# Reddit: Sci-Fi Rules Light RPG tags: #thoughts #game/rpg/loner #game/rpg/ensemble #game/rpg/wushu #game/rpg/cbr-pnk #game/rpg/tiny-frontiers-revised ![[Loner - Spacer (cover).jpg|300]] ![[Ensemble (cover).jpg|300]] ![[Wushu (logo).png|300]] ![[CBR-PNK (cover).jpg|300]] ![[Tiny Frontiers Revised (cover).jpg|300]] You know, I thought I would have the day off having been out all day doing life things. But I got home, started flipping through my feeds, and something I could answer jumped out at me. Thanks Reddit, you're a peach. --- > Going away for the weekend with some friends and they have asked me to run a game for them. > We have DnD and Call of Chultlu experience. > I want to run a rules light game, that can be picked up as we play. > > -- https://www.reddit.com/r/TTRPG/comments/1tcmzsk/scifi_rules_light_rpg A lot of other people have covered some really excellent games, so I'm going to pull out one which perhaps you've never heard of and very few people would know to recommend, but one that I find extremely easy to run, essentially off the cuff, which require very few dice and which is extremely fiction forward. **[Loner: Spacer](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/518298/loner-spacer)**.[^1] Yes, I know that it talks specifically about being a solo RPG, but there's no reason you can't use exactly the same mechanics and exactly the same design for multiple players. It's a self-contained book for $5, which is hard to beat without actually going through something that's completely free. If you would like a discussion of essentially the same mechanics, but discussed from a multiplayer point of view, pick up **[[Ensemble]]** from the same author. It's effectively the same system and the same philosophy with a very slight change in the mechanics and a little discussion of how to integrate multiple players together, but if you've been playing together in other systems, you've got the basic idea, I'm certain. You can have it for free, as it's pay what you want, so that's nice. I'd also be deeply remiss if I didn't suggest **[[Wushu|Wushu: The Ancient Art of Action Roleplaying]]**. It's honestly one of my favorite super rules-lite systems, and like Ensemble, it's completely free. In fact, you can see the entire rules on the URL I've linked and have the entire PDF if you'd like. Perfect for one-shots, but I've also run extended campaigns using the system. It just works. One of the keys is that unlike many games, whatever the player says that they're doing as the character is what happens. The dice do not determine if they can do something, but only how effective something is. In fact, you get more dice for giving more details about how you're trying to achieve what you're going for. I absolutely adore it. The fact that a character sheet can fit on one side of a three by five card with enough room to sketch what they look like is just gravy. Finally, we probably need to talk about **[[CBR+PNK|CBR+PNK: Augmented]]**. While you can have the entire core of the game for $10, for another $10, you can have the core plus the plugin for otherworldly powers, plus a very nice and easy to run scenario or three. How rules light is this, you ask? Well, the entire GM guide fits front and back on a single sheet of paper in a trifold. Same for the players. Each of them get their own trifold single sheet of paper which has everything they need to know, including their character sheet. It uses a modified variant of the Forged in the Dark system. So if you've ever heard of that, you're well on your way. It is literally designed for one-shot pick up and play games. The protagonists are traditional cyberpunk characters who have had long and varied careers, and this is their last run. Drive it like you stole it. If you were looking for something that you could literally pick up and be running in 20 minutes, having essentially just talked your way through character generation, this is another great option. It's a little more expensive than the others, but I think it's worth it. Finally, I suppose I should probably suggest something which is considerably more traditionally designed than most of the games I've talked about here. You may have picked up on the fact that I really enjoy narrative-heavy / fiction-forward RPGs, but there are a few things in my pile which tend toward centralized GM authority. Probably one of the best for what you are trying to do is **[[Tiny Frontiers Revised|Tiny Frontiers: Revised]]**. It uses a straightforward, simple 3d6 system for resolution, and it is just what it says on the tin. Effectively, a very lightweight science fiction, flexible space game. You want classic space opera? Here you go. Fast and easy, quick, straightforward. My one objection, if I have one, considering it's in my collection, is that it's a little bit expensive at $15 for the PDF. Totally worth it in my mind, but depending on how much you want to invest into this upcoming game might give you pause considering I've given you several suggestions which are free. Good luck. I hope you enjoy yourself and good gaming. [^1]: Yes, for the **[[Loner]]** system, if it wasn't obvious from the title. I'm saying this so I can put in a proper internal link. This footnote does not exist in the original. You should not be surprised.