Thought I might ask here: I'd like to run a Life Is Strange-esque game for me and a few friends, in as so far that I imagine a group of (mostly) ordinary people investigating strange happenings in and around their town.
More precisely, I'd like a focus on social interactions, cleverness & gumption, clue finding and problem solving, all without overtly super-powered abilities or a strong focus on combat (although not entirely without it).
The group is used to Atomic Highway, but as customizable that is, it makes for far too heroic characters.
Fate might work, but I had hoped you guys might know a system or two that fits the bill (or at least the majority of it) that I haven't thought or heard of.
There is, I believe, a GUMSHOE engine game which is made to play investigators in a high-school setting
>>48094524
Thanks; do you mean BubbleGumshoe? I have never played that system, would you recommend it in general?
>>48094904
that is the system I was thinking of, I know little to nothing about that specific system, I have run GUMSHOE games before however and they work well for investigative/mystery driven games, how well it functions as a high-school investigation game will therefore rest on how well the mechanics for social dynamics and such hold up
>>48095310
I'll give it a look, thank you.
I second Gumshoe.
My personal go-to systems for stuff like what you're saying would be either Small Towns or Dogs in the Vineyard with some homebrewing. .
>>48094387
You are describing an investigative game. Most CoC scenarios play out like this, and horror has a strong natural tendency towards this kind of dramaturgy.
A threat isn't scary unless it's unknown, and facing an unknown threat PCs tend to investigate its nature. Relevant combat undermines tension. So horror games are usually investigations where combat doesn't help or even hinders the party progress.
To reveal those mysteries questioning NPCs and getting them to spill their secrets is central. There is still room for action. But action can take more forms than combat. And even combat can work still under certain conditions.
Some games even manage this mystery directly with mechanics. But that brings its own problems. Mostly it undercuts any investment the players might have in the story by inviting meta play.
There are games which center around mysteries without inviting any horror angle. These are mostly themed around Sherlock Holmes and the times of this legend.
When preparing a mystery more care needs to be taken with the details than in a combat encounter game. Clues are central. And they need to be obvious but not blatant depending on the group dynamic.
Things to keep in mind are
Tension
Pressure applied to the party
Apparent NPC constellation: friend or foe
Dissonance: reason to investigate
Boundaries: limiting the ways the mystery CAN be investigated
Clue trail
and these need to be prepared in increments, withholding while teasing.
Look at CoC7, InSpectres, Cthulhu Dark, Unknown Armies, and maybe even Leverage. You have to stay flexible during an investigation. Not everything can be carved in stone before the PCs discover it. But some games reverse that and come up with the mystery during the game.
>>48096999
Thats honestly my greatest worry, can I create a good enough atmosphere? Never played a game like that.
>>48097596
It really depends on your players.
>>48097720
Then it could go either way, really.
I'll go to bed now, in any case, thanks for your help, everyone.
>>48098019
Just make a new thread when you have time. /tg/ has a lot of advice for investigations and horror. Ask specific questions and this can be your one stop shop.
>>48094387
Have the text worded by a senior citizen.
Google translate everything to French and back.
Mix Twin Peaks and Veronica Mars, then add 90210 until the aroma of feces dominates.
Round off with a dash of super powers, but really angsty powers with limited effect.
