The Best and Most 'Stealable' Mechanics From Tabletop RPGs

L’essentiel 🎯

---

Author Evan Hill begins by talking about role-playing mechanics in Blade in the dark :

• When faced with an obstacle, the player can choose to go back in time to deal with it beforehand.
• This costs him a certain amount of Stress which can lead to Traumas (i.e. permanent debuff).

• System of progress via several clocks. Each of them evolves in a different way and has a specific duration.

The second game he mentions is Mouse guard, from which he draws a lesson on the use of stats:

1. Stats are also a resource that can be spent in extreme situations
2. Belief system that further characterizes the character
3. System of instinct that pushes the character towards automatisms
4. Vice stats which offer a bonus but reduce the character’s actions over the long term.

---

Blade in the dark 🗡️

According to Evan Hill, the game offers several interesting mechanics. The author highlights 2 of them: the flashback and the clocks system.

Flashback

The flashback allows you to go back in time to solve a potential problem before it occurs.

For example, a guard blocks access to a door. The player can either neutralize him or lure him away. In a classic game, these are often the two options (i.e. the combat/stealth duality).

But not in Blade in the dark, where it’s possible to go back in time to corrupt him, change his schedule and so on.

The flashback thus offers a new dimension of action for the player for all actions!

If that sounds a little too strong, the game’s author has found a good way of balancing this mechanic. The player has a Stress bar which fills up as soon as he uses a flashback.

After a large use of the flashback, the bar will be filled and the player will suffer a Trauma point. This will penalize the player permanently (e.g. -1 on dice rolls).

Clocks

The clock system allows the game master (i.e. GM) to manage the progression of characters in a much more organic and versatile way than a single clock.

🔹 He can, for example, progress a clock after a flashback has been completed.

Each clock can lead to different consequences defined by the GM.

🔹 Level gain, appearance of an enemy, etc.

---

Mouse Guard 🐭

The game is rich in mechanics, but excels above all in character construction. Thanks in large part to an advanced system of attributes and stats.

Stats

In Mouse Guard, stats are closely linked to the character the player embodies. They evolve with the character and can be used as resources to make a new dice roll, for example. As a result, they will evolve considerably over the course of the game, reflecting the character’s unique history.

Other systems enhance character characterization.

Beliefs

The belief system will direct our character towards a goal (e.g. I must protect the princess). For each action performed in line with our goal, the GM will reward the player.

Depending on the story, characters’ beliefs may change (e.g. the princess dies). The character will have to find another goal. This will result in the character progressing beyond his stats as he changes his worldview over the course of the game.

Instinct

The instinct system prompts the character to perform an action (e.g. draw his sword when meeting strangers, flee in the presence of danger). The GM will reward players according to their instinct (e.g. xp boost).

Players will naturally tend to follow their instincts without being forced to do so.

Vice

The vice is a new form of stats with better values than basic stats. But if used in return, it will increase and limit the character’s future actions.

🔹 Let’s say the player wants to break down a door. If the character’s vice is anger 😠, then the player can use the stats values of anger and thus increase his success rate.

On the other hand, his anger will increase, and the GM will indicate the limitation this will impose (e.g. he can’t resist a provocation).

---

Conclusion 📝

It’s always rewarding to explore mechanics, and all the more so in a different medium.

Role-playing games are nurtured by role-play enthusiasts and present a refreshing take on storytelling through mechanics.