Developing Episodic Campaign -- Looking for Some Tips/Ideas

[Mordane76]

Okay -- I'm slowly pulling together a campaign idea, but I want to throw it out into the open and get some feedback and ideas on it.


This will be d20 Modern, run in an episodic format (a session is a story), in which the episodes hang together into a grander plotline. So far, I have a couple characters from my players, and I've kept these in mind as I've started cooking this campaign up.

The characters so far:

First -- Federal Agent with a lost love and a grudge. Think an FBI agent mixed with the main character from The Transporter, and you'll have the general impression.


Second -- A (VERY) rich-kid with a knack for science and technology. I'm thinking Richie Rich or Jonny Quest, but I have to get with the player to get a better fix on the character's attitude.


Third -- A college kid with a budding career in the information business, who's got ties and connections to a lot of different sources of information and items.


There will be at least four other people making characters, but each story will generally only involve three-five players at a time, which is one of the good things about the episodic format.



So far, my underlying concept is The Mod-Squad meets CSI or the X-Files; a group of interdepartmental agents works with a group of civilian investigators to solve crimes. The first few episodes will be mundane crimes, but as the story unfolds, there will be more elements blended in.


In the end, as the story begins to take on supernatural elements, I'll be borrowing elements and feel from X-Files, Miracles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Prophecy movies, Call of Cthulhu, Engel, as well as a plethora of other things in this genre. I know some of my players read this board, so I'm a little reluctant to give out too many details on the how and when of the expanding elements, but I'm seeing something with similiar feelings as White Wolf's World of Darkness when it comes to feelings of hidden menace made manifest, especially since the players will be more or less squishy humans...


I'm looking for some mundane case ideas, and possible some other material I might want to watch/absorb as I'm planning the stories. Any suggestions?

 

[s/LaSH]

For freaky supernatural stuff, read Midnight Nation (a comic series from Top Cow, now out in trade paperback). It's by J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5 fame, if you don't normally read/buy comics. You're bound to get a few ideas out of it.

A first adventure normally involves adventurers getting together. If you really want to throw them in at the deep end, target one character for Horrible Dripping Doom and have the others come by just as the dripping starts, drive off Whatever It Is and then try to figure out where it came from. Expand that concept if you're good at multithreading plots in one place.

Oh, and you've got to have the Evil Duplicates episode at some point. Every PC who doesn't have a player at that session shows up, only they're not really them, which is handy because you just know they're going to die horrible screaming deaths in the end. It also gives a good reason for the other players not to be there, if that makes sense.

 

[Dismas]

TV:

Recent
Nash Bridges.
Cop show, special investigations unit. Odd vargually supernatural epidsodes (with the huy called angel)

Martial Law
Special Investigation Unit with visiting Chinese cop (Samo Hung)


60's/70's
The Avengers
British Secret Service with others against enemy agents and other strangeness (ie. The Invisible Man)

The Champions
Secret Agents, in a plane crash in the hymalayas (sp?). Resuded my monks and given special powers (telepathy, super hearing etc). Would make an execellent agents of PSI.

Randall and Hopkirk (desceased)
British Private eye series. Randall is helped in solving crime by the ghost of his partner.

Callan
Government Assassin doing his work.

The Persuaders!
Tony curtis and Roger Moore as palyboys solving crimes that the police can't.

The Saint
Crook/Hero that steals from gangsters and the such.

Hawaii Five-O
Five-O was a special state police unit answering only to the Governor of Hawaii. It worked with Honolulu police to fight the underworld in the island state.


Danger Man
Patrick Macgohan pre 'The Prisoner' as british secret agent


Most of these focus on the pretty mudane, those some have varing degrees of 'wierdness'.

 

[Robbert Raets]

I think classic whodunnit stories are the way to go for the first few episodes. Then start throwing in 'critters', but slowly and subtly; i.e., not eaten by a vampire but shot by a vampire, or a 'little folk' informant who turns out to be a Goblin in a later episode, the wiccan classmate/neighbour/co-worker can really work magic, etc.

 

[Mordane76]

I think classic whodunnit stories are the way to go for the first few episodes. Then start throwing in 'critters', but slowly and subtly; i.e., not eaten by a vampire but shot by a vampire, or a 'little folk' informant who turns out to be a Goblin in a later episode, the wiccan classmate/neighbour/co-worker can really work magic, etc.

I agree wholeheartedly, and that's possibly what I need the most help with; I've been doing D&D and WoD for about seven years now, so mystical plots aren't too hard for me. However, the classic mystery just seems to escape me -- I can't seem to find good completely mundane mystery that I feel is gripping in the dramatic sense, as opposed to gripping in the comedic sense.


I'm a big fan of the "Thin Man" movies, which are mysteries, but not really "dramatic." I absolutely despise Murder, She Wrote and Magnum, PI because I feel they're too campy to be "dramatic."


I've tried to watch Nash Bridges once or twice, but I'm having trouble with the whole Don Johnson and Cheech Maron thing -- I just can't help but feeling I'm watching Cheech and Chong Meets Miami Vice.


The Saint (hopefully you're referring to the movie with Val Kilmer) isn't a bad suggestion. Anything James Bond or Secret Agent with gadgets is probably a bit off target from what I'm thinking about.


Is there anything out there that aren't like Columbo and are more like Law and Order with federal agents that would make for good material (either written or watchable)?

 

[s/LaSH]

Read/see much Agatha Christie? Death On The Nile, Murder On The Orient Express and so forth. Good whodunnits with twist endings. Throw in the supernatural and you've got yourself a truly horrible mix.

You could do cultist murderers at first - you know, crazy people with no apparent backup. Then throw in a mystery with no possible solution until you go, "Hey, vampires can turn to mist!" or something.

The pace is more sedate in Christie, but the inclusion of horrible people willing to kill again should speed things up in the action stakes. The movies are good, anyway. (I prefer Peter Ustinov, but the rest are pretty cool too.)

 

[Robbert Raets]

I absolutely despise Murder, She Wrote and Magnum, PI because I feel they're too campy to be "dramatic."

Ah, well, tastes differ. I've always liked Murder, She Wrote, but you're right, it tends to be too funny for a detective series. But most of the actual mysteries, plots and murders are well thought-out, so if you can stand to watch a few episodes, you'll more than likely get some ideas from it.

Failing that, you can always steal from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...