Stuff to Steal From: The Rockford Files (1974-1980)

By | Published November 11, 2011

The Rockford Files is a free-wheeling detective program starring James Garner that was originally broadcast between 1974 and 1980. Its also a source of easy to steal RPG scenarios, loaded with characters ready to be turned into NPCs. The program featured the misadventures of Jim Rockford, an ex-con turned P.I. as he lived hand-to-mouth working on cases that inevitably proved to be more trouble than they were worth. The show’s appeal had a lot to do with its breezy scripts, James Garner’s charm and one of the greatest opening sequences of all time.

The Rockford Files is a standard, ‘done-in-one’ old-school episodic television show. In nearly every episode:

  • Jim takes a case, reluctantly gets in over his head
  • Is framed for a crime or hunted by someone with bad intentions (often both)
  • Trashes a rental vehicle (seriously, who rents to him?)
  • Solves the mystery and either gets the girl or gets paid (rarely both).
  • Usually this is supplemented by wise-cracks by his father (played by the great Noah Beery, Jr) or Sgt. Dennis Becker his reluctant ally in the police (played by Joe Santos).

122 episodes of The Rockford Files were produced, so don’t expect me to get into any details on individual episodes, but I will say this: GMs running mission based games could do a lot worse, than to steal the occasional scenario from The Rockford Files. Each plot has more than enough twists and reversals to offer a good GM a trick or two to have up their sleeve.

Easily the most liftable element of The Rockford Files is that Jim Rockford’s antagonists are never sitting still. The show takes a page from the Raymond Chandler/Mickey Spillane school of detective writing in that Jim tends to blunder into a situation, usually posing as someone or something that he’s not, stir up a hornets’ nest and then react to the fallout. In many ways, Rockford is more a con-artist than a detective, with the consequence that the show is usually about Rockford forcing people to act in order to uncover the truth.

To me this is gold. Look at it from an adventure writing perspective. Each episode provides you with a solid investigative mission hook for the PCs and a sense of how the various NPCs and factions will react once they inevitably start poking around. Especially if the poking takes an unusual form.

While not all PCs are likely to show up on a mobster’s doorstep pretending to be a health inspector as Rockford is wont to, they do tend to do off-the-wall things and an average Rockford Files episode might inspire you with ways for characters to react to unorthodox behaviour. Bonus points if it inspires you to react in a manner other than ‘they try to kill you,’ although that happens often enough in The Rockford Files.

At any rate, whether you intend to steal some ideas or not, The Rockford Files is currently streaming on Netflix, so if you have an hour to spare and are looking for a good time, check it out. You won’t regret it.

Posted in Late to the TV, rpgs, Stuff to Steal From | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Muerte Las Vegas! A Vampire: the Masquerade Campaign

By | Published October 27, 2011

Its inevitable.

The only thing better than my current game is the next the game. Usually, I feel a bit guilty eyeing the next game while my current game is just getting its swing, but this time its different. StarGuard, my group’s Icons campaign, was always intended to be a brief stop over until the next big game.

A rebound campaign, if you will.

So, what am I planning after StarGuard? The answer is ‘Muerte Las Vegas!’ a Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition campaign set in 60s Vegas.

Mobsters, Casinos, Hustlers and Howard Hughes. I’m hoping for a ‘James Ellroy meets Casino by Night’ kind of feel, hopefully with a bit of a Pendragon mixed in as each adventure should be considered ‘the adventure’ for a whole year. The goal is to chart the rise, decline and rebirth of Las Vegas from the 60s through the 80s with the PCs at the center of it all.

But we shall see.

One element of my Runequest campaign that I would like to push is my pilfered port of the brilliant Smallville relationship map/character creation mechanic.

At this point, I’m thinking of something like the process below to balance group city creation while meaningfully reflecting the points players have spent on Backgrounds like Allies, Mentors, Contacts, Domain, etc.

To start, and unlike how I ran it for Runequest, I will likely throw up a few NPCs and Places (collectively ‘Non-Player Objects’ or NPOs) that I want to have in the Campaign.  This will likely include the Prince of the City, two rival power brokers and the Shangri-La Hotel.

