Great GM: How to run a Sci Fi setting in your roleplaying game - Game Master Tips 

"Why bother having lawyers when we can simply build robots that are assholes?" Oh, mighty GM. I love everything you do.

One of my players was uncomfortable with me filling my sci-fi galaxy with AI until I explained it like this... "Think of the AIs like the gods and spirits of a fantasy setting. Simple little dedicated AIs are all around, but they're mostly quiet and just do their jobs behind the scenes. The big AIs are like pantheistic gods. Powerful yes, but don't interact directly with you much. And all the AIs in between... Well really, what's the difference between a droid and a golem?"

I’m formally requesting more Sci-Fi content, so I can more effectively run my Expanse campaign

In my (very limited) experience, when it comes to running a science fiction game, one of the most important things to develop is how realistic you want your sci-fi to be. This, along with setting the technology "level," sets down the broad limitations of what the characters can and cannot solve with the tools at their disposal. This also helps determine how much you want the setting to run on existing theories and understood laws of reality versus how much is made up, which is VERY important when dealing with those pesky natural phenomena or engineering problems that the players will inevitably have to face. Personally, I aim for a sort of middle ground "mostly hard" sci-fi range. Most, if not all, real world laws and what we understand of them apply, while providing enough room for more theoretical possibilities (like FTL travel, stargates, laser weapons, etc.) that are in some way grounded to those real world laws; this hugely reduces and simplifies how much of my sci-fi I need to essentially make up. It also allows the players to do their own research as necessary to learn and understand what it is they're working with, and solve the problem logically, rather than rolling a dice and puking out some load of complete nonsense to describe it. It also (and this is probably more important) helps maintain setting CONSISTENCY. Nothing breaks immersion in a science fiction story worse than having your defined sci-fi elements change function on a whim, or having your science officer go on a lengthy explanation of what their wonderful tool does, and every actual scientific word they use is put in the completely wrong context.

In the book, Perilous Waif, there were fabricators that made everything, you just needed the raw materials. The best equipment was patent protected (they melted if you took them apart) and the big cost was buying the design. So you could limp along on open source designs, spend the time to make your own designs, or pay a mega corp for their designs. This would be a way to limit the players from having excessive, solve any problem, gear.

Does anyone else take notes because this man gives good advice?

Another good reference might be Cowboy Bebop? Or how about Cyberpunk, with hackers and androids and megacorporations. References for that might be Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix, and that one movie with Bruce Willis where everyone has a robot body, except some neo-Amish like people and suddenly people can kill people through the connection to the robot body. Other reference: Trigun! I feel like I'm showing my age here though...

the lawyer joke really got me

I’ve always thought of magic in a sci fi setting to be a natural part of the space and universe around them, and the races of the galaxy use technology like incredibly advanced arcane focuses.

Star Wars is Science Fantasy. The greatest merging of the two greatest things.

I don't comment enough. You do good work. I always walk away with something I can either use or that makes me a better GM. Thanks man.

I would personally define such things as Star Wars as Space Opera, because fantasy doesn't quite fit either. That being said I can see where your coming from.

Man, mine is set in 2200. Humans use Gauss and Rail guns for most military operations. Though plasma-throwers, plasma-casters, and pulse lasers are also available, they are mostly for specialist roles, or aren't really powerful enough to replace Gauss rifles in the military. Yes, a pulse laser made by my settings Humans can flash-boil your blood and make your limbs explode, but they don't work if they don't actually hit your flesh/normal clothing. If you're wearing any form of 'modern' body armour, then they are almost useless against you. (At the very least, they would take two or three shots to get through the most basic of armours.) Plasma-throwers, however, work like flame-throwers, but don't waste non-renewable resources, and are even more effective at killing, though they have slightly more limited range. Plasma-casters are probably the most powerful thing that you can get as far as "hand-held" weaponry, but the damn things are the size of a DShK, 14.5mm HMG, and weigh a bit more. (82.3 lbs for the lightest Plasma-Caster design, and 74.96 lbs for a DShK.) www.google.com/search?q=DShK+14.5&num=100&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiVkPz48tfTAhVH64MKHZAVDyEQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=960#imgrc=j3F4f1ZXP5efzM:

I'm about to start a GURPS Firefly game, which might fall into your "grunge" sci-fi category, although it's usually described "space western". And the "tech solves everything" issue is handled in much the same way that it is in "old west" settings, where the tech does exist, but access to it on the frontier (the border and outer planets) is limited. Plots are easily borrowed from Westerns (movies, TV series, books, etc.), or from any of the minor side stories that appear in the series. Or at least, that's the theory. We'll see what happens in practice... ;)

I love how you dont miss a beat.... XD. Fantastic videos! Instant subscriber!

