New questions for the new week:

So far we've been using a “theater of the mind” style of tracking movement and positioning on the theory that it plays to the strengths of the horror genre. The other style of movement tracking I've considered is a zone-movement system similar to Against the Dark Yogi. What are your opinions on this?

In your mind, what part of the rules as they stand now need the most improvement? That is, what's the roughest part of the system that still needs smoothing out?

Take a moment to look over the gear list. Are there any obvious holes in the list? You know, the sort of thing you'd expect to be available in a sci-fi game like this, but which isn't listed?

1) I very much prefer the “theater of the mind” for this style of game. It is only when things get complicated and tactical that I think the game starts to benefit from more explicit tracking. Silly as it may sound, I enjoy not having to worry about having room for my food, character sheet, and dice on the table, and like being able to just sit back in my chair and not have to lean over to push around miniatures. I don't think the game has much to gain by going to zones without adding a bunch of rules that take advantage of that. And I think horror in particular benefits from keeping things loose and abstract - to keep you thinking narratively and instinctively instead of tactically and formally.

2) The basic probabilities. This may be moot if the basic conflict resolution rules end up changing, but as it stands things get really weird on the low end. Assuming a character that's skilled, but minimally (human average stat, possesses skill at lowest available level), your chance of basic success is wayyyy below almost every other system, even horror focused ones. Trumps make computing the probabilities a little out of my depth, but very roughly:

Game/Chance of Success
Shadows over Sol: = ~ 15% (1 skill + 4 stat will succeed on a 9-10 only. (~8/52) Probably slightly higher due to trumps)
New World of Darkness -= 65% (Chance of 1 success with 1 skill and 2 stat)
Deadlands (Savage Worlds) = 63% (Wildcard with a d4 skill)
Gurps = 25-50% (10 stat + 1 point in skill, depending on easy/average/difficult skill)
Warhammer 2nd = 31% (system has a reputation for being extremely “whiff-y”)

3) There's no glaring omission, but I think adding some more cool gear would be to its benefit. I'd like a writeup for a standard smartphone/comm/dataslate that just about everyone has: what are it's capabilities exactly? I didn't see rules for buying more ammo (am I just missing them?). I think there's some weirdness with the use of a finite number of purchases at character creation as a limiting factor. Unless the game is starting in media res players are apt to wonder if they can just go shopping as soon as game starts (and if not, why not?).

Edited Brian (October 19, 2014 13:32:15)

1. “Theater of the mind” works for me. Once you start putting minis out, horror seems a lot more mundane. I think the zone-system works for Dark Yogi since it was very larger than life and its mechanics and powers reflect that. While diagrams and maps are useful (like on our ship first session), I don't think there needs to be formal zone stuff.

2. I agree with Brian on this. Even with trumps factored in, the odds of success are pretty low for low skill. Even though ever hit risks death for my character, his melee is so low that saving a chip for a melee-dodge isn't worth it (though looking for cover often is). I have been trying to raise most of my lower-than-three skills because of this.

Life or death seems to be very binary. You can either survive more than one hit or you can't. Our group hitter is pretty good at taking damage, but some of the rest of us, not so much. I don't mind deadly systems, but when it is too easy to make fragile characters, it could be an issue.

3. I remember drones in a one-shot, but don't see them in yet (vehicles I assume?). Things that could be useful: fake identities of various qualities, contacts, off-ship digital storage space. Still it could get overwhelming with making everything that is available in the modern world plus everything that is likely by the time humans exodus into space. I'll skim Shadowrun tech books and GURPs Ultratech later to see if more comes to mind.

1. Definitely keep theater of the mind. Worrying about rules and positioning too much when planning actions kills the mood and allows you to reduce the horror to its tactical components, which are generally not all that horrifying.

2. I certainly had this feeling coming into it, but in play, it doesn't seem to have been the case, really? Maybe the first session was different, but so far it seems like we do okay at the stuff we're supposed to be good at it and either squeak by or don't at the stuff we're supposed to be bad at. Being able to play cards from your hand and spend Edge to make things trump means you can succeed even at fairly tricky stuff you're not great at. You can't do that endlessly, but…you shouldn't be able to? The depletion of resources and such adds to the horror feel for me.

3. Aside from wanting an El Cheapo gear option, I haven't felt any glaring omissions.