Design Matters: Team Synergies

We had a brief conversation the other day about a design mechanic that should be far more prevalent in TTRPGs than it actually is. It's been stuck in my craw for awhile now, so let's discuss synergies.

Nearly everyone in our crew is big into video games. For most of us, it's sprawling RPGs, Grand Strategies, and an occasional shooter. And with each first-look game trailer, the promise of interacting with the environment or your allies is presented on a silver platter. But when those games come out, what typically remains on the cutting room floor? Synergies between party members.

I remember it was promised for Dragon Age: Origins. Guild Wars 2 attempted it, to mixed success. The more recent Baldur's Gate 3 does it subtly--the mechanic is there but the incentive to use it for more than a Tik Tok meme video isn't really present. Larian's previous entry, Divinity 2 is probably the best in this field and it's arguably why that game is still the go-to for creative design and problem-solving alternatives seven years after its release.

What do I mean by synergies? Coordinated allied mechanics and environmental interactions that make the order in which things happen matter. Amazing effects that could only be pulled off if the team is working together. The incentivization of a team effort rather than playing hero ball.

When the Wizard throws up a wall of fire, we treat it as a good way to obscure the enemy's sight perhaps. Clearly, it deals damage to anything inside or nearby. But why can't the party Rogue quickly dip an arrow into pitch, shoot through the wall, and catch the unsuspecting creature on the other side on fire with a well-placed sneak attack?

The Druid who calls forth a tidal wave will typically deal bludgeoning damage and maybe push creatures back. But why don't we treat everything affected as wet, so that when they're forced into a line and the Sorcerer unleashes a lightning bolt through their entire line, each one takes extra damage as a result of being super-conductive?

You go high, I go low? Not a thing in TTRPGs. Coordinated shield wall pushes that heighten defense while unwaveringly marching forward? Can't happen. Sure, there are mechanics to Help or Aid an ally, effectively wasting one party member's turn to give a moderate bonus to a second party member's attempt at accomplishing something. But that just doesn't have the same feel, right?

And yes, we could add to an already too-long list of Conditions in our favored system as a way of building in some of the more elemental or mechanical synergies. But I don't really know that this is what's needed. Give me a system that not only has the potential for teamwork, it actually rewards you for doing so. Make it a core mechanic.

For all of these new TTRPGs coming out that promise "cinematic" gameplay, that's your benchmark. There's nothing cinematic about a 6-second-per-person turn that simultaneously happens one at a time while also at the same time. That's slow. That's plodding. And it's because it's focused on solo character mechanics. I think we can do better.

What games have you played (tabletop or video) that had some cool synergies built in?