Bioshock Hero

[Shadowsoul]

Hi all.

 

I'm thinking of creating a one shot scenario to run at my Gaming Club which is set in a somewhat modified version of Rapture; the underwater city from Bioshock.  Somewhat altered backstory and no Little Sisters, (because I just know at least one player would start harvesting Little Sisters and I would not be able to look them in the eye afterwards), but still with hideously mutated Splicers everywhere and Plasmids galore.

 

Has anyone ever tried statting out Bioshock or Rapture Hero?  And does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

[bubba smith]

I think BIOSHOCK would make a better pulp HERO style campaign

[Nolgroth]

Bioshock could be either Pulp or SciFi. There are certainly elements of both there. You could even make a case for Post Apocalyptic if you are dealing with the events after the 1960 New Years Eve event.

 

The thing is, aside from the strange locale, Plasmids, splicers, etc., Rapture is nothing more than a gangster era city. Me personally, I would build most things as if they were Normal Humans and then add their spliced abilities as a layer upon that. I have not actually played any of the Bioshock games for years now, but I recall that most splicers were not that difficult to kill. The arbitrary designations like Houdini and Spider tended to define their abilities, but those names would mean nothing to PCs. If you are comfortable with D&D 4 style designations for your monsters, then sure Ledhead Splicer (guns), Brute Splicer (enhanced Strength and toughness), Spider Splicer (clinging, stealth, etc). For those players who might have played Bioshock, toss in a couple of "previously undiscovered" splicer types. 

 

Big Daddy (Rosie, Bouncer, etc.) are all extraordinarily tough. The Alpha series use Plasmids, but are not as tough. There were some more, but you get the idea. I would actually stat them out with minimal resistant PD (say 2-4) and some measure of Damage Reduction. I recommend 75% for the 'big' ones like Rosie  or Bouncer and 50% for Alpha's. Taking one of these down should be a real challenge. Rosie had rivet guns for range. Bouncer uses charge (Movethrough) attacks and their drills. 

 

The turrets and flying drone things were relatively easy to kill and could be mind controlled to attack enemies, with the right Plasmid, Easy enough. Pick a caliber of bullet from Dark Champions and use it as the base. I would suggest probably a smaller round like a 5.56mm would be sufficiently damaging.

 

On a non mechanical note, see if you can find recordings of the Circus of Value and El Ammo Bandito vending machines. Those were such a big part of the game for me, not just hacking them, but walking through a tense area only to have "Welcome to the CIRCUS OF VALUE <duh-ding ding ding>" ring out from behind me. If you can find the vaguely underwater machinery background noise, that would be pretty awesome too. Just play it on a loop at a volume just high enough to be heard. I don't remember if I bought the soundtrack or ripped it from the game, but it has some amazing music in it. That's my cue to go listen to it.

 

Keep in mind that most things can be given stats pretty quickly. Portraying them as desperate, twisted addicts that will kill for Adam will make them a lot more memorable than the distinction in abilities. Most of the people of Rapture were just that; people. Using a Normal Human stat block with a few skills and such will work for most of the denizens of Rapture. Even the more specialized of them (like Houdini or Brute) rarely have more than their special abilities layered on top. You should be fine. Plenty of splicers out there so if they are individually easy to kill, make it up with numerical mobs using pack tactics.

 

If my search-fu was good, I seem to recall this topic coming up before. I don't remember if there were any specific constructs you could borrow. I'll see if I can find it. If it even exists. I'll post again if I find a link or if I come up with something. BTW, what are your point spreads for this game?

[薔薇語]

I am curious what kind of one shot you want to run in a Rapture-esc environment. Most of your design choices in terms of denizens, plots, and builds will revolve a lot around defining simply what you want to get out of the session. Here are a few examples of things you could do with a "Rapture Themed" session:

1 - Straight Horror

In this incarnation of the Rapture theme, the PCs are desperate folks trying to flee their new found prison. While junkies and mob bosses are bad even in well tended modern cities, the rampant decay of Rapture and Plasmid fueled mania would easily be an almost impossible challenge. Maybe the PCs are this games version of "the little sisters" and they are trying to escape before being harvested.

