Ripping Off Mainstream Sci-Fi

[Easterner9504]

The best part about RPing with my sons is that they know enough to play, but have not seen all the movies or read the books I have, so I can always rip off plots, gamebooks, movies, characters etc that would never get past an SF savvy bunch of players.

The Wisdom of Mithras.


In my Scout campaign I plan on a double rip-off. The PC's will find a missing Scout Cruiser by a lake a mile or two from a cave system, hoses in the water. No crew.

Exploration will find holes burned in floor from concentrated molecular acid. In theory they should scream Reticulan Parasites!!

However it will be the work of Skinks I'm stealing from STARFIST Series. They use weed sprayers with acid and live underwater not in caves. I went to STARFIST website and contacted one of those eat, sleep, breathe the series types all of 17 years old who inhabit specialty websites and gave me 6 E-mails loaded with Skink info. Since I didn't want to trust my memories.

 

[Mithras]

I'd never heard of Starfist - the books sound excellent! Particularly the fact that one of the authors is a Vietnam vet and writes that stuff into his books. I believe in a healthy dose of combat realism in SF military writing (I've written a book about the Vietnam War).

I just wish I had time to read novels ...

 

[Easterner9504]

Starfist

The only negatives are the books are hit or miss. Several are great to awsome, several are duds. There military portions are excellent but the political portions are "off." But I do recommend the series.

 

[Darkhstarr]

I did a similar scenario for Nuke-Con a few years back. A legendary pirate ship hidden in a cave, hoses in water, repair underway, human remains showing signs of knife marks & being eaten, & signs of fighting. That was also the game where I used my IMTU misjimp rules & my wife's 44 year old female pirate wound up becoming 13 years old physically.

I use a lot of references from pop media, SF & Fantasy in my games & play with a savvy group of people. My trick is to never give them what to expect. Make the character inspired by a villain turns out to the good guy, the helpless, frail, 4'11" female he's got tied over a horse (or in high-tech restraints) is a serial killer or a deposed dictator; the handsome hero inspired by (name your fav SF, Fantasy, or Horror character) is an errant coward; the ravaging hordes of insects are actually a sentient (or semi-sentient) race whose city, tow, nest was bombed out of existent by the besieged 'victims' because they were sitting on a fortune (a variant is the sentients are being hunted for some valuable part of their anatomy) & the party are hired as bodyguards; etc. I got my players going with this gambits that I play a character(s) or a scenario straight.

The best part about RPing with my sons is that they know enough to play, but have not seen all the movies or read the books I have, so I can always rip off plots, gamebooks, movies, characters etc that would never get past an SF savvy bunch of players.

The Wisdom of Mithras.


In my Scout campaign I plan on a double rip-off. The PC's will find a missing Scout Cruiser by a lake a mile or two from a cave system, hoses in the water. No crew.

Exploration will find holes burned in floor from concentrated molecular acid. In theory they should scream Reticulan Parasites!!

However it will be the work of Skinks I'm stealing from STARFIST Series. They use weed sprayers with acid and live underwater not in caves. I went to STARFIST website and contacted one of those eat, sleep, breathe the series types all of 17 years old who inhabit specialty websites and gave me 6 E-mails loaded with Skink info. Since I didn't want to trust my memories.