Signs... A good d20 Modern adventure?

[Ghostwind]

After seeing the movie Signs, I couldn't help but think it had all of the making of a good d20 Modern adventure. Has anyone tried to adapt the premise or even the whole story into their campaign with any success?



EDIT: Because I can't spell worth a darn tonight...

 

[tm80401]

The actual plot of the movie wouldn't work very well as an adventure, because your average gamer is a lot smarter than the characters in the movie. I mean, if Mel Gibson could cut the fingers off of the alien with a steak knife, what do you think automatic weapons would do to them?

 

[danzig138]

While I loved the movie, I don't think it would make a good adventure. Like tm80401 said, the average gamer is smarter than the characters, but more importantly, the movie wasn't about aliens, it was about faith, so the situation was less important. Unless you can capture that in your game, I'd go with something that was referenced in the movie, Night of the Living Dead, or Resident Evil, or a more typical but similiar scenario.

 

[Ghostwind]

I think you can go with the mystery aspect of the storyline and pull it off. Players are in the middle of the midwest, crop circles begin to appear, strange things in the cornfield and on the roof. If played right, it could be just as chilling.

 

[tm80401]

I honestly shouldn't have said that gamers were smarter than the characters in the movie. They just have a different outlook.

My wife, whose only experience with RPG's is to move my books when they are in her way, wanted to know where Mel GIbson's shotgun was. They were living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, where is their shotgun. It's a standard piece of equipment for your average farm. Usually, several shotguns.

 

[dpmcalister]

Remember though, Mel Gibson's character was a priest. Probably no shotgun for that reason.

 

[tm80401]

My wifes father is a baptist minister. He used to hunt all the time.

In any case, they would still very likely have a gun for protection, not of themselves, but of their stock. Coyotes will carry off small dogs, chickens. whatever is handy, to feed themselves and their pack.

 

[Ghostwind]

I think the firearms question was never addressed in the movie because it didn't really have a purpose in terms of the story itself. There is also no reason to believe that the pastor simply didn't have a moral objection to firearms and therefore didn't own one.

Now back to the original topic, a low level adventure where the characters may not have the funds to purchase firearms might be an option. You could always make the "alien menace" tougher where bullets wouldn't necessarily harm it. It would be up to the characters to figure out its weaknesses (bludgeoning weapons and water). I still think the psychological aspect is what could be the real treat. Remember the effect the movie had in that it wasn't what you saw, it was what you didn't see or what you heard that made it unsettling. Hearing footsteps on the roof, movement in a field of tall corn, the growl of the alien as he reaches under the door (severed fingers=critical hit). Think about the success of Alfred Hitchcock's movies as they work upon the psyche without ever revealing the actual visual horror of the situation. If a GM were to focus on that more than the actual "alien invasion story", it could be a really cool adventure.

 

[daTim]

I definatly agree. Take the blare witch for example. You never saw any part of her in the entire movie, yet (in my opinion) the original movie was very scary. I actually kinda didnt like the ending of Signs for that very reason, in that it really took the mystery away from the aliens by making them beat-down-able with holy water (in a priests house after all) and a baseball bat. Of course you can go into an entire whole other argument that they werent aliens, but demons etc etc... the plot thickens!

 

[tetsujin28]

God, anyone would be smarter than the characters in the movie.