The Syfy Channel has launched a new television series and video game called Defiance, set in the near future. Approximately three decades previously, a bunch of spaceships called “arks” showed up over earth, depositing seven different alien races on the planet. A war ensued and, when peace was finally reached, the inhabitants had to learn to adapt. An accident destroyed most of the spaceships remaining in orbit around the planet, and periodically one of the spaceship’s orbits decays, and it plummets to earth in what is called an “arkfall,” providing the opportunity to harvest alien technology from the wreckage.
SPOILERS! I’m going to discuss the plot of the pilot, so if you haven’t seen it and want to be surprised, do not read on!
After watching the pilot, I was struck by how easy it would be to adapt to a D&D campaign, whatever edition you want to play. That might speak to how unoriginal it is, but I found it enjoyable. Below I’ll provide a breakdown of the episode with D&D equivalents for inspiration.
The main characters head out into the badlands, pursuing an “arkfall” in the hopes of salvaging lucrative technology.
This is classic D&D. The party hears about ruins and decides to go looting. If you’re brave enough, you could even stick closer to Defiance by making the ruins a crashed starship, a la Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. There’s a wealth of future tech in D&D, especially for 3rd and 4th edition. For 3rd edition, check out D&D Modern or D&D Future; for 4th edition, check out D&D Gamma World or the Bazaar of the Bizarre article in Dragon 410, “Thingamajigs of the Barrier Peaks.” You don’t even have to worry about what you let the characters loot, because the next scenario takes it all away…
The main characters are ambushed by an Irathient tribe after looting the wreckage. They escape, wounded, only to be ambushed by giant wolf-spiders, so they hide the treasure. The characters are rescued by an armed force from the nearby town of Defiance.
Given their tribal structure and the avoidance of “civilization” by living out in the badlands, I think wood elves make a good fit for the Irathients. Perhaps the ruins are considered sacred to them, or a wood elf expedition had the same idea about looting, or perhaps they just don’t like strangers. In any case, a confrontation between the party and the wood elves should give the heroes an opportunity to escape, but without the spoils.
The Irathients ride motorcycles, favor wild and flamboyant clothing, and respect shows of strength. You could make them goblins on worgs, especially if you favor Paizo’s goblins, or any other humanoid race in your campaign that has the same mentality. They come to the town’s rescue in the final act, though, so there should be some mutual respect between the two cultures, if not outright cooperation.
The ambush by giant wolf-spiders is another classic D&D trope – kick them while they’re down. You could make it a pack of any kind of monster you wanted – giant spiders, worgs, feywild chokers – or a single really scary monster (like a dragon!), because the heroes are going to get help in the form of a posse. A couple rounds of losing really bad makes the NPCs look really good when they save the heroes’ hides.
The town’s doctor fixes the characters up, but the characters can’t pay or leave, because the Irathients took all their equipment and supplies. Instead, they look for work. One of the characters enters a bare-knuckle boxing contest to make some quick cash.
If any of the heroes are hurt, the posse drops them off at the local temple where the cleric-in-residence provides healing first and asks for pay second. Everyone is friendly and helpful, but payment is expected at some point. Heroes wouldn’t want to settle down in a mundane job like working the fields or digging in the mines, so poking around reveals a gambling establishment run by a haughty high elf to whom most of the town is in debt. He offers quick coin for defeating the house champion and, after watching a match or two, one of the heroes thinks he can take the guy.
Problem is, once the hero throws his hat in the ring, the house does a switcheroo, and a heavily muscled dwarf (or half-orc, or warforged) takes his place. It should be a tough match (which you could run as either a battle or a skill challenge), but if the hero wins, the high elf is highly annoyed. The hero gets paid, but not enough to recoup equipment and supplies, so it’s back to square one again.
Meanwhile, the son of one of the prominent men in town is murdered, and the prominent man accuses the son of one of the other prominent men in town. There’s a showdown between to the two families while the characters are present, and the resident lawgiver is killed. The characters take on the job of finding the real killer in exchange for money and equipment.
While the heroes drown their sorrows in the local tavern, or continue to look for work in the general store, temple, or some other public establishment, there’s a showdown between the aforementioned high elf’s son and a local human lord. Seems the lord’s son was murdered, and the high elf boy was overheard threatening him. Whether or not the heroes intervene, the local sheriff shows up, along with a witness who can swear the high elf boy couldn’t have done the deed. A scuffle still occurs, and the sheriff is killed; the lord offers a reward for his son’s killer, which is enough to resupply the entire party – an offer too tempting to pass up (the DM hopes).
The killer’s identity is discovered, along with a plot to destroy the town. The town’s defenses are disabled, and the approach of an army is revealed.