Thank you for this. I'm working on a space opera novel right now and I want to do as much research on world building as possible. This was really helpful.

Dear Mr. Speaker. Congratulations for a lesson so didactic and helped me a great deal regarding the plot creation.

Great advice! I'm getting ready to kick off a The Last Parsec campaign for Savage Worlds this weekend. This video greatly inspired me.

@17:40. Nearly spit my coffee out. Lol.

I'm currently working on making a BattleTech campaign and found this helpful.

You nailed all my fav franchises: Star Trek, MechWarrior, and The Expanse

Settings-wise this is why I love Battletech/Mechwarrior. It's a very grounded sci fi setting since they basically wrote it as "The fall of Rome, but with walking tanks". Some planets have intense feudalism, others democracy, and others are so barren that there's no real government. A person could ride a horse to work and carry a laser rifle to protect themselves. Sure the bread and butter of the wargame is the gianty stompy robots, but for an alien-free and AI intensely limited story, you can pull plot hooks from practically anything and find a way to settle it in. Lost some ancient magic relic passed down through a family line? Ancient Star League technical doo-dad they never really figured out after great gran gran kicked the bucket. Stuff like that is flexible and fun.

"Captain's Log: Cheesy" Alright, I'm in

I'm planning a campaign that's set in a failed/recovering dyson swarm. It's gonna feel like the Expanse, but in ancient space habitats. This has been, by far the best thing I've seen to help me understand where to start. I don't even know what game I'm going to use. I'm leaning to d20modern. Anyway, thanks!

Very good and very helpful it is defently helping me with creating my first D&D session which is a Star Trek vs Star Wars. It's defently think have I out "what are people expecting" when come to the session. Thanks for this. P.s. We may fall out about enterprise

I need a list of ALL the series and references he mentions here.. this is some good tastes!

Star Wars is such an interesting "sci fi" setting, because aliens are just there most of the time, there's not a big sense of discovery, technology is just an after thought in fact, it seems like it's reached a complete stagnation for thousands of years. And you have to think of a lot of it as 70s future tech... not everyone has a pocket device, like a cell phone some have comlinks and datapads.

Having been a Sci-Fi nut all my life I have played a lot of Sci-Fi based game systems. It’s rare, very rare, to find one that doesn’t include something that eludes to “magic”. My own creation, Stellar Frontiers (soon to be published by Golden Games), is one of those few. Any “Magic” is technology driven.

I will bookmark this for a later time, still trying to figure out keeping my fantasy world together

Awesome tips. Thank you :)

Valuable, as always! Thanks

Thanks for your scholarly advice here. I particularly enjoyed your thoughts on Intellectual Puzzles at the core of a good encounter/adventure, as most player parties have enough skill distribution to attempt to overcome most skill-based challenges, with relative ease. Particularly in more hand-wavey, roleplay focused, story driven games. TBH, I'd love to hear see an episode where you detail your approach to generating sci-fi friendly intellectual challenges. I've been running Stars Without Number for the last year or so. It's a 2d6+modifiers OSR style game. A brilliant sandbox-enabling system, and a very compelling setting too. Of course, the rules can be applied to any homebrew setting. That's the beauty of SWN! I'm clearly an amateur GM in contrast to the likes of thee, but a thirsty passion & desire for storytelling burns in the nucleus of my soul. If you have the spare time & inclination, feel free to have a peek at some of our Actual Play recordings: ru-vid.com/group/PLN39ml7LyLcKtqC-D5tiT0jUYx0CKz3Y9

Farscape is exactly my stick. First season is a bit of a slow burner. But then the show really takes off.

This is so awesome. I'm here because I'm working on creating my own Mass Effect TTRPG. No, I don't have EA's permission, and no, I don't care.

This gentleman looks like the father of another fantasy/tabletop rpg focused youtuber by the name of Shadiversity, I highly recommend him.

Another reference: Babylon 5 as another setting?

Both the battle tech and Shadow run are great settings.

My setting is a fantasy/diesel punk with science fantasy stuff like eldritch abominations and interdimensional travel. My main character Anargrin someway waaaay late in my series becomes for all intents and purposes: A Plainswalker. I dream of a day when my writing becomes so big he gets made into a Plainswalker card in Magic the Gathering lol

On animals in space, there was a great story (I think from nosleep) called FELINE. That's basically about genetically engeneered cats that were bred to hunt rats that infested starships and evolved to be vicious beasts while the people slept in criostasis on their travels. It has some holes, but it was super atmospheric. Really inspiring. 'Nature's temper' here on RU-vid has it narrated.

