The Role Playing Public Radio Forums
General Category => RPGs => : The_Last_76 November 05, 2010, 05:20:14 AM
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Whenever I'm working on a new idea for a one-shot or a campaign, characters or setting, it's always helped me to be able to voice my ideas and have others chip in - throwing in their two cents on how to improve, alter or remedy problems and situations that come up in the creative process.
This thread is for helping Players and Games Masters with that creative process.
I'd like to get the ball rolling by asking for advice, ideas or notions on how to improve this general concept for a Sci-Fi Horror game that I've been working on for the last week or two.
Setting: Halo Universe
Cast: The Crew of the UNSC 'It's One of Ours', focus on Engineers/Medics/Specialists and a few Marines, probably pre-gens.
Concept: Essentially Dead Space meets Halo, I won't deny. The basic idea for the game is that ONI sends a ship out to explore the remains of Installation 04 and experiment with the Flood (ala 'The Mona Lisa' by Jeff VanderMeer and Tessa Kum), they lose contact with the ship, send in the crew of the UNSC 'It's One of Ours' to re-establish contact and enact repairs. Wacky Space Zombie hi-jinks ensue. I've been re-listening to Tom's Divine Fire AP's for ideas on Military Horror, and have decided to lift a few gems that I like. My aim is to have the players going in expecting this to be an action-y adventure, and slowly turn up the creep factor without ever actively exposing the Flood influence/presence in the game.
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I'm sure you've seen the classics. but mineable movies include
Pandorum
Event Horizon
The Deadspace flicks
Outland.
I'm not sure about like, never exposing the flood is such a good idea.
I totally support it being exposed and then misidentified or unidentifiable, or taken totally Lovecraft and make the flood either some flying polyps or fungi from yuggoth. I would toss in a brain in a jar no matter what. it could be the captain of the ship still giving orders.
And then there are the pitfalls of being in space. Is gravity "on?" How thick is the hull? Is there a leak anywhere in the ship vacuuming out everything. Do they just get left onboard the ship- their landing craft takes off? Or is there some floodness which they are going to bring back to their ship?
In space its like, isolation, cold, and one big mistake and you're screwed. I know because I'm an astronaut.
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I know because I'm an astronaut.
Getting stoned and staring at the stars doesn't count anymore.
I agree with everything that Shallazar said with just one question: are the Flood in Feral Stage or has it evolved to Coordinated Stage?
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no one's going to mention Aliens? HEATHENS
Military Horror is just mashing up tropes from both genres - in particular you need:
Officer that doesn't 'get it' and gives stupid/irrational orders
Brass withholding crucial information
'Acceptable losses'
'Collateral Damage'
Isolation/lack of power to save the day
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
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"Come on, Apes! You wanna live forever!?!"
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no one's going to mention Aliens? HEATHENS
Technically wouldn't it be "Alien" if it's on a ship?
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At what time will the scenario take place? Before Halo 1, before Halo 2 or before Halo 3?
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At what time will the scenario take place? Before Halo 1, before Halo 2 or before Halo 3?
It'd have to be after Halo 1, right? 'cause the Flood aren't out until then.
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I would definitely encourage the players to spend a few minutes joking around and bragging about their character's exploits en route to the ship. Maybe even create a clear chain of command among the player characters. Perhaps you could play the group's Commanding Officer or give the title to one of your players to encourage RP. Anything to make the characters relatable and thus increase the drama once the horror begins.
I am not too well initiated in the Halo universe, but I do distinctly remember the Flood-centric levels of Halo 2. I imagine the sheer mass of Flood would interfere with communication and sophisticated electronics - let the players have their fancy gadgets and stay in constant contact for a while, but slowly and surely rip it away from them.
If I recall correctly, Master Chief is something of an outlier in the Halo World, not really representative of what the average soldier is capable of. Definitely play up the encroaching mass of Flood, the futility of the players' soldiers to fight against it. One Flood dies, nine take its place and a tenth one devours the corpse.
The objective for this scenario should probably be to simply survive. Maybe create a map of the ship and determine what might occur in the various rooms and hallways. Then allow the players to roam around.
