TV/books/movies that would make good rpg settings

[gloriousbattle]

TV/books/movies that would make good rpg settings

I urge everybody who reads this to contribute something, as it is the sort of thread that could really be very beneficial to our hobby as a whole.

I got the idea for this thread after watching the original Outer Limits, Demon With A Glass Hand on youtube recently www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSZ3RdUL7Iw&feature=related

While many people do not like Harlan Ellison, he really was capabale of writing some amazingly imaginative stuff, and this story about a man(?) from the future who is running across time, being chased by future aliens who want to destroy humanity, has become a classic of science fiction. Obviously, it would require some modifications to make it useful as an rpg setting. One man in a climactic battles with a few aliens would be a good one-off game, but not a campaign

So...

What if, instead of just Mr. Trent, the setting was a group of people with no memory of who or what they are waking up in an location of which they also know nothing. They have some abilities and skills that they are aware of, but what else? Who are we? What is our purpose?

Gradually, they become aware of the following:

1. They are all that is left of humanity

2. Humanity was destroyed by shadowy forces of some type, that now seek to kill THEM, but they don't know why.

3. The abilities that they possess, though impressive, are only partial. They need to acquire something to complete them.

4. They begin to learn their purpose along the way. Probably it is that humanity can, in some way, be brought back, but maybe something more exotic, like the forces stalking the PCs are the evil things that humanity will become, and the player characters are going back in time to try to create a better destiny.

Anyway, this is just one idea from one old sci-fi show that I can see as making a great rpg setting, combining combat and adventure with a real sense of mystery, but that would be very playable in OD&D (or similar) rules. As an example, Mr. Trent's gradual recovery of the "fingers" of his "hand" and the knowledge he gains when this happens could be seen as a form of "levelling up."

This particular setting I would probably not play using OD&D or one of it's fantasy clones, but there are certainly sf OD&D clones like Star Blades games.groups.yahoo.com/group/STAR_BLADES_OGL/ or Hideouts and Hoodlums sites.google.com/site/hideoutsandhoodlums/ that could be modified for this purpose with the addition of no more than a page or two of additional rules.

I'd love to hear other suggestions for campaigns with similar inspiration.

Note: I think this is a really good idea, and so will probably cross-post it to other old school rpg fora.

[Deleted]

Does it have to be an entertainment source? Because I was setting something up around a WW1-type setting (not on Earth, though) with a fantasy element. Though the comparisons should be obvious to most people from the Allied nations, I do apologize for offending anyone from Germany. I do confess, however, it was impossible for me not to think of Hobgoblins and their ilk as "the Hun".

[Malcadon]

A topic like this could be its own forum category by its own right! When I turn on the TV, I see lots of shows, movies, and cartoons that would make great RPG settings - even with comic books, video games, and toys (I sometimes like to speculate about toy lines that never had a chance to have a backstory built around them, for no other reason, then to stimulate my imagination). The amount of fiction, and derivatives to choose from are truly endless!

In many cases, the setting would be character and/or event based, or just one-off adventures. I try not to bound myself to the canons of a setting, as things tend to get convoluted, and hard to keep track of.

I would alter any setting to make it more playable. The most common would be to up the level of content seen in a show - specifically, they way cartoons tone-down the level violence to the point of being completely bloodless. Most grown players would get really annoyed if the can only subdue the bad guys, like in some He-Man cartoon. One has to admit that Thundarr the Barbarian would be way better, if it played out like the DEN part of Heavy Metal the movie.

Some settings would limit the action to a unique type of character, or possession of a unique item. An 80s cartoon called Spiral Zone was highly restricted, as the heroes are not just highly elite soldiers, but they have to operate in special suits made of elements so rare, only 5 was ever made. This is fine for a cartoon where no one dies, but needlessly restrictive for an RPG. It is sometimes necessary to make concessions, to allow for otherwise irreplaceable characters or vital equipment.

In general, I like to mix shows up. Its not unusual for me to mix gaming systems, and settings and genres are no different. For example, Lost in Space might be interesting, if it plays out like Little House on the Prairie, meets Firefly.