Skip to main content

City Month Day 5

I need to decide which game system I will use. I spent some time poking around, looking at different systems to see which ones might fit my needs.


  1. FATE Core: I have very little experience with this system. I have played a few sessions of Spirit of the Century, and while I found it to be enjoyable, I did not find it to be all that deep. I am not sure that you could make a long-running campaign really work with FATE. It feels pretty superficial. That said, it does facilitate focusing on things other than combat, so I don’t want to dismiss it out of hand. It is also possible that many of my concerns about SotC are addressed in the FATE Core implementation of the rules. I need to look through the book again.
  2. Savage Worlds: This system is the mirror image of FATE Core in many ways. I have a lot of experience with Savage Worlds. Like FATE it is a simple system, but unlike FATE it does focus on combat. I have run games with Savage Worlds that were light on combat, but the system is pretty light on details when it comes to non-combat activities.
  3. GUMSHOE: I have no experience with this system. In fact, I just read through the Trail of Cthulhu rules a few weeks ago. This system is focused heavily on investigation, and eliminates one of the biggest pitfalls of mystery games, not finding the clues. I am a little concerned that the system may not have a great level of detail for actions outside of investigation, so I need to look into the “Pulp” rules in ToC more. GUMSHOE, like FATE, has the advantage of being an open system, so I can post about it on my blog without fear. This is a strong contender.
  4. GURPS: I love GURPS. I don’t even have to ask if GURPS will support this style of play it will, and I can tailor the system to level of detail I want. I can even tailor it for different levels of detail in different areas of play by removing certain skills. GURPS has three problems. It is not an open system, it does not have the cool innovation that GUMSHOE has when it comes to investigations, and people are scared of it.
  5. d20 System: As I mentioned in a previous post, this is not a strong contender. It’s only real advantages are that it is open and people are familiar with it.
  6. Open d6: This shares the strength with GURPS that it is very easy for me to tailor the skills in any given area. It is also an open system and very easy to teach. The downside is that it does not have the investigative aspect that GUMSHOE has.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Traveller: Session 33

  This session was run on June 15, 2023.   130-2108   They confronted Reverend Kavanaugh about the wrench and the explosive bolts and he changed his story again. He now claimed that, even in his revised story, he had still tried to protect Dieter and his memory. Dieter had not just surrendered to fate and drawn straws after his failed attempt to poison Kavanaugh at breakfast. As soon as it was clear that the paralytic was not working, he attempted to choke Kavanaugh. As the two wrestled, Kavanaugh grabbed a wrench from the toolbox, left in the common room during their repair efforts, and bashed Dieter over the head. He had then flushed Dieter’s body, along with the wrench, out of the airlock. He claimed not to have known about the explosive bolts and said that, because there were only two of them aboard, there were sixteen hours each day where only one of them was awake.   Unable to determine if this latest story was true, they informed...

Wilderlands: Session 32

  This session was run on February 13, 2023. Determined to find Uggmar, the party, now accompanied by Rasaz, headed back into the dungeon beneath the barrow mounds using the northeast entrance. They decided that they were unlikely to find him on the first level and, rather than risk getting swarmed by skeletons again,they headed directly down the stairs they found on their last expedition. After a hundred foot descent, they found themselves in a large cavern that contained what appeared to be an underground city. The architecture of the buildings they could see seemed to be from an earlier era, perhaps before man learned to work iron. As they began searching the streets, they noticed a woman standing very still in a doorway. They approched her to find that she seemed to be frozen in time, surrounded by a strange red glow. Nothing they did seemed to affect her. She could not be moved, nor could her clothes or body be disturbed. As they were examining the woman, Strange...

Traveller : Session 53

    This session was run on January 18, 2024.   220-1118   In the morning, they decided to take the Gerald Masters interview job. Marvin was still too hung over from the night before and had to beg off for the day. They spread out through the station looking for prospective interviewees. Simmi was fairly successful, finding three people willing to be interviewed. She was surprised to learn that most of them were worried that having the fleet there would attract violent attention from the Solomoni instead of providing protection. Aryanna found two people willing to be interviewed, both of which seemed resentful of the large numbers of Navy personnel wandering around the station. M'han was unable to find anyone who would let him interview them.   Zarf attempted to interview a few men in a bar and almost caused a fight because he was asking too many questions. Another patron stepped in at the last minute and started talking about the ...