Science Fiction Subgenres

Though science fiction is rife with unreal things, it's often grounded in some kind of real-world framework of potential technological advancement and shared history. In any case, science fiction can attempt to be predictive while providing a compelling game, narrative, or, in some cases, a warning of what might happen if we don't change our ways. There are literally dozens of popular sci-fi subgenres. The Cypher Character Rulebook focuses on three: hard science fiction, space opera, and postapocalypse.

Beyond all the setting details, types help distinguish the setting. For instance, in a hard science fiction setting, you might play an Engineer, Diplomat, Soldier, and so on. But in a postapocalypse game, you have the option to play as a Survivor, Heavy, or Tender—people just trying to stay alive after the world has ended.

Hard Science Fiction, page (ref) Space Opera, page (ref) Postapocalypse, page (ref)

Just like in other genres, your character's type grants you a handful of special abilities. Understanding Special Abilities, page (ref)

Science Fiction Skills

These skills are appropriate for hard science fiction and space opera games. Some of these skills are tier restricted, meaning there's a minimum tier requirement before you can become trained or specialized in them.

Tier-Restricted Skills, page (ref)

Astronomy
Athletics
Attacking (tier restricted)
Biology
Chemistry
Crafting
Cybernetics
Deception
Defending (tier restricted)
Disguise
Driving
Engineering
Escaping
Forensics
Gathering information
Geology
Gunnery (tier restricted)
Gymnastics
Hacking
Healing
Heavy equipment operation
History
Identifying
Initiative
Intimidation
Lockpicking
Magic lore
Mathematics
Mining
Navigation
Outdoor survival
Perception
Performance
Persuasion
Philosophy
Physics
Pickpocketing
Piloting
Piloting spacecraft
Plumbing
Psychology
Publishing
Recognizing motive
Religious lore
Riding
Scavenging
Stealth
Systems operation
Tracking
Zero-G fluency

Skills, page (ref)