes reading up on every race and all of their rules and stuff takes forever and I can't usually understand it, especially because I don't have any books
    I also don't know how I would make a map, I don't have a scanner or anything
    I plan to take this all down, I don't have resources for it
    And I don't have money. Savage worlds gm starter kit is 9.99.
    yeah I'll probably just take it down
  • Keryth987
    Keryth987
    Posts: 1,047
    I prefer FATE to Savage Worlds. Little less prep work and more story driven

    Just my two cents :)

    Keelah Se'lai,
    Keryth
    "Shadows Over New York":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shadows-over-new-york
    "2013 Campaign of The Year":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/2013-coty-shadows-over-new-york/
    "Campaign of the Month July 2013":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/shadows-over-new-york-julys-campaign-of-the-month/

  • UselessTriviaMan
    UselessTriviaMan
    Posts: 546
    I can't make a comparison, unfortunately. I still haven't tried FATE, though I've heard about its pros and cons.

    Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year

    "Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life."  - - Kevin Smith

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