Ever Stole a Good Idea

[Karak]

I usually try not to steal too much from either movies, books, or other games. But after seeing "The Mist" on TV it dawned on me...what an excellent perfect idea.

Social anarchy
Alien Presence
Human Horror
Everyday items are weapons
Religious Fervor.

So I stole a great deal of the issues, change a bit and we played last weekend.

I honestly can not remember having this much fun in ages. I warned the players ahead of time but they were cool.
It was one of the scariest, most intense, thoughtful, and honest games we have ever played.

In the end only 2 of 5 made it alive. 1 saved the group, another began to lose his mind got lost and then killed, the 3rd went missing and went out of play.

The remaining 2 lived only to find out that like the Chris Snow series from Dean Kootz(one of my all time favorites) the world and the town was to be changed forever(so we can play in the town again)
I based it in the Pacific Northwest to really grab everyone and allow the weather to be an almost angry character in the game.

So any ideas from movies or games you guys have stolen than worked?

The best part was when the one went off to save us, everyone said their goodbyes, a couple 1 liners were dropped and they all stood there as the one guy went off to draw the baddies away so the others could escape. Amazing fun.

At the very end of the game, the 3rd person who had disappeared showed up on the remaining characters doorstep the next time a storm arrived and died just as he uttered "They arn't gone" And in his hand he had a 7 digit code with an address on a piece of paper.

[The Doctor]

I steal from my players. You know how they often openly speculate on what might actually be going on or about to happen as things unfold? I'm not above shamelessly having that be what happens if it's better than what I was actually planning.

if they're bringing it up, chances are it's what they *want* to happen, and you have the bonus of making them feel like they're clever.

[Hawkzombie]

Damn you, that sounds like a lot of fun.

[AntonThaGreat]

Wait.. what are you playing again?

[Shieldmaiden]

I usually try not to steal too much from either movies, books, or other games.

Why not? Steal whatever you can. I can guarantee that nine times out of ten your players won't notice, even if they're intimately familiar with the source material and on the tenth occasion they'll appreciate the "homage."

[Hawkzombie]

Wait.. what are you playing again?

GOD

He created a pocket universe and drops his friends into it routinely.

[Pigeon]

I steal from my players. You know how they often openly speculate on what might actually be going on or about to happen as things unfold? I'm not above shamelessly having that be what happens if it's better than what I was actually planning.

if they're bringing it up, chances are it's what they *want* to happen, and you have the bonus of making them feel like they're clever.

I do this all the time. My players are great at telling me how to thwart them.

[Lint of Death]

Oh, I'm totally for stealing. I've been toying with the idea of DMing a second game of 4th edition D&D. The premise is that it uses the Mass Effect universe except, instead of Earth, it's the 4e D&D world, and the Alliance and Cerberus are made up of all the D&D races. Magic would be unique to earthborn races, and the materials of Earth would be inherently superior, allowing for crazy swordplay amidst all the sci-fi gunfighting.

[Ink Asylum]

I steal all the time. Even if an idea isn't completely original there's a good chance not everyone you're playing with knows about it, and even then it'll play out differently because of their input.

That horror game sounds great. I've been wanting to try a one-shot zombie survival gaming session, where my players make up really simple characters and when they die, which will happen a lot, they can roll up a new one quickly to rejoin the action as a new survivor.

Does anyone know of a system that works well for that? I'd like to have the action and fighting be quick and simple, with a good way to simulate hordes of zombies. I want to keep people acting and rolling with the occasional breather, instead of spending five minutes deciding how to approach one round in a fight.

I've toyed with making up my own but that'd bound to be unbalanced and have all sorts of issues. A system I can modify would be greatly preferable.

[Panthera]

Hell yes, the best game ideas are stolen from people who are much better writers. The current GURPS game I'm running is a pastiche of plots and technology from Blade Runner, Ender's Game, Perfect Dark and the Known Space setting.

