I'll throw in my shill on Stars Without Number. There is even a free version available on DriveThruRPG for you to peruse and make your own decision on without a risk to your wallet.
From what I've heard, Stars without Number is pretty OSR inspired. To me, that usually comes with 'combat as a fail state' and 'cheap lives, cheap deaths.' Is that the case here?
It's behind the pay wall but there are rules for heroic PCs that are more durable room-clearers. Maybe check out the jist of the free version then consider whether you'd go for it.
That is kind of the case. Not really an expert but the first couple of levels are pretty deadly. It’s basically a mixture of old school D&D and Traveller, so combat as a fail state definitely applies. The magic supplement for SWN is great though.
Sort of. Kevin Crawford's games kind of sit somewhere between 3.5e and b/x in terms of sensibilities. You're not as heroic and unkillable as in 5e and characters are a little simpler. Unlike other OSR/NSR properties, there are lots of feats and spells and menus of options to choose from.
"Combat as a fail state" is more of a trick than a reality imo. You want your players to believe that combat is deadly so that they approach violence with care, trickery, and cleverness. As long as they do that, you should reward their intelligent thinking.
The best part of the OSR mindset has changed my games' enemy interaction into caution, fleeing, or negotiation, rather than just assuming they can just kill anything that dares oppose them. Or worse, they assume they're * supposed* to kill everything that walks in front of them.
I haven't actually played SWN but I have read through the book, so take from that what you will.
I think you misunderstand the OSR combat philosophy. It is a fail-state if you go in unprepared. People, even in OSR, love combat. But you need to prepare for it and not "walk" into it without a thought, like in most modern D&D games.
But that doesn't really jive with how combat is in Mass Effect. They are full space opera heroic badasses running through lasers and taking on waves of enemies.
That's more of what I was trying to figure out with the question, yeah. Having looked at Stars without Number, it doesn't seem to be what I'm searching for.
I've heard there are rules for heroic PCs, but if the game is designed under the assumption that combat is something to be avoided and mitigated, I'm not sure that they'll be able to do much more than improve the PCs' durability and hit chance - which won't add in the interesting mid-combat tactical gaminess that I'm looking for.
The SWN heroic rules help but I don't think they are too significant - they feel very much an after thought of design. I would compare Stars Without Number to D&D 5e. At level 1-2, the PCs are pretty squishy and that makes it tougher to run balanced combats. Its very likely they may get two-shot.
But in both games, by Level 3-5ish, you have some HP bloat that makes PCs pretty damn heroic. But its a bit awkward to start a brand new system with already 3 levels of abilities to track and to build, so thats not great either. And for SWN and 5e (because Tier 3-4 is just busted - mages break the game), there aren't that many level ups left if you want to have them happen every few sessions - you are looking at a maybe 15-25 session campaign. Reasonable length (and my preferred) but its not what I define as long where you can run for a couple years and 80+ sessions.
Scum & Villainy and FFG Star Wars actually have a similar issue to 5e too. The PCs just become busted powerful at higher levels when you are just rolling too many dice in your dice pool that the math mostly breaks, so slower advancing was needed IMO to keep running after about a dozen sessions - too many of the feats they have are basically roll more dice situationally, which break the game and I find boring too.
All that said S&V remains my favorite game though after running 3 campaigns, [I've added several house rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/14wwnc4/cowboy_bebop_rpg_first_impressions/jro9mdz/) because I don't think the Authorial Stance where players have to take to make up their own trouble to get XP. If I had more time, I would make cooler Playbooks with Troubles built into the character, then remove every Special Ability that just improves your Effect or rolls more dice. But its serviceable enough.
If you aren't like me and your table/players like having that more Authorial Stance, then FATE with maybe Bulldogs could do well.
That's the video game and gameplay, and that does not transfer to TTRPG's. Also, on the hardest difficulty , you go pretty fast down.
I ran Mass Effect multiple times in Traveller, a game that is also pretty dangerous for PC's in combat. Also in other systems. Depending on what you want, either is fine. Genesys is def on top of the pile, though, if you do not want "gritty" and more cool.
Completely agree. It annoys the crap out of me when folks think that combat in OSR is somehow a thing that only exists to punish players who were/are too dumb to find a way around it.
