I've been kicking around this idea for a while now, and though it is currently contained in about 15 separate google docs and notebooks I wanted to outlines my ideas here (this is my first real shot at designing something like this) and see if it's as interesting to everyone else as it is to me.


My goal is to recreate the feeling of classic adventure stories such as H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain stories and the Indiana Jones films: A intercontinental race for lost cities, ancient artifacts, and forgotten cultures cut through with plenty of swashbuckling, lucky breaks, double-crosses, and just a hint of magic. 

The game is filmic, players are 'Stars' the MC is the 'Director', the game is interested in character interaction and big set piece moments, things like probability, physics, and the time-space continuum fall to the wayside in order to facilitate people showing up at just the right moment or the rope-bridge your crossing breaking in just the right way.


Stats
Finesse:be quick,quiet and smooth
Charm: talk your way into (or out of) situations
Pluck: be brave, dauntless, and intrepid
'Book learning' vs 'Life learning' (similar to Intelligence vs Wisdom)

Damage/Death
Each character has a pool of Luck, when they take 'damage' you -1 luck and explain how they managed to escape harm/take a superficial wound (some skills allow for more permanent disability/wounds i.e. scars, broken bones).  When your luck is 0 and you take damage your luck runs out and you 'die'

Roll 2D6

-On a 5 or less, your death is the permanent, on-screen kind; act out your final moments for the table.
 
-On a 6-9 your death is ‘off screen’, your burning car flew off a cliff, or your ship was lost at sea.  The director will give you the opportunity to return in a later scene

-On a 10+ you somehow manage to turn your looming demise into an advantage (things like 'an unexpected ally shows up' or 'that weird ring you found suddenly exhibits a magical power')

Character Archetypes
The Adventurer: a lifelong treasure hunter who gets by on a combination of physical skill, worldly knowledge and sheer luck.
The Occultist: A lifetime spent chasing down every fable and half-heard rumor has left the Occultist with an impressive array of paranormal knowledge and eldritch artefacts.
The Officer: The men you lead are willing, and able to throw themselves at any trap filled temple or ancient warrior race you come across.
The Professor: the expensive college education and 'Dr.' in front of their name may not have prepared the Professor for the rigors of exploration, but their impressive knowledge of the ancient world is unparalleled.
The Eccentric: A rich socialite who searching a great power, (another) fortune or the thrill of a close call.  Only they know their whims or what they seek.
The Ancient Defender: The Ancient Defender (or the secretive order to which they belong) has stood watch for a thousand years.  Now they must put all of their training -and zealous belief- into action.

Motives
Characters are driven by a motive, and receive XP based on their adherence to it:
Power:
Your desire is for raw power, be it from a magical artifact or untold riches you want to bend the world, and the people in it, to your will; if it goes in a museum, how will you use it?

Prestige:
Your ultimate desire is to be at the forefront of a new discovery, you’ll be more than just a footnote in the history books; you’ll gladly donate your findings to a museum-as long as your name is on a plaque, right along side it.

Pride:
Your descended from the people who built this mighty place and you’ll be good and goddamned if your going to let some outsiders steal your cultural heritage; if it goes to a museum, it better be in your home country.

Quirk/Flaw
Each character also has a vulnerability or quirk, just to make things more interesting:

Iconic Item: A piece of 'lucky' equipment that the character feels a deep attachment too, if the item is lost/taken from them (it cannot be destroyed) take -1 ongoing to a stat of the Director's choice.

Distinctive Accent: Your upbringing in a small, little known community means you will never quite shake your odd accent, people will remember speaking to you, and you will find it harder to take on a disguise.

Unhealthy Obsession: gold, magic, drugs, you picked your poison a long time ago and will go out of your way to obtain more, even if it means hurting your allies or yourself.



I still need to build out rules for equipment, XP, and some kind of backstory/bond mechanic as well as more explicit rules for things like move-sets, quirks and motives, but I'm pretty happy with the direction this is going.