Working on a convention scenario inspired by Super 8

[Shekbo]

Looking for ideas / inspiration / advice.

Last year I ran a Dresden game at our local con (www.carnagecon.com) and it was so popular we had to turn people away. So the RPG director has asked me to run another this year and I've been looking for inspiration.

The other night I watched the movie Super 8 and thought, "wow, this would make a great RPG adventure". So here are my initial thoughts, see what you can do to help me flesh them out.

The setting is our local area, Burlington Vermont and it's surroundings. That worked great last year.
I'd like to have a group of low powered (feet in the water) players facing something totally out of their league.
Something that they can't go toe to toe with and survive but that they can outsmart.

I'm thinking that the party is sort of a Professor X and students thing. The leader is a local priest (true believer) working within an order that looks out for young people with talent. I'm thinking 5 players would be good for a con game so I've got the leader, a were-form (something low power like maybe a dog), a changeling with glamour, and two minor talents. The scenario is graveyard and ghost based so one will be a ghost talker and undecided on the 5th.

We have a local graveyard that is supposedly the burial place of Ethan Allen (Vermont revolutionary war hero) but nobody is exactly sure where he's buried. There is a monument to him there but the monument is not his burial site. It could be a conduit to the never never for some crazed sorcerer to summon an nasty entity to our world.....

So my scenario outline is
A) sorcerer opens a portal at the monument and lets a big nasty loose.
B) players need to find Ethan Allen's real burial place and call on him for help.
C) With the revolutionary war ghost's help the players push the big nasty back into the never never.

Questions I need to sort out...
1) How to make sure the players realize they can't fight this things straight up?
2) Should I connect the sorcerer to the players somehow? How?
3) What should my 5th character be?
4) What else an I forgetting?

Here's your chance to help me flesh this thing out. Let's hear what you think.

Tom in VT

[Sanctaphrax]

Seems a touch too linear. What if the players use Declarations and such to go way off the rails?

[Shekbo]

well, I guess that could happen during any adventure of the GM allows it. I was just looking at it as a bare bones outline for an adventure. Why do you think it's too linear?

[Sanctaphrax]

Most DFRPG convention scenarios I've seen have been very freeform. This one actually has a plot, and specific events that are supposed to happen.

Your players may try to avoid that plot and those events. Maybe they hate the idea of having to get help or something. It seems to me that you should be prepared for something like that.

Then again, I've never run a game at a con. So don't take me too seriously.

PS: You may want to consider having a longish list of characters to choose from rather than set roles.

[UmbraLux]

Why do you think it's too linear?

You do seem to have decided on a) the beginning followed by b) the middle and culminating with c) the end.  Have to agree it seems linear.

One thing I try to avoid is making a single path to success.  For that matter, I've learned to avoid assuming players will even do something they stated they would last game.    (It's teaching me to shut down past options after they've made other choices - reduces the chance they'll flip directions again.  But that's another story.)

1) How to make sure the players realize they can't fight this things straight up?
2) Should I connect the sorcerer to the players somehow? How?
3) What should my 5th character be?
4) What else an I forgetting?

Never assume #1.  Players can be both creative and stubborn.  The first is best, it can lead to some surprising and fun results.  The second depends on the GM - if he's as stubborn as the players the game can hit a wall.  Hard.  

I would recommend tying the campaign / villain to the PCs.  Use their aspects to do so.

Regarding the PCs, be careful about designating an in-game leader.  Particularly for a game where the players probably don't know each other.  As for the fifth PC, have you considered a pure mortal?

[Shekbo]

I've run quite a few RPG games at our con in various systems from D&D to Serenity. What I usually do is have a beginning, to introduce the players to the problem at hand and I have a climax in mind for the end. How they get there in the middle is up to them and certainly what they do in the middle will effect how the climax plays out. I have a few things in mind that I'd like to see happen in some way at some point of the adventure but nothing set in stone.

Running a completely free form game at a con seems like it could be a waste of my players precious time.

As far as characters go, I'm thinking of doing them like the two published "casefiles". Create a few more then I need so players have some choice and allow the table to flesh out the final few aspects of each character with a Q&A session. That time will also give me as the GM an indication of where the players want to take this game.

[Richard_Chilton]

How do you show that it's out of their league?
1) Have a NPC - say a Warden - take it on and get zapped.  Goes down without effort.
2) Let the players attack and then say "No, don't bother tagging aspects or spending FATE chips - the attack fails.  You can't hurt it that way." while assigning it immunity with a 0 cost catch (the guy's ghost being present).
3) have them stumble over a fragment of a scroll that links the big nasty to the hero.
4) have the NPC summoner lose control of the big nasty and the players watch him getting eaten.  Maybe while he screams "But I'm using blah and blah and nothing working" while the big bad laughs and lists off things that can't hurt it.

