Donjon in Space

[Zak Arntson]

Okay, I don't know if Clinton or I will be writing Donjon in Space (or both of us), but it's something that will eventually happen. It's too cool not to.

Donjon in Space shouldn't only be about bug hunts, but dealing with hostile aliens in diverse environments is the most likely focus.

So to start discussion on space-specific Donjon rules, ideas, thoughts, and so on, here's a quote from Bailywolf.

Dunjon could also be a wicked kick ass "bug hunt" sci-fi thriller game...

I'm getting movement all over the place! Shit, they're in the celing!

Take on the roll of a group of Advance ExoRecon Rangers (Aexers)- the bloody "Bug Boys" to the rest of the Combine Industrial Military.

A "Bug Boy" team consists of A sergent, a two special weapons experts, a synthetic expert system AI (with superhuamn physical and mental powers, a sarcastic sense of humor, and pacifist programing), and an ESPER ranger (basicly, the sci-fi equilivent of a magic user... with Words like TK, Pyro, Telepathic, Empathic, Clairvoyant, Remote View, etc).

The Officer (always a green luetenant) sits back in the LIU (Land Infiltration Unit) hooked up to the VR feed from the soldiers combat rigs, barking orders, and being a major pain in the ass. He issues increasingly shitty orders as things get worse and worse.

HEL's (Hostile Exobiological Lifeforms) come in zillions of pointy, fangy, acid spitting, chest-busting forms. Aexer units call shipping out on a mission-"Going to Hel".

[Bailywolf]

Other Cosmo-Donjon ideas:

Free Company:  Everyone is a member of a mercenary free comapny.  You travel around on a half-broken down, second-hand military cruiser, fighting in local wars, and trying to avoid the Big Authority Figures (the federation by any other name).  

Mcales Space Navy:  You belong to the Big Authority Figure (BAF from here on) space navy... but everyone in the crew is a screw-up.  Like Deep Space 9 with no budget.  Everyon is stationed on the ass-end of nowhere- some space station out on the edge of BAF territory, when suddenly- BAM!  Huge desposites of SRM Crystals (Super Rare McGuffin) are discovered in the asteroid belts in their system.  Suddenly its Gold Rush time, and the screw ups have to keep a lid on it.  The BAF sends in a small crew of straight shooters to make sure our heroes don't blow it... comedy ensues.

Have Rocket, Will Travel: Everyone belongs to a space-courier service... one guy is a resurected 20th century looser, another is a one-eye kun fu chick, a third is a pathetic lobster doctor, and the last is a foul mouth robot.  Er... actualy, this could be fun as hell.

No Officer, There is Nothing in The Lower Hold: Crew of a smugler ship; trading for Dango Musk on Kapertain, and selling it to the Shermainains of Drusk (who use it in terribly disturbing kinky alien sex rituals).  Better avoid the BAF though!  Hate to pay those kill-ya-with-a-laser-pistol luxury duties!

MIB:  How easy would Men in Black style game be here?  Donjon is one bad... "shut yo mouth"... I'm only talking 'bout donjon!  "We can dig it!"

Centauri Beat:    Space Cops!  Space Cops!  Space Cops!  

The Nebula Syndicate:  That slimy skorg-licker, Jebo the Dretch has been giving Don Rico the runaround.  Go over and teach him a lesson- break his thumbs... all fifty three of them.


Go Speed Racer Go:  The Interplanatery Racing Federation controls the hugely popular Unlimited Five System Loop racing franchise... but corruption, rivalry, and alien menaces from beyond the black of deep space threaten it's integrity.


Unlimited Fighting:  Warriors from all across the universe gather on Armagedon- the War World- to determine who may be called The Greatest Warrior in the Universe and wear the Supreame Ultimate Championship Belt.  Mix in a touch of DBZ for this one.






More to come!

[Grex]

Okay, I don't know if Clinton or I will be writing Donjon in Space (or both of us), but it's something that will eventually happen. It's too cool not to.

So to start discussion on space-specific Donjon rules, ideas, thoughts, and so on, here's a quote from Bailywolf.

Dunjon could also be a wicked kick ass "bug hunt" sci-fi thriller game...

