Adding Cool Mechanics from Other Games

[cailano]

Aspects from FATE, as mentioned above.

Fronts from PbtA (more of a concept than a mechanic, but they're a really good concept)

Advantage/Disadvantage from 5E.

Allowing D&D-based characters to improve their stats as they level (3rd edition and up)

A universal DC-based mechanic (3rd edition and up)

Free-form skills systems from OSR (combine it with DC-based universal mechanic. Basically, a PC is competent in any skill that makes sense for their character. Handle with Ability modified + level. Works as well as any skill system I've ever seen and requires zero work.)

 

 

[Roughtrade]

I'm fond of the Hero Point/Action Point mechanics from Pathfinder and M&M.

If you want to do something cool that the game mechanics do not really cover, don't spend hours trying to figure a way to fit it into the mechanics. Blow a hero point and swing from the chandelier while waving your hat and land in a flip that kicks the bad guy in the face.

[cailano]

24 minutes ago, Roughtrade said:

I'm fond of the Hero Point/Action Point mechanics from Pathfinder and M&M.

If you want to do something cool that the game mechanics do not really cover, don't spend hours trying to figure a way to fit it into the mechanics. Blow a hero point and swing from the chandelier while waving your hat and land in a flip that kicks the bad guy in the face.

MSH may have been first to the party with that via their Karma attribute.

[leons1701]

Power Stunts were in retrospect, such an obvious thing in comics but it really hadn't been done that way before, and it was pretty obviously open ended, if you had karma to spend and a reasonable explanation (by comic's broad standards of reasonable too) you could at least try almost anything.

 

Actually, chasing down a vague memory, the 007 rpg from Victory Games had a Hero Point mechanism and came out one year before MSH. Mostly a dice modifier, but they could also be used to edit the environment (why yes, there IS a fire extinguisher on the wall) so it may well have been the first.

(Edit after a thought strikes me)

Oops, nope, they got it from the most obvious place, Top Secret. Wikipedia says Top Secret was the first and I'm not diving down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out if that's actually correct or not.

[RedMax]

5 hours ago, leons1701 said:

Power Stunts were in retrospect, such an obvious thing in comics but it really hadn't been done that way before, and it was pretty obviously open ended, if you had karma to spend and a reasonable explanation (by comic's broad standards of reasonable too) you could at least try almost anything.

 

Actually, chasing down a vague memory, the 007 rpg from Victory Games had a Hero Point mechanism and came out one year before MSH. Mostly a dice modifier, but they could also be used to edit the environment (why yes, there IS a fire extinguisher on the wall) so it may well have been the first.

(Edit after a thought strikes me)

Oops, nope, they got it from the most obvious place, Top Secret. Wikipedia says Top Secret was the first and I'm not diving down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out if that's actually correct or not.

True, and interestingly it was the 007 game that got me started on this! (007's bidding system.)

[ABlotOfInk]

On 12/12/2023 at 9:55 PM, Actana said:

GUMSHOE's investigation skills and the philosophies therein are also a very cool mechanic, easy to port into other games which focus on investigation.

I've been super interested in Gumshoe and finally went and downloaded the rules, but after looking it over something isn't clicking for me. What makes it so great at investigations? It seems to me like the sort of auto-succeed mechanic would make it a little less interesting for players and having to come up with clues on the spot a bit hard on the GM potentially. I totally just might be misinterpreting and not getting it.

[Actana]

3 hours ago, ABlotOfInk said:

I've been super interested in Gumshoe and finally went and downloaded the rules, but after looking it over something isn't clicking for me. What makes it so great at investigations? It seems to me like the sort of auto-succeed mechanic would make it a little less interesting for players and having to come up with clues on the spot a bit hard on the GM potentially. I totally just might be misinterpreting and not getting it.

Ultimately, Gumshoe takes the philosophy that it's not interesting to ask whether or not the players find the clues, but instead asks what the players are willing to focus on (due to a limited dice pool that gets spent) and, even more importantly, what do the players do with the clues they find.

From experience, I agree. Very rarely for me has a game about investigation benefited from the players not finding the clues. Instead, the players get frustrated, the game stalls, and the GM has to keep coming up with new plot hooks to replace the ones already in place that got missed.

[ABlotOfInk]

Makes sense! I guess I was thinking it had more tools to help with the crafting of the mystery itself on the GM's side. I can get what you're saying about not finding clues being pointless. Pointing out that the pool is limited is good too I had forgotten that since the last time I looked at the rules.Thanks!

[Actana]

If you want a way to craft a mystery, Night's Black Agent's (another Gumshoe game) Conspyramid is a top tier tool for that.

[Michael Silverbane]

6 hours ago, Actana said:

If you want a way to craft a mystery, Night's Black Agent's (another Gumshoe game) Conspyramid is a top tier tool for that.

This is what I was going to post, as well. the conpsiracy stuff from Night's Black Agents is great.

[ABlotOfInk]

17 hours ago, Actana said:

If you want a way to craft a mystery, Night's Black Agent's (another Gumshoe game) Conspyramid is a top tier tool for that.

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll definitely check it out!

[cybersavant]

Anyone add TORG style card decks to the their games?