Two Campaign Ideas

[Just Joe]

Here are a couple of campaign ideas I'm thinking about running some time in the next year. Some of you might think they belong on one or another genre-specific board, but I don't see them (and don't want to see them) as fitting any particular genre. I would be interested in any friendly comments or suggestions any of you might have.

I have two different main ideas, with variants that partially overlap. I'm further along on my thoughts on the second, and am currently more enthusiastic about it, but the first might appeal to my players more (their feedback is currently trickling in), and I can almost certainly get psyched up for it.

1. I have a kind of nostalgia for the early Star Wars movies and for superhero comics of the same time period (c. '77-85), but both tended to be a bit too naive for my current tastes. Also, Star Wars strikes me as too limited in exceptional character types (mainly Jedi and Sith) whereas mainstream comics were too broad (mutants, dieties, victims of freak accidents, etc., etc.). My goal is a mid-powered (200 pt?) game that tries to capture what I like about these sources of inspiration while removing some of what I do not like. The "feel" would be somewhere between a low-powered Champions game and a Sci-Fi game, but the ultimate power behind most of all apparently high-tech devices would be mystical power tapped by the individual using it. Thus blaster guns and energy swords would be the rough functional equivalent of wands. There would be a handful of mystic "sciences" that would focus are such substances(?) as "energy", "matter", "ether" and "the void".

2. I am interested in a city-based game with a kind of Noir feel, but I do not wanted to be limited by Noir conventions, much less try to replicate a typical Raymond Chandler story(e.g.). The easiest thing for me to do (variant A) is to run a city-based adventure within my ongoing '30's pulp/horror/monster-hunters game (probably in Germany, Italy, or the USSR). But I'm tempted to go further. One possibility is to create a fictional city in a fictional country that is at risk of revolution or civil war. The year would be sometime between 1900 and 1930. The basic version of this idea (varient B, oddly enough) would be fairly realistic and low-powered (100 pts?). Opponents would include mobsters, law enforcement officers (corrupt or otherwise), and maybe a serial killer or two. Variant C: There is some strange, dark government conspiracy to be uncovered by the PC's (not realistic, not too similar to the quasi-Cthuhloid stuff from my current campaign). Variant D: Psi Noir -- PC's and some others have psionic powers (150-200 pt PC's). Variant E: Retro Sci-Fi feel, some high-tech (incl. robots?) mixed with c. 1900 tech (NOT Steam-Punk). Variant F: A mix of 1 and 2.

Thoughts?

[bigdamnhero]

I have two different main ideas, with variants that partially overlap. I'm further along on my thoughts on the second, and am currently more enthusiastic about it, but the first might appeal to my players more (their feedback is currently trickling in), and I can almost certainly get psyched up for it.

I agree with both you and your players: as a ref, I think the second campaign sounds more interesting, and would give me plenty of room to get creative with storylines. As a player, I think the first one sounds more fun and would give me more room to get creative with my character.

After reading your two proposals back-to-back, I almost wonder what would happen if you tried to combine the two? A 1930s-esque world where some form of quasi-mystical energy manipulation gives super-like powers to certain adepts, both good and evil. Development of conventional technology has stalled at the 1930s level, because all the best minds are studying energy manipulation. Plenty of room for Kingpin-esque mobsters with powers, gritty pulp storylines, and the occassional elder god who's behind it all. The tone would be very different from that of campaign #1, obviously, but the "naive" tone of 70's comics was something you said you wanted to stay away from.

Just a thought, more random than most...

[RavensPath]

What jumped out at me in idea #2 was variants C and D. A dark governement conspiracy along with the low level psi abilities. The two could be linked (probably are linked) and the PC's discover there is a connection. The government realizes that someone is snooping around and boom-instant game.


And this just gave me the idea of how I am going to get my new Fantasy Hero party together. I love it when working on an idea with someone sparks a whole new idea for your own game!

Thanks Just Joe!

[Major Tom]

What jumped out at me in idea #2 was variants C and D. A dark governement conspiracy along with the low level psi abilities. The two could be linked (probably are linked) and the PC's discover there is a connection. The government realizes that someone is snooping around and boom-instant game.


And this just gave me the idea of how I am going to get my new Fantasy Hero party together. I love it when working on an idea with someone sparks a whole new idea for your own game!

Thanks Just Joe!

This sounds a lot like the premise behind the backgrounds for both FGU's Psi
World game and the Phoenix Project campaign setting in the GURPS
Psionics sourcebook. Both deal with conspiracies - both government-
and secret society-based - aimed towards either exploiting or exterminating
those possessed of psi powers; these two game settings would be good sources
for campaign ideas.

