It’s ironic that my very first RPG was a Science Fiction game, but it’s still one of the few genres that I still have trouble with. I’m fairly confident that I can do Cyberpunk… I’ve watched enough Ghost in the Shell to be able to pull it off without even batting an eye. I can also do Space-Opera and Space-Western too, just a few changes to the scenery, terminology and descriptions and we’re okay.
It’s when we hit other strains of Sci-Fi that I start to flounder.
I remember reading through the setting chapter for Blue Planet one time, closing the book and going “Wow… that was awesome. But what the heck do I run with this game?”
I got the same impression after reading through Mekton Zeta. I love watching Mecha anime, but once I have to start working on running a campaign, I fall flat on my face.
The way I see it, I suspect I’m missing out on something. It’s just a matter of figuring out just what that is. I understand the science, the joy of speculative fiction and futurist theory. However it’s coming up with something interesting that I trip up in.
So… for the interest of science, I’m going to try something funky. Each day I’ll be looking at one of the Sci-Fi RPGs that I know of, or have, then I’ll post any campaign ideas I might have for them. It’s an exercise that hopefully will teach me a thing or two about how to run sci-fi games, and any feedback on these entries will be most appreciated.
Warhammer 40k.
Do eet.