Doom... the RPG?

[Nebrok]

I was playing an old first person shooter classic, the original Doom, and someone made an interesting comment. “It would be weird if someone made an RPG version of Doom.”

I thought on this continually through the day, and as I lay down in bed that night my thoughts came back to ‘DOOM the RPG’. It was then I decided I could not resist, I will make a campaign based of doom.



For the past few days I have been diligently recreating the doom monsters in D&D terms and creating a weapon list using the firearms out of the Modern D20 book. I have created all monsters (with a few new ones to fill in challenge rating gaps in the monster list), all weapons, and even a few vehicles that can be employed. It will be based on Doom 2 where hell is unleashed on earth.



Now I and just interested in any comments anyone has to offer. Comments, criticism, questions, ideas, suggestions, ect. I am especially interested in the thoughts of the Doom fans out there. I think this will make a good futuristic campaign based on the modern d20 game rules.

 

[Turanil]

For players, I think that RPGObjects has many supplements that could be of use for combat-oriented advanced classes.

 

[Sunderstone]

Taking a great (yet somewhat mindless) first person shooter with a bad, almost non-existant story and making an RPG campaign out of it.

Maybe nice for one night, but IMO, a waste of Neurons.

 

[GlassJaw]

I'm working on such a thing right now actually but I'm using the Shadowrun 3ed ruleset. I hate the d20 rules for firearms (especially autofire) and the Shadowrun system was designed to handled firearm combat.

I'm actually pretty excited about it. I just extracted all the audio files from Doom 3 and just listening through them has given me a ton of ideas. I hope to run something at the next game day I go to off my laptop.

 

[GlassJaw]

Taking a great (yet somewhat mindless) first person shooter with a bad, almost non-existant story and making an RPG campaign out of it.

Maybe nice for one night, but IMO, a waste of Neurons.

I think your evalution is a little strong but I definitely agree that the Doom "world" wouldn't really translate to a full-length campaign very well. I plan on creating a stripped down ruleset to run at game days and for one-shots or for a short campaign arc (3-6 sessions or so).

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Taking a great (yet somewhat mindless) first person shooter with a bad, almost non-existant story and making an RPG campaign out of it.

Maybe nice for one night, but IMO, a waste of Neurons.

That, my friend, is what your IMAGINATION is FOR. Use it or lose it.

 

[Psionicist]

DM: Sarge, you are standing in a large rectangular room. In the corner there's a rocket launcher rotating a few inches above the ground. A man with a chainsaw just spotted you.
Player: I shoot him with gun number 2!!
*dice are rolled here*
*a few minutes later*
DM: The man with the chainsaw apperantly didn't die and he's running towards you, abusing your body like a true forest worker.
Player: I yell "IDDQD"!!
...

 

[GlassJaw]

DM: Sarge, you are standing in a large rectangular room. In the corner there's a rocket launcher rotating a few inches above the ground. A man with a chainsaw just spotted you.
Player: I shoot him with gun number 2!!
*dice are rolled here*
*a few minutes later*
DM: The man with the chainsaw apperantly didn't die and he's running towards you, abusing your body like a true forest worker.
Player: I yell "IDDQD"!!
...

Running a Doom RPG game in an attempt to emulate the video game is a recipe for boredom. I would approach it more as a horror/survival game with heavy weaponry rather than a mindless slugfest.

Remember, there aren't endless waves of baddies in Doom 3. The cool thing about it is the setting, atmosphere, suspense, and the fear of the unknown. Those are the elements you need to capture in a Doom RPG. Lighting and perception and awareness would factor heavily. You could even been a real pain in the arse GM and make the players keep track of their flashlight battery power.

I would also expand the skill system and the tasks the players must complete. There are a lot of computers and security doors and sealed cabinets in the game but there isn't much interacting with them in the game. Those elements could definitely be expanded upon. Same goes for healing and using medkits.

 

[Sunderstone]

That, my friend, is what your IMAGINATION is FOR. Use it or lose it.

umm... really?
As a video game its story was weak. A whole RPG campaign?

As I said, mebbe good for a one night stand at best.

 

[Aus_Snow]

umm... really?
As a video game its story was weak. A whole RPG campaign?

As I said, mebbe good for a one night stand at best.

Well OK, it's a very simple premise, but a GM could expand on it, to any degree they liked.

I think the same goes for any premise, however weak and/or basic it is.

And hey, the nostalgia value alone would be enough to draw me in.