[Karak]

Why not? Steal whatever you can. I can guarantee that nine times out of ten your players won't notice, even if they're intimately familiar with the source material and on the tenth occasion they'll appreciate the "homage."

You would lose. My players have basically read every single book, watched ever movie, and read every comic that ever came out:) Or so it seems. Hell they can pick out a single fucking scene from a movie 9 years ago that they saw once and I only stole the set piece for. Its amazing and horrible.

[Karak]

I steal all the time. Even if an idea isn't completely original there's a good chance not everyone you're playing with knows about it, and even then it'll play out differently because of their input.

That horror game sounds great. I've been wanting to try a one-shot zombie survival gaming session, where my players make up really simple characters and when they die, which will happen a lot, they can roll up a new one quickly to rejoin the action as a new survivor.

Does anyone know of a system that works well for that? I'd like to have the action and fighting be quick and simple, with a good way to simulate hordes of zombies. I want to keep people acting and rolling with the occasional breather, instead of spending five minutes deciding how to approach one round in a fight.

I've toyed with making up my own but that'd bound to be unbalanced and have all sorts of issues. A system I can modify would be greatly preferable.
For speed...World of Darkness 2nd ed works the best for us. We can make a character in say 9 minutes and due to the nature/demeanor we can still have a bit of a backstory and personality for the guy/gal in that short of time frame. Also the 1 dice type and pools make for some good action.

[Karak]

Damn you, that sounds like a lot of fun.

Ya it was. I think the change up to a non fantasy non sci fi was the first but of fun, but the religious undertones, the almost Kootz like supernaturalness of the world, and the alien/military mystery was ultimately a great hook.

Aside from that the Mist was just also a good movie with alot of plots and things going on for all the characters. Having people be enemies, then friends, then enemies back and forth was really a great and underused development.

[Laughing Penguin]

I've been wanting to try a one-shot zombie survival gaming session, where my players make up really simple characters and when they die, which will happen a lot, they can roll up a new one quickly to rejoin the action as a new survivor.

Does anyone know of a system that works well for that? I'd like to have the action and fighting be quick and simple, with a good way to simulate hordes of zombies. I want to keep people acting and rolling with the occasional breather, instead of spending five minutes deciding how to approach one round in a fight.

I've toyed with making up my own but that'd bound to be unbalanced and have all sorts of issues. A system I can modify would be greatly preferable.


If you're not opposed to using a minis ruleset, I can't recommend All Things Zombie highly enough:

http://www.angelfire.com/az3/twohourwargames/atz.htm

I ran another session of this about 2 weeks ago fro a bunch of people who have never played it before, and it runs really fast and smooth, and it should be easy enough to beef up the RPG aspects a bit for your sessions (it already has what they term "RPG Lite" elements, but you may want to go a bit deeper fro some pre-set encounters for a more structured story). I do not work for this company, but sometimes I feel I should get some kind of kickback for how hard I push this on some people. =] I'll be happy to go into more detail if you're interested...

[Ink Asylum]

I suppose I could modify the combat in WoD to allow for faster combat with anywhere from 1 to dozens of zombies. We play Mage 2nd edition mainly so we're already quite familiar with the system.

[LongStepMantis]

When I was a little kid I thought up the idea of putting fork tines on the end of a spoon. Then I found out sporks already existed. :(
Wait, that's not what we're talking about, is it?

I used to steal heavily from books and tv shows to add flavor to existing games. Not really for things like PnP roleplaying games, but more as additional rules/scenarios for various games with minis and boards. Any game will get old after you play it 150 times.

[Laughing Penguin]

I've toyed with making up my own but that'd bound to be unbalanced and have all sorts of issues. A system I can modify would be greatly preferable.

Not sure why it took me this long to think of it, but there's also the RPG All Flesh Must be Eaten:

http://www.allflesh.com/flesh.html

It's a generic ruleset for a zombie apocalypse, and the various expansions tend to deal with specific setting variants and special rules that apply to them (like the Old West, Pulp, Fantasy, etc). Been a while since I played but I seem to recall liking the system when I did...

