It seems like we have a thread that asks "Which system does guns/oper8ing the best?" every other day, so how about we mix it up a bit?
If you had to make a campaign based around operators operating, aka a small military infiltration team landing, completing an objective, and exfiltrating:
>Which system would you use?
>How would you prevent it from becoming too rail-roady?
>How would you create drama in a setting where very little interaction between players and NPCs exists?
>What kind of elements would you introduce to ensure missions are more complex than 'go here, blow up this'?
I'll dump some operator pics for some inspiration
rate my sci fi concept art
>>44122263
GURPS or Only War
>>44123047
What would you have the players be doing?
>>44123128
Throwing grenades
>>44122263
Maybe Twilight 2013
Allow players to conduct some investigation and/or interaction.
Give them intel and allow them to act on it as they see fit.
Encourage them to ask questions and put in requests for various assets where it would make sense.
There doesn't have to be minimal interaction between players and NPCs. The PCs may end up being embedded or otherwise have to work with some people.
Missions don't have to be purely blow shit up. It can be rescue, kidnapping/stealing, training/support, or intelligence gathering. Probably a few other things.
I ran an operators operating game, and here's what I did:
>GURPS
>The players were given an overarching objective: capture the tinpot dictator of a small country after he'd gone into hiding. They were then free to do whatever they needed to achieve this objective.
>The players often had to interact with civilians and local resistance forces in order to find out where the subordinates of the tinpot dictator were hiding, following the trail back up to the dictator himself.
>Players often had to do things like rescue hostages, help civilians, and train guerillas. A lot of times this involved going to the nearest government forces base and shooting guys, but not always.
Essentially, I copied the plot of the Mercenaries games. I'd say it worked pretty well, too, since my players said they enjoyed it a lot and are pretty interested in me doing a sequel campaign soon.
>>44122263
I'd have the players operating as either an FBI anti terrorism unit (or maybe an FBI equivalent depending on the setting) that knows that a terrorist cell is operating in the city the players are stationed in, and the players have to figure out what the terrorists exact goals are and stop them while the terrorists operations continue to ramp up in scale.
For example it might start off with a number of armed bank robberies with the robbers always one step ahead of the players, never leaving a survivor with info, always getting the loot or info they need. Meanwhile the clues they leave behind produces a bread crumbs trail all the way back to the terrorist cell's base.
Or if your players a willing, do the reverse and play as a terrorist cell that needs to acquire the funds, blueprints, personnel, and equipment needed to assassinate the governor or bring down the world trade center or whatever.
Either way it would be hella fun.
Also the plus side of having it be terrorism or counter terrorism is that you can have high tension operators operating to siege against people holding hostages, or stop bank robbers or whatever, and still have heavy roleplay interactions between the FBI handlers, getting information out of captives, and working the streets.
>>44123266
Did your players disguise themselves as the civilian population in order to get HUMINT or did the civilians hate the dictator so much they were willing to help them?
>>44123312
At the start of the campaign they disguised themselves as members of the resistance. Later on in the campaign the country ended up invaded by a NATO-style coalition and the players dropped the disguise and operated under proper uniforms.
>>44122263
>Not too railroady?
Set out some objectives to complete, let them loose in a battle zone and keep them in there, but let them complete the objective themselves.
> We'll be airlifting you to point BRAVO deep in enemy territory. You're to make your way south along the nearby river until you reach the enemy camp, designation: NEST. When you reach the camp you are to infiltrate it and acquire as much information as possible. This can include documents, maps, VIP's, anything you can carry out. The extraction zone will be at point CHARLIE, with a secondary zone at point WILCO further to the east. Any questions?
Just remember that operators are unleashed for a specific purpose, so make sure the players keep that in mind.
>How to create drama?
Give them a set amount of intelligence with a fair amount of preplanning (eg. what kit to bring, maps of the compound), say it's accurate as can be, have them go in and then add in a few complications to mix things up. Nothing big, just enough to force them to change their tactics.
>What's the hold up Snake?
>There's a wall here, it's not on the map, we're going to have to either scale it or move further along until we get to the main entrance.
>Alright scale the wall, but keep it quiet.
OR
>Target for assassination is on the move, he's taking a jeep north west along the road. If you can intercept him you may be able to capture him without needed to infiltrate the base. Number of escorts is unknown, good luck.
Pretty simple really.
>How do you make complex missions?
Just add a chain of events that has to be accomplished to complete it. String out a few missions so they build up to a climax, add on special objectives or targets of opportunity that the squad can go for. Spice it up!
>Seargent, this guy isn't military. Looks to be a scientist of some sort, he's mumbling something about a secret test of a new weapon. That's all I can get out of him though, we need to get him back alive so we can get more out of him.
>>44122263
Depending on if you plan to do a lot of non-shooty missions, you might be better off simply buying ARMA 2 for all your pals and setting up a campaign inside the game.
