Crossover campaign I'm running, would love ideas and suggestions

[Irenbayne]

So I'm running a game with players familiar with the urban fantasy genre mostly from tv shows, and who are new to gaming in general. In order to make things a bit easier to ease them into gaming, we decided to set the game in a world where most shows with a horror/modern fantasy vibe are real. So there's a werewolf pack in Beacon Hills (Teen Wolf), two brothers wandering America fighting monsters based out of a bunker in Kansas (Supernatural), a bunch of vamps in a town called Mystic Falls where a lot of other stuff goes down (Vampire Diaries) and the Fae have a heavy presence in a city in Canada where a Succubus is refusing to side with Summer (Light) or Winter (Dark) Court Fae. I only have two players and they're playing a mother and son hunting team related to the Winchesters (They're Campbells if you're familiar with the show) who are on the run from their family since the son became obsessed with magic and is now a wizard. The mom is a hunter (Pure Mortal) who specializes with archery, much like an Argent from Teen Wolf. I'm having to tweak a bunch of rules and details to deal with things like Teen Wolf weres, who have a mostly human form with claws and stuff but also have super strength, toughness and recovery in human form. If there's any interest, I'll share details of how I'm handling certain things. (Let me tell you, Castiel was a pain to stat out.) Anyway, my plot is that, for reasons the PCs don't know yet, Faerie and Hell are at war and Downunder worked a massive spell which exiled all Fae onto earth. Now the world is their battlefield and the PCs, because of bloodline, background, and destiny stuff are the only ones who can fix it. Since the problem is so global, their allies from around the country are all going to be involved. So, thoughts?

[Taran]

I'm curious: What do you have to tweak for the Teen Wolf?
Are you basically doing:
inhuman toughness
Inhuman Strength
Echoes of the beast
Beast form
Human form affecting:
     Claws
     

Nothing from Buffy?  Or is that the Down-under connection?  No Slayer?

Anyways, I think the idea is cool to jam everything into one game.  The idea with the Fae and demons is pretty neat too.  How many refresh are starting with?  What city?

[Irenbayne]

Well for TW I needed something to represent the wolfed out form as well as the human form. There's a noticeable difference in fighting prowess and athletic ability when wolfed out. So for Alphas I have them with Inhuman everything normally going up to Superhuman when shifted. Catch is Wolfsbane and Silver (between the Argent name and incorporating Supernatural, it seemed best.) I figure betas just get claws and Supernatural Toughness/Recovery when shifted with the added Catch of "Alpha Wounds"

As for Buffy, that show wasn't one of the ones that made the short list of being characters the PC's knew, since it wasn't really a favorite. Instead of doing the first story, guest star, etc. phases, since it was a mother and son team, it made more sense (and gave more of a world building opportunity) to have a guest episode in each of three shows. So they investigated the Beacon Hills attacks, arriving after it was solved and finding out not all werewolves are evil; then they crossed paths with the Winchesters when the wizard/son got possessed and went on a rampage; finally they tracked a "vampire" across the border to find out it was a blood drinking Fae, learning about faeries from Lost Girl cast. Mystic Falls has been discussed in world creation, but the party hasn't been there. My main concerns as GM with Buffy are timeline and importance. The TW pack is just one pack of werewolves. Sam and Dean have saved the world, but their moment of being the only thing that matters is over. Now they're just hunters... with a pet angel. And Bo from Lost Girl is unique for not being aligned, but the idea has spread making Wildfae more common, but with the risks being as they are, not that much so. Buffy seems different. Since she's the chosen one with all kinds of supernatural strength and the target of every baddy ever, I worry that'd draw the focus from the party. Then there's the fact that Sunnydale was destroyed in 2004 and Los Angeles went to Hell in 2005, so that'd be some serious issues to deal with. So, if the party shows an interest in Buffy I might figure something out... but not right now. The rest are easier to mix in. Another show that will be added (the party doesn't know) is Haven. I'm going to have them need a particular troubled person's power, and then have to deal with Haven thinking they're the only town with supernatural stuff while the party deal with (and considering our group, mock) the stupid townies who can't control their magic.

I'm starting Submerged, but growing quick. Wizard (both character and player) is obsessed with the Fae, and likes the idea of the trouble he could get in with Unseelie Magic. Since I like the idea, I'm giving 2 refresh across the board so he's still playable. The huntress likes the fate points, and since she's got a ton of stunts, more's nice.

Between Supernatural being a favorite show among the group (we're total fanboys/girls) and the fact that the characters are Campbells, we didn't do City Creation, instead doing campaign creation. Some of our locations are cities. Physically, they're heading back from Canada and stopped in New York for supplies, figuring a major city would have some of the more obscure Catch requirements and magic supplies. Which is when Maeve is going to claim Manhattan, starting with freezing the Hudson and East Rivers and wrecking the bridges... including the Brooklyn Bridge the party is crossing.

[Sanctaphrax]

You may want to talk to Keryth, who's running a similarly crossover-y game.

[Keryth]

Thanks for the shout out Sanctaphrax, especially since I was gonna pipe up and recommend Irenbayne take a look at what I have

So, Irenbayne, take a look at https://shadows-over-new-york.obsidianportal.com/wikis/home-page. My campaign is based in a Dresdenverse combined with many things including Buffy, Percy Jackson, Grimm, Highlander, as well as less magical things like Law and Order, Castle, and 24. My Obsidian Portal site has locations, templates, and synopsis of every session we've had. Might be of some assistance

Meanwhile, the best advice I can give is to pick one universe (in my case, as I was using DFRPG, I picked Dresdenverse) and balance everythging else against it. That is the key. You don;t want your Teen Wolf Werewolves overpowering your Supernatural based hunters

[InFerrumVeritas]

Keryth's advice about picking ONE universe and using it as a reference point for balance is spot on.

[blackstaff67]

Keryth's advice about picking ONE universe and using it as a reference point for balance is spot on.

Yeah, I wanted to incorporate some of Simon Green's Nightside from his series, but I'd have to tone done (A LOT) the power of the NPC's the party would come in contact with--almost all of them (including the protagonist) are at or near plot-device levels in terms of power.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Yeah, I wanted to incorporate some of Simon Green's Nightside from his series, but I'd have to tone done (A LOT) the power of the NPC's the party would come in contact with--almost all of them (including the protagonist) are at or near plot-device levels in terms of power.

Simon R Green's books are basically "What happens if plot device A comes in contact with plot device B while plot device C is happening in the background and plot device D is neutralized until the last minute, causing plot devices E, F, and G to save the day using plot device F."

Fun read, but a game based on them is impossible.  Even things like Taylor's gift and Drood armor have varying degrees of power not just from book to book, but scene to scene.