VTT: Time & Trouble

Drilling...

"The drill's jammed, get it going again!" a shout bellows over the roar of automatic weapon fire. Bursts of flame illuminate the surrounding warehouse, bullets ricochet off of concrete and a few find their mark, sending a security guard crumpling to the cold, hard floor.
   "We've got a police assault incoming!" a voice crackles over the radio. Suddenly, the surrounding windows burst inward, spraying shards of glass all around, as a SWAT team swings in with guns blazing.

That's a fairly typical scene in PAYDAY: the Heist, a PC-based FPS game developed by OVERKILL Software and published by SOE. I've been going through it the past few days and have come up with some ideas that would work well with tabletop gaming (indeed, they're already apart of it). Enough to cover this week and the next two, in fact.

Two major gameplay components of PAYDAY are timed events and complications. The events range from drilling safes or sawing door locks to escorting hostages and burning a hole through the floor with thermite. What they have in common is time -- it takes a few minutes, on average, to complete an event. During that time several other actions will occur: police assaults charge in, special police units shake things up and complications arise.

Jammed Drill

Complications halt the progress of the timed events -- usually something like the drill or saw jamming or the power being cut off in the building. These require the player (or players) to get to the problem and fix it, which can often be an event in itself. For example, one of the levels involves hacking the IRS to steal money -- you've got a server hooked up and programs running, but as the police assault the apartment complex they will occasionally shut down the power. This requires the players to reach the power box -- often on the roof, three or so stories up -- while fighting through waves of SWAT teams that use tazers, smoke grenades and bulletproof shields. The longer you take, the more fighting you'll have to do and the more resources you'll expend. This means that speed and precision are key to success.

So, what about the tabletop? Timing isn't really new -- spells take time, walking takes time, searching a room takes time, etc. -- and has its own hazards in many RPGs, usually in the form of wandering monsters but also in some encounters. What I see in PAYDAY is using normal events -- opening a locked safe/chest or door -- and making them more exciting. The best part about it is the relative simplicity involved, especially in a modern or futuristic setting but also in fantasy.

As an example: a cavernous network of tunnels that is hosting a small orc warband. The area is largely left natural -- the warband is only using it temporarily -- but some features like doors and walls have been added to certain areas for extra protection. One such area is kept securely locked and fastened behind an iron portcullis. The orcs don't want anyone getting into it because it stores a cache of alchemical concoctions their shaman have created to ensure a successful raid on the nearby human keep -- a place that would otherwise be impenetrable to the orcs. The party of PCs stumble upon it, the thief gets to work opening the portcullis but, instead of a simple roll, the party is informed that it will take 30 rounds (assuming 6 second rounds) of constant drilling to open. During those 30 rounds waves of orcs will hit the party, the drill will get stuck or break (say, on a roll of 1 in 6 or 10 per round) that requires an additional round to fix and the orcs might unleash a troll or ogre on the party ever 10 to 15 rounds. Once inside the party will have access to the concoctions for their own use or to destroy.

Another example: within those same caves the party come across captive villagers of the keep that have been tortured for information on weak points, guard postings and other details. They are in rough shape and the party will need to escort them out of the tunnels. The villagers will move slowly due to their state and the players will have to fend off attackers and break through hastily entrenched areas before reaching safety. The event in total could last between 20 to 40 rounds.

I would definitely use some of these events sparingly in a tabletop setting, depending on the system in use and length of combat, but I think they could top off a dungeon delve quite well.

Next week I'll look at playing Robin Hood... kinda.