I used a homebrewed to fuck version of D&D .5 mixed with d20 Modern. I hated Modern's classes and wealth system, but loved the feats, items and Action Points. Basically backported them into 3.5 and then threw out all the 3.5 classes and reworked them into modern ones.
After that, the setting is basically open world sandbox. Good for PMCs, bounty hunters, hitmen, thieves, gun smugglers/arms dealers, getaway drivers, hired medics, etc.
Heavily inspired by GTA/Black Lagoon/Gunsmith Cats/the Punisher/Jormungand. No railroading required - they basically took on clientele and missions they were interested in, ranging from heists, assassinations, bodyguarding/escorts, bounties, etc.
Generally it goes make money -> acquire nicer gear -> acquire cool base -> acquire helicopter -> OUTER HEAVEN
>>44122263
>System
Ops & Tactics, I suspect. I don't think my players would want to go for perfectly-realistic antics (not LARPers, after all), so some movie action is alright if the rules invoke it.
>Too railroady
In mission? Set up the setting beforehand , have the players plan and execute their antics, and react.
Between missions/Campaign level? Either some form of wilderness like the OSR setting-exploration thing I can't recall the name of off hand, give the players a base and a setting and have it react, or have a few missions set up and let them pick whose contract they accept.
>Drama?
There will be bigger-name figures around, possibly throwing PR out (where they talk about the PCs and what they've done), logistics (You ran out of fuel for the tanks. There's a depot near, but it's pretty well guarded, and intel states that you have an incoming battalion a few hours away.), attempts to separate the party (the CEO of Crooked Enterprises tries to hire a party member to sabotage the mission)...
>More complex missions?
Things going wrong. (The princess IS in this castle, but so are the elite guard, as whatisname is trying to seduce her.) Or the copter never shows, and the team has to exit another way. Or the intel itself is wrong. Or someone important to a character shows up - in the worst spot.
Complications. (You know there's going to be an attack on this meeting, but because of how ornery the people there are, you can't let them know anything is going on, and still have to protect it.) (Remember that place you left a smoking ruin? There's a secret base under it... and you need to get in there. While the enemy is swarming like an angered nest of ants.) (That druglord's complex you're sneaking into? It's getting carpet-bombed.) (No killing anyone! They're brainwashed kids.) (You know the mission's a trap for your team, but it's the only thing available.)
>>44123889
>Ops & Tactics
Hooray!
>>How would you prevent it from becoming too rail-roady?
Let them pick what they want to do and GM after that, within reason.
>How would you create drama in a setting where very little interaction between players and NPCs exists?
is this talking about Operatorgames? Cause why does there have to be little interaction with NPCs?
>What kind of elements would you introduce to ensure missions are more complex than 'go here, blow up this'?
Complications, escorts, mitigating factors.
The Big book of RPG plots is a godsend for this.
>>44124896
>is this talking about Operatorgames? Cause why does there have to be little interaction with NPCs?
Well, I'd assume that most special forces don't typically talk to many people during missions other than other special forces members to keep a low profile, but I'd imagine that'd probably depend on the mission parameters.
It's the most boring story to tell. t needs fluffing up.
Make sure every character has personal motivation for his actions. Redemption, revenge, rivalry, recognition - anything that is hidden under a veneer of professionalism while we go out to kill people. And make sure they struggle with it. Play into it, pose situations where these themes are challenged and the character has to decide.
Create an official position (about why there is a war, why the enemy needs defeating, how this is to be achieved, and what defines us in that conflict), then undermine it. There should be no obvious moral solution when occupational killing is involved. Each soldier has to decide to squeeze the trigger by themselves every time. And if they don't any more then that itself becomes the story.
Keep it mildly military and episodal. Play briefing, mission, debriefing and effect on the setting, then insert optional downtime/base life/contrast.
As for mechanics, I don't believe that crunch can deliver the tone, it can hurt it though. The intricacies of battle are too complex to render in dice mechanics, you need to simplify. And then it would be awkward to rely on mechanics for details like how which projectile impacts on which target, what direction a grenade bounces, or if your sensor detects enemy movement of a specific kind. I take my cue from Steve's Planes & Mercs. The GM has to handle these details. And he needs to have a firm grasp on the hardware and procedures to be able to. The job of the mechanics is to create a game dynamic while the job of the GM is to give it flavor, context, and ensure suspension of disbelief.
>>44123039
10 close shaves out of Gillette.
>>44122263
I copy alpha protocol, and how it did it.
>>44122263
Give players the opportunity to question their loyalties and make their own choices.
Like Adam Jensen. In the beginning of the game, he was the subordinate of his boss and he wanted to find his GF.
By the end he was free from both.
Any Colossal Faggots in this thread? That you, OP?
>>44132746
There a problem?