You know, I always wanted to be a Starship Trooper. :^)

Hey, this could be the Bill the Galactic Hero RPG. Patron: The mighty xenophobic millitary-industrial empire. Equipment: Whatever you can wring out of your REMF NCOs (Save vs. provisions). Official mission: To wipe out all non-human alien scum. Real mission: To gather enough loot to bribe your way to a discharge (Save vs. at least 12 dice). And of course all missions are FUBAR by rotten intel and/or bad leadership, and you would have to be really lucky to just survive the landing, not to mention actually getting your hands on some of those alien solid gold artifacts...

Just rambling, off the top of my head:

The town-rules could be expanded to cover general places of interest such as colony worlds, frontier outposts,  deathstars, ringworlds, space stations, dyson spheres, and so on.

Stats for space ships? Speed, Armor, Shields, Sensors, Engines, Powerplant, Cargo, Weapons, Crew, Life support. Ships can be cursed, remember the Millenium Falcon?

Cybertech available at medbay, but doctors must be bribed. Number of dice dependent on tech level. Cyber-psychosis rules, definitely.

Since aliens don't have magic, it must be possible to resupply weapons and armor back at sector HQ; it could be treated as a treasure cache. 'Old boys network' skill is useful here.

Suggestions?

[Valamir]

Well I've been toying around with the idea of making a Hollywood/Lamour Western RPG for awhile now.  If Donjon Krawl is truly going to be OGL (which I think I recall Clinton mentioning), I might try doing Western Krawl :-)

[Bailywolf]

More ideas for Donjon In Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace


Mars Needs Women:  It's Mars Attacks on Independence Day all over again.  Those little green bastards have landed, and they are electro-zaping everything in sight.  Invade their mothership, steal their technology, and then on the Fourth Day, you fight back!


Cybercity On Fire:    Ever wonder what it would be like if John Woo and Ringo Lam teamed up to direct a cyberpunk action movie?  Well, until now, I haven't either... but wouldn't it be friggin cool as hell?  Chow Yun-fat plays the Killer with the Heart of a Poet and Hands of Bloody Chrome.    


Space Nazies Must Die!    An evil galactic empire is opressing the universe.  Aliens are being rounded up and sent off the 'concentration worlds', the Chancelor has elevated himself to Absolute Ruler, and the Confederation of Free Worlds is fighting a loosing battle against the onslaught of fanatical uber-men:  Geneticaly and bionicly enhanced terror troops bred to kill!  Only a small band of freedom fighters can stand against this might evil... and only then is the farmboy can master the long lost mystical skills of The Way.


Blast from the Future:    What happens if time travel is invented?  Well, damn near anyone who can tries to take advantage of it.  History will be wrecked if oportunistic bastards take advantage of it and manipulate causality in thier favor... they must be stoped... or joined.  A group of timecops or timecrooks pop about in history as if it were one huge donjon.


Flash Rodgers, Space Hero!:    It's serielized pulp space action all the way.  THRILL! as the heroes brave the frozen wastes of The Ice Moon.  GASP! at the evil of Morgoth the Molevolent.   SHIVER! at the terror of The Mechano Men of Murg!  

Chrimson Midgit:    Everyone is a second-string looser somehow left in control of a HUGE DAMN SHIP.  Perhaps the last beings in the universe who remember how curry tastes, they must creep slowly across the vast inky blackness in the hopes of finding a nice cargo ship to raid for fresh porno... and hoping a half-mad biomechanoid killing machine isn't waiting for them.

Green Hunter, Black Heart:  Characters are star-faring big-game hunters (perhaps competing with their british-accented arch rivals) traveling the universe looking for more and more dangerous, more and more rare creatures to shoot full of laser-tracks.  For an added twist, the players take on the role of stealthed-out alien hunters stalking violent sweaty humans on Earth during various historical periods.

