 April 7, 2012 - 5:21pm | Sorry - this is somewhat off topic for Star Frontiers. If it's in the wrong place, can someone move it? I've been wanting to run a BRP modern game that would, during the first game session, devolve into a zombie apocalypse. My problem is, I don't want it to start as a zombie apocalypse game. Rather, I want it to start as "x" game that turns into the former, hopefully shocking the players. However, I can't figure out what the initial premise would be for players to create normal, everyday investigators without giving the real premise of the game away. I've gotten a few ideas online (prison, school, college, supers, film crew, class reunion, Survivor or survival, The Sims) but that still doesn't give me my initial (false) premise, my "This is what the game is going to be about." I feel like I'm explaining this badly. When you start almost any game, one of the questions is "What kind of game is it?" The answer is fantasy, horror, or the like. I need that initial fake premise that will get the players interested, get them to make normal people as their characters, and leave them completely blind-sided when zombies start showing up when they shouldn't even be in such a game. The premise should be 20th century <what>. Here's a good example that worked in play. Year of the Phoenix started out with the characters part of a NASA anti-terrorist space force in 1999. Characters were part of the military but trained to pilot shuttles and deal with terrorism in space. However, during the initial scenario, when they take the shuttle Phoenix to the international space station, which has been taken by terrorists, the space station explodes as they close to dock. Everything goes black. They wake up on the shore and guess that they managed to get out of the shuttle. Turns out they are probably in the Soviet Union (which still existed in the game) and help some rebels fight against them. However, by the end of the mission, they find that they are actually in the 24th century and the Soviet Union now runs the world. Any advice or ideas are welcome. Thanks. Call of Cthulhu RPG Journals: http://www.yog-sothoth.com/blogs/2951 Other journals: http://forum.abyssalgaming.com/blog/7-maxs-blog/ http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/blog.php/8662 |
 April 7, 2012 - 6:49pm | Problem with the false premise is that a player may feel like he didn't sign up for the game you put him into. I'd say bill it as a quasi modern, detective game for the false premise. then build the zombie encounters to a feavor pitch. characters are investigating a supposed Hatian witch doctor and encounter and deal with one zombie, later then leave a location and whoa zombies on on the street and things just go worst from there. BTW nothing is out of place when its in the open discussion folder of the forums. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 April 8, 2012 - 10:55am | The players can be hired to stop someone who is planning to break into a lab. While the players are there, they can hear a few scientists talking about the results from the "Z-virus." Make sure it sounds unimportant, just a detail that players will forget about soon. Later, after they stop the sabotuer, alarms will go off, signaling a live specimen has escaped it's containment area. By Z-virus, the scientists meant ZOMBIE virus! You can pick up from there. Subtle foreshadowing is good in any story. Remember the clock tower from the first Back To The Future? "Hello, Traaz. I see you forgot my credits. You have 24 hours to live. Say goodbye to your family, tell off your boss, do what you want. Just kidding. Did you really think I would let you do that? Goodbye, Mr.Traaz." -Uknown |
April 8, 2012 - 3:52pm | My experience with subtle foreshadowing in an RPG is that the subtleness of a sledgehammer is just about right for the average player to catch and more subtle then than and its completely lost on them. Just saying. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 April 8, 2012 - 8:14pm | I've been thinking about this and maybe something along the lines of X-Files. You have a team investigating a few strange occurances. Make them totally unrelated to zombies but still have a flare towards the strange and unusual. Have a few of these encounters or adventures, then throw the zombies in to their next investigation. How the zombies get there, I liked BorgLegend's idea of a virus. This will keep you from changing the tone too much for the players but they will feel that there is something strange around the next corner or adventure but not know what you have up your sleeve. |
 April 8, 2012 - 8:42pm | Building on BorgLegend's idea have the PCs get hired to protect a lab but let a whole alphabet of virus samples get stolen. Then the PCs can be turned from guards to secret recovery team. Most vials will be reclaimed intact with minor incidences of released material that must be disposed of. Mostly odd mutenogenics and such. This gives a few monsters to kill. Then with the right build up and enough side stories to keep the players guessing let the Z virus get out. Maybe the boss encounter of the initial encounters is finished by the boss dowsing his followers with the virus to escape. The PCs take it a the boss murdering his troops to keep his secrets. The capture or kill the boss and go home the heroes only to wake up the next morning to the zombie apocalypse. -iggy |
April 9, 2012 - 7:48am | If you set it up as X files and PC's are a star law team then it can be a long running campaign where the team gets dispatched to a hot spot to investigate weirdness just in case its the sathar. And lets face it some things the sathar do is a little weird so that would be logical. You could also developed the mysteries of the tetrarchs in this campaign as well. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 10, 2012 - 8:06am | Per responses both here and on other threads across the vastness of the internet I'm leaning more, now, towards just starting out telling my players we're doing a BRP modern game and that the premise will become clear soon enough. Perhaps even telling them if they don't know the premise in advance, they will more likely have a more enjoyable time. I'm hoping that will be enough. Comments? I'm also tempted to go with triffids instead of zombies ... Call of Cthulhu RPG Journals: http://www.yog-sothoth.com/blogs/2951 Other journals: http://forum.abyssalgaming.com/blog/7-maxs-blog/ http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/blog.php/8662 |
 April 10, 2012 - 8:09am | I agree sometimes I just blindly go with a movie Netflix recommends without the reviews and it turns out well. Question which triffids are you going with TV series or movie? I take it you are also going to leave out the whole world gone blind thing or maybe not? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
April 10, 2012 - 12:52pm | Per responses both here and on other threads across the vastness of the internet I'm leaning more, now, towards just starting out telling my players we're doing a BRP modern game and that the premise will become clear soon enough. Perhaps even telling them if they don't know the premise in advance, they will more likely have a more enjoyable time. I'm hoping that will be enough. Comments? I'm also tempted to go with triffids instead of zombies ... I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 10, 2012 - 12:57pm | If you're using Triffids, you should make one that's Audrey 2 from Little Shop Of Horrors. Just a small suggestion of a little joke you could add. "Hello, Traaz. I see you forgot my credits. You have 24 hours to live. Say goodbye to your family, tell off your boss, do what you want. Just kidding. Did you really think I would let you do that? Goodbye, Mr.Traaz." -Uknown |
April 11, 2012 - 12:00pm | Rattraveller and BorgLegend, I'd be using the triffids from the book. From what I've seen of the 1980s series - they stuck very close to it - but the movie is ridiculous. Triffids are killed by salt water! What? Anyway - my triffids would steal from the old Dragon magazine article and the original book. Yes, most of the population of earth would be blind (and I would probably set it in the 1960s) and investigators would start out sighted but later characters might be blind of the player so wished. For now though, I still want to try a zombie one at some point in the future. I appreciate Jedion's candor on the subject of tricking players and, if and when this ever happens, I think I will merely say that the twist or main premise of the game will reveal itself in time. Thanks all. Call of Cthulhu RPG Journals: http://www.yog-sothoth.com/blogs/2951 Other journals: http://forum.abyssalgaming.com/blog/7-maxs-blog/ http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/blog.php/8662 |