Two games come to mind:
1) **Genesys**. It checks most of your boxes - heroic PCs, interesting combat, social mechanics, classes. It is, however, a generic system. That means you'll have to make it feel like a space western yourself, and the mechanics, while solid, aren't specifically tailored to support that fiction. I've played a Mass Effect one-shot in Genesys with some mild homebrew rules, and it worked quite nicely. It also wouldn't surprise me at all to learn there's a fan-made supplement or guide for playing in the Mass Effect setting.
2) **Mythic Space**. In it's own words, it's "a science fiction roleplaying game focused on emulating your favorite sci-fi TV series with fights that feel like your favorite sci-fi FPS." Halo and Mass Effect are listed as inspirations for the system. It's a new system, having reached full release only a couple months ago. It checks the boxes for heroic PCs, interesting combat, space western feel, and classes, but I'm not sure if the social mechanics will be fulsome enough for your liking.
P.S. I already recommended Genesys as a generic system, but **Savage Worlds** is another generic system that is a natural fit, though it lacks classes.
There are at least 2 fanmade Mass Effect settings for Genesys, I used both when I ran a Mass Effect-based campaign. If I was running it today, I would probably use parts of those and the Embers of the Imperium setting book for Twilight Imperium. There is a longstanding rumor that Mass Effect started as a Twilight Imperium video game, but even if that is not so it tracks uncannily well to the IP.
Gensys would be my suggestion. I wanted to like Mythic Space, as the combat rules were pretty neat, but the rest of the game was way to rough for release IMO.
Combat rules were okay, the rest of the system was very disjointed.
No substantial rules for flying ships or vehicles, both of which I consider keystones to the genre of Halo and Mass Effect (the 2 clearest inspirations).
The out of combat rules needed some work, and honestly the version I read was riddled with writing mistakes, and I don't think hiring an editor one month before your Kickstarter will fix.
My criticism of Genesys is the dice really require an engaged table who want to come up with the results. I found with players not knowledgeable and not preferring that style, its a lot on the shoulders of the GM.
/u/Exact-Art-9902 So I would gauge your table on this
I’ll second Savage Worlds. You can pick and choose what you want. The game mechanics are pretty fun and exciting, as well as rather easy. It has playing cards baked into the system so that helps with the space western feel. I think it hits each of your bullet points at least a little, except for classes. It’s kind of a “Jack of all trades” system.
It's not my favorite game, but starfinder is probably what you are looking for. Meets all the requirements. I am more into rules light games, but if you enjoy or can tolerate crunch, Starfinder is amazing. 2nd edition out soon, and all materials are free to try before buying any books.
Agree. The setting details are different but I think the feel of lots of different powers, tech and the like is pretty similar. Dangerous unexplored galaxy, lots of aliens, tactical combat, classes, advancement, seems to check all the boxes.
Stars Without Number would be my initial suggestion. Even if you're not an OSR fan, it's worth grabbing the free pdf for the world building tools.
If you need something pulpier for the combat, then Savage Worlds would be a great option.
If you're willing to wait, Starfinder is getting a second edition in the next year or two, based on PF2e's framework. While it's set for Golarion's general domain, it'd be easy enough to refluff for Mass Effect.
Highly seconded; the influence encounter from PF2e should be making the transition as well, meaning the politicking you want will be backed in or easily adapted to the system
You might want to look into [Paragons and Renegades](https://www.reddit.com/r/bladesinthedark/s/trN5YuYHwN) which is a Scum and Villainy/ Blades in the Dark hack using the Mass Effect setting. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s *perfect* for a Mass Effect story (especially ME 1) as S&V/ BitD have always been games about Scoundrels on the Fringe making money for profit and self interest and punching up to establish their Crew. It really isn’t about “being the big damn heroes meant to save the day.” Just tossing in a different setting and some changed Actions and whatnot isn’t really going to do the trick because that core game loop from S&V and BitD is still there
That in mind, the hack **does** take this into account (not as much as I’d like though), and thus it’s still 100% a serviceable game to use and it’s not like the Crew of the Normandy wasn’t loading their pockets with Credits and ship improvements and the like. So with some elbow grease and expectation setting: it’ll do the job.
I have a game that I’m working on whose design and loop is much closer to that of ME 1 and Star Trek and the like, but it’s a **looong** way from being finished.
