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[Graanvlokkie]

I am busy looking at starting an RPG group up again, and am considering different systems at the moment (systems, not game settings).

I am looking for a system that can handle a modern/near future RPG really well. I played Dragon Star https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonstar before, and while the setting was fun, the d20 System it was based on let the setting down. So, I dont think I would like to base any sci-fi campaign around the d20 System.

Other systems that I have been thinking about was White Wolfs d10 System. I know it works well in a story driven modern system, but before I jump into that, does anyone have any different suggestions?

My other main alternative is the Alternity System that was done by TSR, but discontinued when they were bought over. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternity ... Its a good system, and I already own all the books, but I have had a very limited number game sessions with it because at that time my group was looking for more fantasy RPG's, so i dont know if there are any major deficiencies in the system. 

Something else I have looked at, but cant find too much information on is Steve Jackson's GURPS system. http://www.sjgames.com

So, if you were looking at running a modern/near future tabletop RPG, what system would you be looking at using?

[Karmilla Strife]

my favorite tabletop system is white wolf's world of darkness D10 system. D20 system would be a second place assuming you could find supplements that suit you.

I like the flexibility afforded to the person running the game (storyteller) and while it's tactical enough, it doesn't become a tabletop game like 4th ed D&D.

[Laerise [PIE]]

The most fun I ever had with any RPG was with Warhammer Fantasy 2nd Edition. Completely random character generation that can end in a highborn elven wizard or a gutter-scum human ratcatcher is fun 

[Graanvlokkie]

my favorite tabletop system is white wolf's world of darkness D10 system. D20 system would be a second place assuming you could find supplements that suit you.

I like the flexibility afforded to the person running the game (storyteller) and while it's tactical enough, it doesn't become a tabletop game like 4th ed D&D.

I am going to give my World of Darknesss core book another read to see how easy it would be to use this for near future Sci-Fi. I love the d10 system for the same reasons you mentioned. Its fast, tactical and can be very narrative. I hate having to use a grid when running a tabletop RPG and never do, so that was the reason that 4th ed DnD and myself never got along.

From my experience with the D20 system it doesn't work too well with technology. In the past I ran a Dragon Star campaign that was a mixed magic and technology system using the D20 system. It was really enjoyable at lower levels because of the deadliness of the technology. A group of Kobolds which got its hands on some plasma rifles could decimate the group in the first round with a well coordinated attack. At later levels because of the way the D20 system levels heros the technology became less realistic, with the warriors being able to take multiple plasma rifle shots to the face and laugh it off.

I tend to like systems where as you increase levels you become more skillful, but that doesn't mean you become able to take more damage.

TSR's Alternity system does this well. Your durability, the amount of stun damage, wound damage and mortal damage, is determined at level 1 and never increases. That means that at level 20 you die as easy as at level 1, but at level 20 you are more skillful and would be able to take out multiple foes in the same time it takes for a level 1 person to dispatch one enemy.

A downside with the Alternity system could be the amount of rules needed to achieve the realism, which bogs down the combat system with roles to hit, then armor absorption depending on the type of hit, and then only damage application.

At the moment my idea is for a short campaign based in the near future, a Blade Runner/Total Recall/Prometheus type setting. So I want to find a good system to bring across some realism without totally bogging down the action with complex rules.       

[Adreena Madeveda]

If you manage to grab a Cyberpunk 2020 book, I'd say the rules in there are close enough to what you're looking for. Systems like Unknown Armies or Kult wouldn't need much tweaking to fit a near future universe.

As for the WoD system... In my experience, most of the time it's all fine and dandy but suddenly you need buckets filled with d10 and everything... happens... in slow motion ^^

[Lyn Farel]

I personally have had bad experiences with the White Wolf system. I find that the system do not always make a lot of sense and is easily exploitable, so it might seem easier on the GM side because it's quite light and let a lot of space for storytelling, but I feel that the space it lets you, you actually use it to correct all the oddities that the system brings. To be honest when I played that game I almost wanted to go for no rules at all because it would have been the same.

I am not a fan of convoluted and obnoxiously hardcore systems like D&D, but I like it when the system is strong enough to support realism and has enough originality to make it unique. Of course I am far from being an expert in tabletop RPGs, but I really like the L5R system. Of course it can quickly become obnoxious if you are not able to adapt it at your whims and simplify it where it is needed, but if you are looking for a lethal system, you got it. Except maybe for very high level legendary heroes (the people you don't play usually), people can take one or two hits and die. Even higher levels, since each hit brings you wounds that dramatically cripple your combat abilities. It also uses a D20 system where you can throw a certain number of dices depending on your skills, but eventually you can only keep a few of them (based on your attributes). It mitigates a lot the discrepancies you can find between a very skilled character and a novice, and helps to keep everyone mortal enough. Of course though, it's not a very light system and it's not a Sci-Fi game.

Also, I believe that some universes tolerate more some sets of rules than others.

[Vieve]

Have you looked at FATE yet?

It drives the Dresden Files and Spirit of the Century games, and is used in a number of sci-fi game settings (I can think of Bulldogs! and Diaspora off the top of my head, and I know there are others).

The system itself is relatively painless.


Disclaimer:  I was in a beta playtest for FATE 1.0, and have just started playing in a FATE Core shakedown, so my experiences are with rough material.  Also, I hate having to consult charts and do advanced math while I roleplay, so ... just sayin', my definition of 'painless' may vary from a RPG system expert's.  Yeah, my contributions to playtests are of the 'can someone who hates systems play this game?' and 'can this system support/survive one of her characters?' variety.

[Natalcya Katla]

I love Alternity, but as you say, it can easily get bogged down in combat of any significant scale. Though intrinsically quicker, WoD does tend toward the bucket-of-dice syndrome. CP2020 (if you can even still get hold of it) is fairly difficult to balance on the deadliness scale, and the cyber-tolerance system is horrible. Depending on your campaign, though, that may or may not matter. FADE is a neat system, but from my experience with it (which admittedly is limited), it may require some customization to make it fit the kind of game you want to play.

The system I would personally recommend for a near-future game is Blue Planet. Its default setting is an in-the-process-of-being-colonized ocean planet in the year 2199, but you can easily set it on Earth instead, or in a different imagined future. There's a decent assortment of tech to play with, including biomods and cybertech, and if you decide to go with the default setting, a good assortment of fauna and human conflict, too.

[Arnulf Ogunkoya]

Let's see.

Cyberpunk is a reasonably simple system to pick up, and is created for a near future setting. I'd pick this for a quick set up and if you are more comfortable with randomly rolled character creation. I have run and played in Cyberpunk games.

GURPS has the advantage that there is a lot of crossover and conversion information around so you can easily convert scenario materials from other games.  It's a more complex system but supports more options. It also has some nicely written support material for a range of genres. I'd use that if you don't mind a bit more setup work and want people to design characters rather than use what the dice have given them to work with. I have run GURPS 3rd edition and played in games run under the current 4th edition.

[John Revenent]

Mongoose Traveler is a good system for future sci-fi based games. I have a group that plays it 3 times a week, they insist on using it over D20, or White Wolfs system... D6's all the way, also the system is more realistic.