Non-random yet challenging resolutions...

[daMoose_Neo]

Ahkay, I posted earlier about a project I might be undertaking and am working up some notes on it. To get it a little closer aligned with the property, I'm looking at non-dice based resolutions. I might be thinking a little more boardgame-ish, but I wanted to see what kinds of ideas Forge could dredge up as well.
What I'm thinking:
- Trivia, mind teasers
- Puzzles- ie, Characters are stuck in a maze, so the players have to navigate the time in X time, else start over or captured.
- Do think a fair bit of 'solve through roleplaying' can be accomplished, I need to learn more about possible limitations on myself however (might involve technology in the final outcome)

I don't like the idea of the randomness so much here and want to avoid a more typical fantasy tendency toward violence (ie first reaction is "I shoot them!" as opposed to "I look at my available options- do I have enough fuel to get away safely? Can I disable the enemy craft somehow?", not in so many words though).
This isn't any specific design question, hence the Theory posting.
Anyone try something like this, a non-standard resolution? I'm interested in a quantifiable outcome (succeed or fail, by X points), but want to avoid the vaugeness of a diceless, purely story telling game. Also, keep in mind the property in question is a kids-directed one, but its still heavily fantasy.
Any thoughts, ideas, recommendations are welcome.

[TonyLB]

Yeah, you can do it.  Drama-resolution doesn't need to be vague.  A system that is vague on the important resolutions is, IMHO, bad design.  And poorly thought out Drama systems certainly lend themself to that.  But you can design Drama-resolution well, if you know what you're trying to achieve, and stick to it.

For instance, say you wanted a game where players played specialized starship crew working together.  You're aiming to foster teamwork.  You could simply say that the effectiveness of the team is equal to the number of players who can make their characters specialty essential to the plan that the team makes up to resolve a situation.

Say they're being fired on by an enemy vessel of unknown design.  The GM assigns a Difficulty Factor of 4.  Depending upon their characters, they could successfully:

[*]Have their helmsman dodge incoming fire, their Science Officer analyze the reflector matrix of the attacking ship, their Engineer route the plasma manifolds to the burst cannon, and their Tactical Officer target the enemy ship and fire.
[*]Have their Telepath vaguely read the intentions of the attackers, their Anthropologist realize where the misunderstanding occurred, their Communications Officer establish contact and their Diplomatic Captain negotiate a peace.
[/list:u]That's a fairly straightforward, Drama-Based system.  No frills, but also not very much vagueness.  The reason it's easy to design is because I had a purpose in mind.

[Shreyas Sampat]

Consult Ben Lehman about Polaris. The conflict resolution mechanic there does have a Fortune component, but more important and interesting is what happens afterwards: The other players are allowed to offer certain game-mechanical "temptations" to the player who's in the spotlight; these temptations are really what drives the system. The Fortune element could simply be replaced with a Karma method of some kind.

To take this totally out of the Fortune realm, you could do something like this:
You can get some minimum amout of effectiveness at all times. There could be a resource management system tied into here.
Various efforts require various amounts of effectiveness.
The other players may offer you trades; more effectiveness in exchange for a physical injury, or emotional struggle, or whatever.

[Ben Lehman]

What Shreyas said.

yrs--
--Ben