Sci-Fi RPG For D&D 5e

>except for Mutants & Mastermind
Even then it is one of the worst supers systems. It is really just the only not D&Dfinder d20 system that doesn't completely suck all of the balls at once.

>using d&d for anything other than the fact its d&d
>NOPE

whats next, a non gamer, using windows for its quality?

Looks interesting. First thought, as I read through the core book (other than "jesus, this guy's written a lot") is don't use Asimov's Law's of Robotics. They're terrible. All of Asimov's stories are about how terrible they are. That's fine if your story is specifically about how terrible they are, but not something which is about a group of people making decisions. Is the intention that all PC Synthetics are illegal? Because one way or another, no player character should be held to something that strict.

Looks like the Asimov stuff is just flavour text anyway, which is also bad, because something fundamental to the nature of an entity should be represented in the rules. Here's what I'd do instead: if Synthetics are programmed to serve humanity on a universal fundamental level across all synths, then give them a special trait that gives them Advantage whenever they act in accordance with that drive. If you've been watching Westworld then you've seen the Samaritan Reflex; regardless of personality (which the player determines), all Hosts have the ability to react quickly and without hesitation when a Guest is in real danger. Emphasis on ABILITY. It'd be an option that a player might or might not choose to use. Much better than having them be required to obey if told to destroy themselves.

I saw an earlier version of this. Aliens could really use more modularity, so that new races can be cooked up on the fly but not utterly broken.

Also, since there's no magic, what is the point of mental saving throws? All I can see is Suppression which requires a Wis save.

Also, grappling is a bit weird at the moment, since Restrained gives disadvantage and means that grappling someone makes them harder for you to hit.

The classes feel a little bit samey, to be honest, especially early on.

Agreed.

You're not making DnD, so you can't rely on people buying or even reading your book based on brand recognition. If your RPG contains a lot of character options then you need to offer the reader something in exchange for slogging through 27 pages of class rules. You need to sell the fantasy of each of those classes. The 5e PHB does this very well. "Here's a big picture of the class. Here's three paragraphs devoted purely to describing the class like they're the hero of their own personal story. We put a cool icon in the corner of the page that represents the basic theme of the class. Now here's some fluff about what they succeed at and what their role in society is. Want to be one? If not, move on; the rules come after you've made that decision."

If you were trying to do this, you did a terrible job. Your first class is Soldier. Not only does the name say "rank and file dude in army", but you've got a picture of a bunch of dudes in an army. And this is your first point of contact with a reader trying to get interested in making a character! "You there! Reader! Persevere with learning my system and you too can be third guy in armor from the left!".

Change the name to Veteran, change the picture to a single war hero rather than a collection of dudes the Master Chief will wordlessly throw out of the Warthog on the way to doing the exciting thing, and FOR GODS SAKE change the starting ability to something more interesting than just yet more HP. It's very hard to get excited about HP. They're abstract, they're passive, they're there to be ignored so that we can pretend that our characters are in danger when actually they're going to be able to survive for at least a little while. They offer no room for customization, and your potential player is stuck with just that until level 2.

I am srill working in this project and you have given me a lot to think about.

Synthetics need work and their section was written well before westworld and I have been thinking about them a lot ever since. At my table they mor or less follow three laws but more in an instinctual fashion that can be overcome. What if I made synthetics charmed by all humans, requiring a cha save to attack or harm one? Being nonbiologic comes with some neat perks mechanically (no pun intended) and a few tradeoffs. Some sort of fucked up programming is too much of a well for me not to draw something. I will play with it. C

As for class descriptions, spot on. These are bland. I had thought of classes as something as a means to an end of developing a character concept not as something I was selling to a reader. I need to revise this way of thinking. There will be better class introductions.

For soldier balance... I like second wind at first level, it lets soldiers be tougher than other characters out of the gate in a very noticeable fashion. This class is meant to shhine in the combat pillar and this lets it do so.

I might consider adding combat style to first level and coming up with something for second. I dislike action surge eatly so that is unlikely, maybe some sort of indomitable type feature or a bonus feat.

Mental saves are worth less in this setting, I tend to have characters make them in social situations. Cha to avoid being charmed, wis to hold morale, int to not be tricked by fast talk. More like opposed skills were treated before. They are a part of class balance and I will try ro add more concrete uses for them, such as a social hazards section in the hazard handbook. Think like from the l5r rpg.

This is invaluable feedback and I thank you for it.

what a dumbass reply to a
>hey, guys, i did X, we enjoyed it, wanna look at it?
thread

The biggest problem is that hard scifi implies a degree of realism that cannot survive a clash with HP and levels. If your average sidearm cannot take down reliably a human being you're straining the suspension of disbelief.
They were entirely valid criticisms.

>Using 5e D&D for anything
>Using 5e specifically for sci fi
>Using 5e for hard sci fi
Let me get this straight. You want to use a poorly conceived and schizophrenic ruleset designed for cinematic fantasy heroism and rework it to run a realistic science fiction game.