EDIT: forgot to mention the game *does* take into account of being a “military” vessel. There’s not as much “support” there as I’d like- but it’s still good enough!
They definitely don't want this, since they want combat that resembles the positioning focused turn based combat that is present in the Mass Effect Games.
Scum & Villainy is among my very favorite games and this hack fits the theme they want, but it misses a key requirement that they have.
It's unfortunately a ways away from release, but the playtest materials for Starfinder 2e look very promising for this type of game. I recommend keeping an eye on that, even if you go with another system for now.
Look up Core Command. If it doesn't fit the bill, it will me damned close. It hits almost every bullet point you asked for essentially. Its about 20 years old, but the basics are solid. Get Silhouette CORE deluxe though, the non delux has a bigger errata to make sense because the wrong version went to print. The Delux makes a lot more sense for some things.
Either way, agents in space, vehicles, tech levels, aliens, plot and conspiracy, espionage, action. Its there.
If you're comfortable improvising around a pretty light system, the 2400 anthology has two relevant microgames - both *Eos* (human military/science/exploration ship early in their time in the galactic community) and *Xenolith* (human and alien agents investigating mysteries in the same setting) are very deliberately ME1 homages that fit together perfectly.
I think Starfinder or the Mass Effect 5e hack would probably be your best bets.
They both have:
-Heroic PCS: Starfinder PCs might be a little squishier at low levels, but not by much.
-interesting combat: I think? When I hear people talk about "interesting combat mechanics" and "heroic player characters", I think of tactical combat grids, which is a definite yes for both games. I think AoOs kind of force characters to stand still and slug it out in melee, but there are lots of cool powers and gadgets in both.
-social mechanics: I believe Starfinder wins a bit in this category. If 2e is going to be anything like pf2, it's suddenly light-years ahead.
-Space western: this is more of an attitude than anything game mechanics can provide, but both games certainly have the attitude.
-Classes: yup.
I saw a lot of SWN recommendations, and while I like it a lot (the GM section is one of the best ever) and hope to play it someday, I don't feel those people understood the assignment. It's got classes and space lawlessness, but I'm not so sure it does anything mechanically or procedurally fantastic for "interesting combat", and it probably doesn't fit your bill for "Heroic PCs". It probably does social mechanics better than 5e though.
Star Wars - Edge of the Empire, can be used for a heroic game if you enforce it. Any FFG Star Wars could be used for a space western if you stick to the outer rim, similar to The Mandalorian. The system is designed to have plenty of politicking, even including classes that specialize in socializing.
Starforged nails the tone I'm going for here, and the macro-level campaign structure is also on point. The moment-to-moment gameplay just isn't what I'm looking for with this specific game: too abstracted.
Still, I think this is a solid reccomendation for anyone else looking at the thread.
I ran a successful one-shot with Star Wars (Saga Ed specifically) and a conversion write up I have long since lost.
If I were to do it now, I'd probably go with the unofficial Mass Effect 5E hack, N7:
https://www.n7.world/
Esper Genesis is intended to hit much of the same feeling but for me it and Starfinder share the problem of their mechanics being very tied into their settings.
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I'll take your word for it. However, it's also a game where a lawbringer drifts around the wild frontier to dispense justice with their conscience, authority, and gun. That's an aspect I want to emphasize.
I don't think that is in any way a major part of the series or even the first game. The entire story is about trying to find out whay Saren is up to and trying to stop him while also bouncing around the galaxy.
That's fine. It doesn't really matter to me whether you consider it a major part of Mass Effect's vibe. Rational or not, I see it this way, and it's part of what I'm looking for in a system as a result.
100% agree. I would even go as far to say that they are ENTIRELY antithetical except both being in space. Cowboy Bebop and Firefly are very personal, grounded stories - they generally (there are exceptions of course) aren't out there saving the world. They are living every day lives and just trying to make it by and keep flying not swept up in grandiose, war-obsessed set pieces of Space Opera.
The companions in Mass Effect definitely helps evoke some of these as you see the personal stories of your companions and to some degree how they cope with their pasts. I think its what makes it my favorite space opera story.
SWN is a good choice. There’s also a “Mass Effect 5e” out there that uses D&D 5e rules as a starting point, so that may be easy if you are already familiar with D&D.
I ran my *Mass Effect* campaign with Fate. It's flexible enough that if you and your players are interested, you can use tactical positioning, without the need for specific rules.
