So I've been toying with the idea of running a Samurai-themed campaign
for a while now, and I've been looking for the adequate setting to do
so. When I think "Samurai", I think Akira Kurosawa's movies, and
partially Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns (which were pretty much
Samurai movies with revolvers for katanas, IMHO).
What I mean by this is that I'm looking for a setting that lets me run a
different sort of combat: less hack-and-slash and more of "conflict
through resourcefulness" or even willpower. For those who don't know
what I'm talking about, see the selection process when interviewing the
applicants in Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai". They don't test their
combat skills, but rather see if they can enter a room while managing
not to get clubbed on the head by someone concealed at the entrance.
I've been recommended Dogs in the Vineyard 's
conflict resolution mechanic, and while it would probably work for
direct confrontations, it is not quite what I had in mind, so I'm
looking for alternatives.
Does anyone know of any systems that would fit the description?