Hmmmm...I caught that Star Trek Enterprise insult, that was a great show

Great video

Pretty good info and basic introduction in the various aspects of scifi gaming (and scifi, in general, I might add.) Your uniform might be right there at the top... if teetering on going over the top. I would advise wearing casual street clothing, but that's just me. I have worn military garb in the past while playing historical miniature wargames, so I do understand the allure of playing "dress-up."

I love sci-fi, but my players always refuse to even try it (unless it's star wars, but I find it way too restrictive)

Firefly is a great reference too,works really well with Traveller

Oh, I love Titan AE!

Making a transformers campaign, found this helpful

Excellent video! I am looking forward to using the idea of why A.I. is limited in my Firefly campaign. Cheers.

18:35 That also sounds like most D&D groups ive ever experienced! Personally, id rather be worst at everything than best at anything, much more fun to be had :D Rincewind>Gandalf!

Hard Science Fiction RPG's are awesome.

I like your views on AI, they are very correct. We have the potential to create God with it.

9:25 i found that version (at least the first 2 seasons) to be the best. Strayed from typical Trek themes in some ways.

You missed out on a great opportunity to call out one of the most interesting things about Mechwarrior/BattleTech: Other humans that are so separated from the point of view of the protagonists that they seem like aliens, the Clans. :)

I’m currently working on a campaign called Starscape. It’s not in earths universe but a totally alien place where humans don’t even exist.

this actually goes hand in hand with the new Sci-fi Pathfinder setting: Starfinder.

Solid video! Any plans for modern/postapocalyptic settings?

I’m making a sci fi table top games. It takes a lot from D&D and SWETE( in terms of rules ) I just started. Hopefully it doesn’t take longer than a month to finish.

right now i am exploring the concept of awakened humans

9:20 Dogs barking = Terminators. Just sayin'. :)

I like how you first go "I consider Star Wars to be fantasy" but continue to mention it in a Sci-Fi fashion a couple of times. Though I do agree, with the adittion of the Force a Force-sensitive SW campaign would be more of a fantasy setting, but with the twist of the setting being the advanced technology. However, I myself run a SW game in which there are no Jedi to speak of (post IV, pre V) and the party is a group of misfits trying to get by in the universe. In this case I'm looking at it as more of a Sci-Fi setting with a more worn (and perhaps realistic - though that is a dangerous thing to say) undertone. Also, great video :)

I believe the person you quoted for the sci-fi being the last place of the philosopher was C.S Lewis.

where is the video on tone?

I do not allow time travel

I was wondering if there was a sci fi monster manual or if one is being made

My own sci-fi game is hard sci-fi. No artificial gravity. No space magic. I do delve into some quantum mechanics, but definitely harder than 99% of what's out there. I have found myself reading more about the real possibilities of FTL travel, whether it's a wormhole or some other method of folding space. The old Albedo system had the best spaceship designs in terms of reality, that I have come across. I'd rather run, and play, a sci-fi game than any other genre. As for aliens, I just introduced them two sessions ago. I borrowed the Phraint from David Harfrave's Arduin, because most of my players are really old school players. I've dabbled in AI in this game, but most of it is not really senient, and I call it more a "virtual intelligence" than an artificial intelligence. I do use handheld lasers, but they are rare and expensive. Most people still use slug throwers, and ships mostly use missiles and point-defense weapons systems. For plots, look tp sources like Traveller. Commerce is a great motivator. Commerce and political intrigue, with brushfire wars as needed to keep the players interested. Thanks for the video. More sci-fi RPG content please.

I have an old, blank chessex hex map - quite large (apprx 21" x33") I really wanted to start drawing a map of a galaxy/system for scifi games. Any non-computer drawing ideas? Thanks so much.

I'm dreadfully late to the show, but I have to say that in my eyes, Traveller is a great system for ANY sort of adventure or tech level. And they have dogs in space - the Vargr! You can play Imperial scientists or suspicious villagers in a backwater colony exploring alien ruins, try your hand at piracy or smuggling, have military or espionage or trading campaigns of all kinds, deep space exploration gone wrong, political intrigue or just be a crew with a ship, taking jobs to survive and saving up to replace that janky port compression coil...

