Survival Games

[Onix]

I have a question for the community here. Have any of you written survival games and had them work well? I'm talking about man vs. environment instead of man vs. man. Specifically I'm interested in a game where there is either very little or no combat. Have you ever run a game of man vs. environment and had it work out? If so what did you do to make it work.

I have the feeling that not many people run survival games, but it must be doable. Some really interesting stories are survival stories, so why is it so hard to play one in an RPG?

[SheikhJahbooty]

I've played in logistical games, like AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide style things, back when I was in High School and gamed with the ROTC crowd, real outdoorsmen, loved thinking about stuff like water availability etc.

I've played in an Ars Magica campaign where monsters (giants, fairies, spirits, etc.) were used as metaphors for the environment. I didn't get a wizard, but lost many a good grog. Drowned in dangerous water? Kelpie got him. Died of a fever? Spirits got him. Blown off a mountain path by a storm? Giants got him. Looking back they killed a lot of my dudes. I must have been fun to watch, getting so worked up, fighting tooth and nail to survive. It was certainly fun to play.

I've considered doing something in the man vs. environment vein, like a system uniquely suited to focusing tension on stories like Sam and Frodos journey through Mordor kind of thing, where their main enemies were exhaustion, hunger, and thirst. Tinkered with , but must have gotten distracted, because never did much.

[Onix]

That's funny that you did the personification idea because I was half thinking about that. I used to try and put a lot of survival elements in my campaigns but could never find a model that didn't feel like I was just beating on the player characters. "You walk accross the dessert, the sun bakes your skin. Take one damage. You ran out off food and are now starving." Okay it wasn't that bad, but sometimes the players would think of it that way.

So a follow up question, does anyone know any survival short fiction that could be analyzed for what makes it work? The original question is still open for any one that has any insight.

[Onix]

I wonder if players would feel the same excitement about survival if you gave them some kind of Surmount Points (like hit points, probably a bad name but it makes sense) that an obstacle would have. The character would use applicable skills, equipment (like rope, heavy clothing, etc.) or attributes to surmount the obstacle, each success reducing the total number of SP. Also a danger rating that said how hard it could hit back. Most obstacles shouldn't do damage directly but it would be better if they tired the character out. Then once the character is tired out, then they would start taking damage by things like frostbite, falling, hunger, thirst etc.

I'll have to try it out and let you know.

[The Traveller]

[Onix]

[The Traveller]

[J.K.Mosher]

I read this thread and instantly started thinking about ways to create one.

I'm working on several ideas right now, but the one that seems to have
the most promise (as in giving the edge to the situation over the mechanic)
is a "bid" system using various "Resource Pools" (like Time, Physical, and Resources),
to be compared against a modified difficulty (ie wet & lose rocks).

Currently I have a bunch of notes, and once I get them into a more readable format
I'll post what I have. The only lynch pin I'm finding is I feel this style would play
better as a pbp RPG, more then a sit at the table one, but I could be wrong.

Once I have more I'll share. Thanks for the Idea

[Onix]

I have been working on this concept and did a few environments.

[J.K.Mosher]

Interesting setup, and it has a much more wide arcing feel then what I came up with.

For comparison:
Situation:
This is a quick breakdown. The description of the situation should/would be much more dramatic.
A party of characters (Brian and Anna) have found their way blocked by a River.
The Scenario Leader (SL) uses a quick complication table to let them know, that;
1) The river is Rain Swollen (moving very fast)
2) The Water is Cold (Late Spring maybe?)
3) there WAS a bridge but it has fallen into the river and is now just wreckage.

Other obvious items the party would know . . . there is only about 6 hours of daylight left.

So as a "JOINT" situation both party members would "bid" points from resource pools in an attempt to
overcome the "cost" of the situation. Time would be one pool. (The Players decide to use 2 points/spend 2 hours to prepare and overcome the hazard.) They also decide to use a rope to anchor each other (1 point from a resource pool).
Both Anna and Brian decide to use ever once of effort they can to make it across (so they each bid 3 points from their character Physical pools) . . . so once the planning is done the party bids a total of 10 points.

The SL using his description notes the base "cost" of a river crossing is 4, adding 2 points for cold and 2 points for fast.
The wreckage is usable (-1 point), but is unstable (+1) and slippery (+1) giving the object a "cost" of 8.

Resolution:
The SL rolls 2d6 and adds the difference between the "Bid" and the "cost" (2 pts) to the roll. If this roll beats the "cost" then the party makes headway. Say the roll comes in at 7, add the 2 points makes it a 9. This is only 1 point above the cost so on a sliding scale of success the character's are barely making it.

Anna starts to slip as Brian who is acting as an anchor on shore loses his footing. Brian responses to this development by using 2 more points from his physical pool to recover and dig in straining against the river's current. Anna who is losing her grip also punches 2 more points in (having exhausted her physical pool she uses her force of will to hold on). This extra 4 points bump the original roll up and into a better area of success and Anna makes it across without any further difficulty.

Issues I have with this system(Keep in mind I'm just starting it)
The "Bid" system is a little chaotic, as is the complication system. Also this makes the game more of a storytelling style
as it will be the description of events/situations and actions that drive how well the game looks.
Also the resource Pools I have a few ideas (Time being the main one); but I could really bury myself under various pools of points. I'll keep chipping away at it and see if I can get something more testable to present. But for all intensive purposes that's the main mechanic behind my thoughts anyway.