My next major update to the game will be expanding the overworld, freeroam gameplay. I'm taking a page from CYOA games for these, and I'm actually really excited to see how these will play out in a RPG of this type. Think of Battle Brothers contracts, but a little bit expanded and tweaked to fit the setting.
Here's a typical Faction-specific Contract.
You meet up with your Iron Cartel contact and undertake a Heist. The contact gives you a description of the location, the item you'll be "retrieving," and who's guarding it. The player will move their party to the heist location on the map and start their planning phase, which are 5-6 options they can take to increase their chances of pulling off the heist successfully.
For example:
- Buy tools
- Call in a favor
- Get backup
- Case the area
- Rehearse the heist
Each of these will cost a resource, but add a +1 to the encounter roll.
After finishing your planning phase, the player will move to the execution phase, where they choose a tactic for the heist. Depending on who is guarding the location, these will result in additional roll benefits.
For example, if the location is guarded by a minor gang, causing a diversion will cause them to check on it, whereas a diversion will have no effect on trained corporate mercenaries.
Then we do the encounter roll, which is really just a skill check, as one of the player's attributes is chosen at random (Athletics, Perception, Charisma, Technology) and its modifier (plus and bonuses from the previous phases) are applied to a D6. All this is framed appropriately in text.
How well the player rolls will determine what kind of situation they find themselves in: whether they mission impossible the package and leave, or are led by the guards into a trap, etc.
Anyways, I just wanted to spitball some ideas. I realize it doesn't make too much sense.