[Games] So ... What to Run NEXT Year? Maybe ... BioShock? Men in Black? Something else?
Necronomicon 2016 is over. I'm already thinking about what to run next year, because for some reason it's easier than thinking about what I'm going to do next week for the Iron Kingdoms campaign. A pox on my insubordinate imagination!
Aftershock:
I was thinking about doing something with the Bioshock franchise. I saw this video: (YouTube Link). Also, at the convention, someone suggested that I should do something with "Bioshock." That, and last month, Postmodern Jukebox had a concert here in Orlando at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, but I wasn't able to make it because I had work projects going into the evenings -- and it had me thinking about the anachronistic treatments of songs in Bioshock Infinite (sample YouTube link to "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"). I had thought that I'd love to get some 1950s/1960s treatments of various songs written AFTER that time period for an alternate Fallout soundtrack (because it's one thing for culture to be frozen in a particular era, but surely there'd be new songs, right?).
SPOILER ALERT: If you plan on playing Bioshock: Infinite and haven't already, read no more of this idea.
But how about Bioshock? It has more of that wonderfully retro-otherwhen vibe. But the story as presented in the video games is just so closed and apocalyptic: We meet a marvelous-but-horribly-flawed civilization in its death throes and participate in its ultimate destruction (quite possibly out of the timeline ENTIRELY). Where to go with that with an RPG? I suppose I could try to shoehorn the PCs in as various characters who are there sometime during the timeline (before the eventual demise of whatever place they're in) and all the moving-and-shaking is just something happening off in the distance, elsewhere. It didn't hold much appeal for me.
But this video gives me another idea. Forget all that business about changing the past and "undoing" all these undesirable realities. If anything, the existence of so many alternate realities, so many alternate versions of the protagonists, suggests that simply going further back in time and changing one critical event won't make all of that go away. It won't make things happy. Maybe these alternate Elizabeths can erase themselves from an undesirable reality, and maybe from our protagonist's point of view, it's all kind of moot, because he's DEAD, but overall the whole idea is just too much of a paradox. As far as I'm concerned, the "happy ending" reality is just one possible branch. The others, as muddled as they are, still exist in the multiverse, from their own perspectives (rather than everyone in that reality simply blinking out of existence), even if from that point on they might no longer be meddled with by a universe-hopping Elizabeth.
...
Not that my players need to know all that, honestly. Rather, I was just thinking of having the action take place in some alternate timeline where a big flying "ghost town" of Columbia is floating in the clouds, waiting to be discovered by the PCs. I'd place it in the 1980s simply because I find it hard to believe that a FLOATING CITY wouldn't show up somewhere on our Google-mapped, satellite-monitored modern Earth, even if it's drifting around constantly and accompanied by a blanketing cover of clouds (a la Laputa: Castle in the Sky). I imagine that this version was torn apart by the civil war portrayed in the game, but that with all of the wanton destruction going on, there was no "winner." Any remaining inhabitants might consist of berserk automatons (such as the Motorized Patriot), or abominations (such as the Handyman) that might have reason to still be alive/active after the passage of many years. Another possibility would be horrific byproducts of the use of Vigors, or side-effects of all the "tears" -- such as the "Merged" (nightmare-inducing cut content from earlier development of Bioshock Infinite).
The racist element of Columbia as portrayed in Bioshock Infinite is a bit of a concern for me. Yes, clearly it's on the part of the BAD GUYS, but I'm still worried about handling something like that and running the risk of some sort of "unintended Aesop" situation if things go awry, or if players who haven't played through the game end up misunderstanding somehow.
Another possibility is that I could focus more on Rapture (the underwater location from Bioshock 1 and 2). Unlike the presumed fate of Columbia, it doesn't "blip" out of existence after meddling with timelines, and given the existence of Bioshock 2, it's apparently still around in some sense, even after all the mayhem caused by the player in Bioshock 1. (However, I never completed Bioshock 2. Who knows? Maybe by the end of THAT, the thing gets nuked or some-such. I suppose I'd have to FINISH the game before setting things in Rapture, even if I end up doing an "alternate timeline" version.)
Miniatures-wise, I suppose I could find the Bioshock Infinite board game if I went with something based on Columbia. I think it's around 25mm scale, which wouldn't mesh with my miniatures collection in general ... but then, it's not as if most of my minis would work for it anyway. Otherwise, there are the Bioshock Infinite Clix, but I missed my chance to get them while they were on the cheap. (Now, they're kind of rare, treated like collectibles, or else I'd be gambling and getting random-assortment packs at list price plus shipping & handling.)
