I'm working on a fairly traditional rpg right now, and was wondering what people on these forums thought about having some competitive elements to play. I'm not talking about having the characters at each others' throats, but a competition mechanic to reward whoever does the best or the most towards whatever major goal the adventure presents. Would that interest you, or does it go against the grain of how you like to play?

I'm also told that the game Agon had something like this, and now I kind of wish I'd grabbed it when it was on the game store shelf. Has anyone tried it, and if so, how was it to play?

Quote from: madunkieg;355508I'm working on a fairly traditional rpg right now, and was wondering what people on these forums thought about having some competitive elements to play. I'm not talking about having the characters at each others' throats, but a competition mechanic to reward whoever does the best or the most towards whatever major goal the adventure presents. Would that interest you, or does it go against the grain of how you like to play?

I'm also told that the game Agon had something like this, and now I kind of wish I'd grabbed it when it was on the game store shelf. Has anyone tried it, and if so, how was it to play?

I did this in one of my games. Worked well and really had players excited

Hunt down the RPG called Rune by Robin Laws.  The players do compete, but they are still mission oriented so going psycho on each other means the GM wins.   Yeah, the GM competes against the players too and he has his own rule structure to keep him in check.   There is a fun rule that the GM loses points for killing PCs, but you get great points for smacking them around close to death.

Quote from: madunkieg;355508I'm also told that the game Agon had something like this, and now I kind of wish I'd grabbed it when it was on the game store shelf. Has anyone tried it, and if so, how was it to play?

Funnily enough, the local gaming store over here, Fantasiapelit, does carry AGON and still even appears to have copies left. They usually don't stock all that much by way of "indie" RPGs. (They also sell Maid, incidentally: that would be another RPG which is pretty much based on PC rivalry by default as the group competes for the highest Favour.)

Anyway, going by what I remember from various discussions, in AGON the GM receives a specific budget for building monsters and other perils, not unlike in Rune. In this case, the resource is called Strife and it equates directly to how much Glory (think XP) defeating the challenge will be worth to the victorious PC. Gaining ten points of Glory always grants one point of Legend, and when the characters themselves leave play (inevitably because of their gradually accumulating Fate), the Legend that they've earned during play not only determines what kind of an end they ultimately face, but it also acts as their final score, so to speak. The highest Legend wins the game.

Keep in mind that intraparty conflict and PvP can be a touchy subject, though, and won't appeal to all players. For me, it definitely depends on the game in question.

It is fine if the players are all about as good at gaming. In my old group, there were two guys that always won shit like that, so it got old a long time ago. I try to only run team games for them.

Quote from: Cranewings;355652It is fine if the players are all about as good at gaming. In my old group, there were two guys that always won shit like that, so it got old a long time ago. I try to only run team games for them.

There's a point I hadn't considered too deeply, that some players are just better at making their characters, and would therefore win more often. I'm up for a slight imbalance, but if it's too overbearing, that would cause friction within the group.

Quote from: madunkieg;355715There's a point I hadn't considered too deeply, that some players are just better at making their characters, and would therefore win more often. I'm up for a slight imbalance, but if it's too overbearing, that would cause friction within the group.

I have to agree that competitive games work best with competitive players. But I think in an RPG, it isn't strictly a matter of how good a player is at making a character. Sometimes players who know how to come up with a solid plan do well. I suppose it depends on the setting and goal. If it's a game of 3E making the best build is probably what counts. In our mafia game, the competition aspect if more like poker, and trying to figure out everyone elses motives.

It is fine if the players are all about as good at gaming.  I try to play.