Wizards of the Coast will be publishing a new science fiction tabletop RPG called Dungeons & Dragons, but I didn't need to wait for its release to enjoy sci-fi in my D&D. Early information indicates the Exodus TTRPG will largely share the same system as 5e D&D, as promotional images include references to a “Bonus Action,” Light Armor, and abilities with a similar layout to D&D’s spells. This could provide an excellent gateway for hobbyists to experience a different genre while using a familiar ruleset, but there are already great third-party sci-fi options.

There are good reasons I am excited about the project, like Matthew McConaughey narrating Exodus’ terrifying trailer, setting the tone for a bleak and unique science fiction video game. The video game will pair with the Exodus Traveler’s Handbook, the tabletop RPG that explores the same fictional universe. Science fiction TTRPGs have been available since near the start of the hobby itself, but given the popularity of 5e D&D, a sci-fi epic sharing the same system appeals to many fans, including me. Such products are already available, and many provide excellent sci-fi alternatives to WOTC’s official campaign settings.

5e D&D Already Has Great Third-Party Sci-Fi Settings

Third-Party Settings Already Offer More Originality Than Official Worlds

Exodus is being developed by Archetype, a studio owned by WOTC that includes many BioWare veterans. The similarities between Mass Effect and Exodus were evident from the announcement of the project. I, and other Mass Effect fans, have enjoyed 5e D&D-based tabletop RPG adventures for years, however, thanks to Esper Genesis, a Mass Effect-inspired RPG that launched in 2018.

This is far from the only science fiction D&D 5e setting I've invested in, as I’ve also purchased Dark Matter from Mage Hand press, Spaceships and Starwyrms from HopePunk press, and Advent Horizon from Promethium Books, along with many others. Some 5e settings are fully science fiction, like Redsky from Solar Studios, or Comets & Cockpits from Daylight Productions, while others blend sci-fi and fantasy, like Lasers & Liches.

Esper Genesis, from Alligator Alley Entertainment, is available to purchase as a PDF through DriveThruRPG, alongside many other science fiction tabletop RPGs that use the 5e D&D rules.

While Exodus may give Mass Effect competition between video game RPGs, Exodus itself is the new kid on the block when it comes to science fiction TTRPGs using the 5e D&D system. Books like Bound For Beyond from Cachalot Games offer 5e hard sci-fi, while others like Draken Star from William Stark provide a fusion of science fiction and fantasy. Carbon 2185 from Dragon Turtle Games and GeneFunk 2090 from CRISPR Monkey Studios offer 5e cyberpunk-genre settings, and the BioShock-inspired Cloudsea setting, from Beyond the Horizon, adds androids to fantasy, along with massive floating cities. Each offers something truly unique.

I wasn’t excited about Greyhawk coming back to 2024 D&D because kitchen-sink-style fantasy settings, like Forgotten Realms and Paizo’s Golarion, don’t interest me as a Game Master in the same way more unconventional campaign worlds do. The third-party science fiction settings, and hybrids of sci-fi and fantasy, hold far more appeal to me. Some GMs look for a vanilla world where they can “insert” any premade adventure, but I prefer settings that inspire stories that can only take place in that specific world. A unique setting like Beneath the Monolith from Monte Cook Games immediately sets my wheels turning.

Science Fiction Has Been Present In D&D From The Start

Dungeons & Dragons Has Never Been A Pure Fantasy Game

Though many of the best science fiction tabletop RPGs have their own unique mechanics, D&D is far from a pure fantasy game, devoid of any sci-fi elements. In 1976, Gary Gygax ran the Expedition to Barrier Peaks adventure at a convention, which featured the Player Characters exploring a downed spaceship. Fifth edition settings like Hyperlanes, from Scrivened, LLC, and Astral Horizon, from Yellowbyte Studios, both deal with space travel, but 2e Advanced Dungeons & Dragons’ Spelljammer setting did as well. Spelljammer approaches space travel fully through a fantasy lens, however, not as sci-fi, or a hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi.

Many early D&D adventures included science fiction elements, which is no surprise. When I learned how Jack Vance’s Dying Earth inspired D&D’s magic system, and the game as a whole, it became obvious that D&D has less to do with the works of Tolkien than most people tend to think. Sword & sorcery sub-genre fiction, along with the works of H.P. Lovecraft and his peers, dominate Gygax’s Appendix N more than traditional fantasy, and at the time fantasy itself was a genre of literature still seeking to define itself. Many formative fantasy settings were in fact post-apocalyptic versions of Earth.

Somnus Domina, the core book for the Retia setting from Logan Laidlaw, was also recently released on DriveThruRPG, offering another well-fleshed-out setting combining science fiction and high fantasy elements.

Later books in The Dying Earth series, easily one of the game’s biggest inspirations, dealt with space travel and time travel and referenced alien invasions alongside high magic. The Primeval Thule setting from Sasquatch Game Studio is a sword & sorcery campaign world set in a forgotten era of Earth’s history, and it juxtaposes traditional D&D gods and magic with cultists who worship sinister aliens from beyond the stars. These third-party settings don't go against the spirit of D&D. Plot devices largely associated with sci-fi, like time travel, were featured in D&D adventures like The Ghost Tower of Inverness.

Exodus Could Benefit From Third-Party D&D Worlds

Mechanics & Ideas From Other Sci-Fi 5e Games Add Options

A D&D 2024 Curse of Strahd revamp is a priority for some fans, but after slaying this vampire for multiple editions in a row, I am more interested in fresh ideas. Eberron was a truly original setting for D&D, but it dates back to 3.5 D&D, and the new worlds for 5e are simply ported over from Magic: the Gathering. That's a big reason I am looking forward to Exodus, as it will be the first wholly new setting since Eberron, albeit one linked to a video game slated for release around the same time as the tabletop RPG.

Established science fiction tabletop RPG lines have also had 5e D&D versions published, like the Space: 1889 5e version, and the Dr. Who RPG's 5e adaptation, Doctors & Daleks.

RPG fans who enjoy the 5e D&D system don’t need to choose between Exodus and any of the excellent current options for sci-fi available from third parties. There are endless campaigns to be run, and GMs may find small elements from each of the science fiction and sci-fi fusion settings to incorporate into an Exodus campaign. The battle suits from Poison Potion Press’ Eldritch Sands setting could be added to Exodus, or Exodus could be incorporated into a campaign within Dias Ex Machina Games’ Affinity game line. I am excited about Exodus ing the ranks of sci-fi Dungeons & Dragons settings.

Source: Exodus (from Archetype Entertainment)/YouTube