Back to the 80s

[Eyes of Nine]

Fast Times at Ridgemont High run via Monsterhearts or Lighthearted

 

[Imaculata]

I'd love to run a Ghostbusters campaign, set in the 80's. I'm not sure what would be a good system for that. I think there are rules for a gb rpg, but don't know if they are any good.

Or maybe a take on Big Trouble in Little China, and just go crazy.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd love to run a Ghostbusters campaign, set in the 80's. I'm not sure what would be a good system for that. I think there are rules for a gb rpg, but don't know if they are any good.

Or maybe a take on Big Trouble in Little China, and just go crazy.

Those two movie plots aren’t so far apart that they couldn’t both be mined as part of the same RPG campaigns.

 

[Imaculata]

Those two movie plots aren’t so far apart that they couldn’t both be mined as part of the same RPG campaigns.

You're not wrong.

[*]Ghostbusters (either a franchise or something based off the cartoon)

• system: Ghostbusters (if one has access), Awfully Cheerful Engine (by EN Publishing when it is released), Spooktakular (Yaruki Zero), or Hauntaway (for OneDice)

I had never heard of several of these systems, so I just had a look at them. They seem like solid rule systems. But they left me wanting a bit more crunch. All of these systems seem to lean very heavily into simplicity and humor. And while that may seem befitting the movie, since it is a comedy after all, I prefer no humor in my gamerules, and a bit more strategy. Sure, it makes for a fun reading of the rules. But in my games, I want my players and my plot to provide the comedy.

Perhaps some of the ideas from these systems can be merged into a more crunchy system, so there is more strategy to the actual ghost wrangling. I would also like to incorporate all of the gear from the recent GB videogame and from GBII, rather than only the equipment from the 1st movie. I want the actual mechanics of catching ghosts to be a bit more involved and more exciting.

And perhaps a gear progression system could even be added, where the players gather intel from their missions, that can be used to build new equipment. I do like the tight gear carrying limits from the GB RPG, where a Ghostbuster can only gather 3 pieces of Ghostbusting equipment, or carry up to his strength, but be unable to take actions. That makes leaving your excess gear in the Ecto 1 a solid operating procedure.

 

[J.Quondam]

I think a Goonies sort of game might be fun for a short campaign.
Not sure of a good system for it.

edit to add: Thinking about it, I know there's Kids on Bikes, which I've read but never played. Also Tales from the Loop, I suppose, though that's more of a Strange Things vibe rather than a lighthearted kids romp in the mundane world.

 

[Fenris-77]

I think a Goonies sort of game might be fun for a short campaign.
Not sure of a good system for it.

edit to add: Thinking about it, I know there's Kids on Bikes, which I've read but never played. Also Tales from the Loop, I suppose, though that's more of a Strange Things vibe rather than a lighthearted kids romp in the mundane world.

Kids on Bikes was my first thought. There's also Dark Places and Demogorgons, which is an OSR take on the same genres, also set the 80's. DPaD also has a bunch of genre supplements, like a Ghost Hunters, UFOs, Santa Muerte plus others. Tales from the Loop would also work.

 

[dragoner]

What system would be good for Repo Man?

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Fast Times at Ridgemont High run via Monsterhearts or Lighthearted

How about The Breakfast Club with a horror twist, like Call of Cthulhu? A small group of kids, their teacher/principle, and a janitor, supposedly alone in a huge high school.

 

[Esau Cairn]

What system would be good for Repo Man?

We used the 64 Chevrolet Malibu, its driver (insane from dealings with Mi-Go), and its cargo (left undefined) as a red herring for a Delta Green scenario.

 

[CleverNickName]

I think it would be fun to reskin Ravenloft into a gaming homage to the classic movie Fright Night. Use the D20 Modern rules system, replace Strahd and Castle Ravenloft with Jerry Dandridge and his mansion-next-door. Instead of the village of Barovia, use a suburb in Chicago. Etc., etc.

I probably wouldn't do it for a full campaign, because I can see how it would get stale pretty quickly. But I can see it being a really fun mini-adventure path about 4 or 5 gaming sessions long.