I want to add a bit of depth to my skirmishing

[Finn]

     I have been having some fun playing simple scenarios with about eight figures each per player . A attacks B, B defends C , A and B gang up on D kind of games.

     This is fine for the mercenary or space pirate types and bonuses/skills are easy enough, bigger guns, plasma swords or better armour.   

      Now my question is what can I do with the more adventurer types?  Like the bounty hunters or the smugglers , what good is an illegal crate of arcturan stink weed if the other player is armed with warp cannons?      What bonus do you give a player for having the best pilot  and navigator when you are stuck in a bar fight with the Reptilian Mafia?
           
    Basically I was just wondering what other people do when you want more than just a "Bang, bang your dead." game.

       

[aliensurfer]

Pulp Alley. Fits to any genre, you have small groups and are playing a storyline and trying to achieve objectives. I think you could make it work for what you describe you are after.

[Hobgoblin]

The forthcoming - nay imminent - Rogue Stars is supposed to be very much this sort of thing and not a straight shoot 'em up. I gather that non-fighting skills come into it quite a bit - and "missions" are randomly generated for each game.

[Cory]

One option is objectives that only certain specialist models can perform, i.e. only someone with an engineer skill can get the motor running. This is the basis of much of Infinity - look at Corvus Belli's ITS and the fan done "Yet Another Mission System".

Another option is to allow models with non combat skills to interact with NPCs or terrain - when the overhead gantry starts moving cargo containers around because the system has been hacked the game can change up. Likewise NPC's can be directed to move, vehicles can be driven, doors open/closed/locked, light sources turned on/off, and so on.

As has been pointed out Pulp Alley is a good example of a clue or event driven system.

For my Old West games each player starts with multiple task cards. Models can be scattered to complete more tasks ("Buy Flour from Dry Goods, Draw up Deed at Lawyers). Each time opposing models come into proximity there is a nerves check to see if the shooting starts. New tasks can be drawn, many are better performed by the non combat models. Additionally many tasks take multiple turns to complete and require a model to go from one place to another, which is hard when the shooting starts.

[Finn]

     

    Thanks for the suggestions, Rogue Stars has now been ordered. Plus i had not realised that Pulp Alley was so versatile

     Also I really liked the Old West idea with lots of side missions , must try to add that to my next game.


   Cheers.

[Ockman]

For asymmetrical forces you'll need asymmetrical missions.

Perhaps the heavily armed mercenaries must capture the smugglers without hurting them, or they encounter each other in a crowded place where the smugglers can hide in the proximity of bystanders.

Using objectives, like Pulp Alley, is a great way to balance the playing field.

[twrchtrwyth]

The original Rogue Trader was made for this.

[Elbows]

You can really add depth to almost any game system with the right scenarios.  That being said, scenarios can be a big pain in the butt and often take several tries to get right so that they play out at the correct pace, etc.

[eilif]

Sometimes it's in the rules.  For example many games like Nuclear Renaissance require specific Driver characters to pilot vehicles and have Medics which impart alot of value in keeping harder-fighting drivers alive.

Sometimes it's in the scenario.  Having some reason for less combat-focused charachters to be involved. Some examples might be.

-Computer techs to reach and decode something at a terminal.
-The Rogue or Seductress to find and "convince" an NPC to reveal some important information
-A mechanic to get some sort of machinery working.

The rest of the time it doesn't bother me too much.  Either because all the figures (even specialists) in a given warband will have some kind of combat usefullness or because it's just assumed that the less fighty characters are left back at the ship.

[Cherno]

I think it pays to be reasonable. A soldier would have a greater chance of winning in a bar fight than a pilot. The skills of the pilot would come into play in other circumstances, which might mean having to expand the game to feature a RPG-light campaign playstyle.