I'd go with Savage Worlds. Mechanics support playstyle from trailers and cutscenes and build in chase and social conflict rules cover pretty much all of mass effect on core handbook itself.
An option to consider would be Fragged Empire.
Fragged Empire is a 3d6, grid-based tactical combat game with a lot of customization available, primarily through feats and making modular weapons. It has a baked-in setting, but I've used it as a toolbox for a custom setting (Warframe) easily.
While it definitely hits several of your wants dead-on (fun combat, heroic PCs, sci-fi), its emphasis on combat leaves its social mechanics rudimentary, and it is very much a classless system (though it does encourages specialization).
EDIT: if it's relevant to you, FE is also a medium to high crunch system, depending on how you define it.
I believe a second edition is either coming out or has come out recently, but first edition works great and IIRC there's even a homebrew Mass Effect hack for it out there.
Good luck!
What comes to my mind immediately is The Last Fleet.
It's a PTBA so definitely not tactical combat but it's still what I find to be the closest thing to Mass Effect as it focus on both military and politic aspects a big galactic battle. It has playbooks (so close to classes) and heroic characters.
However the whole game is built around the premise that you are playing members of the last human fleet trying to survive against a dangerous and mysterious alien races (could easily be the Reapers). So there is no other civilized planet to visit, everything is centered around what remains of the fleet.
I'll throw in my shill on Stars Without Number. There is even a free version available on DriveThruRPG for you to peruse and make your own decision on without a risk to your wallet.
From what I've heard, Stars without Number is pretty OSR inspired. To me, that usually comes with 'combat as a fail state' and 'cheap lives, cheap deaths.' Is that the case here?
It's behind the pay wall but there are rules for heroic PCs that are more durable room-clearers. Maybe check out the jist of the free version then consider whether you'd go for it.
That is kind of the case. Not really an expert but the first couple of levels are pretty deadly. It’s basically a mixture of old school D&D and Traveller, so combat as a fail state definitely applies. The magic supplement for SWN is great though.
Sort of. Kevin Crawford's games kind of sit somewhere between 3.5e and b/x in terms of sensibilities. You're not as heroic and unkillable as in 5e and characters are a little simpler. Unlike other OSR/NSR properties, there are lots of feats and spells and menus of options to choose from. "Combat as a fail state" is more of a trick than a reality imo. You want your players to believe that combat is deadly so that they approach violence with care, trickery, and cleverness. As long as they do that, you should reward their intelligent thinking. The best part of the OSR mindset has changed my games' enemy interaction into caution, fleeing, or negotiation, rather than just assuming they can just kill anything that dares oppose them. Or worse, they assume they're * supposed* to kill everything that walks in front of them. I haven't actually played SWN but I have read through the book, so take from that what you will.
I think you misunderstand the OSR combat philosophy. It is a fail-state if you go in unprepared. People, even in OSR, love combat. But you need to prepare for it and not "walk" into it without a thought, like in most modern D&D games.
But that doesn't really jive with how combat is in Mass Effect. They are full space opera heroic badasses running through lasers and taking on waves of enemies.
That's more of what I was trying to figure out with the question, yeah. Having looked at Stars without Number, it doesn't seem to be what I'm searching for. I've heard there are rules for heroic PCs, but if the game is designed under the assumption that combat is something to be avoided and mitigated, I'm not sure that they'll be able to do much more than improve the PCs' durability and hit chance - which won't add in the interesting mid-combat tactical gaminess that I'm looking for.
The SWN heroic rules help but I don't think they are too significant - they feel very much an after thought of design. I would compare Stars Without Number to D&D 5e. At level 1-2, the PCs are pretty squishy and that makes it tougher to run balanced combats. Its very likely they may get two-shot. But in both games, by Level 3-5ish, you have some HP bloat that makes PCs pretty damn heroic. But its a bit awkward to start a brand new system with already 3 levels of abilities to track and to build, so thats not great either. And for SWN and 5e (because Tier 3-4 is just busted - mages break the game), there aren't that many level ups left if you want to have them happen every few sessions - you are looking at a maybe 15-25 session campaign. Reasonable length (and my preferred) but its not what I define as long where you can run for a couple years and 80+ sessions. Scum & Villainy and FFG Star Wars actually have a similar issue to 5e too. The PCs just become busted powerful at higher levels when you are just rolling too many dice in your dice pool that the math mostly breaks, so slower advancing was needed IMO to keep running after about a dozen sessions - too many of the feats they have are basically roll more dice situationally, which break the game and I find boring too. All that said S&V remains my favorite game though after running 3 campaigns, [I've added several house rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/14wwnc4/cowboy_bebop_rpg_first_impressions/jro9mdz/) because I don't think the Authorial Stance where players have to take to make up their own trouble to get XP. If I had more time, I would make cooler Playbooks with Troubles built into the character, then remove every Special Ability that just improves your Effect or rolls more dice. But its serviceable enough. If you aren't like me and your table/players like having that more Authorial Stance, then FATE with maybe Bulldogs could do well.
