A merger of themes

[DM-Frost]

I'm currently DMing a campaign with a new group using pathfinder. I know the system forwards and backwards, so I'm not really worried about that.
I'm wondering about the story/themes I'm using.

The idea I came up with for this particular campaign is a merger of fantasy and sci-fi. The game is in Golarion, PF's campaign world, and, thus, relies heavily on fantasy to keep itself together. However, while reading the PF Chronicles Campaign setting, I came across the cosmology in the back, where it talks about the different planets in the solar system. This got me thinking, has anyone ever really tackled a Sci-fi/fantasy story before? I couldn't think of one off the top of my head, so I decided to go for it.

The story is as follows thus far: An object falls from space into the Inner Sea (it's like the Mediterranean). Religious and scientific minds alike believe it to be a second Starstone (the first being a major part of the Golarion history) and are racing to find it first.

Our heroes are aboard one of these ships, either as guards, guides, or researchers, and are, luckily, the first to find it. The expedition is funded by a rich Chelaxian noble (the chelaxians are devil worshippers, though he is not. But I won't get into that), and thus he is able to actually raise this starstone (via funds, not personal power). It is revealed to be a large, metallic egg about the size of a small ship. After investigating it, the heroes discover that it is some sort of vehicle (a space ship), and they find three humanoids inside. Two are dead with strange, vampiric markings on their necks and the third is alive, but it flees and dives into the sea. There are also several tubes containing odd, leech-like creatures.

As you can see, I'm going for an "alien landing in a medieval world" style game. Something I've never seen before and want to test. Eventually, these leech-creatures are going to be revealed to be able to control minds and I'm going to go a little Resident Evil 4 with the idea (the Chelaxian lord using them to control the minds of the populace). The escaped humanoid will be the first evidence of this idea when it surfaces on an island and is able to control an entire town to do its bidding.

The theory is to (along with the world-domination story) create the real idea of Magical effects without magic using the alien technology/alien anatomy (rayguns that deal electric/fire damage, bombs that freeze people, aliens that mind-control without spells/psionics, genetic splicing to create powerful new monsters), and also trying to create a sort of "merger" of technology/magic (haven't quite figured out how to do that, yet).

Really, I just want to know everyone's ideas on the matter. Am I going too far with this idea? Am I not going far enough? Have any ideas to help me along? Anything and everything is helpful, as this is an experimental campaign (Any input from fellow DM's would be more than helpful.)

 

[Skytheen]

Couple of thoughts.

The first settings or stories that come to mind that I feel successfully mixed sci-fi with fantasy to a certain degree would be D&D's Spelljammers, obviously. And Elfquest. Elfquest wasn't overtly sci-fi unless you got into the story. I think that both worked well with a mix of the genres.

As for your idea for Golarion, there are some things in the works that might make this kind of campaign super easy- like the proposed P20 Modern.

 

[TanisFrey]

The idea I came up with for this particular campaign is a merger of fantasy and sci-fi.

Look for an old 1ed AD&D module S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks by Gary Gaygax. It has this exact idea behind it. Your fantasy medieval group of adventures find a space ship.

Also a couple of Dragon Mag had something similar for 2ed AD&D and 3.0 editions also.

 

[Thanael]

Yes this is the idea behind S3 by Gary Gygax (S3 on wikipedia). You'll find it very cheap on ebay. There are probably even a few 3e conversions on the intarwebs.


For another spin you might want to check out D20 Dragonstar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonstar

Here's an intersting thread about http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...n/9702-dragonstar-d20-vs-spelljammer-d20.html

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As mentioned in the Reflavoring Races thread earlier this year, there is a lot of sci-fi you can infuse into a fantasy game.

I do re-imagine races quite frequently, but I seldom get to use them to the fullest. I've mentioned several on these boards:

1. Elves who are actually alien Greys (you know- the skinny, big headed, pupil-less eyed guys from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, X-files, etc.). Their ship crashed hundreds of thousands of years ago, becoming covered by a mounded clearing in a forest. Their stasis fields (keeping them alive all those centuries) teleporters, image scramblers and account for legends of Underhill, how they dissapear in the woods, and how they are mighty enchanters...
2. Elves who are part plant, truly one with The Green. I basically applied the Woodling template and took a few hints from Dragonstar's Galactic Races. I also made them true Fey.
3. Dwarves who are elementals. They carve each other from stone, and the kind of stone they are made from determines their favored class.
4. Warforged who are essentially D&D versions of the Daleks or Cyber-Men: their metal bodies house the brains of psionically active dwarves (minimum 1PP).
5. The Nephilim are my reworked Planetouched. "They were the hybrid offspring of fallen angels and human women." says one definition...but mine are the hybrid offspring of any sentient race and any extraplanar being. To pull that off, the Nephilim were designed as a racial character class, a la Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Arcana Evolved RPG.
6. A size S, flying version of the Thri-Kreen. They are ultra-high dex, and favor spears/javelins rather than the gythka, etc., and can communicate by bioluminescence.

I've also enjoyed helping others at ENWorld reflavor or shuffle races for their campaigns, most notably suggesting:

1. Anthropomorphic Snapping Turtles, an amalgam of river-dwelling Halflings, the powerful physique of Dwarves, certain reptilian characteristics from Lizardmen and the business acumen of Ferengi. They are the master tradesmen of the lakes, rivers and freshwater wetlands.
   
2. Humans who ride Giant Flightless Birds- like axebeaks or real-world Moas- and have a culture analogous to those of the Plains Indians.
   
3. Reworked Kobolds who are arboreal, and have gliding membranes.
   
4. Using Alternity/D20 Modern Sesheyans as rulers of an Underdark empire- possibly as replacements for the Drow.

Those Nephilim? They could just as easily be alien hybrids a-la X-Files. Elemental Dwarves could be a non-carbon based life form. Again check out games like Dragonstar, Dragonmech, and even Star Wars for things you can shuffle into your fantasy game. And if you're up to it, mine ideas from other, non-D&D/D20 games, like ShadowRun or RIFTS.

Even some of the standard D&D races are suitable as aliens. Mind-Flayers, Aboleths and Beholders make fine aliens- I've used each in War of the Worlds type campaigns- but even the common Lizard Man could be recast as the Gorn from classic Star Trek with just a little tweek of the fluff. Use the Anthro Animal rules or tone down Rakshashas to get Kzinti.

What about Thri-Kreen as alien overlords as seen in the Bruce Campbell movie, Alien Apocalypse?