Or the 5th NPC could have channeling or rituals - and be the cast off apprentice of the sorcerer (he's listening to the priest type more than the self proclaimed Dark Master - maybe that's what drives the sorcerer to do something so dangerous) and that PC knows that the thing is practically immune to everything - expect for blah.

One thing to think about - what if they try to get the ghost of a hero from another war? Say 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII, etc? In other words, what makes the Revolutionary Hero more special than the ones from the other wars?


Oh - and I kind of agree that uses of declarations could derail your entire plotline - but rather than repeat that I thought I'd give you what advice I can.

Richard

[tymire]

Cons are a bit different.  Players do not really get off subject since you only really have 4 hours to get a lot done.  Besides, how many are really going to be familiar enough with DF to start doing declarations?   

All you really need to do is modify the back story and put little pieces of info giving them a direction for you to follow.  Yes it's leading, however for Cons it's something you should be doing.

If you really want to have a good time, base all your pregens off of characters in Scoob-Doo....   .

[devonapple]

If you want Ethan Allen's ghost to be a part of the game, you have to tie it into one of the players' backgrounds, preferably with an Aspect. Then Compel it: "whenever you feel overwhelmed by something, your visits to your ancestor's grave seem to bring you a feeling of peace - maybe now would be a good time to get out to the cemetary?" Which has the bonus of sounding like you are setting the players up for a completely different plot twist.

[Shekbo]

I actually ran a Scooby Do based Call of Cthulhu game at this same con a couple years back. It was a hoot!

What's going to make these characters fun is that they are going to be local stereo-types for our particular area.

When I ran the Dresden Files adventure at this con last year out of 5 players at the table only one had played the game before. They had all either read the books or had seen the TV show and were very interested in the game. So no, I don't think there will be a lot of declaractions pulling me way off track.

@Richard, thanks for the suggestions. I like tying on of the characters to the evil sorcerer. That's a nice touch. WRT eliciting the help of a different ghost, there are actually several in this cemetary who would be interesting. Including the Vermont General who commanded the only union unit to counter-charge Pickett's charge during the battle of Gettysburg

[Shekbo]

@ Devon... Getting the players to the cemetary is not too hard. It happens to be right next door to the park where the local minor league baseball team plays. I was going to have them start the game attending a ball-game and notice something amiss beyond the center field wall.

Also, I was thinking of linking one of the PCs to Ethan Allen but I'm not sure if I want to do that up front as an Aspect or have it be revealed dramatically during the game. "Luuuuuuke, I am your great great great great grandfather...."

[tymire]

You really don't even have to do that as you will have a ghost speaker.  Make a few contact rolls and your done (at least mechanically).

Man you picked a great guy to grab btw.

From wiki:

Death:  On February 11, 1789, Allen traveled with one of his workers to visit his brother Ebenezer

If that isn't pure story telling gold I don't know what is.....

Make it where his statue actually is a lock on the gate/portal, he was a wizard at that time, and when he died he actually "defeated" the BBG at that time.  Hehe really you could make it where he cannot help himself but has you get his brother.....  So many fun options.

[Richard_Chilton]

@Richard, thanks for the suggestions. I like tying on of the characters to the evil sorcerer. That's a nice touch. WRT eliciting the help of a different ghost, there are actually several in this cemetary who would be interesting. Including the Vermont General who commanded the only union unit to counter-charge Pickett's charge during the battle of Gettysburg

When making PCs that "follow" a plot line, having tie-ins is a must.  It provides the motive for a one shot game.  Maybe the evil sorcerer is actually an Ex - someone who is trying to prove his/her love by half destroying the world?

It might be interesting to see different ghosts advising different tactics during the fight - war having changed so much between the revolution and the Civil War, then again for WWI and WWII.

Richard

[Shekbo]

I visited the actual cemetary today and took some pictures. There are certainly notable people there from every era. We got pics of WWI vets and Civil war vets. Some real cornerstones of the community. People who have a hospital or a whole county named after them. Some really cool tombstones and even a sundial with some crypic writing. Hmmmmm puzzle?

I could post a few pics here if you're interested.

Tom in VT

[Sanctaphrax]

I'd like to see the sundial, if you have such a picture. Maybe the cool tombstones too.

Stuff like that is interesting to me.