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Best Games by Alex

10 best sci- tabletop RPGs Meehan
Staff Writer
Travel to in nity and beyond with these starfaring roleplaying
Published on 3 Jun, 2021
games.

If you’ve been cooped up inside for a while and are desperate to About Star nder
explore exciting new places, then some of the best sci- tabletop
Players: 1+
roleplaying games can ful ll that exact desire. After all, what’s more
exciting than outer space or the far future? Sci- RPGs have so much
to offer because of the sheer number of potential settings that the
genre can play around with. From epic space operas that span a multitude of galaxies to
smaller affairs taking place in the cramped hallways of a derelict space station, science-
ction settings can scratch any number of itches you might have.

Sci- roleplaying games might not be as popular as some fantasy RPGs such as
Dungeons & Dragons 5E or Path nder, but they can offer experiences that are just as
grand or enthralling as those focused on swords and sorcery. In many ways, as a genre,
science ction has the potential to provide more experimental or unusual settings than
fantasy - as you’ll see in the very best sci- RPGs. Whilst there are some well-known
names featured on this list, there will be several titles that you’ve likely never heard of
before that could serve as a gateway to an entirely new roleplaying experience.

Best sci- tabletop RPGs

• Star nder

• Those Dark Places

• Tales from the Loop

• Shadowrun

• Scum and Villainy

• Cyberpunk Red

• Blue Planet: Recontact

• Star Trek Adventures

• Lasers & Feelings

• Dune: Adventures in the Imperium

1. Star nder

Embark on an epic journey across space in this adventurous sci- RPG

Yes, that is a rat person in this image.

Path nder is considered to be one of the most popular RPGs out there, especially since
the release of its recent second edition. It’s unsurprising that Pazio, the game’s publisher,
thought to take the mechanics of its classic fantasy title and translate them into a
science- ction game. Hence Star nder, an adventurous RPG that promises players a
host of exciting escapades across the stars. As sci- roleplaying games go, Star nder is
de nitely more of the space opera kind, with a wide selection of different species to play
as - including androids, rat people called Ysoki and even futuristic elves - and an arsenal
of abilities and weapons to wield.

Should they desire it, players will be able to pilot their very own spaceship and engage in
starship combat with enemy vessels they encounter in their travels. Whilst the world of
Star nder de nitely feels like it’s a future version of Path nder - which it technically is -
with the inclusion of classic fantasy species and its own form of space magic, it still has
its own rich world and lore for players to explore. If you’re not con dent about devising
your storylines for this immense setting, Star nder has a series of Adventure Paths for
game masters to use in their campaigns, taking their players from grand adventures on
exciting planets to creepy abandoned space ships. Give Star nder a try if you’re looking
for a grand foray into sci- .

Buy Star nder on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

2. Those Dark Places

Horror and sci- merge in this Alien-inspired RPG about the desolation of outer space

Those Dark Places wears its inspirations on its sleeve.

Alien may have its very own of cial RPG now - which Rich heavily praised in our review -
but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of other roleplaying games taking cues
from the beloved horror franchise. Those Dark Places is a rules-light RPG, meaning that
it’s a little more straightforward to play than something like D&D 5E, that focuses on the
scarier parts of space-living. Players become crew members with different roles and
personalities, such as the pilot or a shady corporate shill, who will venture into cramped
space stations and the surfaces of eerie planets in the hopes of carving out a decent life
for themselves.

Much like Alien, the universe of Those Dark Places is dominated by unethical companies
looking to make as much pro t as possible, regardless of the consequences. The players
are workers for one of these corporations and, as such, are likely to nd themselves tied
up in something illegal or otherwise extremely dangerous. The rules for Those Dark
Places are easy enough for even brand new roleplayers to pick things up easily, with the
experience being more about atmosphere than complex character creation and combat.
For a horror heavy sci- adventure, you’d be remiss to not turn to Those Dark Places.