[Karak]

I suppose I could modify the combat in WoD to allow for faster combat with anywhere from 1 to dozens of zombies. We play Mage 2nd edition mainly so we're already quite familiar with the system.

We do that but we just use dice pools. That way you arn't adjusting the rules but instead sort of identifying with the quicker but less accurate gunfire that a mass amount of enemies would required. I guess you could modify damage if you want but we didn't need to.

Warhammer RPG and WOD are always by fallback rules systems for Fantasy and Action games respectively.

[Chimpbot]

I suppose I could modify the combat in WoD to allow for faster combat with anywhere from 1 to dozens of zombies. We play Mage 2nd edition mainly so we're already quite familiar with the system.

There's already a White Wolf system with faster combat.
It's called the New World of Darkness line.

Get with the times, old man!

[Karak]

There's already a White Wolf system with faster combat.
It's called the New World of Darkness line.

Get with the times, old man!

Slaps head...oh god....come on on now good sir:( It is not faster because its better its because they removed half the stuff that DID make sense or allowed for flexibility:eek:

But then again each to their own. WOD old or new is still the fastest ruleset for a true RPG. We replaced the dice with cards as I have stated many times in other posts here. So its even faster and more enjoyable and mysterious, but ya either will most likely work fine.

[Pale Ale]

See this is why people but o or n in front of WOD. So people can tell if your a savvy progressive or an ossified fuck. ;)

[Shieldmaiden]

Weird, this is the second time today I've seen someone claim that old WoD is a fast system. This must be in some kind of crazy alternate dimension where it doesn't involve rolling a big handful of dice about three times for each and every attack, while calculating difficulties and dice pools. It sounds like you use a very interesting set of house rules, but old WoD is clearly designed for uber-powerful immortals engaging in political douchebaggery while whinging about how shitty their unlives are. Which is all well and good, but not helpful when you have a werewolf pack facing off against hordes of formori in some kind of urban, modern-day re-enactment of 300.

That said, I've become such a Dark Heresy fanboy that I don't tolerate any suggestion whatsoever of that system's greatness being matched.

[Karak]

Weird, this is the second time today I've seen someone claim that old WoD is a fast system. This must be in some kind of crazy alternate dimension where it doesn't involve rolling a big handful of dice about three times for each and every attack, while calculating difficulties and dice pools. It sounds like you use a very interesting set of house rules, but old WoD is clearly designed for uber-powerful immortals engaging in political douchebaggery while whinging about how shitty their unlives are. Which is all well and good, but not helpful when you have a werewolf pack facing off against hordes of formori in some kind of urban, modern-day re-enactment of 300.

That said, I've become such a Dark Heresy fanboy that I don't tolerate any suggestion whatsoever of that system's greatness being matched.

Because it is. I am not sure just how hard people make it for no reason. It is freakishly fast for how complex you could make it if you chose. I guess, like cars, or motorbikes opinions aren't facts as much as we all want them to be:)
Its funny because what you described are how many of our battles went:) Ah each to their own.

Like I said I love Warhammer Roleplay 2nd and I know tons of people who would rather use the pages from the rulebook to wipe their shithole:)

[Karak]

See this is why people but o or n in front of WOD. So people can tell if your a savvy progressive or an ossified fuck. ;)

I will try that next time I am talking to a car salesman...cause that comes up a shit ton of times in conversations:)

Back on topic though guys. Anyone have any actual stories about stuff they have stolen or used that turned out good?

[Pale Ale]

I will try that next time I am talking to a car salesman...cause that comes up a shit ton of times in conversations:)

Well it is an convention that that rpg forum use because, face it, there as thick as stumps. :p



Back on topic though guys. Anyone have any actual stories about stuff they have stolen or used that turned out good?

No they always, always run like a gear box with the oil leaking out. Shift a couple time ok but you feel somethings wrong, then the grinding happens, and eventually shits itself and locks up.

