I'm starting a near future military tech campaign mainly inspired by the GI Joe cartoon series of the 1980s. I think I want to call it Omega Force. However, there will be three main differences between the Omega Force setting and GI Joe. First, there will be more than 'Cobra' '" maybe four or five major organizations and a few minor ones. Second, the weapons and vehicles will be of alien design (inspired by the movie 'District 9'). The reason for this is that I want the setting to be in the near future but still want the weapons and vehicles to be very exotic (in other words, the guns will have interesting powers). Third, all soldiers (friendly and enemy) will be cyborgs (albeit very human-looking). I don't have a particular reason for this. I just thought it sounded cool.
The backstory is that Earth was invaded by aliens who call themselves 'The Children of Tysla'. I'm thinking the invasion would occur around 2025 or so. However, they all die from some mysterious disease about 5 or 10 years later leaving their technology behind. Humans begin to discover and use this exotic alien technology. Inevitably, the technology begins to fall into the 'wrong' hands '" terrorists, assassins, separatists and other general trouble-makers. Omega Force is a group of Special Forces soldiers collected around the world who were created to combat these new threats.
I really want to focus on the fun aspect rather than the realism, so the campaign style will lean more towards the four-color genre. I'm trying to find inspiration by remembering all the things in the cartoon that I thought were fun and cool. However, it has been a while since I've seen the GI Joe cartoons. Would anyone care to share the things they liked about the GI Joe cartoons or any other military movie or show?
I didn't watch the GI Joe series but in terms of other movies, a lot of what makes them good is the suspense and fear that they portray and attempt to convey to the audience. You should probably try to find a way to combine the kind of vulnerability shown in these movies with the more upbeat and action-y vibe that evokes eliteness and capability.
Some good examples being Band of Brothers, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket.
Omega, I think those shows are a far cry from "Four Colours" in their tone.
I've never watched GI Joe but if I understand it correctly each character possessed some special skill that distinguished them from their teammates. Perhaps giving careful attention to the ways in which the superior alien tech can either accentuate unique abilities or produce widely divergent effects? (Stealth camo for the spy/assassin, superheavyduty armor for the combat specialist, guided munitions for the sniper, teleporters for shock tactics, stasis guns for a strategic edge, etc)
ALSO: how significant an effect did the aliens have on human society? Did the conflict totally transform us? Did we adopt some of the trappings of their alien culture? Did we contract any diseases from them?
This idea sounds fun, but I'm beating down the screaming impulse in me to point out societal and technological implications of the backstory. Realism doesn't matter for a 4-color nearly as much as regualarly, though, so forget any of that that comes through from me.
You need to decide whether these techs can be reproduced or not. If so, they'll look a little more 'human,' since we'll design them to look familiar (though that can be mitigated by stylistic choice changes since the invasion). If not, then they are very rare and VERY expensive. Weapons will break or, if not that, soon run out of ammo. That kind of thing.
A couple of thoughts that occurred to me:
-How successful was the invasion? Were we still fighting their beachheads, or were they running administration in a peaceful planetary colony?
-How did the world reform politically after the invasion?
-Why cyborgs? Cool can work, but reasoning would be better, even if it's a justification. What if the alien weaponry requires a technological interface installed onto the operator, as a safety or convenience measure?
Are you absolutely set on the aliens having invaded? It might be a bit less of the over-the-top four-colour-ness that you seem to have in mind, but what if they simply established first contact, and then started selling, in limited numbers, their tech (either just military hardware or civilian stuff too) to various Earth nations?
This could lead to interesting side-conflicts behind/alongside the "let's fight terrorists!" main theme, with some groups calling for the aliens to exercise more caution with their arms sales, and alien-human politics as nations scramble to get the best deals in a kind arms-race-auction; "the Russians have bought power armour! We'll have to put in a bid for disruptor-cannons to counteract it!"
Also, it would lead to the question of what the humans are giving the aliens in exchange for the tech, which could open up a huge range of possibilities.
However, all of that would probably be a pretty drastic change from what you originally had in mind, so, feel free to ignore it all :P
Thanks all for the great replies!
Quote from: Sir Digby Chicken CaesarPerhaps giving careful attention to the ways in which the superior alien tech can either accentuate unique abilities or produce widely divergent effects?