Buy Those Dark Places on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

3. Tales from the Loop

Indulge your ‘80s nostalgia with a roleplaying game about weird childhood adventures

Tales From the Loop sees players exploring an alternative 1980s as a group of kids who are in over
their heads.

You may have already heard of Tales from the Loop thanks to the recent Amazon Prime
series starring Rebecca Hill and Paul Schneider, but you might not know it began as a
narrative art book. Simon Stålenhag is a Scandinavian artist who created a collection of
illustrations that combined the glorious vistas of forests and plains with strange images
of enormous mechs and machinery. These images were eventually adapted into a
roleplaying game book called Tales from the Loop, which depicts an alternative 1980s in
which the Swedish government has been conducting strange experiments.

The result of these experiments is The Loop, a facility that seems to be the origin of
several odd events taking place around the countryside of Mälaröarna. In the game,
players become a group of children who are curious about the goings-on in the
underground facility. This group can be made up of any number of classic ‘80s sci-
archetypes, such as the bookworm or the troublemaker. Players will need to balance the
challenges of everyday life - such as school bullies and demanding parents - with the
weirder troubles presented by The Loop. Lovers of classic sci- movies like ET or series
such as Stranger Things would be remiss not to give Tales from the Loop a try.

Buy Tales from the Loop from Amazon UK and the Modiphius online store.

4. Shadowrun

A fantasy and cyberpunk-infused RPG about the clash of magic and technology

The world of Shadowrun is lled with all sorts of odd and interesting characters.

Shadowrun is the RPG that likes to challenge the statement of ‘you can have too many
sub-genres’ in one thing. This beloved roleplaying game is a veritable pick-and-mix of
genre tropes, from science ction and cyberpunk to fantasy. Shadowrun manages to
fuse all of these somewhat disparate elements together into one stonkingly original
setting. First published in 1989, Shadowrun is an RPG that takes place in the near-future
where corporations have nally taken the next step to complete world domination and
have generally made things bad for literally everyone else.

Living in cities haunted by a past cataclysmic event, humans, elves, dwarves and other
classic fantasy species attempt to survive their harsh and dangerous lives. One important
thing to note about Shadowrun is that, like many older RPGs, it contains several
problematic elements related to the way it depicts species like orks and trolls as the
result of the horrifying aftereffects of the aforementioned event. Nonetheless,
Shadowrun’s deep worldbuilding and unusual mishmash of cyberpunk and fantasy
elements has made it a household name in the tabletop industry, leading to multiple spin-
off titles and video games. Playing Shadowrun may feel like diving straight into the deep
end of complex roleplaying games, so it’s probably not an ideal starting point for
beginners, but its rich lore and wide variety of character creation options provide plenty
of opportunities for engaging storytelling.

Buy Shadowrun 6E Beginner Box on Zatu and DrivethruRPG.

5. Scum and Villainy

Fly through the stars on the hunt for your next paycheck in this Star Wars-inspired RPG

Players will have the freedom to explore the galaxy in their own spaceship.

The Forged in the Dark system has been used to make many excellent roleplaying games,
including John Harper’s own Blades in the Dark. One of these RPGs is called Scum and
Villainy and sees players becoming a crew of spacefaring folks just looking to make a bit
of money. Whilst the game is clearly inspired by the likes of Star Wars and Fire y, it still
manages to present its own original take on the sci- genre. Life is hard in space - where
bands of dangerous aliens, the ruling Galactic Hegemony and quarrelling noble families
clash with one another - so you’re going to have to come together as a team if you want
to survive.

Players will need to plan their jobs carefully if they’re going to get out alive. Luckily
enough, the Forged in the Dark system allows players to pause the game to describe a
ashback during which their character and others can do something to prepare for their
current heist. Completing jobs will net players experience, money and gear that they’ll be
able to use to improve their characters and equip them for their next big heist. The more
jobs players successfully pull off, the greater the reputation and the more work will come
their way. However, this is a double-edged sword, as they’ll also gain plenty of notoriety
as well. If you’ve ever dreamed of being Han Solo or Captain Reynolds, Scum and Villainy
is the roleplaying game for you.

