[Scenario Seed] Repurposing Episodes from Other Shows

[starkllr]

In a previous thread, I referenced a Star Trek: TNG episode as one possible option for the scenario presented. That got me thinking...why not reuse other ideas from Star Trek (or other favorite shows) with a Whovian twist? Here are a few to start off...

Star Trek: TOS
A Piece of the Action
The mobster episode, where the Enterprise visits a planet inhabited by a curious and imitative race of humans, who'd patterned their whole society after a book left behind by on a visit from another starship 50 years prior. "Chicago Mobs of the 1920's" to be precise. How could this be repurposed for a Who game?

Same idea. Planet full of smart, curious copycats, visited 50 years ago by an Earth starship, or by other time travellers (or by the players themselves, either in their past or in their own future). Someone carelessly leaves behind a book, or a DVD, or whatever. It could be "The Godfather" or "The Sopranos" if you want to run a mobster adventure. It could be "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" if you've been looking for an excuse to run a mystical kung-fu adventure. Really, it's anything the GM has a hankering to do, and that the players will enjoy.

Why do it this way instead of running a straight historical adventure? For one thing, no research required by the GM. Since the whole society is built around the tropes of a favorite movie or book of the GM's, you can go nuts, and you can make up the whole thing on the fly. And the players get to dive into a stereotypical historical setting without the slightest worry about messing up the timeline.

The Ultimate Computer
One of many "evil AI" stories from the original Trek. In this one, an experimental AI is installed aboard the Enterprise, along with its creator to mind it. The AI is intended to run the whole ship without the need for the usual 400 crew, so there's only a skeleton crew aboard. During a wargame exercise against fellow Federation ships, the AI goes nuts, decides it's a real battle, and lays waste to the other ships. How could this be used in Who?

Pretty much the same way. The TARDIS materializes onboard an Earth Empire warship with a new, experimental AI, just as the wargame starts. Or it could show up aboard one of the other unlucky ships about to be ripped to shreds during what they think is just an exercise. Either way, the players have to first convince the crew of their good intentions (or escape from the brig), then figure out what's going on, then figure out how to stop the AI, or convince it to stand down (or, if they're on one of the other ships, they have to survive the initial attack and the figure out how to stop the AI remotely).

For a Whovian twist, maybe the AI decides it has more in common with the Cybermen or Daleks than with its human creators, and begins broadcsating to them (or takes off at top speed towards their space).

The Squire of Gothos (and any of the Q stories from TNG or Voyager)
Bored, omnipotent alien decides to amuse itself by playing with some new toys - the Enterprise and its crew. How to use this in a Doctor Who game?

Trelayne and Q both behave a lot like, and have similar powers to, the Eternals. Perhaps one particular Eternal takes a special interest in the players and their organization (whatever that might be in your game). The Eternal conjures up scenarios and settings based on the interests or past history of the players, and forces them to act them out, with the threat of death if they aren't sufficiently entertaining. There's basically nothing even a Time Lord can do to threaten or harm an Eternal, so the players will have to rely on cleverness to survive and escape.

[zebaroth]

this is very interesting there aer many tv shows to get isperation from also movies like War games how would the doctor react to Joshua when he gose nuts and trys to start ww3

[starkllr]

May 30, 2016 21:07:44 GMT zebaroth said:

this is very interesting there aer many tv shows to get isperation from also movies like War games how would the doctor react to Joshua when he gose nuts and trys to start ww3

"Wargames" could totally work as a Doctor Who adventure. One possibility might be that Joshua was actually programmed by the Doctor in the first place, maybe during his exile on Earth. Perhaps during the downtime from working as UNIT's scientific advisor, he amused himself playing around with the primitive (by his standards) computers of the time.

So 15-20 years and a couple of incarnations later, he learns what became of his fun little experiment, and he has to help David and Jennifer get to NORAD and stop Joshua before it starts WW3.

That would actually work really well as an introductory adventure to bring David and Jennifer aboard the TARDIS as new characters.

