Adapting Blake's 7

Here's a synopsis of the Blake's 7 plot adapted to a fantasy setting.

The players begin en route on baord a ship to a penal colony. One or more of the players was set up/framed/a political prisoner. Most players will attempt to engineer a mutiny; give them time to get to know one another, then ruthlessly quash the rebellion.

The ship encounters the remnants of a sea battle, with an unmanned but seaworthy ship floating out there. The captain sends a few men on board to claim the ship, but they don't return.

Unwilling to risk more men, the troublemakers (players) are sent over with poor-quality weapons to investigate - no great loss if they fail and presumably unable to run the ship.

Once on board, they will have to overcome a tough challenge that killed off the last batch (and possibly sent the original crew to the lifeboats). But if they do win...

The ship should be magical enough that just the players can run it, have some good-quality weapons laying around, and be faster than the penal ship. Can you say leg it? Heck, the ship could be an intelligent magical item.

Exploring the ship should yield enough money, weapons, food, and armour to allow the players to stay at sea indefinitely. The rest of the campaign involves hit-and-run missions, search for a treasure/artifact, and a general attempt to hit back against the original oppressors (who will be trying to locate, trap, and/or eliminate the players before they grow too popular with the oppressed).

Plenty of intrigue, lots of opportunity to visit lost lands/temples, and keeps the players on their toes. Eventually the campaign can wind up with sweet revenge against the original oppressors.

Well, if you are in Eberron, the ship could be a stealth Air ship. Maybe the Elemental ring can be retracted when not in use.

The prisoners might be refugees from Cyre, who were being kept in a secret prison for "Special" prisoners of war.

Those hunting them want to keep this prison a secret from others, so they will try to capture them if possible, or kill them to keep the secret.

What level do you want to start the players at - as that'd alter what the big threat on board was?

Would you want the ship to be sentient/intelligent like Zen in the TV series?

For food/drink maybe some item on board with create food/water n times per day?

Won't everyone want to play Avon or Villa (or their equivalents)?

Plus, you'd have to exile one of the PC's at random half way through the campaign.

Because it was based around a small group of idiosyncratic outlaws wandering the galaxy, Blake's 7 plots are really, really easy to convert to D&D style adventures. I've done a few myself.

MonsterMash said:

What level do you want to start the players at - as that'd alter what the big threat on board was?

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That's why I didn't specify it; I assumed anyone who was interested in such a plot would adapt it. My players are going to start at level 5; it'll probably be an ioun beholder.

MonsterMash said:

Would you want the ship to be sentient/intelligent like Zen in the TV series?

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I'm still mulling that over. The ship in my campaign *will* be heavily enchanted, but I might put an NPC on board instead of making the ship itself sentient.

MonsterMash said:

For food/drink maybe some item on board with create food/water n times per day?

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That's what I was thinking. Or maybe just extensive stores of salted pork with some dishes of enchanting flavor.

MonsterMash said:

Won't everyone want to play Avon or Villa (or their equivalents)?

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Only if they're familiar with the show and realize this is an adaptation. However, none of my players know it at all, so I'll just need to set up the conflicting motivations myself.

Dirigible said:

Plus, you'd have to exile one of the PC's at random half way through the campaign.

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I'm not planning on following the plot that far; probably the campaign will wrap up/diverge really significantly after the equivalent of the season two finale (Star One).

The main things I really want to reuse are the opening scenario (beats meeting in a tavern), the Blake/Avon tension (pretty easy if you have a paladin-type in the party), and Servalan - I think she makes a perfect model for the recurring evil mastermind without being personally dangerous herself, just a combination of intelligence, charisma and ruthless ambition.

JBowtie said:

I'm not planning on following the plot that far; probably the campaign will wrap up/diverge really significantly after the equivalent of the season two finale (Star One).

The main things I really want to reuse are the opening scenario (beats meeting in a tavern), the Blake/Avon tension (pretty easy if you have a paladin-type in the party), and Servalan - I think she makes a perfect model for the recurring evil mastermind without being personally dangerous herself, just a combination of intelligence, charisma and ruthless ambition.

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Servalan is definitely a useful villain. Was Tarrant in the first season or only later on?

Dirigible said:

Plus, you'd have to exile one of the PC's at random half way through the campaign.

Because it was based around a small group of idiosyncratic outlaws wandering the galaxy, Blake's 7 plots are really, really easy to convert to D&D style adventures. I've done a few myself.

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Why does this show sound like Farscape?

I mean it sounds great, but still. The similarities are uncanny.

VirgilCaine said:

Why does this show sound like Farscape?

I mean it sounds great, but still. The similarities are uncanny.

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Probably because Blake's 7 was made back in the late seventies. A *lot* of sci-fi shows since then have taken inspiration from that show, directly or indirectly. The special effects are laughable, almost unwatchable, nowadays - but the plot and characters stand up extremely well.

MonsterMash said:

Servalan is definitely a useful villain. Was Tarrant in the first season or only later on?

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Tarrant came in at the beginning of season three.