Buy Scum and Villainy on the Evil Hat Productions online store.

6. Cyberpunk Red

This newest edition of the classic dark futuristic RPG brings it into the modern age

Night City is an equally bright and sinister place promising opportunity.

You’ve likely heard about the Cyberpunk series via the release of the video game
Cyberpunk 2077. The multi-million dollar video game is set in the world of a roleplaying
franchise that began with the launch of the rst edition of Cyberpunk back in 1988. The
theme behind the series can be found within the name itself, with Cyberpunk Red - last
year’s fourth and latest edition - depicting a sleazy and dangerous futuristic world where
wealthy corporations hold all the cards, cybernetic implants are freely available and
gangs roam the wastes outside Night City. Whilst there’s plenty of shiny things to be
found in the world of Cyberpunk Red, a lot of it serves to hide the grimier and sinister
elements of a terribly corrupt system.

Players are able to create characters based on some of the game’s key archetypes - such
as the accomplished hackers, netrunners, or celebrity rockerboys - and advance them
through the ranks of Night City by taking lucrative jobs from suspicious sources or
otherwise grabbing success and power for themselves. Though the game can be
unnecessarily bloated in some areas, such as the sheer amount of skills or the sluggish
combat, Cyberpunk Red still shows how far the series has come since its initial
conception - with the Jumpstart Kit providing newer players with a good jumping off
point to get into the game. Once you are into it, the world of Cyberpunk Red is a sprawling
one lled with social commentary, engaging stories and a good mixture of the weird and
the cool.

Buy Cyberpunk Red on Zatu and the R Talsorian online store.

Watch on YouTube

7. Blue Planet: Recontact

A roleplaying game with a bold premise that does something a little di erent with sci-

Dive into the ocean-depths to discover strange alien creatures.

It’s the far future. Earth has been ravaged by a terrible event. While some of humanity live
on a colony on a distant planet called Poseidon 2199, there are those who remain on
what’s left of Earth, desperately hoping for their eventual rescue. Blue Planet is an
unusual tabletop roleplaying game that tackles some pretty important themes of
environmentalism and modern sociopolitics, which are perhaps more relevant topics now
more than ever. Though the rst edition of Blue Planet was published in 1997, a newer
edition called Recontact was released to modernise the roleplaying title.

As a world seemingly entirely made of water, Poseidon is an equally weird and intriguing
setting for an RPG - with Recontact exploring elements of both fantastical science ction
and the darker side of human progress. Although there’s plenty for lovers of speculative
technology to enjoy, Recontact also has a surprising amount of content focused around
marine life and biology. As players will be diving into their fair share of oceans and
swimming through alien tropical reefs, they’ll need to be aware of the wonders and
dangers that await them. It’s refreshing to see an RPG embrace the more ecological side
of science ction, whilst still ensuring that players will be able to indulge in fanciful
aspects of world-building. Oceanic enthusiasts and environmentalists owe it to
themselves to experience Blue Planet: Recontact.

Buy the Blue Planet: Recontact Quickstart Kit on DrivethruRPG.

8. Star Trek Adventures

Travel to the Final Frontier in the name of Star eet in this licensed roleplaying game

Starship combat features heavily within Star Trek Adventures.

Created by Modiphius, a seasoned publisher of licensed roleplaying games, Star Trek

Adventures seeks to bring everything that fans of the original television series, as well as
its many sequels, spin-offs, lms and such, expect to see in an RPG adaptation. Players
become members of Star eet, the organisation dedicated to protecting the many
species that occupy the galaxy, who form their very own crew and travel across the
United Federation of Planets and beyond. The core book for Star Trek Adventures
focuses on the emergence of a new threat in the Gamma Quadrant, providing players
with a breadcrumb trail towards the Dominion and the danger they pose.

