I don’t know the Expanse rpg but Coriolis is a great system and setting. However it’s lore isn’t “hard” scifi like The Expanse, it has pseudo-scientific/supernatural elements similar to Dune (which it borrows a lot of its style and vibes from).
So that might be enough to make a decision, whether you prefer hard scifi or a Dune-like setting.
Have degrees of success that require multiple escalating rolls. You can describe it as penetrating layers of security. Layer one has a relatively easy difficulty but only gets you basic info. It lets the player feel like their skill is useful but lets you tune how much you want to give them. You can even let them make additional attempts to break through each layer but this takes time, e.g. each attempt is a week of game time. You can also have legwork decrease difficulties to give the rest of the party something to do, e.g. talking to/threatening/kidnapping employees for passwords.
I also highly encourage what other comments have said about physical access. Physically breaking into the relevant building and accessing the system from there bypasses some of the layers, and specific physical targets bypass even more, e.g. plugging into the executive’s computer on the top floor gets you straight to the deepest layer.
What the fuck are you on about, the “bot” is just a feed of RPG blogs that gets posted here on a wide range of rpgs and topics.
Gamify this stuff. Instead of a single silent alarm causing the players to get ambushed, have a threat level that you’re tracking that requires multiple triggers to end up in the worst case scenario. Give players in-game feedback that this is happening (they notice there’s a higher frequency of patrols, overhear guards getting new orders, etc). Give players mechanisms to reduce the threat level (waiting until things cool down, hacking security systems, stealth takedown of guards, etc).
As much as it is tempting to do pure simulation in a realistic way, it doesn’t always make for a fun game. Fun almost always comes from interesting and meaningful decisions for the players. Having invisible triggers going off behind the scenes that the players will never know about is only interesting for the GM.
This is such a weird take. The setting is dystopian, it’s a staple of the genre. The setting doesn’t celebrate the oppression, as this article seems to be suggesting.
Effectively firing half the employees seems like a strong sign that the new owners are going to ruin what made Bandcamp good.
I’m so fucking tired, you guys.
Digital data does not last anywhere near as long as physical artifacts like paper. Most of the data on a hard drive will be irretrievable after a hundred years.
I really like the Year Zero Engine mechanics with the “push” mechanic, it adds a lot of tension that works well for this style of game. The setting is unique and interesting, heavily influenced by Arab culture and folklore which gives a very different vibe to most western scifi. The supernatural elements are well integrated and the setting in general just has a lot of room for a variety of styles of play (combat, politics, detective, etc).