The Science Fiction Companion is a genre supplement for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE), published by Pinnacle Entertainment. It updates the older Science Fiction Companion to be fully compatible with SWADE and adds many new rules, options, and setting tools covering sci-fi themes: from starships to alien races, power armor, transhumanism, and more. The book is a hardcover running 300+ pages in the physical version.
⚙️ What’s Inside — Key Features & Content
Here are the headline contents and significant additions in the Science Fiction Companion, based on publisher confirms:
- Character Ancestries, Edges & Hindrances: New ancestries (alien, transhuman, synthetic, etc.), along with new Edges (advantages) and Hindrances, expanding character options.
- Power Armor, Vehicles, Starships & Suits: Both pre-made and customizable suits of power armor; rules for vehicles, spacecraft, and larger vehicles/walkers. These allow you to scale from small skirmishes to space opera scale.
- Gear, Weapons, Armor: A massive equipment list for sci-fi settings: high-tech, dystopian, exotic gear, updated weapons, armor options.
- Event-Based Systems for Chases etc.: New rules for starship combat, vehicle chases/shootouts, dogfights. Also a “Heavy Metal” system for handling large vehicle weapons / vehicular armor.
- Narrative Outpost System: Rules for player bases / outposts in sci-fi settings – e.g. a base on a star station, ruins of a spacecraft, or remote alien world. This expands the idea of “home base” or recurring hub.
- Setting Rules for Netrunning, Transhumanism, Psionics / Arcane Backgrounds: These help define sci-fi specific gameplay hooks: cyberware / augmentations, psychic/arcane powers, setting rules for dystopia or high tech.
- Massive Bestiary & Alien Threats: Creatures, xenos, enemies, planetary/environmental hazards, evil empires etc. These provide threat variety.
- Artifacts & Strange Alien Tech: Dozens of exotic artifacts, strange tech, unusual gear that grants flavor.
Also included are accessories like the Science Fiction Pawn Set (die-cut figure flats) for use in physical tabletop play.
🐾 How it Plays at the Table
- Scalable settings: Whether your campaign is gritty, near-future sci-fi, space opera, alien world exploration, transhuman dystopia — the Companion supports them. The rules are modular, so you can pick what fits your tone.
- Vehicle and starship combat & chases: These often complicate play in sci-fi settings. The Companion’s new rules simplify and streamline them, making them more accessible without losing challenge. Expect cinematic battles (dogfights, vehicular shootouts) that flow.
- Character variety and player agency: With new ancestries and edges, characters can feel distinctly alien, synthetic, or enhanced. Whether you want your PC to be a space marine, an android, a psychic, or a genetically modified human, there are options.
- Risk and high stakes: As with Savage Worlds generally, threats matter. Armor, equipment, and augmentations come with cost. The “Heavy Metal” rules suggest that vehicles/starships can become powerful, but also dangerous and resource-intensive.
- Base building / Outposts: Having a recurring hub gives players somewhere to return, hold assets, make decisions that matter. That helps link missions/campaigns together.
✨ Highlights
- Modernized sci-fi toolkit: The update to SWADE brings the Companion’s content into current rules, likely smoothing out incompatibilities from older editions. That modernized design plus new content gives value both to long-time SW users and new players.
- Dreadfully good variety: Alien races, artifacts, setting rules, mechanical gadgets — there’s enough to run divergent sci-fi stories without immediately adding third-party content.
- Cinematic combat & scale: The chase/dogfight / vehicle combat rules plus starships and walkers add scale beyond street action; helps tables wanting epic sci-fi sequences.
- Strong support for accessories & VTT: Foundry VTT module, Pawn sets, themed sheets, etc., help with digital or in-person play. The Science Fiction Pawn set is a nice physical tactile bonus.
⚠ Things to Watch / Trade-offs
- Dependency on Core Rules: The Companion is not standalone. You still need the SWADE Core Rulebook for basic mechanics (traits, core power system, etc.). Without it, you’ll be missing fundamental parts.
- Size & Complexity of Content: 300+ pages of content can be dense; some settings may only use a fraction. GMs may need to cherry-pick to avoid overloading players with choices.
- Balance challenges: Because high-power content (heavy vehicles, power armor, arcane/powered ancestries) is introduced, balancing encounters (especially early in campaigns) may require extra care to prevent overshadowing weaker options.
- Setting neutrality vs flavor expectations: The Companion gives setting tools but less “pre-tooled” lore — it’s generic sci-fi. If you want detailed universe lore (factions, politics, culture etc.), you’ll need to build or supplement that.
🧭 Where it Fits & Who It’s For
If you run sci-fi in Savage Worlds (space opera, dystopian future, exploration, tech horror, posthuman conflict), this Companion is a nearly essential toolkit. It bridges gaps in the core rules, giving mechanical depth and flavor without dragging down pace.
Groups that would get the most from it:
- Those who enjoy customizing vehicles, starships, power armor etc.
- Players wanting to play alien or transhuman backgrounds, or include psionics / arcane elements in sci-fi.
- GMs wanting to stage large-scale vehicular or ship-based combat or chase sequences.
- Tables that operate partly online / use VTTs, or want pawns and physical tokens.
It is less essential for tables who already have heavy sci-fi conversion tools or prefer minimalist sci-fi or “near future only” settings where they can get by with gear from core + small sci-fi bits.
⭐ Final Verdict
The Science Fiction Companion for SWADE is ambitious, well-executed, and richly rewarding. It takes what was once a mid-tier supplement and elevates it: more content, modern rules compatibility, setting tools, scale, and mechanical novelty. If you want to run sci-fi with power, versatility, and cinematic sword-in-space or starship chase flair, this book delivers.
It may not be necessary for every Savage Worlds table — especially if your sci-fi is “just flavor” rather than mechanical weight — but for those who want their galaxies dangerous, their ships dynamic, and their characters alien, this is one of the best companions Pinnacle has released.