[zebaroth]

May 30, 2016 21:32:34 GMT starkllr said:

May 30, 2016 21:07:44 GMT zebaroth said:

this is very interesting there aer many tv shows to get isperation from also movies like War games how would the doctor react to Joshua when he gose nuts and trys to start ww3

"Wargames" could totally work as a Doctor Who adventure. One possibility might be that Joshua was actually programmed by the Doctor in the first place, maybe during his exile on Earth. Perhaps during the downtime from working as UNIT's scientific advisor, he amused himself playing around with the primitive (by his standards) computers of the time.

So 15-20 years and a couple of incarnations later, he learns what became of his fun little experiment, and he has to help David and Jennifer get to NORAD and stop Joshua before it starts WW3.

That would actually work really well as an introductory adventure to bring David and Jennifer aboard the TARDIS as new characters.

yes they would make good companions. and the fact that the doctor could of made what becomes Joshua could be interesting. but would Joshua remember the doctor
after so long and in a different face from regenerating

[Catsmate]

May 30, 2016 14:47:47 GMT starkllr said:

In a previous thread, I referenced a Star Trek: TNG episode as one possible option for the scenario presented. That got me thinking...why not reuse other ideas from Star Trek (or other favorite shows) with a Whovian twist? Here are a few to start off...

Star Trek: TOS
A Piece of the Action
The mobster episode, where the Enterprise visits a planet inhabited by a curious and imitative race of humans, who'd patterned their whole society after a book left behind by on a visit from another starship 50 years prior. "Chicago Mobs of the 1920's" to be precise. How could this be repurposed for a Who game?

Same idea. Planet full of smart, curious copycats, visited 50 years ago by an Earth starship, or by other time travellers (or by the players themselves, either in their past or in their own future). Someone carelessly leaves behind a book, or a DVD, or whatever. It could be "The Godfather" or "The Sopranos" if you want to run a mobster adventure. It could be "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" if you've been looking for an excuse to run a mystical kung-fu adventure. Really, it's anything the GM has a hankering to do, and that the players will enjoy.

Why do it this way instead of running a straight historical adventure? For one thing, no research required by the GM. Since the whole society is built around the tropes of a favorite movie or book of the GM's, you can go nuts, and you can make up the whole thing on the fly. And the players get to dive into a stereotypical historical setting without the slightest worry about messing up the timeline.

The Ultimate Computer
One of many "evil AI" stories from the original Trek. In this one, an experimental AI is installed aboard the Enterprise, along with its creator to mind it. The AI is intended to run the whole ship without the need for the usual 400 crew, so there's only a skeleton crew aboard. During a wargame exercise against fellow Federation ships, the AI goes nuts, decides it's a real battle, and lays waste to the other ships. How could this be used in Who?

Pretty much the same way. The TARDIS materializes onboard an Earth Empire warship with a new, experimental AI, just as the wargame starts. Or it could show up aboard one of the other unlucky ships about to be ripped to shreds during what they think is just an exercise. Either way, the players have to first convince the crew of their good intentions (or escape from the brig), then figure out what's going on, then figure out how to stop the AI, or convince it to stand down (or, if they're on one of the other ships, they have to survive the initial attack and the figure out how to stop the AI remotely).

For a Whovian twist, maybe the AI decides it has more in common with the Cybermen or Daleks than with its human creators, and begins broadcsating to them (or takes off at top speed towards their space).

The Squire of Gothos (and any of the Q stories from TNG or Voyager)
Bored, omnipotent alien decides to amuse itself by playing with some new toys - the Enterprise and its crew. How to use this in a Doctor Who game?

Trelayne and Q both behave a lot like, and have similar powers to, the Eternals. Perhaps one particular Eternal takes a special interest in the players and their organization (whatever that might be in your game). The Eternal conjures up scenarios and settings based on the interests or past history of the players, and forces them to act them out, with the threat of death if they aren't sufficiently entertaining. There's basically nothing even a Time Lord can do to threaten or harm an Eternal, so the players will have to rely on cleverness to survive and escape.

Excellent ideas starkllr.

