I have played with multiple groups who refuse to interact with any NPC unless there is a plot advantage or game mechanic advantage to it. To put it in Star Trek terms, they will completely ignore Scotty until they need the Engineering Dept to build them a gadget or get Scotty to do something that gives them +2 to a dice roll. They’ll never go out drinking with him, spring a surprise birthday party for him, cry on his shoulder when their Significant Other is possessed by a glowing alien entity. In fact, they barely interact with the Significant Other NPC.
Meanwhile another group jumps headlong into soap opera with their friends, relatives and neighbours. It’s much easier to generate plot for that group.
On the topic of the Gumshoe system as brought up in the Bundle of Holding section, I have been toying for some time with a Fudge adaption of it, Fudgeshoe if you will. Basically, I leave the Investigative abilities as-is, and replace the General ability resolution with Fudge. I’ve got some fairly well developed thoughts, but I’ve not actually play tested them at all. I can go on in more detail if there’s any interest.
P.S. @RogerBW I think you have misnumbered the thread title for this episode - you also have last month’s episode listed as Episode 157.
Of course friend computer, I find on review that it was I who was entirely incorrect.
I haven’t yet written up a document, it is mostly notebook scribbles at the moment. Given there is some interest, that is sufficient motivation for me to go ahead and write it up now. Expect a link here sometime soonish.
If you’re going to use FUDGE/FATE my first thought is to use the same system for both domains of GUMSHOE. The level of clue you get with investigative abilities is tied to how good your trait is. You doubtless have excellent reasons to do it otherwise.
I did consider something like that, but decided to keep the Investigative abilities as-is, especially with the GM guidance now being that you don’t charge any points for the extra bonus clues. In my adaptation, the points act as Fudge points that you have to justify in terms of the ability that you are using, so that they act akin to Tactical Fact-Finding Benefits in Night’s Black Agents, or the way they work in Swords of the Serpentine.
Certainly looks workable on the face of it - thanks! I suspect this may be the system I was looking for for TimeWatch (I started on a GURPS conversion but honestly I think the special sexy uses of investigative abilities are best kept in Gumshoe mechanics, which is what this does).
Glad you like it so far. I do intend to expand on it a bit more, mainly in the special notes for each game. I started with the two I have run the most, and so am most familiar with.