Major Tom

[Lethosos]

Running with #1 here a bit... why not play with ideas? If a 200pt character is the equiviant of a high Heroic normal, a 300pt character is roughly superheroic in nature. So what was floating through my head is this: Ragnarok hasn't happened--yet. Balder is still hanging around, his cheerful Norde god self normal and all--and so are the rest of the Aes (Norse pantheon.) The realm of Vallaha is still around, just updated--they've got modern technology and military forces and stuff. Only magic gets mixed into the deal--but since only a few of the Vanir (more mortal beings) have the time and patience to become a runesmith, it's all largely "handwavystuff" to the populace of the Heavens. So you can stuff straightforward magic into guns and swords and whatnot; it's just largely not understood.

You can create quite a few plots about the Heavens and Hells, leaving Midgard (the Mortal Realm) alone if you desire. Feel free to explore the concept.

[Just Joe]

After reading your two proposals back-to-back, I almost wonder what would happen if you tried to combine the two? A 1930s-esque world where some form of quasi-mystical energy manipulation gives super-like powers to certain adepts, both good and evil. Development of conventional technology has stalled at the 1930s level, because all the best minds are studying energy manipulation.

The very last part of my post meant to suggest this possibility, but the way you pitched it is making me take a more careful look at the idea. However, I would not have technology stalled. The combination of mystical quasi-science and much less advanced real science would be roughly equivalent to 1930's technology.

The biggest problem would be to incorporate enough of #1 without clashing with the tone of #2. But if I can make it work, this approach has a lot going for it.

As for the Psi World/Government Conspiracy ideas: that's another idea very much worth considering. I would want to avoid being too cliche, though. I seem to recall that the movies Scanners followed a similar storyline. (BTW, Psi World is in my attic somewhere -- need to dig it up).

Finally, the Norse gods idea sounds cool, but it's not quite what I'm after.

Thanks, this is helping. Any other ideas out there?

[The Monster]

Your idea #1 actually brought Stargate to mind. You have basically heroic-normal humans against whatever the writers want to throw at them, and over time, the humans have gained access to advanced technology, even stuff they don't really understand yet. It seems this idea could be easily adapted to a variety of backgrounds, including low-level supers. The alien opposition could be supers, advanced tech, or a mix of both (like on the show).
In addition, the show has a very optimistic and light feel without being self-parody (except when they intend to) or total silliness.

[RavensPath]

Running with #1 here a bit... why not play with ideas? If a 200pt character is the equiviant of a high Heroic normal, a 300pt character is roughly superheroic in nature. So what was floating through my head is this: Ragnarok hasn't happened--yet. Balder is still hanging around, his cheerful Norde god self normal and all--and so are the rest of the Aes (Norse pantheon.) The realm of Vallaha is still around, just updated--they've got modern technology and military forces and stuff. Only magic gets mixed into the deal--but since only a few of the Vanir (more mortal beings) have the time and patience to become a runesmith, it's all largely "handwavystuff" to the populace of the Heavens. So you can stuff straightforward magic into guns and swords and whatnot; it's just largely not understood.

You can create quite a few plots about the Heavens and Hells, leaving Midgard (the Mortal Realm) alone if you desire. Feel free to explore the concept.

I just read a short story by Mike Stackpole called "Asgard Unlimited" in the book Perchance to Dream and other stories. It fits with this idea. I suggest giving it a read. It was a great story. Lots of idea for gaming. In fact many of the stories were written for specific game systems.

[Lethosos]

I primarily got the idea from Eyrie Production's own Undocumented Features--they have an Asgard that thematically follows suit. If you left out the starships and other fiddly bits, you've got a nice background to work with. Think--Jotun with modern hanguns that would, theoretically, be tank cannons.

[Just Joe]

I've settled, at least for the time-being, on a mixture of #1 and #2 E. I want my players to think of the "high tech" in the game as something akin to mystic/magical powers (e.g., they cost personal END, devices won't operate in any way unless used by someone with the right training, and suspension of disbelief should be such that "scientific" explanations will not be even remotely plausible). But the characters will tend to view mystical/high-tech as being no more different from low-tech than we view computers as different from hammers; that is to say, there are deep and important differences, but both are part of a continuum of sorts within one consistent world-view. Those who wield great mystical/high-tech power are viewed roughly as we view great scientists or athletes.

I will need better, less clumsy terminology than "mystical/high-tech" and the like to use during the game, but I have not come up with any yet.

[Lethosos]

MageTech? You could have some sort of Colomergation named that way that produces the bulk of these sorts of things.