My game is about gun-play and fire-fights. I was intending on each player beginning the game with a weapon of their choice in play, with other optional weapons in their deck (in case their weapon gets broken or stolen or something.)
Each weapon would have several stats, one of which was Accuracy (ACC for short.) Accuracy determines the Aim value you need to fall within to successfully hit your opponent. Other cards increase you Aim, either transiently, passively, or permanently.
I'm wondering what stat should counter Aim? Using the flavor and theme and logic, I was thinking something like Speed (it's hard to hit a moving target). That would be a stat associated with the player's Persona / Identity they choose to play as.
I'm still trying to work out the core mechanics in my head. The theme / setting is sci-fi future Earth, year 21XX or 22XX with genetically modified people, cybernetically augmented people, clones, androids, etc. Megacorps and hackers etc, etc. Classic cyberpunk, but not a dystopia or so dark and gritty. In this futuristic setting, the most popular sport is an extreme version of laser-tag using real guns and other weapons. The arena is a huge semi-virtual construct capable of being manipulated or changing via certain players or the referees.
You, the IRL player, is playing as a character (your chosen ID) who, within the setting, is a player in the arena.
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I imagine that when a player makes an attack (using their firearm of choice) they use that weapon's Accuracy rating to give them their base Aim value. Other cards on the table, either the Locations that form the 4x4 grid that players move around, Marksmanship cards that they play for a temporary boost, other Equipment or Assets will contribute or diminish that Aim value.
I wanted a stat to directly counter Aim, subtracting from it. I could have just had cards reduce the Aim value, but having a stat that acts as its opposite lets me have more game-terms and values to manipulate; a bit more complexity but added depth.
For Example:
Player A declares an attack on Player B, saying he is firing his weapon. He plays the Marksmanship card Draw-A-Bead, which grants him a +Aim bonus. Player B responds with the card Heavy Rain, which applies a -Aim penalty to all players for the round. Player A responds with the BioChemMed (i need a name/word for the skill that encompasses biological warfare, chemical warfare, medicine, etc.) card Melange-A-Trois (a potent chemical cocktail that improves focus, among other things) which grants him another +Aim bonus. Player B responds with the Athleticism card Sprint! which increases his Speed? or lets him Move? to a new range, thus applying a -Aim penalty to his attacker.
Having the value Aim lets me have +/- Aim effects. Having another value that is directly opposed to Aim lets me have additional +/- effects. Like, if the value was Speed for example, I could have a card like Gravity Well which afflicts the player in the area with a -speed penalty. This is mechanically similar to the other player getting a +Aim boost, but a different flavor, and allows for more card effects to manipulate stats and values.
I was thinking Speed, but I do want Distance to be a factor, and I'm not sure how to reconcile the two. Maybe each firearm has a range it is effective at, and anything beyond that just fails. Then players could play a card like Serpentine! that grants them +speed and moves their distance (either toward or away from their attacker.) Thinking of ranges: Close, Short, Medium, and Long, and a 5th range would be moving to a new Location (remember the 4x4 card layout that forms a map players move around.)
Of course, other cards will grant effects simulate cover, and temporarily disable your enemy from moving or attacking, and act as dodges to their attacks, and prevent and reduce their damage. Cards like Among Ruins, Get Down!, Meat Shield, Shell, Snare!, Grazed, I've Had Worse, Stasis Field, Defensive Stance, Stone Wall, Impromptu Barrier, etc.