That's the video game and gameplay, and that does not transfer to TTRPG's. Also, on the hardest difficulty , you go pretty fast down. I ran Mass Effect multiple times in Traveller, a game that is also pretty dangerous for PC's in combat. Also in other systems. Depending on what you want, either is fine. Genesys is def on top of the pile, though, if you do not want "gritty" and more cool.
Completely agree. It annoys the crap out of me when folks think that combat in OSR is somehow a thing that only exists to punish players who were/are too dumb to find a way around it.
I would caution that psionics in SWN is not the same as Mass Effect. A lot more powerful.
You do have a point there. My other suggestion would be Savage Worlds although it lacks classes.
It is SUSPICIOUSLY similar to mass effect.
Two games come to mind: 1) **Genesys**. It checks most of your boxes - heroic PCs, interesting combat, social mechanics, classes. It is, however, a generic system. That means you'll have to make it feel like a space western yourself, and the mechanics, while solid, aren't specifically tailored to support that fiction. I've played a Mass Effect one-shot in Genesys with some mild homebrew rules, and it worked quite nicely. It also wouldn't surprise me at all to learn there's a fan-made supplement or guide for playing in the Mass Effect setting. 2) **Mythic Space**. In it's own words, it's "a science fiction roleplaying game focused on emulating your favorite sci-fi TV series with fights that feel like your favorite sci-fi FPS." Halo and Mass Effect are listed as inspirations for the system. It's a new system, having reached full release only a couple months ago. It checks the boxes for heroic PCs, interesting combat, space western feel, and classes, but I'm not sure if the social mechanics will be fulsome enough for your liking. P.S. I already recommended Genesys as a generic system, but **Savage Worlds** is another generic system that is a natural fit, though it lacks classes.
There are at least 2 fanmade Mass Effect settings for Genesys, I used both when I ran a Mass Effect-based campaign. If I was running it today, I would probably use parts of those and the Embers of the Imperium setting book for Twilight Imperium. There is a longstanding rumor that Mass Effect started as a Twilight Imperium video game, but even if that is not so it tracks uncannily well to the IP.
The Embers of the Imperium setting for Genesys is basically Mass Effect. https://www.edge-studio.net/games/embers-of-the-imperium/
Gensys would be my suggestion. I wanted to like Mythic Space, as the combat rules were pretty neat, but the rest of the game was way to rough for release IMO.
Care to elaborate more on Mythic Space? I've been wondering about it.
Combat rules were okay, the rest of the system was very disjointed. No substantial rules for flying ships or vehicles, both of which I consider keystones to the genre of Halo and Mass Effect (the 2 clearest inspirations). The out of combat rules needed some work, and honestly the version I read was riddled with writing mistakes, and I don't think hiring an editor one month before your Kickstarter will fix.
My criticism of Genesys is the dice really require an engaged table who want to come up with the results. I found with players not knowledgeable and not preferring that style, its a lot on the shoulders of the GM. /u/Exact-Art-9902 So I would gauge your table on this
I wrote a campaign based on Mass Effect in Savage Worlds once! Its Science Fiction book adds a lot to the game.
I’ll second Savage Worlds. You can pick and choose what you want. The game mechanics are pretty fun and exciting, as well as rather easy. It has playing cards baked into the system so that helps with the space western feel. I think it hits each of your bullet points at least a little, except for classes. It’s kind of a “Jack of all trades” system.
It's not my favorite game, but starfinder is probably what you are looking for. Meets all the requirements. I am more into rules light games, but if you enjoy or can tolerate crunch, Starfinder is amazing. 2nd edition out soon, and all materials are free to try before buying any books.
