Gaming the Game - Subsystems For Their Own Sake

 I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a thematic subsystem. A conceit within a game's rules that is there to model a certain part of the genre addressed by the game. Sometimes, especially in older games, these subsystems can feel clunky, tacked-on, even arbitrary if the reader doesn't see the setting or genre the same way the game author does. But just as with the core rules of a game, there are threads of the intended world coded into these rules and subsystems. These modules themselves both tell you something about the world, and give your players some actual rules to grasp onto to interact with the intended world. So, what the hell am I yammering about? Let's take a look at some of the subsystems that I love to this day.

First, what do I mean about the rules telling us something about the game world? Let's take a look at the good old "wandering monster" mechanics from D&D and many other games. These mechanics usually have dice being thrown at regular intervals of in-game time or distance travelled, and if the result indicates an encounter, another table or set of tables inform the GM what specific people or monsters are encountered. This can also tell you how common or uncommon certain encounters are intended to be in the world in which you're playing - in Traveller, the table of spacecraft encounters gives you an idea of what ships are the most commonly encountered. In D&D, a look at the table for the terrain in which your party travels tells you what creatures are the most likely to be encountered in that area. Taking into account the frequency of a given encounter on the table, and the frequency of encounters happening at all can give you a good idea of what an area is like, how hazardous it is to travel, how friendly others along the route are likely to be. Remember, not every encounter is with someone who will want to fight you.

One could argue that random encounters are probably a core rule of a given game. What I want to talk about are subsystems that do what I outlined above, but a bit more explicitly.

Starships & Spacemen 2e

So, this game is totally not Star Trek. It uses a variation on the B/X D&D engine to do exploration in the Final Frontier. It has a couple of subsystems that I think really add to the genre emulation of the game.

First is the ship's computer. A given character can only ask a certain number of questions per day of the computer upon making a successful check. This may seem strange, arbitrary, and unrealistic. But think about the show upon which the game is based- how often does the computer solve the entire crux of an episode? It gives information, sure, but never simply spits out the entire solution to the conundrum of the week. This mechanic allows the computer to be useful, but not overwhelming to the plot.

Second, and much more detailed, is the resource management system for the character's starships. Each vessel produces an amount of power per game day. This power must be allocated to various functions of the ship, from raising the screens to maneuvering at sublight or FTL, to using the teleporters. There is both resource allocation and risk/reward to be considered, as a ship that uses all its power early on might not have enough left in case an emergency arrives. It can be fun to decide when and how much power to use- or as GM have the Zangid attack the ship after a landing party teleports down, causing the ship to use much of the power it might need to teleport the landing party back up!

Gangbusters 

This TSR classic has some fun subsystems in place to help model the Roaring 20s Prohibition time period. My favorites among them are the criminal ones. Want to run a numbers game? Rules are in place for running one - and for running one that's rigged. Want to set up your own brewing or distilling operation to sell bootleg hooch? Subsystem exists to allow you to do so. Want to run the speakeasy where the illicit booze is sold? Rules are here for how many patrons you serve, how much alcohol they drink, and how many dollars you rake in from your scofflaw practices.

This is really what I'm talking about - each of these subsystems might appeal to a different player, and give them each an activity they can do as part of an adventure, or between adventures. Maybe your players form a syndicate, and one player specializes in the production, and another in the distribution, while a third handles the games of chance that just happen to be run inside the speak while people are drinking their fill. 

Pendragon

This game just drips with genre emulation, but one thing that jumps out to me as a neat subsystem is the Winter Phase. Each adventure is assumed to take place during the summer, or adventuring season, with the knights returning to their manors for the winter. During the Winter Phase, a series of die rolls are made to see what happens. Does your knight find love? If already married, is a child born? Are the horses healthy? How much income do the lands bring in? Was it a good harvest?

The Winter Phase tells a story that adds to the knight's adventures, and perhaps creates impetus for further adventures. It's both extremely pertinent to the intended feel and tone of a Pendragon campaign, and something players can look forward to and attempt to manipulate to greater fortune.

Virtual Realities for Shadowrun

This book might contain the single subsystem I've spent the most real-world time crunching my way through. In fact, I've even created an Excel spreadsheet to help me with it. I'm talking about, of course, the cyberdeck construction rules. They're detailed, they're complex, and they're not something every player will want to deal with. In fact, they may be the very opposite of what some people want in their hobby games.

So why do I include it here? Because for the right kind of player, something like this is pure gold. As a nerd of a certain age, of course I have constructed my own computer- more than once. In the spirit of those first pioneers sending away for the Altair 8800 kit, I built a couple of systems that would have been considered badass in their day. Predictably, I have enjoyed playing Deckers in Shadowrun, Netrunners in Cyberpunk, and various types of hacker in other games.

When I saw the rules for creating my own cyberdeck as a young Shadowrun player in 1990 or 91, I knew that had to be my character's mission. I didn't wanna be the Decker stuck with an off-the-shelf rig built by a megacorp. I wanted my own badass deck. And to do so, I had to start by buying the proper tools. Chip encoder, electronics toolkit, followed by an electronics shop in the basement. I raised my character's skills in the Build/Repair areas, and started making rolls at the end of our sessions. I was constantly tweaking my designs, and rolling for the construction process, and demanding more money from my teammates because I had spent it all on parts and needed to spend more. 

This gave me as a player something to think about and plan for between game sessions. It gave my character something to set their sights on - a reason to go through the dangers of being a Shadowrunner. It wasn't just about money, it was about a computer nerd's bragging rights, and those are worth getting shot at over. Gotta be the best. L33t, as we used to say in the 90s.

So there we go - some examples (without going into specific detail) of the kinds of subsystems I love in my games. Shadowrun was great at having them for several character types - Shaman could build out their medicine lodge, Mages their Hermetic libraries, both could seek Initiation, and form magical societies. Riggers could customize vehicles and drones. Things that can give characters goals, and something to do between sessions. Others are used during game, like Starships & Spacemen's computer and starship rules. In BECMI D&D, there's domain management, and the War Machine mass battle system. Add in the Republic of Darokin Gazetteer, you can build a mercantile empire. Hey, the trading rules from Traveller have led some of my players to create their own cargo shipping lines and dealing with the growing pains of a fledgling line, and piracy, and customs agents. The best kinds of subsystems support the feel the game is going for, and feel like FUN to the players, and add to the narrative.