Subsystems

Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide (Second Edition), page 146

CHAPTER 3: SUBSYSTEMS

When your game goes into uncharted territory or you want to emphasize an element of gameplay that usually gets overlooked or condensed into a single check, you can use a subsystem. As the name implies, subsystems are extensions of the main rules system that allow you to explore a particular topic or style of play at your table.

Subsystems are a great way to add depth to aspects of your game that don’t occur in combat but still have high stakes. This chapter begins with Victory Points, a structure that underlies much of the chapter, to help you build your own subsystems. Next are some of the most common subsystems you might need in your game, with advice on how to use and modify them. This chapter is organized into the following sections.

Victory Points (page 148) provides you a framework with which to build your own subsystems, detailing the fundamental structure that Pathfinder uses for its subsystems.
Influence (page 151) gives rules for more in-depth social encounters involving influencing NPCs.
Research (page 154) shows you how to build an interesting structure for scenes where PCs research information.
Chases (page 156) are designed to represent the fast-paced feel of movie chase scenes.
Infiltration (page 160) allows you to build infiltrations and heists where careful planning helps the PCs maintain an edge against their adversaries and pull off incredible capers.
Reputation (page 164) breathes life into the world around the PCs, as various groups of NPCs react favorably or unfavorably to the PCs actions, and PCs’ status with those groups changes.
Duels (page 166) provides a simple architecture for one-on-one showdowns between adversaries.
Leadership (page 168) allows PCs to attract people to a cause, giving them cohorts and organizations to look after.
Hexploration (page 170) teaches you how to build exploration maps on a hexagonal grid to give your PCs the thrill of discovering secrets within uncharted or unfamiliar territory.
Vehicles (page 174) allows you to run encounters involving vehicles and capitalize on their potential to help PCs explore on a larger scale and at a faster pace.

In this section

Deciding to Use a Subsystem When you have an exciting subsystem available, it can be tempting to use it anytime it can possibly come up (for instance, replacing every social scene with the influence subsystem).
Victory Points You’ll often find that your games could use a way to track progress toward a goal so that you don’t have to just keep everything in your head.
Influence When the PCs need to gain favor with or sway over an NPC to achieve their goals, sometimes a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check isn’t enough to get the job done.
Research When the PCs are trying to discover important information while challenged by a time limit or other interesting twist, the research subsystem is just the right thing to lend their efforts more urgency and weight.
Chases When the PCs pursue a fleeing adversary or quarry—or someone chases them instead— adding twists and turns to the pursuit builds suspense and makes the outcome more uncertain than if it were based on Speed alone.
Infiltration Not all elements of an adventure can be resolved with force of arms and the sizzle of deadly magic. Sometimes subtlety is required to circumvent foes or accomplish a goal.
Reputation Sometimes it’s crucial to know how groups of people feel about the PCs. That’s where reputation comes into play.
Duels Sometimes conflicts become personal. It’s not the entire group against a challenge, but one character struggling against the skills of a single adversary.
Leadership While many groups of PCs are isolated heroes who get the job done on their own, other groups enjoy gathering allies and building new organizations of their own. The leadership subsystem allows your PCs to do just that!
Hexploration Few activities epitomize adventure as much as pure exploration through an unknown wilderness.
Vehicles A villain on the run steals a carriage and sends the characters on a chase through the city, or the characters find an ancient airship and decide to take it for a spin.