There are some things I find attractive about the GUMSHOE family of games (which I know best from Night’s Black Agents). In particular, the character representation system is at about the level of detail and complexity that I like. Character generation gives the character-player enough freedom and control without taking too long and exciting choice paralysis. The system resolution procedure for “investigative” abilities formalises what I used to achieve with ForeSight’s “fields of knowledge”, and focusses it where it is systematically useful. But the resolution procedure for “general skills” does not please me in any way. I don’t like the goal it is designed to achieve, I don’t think it goes about it in the right way, I don’t like the behaviour it forces upon players, and I don’t like the fact that it makes player characters utterly feeble at general skills, except for the ones that work like magic tricks.
Has anybody hacked together an alternative resolution procedure for GUMSHOE that does not depend on spending points from a pool to buy one-use improvements to skill?
What would happen if I used the FUDGE resolution system for general skills in GUMSHOE, adding character’s ratings in general skills to a 4dF roll?