Solving the murder could be the main thrust of the adventure, broken down into a series of encounters, interviews, etc, or it could be run as a skill challenge. In any case, the killer is located just as he sabotages the town’s defenses. Perhaps he blows up a dam, renders a drawbridge useless, or torches the local militia’s armory, so the only weapons the townsfolk are left with are their farming implements. Maybe there’s an ancient magical statue that protects the town from attackers, but the killer uses a ritual to drain its power. In any case, the only information the killer reveals is there’s an army on the way to wipe the town out of existence. He remains silent thereafter no matter what people do to him, he dies from wounds sustained during his capture, or the local lord kills him in a fit of rage – whatever you prefer to keep any more information from leaking out.
The town and the characters band together to fight the army, with the characters sacrificing their treasure in order to restore the town’s defenses in a one-time attack that saves the day.
Hopefully, the heroes want to stay and help instead of cut and run, as the noble is good on his word and pays up. Fully armed and equipped, the heroes help organize the townsfolk in the defense of their town, as the deceased sheriff was the only one with prior military experience. The approaching army should be terrifying enough to motivate the heroes – a mass of orcs, or armored ogres, or perhaps a horde of demons making their way from a portal to the Abyss. The wood elves from the badlands join the townsfolk at the last minute to help in the fight, and you can let them turn the tide, or you can hinge success on an innocuous piece of a treasure the heroes thought worthless from that foray at the beginning – a seemingly useless trinket, and the only thing the wood elves didn’t loot.
Maybe it’s a holy relic that reanimates the guardian statue, or summons a force of earth elementals that reconstruct the dam with super speed, drowning the approaching army. Maybe it’s the remnant of a god who manifests and blasts the demons with holy power before fading into oblivion. Whatever you give the heroes to save the day, make sure they can’t keep it and use it over and over.
The characters become the new lawgivers.
In wake of their success, the heroes are put on the town’s payroll in some capacity, be it as sheriff and deputies, a private army, bodyguards, or some other position that provides them with the opportunity to adventure and still return to the town. Why the army was marching on the town is still a mystery, what the lord’s son had to do with it is still unknown, and who the mastermind behind it all is still a secret – to the heroes. (Apparently, the former mayor of Defiance is looking for something very valuable hidden by the murdered boy, and the easiest way to find it would be to simply dig up the town once everyone is dead or has fled.)
It remains to be seen if future episodes of Defiance also lend themselves to D&D conversion, but I suspect they will. I hope so, because I think it just might make a good foundation for a D&D Next campaign. Happy gaming!
SPOILERS! I’m going to discuss the plot of the pilot, so if you haven’t seen it and want to be surprised, do not read on!
After watching the pilot, I was struck by how easy it would be to adapt to a D&D campaign, whatever edition you want to play. That might speak to how unoriginal it is, but I found it enjoyable. Below I’ll provide a breakdown of the episode with D&D equivalents for inspiration.
The main characters head out into the badlands, pursuing an “arkfall” in the hopes of salvaging lucrative technology.
This is classic D&D. The party hears about ruins and decides to go looting. If you’re brave enough, you could even stick closer to Defiance by making the ruins a crashed starship, a la Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. There’s a wealth of future tech in D&D, especially for 3rd and 4th edition. For 3rd edition, check out D&D Modern or D&D Future; for 4th edition, check out D&D Gamma World or the Bazaar of the Bizarre article in Dragon 410, “Thingamajigs of the Barrier Peaks.” You don’t even have to worry about what you let the characters loot, because the next scenario takes it all away…
The main characters are ambushed by an Irathient tribe after looting the wreckage. They escape, wounded, only to be ambushed by giant wolf-spiders, so they hide the treasure. The characters are rescued by an armed force from the nearby town of Defiance.
Given their tribal structure and the avoidance of “civilization” by living out in the badlands, I think wood elves make a good fit for the Irathients. Perhaps the ruins are considered sacred to them, or a wood elf expedition had the same idea about looting, or perhaps they just don’t like strangers. In any case, a confrontation between the party and the wood elves should give the heroes an opportunity to escape, but without the spoils.
The Irathients ride motorcycles, favor wild and flamboyant clothing, and respect shows of strength. You could make them goblins on worgs, especially if you favor Paizo’s goblins, or any other humanoid race in your campaign that has the same mentality. They come to the town’s rescue in the final act, though, so there should be some mutual respect between the two cultures, if not outright cooperation.
The ambush by giant wolf-spiders is another classic D&D trope – kick them while they’re down. You could make it a pack of any kind of monster you wanted – giant spiders, worgs, feywild chokers – or a single really scary monster (like a dragon!), because the heroes are going to get help in the form of a posse. A couple rounds of losing really bad makes the NPCs look really good when they save the heroes’ hides.