With Rapture, I think the most "distinctive" elements requiring special minis would be the Big Daddies, and I could probably fake it with a few minis that I have that are "Big-Daddy-ish." For the rest, there are various "civilian" Clix minis that I could probably modify with putty to represent Splicers or whatnot.
If it's at all possible, I'd really like to minimize new purchases. Garage space is already at a premium. I really, really need to unload some things. I really, really need to resist any crazy urges to GET EVEN MORE STUFF -- especially something that's only going to be used for a very "niche" genre.
But if I were to have some sort of "Aftershock" game -- it's much, much later, circa the 1980s, for instance -- then I could probably get a bit more distance from the cultural elements of Bioshock Infinite. Sure, there might be some mention of it, but it would be in the course of some sort of narrative as something that happened IN THE PAST. If I make use of the alternate-timelines possibilities offered by "Infinite," I could have an excuse to delve into some of the more interesting possibilities afforded by Bioshock cut content ... or just an excuse to use something I already have miniatures and scenery (and ideas!) for without having to make the job too hard for myself.
General themes include the idea of "utopia gone wrong," people trying to obtain (and commercialize) supernatural powers (or something very like it) and then becoming addicted to it and losing their humanity as a result, and then remarkable technologies and anachronisms. Rather than constructing new scenery, I think I'd try to rely on printing screenshots to set the stage, rely on narrative and "theater of the mind" where possible, and then where necessary, have a few printed floor tiles that somehow have enough decorative elements and "character" to them to get the mental image across, without turning it into a horrifically-large craft project.
Pre-Fallout
And then, in a similar theme, but in the other direction: I found myself thinking, while coming up with my Cyberpunk "Max Headroom" scenario ... what if I tried running a game that featured retro-futurism, but without the post-apocalyptic element? What if I could have an adventure that takes place in, say, the Fallout universe (or something very like it), BEFORE all the bombs drop?
I suppose the big thing to work out would then be: "But then, what shall the heroes DO in this world?" The post-apocalyptic setting, after all, lends itself to basically being a "re-skin" of old dungeon romps, because the PCs are in a mostly lawless land, delving through ancient ruins, picking up anything that isn't nailed down (and quite a few things that are), and fighting mutants/monsters. In a pre-apocalyptic setting, presumably such behavior wouldn't be normal.
One possibility would be an "Eve of the Bomb" type scenario that focuses on our heroes basically trying to rush TO some location (a Vault? a bunker?) before the bombs drop, or as they're dropping, but then I'd mostly just be robbing myself of most of the usual adversaries, and instead having the PCs struggle against -- what, other desperate humans? That might not nearly be as much fun.
Right now, it's a pretty weak concept, I admit. It's more borne of my vague thoughts while playing Fallout 4 of, "Gee, it would be neat to be able to spend more time in the 'pre-bomb' segment of the game," but that doesn't readily translate into a tabletop experience.
Lucha Libre
Okay, there's a story behind this, in a sense. At the close of Necronomicon, on Sunday, at 4 pm (not giving much time if you've got a game that's slated to end at 4 pm), everyone gathers together and they pass out tickets and call out numbers, and people get assorted free items from the many sponsors of the convention. Most people get "Bags of CR**," which are just sort of grab-bags of el-cheapo items that sponsors send out that aren't particularly thrilling -- say, a cheap bookmark that plugs the company's products, or a self-published booklet with homely cover art and complete lack of proofreading that probably has never graced an actual store shelf anywhere. But for some, there are more legitimate board games, card games, game books, fiction books, etc. ... though, again, the bulk of it is very bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, like the sponsors just decided to unload whatever stock wasn't selling anyway by donating it to game convention staff who ask for it.
This time around, however, Gwendel and I didn't do too shabbily. I got a Hero System softcover book called "Lucha Libre." Okay, so the cover art looked pretty bad, and so did the interior art. And ... I don't play Hero System anymore, and have no intention of rushing out to buy Champions Xth Edition to start it up again. (I have enough experience with that game system -- a few years' worth at least -- to know that is not the sort of system I want to GM for.) But the book did a nice job of giving the reader a primer on the history of the "masked wrestler" genre of Mexican movies -- and its various sub-genres. It sounds like it could be fascinating grist for games. I could easily do some "research" (watch some movies!) and I could reuse a bunch of existing minis for adversaries (Neo-Aztec cultists and the walking dead! Evil Santa! Killer robots! Ninjas! All sorts of crazy stuff!) and for the heroes I could just use some existing muscle-bound, spandex-clad HeroClix figures and paint them up in garish "Luchadore" style outfits, with or without capes. It would be a simple matter to use Savage Worlds, but perhaps attach some sort of mini-game element to encourage players to invent new "wrestling moves" to spice up combat.