[Panthera]

Here's a quick overview of the tropes and things that I've stolen for my GURPS cyberpunk campaign so far:

Perfect Dark - Office building opener with tactical chopper with a chaingun menacing them from the windows.
Blade Runner - The CEO's office is directly based on Tyrell corporation, and the CEO is named after Rachel.
Random office building on google - I generated the map of the office building by finding one on google and heavily adapting it. It had a distinctive curved exterior that added character to the layout.
Ender's Game - The players were really unsure building their characters, having never done GURPS sci-fi before. So, I let them do a VR mission which turned out to be reality.
Paranoia - After everything went pear shaped and the players leapt to their doom, they suddenly woke up cold and naked on the floor five years later with new bodies in a mysterious facility. Then when they inevitably got themselves killed, they discovered they have five more clones each. Also, there's a friendly but not very helpful AI named Marcia.

I'd add more, but I'll hold off on the off chance that one of my players reads this thread, and there's still a couple big twists to go before the finale.

[Panthera]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools?from=Main.TropesAreNotBad

Here's a well written article that's somewhat related. Great artists steal, etc etc.

[Ink Asylum]

Stealing from TvTropes for character concepts, plot ideas, action scenes, etc is quite useful.

[Deadend]

My GM decided to run his own ruleset and setting.

He stole the most convoluted and annoying rules possible.

For example
Your total Base Accuracy (acquired from your class and levels)
+ ½ your Strength or Dexterity (Strength for non-Light melee weapons, and Dexterity for Light melee weapons and ranged weapons)
+ the weapon’s own Accuracy modifier
+ any other special bonuses you receive to using weapons of that type (such as from talents or class features)
- any penalties applied to using this weapon
- Non-proficiency penalty (If you do not have proficiency in this weapon’s category, you receive a -20 Penalty at this point).
= your total Accuracy

And the setting is government agents doing supernatural investigations, but the way it works is standard issue dungeon crawl with buying upgrades at base. It's kind of painful.

I suggested some things to possibly make it more interesting, such as office drama, or say anything to take it away from being D&D and make it more logical (agents have no backup it seems, they are required to buy their own upgrades.. just other things that are broken lorewise).
Sorry, I am whining, but this is getting miserable.

[Karak]

My GM decided to run his own ruleset and setting.

He stole the most convoluted and annoying rules possible.

For example

And the setting is government agents doing supernatural investigations, but the way it works is standard issue dungeon crawl with buying upgrades at base. It's kind of painful.

I suggested some things to possibly make it more interesting, such as office drama, or say anything to take it away from being D&D and make it more logical (agents have no backup it seems, they are required to buy their own upgrades.. just other things that are broken lorewise).
Sorry, I am whining, but this is getting miserable.

I know your pain, and I am sure my gamers have had issues with my games. Just try to work it out. Suggestions as you have given really seem mature and the way to do it.
You may just want to be totally truthful and say :"I like the game but I am REALLY not enjoying myself and I can't seem to get into it the current way its set up can we talk about it?" If he says no or doesn't listen its time to move on. A wasted second of your life is 1 second too much.

[Karak]

My GM decided to run his own ruleset and setting.

He stole the most convoluted and annoying rules possible.

For example

And the setting is government agents doing supernatural investigations, but the way it works is standard issue dungeon crawl with buying upgrades at base. It's kind of painful.

I suggested some things to possibly make it more interesting, such as office drama, or say anything to take it away from being D&D and make it more logical (agents have no backup it seems, they are required to buy their own upgrades.. just other things that are broken lorewise).
Sorry, I am whining, but this is getting miserable.

Wait...is this Beyond the Supernatural by the makers of Rifts. What you explain sounds just like the supplment Ninja's and Superspies mixed with Beyond the Supernatural. We did this exact thing but ours worked. Its a great mix if you can do it right.
Good source stuff is
Poltergiest the Legecy TV show
X-Files(though thats sort of 1 man against the world)

[Karak]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools?from=Main.TropesAreNotBad

Here's a well written article that's somewhat related. Great artists steal, etc etc.

