Hi, folks!  Longtime lurker, here, finally ready to lay it on the line.  The following is a brief description of a game I've been working on a lot lately.  This is merely an overview.  These are the main concepts in the game, but this barely gets into the mechanics.  If you are interested in knowing more of how the mechanics work, let me know in your response.  I just wanted to give you guys enough to answer my questions:  Has this sort of thing been done a million times?  Is this interesting?  Does it make you curious to know more?

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Smiling Friendship Alpha Squad (working title)
Prospectus

1. Overview

1.1 Smiling Friendship Alpha Squad (SFAS) is a role-playing game focused on dungeon delving and physical conflict.  Players are welcome to embellish and develop their characters, but game mechanics are focused on conflict management and resolution.  SFAS uses a conventional 1 GM/1-or-more players structure.

1.2 Like most RPGs, SFAS narrative is focused on one character per player, the Hero(es), but each Hero must form a band of characters known as a Squad.  The Hero and the squad members are all known as Units, and a squad may have up to 5 units, including the Hero.  Units are recruited into the squad and developed as the squad gains experience.

1.3 In combat, rather than having each player decide what each of his units does during his combat turn, the squads all act as one, performing tactics.  The tactics available to a squad at any given time depends on which unit has been nominated as the squad’s leader for the turn, with each unit having a unique set of tactics in their repertoire.

1.4 Although SFAS is combat and strategy-heavy, my goal was to make it fast-paced--more like a trading card game and less like a miniature game.  Therefore, all particulars of combat common to miniature games or DnD3 (distances, measuring, facing, terrain, etc. . .) have been discarded in favor of a few simple rules that can be kept track of without the use of a lot of physical space.

1.4.1 Proximity.  Distances between squads noted by proximity, either Combat, Missile, Scouting, or Unengaged.  Certain tactics can only be used at certain proximity from other squads.
1.4.2 Encounter Conditions.  Things like weather, light, type of terrain, etc. . . are all noted at the beginning of an encounter and apply standard modifiers.
1.4.3 Tactical Advantage Points (TAPs)  Over the course of an encounter, a squad will gain and spend TAPs.  TAPs roughly measure how tactically fit a squad is.  Certain tactics will require squads to spend TAPs.  For example, in a miniature game you would have to physically position your character to flank an enemy.  In SFAS you may gain TAPs and then spend them to use a flanking tactic.

1.5 Tactics are divided into four traditional categories--Warfare, Expertise, Magic, Divinity (along the warrior, rogue, mage, priest paradigm).  Each unit is scored in each of these skills.  When a squad leader uses one of her Warfare tactics, for example, the squad’s collective score in Warfare is factored into the success roll.  Damage and the like will depend on the tactic used and various other factors like weapons and armor.
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Thanks for reading and let me know!

Peace,

Steve

Hello,

Is it that each player has a squad of there own?
Why five members maximum?

I like the way they fight as a collective.  That's a good feature right there.  It reminds me of Breath of Fire 3.  Very configurable and whatnot.  However, unless you can break up squads for various delving purposes, you basically just end up with a highly configurable single character represented by multiple characters.  Hmmm, so maybe you can explore other ways in which the Squads are meaningful from a game standpoint.

Welcome!

First of all the name completely rocks, but I expected something very different from what you are proposing based on it.  It sounds very Paranoia/goofy dystopia to me, or maybe whacked-out kung-fu movie.  Or book burners in a theocratic dictatorship.  Any of which would be awesome and entirely possible within your design constraints.

Maybe tell as a bt more about what the game is about, and what the players do.  I think I get what the characters are supposed to do. 

A general question - why a GM?  What does a GM do in SFAS?  It seems like a highly tactical game like this really doesn't need someone to fill that role. 

--Jason

Fantastic questions!  All of these are things I certainly need to think about.

mutex wrote:
Is it that each player has a squad of there own?
Why five members maximum?

mutex wrote:
However, unless you can break up squads for various delving purposes, you basically just end up with a highly configurable single character represented by multiple characters.  Hmmm, so maybe you can explore other ways in which the Squads are meaningful from a game standpoint.

Jason wrote:
First of all the name completely rocks, but I expected something very different from what you are proposing based on it.

Jason wrote:
Maybe tell as a bt more about what the game is about, and what the players do

. . . why a GM?  What does a GM do in SFAS?  It seems like a highly tactical game like this really doesn't need someone to fill that role.

Steve,

From the little bit you've given us to work with, this game sounds great.  The idea of the available tactics being defined by the individual units sounds like a lot of fun.  Post a link with the rules so we can give you more feed back!

Best,
        Bill