Once this is on the paper, the rest of the process will go like this:

Turn 1

1)      Each PC contributes One of the following:

a.       A Circle containing a group of people(can be used as minions, herd, connections)

b.      A Square containing a Person of Influence (can be used as an Ally/Mentor/Prominent Connection)

c.       A Triangle containing a Setting (Haven/Resource/Appropriate) Square

2)      Each Player must then draw a line between one of the NPOs and their PC, loosely noting their relationship

3)      Each Player must then connect any two NPOs to each other, loosely noting their relationship to each other

4)      Players can then ‘spend’ one of their previously selected Background Points (or points if appropriate) to link transform an NPO that has been connected to their NPC into a Contact, Herd, Ally, Mentor, Domain or even Resource owned possession

Turn 2

1)      Each Player creates a new NPO

2)      Each Player then draws a connection between an NPO and a PC controlled by another Player, loosely noting their relationship (the recipient of this connection can object)

3)      Each Player then has the option to spend a Background Point  to make an NPO a Contact, Herd, Ally, Mentor, Domain or Resource

Turn 3

1)      Each Player creates a new NPO

2)      Each Player must then connect any two NPOs to each other, loosely noting their relationship to each other

3)      Each Player must then draw a line between one of the NPOs and their PC, loosely noting their relationship

4)      Each Player then has the option to spend a Background Point  to make an NPO a Contact, Herd, Ally, Mentor, Domain or Resource

Turn 4

1)      Each Player must connect any two NPOs to each other, loosely noting their relationship to each other

2)      Draw a connection between an NPO and any  PC

3)      Each Player then has the option to spend a Background Point  to make an NPO a Contact, Herd, Ally, Mentor, Domain or Resource

Turn 5

(Continued until all Contact, Herd, Ally, Mentor, and Domain dots have been accounted for)

1)      Players with remaining Background Points may draw a new NPO and connect them to their character

2)      Other Players must then draw a connection between either: any two NPOs or an NPO and any PC besides their PC or, if the NPO was created this turn, the PC belonging to the Player who created it

3)      Each Player then has the option to spend a Background Point  to make an NPO a Contact, Herd, Ally, Mentor, Domain or Resource

Hopefully, this will allow the Players to create an unholy mess of intrigue and connections that will form the meat of a rocking campaign.

Posted in rpgs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Stuff to Steal From: Kelly’s Heroes

By | Published July 29, 2010

Confession time: I haven’t stolen from Kelly’s Heroes…yet.kellyoddball

This summer I’m running ‘Rotwang’s Heroes’ with Starblazer Adventures. The plan is to run a Kelly’s Heroes scenario set in a steam-punk post-apocalyptic WWI environment. So really, as far as thefts go, this one is close to my heart.

As I try to resume blogging over the next couple of weeks—and try to be a decent dad—I’m going to chime in on how I’m stealing from Kelly’s Heroes.

Today I’d like to talk about stealing from the film’s basic scenario.

In Kelly’s Heroes you have a motley band of soldiers deserting to steal a fortune in gold. It’s a zany hybrid of war and caper genres that lends itself to adaptation as a one-shot.

The key elements to the scenario are:

A tight window: If you stick closely to the film’s set-up, even though the PCs are the only ones to know about the treasure (even its guards are unaware of what they are guarding) a clock is ticking. If they wait too long:

A clued-in member of the opposition will move the treasureKH3

Their absence from the front will be noticed and their allies will start looking for them

Or, horror of horrors, their allies might get to the treasure before they do, screwing up the whole gig.

Multiple Hazards: The PCs should face a situation with myriad of potential hazards.

They should be behind enemy lines (or the equivalent)

Faced with environmental challenges (how are we gonna cross the river Kelly?)

They should also be in danger from the side they deserted from (if caught the best case would be for them to be hailed as penniless heroes or, more realistically, hung).

The key thing is that, from the moment the scenario starts, damn near everything is challenge the PCs need to overcome.

Flexibility:

The climax of Kelly’s Heroes is, perhaps, one of my favorite endings of all time. It’s such that I really don’t want to ruin it. Needless to say, it is exactly the kind of lateral thinking that your players will probably come up with once you are ready for the big boss fight. The key here is to go with it. There is no obstacle that can’t be overcome by the left-field awesomeness of your average player.

Posted in rpgs | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Kelly’s Heroes (1970)

By | Published July 23, 2010

Brian G. Hutton’s Kelly’s Heroes is an all-time favourite.kellys_heroes1

Its brilliance comes from an easy combination of seeming incompatible elements. At its core, Kelly’s Heroes is a sort of anti-war heist story that’s executed with same kind of anarchic panache as Altman’s M*A*S*H.

The film’s plot is pretty straightforward.

A platoon of hard-done-by soldiers learn of a secret cache of lightly guarded German gold worth $16 million. Unfortunately the gold is 30 miles behind enemy lines. Determining that’s better to die getting rich than for an uncaring and bureaucratic army, the platoon deserts and makes their play.

