SCP Foundation - What system to use?

[Ellye]

I've been wanting to run a game in the SCP Foundation universe. Any good suggestion for which system should I use? I've been thinking about NEMESIS.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Call of Cthulu for investigating creepy cult things that will kill you.

Unknown Armies is good for creepy urban fantasy.

Savage Worlds would be a good choice if you want more of a pulpy action feel to the game.

FATE is always a decent choice when talking matters more than shooting. (I'd look at the Dresden Files RPG specifically, since it's got lots of stuff tailored to urban fantasy)

Maybe also Hunter: The Vigil, if you like White Wolf stuff. It's about mortals hunting monsters, if I remember correctly.

[JaronK]

How about Shadowrun? You can even fit it into the plot line. The SCP foundation has languished for a long time after being bought by a megacorporation (they needed the funding to continue) and after some major containment breaches the corporation hires a group of runners to figure out what the hell they've purchased... and return the lost SCPs.

SCPs can warp the astral heavily, giving mages serious trouble, yet the existence of magic in the world does partially explain them.

JaronK

[NichG]

What about Paranoia? The clones are substituted for expendable D-class test subjects, remotely controlled by researchers using personality-projection abilities of a particular SCP to remotely inhabit their bodies and use them for dangerous assignments.

Plus this makes memetic threats extra-scary since they can bypass your clone pool.

[Anajamois]

Call of Cthulu is probably the most fitting system. Many SCPs have the ability to turn you mad or warp your mind, which will need more than just a will save.

Let me know if you need players for this game. I might be interested.

[Ravens_cry]

I'd go for World of Darkness myself, Hunter, while importing the humanity mechanic from Vampire. There are SCP that will make you lose humanity faster than SAN.

[Jacob.Tyr]

Which aspect of The Foundation are you looking to emulate? To get the feeling of The Foundation you could be doing investigation and intelligence gathering to locate skips. Followed by tactical combat for bringing them in, lots of planning and potential combat for containment. And of course the researchers who get to screw with them.

Are your players going to be doing intelligence gathering, combat, or research and containment? All three?

[Ellye]

Thanks for all suggestions so far! I'm looking into the mentioned systems.

Are your players going to be doing intelligence gathering, combat, or research and containment? All three?

Formally and mostly: intelligence gathering. But it would end up coupled with some incidental combat that might arise from it, and some urgent containment needs.

Let me know if you need players for this game. I might be interested.

Sure! It will be a while before I actually start the game, but I'll let you know if I need players.

[Tengu_temp]

RISUS or Toon, at least for the SCPs I like most.

[GolemsVoice]

Hunter is a pretty obvious choice, since it is already about, well, hunting supernatural critters, and also has some organizations that support the hunters. The WoD system is also quite good in general.

Savage Worlds is always fine, although I'm not sure how well it deals with mind-warping horror.

I'm personally a fan of the GUMSHOE system for primarily investigative games, and they already have a few games about dealing with the occult, like Esoterrorists or Trail of Cthulhu. What I like about that system is that, as far as I remember, it doesn't really have a lot of rolls. If you have a skill, say, Cop Talk, you can use it to automatically get some information, and more information if you have/use more points. This way, you can be sure the players pick up your clues, so that important investigations don't come to a halt because the master detective rolled a 1 for his spot check, but players are still rewarded for specializing because they get more information. It's been a while since I played, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I remember liking it very much as a player in Trail of Cthulhu.

[Mono Vertigo]

Should you go with nWoD's Hunter, may I suggest you to take a look at the Genius fansplat as well? It can help you build Wonders (aka inventions and sometimes sentient beings) with great powers and equally great flaws. It also includes reality warpers, pocket dimensions, and people who wreck technology just standing near it. It's decent inspiration for several SCPs.

[Lakaz]

What about Paranoia? The clones are substituted for expendable D-class test subjects, remotely controlled by researchers using personality-projection abilities of a particular SCP to remotely inhabit their bodies and use them for dangerous assignments.

Plus this makes memetic threats extra-scary since they can bypass your clone pool.

Hope you don't mind, but i'm stealing this idea and doing it myself. Thanks!

[Rhynn]

Cthulhu Dark, because you need very little in the way of rules.

Call of Cthulhu, because it's traditional and thus intuitive, and doesn't get in the way.

Trail of Cthulhu, because it actively supports horror investigation gaming.

[Jacob.Tyr]

Gonna throw my vote in for Trail of Cthulhu, although I've only read it and never played. Looks like it can handle horror-investigation, and can be used for a more pulp game so your field agents aren't just killed outright whenever they engage.

[Serpentine]

I can't remember what the system it's called (though I'm sure it had one), but a friend of mine once ran a spontaneous one-off SCP game using the Jenga thing - every time you want to do something risky, you take a Jenga block. If you get it, you succeed. If the tower falls... Well.
Ridiculously simple, and also surprisingly effective.

[Rhynn]

I can't remember what the system it's called (though I'm sure it had one), but a friend of mine once ran a spontaneous one-off SCP game using the Jenga thing - every time you want to do something risky, you take a Jenga block. If you get it, you succeed. If the tower falls... Well.
Ridiculously simple, and also surprisingly effective.

That'd be Dread.

[Serpentine]

That's the one! Was so intense.

[Vknight]

Good Choices
World of Darkness Mortals or Hunter: Good stable system with reliable characters that can work together hitting niches without forcing certain play-styles

Call of Cthulhu: Calls biggest fault is you either get the clue or you don't. Its second greatest is complete random generation. But the very random chaotic nature applies a certain chaotic charm

Trail of Cthulhu/Fear Itself: Stable character generation. You spend the investigation point? You gain more evidence then the initial evidence you get just for having it

Bad Choices
Unknown Armies: Its a bad system that gives you so few points you can barely do anything. Want to be smart well hope you like being crippled in one stat and weak in another!

[CarpeGuitarrem]

This sounds right up the alley of the GUMSHOE system, so here's another vote for Trail of Cthulhu. However, Dread would also be a fantastic interpretation of it, depending on how you want to run it.

Use Trail of Cthulhu if you want to focus on the characters finding creepy clues and information, because ToC is all about finding clues and discovering information. Use Dread if you want to make it about an impending sense of tension.

[Vknight]

This sounds right up the alley of the GUMSHOE system, so here's another vote for Trail of Cthulhu. However, Dread would also be a fantastic interpretation of it, depending on how you want to run it.

Use Trail of Cthulhu if you want to focus on the characters finding creepy clues and information, because ToC is all about finding clues and discovering information. Use Dread if you want to make it about an impending sense of tension.

Yeah dread is also good only downside is needing a Jenga table. Also sometimes I feel a task is not deadly but failable

[Ravens_cry]

For a lighter approach, and you can get your hands on it, perhaps use the Ghostbusters (or it's refinement Ghostbusters International) game?

[Kurald Galain]

What about Paranoia? The clones are substituted for expendable D-class test subjects, remotely controlled by researchers using personality-projection abilities of a particular SCP to remotely inhabit their bodies and use them for dangerous assignments.

I second this. Plus I'll be including some Keters in my next game of Paranoia, too.

[Jlerpy]

Gumshoe would probably be good.

GURPS + Warehouse 23.