If all this lore sounds a little intimidating, there’s no need to worry - the Star Trek
Adventures core book comes with guidelines for newer players as well as veterans. The
most important thing about Star Trek Adventures is that it provides a gateway for fans to
explore the world of the franchise, including the Federation, as well as Alpha, Beta and
Gamma Quadrants. Be prepared to face off against some classic villains such as the
Cadassians, Borg, Romulans and, of course, the Klingons. Or even, in the case of the
recently released Klingon core rulebook, play as one yourself. Trekkies will be able to
indulge in their passion for the franchise with this genuinely good RPG adaptation.

Buy Star Trek Adventures on Zatu and Amazon US.

9. Lasers & Feelings

A simple RPG about travelling through space using either your head or your heart

Players will have their own spaceship to command on their journeys in Lasers & Feelings.

The tension between emotions and rationalism is something that’s often explored in
science ction - for example, creating something that’s technologically impressive, but
incompatible with empathy. Lasers & Feelings is a roleplaying game that seeks to tackle
this concept in a more direct sense, with player characters literally using either lasers -
otherwise known as rational skills - or feelings to overcome the potential problems they
encounter. Another game from John Harper, Lasers & Feelings sees players becoming
crewmembers of a spaceship called Raptor, with the aim of ensuring the safety of the
Consortium worlds.

Players create characters based on several potential archetypes - such as the alien or
hot-shot - and select a role for them to play on the ship itself. They then select a number
between two and ve as their set target number. Whenever players want to perform an
action, the GM determines whether they think it concerns lasers or feelings - with the
player needing to roll over their target number for feelings and under for lasers. This
means that players who are more empathetic will be looking to use persuasion or
compassion to their advantage, whereas more scienti cally-minded characters are
better suited to smarts or knowledge. Having such a simple system makes Lasers &
Feelings the perfect sci- themed RPG for fresh-faced roleplayers.

Buy Lasers & Feelings on John Harper's [Link] page.

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Watch on YouTube

10. Dune: Adventures in the Imperium

Frank Herbert’s series of science- ction novels are brought to life in this RPG
adaptation

Be prepared to get mixed up in politics and intrigue on the planet Arrakis.

The Dune series has always been on the heavier side of sci- , exploring the topics of
religion and politics with zeal, so it’s unsurprising that its tabletop roleplaying adaptation
contains around 70 pages dedicated to lore alone. However, if you’re intrigued by the
world of Dune - or you’re a tried-and-tested fan - you’ll likely relish the intensely detailed
nature of Modiphius’ Dune: Adventures in the Imperium. There’s certainly a lot to take in
with the Dune RPG, from espionage missions to all-out warfare, but it’s all very true to the
spirit of the franchise.

Based on the 2d20 system that also powers Star Trek Adventures, players roll two d20s
and attempt to get under a target number with each die. Players will be able to use their
characters’ abilities and skills to improve their chances of success but, more importantly,
also need to consider factors beyond just the numbers of their sheet - such as their
position in society and what assets they have access to. This might sound like a lot - and
it is - but it helps to immerse players in a deep and engaging world that rewards clever
roleplay and punishes hastiness. It helps that Dune: Adventures in the Imperium provides
GMs with guidance on how to tackle some of the outdated and problematic elements of
the franchise - making it a lot more accessible. Devoted fans of science ction will have
plenty to bite off with Dune: Adventures in the Imperium
.

Buy Dune: Adventures in the Imperium on Zatu and the Modiphius online store.

Tagged With Blue Planet: Recontact / Cyberpunk Red / Dune: Adventures in the

Imperium / Lasers & Feelings / Roleplaying Game / Sci-Fi / Scum and Villainy / Shadowrun
/ Star Trek Adventures / Star nder / Tales from the Loop / Those Dark Places

About the Author

Alex Meehan
Staff Writer

Alex’s journey to Dicebreaker began with writing insightful video game coverage for
outlets such as Kotaku, Waypoint and PC Gamer. Her unique approach to analysing pop
culture and knack for witty storytelling nally secured her a forever home producing
news, features and reviews with the Dicebreaker team. She’s also obsessed with playing
Vampire: The Masquerade, and won’t stop talking about it.

See all responses to this article (22)

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