Adapting Blake's 7

[Tonguez]

Why does this show sound like Farscape?

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

Lexx (without the weirdness) is another imitator of Blakes 7

infact you could base the initial threat/NPC/Ship AI on the character Kai (the Redeemed Undead Assasin) from Lexx...

 

[VirgilCaine]

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.

The FX can't be as bad as Lost in Space. One episode had land mines...I mean, aluminum foil covered beach balls...wait, no, just beach balls.

 

[Rackhir]

Blake's Seven was one of the few shows where not only did the heroes NOT win all the time, but in fact lost consistantly. Have your players seen the later episodes?

 

[JBowtie]

Finally had a chance to run my first session based on this. None of my players have seen the show.

Our players include:

A luminous assassin who ended up captured because she relied on someone else - who betrayed her. (closest to Avon)

A human witch captured by slavers; she killed her initial captors.(closest to Callie)

A naga guardsman/psion who works as an inquisitor of his faith - and who followed a path of corruption a little too far up the chain with a little too much popular support. It was a show trial on trumped-up charges. (closest to Blake, but lacking the idealism)

Gan and Villa, under different names, are supplied as NPCs - Villa already a source of much comic release.

The penal colony is a remote mine far down the coast, in a rocky, lifeless stretch of coast isolated from civilization.

The prisoners were able to organize a small rebellion and seize control of the rudder. Here we diverged from the series a bit; the other slaves have been recaptured but the PCs remain somewhat in control of the situation.

In my campaign, the trireme is the most advanced ship available. So when a clipper ship with ghost crew is found next session, it really will be the most advanced ship ever.

In general, the players found the starting scenario a bit of a challenge and quite interesting. A far cry from "a merchant approaches you...". They also all have reasonable motive for revenge against the ruling council; so we have lots of good potential here.

 

[MonsterMash]

I like it as a setup for a campaign and it sounds like fun. I think I'd have difficulty using with the group that I DM with as several of them are bigger fans of Blake's 7 than I am so they might notice the similarities.

 

[Steverooo]

And don't forget the Ruby Slippers of Teleportation that they find in a box, somewhere on the ship!...