D20 Modern Campaign Ideas?

[Neowolf]

Another one that I've been kicking around...

Steampunk/Victorian high adventure/proto-pulp/Wold Newton, with some conspiracy and alt-history thrown in.

1895. The heroes are adventurers and explorers based in the Kingdom of Ruritania. They are gradually drawn into a war which has secretly spanned the last century...and which now explodes into open conflict.

Almost one hundred years before, a meteor landed near Wold Newton, England. No one realized it at the time, but some property of the meteorite --- something Victorian science cannot begin to understand --- affected the bloodlines of the people nearby. Their descendants would have the potential for nearly superhuman physical, mental, and spiritual abilities. From this blood would come a century's greatest heroes...and most dangerous villains...

[Anyway...plenty of swashbuckling, Freemasons v. Seven Hidden Masters v. Hanoi Xan v. Moriarty, weird science aplenty, the quest for immortality, mystical rites, and Lost Kingdoms. For the finale: the Martians in tripod walkers want the meteorite back...]

If you're interested in this kind of setting, check out The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore's latest comic book endeavor. It's got lots of nice Victorian flavor (set in 1898), and the heroes are the protagonists of Victorian literature: Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, etc. It's really interesting seeing how all these characters interact. The first two story arcs are available now as a trade hardback for $25 American. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

 

[Corinth]

I'm thinking of doing something that is usually reserved for Spycraft: a Troupe-style Mission: Impossible campaign.

Character Generation:

1. Step One: Each player creates a Team Leader PC. This PC is the one that receives and executes every IMF mission, and he is also the one that chooses what other PCs go on the mission.
2. Step Two: Each player creates a number of specialist PCs equal to the number of other players in the game. (Four players would each make three specialist PCs, for a total of 12 such PCs.)
3. Step Three: Once the specialist PCs are finished, they go into a general pool, where they stay until a Team Leader picks them.

Mission Protocal:

1. Determine Team Leader: For the first mission, each player rolls 1d20; highest roll gets the shot. Reroll all ties until there is a winner. After the first mission, the Team Leader roll shifts one seat to the left; in this fashion, each player gets a turn as Team Leader.
2. Mission Briefing: The Team Leader receives his briefing from IMF HQ, complete with all necessary handouts. This will be done before the session if possible to avoid boring the other players.
3. Team Selection: The Team Leader pours over the general pool of IMF specialists and selects one for every other player present; this means that people may play characters that they didn't make for the duration of an adventure. PCs receive XP only when they are "active" (i.e. actually get played).

Campaign Structure:

1. Each adventure is self-contained by default, following the way that the TV series and the films work. General continuity evolves organically, for the most part, from the consequences of the PCs' actions. Such continuity as exists focuses upon the Team Leader characters.
2. Players may come or go only between adventures; once you begin a mission, you are expected to show up until the PCs get the job done or screw up so bad that they have to scuttle it and get out. (The disavowal clause may make this problematic.) This makes the campaign great for gamers with busy or uncertain play schedules.
3. No supernatural elements, in keeping with the source material.

Yes, I'm aware that this is likely better done with Spycraft, but I'm doing this because d20 Modern will receive greater acceptance amongst my local scene because d20 Modern is a WOTC product. Such is life.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

I'm thinking of doing something that is usually reserved for Spycraft: a Troupe-style Mission: Impossible campaign.

[snippety snip a lot of stuff]

Yes, I'm aware that this is likely better done with Spycraft, but I'm doing this because d20 Modern will receive greater acceptance amongst my local scene because d20 Modern is a WOTC product. Such is life.

You know, this bears trying out...

The only problem is that with the rotation of characters, it might be a bit hard to get into the character, and that they might remain somewhat cardboardy. Of course, with good RPrs, it probably won't be too difficult.

 

[JPL]

If you're interested in this kind of setting, check out The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore's latest comic book endeavor. It's got lots of nice Victorian flavor (set in 1898), and the heroes are the protagonists of Victorian literature: Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, etc. It's really interesting seeing how all these characters interact. The first two story arcs are available now as a trade hardback for $25 American. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Yep --- damn fine comic.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Sean Connery.

"You're the man now, dog!"

 

[JPL]

You know, this bears trying out...

The only problem is that with the rotation of characters, it might be a bit hard to get into the character, and that they might remain somewhat cardboardy. Of course, with good RPrs, it probably won't be too difficult.

And maybe a campaign inspired by Mission: Impossible shoudn't have a lot of characterization. As I recall, the leads were never given much personal history or quirks or whatnot. They were all business. If you're undercover anyway, you need to "switch characters" all the time, as the situation demands.

Great idea, by the way.

 

[Moulin Rogue]

I'm up for a weird fantasy WWII as well. If we got three naval supplements for medieval/Renaissance worlds, what are the chances we can get one modern naval one? Ironclads for steampunk and big orc battleships would be cool.

 

[mythusmage]

How about a giant battleship with 12 20" guns, protected by Chinese sorcery?

"The reserve spells were supposed to come on-line automatically. But a small mistake in the timing of the initial Contingency delayed that by 15 seconds. Long enough for an American 16" shell to strike the roof of #3 turret. The sub-standard steel of the turret cracked under the impact, allowing the flash of the shell's explosion to penetrate into the interior chamber, where it ignited the gunpowder dust drifting in the air.

"This flash, in turn, ignited the loose powder scattered on the turret floor. Which ignited the powder bags stacked against the walls. The blast then traveled through the open elevator doors down to the aft magazines."
------
"At a gesture from the Emperor the Palace Chamberlain approached with the message. The Emperor read the missive carefully, ordered everyone from his presence, then took a small vial and a glass filled with water from a side table. He poured a single drop from the vial into the water, mixed it into the water, and drank it. An hour later the Palace Chamberlain returned with two strong eunechs with a litter to remove the body.

"The fighting would continue for another two years, but for all intents and purposes the war, for China, was over."
------
(He had to provoke me, didn't he?)

 

[Ketjak]

Two more ideas

La Femme Nikita, TV version (believe it or not) - PCs are operatives in a super-secret black ops organization protecting the world, though motives are questionable. I suppose it can be done with Spycraft, but I've been waiting for D20 Modern thinking those rules would be more "standard" than Spycraft's. Sorry, AEG.

Omega World Redux - add D20 Modern rules as desired.

 

[Henry]

How about a giant battleship with 12 20" guns, protected by Chinese sorcery?
(SNIP TRULY WARPED EXCERPT)
(He had to provoke me, didn't he?)

mythusmage, that is seriously screwed up.

Needless to say, I look forward to seeing it.

 

[EarthsShadow]

A full werewolf d20

I wouldn't mind it one bit if white-wolf did a full converstion of their werewolf game into d20 modern.

As for our immediate gaming group, we will either do shadow chasers or just use Nocturnim from CoC and combine it with SC and UA.