Systems questions and Game Idea help!

[twztdwndpipe]

So. I know there is a D6 system a D20, and a D10. I've never seen D6. I've played D&D (D20) and I own a WoD (d10) I don't care a whole lot for D10. It's kinda, odd, you can kill things in one roll sometimes. Either way, I was curious. Which system would be the most fun / Best for a....

Survival Horror P&P Rpg. Only thing is. It won't be ran like any game out yet. Basicly, I want a game where you try to survive. You won't get EXP for Killing things. You have to LEARN. Same way anyone else would, Reading and Practice. There would be alot of boarding up windows and things like that. Food wouldn't respawn, so that would make players have to walk the harsh and dangerous environment. Some creatures couldn't even be killed by basic weapons. Colossus sized creatures. Alot of running and hiding. That and players would only get one life. From there, they'd have to start a new character. Which would be alright only because learning to get better aim with a gun would require them to shoot some cans or bottles. You could only learn fighting from someone who knows how to fight already. Granted, when creating a character, You'd have a background. Say you were a cop before the crazyness happens... Well, your Firearms skills would be higher. It would be something along the lines of...

"Aim"
"Heart"
"Gun"

Aim would be your skill to actually aim at something, Heart would be if your character actually has the heart to kill the monster or other character, and Gun would be the modifier on Damage.

Are there any systems that could support all of this information.

-Will

[Vulpinoid]

There's plenty of concepts that have been floating around here recently that could contribute to a system along these lines. It all depends what you'd like to focus on.

There are plenty of systems that are focusing on learning as a concept...I know that I've been pretty vocal in a couple of recent threads about experience points and how I'd like to see them work as a motivating force in games.

As for other concepts about deadly creatures, and players being forced to explore the world in character, there are some interesting concepts where you could derive ideas from (such as the Townsfolk series of threads).

"One life, one death, make a new character"...isn't really a new concept. It certainly fits the survival horror genre, and that shows thought in the right direction. But you need to consider how much of a setback will be faced by the players when their characters die.

Do you want an extensive character generation system that really invests the players in their game-world avatars? This makes the tension a lot greater, and makes players feel the loss of their characters a lot more strongly. But strong gameplay can do this as well.

Do you want quick and dirty character generation, in which players can lose a character or two every session without missing out on too much of the action?

Do you want to combine the two options and have quick characters that build up in character over a couple of scenes but are still fragile? In this case, a character would be quick to create and could get into the action relativeluy simply, they'd accumulate a background as they accumulate knowledge and skills to confront the world around them.

IMHO actual die size doesn't make a whole lot of difference to a game. The true flavour comes from what you do with those dice, when you choose to roll them, and how the results impact on play.

It's also a common matra around here that you shouldn't try to ad hoc a system designed for another game, switching genres on a game mechanic may give a contrived feeling to a game and will not give the best results. Start with a key concept, work from there.

I can see similar concepts in your game to existing products, but you claim that "It won't be ran like any game out yet". What real differences are you looking for? Other games reward players for learning rather than killing...other games have strict in-game resources to cover food and survival...

Tell us some real differences that you're trying to achieve and we'll see what we can do to help.

V

[Eero Tuovinen]

The topic sounds interesting, but it also seems like you'd get the best bang for your buck by designing your own custom system to reflect your goals and such. You have many good and fresh ideas in your concept, but they won't find justice in a generic system, I think.

If modifying an existing system were the only choice... the choices that'd support this sort of thing appropriately would be pretty rare (that's what you get for being original!), it seems to me. I'd start with Dead of Night, myself, except that it'd need to be drifted so far to perfect the concept that making a new game is more worthwhile.

So yeah, I recommend a new system. However, your introduction makes it seem like you haven't read and played too many roleplaying games, which means that you have lots to gain by widening your repertoire - read and play lots of different games, and you'll find out that there are a wide variety of different games out there with all sorts of ideas that range far from the d20 and Storyteller bases you mention. I'd even say that this learning about other games should be a top priority for you, as it's a necessary step in creating a truly excellent roleplaying game. For example, I recommend Dread: the First Book of Pandemonium as a game that does some of the things your concept hints at, and is otherwise an exciting game.

[twztdwndpipe]

Okay, well. I want open option for whatever the players want to do. I want enough players at a time to have them conflict on ideas.
I want a day and night type of thing. Based on time. Day would host different creatures.
I don't want the characters to just run around trying to gain exp. I want them to want to live, want to find a way out of this whole deal. Find out how this thing happened.

I want the character creation to be quite deep, but at the same time, I don't want them taking forever to make them. My friends would get board with to deep of character generation.

I recently just watched "The Myst" which started this whole thing. Me and a friend thought it would make for a great style of game. The whole, Rationing food, keeping your characters alive.

I want constant threat, there should always be a way for them to die. That way it will keep the pressure on them. Monsters will break into the place that they are hiding in. A full town map with detailed buildings and locations.

Multiple "Partys" would be playing also. I would have one group of friends on 1 night and another group later that week that would be running through the same town. If they barracade themself inside of one building, so that building would be locked up. When players aren't playing their character would be "Asleep" and non active.  Any other suggestions?
I just want this to be as if this had happened in real life.

[twztdwndpipe]

Also,

What system books should I take look into? I need to know what books to read to see the game system, like, what makes it tick. How they do combat, alll of that.

[twztdwndpipe]

And still, as the ideas come... Things I would want to integrate.

Injury System
Barricading system
Combat System
Flea/Run system
Food/Hunger system
Day and Night system

thats it for now. hmm, any other suggestions for systems?

[Eero Tuovinen]

Yep, that seems fresh enough to require its own rules-set. I remember planning something similar at one point for a computer adventure game.

Useful and instructive games that set up challenges on different levels are Agon, 3:16, Tunnels & Trolls... any of those might be useful to look into to see how others have approached some of the very basics of this sort of thing.

[Vulpinoid]

I just spent some time trying to remember one of the best survival horror games I've seen played, I thought that there could be some great suggestions hidden within it's rules...after searching Google and a few other sources, I found what I was looking for.

...only to realise that it's name is in Eero's signature above.

Zombie Apocalypse.

Certainly worth a look for some ideas.

V