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<blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1084660" data-attributes="member: 10201">Just to nitpick...Assuming that's a typo, and you meant &quot;Tremors&quot;, i'd actually argue that's one that either game would do just fine--stat up the worms, and the rest is realistic.&nbsp; Most modern horror is that way, or has outright mystical/magical elements.&nbsp; While much (most?) of modern espionage, military, and action-adventure has superscience elements. Basically, the dividing line, IMHO, is in what the PCs are capable of.&nbsp; If the PCs are never going to &quot;get under the hood&quot;, it doesn't matter if there's a system at all, much less that it be well-tailored for the (sub-)genre in question.&nbsp; But for anything the PCs are supposed to have control over, then the system has to (1) work, and (2) have at least a non-conflicting flavor--ideally it'll have a tailored flavor for the genre.&nbsp; So, something like Kolchak the Night Stalker will work with pretty much any system that supports modern settings with an appropriate lethality level.&nbsp; But Forever Knight or Buffy the Vampire Slayer requires a good working system for supernatural critters and magical spells, 'cause the protagonists use them all the time.&nbsp; Things like X-Files are in the gray area in between.On the tech front, you have things like Mission: Impossible or James Bond, where a working gadget/superscience/tech system is important, 'cause it's one of the core elements of the genre and the PC's capabilities.&nbsp; And you have, say, Tremors, where it doesn't matter at all, other than perhaps having an explanation for the existence of the worms.&nbsp; Most modern stuff that isn't overtly magical falls in the gray area, IMHO: things like Dark Angel, where a good tech system won't hurt, but mostly the PCs either don't use the tech, or don't understand it, so verisimillitude is easier to maintain.Heck, much of pseudo-modern scifi falls into that area, too: things like V and Independence Day mostly just need a reasonable veneer of tech-rather-than-magic for the aliens, because, from the PCs' POV, it's just an obstacle.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="woodelf, post: 1084660, member: 10201"] Just to nitpick... Assuming that's a typo, and you meant "Tremors", i'd actually argue that's one that either game would do just fine--stat up the worms, and the rest is realistic. Most modern horror is that way, or has outright mystical/magical elements. While much (most?) of modern espionage, military, and action-adventure has superscience elements. Basically, the dividing line, IMHO, is in what the PCs are capable of. If the PCs are never going to "get under the hood", it doesn't matter if there's a system at all, much less that it be well-tailored for the (sub-)genre in question. But for anything the PCs are supposed to have control over, then the system has to (1) work, and (2) have at least a non-conflicting flavor--ideally it'll have a tailored flavor for the genre. So, something like Kolchak the Night Stalker will work with pretty much any system that supports modern settings with an appropriate lethality level. But Forever Knight or Buffy the Vampire Slayer requires a good working system for supernatural critters and magical spells, 'cause the protagonists use them all the time. Things like X-Files are in the gray area in between. On the tech front, you have things like Mission: Impossible or James Bond, where a working gadget/superscience/tech system is important, 'cause it's one of the core elements of the genre and the PC's capabilities. And you have, say, Tremors, where it doesn't matter at all, other than perhaps having an explanation for the existence of the worms. Most modern stuff that isn't overtly magical falls in the gray area, IMHO: things like Dark Angel, where a good tech system won't hurt, but mostly the PCs either don't use the tech, or don't understand it, so verisimillitude is easier to maintain. Heck, much of pseudo-modern scifi falls into that area, too: things like V and Independence Day mostly just need a reasonable veneer of tech-rather-than-magic for the aliens, because, from the PCs' POV, it's just an obstacle. [/QUOTE]

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