There's actually a Doctor Who RPG scenario with a premise slightly similar to The Ultimate Computer (which I now cannot find) where an experimental AI from an Earth Empire warship 'oped out' and left in an escape pod, with Imperial troops in pursuit.
I especially like the idea of the PCs arriving on one of the target ships, perhaps an obsolete vessel intended for destruction?

Trelane and Q fit well into the 'godlike beings' category, the Eternals are a good fit. Perhaps, if one of them is a recurrent factor, their powers are limited in some way, by the limitations of the form they occupy to interact with mere ephemerals or by agreement. There's a Trek EU novel called Q-Squared which retcons Trelane as a Q, one who got the name because he meddled with three alternate timelines¹ which he merges into one for his amusement. It has some interesting ideas that could be fitted into the Whoniverse.




¹ One is the 'standard' Trek-verse, one has a surviving Jack Crusher as captain of the Enterprise-D and a disgraced Picard as his XO (who's having an affair with Beverley Crusher who divorced Jack; Wesley's dead), Geordi has cloned eye implants and is a nurse and Data has an organic body (he's also having a relationship with a not-dead Tasha Yar). The third is a slight variation on the Yesterday's Enterprise 'Klingon War' timeline. It gets messy and interesting when the three timelines intersect, the Picards meet as do the Yars.

[Catsmate]

May 30, 2016 21:32:34 GMT starkllr said:

May 30, 2016 21:07:44 GMT zebaroth said:

this is very interesting there aer many tv shows to get isperation from also movies like War games how would the doctor react to Joshua when he gose nuts and trys to start ww3

"Wargames" could totally work as a Doctor Who adventure. One possibility might be that Joshua was actually programmed by the Doctor in the first place, maybe during his exile on Earth. Perhaps during the downtime from working as UNIT's scientific advisor, he amused himself playing around with the primitive (by his standards) computers of the time.

So 15-20 years and a couple of incarnations later, he learns what became of his fun little experiment, and he has to help David and Jennifer get to NORAD and stop Joshua before it starts WW3.

That would actually work really well as an introductory adventure to bring David and Jennifer aboard the TARDIS as new characters.

I have one word for anyone thinking of Wargames: WOTAN. OK it's an acronym.

Maybe when all the major computers were linked on C-Day WOTAN made a backup copy of itself? Or the US acquired some of the technology behind WOTAN and used it to create WOPR.

I like the idea of the problem being down to some of the Doctor's meddling. Perhaps he constructed a computer to help in his UNIT lab and forgot it when he regenerated or left (that period immediately after his third regeneration when he 'helped' the Mordee Expedition looks like a good fit). The Americans acquire the tech and incorporate it into WOPR.

• That leads to another question, what else did he leave behind at UNIT HQ? Where did the portable time machines and sonic disrupters used by the time guerillas in Day of the Daleks do, for example?

In the Whoniverse there does seem to be far more automated control of nuclear weapons than was ever implemented historically, this fits with the scene in the beginning of Wargames when a SAC launch exercise shows many launch crews wouldn't follow their orders and the humans are taken out of the control loop.

• Which raises some interesting questions; was their a Sinister Plot behind this decision, which flies in the face of general policy? Was someone plotting to trigger a nuclear war even before Lightman hacked WOPR? This could be an additional layer of complication to the story (and seriously screw with players who are familar with Wargames and using meta knowledge) as they try and stop the PCs attempts to halt WW3.
  

Finally I'd agree that David and Jennifer would seem to be good options for companions, very typical for the period.

[starkllr]

Here are a couple of more:

Star Trek: TNG
Devil's Due
The Enterprise answers a distress call to discover a planet experiencing earthquakes, bizarre apparitions in the skies...and a visit from the Devil herself, who's shown up to claim the planet, its inhabitants and everything in orbit (including the Enterprise) as per the terms of a deal the world's leaders had made a thousand years before. In return for ending war and solving the ecological crises they faced, they agreed to turn their world over to the Devil in a thousand years. Needless to say, the Devil is actually a con artist who discovered the deal, and is using a cloaked starship in orbit to produce the earthquakes, apparitions and other demonic proof of her bona fides. It takes most of the episode for the Enterprise crew to piece it all together, and to buy time, Captain Picard demands a trial as per planetary law, with himself arguing against the Devil.