Thanks for the link but it was so poorly written and hectic that I didn't get much out of it except some random guy/gal saying people take stuff from stuff. Is that about what it was?
I am not sure if it's the way the person writes, how the page was set up, or even maybe the formating but it was painful to try to read.

I also think there is a bit of confusion.
You can't steal a gun because well...its a fucking gun. But if you steal the characters, setting, reason, plot, names, and narrative of a particular gun battle, thats true stealing that I do not do. It's not a bad thing, as I just had this great game based a great deal on "The Mist" Its just not how I roll.

[Pigeon]

JC5tp9OzXc8

[Ink Asylum]

I suggested some things to possibly make it more interesting, such as office drama, or say anything to take it away from being D&D and make it more logical (agents have no backup it seems, they are required to buy their own upgrades.. just other things that are broken lorewise).
Sorry, I am whining, but this is getting miserable.

What Karak said: If you're not having fun, let the DM know. Be nice about it, because he clearly has put time and thought into the game, but tell him that you're not enjoying the style of play, mechanics, etc. Perhaps talk to the other players before you talk to the DM and see if they have similar issues.

PnP RPGs should be a collaboration between the players and DM. Everyone should be having fun. Sometimes that's not possible, but if that's the case then sadly it might not be the campaign for you.

I joined my friend's Mage campaign and created a character that was interesting at first, but as time went on I felt he just wasn't meshing with the other characters. Eventually I just wasn't having fun playing him. So I talked to the DM and we agreed that I could come up with a new character at a similar level of experience, and I had a lot more fun with that one. If I'd just kept trudging along with the old character I would've been bored and my lack of enthusiasm would've dragged the game down.

[Deadend]

What Karak said: If you're not having fun, let the DM know. Be nice about it, because he clearly has put time and thought into the game, but tell him that you're not enjoying the style of play, mechanics, etc. Perhaps talk to the other players before you talk to the DM and see if they have similar issues.

PnP RPGs should be a collaboration between the players and DM. Everyone should be having fun. Sometimes that's not possible, but if that's the case then sadly it might not be the campaign for you.

I joined my friend's Mage campaign and created a character that was interesting at first, but as time went on I felt he just wasn't meshing with the other characters. Eventually I just wasn't having fun playing him. So I talked to the DM and we agreed that I could come up with a new character at a similar level of experience, and I had a lot more fun with that one. If I'd just kept trudging along with the old character I would've been bored and my lack of enthusiasm would've dragged the game down.
He really doesn't care about story. At all.
It's just pure dungeon crawl with a coat of Real World Paint.
I try and ask about things to add a layer of creep, or such. Like "so what is the lighting like here?" "it's a marginally lit basement." Trying to draw something for the imagination out of the guy is like getting water from a rock, he does know how to make balanced fights. As in just baaarely surviving due to player smarts.

I've talked to him on other occasions about plot/world, and cool stories in a similar setting (Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue spring to mind) but he goes "eh, I don't really worry about the fluff" and it made me die inside.

The other players don't really care, as we are all there mostly for sitting around and having fun (mostly not directly involved in playing the game.. or role-playing.) But I don't have enough time to make a campaign at the moment (and it's the dudes own ruleset he is making) so it's not like I can take over his Baby.

[Karak]

He really doesn't care about story. At all.
It's just pure dungeon crawl with a coat of Real World Paint.
I try and ask about things to add a layer of creep, or such. Like "so what is the lighting like here?" "it's a marginally lit basement." Trying to draw something for the imagination out of the guy is like getting water from a rock, he does know how to make balanced fights. As in just baaarely surviving due to player smarts.

I've talked to him on other occasions about plot/world, and cool stories in a similar setting (Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue spring to mind) but he goes "eh, I don't really worry about the fluff" and it made me die inside.

