Why space might be the final TTRPG frontier.

Sci-Fi games set in the depths of space is probably one of the hardest genres to break into successfully. There are subgenres to consider. There are huge titles in every subgenre. Here’s a list of space TTRPGs that are intimidating to try to compete with:

  • Traveler.
  • Star Trek.
  • Star Wars.
  • Star Frontiers/Frontier Space.
  • Starfinder.
  • Warhammer 40,000.
  • Mothership.
  • Scum & Villainy
  • Alien.
  • Dune.
  • Starship Troopers.
  • Battlestar Galactica.
  • Firefly (Serenity.)
  • Eclipse Phase.
  • The Stars Are Fire (Cypher System.)
  • FATE Space Toolkit.
  • Cowboy BeBop.
  • GURPS Space.

Why Traveler is one of the Hardest Sci-Fi games for me to enjoy.

When it comes to hard sci-fi games, Traveler is one of the most in-depth, complicated, hard science games I’ve ever seen in my life. Yes, I’m science stupid. I took my B- in Rocks for Jocks and ran far, far away from the hard sciences. I much prefer the soft sciences of psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

I am definitely not a math and science person. In college, they tried to keep me as far away from those really smart kids as possible for, um… reasons. It’s something I tend to gloss over in

Traveler is also one of the longest running TTRPGs in the history of the hobby. It has survived numerous iterations and Cepheus Deluxe even spawned from it as a generic counterpart. It is still going today in multiple forms, including reprints of the original material. The people who love this game are hard core about it.

The only competition that comes close to Traveler is Star Frontiers.

In terms of hard science games, Star Frontiers and its more modern counterpart, FrontierSpace is probably the next best thing to Traveler. Star Frontiers can be a lot of things to a lot of people. It’s a hard science, space opera, science fantasy game all rolled into one. It’s mechanics are slightly wonky, but still very playable. BRP uses a percentage dice system, but they don’t totally mesh together.

The only downside to Star Frontiers is that it is very much out of print. The good news is that it’s available all over the Internet. I ordered print copies a few years ago before Wizards of the Coast totally lost their minds and my business. Star Frontiers is a fun game even now and people are still playing it. Check out my friend Tom’s channel on YouTube for more on Star Frontiers.

Some Sci-Fi TTRPG fandoms go without saying.

Star Wars, Star Trek and Starfinder fans are all very into their respective games. Star Wars has been quiet mostly since Disney took over the franchise. True fans still flock to the D6 version of the game from West End Games. It’s probably still the best space opera ever written. Dungeons & Dragons should be so lucky to have such a devout following these days.

Star Trek is alive and well through Modiphius Games. Again, Trekkies are fanatical. The game side of things is especially fanatical. Star Trek RPG is one of those lucky games that lives on in several incarnations both at game conventions and Star Trek conventions.

Good old Starfinder from Paizo Publishing has been going strong since 2017. It has received a facelift more recently in the form of Starfinder Enhanced, and a new edition of the game has been announced for 2025 due to the Great Dungeons & Dragons Open Game License Debacle of 2023. The next full version of the game promises to have any OGL material removed and be 100% compatible with Pathfinder 2E Remastered edition.

I own multiple iterations of Star Trek and Star Wars as well as my cherished copy of Starfinder. I love all of these games to pieces, but I don’t think I can come up with a BRP campaign setting that can compete with the might of these enormous TTRPG franchises.

It’s hard to compete with so many licensed franchises.

Even with the potential $2,500 as the grand prize winner of the BRP Design Challenge, I couldn’t afford to buy into a licensed Intellectual Property and still produce an actual game. I would bring back Mutant Chronicles tomorrow if I could afford to do so. Battlelords of the 23rd Century would be another great space game if I could afford the license.

Warhammer 40,000 dominates the tabletop miniatures market in England. In many places Warhammer is synonymous with wargaming in the same fashion Dungeons & Dragons is with tabletop roleplaying. Cubicle 7 handles the TTRPG side of things, and I think it’s fair to say WH40K is pretty hard to compete with in any market.

Honestly, there’s just no winning in the Science Fiction Space TTRPG race. Unless I could come up with a game concept for a brand new, unheard-of setting for it, there’s just no winning against the big boys. I might incorporate a few space game elements in with something else, but a standalone space game is right out of the question for this challenge.