Atomic Horror Road Warriors:  Civilization is in ruins, and all that remains is the long black ribbon of the old higways, the occasional refinery town, and the gangs of car-crazy road freaks.  Oh, and ruined cities full or ancient and forgoten technology.  Hell, throw in some Moebus style Giant Mutant Beasties and you can rock on baby.



more to come

[Bailywolf]

A couple more ideas:


Alien Krawl:  A reverse of a dunjon krawl- the group is the unarmed crew of a deep space transport ship... but something... else... is onboard with them.  Some kind of merciless alien killing machine lurks in the shadows, picking them off one... by... one... There may be some welding gear on B deck, some flares in the hold, some motion detectors in the engineering bay, and an incenerator unit in the engine room... but you have to krawl through the bowles of the ship to get them.


Infinity City:  The city at the center of the universe- of ALL universes.  The characters are a wild group of adventurers drawn from every kind of reality.  Call it All-Krawl.

[gizem]

Hello Zak,

I don't know if this fits the Donjon Krawl game, but I have a space/science-fiction setting idea, and I think you may like it. The Cyberiad RPG- advantures of robot constructors, cyberknights and megadragon-distressed laser-eyed maidens. I know that you like Stanislaw Lem, so if you've read any of his "fables for the cybernetic age" you'll get what I mean.

I'd thought that this was a cool idea initially, but lacked the required time and enthusiasm to develop it. If there are other people out there who would be interested in this, I can start a thread with more explanations and some (very undeveloped) game-mechanics ideas.

Gizem

[xiombarg]

Well, Donjon's mechanics would also be good for a "Star Trek" style game, particularly in the Old Trek vein. Roll your "use tricorder" skill to determine what sort of wierdness this "episode" is going to feature. Naturally you'd have to file the serial numbers off to avoid getting sued, but consider this: "You failed your 'be logical' roll very badly... so you're entering Pon Farr, the Vulcan version of 'going into heat', and must get back to Vulcan ASAP..."

[Bailywolf]

Brain still rattlin' away... here are a few more...


Doone Krawl:  You are members of a Great House trying to corner the market on The Most Valuable Stuff In The Universe (TMVSITU).  But... it can only be found on one hellish world- DOONE.  And eveyone is out to screw you, kill you, and make you the mesiah.  Sucks to be the Twicks-ock Had-ta-rock.  Make your rolls, find (and torture) a spy, blow it and it's Hunter Killer time!  

Anime Mutant Mind Powerz:   Perhaps this belongs in the Anime Donjon thread, but look at how often kids with KEWL SIKE-IK POWERZ mix it up with TUF SIE-BORGS and SIE-ENCE GON MAD.  Throw in some STOMPIN MEKA and party on dudes.

Donjon Who:    How easy is Doctor Who to do with Donjon?  Make that "Build McGuffin" skill check, and you can block the alien sqid mind powers for a few minutes... until the alien makes his rolls, and the gizmo burns out.  The more I think about Dr Who with Donjon's success=reality scheme, the more it fits oh so well.  Like a well-powdered pair of leather jammies.


And a slightly more detailed idea;

I have always wanted a rulez framework into which to hang that wakcy sub-genera of sci-fi i call the Wierdos in Space show.

Some examples:  The Lexx, Red Dwarf, Space 1999, Farscape, Blakes 7, Hitchiker's Guide, even venerable Doctor Who can fit in.

Always an unlikely crew of wierdoes thrown thogether in the pilot eposode and almost always flee onboard some kind of wierd, unique, insanely powerful, or hunted ship.

This needs to be a Donjon Jonera .


!st stage- everyone creates their own character WITH NO DISCUSSON AMONG THE GROUP.  Players meet the other characters during the first episode, for the first time.  

2nd stage- everyone draws a slip of paper which includes some element of the ship they will share.  They then roll some dice to determine how potent that element is, then get to describe what it is like.  When this has been done, the GM combines these elements to create the ship.

Some thoghts:

Systems: computer and sensors.  high enough and it's got AI... described by the player with this option.

Hull:  how big is the bad boy?  Also, what does it look like and what is it made of?  Also, how tough?  Biomechanical ships are popular.

Drives:  How fast, what kind of drives, and what does it run on.

Armature:  weapons and defenses

Provisions:  stocks of food and necisities (like condoms and tampax)

Extras:  those little things- medibays, shuttle craft, teleporters etc.




Third Stage- Everyone meets while running like bastards from some Big Bad.  Comedy insues.