d20 Modern/Spycraft: the Prototype

[Desdichado]

I always thought it kinda funny that model railroaders call real railroads "the prototype" and say that nothing inspires model railroading like checking out real railroads. In that spirit, I went today to our company headquarters for a few minutes to check out the James Bond cars -- the absolutely stunningly beautiful Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (what is it, purchase DC 39 or something like that?), the striking green Jaguar XKR with attached missiles and gatling gun, and the Special Edition 007 Ford Thunderbird (OK, I miss the target market demographic by 15 or so years on that one, but it's still a cool enough car, especially when you think about Halle Berry driving one!)

Now, I'm excited about playing that spy game I've been thinking of for a while (check out Plots and Places forum for more info there, too!) Anybody else have "prototype" experiences that influence your game?

 

[Desdichado]

Nothing, huh?

 

[Mr Fidgit]

sorry, no

the closest i've ever seen is one of my DMs will go to a state park (or something like that) and take photographs to use in his game. i guess that would be a 'prototype' for a wilderness adventure (?)

along the same lines, he ran a mission impossible-type game many years ago. he had his friends at work pose for pictures downtown and used them as props for the game

 

[Desdichado]

Maybe I'm weird -- I totally get inspired for games by locales I visit, things I see, etc. I very often work those kinds of things into my game in one way or another.

 

[Davelozzi]

Sort of like Mr. Fidg says, I do a lot of traveling and like to take into account the types of wilderness landscapes (and occasionally caverns) that I see to use in game to make my descriptions more realistic and/or interesting.

In a similar vein, a few months back I took a six day hike through the High Sierra and when I got back just for the hell of it I computed my journey in D&D encumbrance/overland movement terms (sort of geeky, I know). Turns out, the rules are pretty accurate, at least in my case.

 

[Desdichado]

My games very seldom feature caves or caverns. One of the most inspirational trips (in terms of gaming) I ever took was when I went to Prague two and a half years or so ago, though. Tons of things in that town make their way into my games all the time.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

Maybe I'm weird --

i don't think so...

the difference is, my friend takes a camera with him to get some RPG-inspiring pics, and i'm one who's always going, "Damn, I wish I had a camera!"

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

I suppose I have something of this nature. A few years back I visited a friend at the local university and thought it would make a wonderful location for a modern RPG. It has these steam tunnels that travel most of the school. Has a wide variety of programs and therefore allows a wide variety of characters. Now I'm running a Buffy RPG set at that University. I've modified the steam tunnels to cover more than just the campus and things of that nature.

 

[fenzer]

Joshua, were do you work? Do you really have access to such wonderful automobiles?

I too like to use inspiration from my surroundings in my games. I like having a accurate visual reference, if only in my head.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

um I'm guessing he works for Ford Motor Company.(Ford not only owns Ford but also Aston Martin, Jaguar, and many other car brands as well) And he lives inDetroit which is(or was) the Car manufacturer capitol of the USA if not the world.

And they are coming out with the Bond Cars. I haven't looked into it, but I suspect the gatling gun, missle models etc aren't for sale on the open market.