Agreed. This is part of the fun of the campaign.
Quote from: Sir Digby Chicken CaesarALSO: how significant an effect did the aliens have on human society? Did the conflict totally transform us? Did we adopt some of the trappings of their alien culture? Did we contract any diseases from them?
I've thought about this. While I don't want it to be a major theme it will have an important part. For example, many people will begin to follow the alien religion. In terms of the campaign, being a disciple of the religion gives the character certain advantages with the technology (and likely certain disadvantages in life).
Quote from: Stargate525A couple of thoughts that occurred to me:
-How successful was the invasion? Were we still fighting their beachheads, or were they running administration in a peaceful planetary colony?
-How did the world reform politically after the invasion?
-Why cyborgs? Cool can work, but reasoning would be better, even if it's a justification. What if the alien weaponry requires a technological interface installed onto the operator, as a safety or convenience measure?
- The invasion will be very strange. The aliens will conquer about 30% of the earth then stop (they got what the wanted; no need to expend more energy) The idea here is after the war, people will be divided into two groups: one that lived in relative safety and one that lived in occupied territory and subjected to the horrors of an alien invasion. I thought this would be a good basis for a conflict
- political reformation will be complex to say the least. It will probably be one of the major themes in the campaign.
- Yes, there will be certain technological reasons for cybernetics. For example, the alien weapons will be too awkward for normal humans to handle.
Quote from: KindlingAre you absolutely set on the aliens having invaded? It might be a bit less of the over-the-top four-colour-ness that you seem to have in mind, but what if they simply established first contact, and then started selling, in limited numbers, their tech (either just military hardware or civilian stuff too) to various Earth nations?
What an interesting idea. I will seriously give this some thought. I think both ideas can work well. But it will probably come down to whether or not I want a significant alien presence in the campaign or not.
I wanted to do something unique concerning the weapons (I'm using Mutants and Masterminds RPG). First, when a player first creates a character, he/she will choose a 'color power core'. This color power core is an alien device which gives the character a 'potential' set of powers but the character can not access these powers without a weapon. In terms of the campaign setting, the power core provides the raw energy while the Tyslanian weapons focus the energy. The different types of color power cores will each have a distinct theme. For example, green power cores will denote a defensive themed power core while blue power cores denote an accurate power theme. Here's an example of power cores and their powers
Green power core
Mode 1 (Assault): +1 DMG/+1 Defense Bonus (linked powers)
Mode 2 (Heavy Assault): +2 DMG/+1 Defense Bonus (linked powers)
Mode 3 (Non-lethal): Obscure
Mode 4 (Command): +1 Defense Bonus (Affects entire team)
Blue Power Core
Mode 1 (Assault): +1 DMG/+1 Attack Bonus (linked powers)
Mode 2 (Heavy Assault): +2 DMG/+1 Attack Bonus (linked powers)
Mode 3 (Non-lethal): Entangle
Mode 4 (Command): +1 Attack Bonus (Affects entire team)
As for the weapons, each weapon will be unique, giving access to different modes at different strengths. The overall effect when you activate the weapon will depend on the power core that was chosen. Here are some weapon examples
Heavy Assault Rifle:
Mode 2: 4 ranks
Mode 3: 2 ranks
Dual Command Pistols
Mode 1: 3 ranks (+split attack feat)
Mode 4: 2 ranks
So a character with a green power core wielding a Heavy Assault Rifle will have the following powers:
4 ranks of Mode 2 (Heavy Assault) = +8 DMG/+4 Defense Bonus (linked powers)
2 ranks of Mode 3 (Non-lethal): Obscure (2 ranks)
But if he/she would hand off the Heavy Assault Rifle to a character with a Blue Power core, that character would have these powers:
4 ranks of Mode 2 (Heavy Assault) = +8 DMG/+4 Attack Bonus (linked powers)
2 ranks of Mode 3 (Non-lethal): Entangle (2 ranks)
Only one mode can be used at a time. Each player will declare what mode they are using at the beginning of the round. Although the power core examples have only 4 modes, I think I want them to have about 6 modes in the end. That will allow for a wide variety of weapons. Some weapons will also offer power feats like 'homing'.