How to use it for Who? Basically as written. The TARDIS either intercepts the distress call or just randomly materializes on the planet in the midst of the Devil's visitation. Obviously the players will involve themselves. The only challenge for the GM will be coming up with a way of preventing the players from using the TARDIS to unravel the deception too quickly. Maybe they get cut off from it during one of the earthquakes? Otherwise, it can proceed exactly as the TV episode - trial to buy time, discovery of the hidden starship, commandeering of said starship to turn the tables on the con artist at the perfect dramatic moment, happy ending.

The other question is, who exactly is playing the Devil? it could be an original antagonist created just for this adventure, or if there is an appropriate running villain in the game, he/she/it would fit the bill. As for existing Who villains...this scheme doesn't feel like something the Master, the Rani or the Meddling Monk would come up with. But there are plenty of con artists to employ. Maybe Sabalom Glitz? Could he have somehow talked Mel into participating in this plot (in the episode, the Devil, per planetary mythology, is female)? It's not too hard to imagine River Song doing it (and possibly using her Vortex Manipulator to hop back to the time the deal was signed to tweak the terms to best suit the resources she's got at hand). Or a rogue Time Agent (as if there's any other kind of Time Agent!).

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
The Plot to Kill a City
A mercenary/terrorist group called the Legion of Death intends to blow up Earth's capital city of New Chicago in retaliation for the killing of one of their number. To that end, they devise a plan involving the skills of all their members: the clever, scheming leader; the femme fatale; a telekinetic; a strongman who can phase through walls; and an assassin who they're meeting at a spaceport (who's captured by the Earth Defense Directorate and replaced by Buck, who goes undercover to bust the plot from the inside). The means of destruction is to be sabotage of the antimatter reactor that powers New Chicago. Obviously, the plot is foiled, all the bad guys are killed except for the Femme Fatale who's charmed by Buck over to the side of the angels.

How to use it in a Who game? Personally, I'd go with mistaken identity to insert the players into the Legion of Death. You could borrow the opening of "North by Northwest" where Cary Grant stands up and gestures to a waiter at exactly the wrong moment - right when the bad guys have paged the man they think is a spy in an effort to identify him. So the TARDIS materializes at a spaceport or space station where the Legion of Death await the final member of their team. The players wander into the scene at exactly the right moment and precisely the right direction that the Legion is expecting their assassin to show up. Maybe one of them is even wearing the prearranged color jacket or other detail of clothing.

Obviously the players will deny any knowledge, but the spaceport security happens to be in the vicinity just as they do, so their denial is viewed as them being quick on their feet, and just more proof that they really are the assassins. Once they get wind of what the Legion is up to, they will presumably want to stop the plot (even if the target is a random planet they've never heard of, nobody wants to see several million innocent people get vaporized in an antimatter explosion), and clearly the best way to stop it is to play along until they have enough information to wreck the plot and inform the authorities (whomever they might be in this scenario). In the meantime, they have to keep up the pretense as vicious, coldblooded and highly skilled assassins (and hopefully avoid actually having to hurt or kill anyone along the way!). For an extra wrinkle, the REAL assassin may be on their tail, so they'll have to deal with him/her, too.

[Catsmate]

May 31, 2016 13:30:15 GMT starkllr said:

Here are a couple of more:

Star Trek: TNG
Devil's Due
The Enterprise answers a distress call to discover a planet experiencing earthquakes, bizarre apparitions in the skies...and a visit from the Devil herself, who's shown up to claim the planet, its inhabitants and everything in orbit (including the Enterprise) as per the terms of a deal the world's leaders had made a thousand years before. In return for ending war and solving the ecological crises they faced, they agreed to turn their world over to the Devil in a thousand years. Needless to say, the Devil is actually a con artist who discovered the deal, and is using a cloaked starship in orbit to produce the earthquakes, apparitions and other demonic proof of her bona fides. It takes most of the episode for the Enterprise crew to piece it all together, and to buy time, Captain Picard demands a trial as per planetary law, with himself arguing against the Devil.

