Flash Gordon

[Ranger REG]

Rich Redman wrote a few cinematic combat maneuvers in his monthly "Notes from the Bunker" web column.

You can also check his other works, Martial Arts Mayhem for more goodies.

What you could do, to lessen the lethality, is to boost the basic hero classes' Fort save bonuses (the Poly's d20 Modern PULP HEROES have increased saving throw bonuses). That way, they can survive the trauma even though the risk is still there (remember the natural 1 rule for saving throws).

 

[teitan]

Actually, the game is going to be slightly campy but the characters will be totally serious, kind of like the serials I saw as a kid, though my memory is rusty on that one, been 20 years since I have seen them. Probably a touch of the 79 release with Sam Jones, Topol and Von Sydow.

My plot so far is that these weird monkey men attack New York and are barely fended off by the PCs when they receive rocket packs from a mad scientist type. I may use the city from the Pulp Heroes update in Poly.

While studying the bodies of the monkey men the scientist will discover that they are not from earth and are part of an early invasion force. using this knowledge the PCs go before the World Defense League and try to convince them for the funding to build a rocket ship to take them to the root of the problem... Titan, the moon of Saturn.

Titan (my inspiration is Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel run) is ruled by Baron Gorgo, a mad despot that has enslaved the whole of the moon for his own bidding and his mad experiments have produced the beast men, moreau's in D20 Modern. Gorgo's people were the ancient Atlanteans. Gorgo's plot is to use the monkey men to wear down Earth's defenses and mount a final assault with his other fodder, which is produced quickly. Of course, Titan is a varied planet, much like Mongo, run by an elaborate computer that provides artificial atmosphere etc.

Jason

 

[S'mon]

I just had the idea - one could run a modern pulp-sf game with a nod to realism by having the villain attacking Earth be the Evil Overlord of Europa, with vast undersea cities (full of oxygen breathing humans, naturally) beneath the Europan ice!

It _could_ happen...

 

[Atom Again]

Actually, the game is going to be slightly campy but the characters will be totally serious, kind of like the serials I saw as a kid, though my memory is rusty on that one, been 20 years since I have seen them. Probably a touch of the 79 release with Sam Jones, Topol and Von Sydow.

Man, that brings back memories. I remember seeing the 1980 (it was actually 80 and not 79) FLASH GORDON in theatrical release and thinking it was serious, intense, dramatic, epic...of course, I was nine years old at the time.

Makes me wonder...what on earth did "Sam Jones" (Flash) ever *do* either before or after the film? My guess is porn.

Your campaign idea sounds simply awesome. Personally, I'm not a big fan of digging into tons and tons of sources...I think the biggest danger we GMs face is information glut. With Iron Lords of Jupiter, Pulp Heros 1/2 (Polyhedron) and maybe Urban Arcana and the Menace Manual (basic equipment for any good d20 Modern GM), you're all set.

Let us know how it goes.

Atom Again
[who still thinks Princess Aura was hotter than Dale Arden in the 1980 film]

 

[Piratecat]

I strongly recommend picking up Green Ronin's Enny-winning Spaceship Zero. It's perfect for a Flash Gordon game.

 

[teitan]

Was it 80? man is my memory shot...

Anyway... I am about to start work on the advanced classes for the game: Rocket Ranger and Test Pilot. I think the Pulp Heroes Advanced classes cover the rest of the needs.

I am going to start the players at 5th level and use the Iron Lords rules for skills and feats. Also the players won't have to worry about equipment, I will give them what they need.

I am altering the Action point rules a bit to work like Drama points in ADVENTURE! So Players can edit their surroundings and such.

I am debating on allowing Psionics AFTER they go to Titan.

I like the idea about Europa and that may just become a sequel if my players like this adventure! The way I see it, this encounter with Gorgo and the technology that becomes available because of it will change the world and I want to play that up so that I can have a real space operatic thing going down...

Spaceship Zero, heard a lot about it but can't find it and my players want to use D20 Modern or MnM. D20 Modern looks like the likely system at about 50/50 as half my group wants to use D20 Modern and the other half a modified MnM.

Jason

 

[Unseelie]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

 

[teitan]

Sky Captain influenced me as regards the inclusion of rockets and so did Rocketeer which is a favorite of mine.

Jason

 

[Hypersmurf]

Makes me wonder...what on earth did "Sam Jones" (Flash) ever *do* either before or after the film? My guess is porn.

Funny you should say that - he was a Playgirl centrefold in 1975

But apart from that - he had the lead in the TV series The Highwayman (you know, the one with the truck that turned into a helicopter, co-starring Jane Badler and 'Jacko'); he had a part in the Return to Zork computer game; he did a guest appearance on SG1 as an alien bounty hunter; he appeared in a bunch of B action films (you know the ones - pick a word from column A, and a word from column B, and you've got your title - Fists of Iron, American Dragon, Maximum Force, Expert Weapon...), and in Lady Dragon 2 with Cynthia Rothrock...

Basically, Flash Gordon didn't exactly make him a star But it did make him a hero...

[who still thinks Princess Aura was hotter than Dale Arden in the 1980 film]

... doesn't everybody?

-Hyp.