as a dm one of the best conflicts i ever had in a game was two players having an argument in a fuddruckers bathroom. if you have a dm that is a half decent writer and a group of people who are all on the same page, which can be very hard. you can produce some moments better than anything you see on tv nowadays. just remember if you want anything more than just mindless dungeon crawling and murder hobos get away from d&d and pathfinder as quickly as you can. good dms and players can make anything work, but systems inherently push and encourage certain behaviors with their mechanics. you can use a universal system, or one of the many bespoke rpgs that are out there nowadays. and always remember never let mechanics and systems get in the way of something that's just right and should happen, doesn't matter if it's in combat and dialogue or a plan being crafted. if it's something you know should happen for the better of the story fuck the rules that's your job as the dm depending on your taste i suggest games like. delta green (bonus points if you play it pre 9/11) some of the better written rpg books i've seen and has that wonderful x-files vibe before x-files existed. fate: it has a mechanical inbuilt system for building character motivations inherent to gameplay. the blade runner or aliens rpg seems ok, they both have systems built into encouraging players to role play in a certain way. mothership: it's sci-fi horror but i don't suggest it for the setting or the mechanics but for two specific reasons. it has one of the best dm manuals ever made where it doesn't tell you how to use the mechanics dm that specific game, it literally tells you tangible benefits of running and writing a game. also gradient descent, which is a side module mega dungeon, it is one of the coolest and best written things i've seen related to the rpg game scene ever.
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