"Same World, Different Dimension"
I've been thinking about the Dogs in the Vineyard system and I'm pretty sure it's really well suited to running Sliders. For those who are not familiar with it, Sliders was a 90's sci-fi show about people visiting various parallel dimensions in search of their home universe, and generally attempting to fix the problems of the universes they visit
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Anyway, that's made me think about it a bit more, and I think it may actually have raised some more questions, so I'll run through an example (from "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome") quickly, to see if my ideas plan out, and to give some context to the questions.
The timer has been taken by taken by an alternate version of Arturo and put in a museum, so Quinn and Wade attempt to steal it back.
What's at stake: Do we get to the timer without being detected?
The Stage: Its late at night the museum is dark, save for the dim glow of the signs above the emergency exit doors, and the light from the torches of the patrolling security guards. In a room near the center of the building, the timer waits in a glass case, its display flicking ever downwards towards the departure time. Not hearing anyone around, you emerge from your hiding place within the museum.
Who's participating: Wade and Quinn on one side, the museum security on the other.
Dice: Sneaking is Acuity + Body, so Wade and Quinn role their dice for those stats. There are no relevant relationships, traits or things on their sheets, so that's all they get. Everything that is against them, as one opponent, rolls an appropriate set of opposing dice. This will mostly be the security of the museum, but can also manifest as things such as their clumsiness, or inability to move silently.
I can't be bothered to actually roll dice for this example, so just pretend they're there, and that the order is Wade, GM, Quinn.
Raising and seeing:
Wade: (raise) "As I tiptoe down the corridor with Quinn, I listen carefully for the guards and make sure to keeping out of sights of cameras."
GM: (dodge/block) "As you reach the end of the corridor, you hear one of the guards coming down the stairs towards this floor."
GM (raise) "The guard approaches the bottom of the stairs, preparing to move into the corridor you are currently standing in."
Wade (dodge/block) "I press myself into one of the alcoves and hold my breath, trying to keep completely silent until he passes."
Quinn (dodge/block) "I duck down behind one of the display cases out of sight"
Quinn (raise) "I shuffle around the display case, keeping myself on the other side from the guard as he passes."
GM (dodge/block) "He moves past the display case, but is still staying alert and hasn't moved out of sight or hearing distance yet"
Wade (raise) "As the guard passes, I slip round onto the other side of the alcove, so I am still obscured from view in case he looks back"
GM (taking the blow) "The guard continues on oblivious, in fact he seems a little bored and doesn't even really seem to be paying attention"
GM (raise) "However, before he is quite out of hearing range, you (Wade) feel a cough rising in your throat"
Wade (dodge/block) "I hold my breath concentrate as hard as I can, holding the cough in until the guard has gone before I let it out as quietly as possible into the sleeve of my top"
Quinn (raise) "I signal to Wade, and we sneak out from out hiding places and quickly make a dart for the stairs"
GM (take the blow) "The guard is too far away now to stand a chance of noticing you, and there's no one else about to see you as you make your way up the stairs"
Wade (raise) "We make our way to the room where the timer is and listen carefully for guards"
GM (taking the blow) "As you reach the door to the room, you hear a guard just inside speaking into his walkie talkie. 'South wing clear. Moving on to check the east wing' and he heads out through one of the other doors.
GM (giving) "You manage to reach the timer without being seen"
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