Gathering an unlikely group of allies (and always wary of diluting the loot), Kelly and Company have to overcome a whack of obstacles while outrunning the US drive into enemy territory that they accidentally trigger. The climax of the film will make every GM who’s had their boss fight thwarted smile with glee.

The film’s cast includes Clint Eastwood as the hard bitten Kelly and Telly kellys_heroes_ver2Savalas as Big Joe, his cynical platoon leader. Clint and Telly, however, are only as good as the cast they work off of which includes:

Donald Sutherland as a the leader of a proto-hippie tank commune

Don Rickles as a self-serving supply officer

Carroll O’Conner as a vainglorious general

Harry Dean Stanton as a down home country private, which should make fans of David Lynch and Red Dawn alike happy.

The chemistry between Eastwood scowling tough guy and Sutherland’s zany hippie is particularly delightful.

Honestly, if you’re looking for an easy, breezy caper or war film, I suggest giving Kelly’s Heroes a chance. The cast and the soundtrack alone should keep you smiling throughout!

Posted in Late to the Movies | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Stuff to Steal From: The Black Hole (1979)

By | Published May 18, 2010

cygnusAs you probably know by now, I love the Black Hole. And I love stealing from it.

The Black Hole lends itself to be pilfered by any GM running a ‘wandering adventurer’ type campaign or to one-shot adaptation.

The key elements I suggest you swipe are:

The Cygnus.

An isolated, exotic and perilous setting (a rococo ship sitting on the edge of the Black Hole, a secret harbor built into the side of a volcano, an ancient temple close to a rift in time and space). Ideally your Cygnus should be extremely difficult to get to or from, with your Reinhardt having the power to increase or decrease the difficulty. This may smack of railroading, but I prefer to think of it as motivation.

Reinhardt.black-hole_hans

A driven, but brilliant, character with both a horrible secret and an all-consuming goal. In the film you’ve got Reinhardt’s forced conversion of the crew into robots and his black hole research. Other concepts can easily be substituted though. A sorcerer seeking egress into another dimension who has made a pact with a demon would work just as well. The most important thing is to remember that your Reinhardt wants the PCs to help him with their goal.

Reinhardt’s Research and the Cygnus.

Essentially you need a Maguffin that isn’t easily taken by force. In the Black Hole this was Reinhardt’s knowledge and the Cygnus, but it really just needs to be something that will benefit the PCs back in civilization, yet might be easier to haul back with the antagonist’s cooperation.

Maximilian, S.T.A.R. and grillion other robots.maximillian

Your antagonist should have back-up along the lines of the very imposing Maximilian and the pompous S.T.A.R. to run interference as soon as the PCs start behaving like PCs. A horde of mooks is also always useful.

And Then Things Go Wrong.

Basically, make sure you have a trigger that sets off two events. The first is having Reinhardt decide that eliminating at least some of the PCs is easier than getting their help. This should probably occur whenever the PCs start to uncover Reinhardt’s Secret. You also need to decide when it is that the environment takes a hand and begins the destruction of the locale.

Increase power to maximum. We are going THROUGH!

Once Reinhardt has sicced his henchmen and the environment starts tearing the setting apart the adventure will probably run itself. At this point the PCs need to deal with environmental threats (hull breaches, lava floes, and extra-dimensional incursions), henchmen and securing the Maguffin while trying to escape before everything collapses. Have fun.

You know, in retrospect, I think this one of those texts I’ve stolen from dozens of time…and I intend to steal from it again. So if you’re stuck for this week’s adventure, I think you could do worse than have your PCs encounter a faint distress beacon from the USS Cygnus… or your local equivalent!

Posted in Late to the Movies, rpgs | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Black Hole (1979)

By | Published May 17, 2010

Maybe it’s my age, but the Black Hole (1979) was my favourite non-Star Wars sci-fi flick growing up. Maybe it’s because448px-black_hole_ver1 it’s a sci-fi take on the haunted house story sitting somewhere between Event Horizon and The Tempest. Either way, it is still a favourite.

The film has a brooding quality not the least because of its The film’s costume and set design. From the robots draped in plain grey cloth to the way the Cygnus hangs in the darkness like a cross between a cathedral and the Eiffel Tower, the film oozes mood. Overall, the Black Hole has a brooding and downbeat quality that juxtaposes nicely with the slick special effects, cute robots and stirring score.