How to use it for Who? Basically as written. The TARDIS either intercepts the distress call or just randomly materializes on the planet in the midst of the Devil's visitation. Obviously the players will involve themselves. The only challenge for the GM will be coming up with a way of preventing the players from using the TARDIS to unravel the deception too quickly. Maybe they get cut off from it during one of the earthquakes? Otherwise, it can proceed exactly as the TV episode - trial to buy time, discovery of the hidden starship, commandeering of said starship to turn the tables on the con artist at the perfect dramatic moment, happy ending.

The other question is, who exactly is playing the Devil? it could be an original antagonist created just for this adventure, or if there is an appropriate running villain in the game, he/she/it would fit the bill. As for existing Who villains...this scheme doesn't feel like something the Master, the Rani or the Meddling Monk would come up with. But there are plenty of con artists to employ. Maybe Sabalom Glitz? Could he have somehow talked Mel into participating in this plot (in the episode, the Devil, per planetary mythology, is female)? It's not too hard to imagine River Song doing it (and possibly using her Vortex Manipulator to hop back to the time the deal was signed to tweak the terms to best suit the resources she's got at hand). Or a rogue Time Agent (as if there's any other kind of Time Agent!).

One of my all-time favourite Trek episodes. An excellent example of using advanced technology to simulate magic to fool the natives and make a profit. There's a lot of room for post-Doctor Glitz adventures. Maybe he dumps Mel, or she goes off on her own (maybe trying to get back to Earth?). He'd probably recruit a few suitable (disposable) minions to help him.

May 31, 2016 13:30:15 GMT starkllr said:

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
The Plot to Kill a City
A mercenary/terrorist group called the Legion of Death intends to blow up Earth's capital city of New Chicago in retaliation for the killing of one of their number. To that end, they devise a plan involving the skills of all their members: the clever, scheming leader; the femme fatale; a telekinetic; a strongman who can phase through walls; and an assassin who they're meeting at a spaceport (who's captured by the Earth Defense Directorate and replaced by Buck, who goes undercover to bust the plot from the inside). The means of destruction is to be sabotage of the antimatter reactor that powers New Chicago. Obviously, the plot is foiled, all the bad guys are killed except for the Femme Fatale who's charmed by Buck over to the side of the angels.

How to use it in a Who game? Personally, I'd go with mistaken identity to insert the players into the Legion of Death. You could borrow the opening of "North by Northwest" where Cary Grant stands up and gestures to a waiter at exactly the wrong moment - right when the bad guys have paged the man they think is a spy in an effort to identify him. So the TARDIS materializes at a spaceport or space station where the Legion of Death await the final member of their team. The players wander into the scene at exactly the right moment and precisely the right direction that the Legion is expecting their assassin to show up. Maybe one of them is even wearing the prearranged color jacket or other detail of clothing.

Obviously the players will deny any knowledge, but the spaceport security happens to be in the vicinity just as they do, so their denial is viewed as them being quick on their feet, and just more proof that they really are the assassins. Once they get wind of what the Legion is up to, they will presumably want to stop the plot (even if the target is a random planet they've never heard of, nobody wants to see several million innocent people get vaporized in an antimatter explosion), and clearly the best way to stop it is to play along until they have enough information to wreck the plot and inform the authorities (whomever they might be in this scenario). In the meantime, they have to keep up the pretense as vicious, coldblooded and highly skilled assassins (and hopefully avoid actually having to hurt or kill anyone along the way!). For an extra wrinkle, the REAL assassin may be on their tail, so they'll have to deal with him/her, too.

Another good one. It's a classic plot that's been used in numerous series in different genres.

[generalrose]

Taking ideas from Star Trek episodes is a great idea. Taking an idea from a legendary Star Trek script by Gene Roddenberry that was never produced is another thing entirely.