As for personal projects, I am currently working on two campaigns: a Gamma World campaign drawing inspiration from Homestuck (see my avatar/mspaintadventures.com) and a CthulhuTech Migou campaign. The latter is really still in the gestation stage, because as much as I love the Mi-Go/Migou, determining any objectives for them beyond "SCOUR THE EARTH RAWR" is pretty difficult. Maybe a game that takes place during the initial invasion of the Migou?
My Gamma World campaign is almost ready, though. The players begin as mutants in Californee, a region that comprises one-third of the Untied States of Amereeka (the other two regions being Flyover and York). They are the leaders of a small tribe of nomads venturing northwards, battling mutated pigs and raccoons and moths and stuff as they go. Eventually, the players reach what was once Seattle and the suburbs surrounding it. Though the vast majority of the suburbs are marked with craters, there exists one house in absolute pristine condition. Perfectly intact, healthy grass and plants, even the mailbox remains standing. Basically, a picturesque two-story house from today's suburbs.
Then the players discover a child inside the house, forced into a kind of stasis for over 150 years. They notice the child remains seated in front of an Ancient (both figuratively and literally) computer, which is still somehow recieving electricity. The players activate the computer, and then the fun begins. The child exits the stasis, is floored by the awesomeness of the player characters (he has a fondness for really bad science fiction movies, as evidenced by the posters in his room), and asks for their help. He had intended to begin playing a computer game with his friends mere moments after the Big Mistake began, a game that would strip the Earth bare and create a new one in its place. What new planet will be created is up to the players, the child, and the child's friends, who are scattered across Amereeka (with one at a small Pacific island - radioactive sea adventures ahoy?).
My real concern is that this might be too railroady. I definitely want the players to have some motivation to follow through on the journey, or at least experience enough curiousity to investigate the frigging house. Not to mention the following events are quite hectic and delineate a pretty clear path for the players to follow.
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At what time will the scenario take place? Before Halo 1, before Halo 2 or before Halo 3?
It'd have to be after Halo 1, right? 'cause the Flood aren't out until then.
The Flood also appeared in Halo Wars, which chronologically happened before Halo 1.
It's possible that small pockets of the Flood would have survived the activation of the ring world weapons. This was also the case with the first ring world in Halo 1, since the Flood there had been kept for research and so were still alive.
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The Flood also appeared in Halo Wars, which chronologically happened before Halo 1.
It's possible that small pockets of the Flood would have survived the activation of the ring world weapons. This was also the case with the first ring world in Halo 1, since the Flood there had been kept for research and so were still alive.
Ah gotcha - see I haven't played Halo Wars.
I am not too well initiated in the Halo universe, but I do distinctly remember the Flood-centric levels of Halo 2. I imagine the sheer mass of Flood would interfere with communication and sophisticated electronics - let the players have their fancy gadgets and stay in constant contact for a while, but slowly and surely rip it away from them.
If I recall correctly, Master Chief is something of an outlier in the Halo World, not really representative of what the average soldier is capable of. Definitely play up the encroaching mass of Flood, the futility of the players' soldiers to fight against it. One Flood dies, nine take its place and a tenth one devours the corpse.
The objective for this scenario should probably be to simply survive. Maybe create a map of the ship and determine what might occur in the various rooms and hallways. Then allow the players to roam around.
Absolutely, the PCs should be almost completely blind electronically. Perhaps though, if they could figure out that some form of scanner works to detect the Flood really well (motion sensors, infrared, what have you) a few of those could be spared so they have to rely on them.
I'd say pretty much if the players get to the point where they're in open combat with the flood, it should be very near endgame. The Halo universe provides ample description of how vanilla soldiers fare against the Flood - that is, not well.
Having the objective be pure survival might work, but I'd recommend throwing in a few important objectives - securing the zombie ship's data core for example, or disabling the engines so the Flood can't fly it out.
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I'd say pretty much if the players get to the point where they're in open combat with the flood, it should be very near endgame. The Halo universe provides ample description of how vanilla soldiers fare against the Flood - that is, not well.
Having the objective be pure survival might work, but I'd recommend throwing in a few important objectives - securing the zombie ship's data core for example, or disabling the engines so the Flood can't fly it out.