The Black Hole follows a small group of space explorers as they encounter the Cygnus: a vast and long lost star ship sitting impossibly close to the titular black hole. Aboard the vessel they encounter Hans Reinhardt, the brilliant and megalomaniacal captain of the Cygnus, presiding over a crew of subservient robots (most notably his massive and deadly enforcer Maximilian). Although seemingly happy to see them at first, it doesn’t take long before the crew of the Cygnus realize that Reinhardt is hiding a terrible secret. Needless to say, it doesn’t end happily for everyone.

Adding to the film’s dark design and classic horror plot is a strong cast including Anthony Perkins as the deluded Dr. Alex Durant, Ernest Borgnine as the irascible journalist Harry Booth and uncredited voice work by Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens as the robots V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B.

If you don’t mind a film that takes its time and haven’t seen the Black Hole (or just haven’t seen it lately) I strongly recommend you give it a look.

Posted in Late to the Movies | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Stuff to Steal From: God Told Me To (1976)

By | Published April 7, 2010

As I recently jotted, God Told Me To is a fine and funky little horror film worth checking out for its strangeness if nothing else.

And as with everything I like, I suggest it be plundered by GM’s for their own diabolical purposes!

So here are three things God Told Me To Steal!

1) Serene Cultists

Ok, I know these are a staple of just about every Lovecraftian monster hunting game out there, but God Told Me To executes it quite well. Each of Bernard Phillip’s devoted followers commits their atrocities with a smile upon their face. Each is totally contented when challenged as to why they committed their acts to simply repeat ‘god told me to’ and then expire. They aren’t sneaky, they aren’t creepy, they’re just filled with joy and totally at peace. That’s what makes them creepy.

2) Conflicted Disciples

Phillips’ wealthy apostles, on the other hand, form the inner circle of the cult. Unlike his other blissful followers, the apostles fear their master and certainly don’t seem to be true believers. They’re powerful though, and the implication is that Phillips needs them and that they fear Phillips. The fact that their Messiah can dominate their minds and force them to die in ways that would make Darth Vader hesitate only helps make their conflicted feelings more palpable.

3) The Evil is You

Ok, spoilers on.

In God Told Me To each step Peter Nichols takes towards unravelling the mystery of Bernard Phillips leads him to another question about himself. As Peter progresses, the parallels between his own birth and childhood and that of his quarry become more and more pronounced. Moreover, the final revelation of Phillips’ otherworldly nature inevitably leads to Peter realizing his own, hideous, true nature.

I have to caution using this one directly with a PC. Personally, I think its a great way to make a PC anxious about uncovering a mystery, particularly if they’ve chosen a ‘dark secret’ trait and are willing to trust you with it. On the other hand, forcing someone’s PC to turn out to be a Deep One or a mind-controlling, hermaphrodite alien hybrid without their consent isn’t cool.

Posted in rpgs, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

God Told Me To (Larry Cohen, 1976)

By | Published April 2, 2010

An off-beat, creepy and strange b-film, God Told Me Too is a low-rent supernatural detective film worth checking out.

How can you lose with a Poster like This?

How can you lose with a Poster like This?

On one level, it’s a gritty police procedural set in 70s New York at its ugliest.

On another, it strings together kooky alien astronaut theories, hermaphrodism, and bizarre cult killers into a suspenseful occult thriller.

In other words, it’s a film of stark contrasts in a washed out and dirty grey world.

The main contrast is between Cohen’s protagonist and antagonist. The hard-boiled Peter Nicolas and the barely seen Bernard Phillips.

Tony Lo Bianco plays Peter Nicholas. At first glance, Peter is a stereotypical 70s tough-guy cop. He’s middle-aged, working class and divorced. About the only thing that sets him apart from the usual cop character is his intense Catholic devotion, that is illustrated by his slinking out of his young lover’s bed to go to mass each day.

Richard Lynch plays Bernard Phillips the enigmatic cult messiah who is little more than a rumor for most of the film. Only visible at its climax, Phillips embodies everything that square society finds distasteful about hippies: he is long-haired, slender, almost hermaphroditic. He wanders around the filthy city penniless and barefoot. Moreover, anyone who listens to his subversive message instinctively knows he’s the son of god and obeys his every command.

God Told Me To is in no small way about the clash between these two characters. Told firmly from Peter’s perspective, the narrative shows Peter gazing a little too deeply into the abyss. Without spoiling anything, their conflict is pretty transformative and ultimately results in Peter becoming a character who is as disturbing as Phillips.

In other words, God Told Me To plays on the theme of becoming the thing you are hunting.

Alright, you might be saying, but how does this play out plot-wise?

