Semi-Genre Adventures

[RangerWickett]

I had an idea once for a campaign. It would be 8 adventures long, perhaps 20 sessions.

Adventure One: Heroic Fantasy
Two: Comedy
Three: Horror
Four: Religious
Five: Spy Thriller
Six: Romance
Seven: Pornography
Eight: Musical

I wasn't sure quite how I'd run it, but basically the characters would stay the same, and just the tone of the game would change slightly for each new adventure. If you've ever seen the anime series Excel Saga, the show as a whole is a comedy, but individual episodes make fun of a variety of genres -- sports anime, war drama, action, big robots, and, yes, hentai. It's sort of a commentary on anime and on art in general.

If I ever do this, it'll be a few years off, but I'd like to consider how possible it'd be. What type of players would I need, or how could I make what might be considered a typical player enjoy the whole campaign? What sort of plotline could weave together through the whole campaign? Would it just be a mish-mash of stories, or would I need to keep a primarily heroic fantasy theme throughout, just dropping a few extra bits in when they became important?

What sort of books would I need for this? Sure, we have the Book of Erotic Fantasy for sexual situations (though I'm not convinced it's worth the effort), d20 Cthulhu has already helped me consider horror, and Spycraft might, with a little retrofitting, help me run a fantasy spy game. But has there ever been a book, or even a mini-game, devoted to running a musical?

Does anyone have suggestions for how to make romance a driving plot, as opposed to just a bit of character? I mean, it'd be kinda weird forcing the PCs to try to woo their beloveds. I suppose they might just have to play matchmakers.

Oh, how to fit it all together? I'm rather enamored with this idea, but I'll probably need a few years to let it ferment in mind before it's ready. I'll take whatever help you can provide, though.

Thanks.

 

[barsoomcore]

Romance as a driving plot: A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to mind -- everyone in town's been stricken with the WRONG love spell, and the party have to figure out who needs to be with who. Especially problematic as party members get struck by love spells themselves (or end up as objects of misplaced affection).
There's been a couple of great Xena episodes that play around with romantic entanglements:
For Him The Bell Tolls -- Our heroes are entrusted to safeguard the passage of a blushing bride, but everytime a bell rings she falls in love with one of the party members. It rings again and she's back to blushing.
Been There, Done That -- Our heroes discover themselves in a town where ever day seems to repeat itself -- the problem is a curse brought on by a young lovers' spat. They have to find a way to restore the lovers -- the problem being that if they don't accomplish it in one day, next morning they're back to square one.
A Comedy of Eros -- Very similar to Midsummer Nights: Baby Cupid goes nuts with Daddy's bow and arrow and the planned raid on the temple of Hestia (she of the virgins, natch) turns into comic hilarity as rough slave traders fall prey to suddenly amourous temple girls (who of course have to be delivered, ehm, intacto, as it were).

Musicals. Holy crap. What a great idea. I have no idea how to do it, but if you come up with some ideas, for heaven's sake pass them on.

 

[Zappo]

Intriguing. Do you want to keep it fantasy throughout, or would for example the spy thriller section have a modern setting? Or, what about making it modern throughout, including the first part, in a technofantasy setting?

 

[exile]

Musical Ideas

I never thought I'd try to give anyone advice about anything to do with music. Fifth grade music class was the only time that I have evr struggled academically. I just couldn't get the hang of that cursed recorder. That said, here are some suggestions that popped in my head as soon as I heard about your idea.

1. Before the game begins, research a bunch of song lyrics from songs appropriate to a variety of situations, especially situations that are likely to pop up along the plotline you encvision ofr your musical. I am playing a bard in a PbP game at the moment and an internet search for "Irish folk songs" turned up a treasure trove of resources for my character.

2. If there is no plot already in mind, take notes from the Buffy musical episode. It involves, if I remember correctly, a demon of music/song that curses everyone to speak in song. Can't recall exactly why though. Along similarly infernal lines, I've always liked teh idea of basing an adventure on the Charlie Daniels Band son, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". I think the premise of the song would make a great encounter for a high level bard.

I hope something here is helpful.
Chad

 

[rbingham2000]

I love this idea! Maybe certain characters with certain backgrounds would attract certain genre stories, much like the characters of Cowboy Bebop.

For example, if one character has a sorcerous enemy that likes to deal with Things That Should Not Be, that could be the subject of a horror adventure or two. Maybe another character has a love interest who leads him into some romance adventures. Perhaps another character is a devout member of her church, and gets involved in religious adventures. That kind of thing.