We see them all the time on TV.. how come they haven't worked out in RPGs? is there any system or book you know of that has dealt with these types of settings?

I'd love the chance to do a House RPG...

But what sort of things would need to be in place for such a game to work?

RPGPundit

One of my long term goals is to run a game based on the Crime Story cop show. GURPS does/did a Cops sourcebook which as usual, is full of pretty good info.
Systemwise, something like Primetime Adventures would be good for TV style games, or Cyberpunk 2020 for a grittier, more realistic and far more lethal game that discourages players from just drawing their 44 Magnums and playing Dirty Harry...
 
I've no idea how you'd do a House RPG without being a medic yourself. In fact, beyond diagnosis and surgery, I'm not sure how exactly a Doctor themed game would be very diverse. :confused:  Then again I dont watch many medical programs.

With a doctor theme, you can't really do the medicine stuff, but the relationship crap could work. So House is probably a bad example...

Well, what's the most important element of House for you? Is it Hugh Laurie's winsome arrogance? Is it the medical-detective plots? Is it the interpersonal relationships and ensemble casting?

Sounds like some sort of far-out porcine game, or getting together with a bunch of creative med students.

I just turned in the final draft of Vice Squad: Miami Nights to PIG.  The focus is on 80s cops/crime shows, but you could easily run it modern day (I even give some tips for that).  The setting is essentially Miami Vice meets GTA, since you can play cops or criminals.  I put some optional drama rules in there to give each session a bit more depth, that I hope make the final cut (Brett needs to approve them).  It's more geared towards 80s action, so I don't think it would handle a medical RPG well.  

The main problem I see with a doctor-themed game is that the shows are very story-oriented.  There's not a lot of action to speak of.  It's more about the characters, which means it's less about stats and die rolls and more about narration/roleplaying/whatever you want to call it.  If someone could get a game mechanic to represent that effectively it would definitely find its niche, at least as a diversion.  

Pete

Quote from: pspahnI just turned in the final draft of Vice Squad: Miami Nights to PIG.  The focus is on 80s cops/crime shows, but you could easily run it modern day (I even give some tips for that).  The setting is essentially Miami Vice meets GTA, since you can play cops or criminals.  I put some optional drama rules in there to give each session a bit more depth, that I hope make the final cut (Brett needs to approve them).

SOLD

Well, the "action" in a doctor drama is usually when some trauma patient shows up, and surgery has to be performed to try to keep said dude alive.

But some kind of mechanic would have to be set up to handle this... and to make it appropriately exciting.

RPGPundit

For some kind of reason I'm picturing a Final Fantasy-like battle transition, with the doctors on one side and the bad diseases/viruses/bacteria on the other...

I haven't been watching that much hospitals stuff, but other topics that usually come up are relationships (yes, Virginia, doctors and nurses do get it on a lot), and problems with the patients or their relatives outside the actual disease. Jehova's Witnesses not wanting blood transfusion, racism towards the black doctor, cheating spouses etc.
It's a bit difficult to involve the whole party in stuff like that. There's actually very little coming together that involves all the doctors/nurses. Usually you've got two or more separate plots in one episode.

That said, I think that House influenced my GM style.

Quote from: RPGPunditWell, the "action" in a doctor drama is usually when some trauma patient shows up, and surgery has to be performed to try to keep said dude alive.

But some kind of mechanic would have to be set up to handle this... and to make it appropriately exciting.

RPGPundit

I think that the trauma and surgery is the window dressing. The action is the conflicts between the various doctors. In fact most of the action happens when the docs are arguing about how to treat the patient. That's the exciting part IMO. For cop shows it's pretty easy. You got a lot of literal action - shootout, stakeouts, arrests - to fall back on.

My take is that if you run a Med drama - character background would be very important. Also your (pc) rank in the hospital - how much influence the pc has on the way how things are done. Probably some kind of point system as to how much hostility/goodwill you receive from your fellow doctors and how this impacts your job in the hospital...something along these lines.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RI think that the trauma and surgery is the window dressing.

That's my take on it, too.  The surgery mechanic can easily be handled using some sort of extended success mechanic---you need to achieve X number of successes to stabilize/operate on the patient.  The "after" part is where it gets tricky.  How does the character feel if the patient dies?  What happens when he breaks the news to the family?  etc.  This all starts to slide into that "Narrative" stuff that I have no experience with.  Which is why my preference would be more for a M*A*S*H-like, "combat medic"-type RPG---during WWII, Vietnam, Middle East, or even a zombie apocalypse.  But, that's definitely not House.  

Pete

I dunno, I'm digging a lot on the whole "Detective Show With Guns" vibe.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I dunno, I'm digging a lot on the whole "Detective Show With Guns" vibe.

That vibe is damn sweet. A Medical Drama rpg, that's tricky to execute...well maybe not, but I'd rather run Zombies in the House than just House alone ,you dig? (Well most times anyway...)

Regards,
David R

GURPS Mysteries!

http://www.warehouse23.com/item.html?id=SJG01-7999

It's PDF-only now, but I've already preordered the print version. The reviews are uniformly positive.

Said to include:

Quote* Creating mysteries as stand-alone adventures, as part of an existing campaign, or as a campaign in their own right, with specific discussions of the low-tech, modern-tech, future, magic, and horror settings.
    * Setting the crime scene, including detailed forensic information on causes of death, investigation methods, and a forensic timeline.
    * Creating interesting villains, including matching disadvantages to motives and means of carrying out a crime.
    * A template-based character generation system for iconic investigators, including the genius detective, the hardboiled shamus, police detectives, investigating magicians, even "that darn kid."
    * Sample detective and investigative agencies to hire or bedevil characters.
    * Expanded rules for questioning and interacting with NPCs.

For what it's worth, Dark Champions is also really, really good for this. Lots of info on forensics, organized crime, etc. It's a lot broader in scope, however, since it also includes material for the technothriller and low-powered vigilante supers genres, not just police procedurals.

Quote from: David RI think that the trauma and surgery is the window dressing.

I wouldn't assume so much. I watch Discovery Health constantly because the surgeon's art itself is facinating to me.

My advice, if that's the case for your group, would be to reference some medical sites online. Many have step-by-step descriptions of surgical and emergency medicine procedures. Linking the skill rolls to the different stages of the actual surgery has promise. Plus, more versimilitude is always great in a genre like that.

Quote from: YamoI wouldn't assume so much. I watch Discovery Health constantly because the surgeon's art itself is facinating to me.

We were talking about medical dramas such as House, and yeah most of the time the trauma and surgery is window dressing for the real meat of the show...the drama.



Regards,
David R