D20 Modern: The A Team

[Trepelano]

I am going to run a one-shot A Team adventure using the D20 Modern System. The problem is..I don't yet have a good idea for an actual adventure.

My plan is to "reimagine" the A Team. Instead of being Vietnam vets, I am making them Desert Storm vets, and use the movie "Three Kings" as an idea of how they ended up afoul of military law.

The characters are:

Hannibal - Lt. Col with Army special forces. Tactical genius. Early 50's. Likes to tweek his adversaries. - think Clooney's character from "3 Kings" melded with the original Hannibal from the TV show.

Face - Army quartermaster. Charismatic, Roguish. Good with security and scams - think Sgt. Bilko wth the body of Adonis. Much more competent than the TV version.

B.A. - Army Special Forces. Tough, gruff - think Ving Rhames (forget the Mr. T schtick).

Murdock - Air Force pilot who escaped Court Marshal with a section 8. He is beleived to have multiple personality dsorder.

Obviously, I changed Murdock's and Face's backgrounds (but it fits with the "3 Kings" story of people from various backgrounds coming together for a mission.

My idea is that they do pretty much the same things that they do in the TV show - except they are more global. Missions could range anywhere from dealing with a protection racket in Chinatown (San Francisco) to protecting an exciled leader in southeast asia.

Anyway - the concept is all there - I just need the actual adventure to run them through. I figure to make them all 10th level. Any ideas?

 

[JPL]

Shouldn't this be in the d20 Modern forum?

There's no better way to understand a TV show than by studying it's drinking game:

When George Peppard appears in costume or disguise, drink.
When Hannibal breaks out a cigar, drink.
When BA must be tricked onto an airplane (i.e. put under) drink 3 times.
When Murdoch is busted out of a mental ward, drink 4 times.
When the antagonist has an accent, drink.
When a jeep flips over, drink. (Lands on its side, once. Otherwise, twice.)
If the episode takes place in a foreign country, drink.
When anyone calls Murdoch crazy, drink.
If BA calls him crazy, drink twice.
Whenever Face woos a girl to get supplies, drink.
Face kisses a girl: drink.
Every time someone is thrown over the camera, drink.
If BA throws someone through furniture or a window, drink.
Whenever they bust out guns, drink.
If they use a grenade, drink twice.
When anything explodes, drink.
If a super vehicle creation involves a flamethrower, drink 3 times!
If a handicapped person appears, drink.
If a biker gang are the antagonists, drink. If they are protagonists, drink twice.
If any Battlestar Galactica reference is made, finish your drink!
When BA drives the van, drink.
When Murdoch flies a chopper or plane, drink.
If Col. Decker catches up to the A-Team, finish drink.
If BA says "foo," "sucka" or "chump," drink!
Whenever Face acts smug, drink. (Open to a lot of interpretation).
Any time the music is a variation of the A-Team theme, drink!
Drink whenever Murdoch switches personalities.
"To be continued" episode--finish drink.
If BA befriends a child, drink.
If the camera gets wet during a car chase, drink.
Any time the team finds a welder or oxygen cutter in an old shed, drink twice

 

[Trepelano]

Shouldn't this be in the d20 Modern forum?

Err- yes? I didn't see that forum for some reason. Sorry.

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

I do believe that everyone who has attempted to play the Beer Edition of the A-Team drinking game has consumed a letahl dose of alcohol inside the first 15 minutes of any given episode... And I don't think a single bladder has survived to the end of an episode to date, regardless the Edition played.

 

[Davelozzi]

I hate to say this because it's such a sensitive topic around here but it might also be worth considering Spycraft for this. It's been said that the designers actually had the A-team in mind as somewhat of a model when desigining the game. The standard classes work pretty good at representing the guys. I'm sure that you could do it fine with d20 Modern too but just wanted to point that out as an option worth considering.

**over and out**

 

[JPL]

I hate to say this because it's such a sensitive topic around here but it might also be worth considering Spycraft for this. It's been said that the designers actually had the A-team in mind as somewhat of a model when desigining the game. The standard classes work pretty good at representing the guys. I'm sure that you could do it fine with d20 Modern too but just wanted to point that out as an option worth considering.

**over and out**

Spycraft would undoubtedly work just fine.

The makers of Cartoon Action Hour are supposedly working on a followup called Prime Time Action Hour, featuring the likes of MacGyver, A-Team, Knight Rider, etc. Should be interesting.

If you're looking at "Three Kings" for inspiration, I assume you're going a bit more gritty that the TV show [where people didn't get shot, or killed when their car flipped]. d20 Modern should be able to handle that...although mooks who get behind cover would still be appropriate.

The classic A-Team adventure would involve a bad guy and his goons trying to run someone off their fire station / ranch / watermelon farm / honkytonk bar.

There's a pretty girl in charge, and maybe her dad or brother or young son.

There's a crowd of goons, but they're common thugs rather than hardened killers.

There's a plan. There's a con. A few cars flip over. A few goons are flipped over. Murdock makes crazy jibber-jabber.

Using materials at hand, the A-Team improvises a non-lethal weapon that pounds those goons once and for all.

They drive away, accepting no money, just as the U.S. Army shows up.

There's a new comic out called "The Losers" which deals with a bunch of ex-Spec Ops stickin' it to the man. You might check that out for some slightly more contemporary plots.