The town’s doctor fixes the characters up, but the characters can’t pay or leave, because the Irathients took all their equipment and supplies. Instead, they look for work. One of the characters enters a bare-knuckle boxing contest to make some quick cash.
If any of the heroes are hurt, the posse drops them off at the local temple where the cleric-in-residence provides healing first and asks for pay second. Everyone is friendly and helpful, but payment is expected at some point. Heroes wouldn’t want to settle down in a mundane job like working the fields or digging in the mines, so poking around reveals a gambling establishment run by a haughty high elf to whom most of the town is in debt. He offers quick coin for defeating the house champion and, after watching a match or two, one of the heroes thinks he can take the guy.
Problem is, once the hero throws his hat in the ring, the house does a switcheroo, and a heavily muscled dwarf (or half-orc, or warforged) takes his place. It should be a tough match (which you could run as either a battle or a skill challenge), but if the hero wins, the high elf is highly annoyed. The hero gets paid, but not enough to recoup equipment and supplies, so it’s back to square one again.
Meanwhile, the son of one of the prominent men in town is murdered, and the prominent man accuses the son of one of the other prominent men in town. There’s a showdown between to the two families while the characters are present, and the resident lawgiver is killed. The characters take on the job of finding the real killer in exchange for money and equipment.
While the heroes drown their sorrows in the local tavern, or continue to look for work in the general store, temple, or some other public establishment, there’s a showdown between the aforementioned high elf’s son and a local human lord. Seems the lord’s son was murdered, and the high elf boy was overheard threatening him. Whether or not the heroes intervene, the local sheriff shows up, along with a witness who can swear the high elf boy couldn’t have done the deed. A scuffle still occurs, and the sheriff is killed; the lord offers a reward for his son’s killer, which is enough to resupply the entire party – an offer too tempting to pass up (the DM hopes).
The killer’s identity is discovered, along with a plot to destroy the town. The town’s defenses are disabled, and the approach of an army is revealed.
Solving the murder could be the main thrust of the adventure, broken down into a series of encounters, interviews, etc, or it could be run as a skill challenge. In any case, the killer is located just as he sabotages the town’s defenses. Perhaps he blows up a dam, renders a drawbridge useless, or torches the local militia’s armory, so the only weapons the townsfolk are left with are their farming implements. Maybe there’s an ancient magical statue that protects the town from attackers, but the killer uses a ritual to drain its power. In any case, the only information the killer reveals is there’s an army on the way to wipe the town out of existence. He remains silent thereafter no matter what people do to him, he dies from wounds sustained during his capture, or the local lord kills him in a fit of rage – whatever you prefer to keep any more information from leaking out.
The town and the characters band together to fight the army, with the characters sacrificing their treasure in order to restore the town’s defenses in a one-time attack that saves the day.
Hopefully, the heroes want to stay and help instead of cut and run, as the noble is good on his word and pays up. Fully armed and equipped, the heroes help organize the townsfolk in the defense of their town, as the deceased sheriff was the only one with prior military experience. The approaching army should be terrifying enough to motivate the heroes – a mass of orcs, or armored ogres, or perhaps a horde of demons making their way from a portal to the Abyss. The wood elves from the badlands join the townsfolk at the last minute to help in the fight, and you can let them turn the tide, or you can hinge success on an innocuous piece of a treasure the heroes thought worthless from that foray at the beginning – a seemingly useless trinket, and the only thing the wood elves didn’t loot.
Maybe it’s a holy relic that reanimates the guardian statue, or summons a force of earth elementals that reconstruct the dam with super speed, drowning the approaching army. Maybe it’s the remnant of a god who manifests and blasts the demons with holy power before fading into oblivion. Whatever you give the heroes to save the day, make sure they can’t keep it and use it over and over.
The characters become the new lawgivers.
In wake of their success, the heroes are put on the town’s payroll in some capacity, be it as sheriff and deputies, a private army, bodyguards, or some other position that provides them with the opportunity to adventure and still return to the town. Why the army was marching on the town is still a mystery, what the lord’s son had to do with it is still unknown, and who the mastermind behind it all is still a secret – to the heroes. (Apparently, the former mayor of Defiance is looking for something very valuable hidden by the murdered boy, and the easiest way to find it would be to simply dig up the town once everyone is dead or has fled.)
It remains to be seen if future episodes of Defiance also lend themselves to D&D conversion, but I suspect they will. I hope so, because I think it just might make a good foundation for a D&D Next campaign. Happy gaming!
