[Scourge of Ages]

My brother and some of our friends have considered learning an RPG and playing some games, but we have no idea where to start. I played Megatraveller for DOS a loong time ago, so know that it was based on a pen-and-paper version, but beyond that I know only what's on Wikipedia.

So I thought I'd turn here, to all you experts on stuff.
Has anybody had any experience with any of the Traveller games, can you recommend a good version for a bunch of beginners to learn (preferably a cheaper one), and seeing all the books available, which ones are necessary for just a basic game? How about any other sci-fi RPGs?

Any information would be appreciated.

[NGTM-1R]

You should play Paranoia, citizen. Or are you a commie mutant traitor?

I play Rifts, but that's unabashed '80s clunky class-and-level madness.

[Scourge of Ages]

Mongoose publishing, we meet again! Why must your books be so expensive?

[mormon_boy]

mongoose traveller pocket edition is cheap and all you need if you use your imagination to make the rest of the universe. its easier than it sounds

[Mongoose]

Mongoose publishing, we meet again! Why must your books be so expensive?

Sorry.

[BloodEagle]

You could always give FATAL a try.

NOTE: DO NOT PLAY, SEARCH FOR, OR THINK ABOUT FATAL.  SERIOUSLY.

[NGTM-1R]

You could always give FATAL a try.

NOTE: DO NOT PLAY, SEARCH FOR, OR THINK ABOUT FATAL.  SERIOUSLY.

No, you should read the RPG.net review at least.

[Al-Rik]

Traveller is a classic with lots of supplements and background.

If you don't mind of working without supplements give the old FASA Stuff a Chance:

Mechwarrior 2nd Editon or the new "A Time of War"
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/MechWarrior_%28RPG%29
Both Editions use 2d6, and the stats give a clear impression how skilled a character is.

The Battletech-Universe works well as Hard SciFi Background. No shields, no antigrav, no psionics,...
Typical storylines would be about military Operations, but political plots or exploration (searching old relicts of the Starleague ) are also possible.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=85508&language=de

[Scotty]

Traveller is a classic with lots of supplements and background.

If you don't mind of working without supplements give the old FASA Stuff a Chance:

Mechwarrior 2nd Editon or the new "A Time of War"
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/MechWarrior_%28RPG%29
Both Editions use 2d6, and the stats give a clear impression how skilled a character is.

The Battletech-Universe works well as Hard SciFi Background. No shields, no antigrav, no psionics,...
Typical storylines would be about military Operations, but political plots or exploration (searching old relicts of the Starleague ) are also possible.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=85508&language=de

I second this wonderful notion.  BattleTech is wonderful.

[NGTM-1R]

I was actually pretty fond of MechWarrior 3rd, but only for the backgrounds system.

[The E]

In my local gaming group, we play a host of different systems, all of which I can recommend:

-Pathfinder, for the classical D&D fix
-Cthulhutech, because punching Cthulhu in the face with a mech is good
-Eclipse Phase, for all the post-singularity fun (Look, it's a system where you can play an Octopus. Doesn't get better than that).

[Mefustae]

I had fun playing Dark Heresy. You can do a lot in the 40k universe, but you just need a good DM with enough imagination to really delve into the lore.

[NGTM-1R]

Other recommendations:

Exalted: It's...actually no I can't really describe it. Maybe fantasy superheros? Incredibly silly or serious at your discretion? All the awesome you could ever want? SOMEBODY HELP ME OUT HERE!

Feng Shui: This is reality, as depicted by Hong Kong action movies.

The 40k games are actually a little bit clunky, not as much as my beloved Rifts, but a little. They can basically divided up as Dark Heresy (Paranoia IN A HIVE), Deathwatch (RECON in space), and Rogue Trader (Exalted IN SPACE). There are also rumors of a Guardsman RPG in progress, which promises to be indescribable save for the fact your characters are probably written on post-it notes.

[Scotty]

There are also rumors of a Guardsman RPG in progress, which promises to be indescribable save for the fact your characters are probably written on post-it notes.

Quoted for truth, and also lulz.

[FireSpawn]

You could always give FATAL a try.

NOTE: DO NOT PLAY, SEARCH FOR, OR THINK ABOUT FATAL.  SERIOUSLY.

No, you should read the RPG.net review at least.

Reading the review and just reached the part about criminal punishment. Apparently being raped makes the victim the immoral and evil one.
That sounds like something someone who got raped and didn't get the sorely needed counseling, or it didn't work.
That or the author is a scum bag.

Either way, the guy who wrote FATAL should be dragged from his basement in the middle of the day while he sleeps, dragged to a public place while still wearing the vest and y-fronts he put on when he was 7 and never took off, and subjected to enough gamma radiation to reduce him to a radioactive puddle.

[Patriot]

Why not play DnD itself?

[LordPomposity]

Exalted: It's...actually no I can't really describe it. Maybe fantasy superheros? Incredibly silly or serious at your discretion? All the awesome you could ever want? SOMEBODY HELP ME OUT HERE!

The thing that really sets the game apart is that right from the outset, your character is one of the thousand or so most powerful entities in the world. You can spend the first session single-handedly smashing armies and conquering nations. None of this killing-rats-in-the-npc's-cellar ****.

Exalted is a rather intimidating system to get into. The rules are pretty complicated (albeit at least somewhat intuitive) to begin with, and a rather large errata document was recently released to fix some pretty fundamental flaws* with the way the system worked. However, once you're past that it is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. I heartily recommend it.

*by which I mean that a reasonably clever player could make his character quite literally invulnerable straight out of character creation.

[FireSpawn]

[Sushi]

Exalted is a rather intimidating system to get into. The rules are pretty complicated

To put it mildly, unfortunately. :/ The "Tyrannosaurs in F-14s" analogy is actually pretty apt though.

I'm in an Exalted game right now, and while I'm having lots fun, the complexity of the rules is seriously annoying. I wouldn't even consider trying to play Exalted with first-time RPGers, they'd throw in the towel before finishing character creation.

Since we're recommending RPG systems, I'm going to throw out mine for Savage Worlds. Relatively rules-light, cheap books, generic enough to handle just about any kind of setting.

[TrashMan]

I direct you to Spoony Experiment.

The man has got some very interesting and entertaining videos on PnP and Dungeon Mastering, as well as an entire forum section dedicated to finding games, playing with others and such.

I'm trying to get into a Pathfinder game myslef.


Do watch his 2 videos on a Thiefsworld campaign he DM'ed once. Best PnP story I ever heard.