In this scenario, keep the PCs as generally human. The Plasmid Junkies could be one trick ponies built on a couple dozen points. Play up the dark "you never know what is beyond the next turn" atmosphere.

2 - Zombie-esc Horror

In this version of the Horror story, the PCs are not all together overpowered by any single Plasmid user. Maybe they could even use some plasmids themselves. But the torrent of desperate folks looking for their fix will easily become too much for the PCs if they don't manage to flee. The more they use their powers, the more the others will notice them and come clamoring for a fix.

3 - Redeemers 

The adventures have a goal (either because of personal choice or because they were sent on a mission) to re-establish control over the city. Perhaps some gang bosses or dominant plasmid user has caught the serious ire of others. Maybe it is just that there are still helpless civilians in need of rescue. Regardless, the PC are their to save lives / restore order. This isn't about them running. This is about the fight. But they are behind enemy lines and unsure of what they will face. Maybe they don't even know what plasmids are before encountering them. In this version the PCs would need to be built on a more Heroic level. Either they have equipment to fight Plasmid users or can tap into the plasmids themselves.

4 - Treasure Hunters

There is something down there! And damnit, we need to get it! What are the PCs looking for and will they even recognize it when they find it? Who knows. But that is why these PCs are there in Rapture. While a bit un-prepared at first, they quickly adapt to their situation and try to retrieve their target and skedaddle in one piece. Maybe along the way they meet a few sympathetic characters and are forced with the hard choice: save the city or complete the mission.

Those are just 4 set-ups I could think of off hand quickly. There are obviously more. But each one requires different kinds of write ups for the PCs, the equipment, and the world as a whole in terms of NPCharacter depth. 

Soar.  

[Shadowsoul]

Thanks guys.  You've given me some things to think about.

 

Let me tell you a bit more about the scenario I had in mind.  This would be a survival horror game of sorts.  The game would start with the PCs in Rapture, next to an elevator.  I would tell them that they are the survivors of a shipwreck who managed to make it to a Rapture 'lighthouse' in a lifeboat.  They would soon be contacted over a radio by a doctor who is seeking to cure the residents of Rapture of the effects of Adam and Eve abuse and requests their help since, as newcomers, they are still sane which is an increasingly rare trait in Rapture.  The idea is to get the lab which produces a new Plasmid called Purity, (or possibly Cain), that reverses the effects of Plasmid mutation up and running again; restoring power, removing some Splicers from the area etc. 

 

Another character would contact them after that suggesting that they play along with the doctor but then betray her and join him in a straightforward escape attempt using a stolen submarine.

 

I would have a small number of Plasmids, Gene Tonics and weapons for the PCs to find which would be written out on pieces of card or perhaps just printed onto pieces of paper. 

 

As PCs start using Plasmids and Gene Tonics and/or suffering stress and injury they'll start to remember things which call their memories of being innocent sailors and passengers into question and potentially erode their sanity.  The final reveal is that the PCs are not actually visitors from the world above; they are Splicers who were used as test subjects by the doctor and now their Purity treatments are wearing off.  Those who survive long enough will have to decide whether to accept a second round of treatments in the hope of regaining their humanity or escape the nightmare of Rapture in order to roam the surface world as the monsters they have become.

 

Splicers will not attack in mass waves.  They will be unique, heavily mutated horrors who are more than a match for a lone PC, at least at first.  Weapons and Plasmids will be rare enough that the PCs will have to think carefully about who gets what, particularly if their 'memories' have the desired effect of making them distrust each other.  I will try to give the Players the chance to use Rapture's environment against the Splicers as well.  But don't want to pack too much in.

 

Big Daddies and Big Sisters will be replaced by 'Clankers', Steampunk cyborgs which carry out various tasks around the crumbling city and are probably too powerful for the PCs to take on, though they could be lured into clearing out Splicers.