I think thats pretty much the core of the Halo games, securing evacuations, destroying a few key things they dont want in enemy hands, minimizing damage, etc, cause fuck the humans get their asses kicked at every turn. Whether against the Flood, the Covenant, a pack of de-fanged baby minks. And Pelicans are about as safe a form of transportation as a Ford Pinto on the deck of the Titanic driven by a drunken blind person.
The characters in Halo games IMO appear to be, basically, badass but helpless, which in the setting of survival horror should work.
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And Pelicans are about as safe a form of transportation as a Ford Pinto on the deck of the Titanic driven by a drunken blind person.
HAVE SOMEONE FALL OUT OF A PELICAN
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I'm not sure about like, never exposing the flood is such a good idea.
I totally support it being exposed and then misidentified or unidentifiable, or taken totally Lovecraft and make the flood either some flying polyps or fungi from yuggoth. I would toss in a brain in a jar no matter what. it could be the captain of the ship still giving orders.
I should have clarified myself. I meant more 'letting the players figure out it's definately the Flood.' I plan on adding enough new information and original material to keep the players unsure of what they are witnessing.
Are the Flood in Feral Stage or has it evolved to Coordinated Stage?
By the time the players enter the scene, the Flood will have just entered the beginings of a Co-ordinated stage, seeking enough biomass to construct a proto-gravemind. An intelligence is behind it, but it's less Gravemind and more Keyser Söze.
At what time will the scenario take place? Before Halo 1, before Halo 2 or before Halo 3?
Technical just before Halo 3 takes place, around late October, early November 2552. Players will recieve news of Earth's attack from the Covenant at some point in the game.
HAVE SOMEONE FALL OUT OF A PELICAN
Into Space.
Flailing, hopelessly, as they drift listlessly backtowards the soon-to-explode ship they fought so hard to ecape.
Maybe a game that takes place during the initial invasion of the Migou?
The inherent bonus, in my eyes, to making a campaign based around the Migou, is that objectives do not have to make sense. With an inherently alien mindset, something as obscure as ensuring the 53rd page on every book that lies within 25m of the 78th parralel is torn out and destroyed can be employed.
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Eyeball A Fella. 4th Edition D&D. Make it happen, people.
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I need some assistance coming up with horror ideas, only problem is it's for Pathfinder and I know DnDesque games are harder to do horror, I relistened to Episode 50, and I am trying to come up with ways to take the players control, I need them to know that whatever creature is coming after them is likely to kill them if it comes to direct conflict and I want to include a "its almost through the door" scenario. I have noticed from one of my other friends who is a rather incredible DM IMHO, that our group panics when they are out numbered and one of my players who is notoriously ballsy is always afraid of goblins and other small challenge rating creatures.(this is more of a OOC fear than in character but I should be able to use it.)
We are in Faerun if any thing from there will lend itself to this idea. I don't really care to use undead for this as they haven't been involved in the campaign too much so far.(Just one Vampire) The only other thing I have to offer is that I have created a template that makes creatures eat magic, It doesn't really make them much stronger but it does make them capable of tracking two of the party members.
I told them that the monsters don't leave the town but I think that they took that to mean that they CAN'T leave the town, do you think I should exploit this fact and use it to scare them, or would that be violating the rules too much in their eyes. (They are fairly reasonable people I suppose)
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Stuffed animals, wooden practice dummies, scarecrows, rocking horses, wooden dummies, unattended suits of armor, mannequins, anything made to look creature like comes alive once it comes within a few miles of the town.
They don't feel pain, they don't tire, they don't make any noise even, they just keep coming towards the PCs (if they have any statues or figures or something in their inventory, it comes alive too.)
I'd say set it up so that they come across 1 or 2 of them and have them fight, make it a kind of tough fight so that they know that just a few are a challenge. Then after they finally manage to destroy them completely they hear some shuffling leaves or something coming from just beyond their vision, and there are 2 more of them, and then they hear a broken twig off to another side and 3 emerge, etc etc, the PCs are surrounded.
They run, and find a shack or an abandoned Inn place to hide and find a pool of blood, a little investigation and out back by a large pile of straw there's a pile of guts and blood and a large sewing needle with some bloody leather thread still attached.
Then they see a family come around the corner, the PCs can see that they have leather thread sewn all over their body, and one of them has a stitch missing and theres some straw poking out. Probably good to have a NPC redshirt who gets taken at some point only to come back and has a dead expression and is after the PCs.