The film opens with a sniper taking out random targets in downtown Manhattan. Another in a series of seemingly senseless killings in the film that Peter is obsessed with getting to the bottom of. The only obvious connection between the murders is that each spree ends with killer committing suicide after saying, with serene sincerity, ‘God Told Me To.’

Disturbed because of his religious principles–and because he’s just that kind of movie cop–Peter sets out to find the force behind these killings. This propels him into clashing with the golden haloed hippie messiah Phillips and a coterie of wealthy and devoted disciples. As the plot rolls on, Peter witnesses more and more acts of madness by Phillips’ thralls and digs deeper into a mystery involving religion, strange abductions, and, ultimately, his own identity.

By the end of the film, God Told Me To gleefully smashes together religion with science fiction, mind control with faith, and nature with nurture. The film doesn’t pretend to have any answers, but it sure makes a fun mess.

Posted in Late to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Damnation Decade Pitch

By | Published March 29, 2010

The Quick Version20321

Run with FATE, it’s League of Extraordinary 70s Film and TV characters racing to save the world before world ends on Dec 31st, 1979.

Characters modeled on an Angel, the Bionic Man and Woman, the Omega Man, Shaft, Coffy, a Kung-Fu Dragon, the Condor or the Man Who Fell to Earth would be strongly encouraged!

It’s a world gone mad inspired by the Parallax View, The Warriors, RollerBall, Logan’s Run, the Omen Films and The Final Programme!

The Long Version

It’s 1976

The west coast has fallen into the sea, albino mutants prowl the southwest, and a crooked president is clinging onto power. In perfect suburbs, factory built families are slowly replacing their flawed human neighbors. Swinging New Age Gurus preach radical selfishness while secretly preparing for the return of ancient alien astronauts.

And, to top things off, the leading presidential candidate may just be the first born child of the devil.

It’s 1976 and the end is near. According to a set of eerily accurate prophesies the world is exactly four years away from the apocalypse. But fear not, for aviation giant and casino magnate—turned hermit Royce R. Rundell and the super-computer M.I.N.D. are putting together a team to prevent the apocalypse.

So the word is out for every Omega Man and Bionic Woman willing to brave killer bees, gangs out for ultraviolence and bell bottoms in order to turn back the tide. Have you been called a private dick who gets all the chicks, a fierce foxy angel or a man who fell to earth? Are you a funky kung-fu fighter, roller-skating omegaball star, jive talking vampire hunter or a far-out practitioner of the mystic arts? Then Royce R. Rundell needs you!

This campaign will be a low powered, anything goes FATE game that uses Green Ronin’s Damnation Decade as its chief campaign guide. Think the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meet 1970s film and TV and you won’t go far wrong in capturing the scope and types of characters I encourage you to make.

Posted in rpgs | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Anarchy in the DMG

By | Published March 5, 2010

Dungeons and Dragons. Punk and Prog.

In my noggin, these four things are hopelessly twisted together into the revisionist ball that is ‘old school’ D&D.

 Punks versus Prog

 One is labyrinthine, layered and elaborate. The other is destructive, disrespectful and daring. A 70s dialectic that captures the essence of the dungeon crawl.

Every PCs Motto

Every PCs Motto

 I mean, let’s face it: the most lawful good of Dungeon Crawling PCs wouldn’t look out of place at a Sex Pistols show. These are people who can’t or won’t be a famer, a soldier or a priest. Hell, they can’t even hack it as regular thieves.

 In an old school game, even a Paladin or Cleric of the Great God Goody-Two-Shoes is someone who enters an orc-infested hole in the hopes of killing things and taking their stuff.

 And your average party of grave-robbers cum adventurers is likely to last as long as a garage punk band did in ’78. After a few sessions half of them will be gone and replaced, forgotten except for their garish names and the havoc they wreaked.  

 Clearly PCs are people that your average villager won’t miss.

Pure Proggy Goodness

Pure Proggy Goodness

 Then there are Dungeons.

 Twisting mazes populated by surreal and unlikely monsters.

 Home to glowing jewels, deadly traps and speaking fountains.

 Dungeons are like the intricate synth-fusion operas of bands like Gentle Giant or Rick Wakeman: elaborate, concept-driven and the self-indulgent. They really don’t need to make any sense to anyone but the wizard (or really the DM) who poured their heart into making them.

 A dungeon is a lovingly crafted piece of architecture built by the love of a DM…that will then be soiled and smashed by punk PCs.

 And really, I can’t imagine running D&D any other way.

 Recommend Listening:

 1 2 3 4 Punk & New Wave 1976-1979

 Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Rick Wakeman

Posted in rpgs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off
« Older