THE GOD THING

After an alien entity declaring itself to be God destroyed various ships en route to Earth, the Enterprise is launched under Kirk to engage the vessel. The Admiral brings together the original crew, including Spock, and sets out to intercept the alien. As the ship approaches the entity, it transports a humanoid probe on board, which takes a variety of forms, including Jesus Christ. The crew determine that the being and its craft are from an alternative dimension and have been responsible for the creation of religion on a variety of planets in order to teach them its laws in a manner that they could understand at their points in development. It is malfunctioning, but the crew manage to repair it and send it back to its own dimension.

How would I use this as a Doctor Who plot.

After an alien entity declaring itself to be God destroyed various ships en route to [Insert alien planet because we're not being Earth-Centric], the player's transport is launched under the command of the Shadow Proclamation to engage the vessel. As the ship approaches the entity, it transports a humanoid probe on board, which takes a variety of forms, including Jesus Christ. The crew determine that the being and its craft are from an alternative dimension and have been responsible for the creation of religion on a variety of planets in order to teach them its laws in a manner that they could understand at their points in development. It is malfunctioning, but the crew manage to repair it and send it back to its own dimension

[moondragon007]

I really, really, really want to do Devil In The Dark when I get brave enough to take a flyer at guest-GMing an adventure for my group.

A mining colony is being threatened by an unknown monster, which has been killing miners and even sabotaging the equipment they require to survive on the planet. When the Enterprise crew responds, they're able to find out the reason for the monster's actions. (I won't tell you any more, just in case you haven't seen the ep yet).

A DW conversion would really only require figuring out why the Tardis crew is there, and maybe a little tweaking of the alien.

[thereviewer]

Here's a couple of scenario seeds based on some episodes from one of my favorite animated series; Batman The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures (1992-1999)



Christmas with Missy= On Christmas Eve, Missy takes over (insert planet name here) and sets up a space defense force around said planet. She challenges the players to find her and rescue her hostages (be they former companions or relatives/friends of a current companion.)


Beware the Mysterious Mist= An alien intercepted an old transmission of a pulp show 'The Mysterious Mist.' Now the heroes must meet with the star of that show in order to solve the mysterious attacks that this alien is recreating from the show's past.

Insane Love= A fearsome space criminal has manipulated a young female Time Agent into becoming his accomplish. He obviously doesn't care for her much, but she is determined to be with him together forever. She tries to do this by ridding him of the players (who have either stopped him in the past, or are well-known enough by him to know that he has to come up with the perfect way of eliminating them permanently.) Can the players help her see the error of her ways (and perhaps convince her to join them on adventures as a form of redemption?)


Heart of Fire= A brilliant scientist tries to keep his wife (who is dying of a disease that causes her entire body to freeze) as warm as he can. Unfortunately his boss comes to callously shut his work down as it is draining funds. A skirmish results in the scientist being drenched in chemical which changes his body so that he can only survive in warm temperatures. Now seeking revenge, the heroes must stop him from literally burning those who wronged him.

[starkllr]

I love the B:TAS seeds! They'd all work really well.

Here's another one - kind of offbeat, but it'd be great for a change-of-pace session (or one where the player who normally plays the Time Lord is absent):

"Almost Got 'im" - several villains are gathered together and, out of boredom and a desire to one-up each other, tell their tales of how they "almost got" The Doctor (or whomever the Time Lord is, in your campaign). You could either use well-known recurring Who villains (Davros, the Master/Missy, and so forth) or original villains you've developed for your campaign.

Each of the other players takes a turn as one of the villains, and everyone else plays the various henchmen and other assorted characters in their scenario. The GM would play the heroic Time Lord as an NPC.

[thereviewer]

Apr 18, 2017 16:25:29 GMT starkllr said:

I love the B:TAS seeds! They'd all work really well.

Here's another one - kind of offbeat, but it'd be great for a change-of-pace session (or one where the player who normally plays the Time Lord is absent):

"Almost Got 'im" - several villains are gathered together and, out of boredom and a desire to one-up each other, tell their tales of how they "almost got" The Doctor (or whomever the Time Lord is, in your campaign). You could either use well-known recurring Who villains (Davros, the Master/Missy, and so forth) or original villains you've developed for your campaign.

