What system for...

[Reynard]

It sounds like a Mothership adventure to me with variant character creation (easy to do with Mothership), to be honest.

And Mothership has a particularly thriving market in 3PP self-contained adventures. If you haven't looked at Mothership, I would definitely do so for this.

I like Mothership a lot, but I am not likely to use any license that requires approval.

 

[Kannik]

Fate - start with just one background Skill/Approach and add new aspects, skills/approaches through gameplay. Use stunts for mutations

If only the licensing wasn't nebulous/borked right now, I would also recommend Cortex Prime for its strong narrative feel and customizable elements to fully suit your game/campaign's genre and tone.

Back to FATE, there's also the three (sub)versions (Core, Accelerated, Condensed) and the Tooklits to help tailor the experience to what you want.

 

[Tonguez]

What system would you use for this?
Ellie-Mae Patterson is the powerful and respected matriarch of the Patterson dynasty. She inherited the wealth from her father whose surprising discovery of oil on his land transformed the familys fortunes and prompted their move to Beverly Hills. Ellie-Mae eventually met Grant Patterson, who had been employed as a investment advisor by the Drysdale Bank. This was a significant turning point for the family fortune as they expanded their holdings across finance, dog breeding, entertainment, real estate, food service, and energy. Renowned for her fierce devotion to her kin and her enduring love for animals, Ellie-Mae navigated the world of high society with poise while remaining grounded in the values of her upbringing. There was some scandal after her cousin Jethro establsihed Bodine Movie Studios and resentment after Grant took control of the Drysdale Bank but overall life has been good since her daddy passed on.
Now Grandma Ellie-Mae Patterson has called her extensive clan together and announced that she will be retiring from active control of the family business - although she is keeping hold of veto power, Sunday dinners, and the rights to Granny’s biscuit recipe.
How will the family respond to the news that Grandma Ellie-Mae is stepping down? Who will rise, what scandals will be exposed and will Great Grandpa Jeds memory be enough to hold them all together?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It sounds like a Mothership adventure to me with variant character creation (easy to do with Mothership), to be honest.

And Mothership has a particularly thriving market in 3PP self-contained adventures. If you haven't looked at Mothership, I would definitely do so for this.

Yeah, this sounds like a Mothership adventure. There are a fair number of "you wake up out of cryosleep and things are bad" adventures already. Cannibals are almost a welcome relief from some of the stuff waiting in space to kill you.

 

[Reynard]

What system would you use for this?
Ellie-Mae Patterson is the powerful and respected matriarch of the Patterson dynasty. She inherited the wealth from her father whose surprising discovery of oil on his land transformed the familys fortunes and prompted their move to Beverly Hills. Ellie-Mae eventually met Grant Patterson, who had been employed as a investment advisor by the Drysdale Bank. This was a significant turning point for the family fortune as they expanded their holdings across finance, dog breeding, entertainment, real estate, food service, and energy. Renowned for her fierce devotion to her kin and her enduring love for animals, Ellie-Mae navigated the world of high society with poise while remaining grounded in the values of her upbringing. There was some scandal after her cousin Jethro establsihed Bodine Movie Studios and resentment after Grant took control of the Drysdale Bank but overall life has been good since her daddy passed on.
Now Grandma Ellie-Mae Patterson has called her extensive clan together and announced that she will be retiring from active control of the family business - although she is keeping hold of veto power, Sunday dinners, and the rights to Granny’s biscuit recipe.
How will the family respond to the news that Grandma Ellie-Mae is stepping down? Who will rise, what scandals will be exposed and will Great Grandpa Jeds memory be enough to hold them all together?

It sounds like some sort of PbtA, because it seems to suggest a lot of narrative flow rather than action.

 

[Thomas Shey]

What system would you use for this?
Ellie-Mae Patterson is the powerful and respected matriarch of the Patterson dynasty. She inherited the wealth from her father whose surprising discovery of oil on his land transformed the familys fortunes and prompted their move to Beverly Hills. Ellie-Mae eventually met Grant Patterson, who had been employed as a investment advisor by the Drysdale Bank. This was a significant turning point for the family fortune as they expanded their holdings across finance, dog breeding, entertainment, real estate, food service, and energy. Renowned for her fierce devotion to her kin and her enduring love for animals, Ellie-Mae navigated the world of high society with poise while remaining grounded in the values of her upbringing. There was some scandal after her cousin Jethro establsihed Bodine Movie Studios and resentment after Grant took control of the Drysdale Bank but overall life has been good since her daddy passed on.
Now Grandma Ellie-Mae Patterson has called her extensive clan together and announced that she will be retiring from active control of the family business - although she is keeping hold of veto power, Sunday dinners, and the rights to Granny’s biscuit recipe.
How will the family respond to the news that Grandma Ellie-Mae is stepping down? Who will rise, what scandals will be exposed and will Great Grandpa Jeds memory be enough to hold them all together?

That really does sound like something I'd at least look at Cortex Prime.

 

[Umbran]

That really does sound like something I'd at least look at Cortex Prime.

The problem with toolbox systems is, of course, that you can do anything with them. Every time someone raises a scenario, toolboxes will fit.

I for example, see that, and see Fate Accelerated (specifically - not Fate proper). Its way of using Approaches instead of more physically defined stats, and its stress track and consequences that don't have to have anything to do with physical damage seem like they'd fit the bill.

Like, if you get Taken Out... you just aren't in the will, you see.

 

[Thomas Shey]

The problem with toolbox systems is, of course, that you can do anything with them. Every time someone raises a scenario, toolboxes will fit.

That often is the reason. But in this case I suggested it because Cortex has a lot of traditional support for game structures that are non-tradional-adventure type games. I have to point out I can name a lot of toolkits, including some I've used extensively that I would not suggest for something like this.

I for example, see that, and see Fate Accelerated (specifically - not Fate proper). Its way of using Approaches instead of more physically defined stats, and its stress track and consequences that don't have to have anything to do with physical damage seem like they'd fit the bill.

Like, if you get Taken Out... you just aren't in the will, you see.

Fate might be another valid choice; I simply don't know what applications have been made that are relevant here because my experience with it was sufficiently uncomfortable I've mostly ignored it.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I would suggest the Paragon system, which is the rules system for Agon, which is an open license.

Check out Deathmatch Island for a solid use of the rules beyond Agon, and which immediately came to mind when I was reading your description of the premise/setting for your game.

 

[Kannik]

What system would you use for this?
Ellie-Mae Patterson is the powerful and respected matriarch of the Patterson dynasty. She inherited the wealth from her father whose surprising

I second PbtA or Cortex Prime or FATE.

Also makes me think of The Dallas RPG, though I have zero real exposure to the rules so don't know if they were an actual good fit for the genre.

Was also thinking of perhaps FitD with a kind of episodic structure, but the Agon suggestion might even be better in that vein.

Like, if you get Taken Out... you just aren't in the will, you see.

I love this...