Is it possible to use war hammer 40k lore in a more d&d type setting?

AI lawyers ! love it, im adding those to my settings

Hi, love your work, can you recommend a video or article that will help me deal with the following problem which I encounter while running my 5e D&D campaign - I have a monk and barbarian in the party who are the type of people who really enjoy encounters, but at the same time while they are in encounter they always just swing with their axes and fists and because of that they get bored after the 3th or 4th encounter. I tried to have someone brake their weapons or blew them away, but that didn't really make it a lot better.

How about Science-Fantasy, a combonation of the crazy tech in science fiction with the magical elements of fantasy and all things in between, ya know like Shadow Runner is.

There already have been told about cyberpunk, but... I am GMing in Shadowrun setting, and, from what I experienced so far, it's really different from sci-fi or fantasy setting. Especially Shadowrun, which inludes, actually, three genres - cyberpunk, noir and fantasy. And it's especially difficult, when you have to mix those part into one. Well... I don't have an exact question, but I would love to see some kind of video about playing such systems, or, at least, cyberpunk systems. Or just to hear a few tips...

i want to build maps and worlds for a sci fi adventure .... any good tools for sci fi?

I like the plot from Gundam

Do you think you can make a video on modern settings? I'm especially stuck on how to avoid the police catching my group and summarily executing them.

Is the power cosmic considered magic?

i have been thinking of buying dark matter 5e by mage hand. have you seen it yet?

At 1:15 In a science fiction rpg game, Telepathy is NOT magic. It's psionic or even technological. Telepathy could only be magic if your setting is science fantasy (like Star Wars).

qith ai its more complex the human brains long term memory alone is on par with a hardrive requiring the energy of a nucleasr power plant to even run. but this may also be why they turn on us not being able to program empathy and emotion into them personaly i like the symbiotic stance on ai

Use science to balance your universe. With scientific solutions we also get scientific hindrances.

No love for "Babylon 5"?

Bit late but magic can be put into Sci-Fi quite easily and make sense, look at Biotics in Mass Effect they damage, levetate, shield, transform all things you would associate with magic in a 5e campaign yet they're done from manipulating dark energy, that's your way into using magic in Sci-Fi

"Why have lawyers if you can simply build robots that are assholes?" 😂

Ya wanna great sci fi? Spelljammer!!

I cannot but help give your final list of reference sources a severe scowl. There are these rather good sources of inspiration called "books". Every single cool thing you mentioned was first done in a (minimum) half-dozen books before it ever hit the big or small screen. Obviously you can't skip off listing all the titles of books worth reading, or the video could be twice as long. I do think a strong general reminder might have been in order that the SF section of the library or bookstore is a most excellent storehouse of ideas. And if your gamers' knowledge of SF is stuck in video land, then the ideas stolen from books will be Unexpected and Awe-Inspiring.

Currently le I'm running a wolfenstein warhammer 40k star wars halo with some other things campaign

Big key in scifi is dont be afraid to say I dont know. Shot a monster with super auto kill rifle... doesnt die... why? I dont know. They don't. Player needs to find out.

I'm starting a sci-fi campaign next week, wish me luck

I settled on my space setting not having thinking robots and computers because engineers never figured out how to not make them incredibly dumb.

I am tnkstill n gor a space faring campaign with star ships inspired by the Brain&Brawn Ships series by Anne McAffrey, where the main ship computer is a human brain that got cyberneticly implanted right after birth. But the difficulty everybody in my rpg club has, who tried to run a sci-fi space game, is how to prevent it from becoming a trading game...

Star Wars is Science-Fantasy in my eyes.

I'm having trouble finding a good/fair system to run gunfights w/ dice. I'd like suggestions please

I prefer the method of space travel in halo. Slip space tech is f*cking awesome.

You look like Shad from Shadiversty.

High level technology when shown to lower tech peoples can be indistinguishable from " magic".

Traveller

ive just started a si fi D&D game i lost my inventory in the first session i caught a flaming skull in a bag of holding and it detonated the 20 explosives in it and killed its self along with my entire inventory at least my sentient sword familiar and a normal long sword survived bob the A.I better restore that crap after we disable the security and open the door to the weapons room

I like how he keeps making slashes at SW for being fantasy... XD

Is there already a preexisting Star Trek Tabletop RPG or is this one of those instances where there really is no choice but to heavily modify a preexisting system like pathfinder?

so bs galactica is basically a space GoT? what about combining Fantasy and Sci Fi where magic can rival and match technology?

Just gave me an idea: Monarchist star trek