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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Out West" data-source="post: 9743617" data-attributes="member: 6893656"><a href="https://islandofbees.com/krillo-s-guide/a-scp-rpg-playtest" target="_blank">Blog Post</a>Last night I playtested a new TTRPG i've been working on.The setting is a small tourist town within the SCP universe. The player characters are newly recruited field agents at a small foundation facility. The test included only 3 pages, 1 for How to Play, 2 for Character creation, plus a 4 page in-universe SCP document they received mid-game. Gameplay Elements-Narrative Tit-for-Tat-Multiple Dice: d8, d10, d12, d20-New "Target" system-Roll under = success with consequences-Roll over = failure-6 attribute system specific to the SCP universe-Psychics and anomalous items.-Redacted SCP documents-Panic System-Discretion System<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/production-sitelio-v1-0-6/706/1915706/dllossBn/8af14d267c234110b994ac4e3b0f9d91" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="2016x1512" style="" />The Session  Started by making characters, players choosing to be a Researcher, Specialist, D-Class, and a GOC Liaison. The players were largely unaware of the SCP lore, and explained only the very basics.  Players were introduced to the town and the facility, making a few low-stakes rolls to introduce them to the concept of the targeting system. The Foundation facility was filled with oddities, anomalies, and secrets, and the players engaged with the idea that they'll be solving mysteries and dealing with anomalies.   Despite having designed the game, this was my first time actually using the "Targeting" system for checks, and took some time getting used to. I realized pretty quick that, if there wasn't a way to succeed without a complication, I should just make the Target number 1.  Players were given a mission to investigate a low-level anomalous event: A class of 6th graders suddenly developed nosebleeds and headaches simultaneously. Additionally, they were given the photograph of a recently escaped D-Class, who they should keep a lookout for. Their handler gave them VHS recorder to perform their interviews, saying that they work better than digital, especially with Psychics.  Players donned disguises and fake IDs, spoke with teachers and investigated the classroom, discovering that a specific student was speaking at the time of the anomalous event, and that same student is out sick today. The players use this as a lead to go and investigate the student.   While still at the school, they were contacted by their handler, who gave them a heavily redacted print out of SCP-AB-1111. They parsed out the information that there is a Video Tape that can transform individuals who watch it- although "transform them into what" is redacted.   While on the road to the student's home, the players spot the escaped D-Class and chase him down in their van, where he runs into the protective arms of 3 individuals in an empty parkade. The leader approaches the car, asks questions, and then pull out a gun to kill the player characters. Revealing that they are part of the Chaos Insurgency.  A fight ensues. This was my first fight in the narrative tit-for-tat system. Overall it went well, and honestly the SCP themed attribute system worked far better than expected. The players used their Neutralize abilities to knock out enemies or encase them in containment foam. They used criminals to threaten them. They used Ethical to de-escalate the situation and to make cooperative attacks. They Analyzed to search for missing car keys, chased down runners with Discipline, and did complicated vehicle maneuvers with instinct.  They returned to the facility with the D-Class and 2 Chaos Insurgency members, with 1 person having escaped.  They finally arrive at the students house, and find her in bed, although no longer sick. Several things raise their guard: The child's skin is flakey, odd children's drawings of tree-monsters on the fridge, and the mother is making far too much food. Stranger yet, the child has a secret to share, but refuses due to the presence of the mother. The players convince the mother that the daughter could be contagious, and ask that she be temporarily brought to the hospital. The mother agrees, and the players call the Foundation to bring an ambulance. While the mother goes to work, the child is temporarily placed into a Humanoid Containment Cell inside the foundation, and administered amnestics, as the SCP-AB-1111 document requested. The encounter wrapped up nicely, and the players gave a report to their handler.  However, remember at the start, when their handler gave them a VHS camera because digital cameras are less reliant against psychics? Well, despite this, the Researcher in the group continued to use a digital camera, hoping that they could notice psychic distortions while they were happening.  Unfortunately, this means that they missed the child's psychic manipulations, that not only force their mind to see her as a "Small child" instead of a "large, psychic, monocular centipede." Her manipulations also rewrote the digital camera, so they didn't catch the issues on a rewatch.  The result, the now designated SCP-AB-1111-89 went on a rampage in the facility after-house, killing two defenceless guards, until it eventually wandered into an automated turret which is set to kill indiscriminately.   