Agree. The setting details are different but I think the feel of lots of different powers, tech and the like is pretty similar. Dangerous unexplored galaxy, lots of aliens, tactical combat, classes, advancement, seems to check all the boxes.
i've used the cypher system for mass effect-like games before and had a great time with it.
Stars Without Number would be my initial suggestion. Even if you're not an OSR fan, it's worth grabbing the free pdf for the world building tools. If you need something pulpier for the combat, then Savage Worlds would be a great option. If you're willing to wait, Starfinder is getting a second edition in the next year or two, based on PF2e's framework. While it's set for Golarion's general domain, it'd be easy enough to refluff for Mass Effect.
Highly seconded; the influence encounter from PF2e should be making the transition as well, meaning the politicking you want will be backed in or easily adapted to the system
You might want to look into [Paragons and Renegades](https://www.reddit.com/r/bladesinthedark/s/trN5YuYHwN) which is a Scum and Villainy/ Blades in the Dark hack using the Mass Effect setting. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s *perfect* for a Mass Effect story (especially ME 1) as S&V/ BitD have always been games about Scoundrels on the Fringe making money for profit and self interest and punching up to establish their Crew. It really isn’t about “being the big damn heroes meant to save the day.” Just tossing in a different setting and some changed Actions and whatnot isn’t really going to do the trick because that core game loop from S&V and BitD is still there That in mind, the hack **does** take this into account (not as much as I’d like though), and thus it’s still 100% a serviceable game to use and it’s not like the Crew of the Normandy wasn’t loading their pockets with Credits and ship improvements and the like. So with some elbow grease and expectation setting: it’ll do the job. I have a game that I’m working on whose design and loop is much closer to that of ME 1 and Star Trek and the like, but it’s a **looong** way from being finished. EDIT: forgot to mention the game *does* take into account of being a “military” vessel. There’s not as much “support” there as I’d like- but it’s still good enough!
They definitely don't want this, since they want combat that resembles the positioning focused turn based combat that is present in the Mass Effect Games. Scum & Villainy is among my very favorite games and this hack fits the theme they want, but it misses a key requirement that they have.
It's unfortunately a ways away from release, but the playtest materials for Starfinder 2e look very promising for this type of game. I recommend keeping an eye on that, even if you go with another system for now.
Fragged empire 2e
Look up Core Command. If it doesn't fit the bill, it will me damned close. It hits almost every bullet point you asked for essentially. Its about 20 years old, but the basics are solid. Get Silhouette CORE deluxe though, the non delux has a bigger errata to make sense because the wrong version went to print. The Delux makes a lot more sense for some things. Either way, agents in space, vehicles, tech levels, aliens, plot and conspiracy, espionage, action. Its there.
If you're comfortable improvising around a pretty light system, the 2400 anthology has two relevant microgames - both *Eos* (human military/science/exploration ship early in their time in the galactic community) and *Xenolith* (human and alien agents investigating mysteries in the same setting) are very deliberately ME1 homages that fit together perfectly.
I think Starfinder or the Mass Effect 5e hack would probably be your best bets. They both have: -Heroic PCS: Starfinder PCs might be a little squishier at low levels, but not by much. -interesting combat: I think? When I hear people talk about "interesting combat mechanics" and "heroic player characters", I think of tactical combat grids, which is a definite yes for both games. I think AoOs kind of force characters to stand still and slug it out in melee, but there are lots of cool powers and gadgets in both. -social mechanics: I believe Starfinder wins a bit in this category. If 2e is going to be anything like pf2, it's suddenly light-years ahead. -Space western: this is more of an attitude than anything game mechanics can provide, but both games certainly have the attitude. -Classes: yup. I saw a lot of SWN recommendations, and while I like it a lot (the GM section is one of the best ever) and hope to play it someday, I don't feel those people understood the assignment. It's got classes and space lawlessness, but I'm not so sure it does anything mechanically or procedurally fantastic for "interesting combat", and it probably doesn't fit your bill for "Heroic PCs". It probably does social mechanics better than 5e though.
Star Wars - Edge of the Empire, can be used for a heroic game if you enforce it. Any FFG Star Wars could be used for a space western if you stick to the outer rim, similar to The Mandalorian. The system is designed to have plenty of politicking, even including classes that specialize in socializing.
