I've been inactive in the tabletop gaming hobby for a while, for various reasons, but I still often enjoy video games. Sometimes I come across something that makes me think: "wow, this would be an interesting element in a tabletop rpg. I wonder if it's been done before, or how it could be handled well."
Most recently for me, this has been Gunpoint, a stealth platformer puzzle game in a high-tech noir setting. You play as a trenchcoated private eye, trying to discover the killer in a murder you're being framed for, but you're also texting your clients between missions, hacking computers to steal incriminating emails, etc. The key game mechanic involves rewiring electronics in the corporate office buildings you're infiltrating, so that light switches unlock security doors and so forth.
So obviously, stealth and hacking are game mechanics on my mind, and these are mechanics that tabletop games are known for handling poorly. (Makes me think of deckers in Shadowrun, as a worst case.) I guess the problem is when you've got a system with niche protection such that only one character in a group of PCs is likely to be able to use stealth well, stealth tasks become solo missions, which is tedious for everyone else. Can't think of a system where hacking is quite so problematic, but I also can't think of one where it's actually memorable, either.
That said: do we know games that use these ideas effectively? Have we got ideas for systems where they would really shine?
What other stuff do you have that you'd like to see handled more/better in a rpg context?
Quote from: Lmns Crn
That said: do we know games that use these ideas effectively? Have we got ideas for systems where they would really shine?
What other stuff do you have that you'd like to see handled more/better in a rpg context?
I don't know of systems that really make stealth shine, but I always wanted chase sequences to somehow be better in most systems. I guess in systems like FATE combat zones are sort of nebulous enough that it can be made to work, but in mechanically grittier systems like PF or 5E chases either have to create weird little niche rules for themselves or are complete, often bizarre subsystems in their own right. Turn-by-turn encounters just don't seem to lend themselves to the fluid action of blockbuster movie chase scenes very well, but YMMV. Granted, I really only know PF, 3.X, 5E, FATE (and Asura!) so my system knowledge isn't exactly robust, but I haven't had great luck in ones like PF (which, I know, has it's own chase (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/chases) rules, but it's a clunky and awkward subsystem that I, personally, never had great successes with).
Spirit of the Century had a car chase mechanic that I'm not sure made it into FATE proper. I never had it come up in a game, but it was set up around the lead vehicle attempting stunts and maneuvers, setting difficulty targets the pursuing vehicle had to meet or exceed. I was always curious about how that would work in play.
Since Weave brought them up, the Pathfinder chase rules are especially annoying to me because they seem like they are ever so close to something that could have been pretty good-- the use of cards that more or less represent zones with obstacles attached to them is actually pretty cool-- but then clunky Pathfinderisms creep in and make the whole thing a mostly unworkable mess.
One thing that I miss from Fate while DMing Pathfinder is the ability to have a way to circumvent the game's normal action resolution rules for the purpose of the story in a way that is deemed to be fair. I mean, based on good ol' rule 0 I could just do whatever anyway, but that kind of thing would probably be annoying and confusing to me as a player so I wouldn't really want to inflict it on players, either.
I have an idea for the orphanage. So I had an idea for an alternate history fantasy setting, where the Nuclear holocaust happens, and unleashes magic back into the world. A Fallout meets Dark Sun setting.