As they escape or whatever they see some of the trees have been recently chopped down and there are piles of sawdust and some sculpting tools, and the fire at the blacksmith is going and they can hear a hammer clanking onto metal, etc, something or someone is carving, sewing, and forging more of them.
They should probably also be working on something, building a huge metal and bone and wood and skin monstrosity of some sort, and it looks like its getting kinda close to being done. They all just toil away in total silence except the sounds of axes chopping wood, metal being forged, except occasionally the PCs think they can hear a voice (insert either creepy little girl/roving mini-boss/whatever)
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I've started working with this, I am going to lead them there next session, I grabbed the animated objects rules from the 3.5 monster manual. Roving mini boss is my favorite part of this, because it is going to be the mannequin from the magic item shop that was modeling the items, so it will be tougher than the rest, and confusing because I had it wearing an amulet that allows it to detect thoughts which is causing it to imprint random images of faces onto itself, which in turn is causing it to transform (as a free action) into random forms using a hat of disguise. I plan to have it imprint family members off of the PC's as well as random villagers. Creepy little kid is accomplished.
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Stuffed animals, wooden practice dummies, scarecrows, rocking horses, wooden dummies, unattended suits of armor, mannequins, anything made to look creature like comes alive once it comes within a few miles of the town.
They don't feel pain, they don't tire, they don't make any noise even, they just keep coming towards the PCs (if they have any statues or figures or something in their inventory, it comes alive too.)
I'd say set it up so that they come across 1 or 2 of them and have them fight, make it a kind of tough fight so that they know that just a few are a challenge. Then after they finally manage to destroy them completely they hear some shuffling leaves or something coming from just beyond their vision, and there are 2 more of them, and then they hear a broken twig off to another side and 3 emerge, etc etc, the PCs are surrounded.
They run, and find a shack or an abandoned Inn place to hide and find a pool of blood, a little investigation and out back by a large pile of straw there's a pile of guts and blood and a large sewing needle with some bloody leather thread still attached.
Then they see a family come around the corner, the PCs can see that they have leather thread sewn all over their body, and one of them has a stitch missing and theres some straw poking out. Probably good to have a NPC redshirt who gets taken at some point only to come back and has a dead expression and is after the PCs.
As they escape or whatever they see some of the trees have been recently chopped down and there are piles of sawdust and some sculpting tools, and the fire at the blacksmith is going and they can hear a hammer clanking onto metal, etc, something or someone is carving, sewing, and forging more of them.
They should probably also be working on something, building a huge metal and bone and wood and skin monstrosity of some sort, and it looks like its getting kinda close to being done. They all just toil away in total silence except the sounds of axes chopping wood, metal being forged, except occasionally the PCs think they can hear a voice (insert either creepy little girl/roving mini-boss/whatever)
I never actually gave you guys an update on this so for those of you that care to hear about it I must say...
It went AWESOME.
They rescued a couple of people hiding in their basement by defeating the roving mini-boss which I decided to up the ante by making take on different traits when it transformed into other forms, more strength and things like that. Made the fight challenging enough and they were trying to save a group of hostages that were being saved to be butchered and added to the flesh monstrosity one of the hostages was one of the PC's 5 year old daughter... I decided this whole thing was a machination of a Psychotic Gnome tinkerer who was building an army of automatons to kill the people who killed his family. He was so far gone insane and had already butchered himself turning himself partially into a construct so he was going to take his revenge at any cost. He moved the hostages to the museum when the players came back to town and they had to fight statues of historical figures from Faerunian history. Eventually they came to a final confrontation with him in which he tried to escape by using the hostages. He readied a fireball and then threatened to kill the hostages if he wasn't allowed to leave. One of the PC's tried to be a hero and shoot his hand while he held the spell components and missed. So he made good on his threat killing all of the hostages, save for the PC's daughter because I let him roll her Reflex save and I rolled for everyone else. I failed a good 7 of them and he made the one. She was still at negative 12 but in pathfinder you dont die till your at negative con so.... she lived and they all celebrated except for the guy who is now haunted by the deaths of 7 other commoners.
Wall o' TEXT!!! WOO