Adventure Beyond The Stars With These Sci-Fi RPGs

Alien

There are lots of TTRPGs for space-themed games based on popular movies and TV shows. So many. I have at least three or four on my shelf. But Alien is the only one that I wanted to put in this list specifically because it’s not only a great space game, but a fantastic horror game as well.

This is a TTRPG where tension and fear are baked into the rules. Failure makes your character more tense and scared, and fear makes them more likely to fail in the future. This is a somewhat difficult and bleak game. But if you’re looking for a TTRPG that feels like that horror-slash-sci-fi genre that Alien is, it’s just about perfect.

Space isn’t as empty as you’d think. Its frontiers are ever expanding. Rival governments wage a cold war of aggression while greedy corporations vie for valuable resources. Colonists reach for the stars and gamble with their lives – each new world tamed is either feast or famine. And there are things lurking in the shadows of every asteroid – things strange and different and deadly. Things alien.

This is the official ALIEN tabletop roleplaying game – a universe of body horror and corporate brinkmanship, where synthetic people play god while space truckers and marines serve host to newborn ghoulish creatures. It’s a harsh and unforgiving universe and you are nothing if not expendable.

Stay alive if you can.

Traveller

Traveller is a space game with all of the sci-fi tropes and adventures you’d hope for. High-tech spaceports, long-lost ancient civilizations, aliens, and distant worlds – it’s all there. With no specific theming or tie-ins, you can build your own galaxy from the ground up, for your players to explore.

Traveller is a science fiction roleplaying game of bold explorers and brave adventurers. The Traveller Core Rulebook contains everything you need to create one of these adventures and begin exploring the galaxy. Spaceports, ancient civilisations, air/rafts, cold steel blades, laser carbines, far distant worlds, and exotic alien beasts – this is the futuristic universe of Traveller, the original and classic science fiction roleplaying game. Come visit the far future.

Starfinder

The Pathfinder spinoff in space, Starfinder is a mix of high-tech and high-fantasy. Characters may build starships or work with heavy artillery. But they may also have mysterious powers and cast spells. This is one of the most popular games in the community for a reason – and there’s always new adventures around the corner.

The Starfinder Player Core is the definitive entry point for Starfinder Second Edition, with everything a player needs to learn how to play the game! This comprehensive hardcover brings the acclaimed Starfinder RPG into its new edition with complete compatibility and enhanced gameplay.

Revolutionary Second Edition System: Starfinder Player Core brings the Starfinder RPG into its new edition and is now 100% compatible with the acclaimed Second Edition of the hit Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Along with GM Core and Alien Core, these books provide a new foundation for the future of tabletop gaming!

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Coriolis

If you want a space game with slightly more of a Firefly feel, Coriolis may have all of the misfits-in-space that you crave. Streamlined rules make it a great game for experienced and newer players alike. And this is an RPG that will work for a solo adventurer.

Embark on a thrilling sci-fi journey with the Free League Coriolis Great Dark RPG. This core rulebook provides complete rules, character creation, crew management, and interstellar exploration. Play solo or with a campaign crew, navigate cosmic horror, uncover hidden mysteries, explore unknown worlds, command starships, encounter alien cultures, survive perilous encounters, and embark on epic space adventures filled with immersive storytelling, strategy, and rich TTRPG mechanics.

Ironsworn: Starforged

Starforged brings a retro-futuristic feel to the space TTRPG. But in more of a gritty and dangerous way than a ‘Tomorrowland’ way. Friendships and relationships are an important aspect of this game, as well as exploration and discovery.

In Ironsworn: Starforged, you are a spaceborne hero sworn to undertake perilous quests. You will explore uncharted space, unravel the secrets of a mysterious galaxy, and build bonds with those you meet on your travels. Most importantly, you will swear iron vows and see them fulfilled—no matter the cost. Starforged is a standalone follow-up to the Ironsworn tabletop roleplaying game. Experience with Ironsworn is not required to play. Starforged builds on Ironsworn’s award-winning innovations to chart a path into an exciting new frontier.

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Lancer

If the kind of space you want to play in has a lot of giant robots and mechs to battle in, Lancer is the TTRPG for you. Create and pilot your own, unique mech. Explore what’s left of humanity as it’s been forced to expand out into the stars. And see if the utopia of the future is all it’s cracked up to be.

15,000 years into the future, humanity has survived near collapse and since expanded ever wider into the frontiers of space, organized by UNION, the central hegemon of the populated galaxy. At Union’s heart, the dream of human utopia has been realized; but Lancer is set at the trembling edges of the expansion where resistance to the ideals of the utopia grow.

As a lancer, you pilot a mech as unique as yourself. You are, by training, luck, circumstance, or work, one of the best. In this era near the golden age, you have one question to answer above all: who do you fight for?