The other players don't really care, as we are all there mostly for sitting around and having fun (mostly not directly involved in playing the game.. or role-playing.) But I don't have enough time to make a campaign at the moment (and it's the dudes own ruleset he is making) so it's not like I can take over his Baby.
I think you already know what I would say. When it comes to the fun things we do in life, our hobbies etc, a second wasted is never ever made up for.
I would be gone instantly.

[Ink Asylum]

Yeah, it sadly sounds like you're just not a fit for that group. It's tough when they're close friends but it sounds like you only have a few options: continue hanging out with them, just not on game nights; keep playing and suffer; or work on your own campaign that's more story focused and get them interested.

[Panthera]

Thanks for the link but it was so poorly written and hectic that I didn't get much out of it except some random guy/gal saying people take stuff from stuff. Is that about what it was?
I am not sure if it's the way the person writes, how the page was set up, or even maybe the formating but it was painful to try to read.

I also think there is a bit of confusion.
You can't steal a gun because well...its a fucking gun. But if you steal the characters, setting, reason, plot, names, and narrative of a particular gun battle, thats true stealing that I do not do. It's not a bad thing, as I just had this great game based a great deal on "The Mist" Its just not how I roll.

It's a wiki page, not really a traditional article. It may also be a bit confusing when it uses TVTropes specific lingo. Also, you shouldn't ever complain about formatting. ;)

[Karak]

It's a wiki page, not really a traditional article. It may also be a bit confusing when it uses TVTropes specific lingo. Also, you shouldn't ever complain about formatting. ;)

Actually I should. I am posting on a forum and really just flow with it. When posting to my website, to our company website, or other areas I put actual attention into how it is written. It seemed like he wanted to be understood but it was so poorly done that I couldn't understand him. But as you said, specific lingo can make for difficult reading.
If our posts here were an accurate reflection of how most of us write...I pity the world:)

[Panthera]

Actually I should. I am posting on a forum and really just flow with it. When posting to my website, to our company website, or other areas I put actual attention into how it is written. It seemed like he wanted to be understood but it was so poorly done that I couldn't understand him. But as you said, specific lingo can make for difficult reading.
If our posts here were an accurate reflection of how most of us write...I pity the world:)

I think it's important to write your posts well even on a forum out of respect for the people reading them.

[Karak]

I think it's important to write your posts well even on a forum out of respect for the people reading them.

Not me. But that's cool. I don't measure respect in that way.

[Ronin]

As a comment on the topic gaming systems (dice, cards, etc), I have to say the card system has to be about the best I have ever had a GM use. I was skeptical at first, until really started to see how much I was relying on what I saw on the dice and calculating what the GM's response was. Since I don't see the card I drew, I can't try to out-think the situation. It's much more engaging and immersive. And as far as I can tell, it's just as fast if not faster than dice. Overall Karak, sounds like I missed a fantastic game. Keep up the good thieving.

[Karak]

As a comment on the topic gaming systems (dice, cards, etc), I have to say the card system has to be about the best I have ever had a GM use. I was skeptical at first, until really started to see how much I was relying on what I saw on the dice and calculating what the GM's response was. Since I don't see the card I drew, I can't try to out-think the situation. It's much more engaging and immersive. And as far as I can tell, it's just as fast if not faster than dice. Overall Karak, sounds like I missed a fantastic game. Keep up the good thieving.

Ya you were in Corvallis Gallivanting:) You will be at the next.

[Deadend]

I ran a mini-drunk session using stripped down MouseGuard rules.

I asked the players what they thought was cool and mashed it all together in a way for fun. Basically had them fightning/running/helping various memes they dig.

I also made them play Robot Unicorn Attack for a high score. Then they formed Gurren Lagaan and fought Space Marines. There were Nazi Zombies as well.

It's kind of dumb, but I thought that it went pretty well cribbing from pop-culture to help quickly familiarize players with concepts and ideas. As there is a reason that red barrels explode in games.