>The book is 150 pages
>There are three books
>There is love and effort put into all these
You poor child. At first I was just ready to laugh at you but you've put way too much work into this. It's awful. It's all awful and reading through these rules I think I would rather jump out of a window than play this game but I have to respect the amount of effort you've put into this. The books are beautiful, if that's any consolation.

if OP had indicated he wanted to sell this as a professional product, trying to compete with major games out there? yeah.
without that? makes you sound like a jerk.

>I am srill working in this project and you have given me a lot to think about.

>I tend to have characters make them in social situations. Cha to avoid being charmed, wis to hold morale, int to not be tricked by fast talk. More like opposed skills were treated before
then what's the point of skills like Insight that were normally used to defend against social? And why, then, is the bookish Technician potentially as effective at resisting social wiles as an Officer - and better than a Specialist?

In my system a "large calibre" handgun does 2d8 +2 damage, so about 11 on average. Most shots that connect will lay out a first level character. If a soldier gets hit, he moght be able to keep his shit together at 1 or 2 hp, thanks to a d10 hit die, and catch his second wind for 6 or 7 hp and might not go down and stay there If he takes a second shot, but probably will. A character might be able to take one more shot for every couple of levels up to a max of 10 levels.

If we assume these hp are abstract and not meat damage, this is fairly high lethality.

Hp loss can be cuts and scrapes, burns from near misses, grazes, or just being scared shitless from feeling a bullet blow by.

Hp is not a terrible system, and it is a good one for telling narratives since you have leeway to explain it.

See the thing is that a lvl 10 soldier would not be afraid of a gun being pointed at him. If the opponent is pointing a large calibre handgun at him from the other end of the room, he could calmly walk towards them until he could snatch it out of his opponent's hand, safe in the knowledge that they don't have enough time to reduce his hit points to zero. If you want realism don't let the characters gain a single hit point from levelling up.

This is a fan project for my personal enjoyment. I just like to share it and enjoy extra critique in helping develop it further.

I like 5e dnd, a lot of players do. A lot of people like spaceships. I figured I had a reeses moment and went for it. It has been a hit at my table and others. Is it publishable? Nah. But it makes me happy when someone else likes it and quite a few have.

You are right on the saves. Mostly they are an artifact of very early design when I mostly copy pasta'd' dnd classes. This needs a pass. Early on I imagined a lot more brain bending telepathic space squids, but it got harder scifu the further I went. I am aiming at between a 3 and 4 on the mohs scale of scifi hardness and feel I am within those parameters.

There are no ridiculous space wizards, no lightsabers, no transporters or antigrav. I feel good about all that.

Which is very doable. I considered adding a scaler from harsh to pulp for rules like this, in my current game they stopped getting more hp after level 5. I like a bit more risk taking cinematic feel just this side of full on action movie. Combat is scary but so scary they avoid it entirely.

>There are no ridiculous space wizards, no lightsabers, no transporters or antigrav. I feel good about all that.
People mostly fight with guns? Are you going to plump up the cover rules for the game? Games that have gun battles but don't emphasise cover tend to feel a bit weird as people stand in the open and chip away at each other's HP.

In fact, that's a good way to emphasise the difference between a Soldier-type and a Scoundrel-type. Both good at shooting people in a fight, but one does it by using cover and the environment effectively and the other does it by dropping the other guy before he can do anything. Even though you're using DnD HP, it'd be nice if we could have room for Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds.

Rebuilding D&D for sci-fi is a bit like rebuilding your car into a boat.

Yes, you can do it, yes, I'm sure you're having fun doing it, and hey, if you and your friends enjoy it, great for you.

But since you came here and told other people about it, please realize that most of them are going to think you are retarded for not just getting a proper boat.

And for thinking that a leveling up and hitpoint-based combat heavy rpg is in any way shape or form going to feel like "hard sci-fi"

Why the hell would you go for hard-scifi if it's all just going to be "you got hit by a laser rifle, good thing you got 5 extra hitpoints on your last levelup or you'd be dead now lol" anyway?

Looks like weapons do far too little damage.

remember a good hit from an assault rifle should kill someone, or at least knock them unconscious. Gunplay is lethal, and a modern or sci fi game should reflect this. Cover and modern armor should be the only thing between a player and death. PCs will have to make use of cover, tactics, or getting the drop on the enemy to survive. You dont want it devolving into HP grinding D&D style, because thats not what modern gun-fights are like.

Look at Traveller. it handles weapons and damage excellently - with damage being applied to your physical stats.

If you had suggested you were going to make a sci fi game based on D&D, I would have told you to just play Traveller, it does everything your system does and much simpler, and with much more options for races, classes, skills, equipment, spaceships, etc.

Also your system isn't hard sci fi. Look at orbital if you want hard sci fi. Your system is fairly soft sci fi a la Star Trek.