Overall, I give them a B+ for effort. The situation would have been resolved nicely if they had just used the right camera, or if they put the SCP into the proper containment cell.<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/production-sitelio-v1-0-6/706/1915706/dllossBn/e9567e0c190e41bfb60b1ed3b236f404" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="2016x1512" style="" />Lessons Learned  The composure system doesn't work. Asking the players to calculate +11 on each roll they do to see if they go over is just too much math, and too clunky to implement. In the end, we barely interacted with it, except to use it as a resource cost for failing a check.  My solution is to replace it with a Panic system where specific numbers become landmines. When a character rolls too low on a check, not only will they fail, but if the situation is dire they will start to panic, and the number they rolled will not be a Panic Number that the player writes down. From now on, if they roll that number again, (Unless its the target number) the character will make a Critical Mistake and make the situation worse.  This hasn't been tested yet, but its a system with no math, and involves briefly checking your sheet, while also allowing mistakes to compound.The Narrative Tit-for-Tat system was intuitive and fun to use. Its strange not having to roll for anything, but transforming the rolls the GM would typically make into defencive rolls for the players made a lot of sense, and allowed the players a lot of creativity in how they protect themselves from danger.The new target system, and the Multiple Dice: d8, d10, d12, d20, took some time for everyone to get used to. However, players quickly appreciated the control they had over their own luck. Rolling a d8 for a low level check almost guaranteed success, making the players feel like actual professionals in their field. Meanwhile on the flip side, having to use a 1d20 to hit an exact target made them feel completely inept, which is exactly what I was going for.   I am still not completely used to the targeting system. Even by the end i would often say "Do an Analyze check," to which they'd stare at me and say "Whats the target number?" However, I loved the ability to control the odd of a Failure and Success. If I needed the players to succeed, even with a cost, I could make the Target Number 20, impossible to fail. On the flip side, If an action didn't have a Succeed with Consequence, i could drop the Target number to 1, so that the check was only pass or fail. Overall it gave me a lot of control over the situation.  That being said, I think i'm going to flip the Target system around so that rolling over the target number is a pass with success, and rolling under is a failure. The current iteration was developed before players could add dice together.The 6 attribute system specific to the SCP universe worked better than expected. The players quickly caught on to the theme of each, and were able to intuitively place each action into a category. It's interesting how diverse each category became, and we started describing them using driving terms. Criminal is used to steal a car, Discipline is used for driving normally, instinct is used for performing an unfamiliar maneuver like a drift, analysis is used to see a pothole in the road, and neutralize to hit someone with your car. Ethical is used to switch seats with someone while driving.I was only able to test a single anomalous item, the infinite scarves, but it was fun and wasn't overpowered. I wrote a test log specifically for these items and showed them to the player when they were deciding. Let them learn the limits with an in-world document. I think i'll have to do the same for the Psychics, although I might want to further develop the power set first, as it feels a little generic at the moment.I'm torn on the Redacted SCP documents. While a 4 page document, there was only about 1 page of usable information. However, the players who were not actively engaging with the document seemed bored or left out. I think this could be solved by giving everyone a copy of the document, either physical or digital. The players who did interact with the document had a great time, and constantly referred to it during the mission.The discretion system worked well. No players chose to purposefully decrease their discretion by equipping a heavy item, and they all knew that it was a resource they didn't want running out. It was easy to use with "Success with consequence." A player who attempted to fight while driving accidently hit the gas and dented their car, reducing their discretion. Similarly, a player pulled out a gun in an attempt to force a surrender, but accidently misfired, causing no injury, but reducing their discretion. Testing MaterialI'm going to be putting a link to the testing material in my google drive. If you're interested, have a look! If you have questions, you can talk to me on the Island of Bees discord channel.<a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CkEoj0apJwXgGnlAd-QuTlskxta5P_RH?usp=drive_link" target="_blank">Playtest Materials</a><a href="https://discord.gg/FVPwfU3" target="_blank">Discord Channel</a></blockquote>

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