Not a traditional TTRPG, but I've been thinking about Dread lately since it's on theme for the upcoming season. The chance mechanic centers around pulls and to

Not a traditional TTRPG, but I've been thinking about Dread lately since it's on theme for the upcoming season. The chance mechanic centers around pulls and towerfall events using a Jenga tower instead of dice. As the risk increases, players are required to make additional pulls to succeed until the tower collapses a catastrophic penalty occurs / the game phase changes. Timing these to happen at the tensest moments is a ton of fun. Another really fascinating feature is the pre-game. Character sheets are replaced with private questionnaires adapted to give each player context and reasoning behind their character's motives: "What did the Captain do to your father that made you want revenge?" "Who's death drove you to leave your family to join this one-way space expedition?" "You weren't close to the player who invited you on this camping trip. Why did you come?" "Why haven't you told the medic how you really feel?" It gets pretty interesting when people use the same names for answers and the GM spins their stories together. And the best part is that there are plenty of pre-rolled scenarios with character sheets available for free online. "Beneath the Ice" is The Thing themed and captures the action and paranoia well.