My concern would be any appearance of "cultural appropriation." That, and I can't speak or read Spanish for the life of me. I'm probably the worst choice for GM for this sort of thing. It'd probably work better if someone else were the GM fired up about an idea like this, and I just lent "technical support" (miniatures painting, creation of handouts, design of a themed character sheet, etc.).
Deadlands Reloaded: The Great Train Robbery
I have a few O-scale toy trains -- cheap, plastic, from the thrift store -- that I'm willing to hack up as "donors" to make a central set piece. I have various minis of cowboys and Victorian-era types. I have Deadlands: Reloaded. I even have some miniatures of a cowboy on a motorcycle (thanks to HeroClix and weird comics) that could be converted to represent a cowboy on the back of a steampunk Motorized Velocipede (fancy, anachronistic term for "motorcycle"). I could try employing some of the not-properly-implemented ideas I had for my great "Mad-Max"-style road war scenario for a velocipedes-chasing-a-train scenario instead, but with a more interesting on-board environment (the multiple train cars and whatever's in them).
I'd need a little more story, but I could probably work on that. I'd like for more to happen than just one long wacky battle.
Flash Gordon
I do not have the Flash Gordon RPG. It isn't out yet. But I heard that it's in development. I hope it will be out soon. I could refurbish some of my Slipstream material, paint up some HeroClix Hawkmen as ... hawkmen ... and prepare for lots of players going "dundundun-dundundun -- FLASH! .... AHHHH-ahhhhh!" repeatedly.
I have no idea for a scenario, but that's not important: I could simply run whatever representative scenario comes with the book, because it'd be BRAND SPANKING NEW, and I've probably got the minis for it. :)
1920s-era Call-of-Cthulhu-inspired Mystery/Investigation
I could either dig up the old Call of Cthulhu RPG and run the system ... or adapt the adventures to use with Savage Worlds (but with some setting rules that might, for instance, put a cap on Acing damage, rein in the awarding of Bennies, introduce Sanity, and otherwise enforce the feel for such adventures, vs. facilitating over-the-top "pulp action" antics that normally accompany Savage Worlds).
Why? Because Gwendel has expressed interest, first off. I can't be sure that she would actually PLAY, and certainly not commit to more than a one-shot at best, but I can hope. I also have fond (but patchy) memories of "investigation"-type games I played in back in college. (Alas, such games were usually interrupted in some way, so I never got to find out how they panned out, so I can't simply grab one from memory and then try to adapt it.)
I definitely have the minis, and if I don't, I painted up minis for Digital Rampage's copy of "Mansions of Madness," so that covers just about every sort of Cthulu-oid horror, and quite a few period-appropriate character archetypes.
IMEF
My IMEF troopers fight aliens in the corridors of a space derelict. Kind of like Aliens, Space Hulk, etc. it definitely needs a TWIST to it, more than just shooting stuff. I kind of tried to do that with my old "Robopocalypse" scenarios, but I still don't feel quite satisfied with those. It's a weak idea. It'd depend upon random inspiration for me to do anything further with it.
The Castle
I made these big foam-core board pieces to represent the layout of a castle from our Iron Kingdoms campaign. It'd be a shame for them not to get any further use. Maybe I could touch them up a bit more, and use them for a "conventional" swords-and-sorcery type adventure. Or perhaps I could even run an Iron Kingdoms one-shot that involves storming the castle. I'm a bit wary of what might be required to run a convention one-shot using Iron Kingdoms versus, say, Savage Worlds, but others have done it, so it must be possible.
Men in Black
I have some Men in Black painted up. I even have a pug. I could perhaps do some sort of crazy crossover -- say, Men in Black meet ... Ghostbusters? Or Men in Black meet ... uh, what other franchises were around then? Okay, this one is very, very weak, I admit.
Ghostbusters
Something with Ghostbusters. Something to give me an excuse to paint up the minis in this nice, still-in-its-shrink-wrap Ghostbusters game I got for Christmas last year. I've come up with Savage Worlds rules for the setting. I just need to come up with a decent adventure. Maybe a crossover with Men in Black....