Which PbtA or FitD games are recommended for science-fiction settings? In part, it depends on which genre you are trying to emulate. The following are each unlicensed settings in similar genres. To boldly go where your favorite science fiction has gone before:
- If you want 1950s pulp-science fiction space opera, try Uncharted Worlds.
- If you want Alien/Aliens, try The Regiment: Colonial Marines [PDF]. (H/T Bytor_Snowdog.)
- If you want Asimov’s Galactic Empire series, try Numberless Worlds.
- If you want Battlestar Galactica, try Last Fleet. (H/T @Quietwraith on the PbtA Discord.)
- If you want Farscape or Mass Effect, try Impulse Drive. (H/T @Henry on DW+ Discord.)
- If you want Firefly, try Offworlders.
- If you want Flash Gordon, try Space Wurm vs. Moonicorn. (H/T @chekhovsgunman on DW+ Discord.)
- If you want Futurama or Star Trek: Lower Decks, try Space Aces: TNG (The New Guidebook).
- If you want Gundam or other mecha anime, check out Beam Saber. (H/T @Henry on DW+ Discord and @Quietwraith on the PbtA Discord.)
- If you want The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, try Farflung. (H/T @rythter.)
- If you want John Carter of Mars, or other sword and planet, try Adventures on Dungeon Planet.
- If you want Jurassic Park or Land of the Lost, try Escape From Dino Island. (H/T @chekhovsgunman on DW+ Discord.)
- If you want Mad Max or another post-apocalyptic setting, try Apocalypse World (duh!). (H/T @rythter.)
- If you want Neuromancer or other cyberpunk, try The Sprawl or The Veil.
- If you want Star Trek “planet of the week” adventures, try Starforged.
- If you want Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off, try Scum & Villainy.
- If you want X-Files, try Monster of the Week. (H/T @chekhovsgunman on DW+ Discord.)
And a few fantasy titles:
- If you want Grimm or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, try City of Mist. (H/T @rythter.)
- If you want Supernatural, try Monster of the Week. (H/T Bytor_Snowdog.)
Comments and suggestions welcome here!
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