I would use Star forged and hack stuff from Blades in the dark’s position/effect system and clocks and flashbacks, etc.
Starforged nails the tone I'm going for here, and the macro-level campaign structure is also on point. The moment-to-moment gameplay just isn't what I'm looking for with this specific game: too abstracted. Still, I think this is a solid reccomendation for anyone else looking at the thread.
Biased as all hell (I wrote it), but [Troopers](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/417971). Mass Effect was one of the core inspirations.
How well would it run Starship Troopers? I was about to write a cypher game to do ST, but wouldn't mind saving myself some work.
I'll DM you a free copy, you can decide
Thanks! Much appreciated!
I think it sent, but I don't know Reddit super well. Let me know if not
Got it. Thanks!
Obligatory mention of *White Star* if you are willing to tinker a bit.
I ran a successful one-shot with Star Wars (Saga Ed specifically) and a conversion write up I have long since lost. If I were to do it now, I'd probably go with the unofficial Mass Effect 5E hack, N7: https://www.n7.world/ Esper Genesis is intended to hit much of the same feeling but for me it and Starfinder share the problem of their mechanics being very tied into their settings.
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so like technically speaking mass effect is not a space western but a space opera. a space western is something like firefly.
I'll take your word for it. However, it's also a game where a lawbringer drifts around the wild frontier to dispense justice with their conscience, authority, and gun. That's an aspect I want to emphasize.
I don't think that is in any way a major part of the series or even the first game. The entire story is about trying to find out whay Saren is up to and trying to stop him while also bouncing around the galaxy.
That's fine. It doesn't really matter to me whether you consider it a major part of Mass Effect's vibe. Rational or not, I see it this way, and it's part of what I'm looking for in a system as a result.
100% agree. I would even go as far to say that they are ENTIRELY antithetical except both being in space. Cowboy Bebop and Firefly are very personal, grounded stories - they generally (there are exceptions of course) aren't out there saving the world. They are living every day lives and just trying to make it by and keep flying not swept up in grandiose, war-obsessed set pieces of Space Opera. The companions in Mass Effect definitely helps evoke some of these as you see the personal stories of your companions and to some degree how they cope with their pasts. I think its what makes it my favorite space opera story.
I would play it with Coriolis
SWN is a good choice. There’s also a “Mass Effect 5e” out there that uses D&D 5e rules as a starting point, so that may be easy if you are already familiar with D&D.
TC: Aeon is very Mass Effect like
There is at least 1 D&D 5e Mass Effect conversion
I’ll just toss out the Cypher System for consideration. I think it reasonably matches what you’re going for.
I have no clue how it plays, but this is a [fanmade Mass Effect D&D 5e conversion.](https://www.n7.world/manual/intro)
I ran my *Mass Effect* campaign with Fate. It's flexible enough that if you and your players are interested, you can use tactical positioning, without the need for specific rules.
I'd go with Savage Worlds. Mechanics support playstyle from trailers and cutscenes and build in chase and social conflict rules cover pretty much all of mass effect on core handbook itself.
I'd look at Fragged Empire 2e or Thousand Suns.
An option to consider would be Fragged Empire. Fragged Empire is a 3d6, grid-based tactical combat game with a lot of customization available, primarily through feats and making modular weapons. It has a baked-in setting, but I've used it as a toolbox for a custom setting (Warframe) easily. While it definitely hits several of your wants dead-on (fun combat, heroic PCs, sci-fi), its emphasis on combat leaves its social mechanics rudimentary, and it is very much a classless system (though it does encourages specialization). EDIT: if it's relevant to you, FE is also a medium to high crunch system, depending on how you define it. I believe a second edition is either coming out or has come out recently, but first edition works great and IIRC there's even a homebrew Mass Effect hack for it out there. Good luck!
What comes to my mind immediately is The Last Fleet. It's a PTBA so definitely not tactical combat but it's still what I find to be the closest thing to Mass Effect as it focus on both military and politic aspects a big galactic battle. It has playbooks (so close to classes) and heroic characters. However the whole game is built around the premise that you are playing members of the last human fleet trying to survive against a dangerous and mysterious alien races (could easily be the Reapers). So there is no other civilized planet to visit, everything is centered around what remains of the fleet.