Each of the other players takes a turn as one of the villains, and everyone else plays the various henchmen and other assorted characters in their scenario. The GM would play the heroic Time Lord as an NPC.

That sounds like a great idea! I may use that in my Kanya adventures as a Solo RPG at one point. I do know that Doctor Who Magazine once did a comic called "Death to the Doctor" with a similar idea. However, that story was mostly played for tongue-and-cheek comedy rather than still having the clear-and-present danger that was featured in the "Almost Got 'im" Episode. Still the comic story did feature some nice in-jokes as well as flashbacks featuring the various villains created specifically for the story recounting previous run-ins with past Doctors and Companions and a humorous murder-mystery where the villains think The Doctor is among them and picking them off one-by-one. In the end, they end up murdering themselves as Ten and Martha arrive, revealing that the cause of the first villain's death was simply a loose and faulty electrical wire (Ten laments "I'm so Sorry. If I'd gotten here sooner, I might have been able to save them."

But yeah, perhaps I'll do a solo RPG w/o Kanya's player this weekend based on this story. I definitely want to use Missy in there and have her substitute for Joker (for obvious reasons), although I might create a couple more OC's for the other roles. I guess my own ideal location would be an intergalactic club that looks like a cross between Trap Street from Face the Raven, and Blips and Chips from Rick and Morty.

Speaking of which, since Rick and Morty made a great comeback April 1st, here's a few Rick and Morty-inspired scenario seeds:

Gaseous- The Travelers accidently interrupt the attempted assassination of a gaseous-based lifeform. The being explains it wants to get home, but is secretly preparing an invasion to eliminate all carbon-based lifeforms. Do the heroes take care of it themselves? It might be a problem when its pheromones make some of the adventurers easier to persuade over to the lifeform's side.


Recall- The heroes are infected with parasites which create fake memories and thus new family and friends who appear from nowhere. Now with nearly dozens of new people, can the heroes work out who's real and who isn't.

Big Trouble in a Little Body- Two possible scenarios here. The basic intro to either version (as well as the theme) is trying to get characters to relate to each other. This can go one of two ways:

A) One of the characters undergoes a de-aging process (Hypersonic Manipulator, Chameleon Arc, or any other ways you can think of). However, the process is killing them from the inside and now the other players must find a way to help bring them back to normal, which might be difficult since the de-aging has made them slightly more immature.

B) The heroes go to a Therapy Planet where they have the perceptions of how they view each other given physical life. Unfortunately, the avatars of the PCs who underwent this process learn to cooperate with each other and escape, causing mayhem in the facility. The heroes have to stop the creatures before they kill everyone.


Look Who's Killing Now (My alternate title and description is "What If The Purge DIDN'T suck and was actually competent?")- The Players arrive on a planet that allows crime to happen once every year. They end up stranded and now must survive the night. In the process they also discover that an old foe (The Master, The Daleks, etc. you can choose) guided the people of this planet down that path and saved them from economic ruin as a result. Can the heroes also expose their foe and bring peace to the planet?

Also, continuing on with the DC Animated Scenario Seeds, here's a couple of other ideas from the DC Animated Universe based on anything I can think of from Batman, Superman, or Justice League:

A Better World- In an alternate universe where one of the PC's died, the remaining heroes of that world took over their reality as the new Time Lords. After discovering a dimensional gateway, they learn about the universe where the PC's come from. Considering their counterparts naïve, but wishing to spread order to the newly discovered world, they cross over and trap the heroes in various holodeck-like prisons within the alternate universe. They then take their places in a quest to make this universe like their own.

Task Force Z- A Space-Based Spy Organization recruits a number of prisoners to steal a certain item from the Time Travelers, otherwise they will be killed via a remote detonator that has been placed in each of their bodies with precautions for each member on the team.

Regression (Loosely Based on the Justice League Unlimited Episode Dead Reckoning)- A group of highly-intelligent alien monkeys (maybe a group lost in various space missions?) find access to Time Travel a detonate a virus in the distant past. In the present, the players find themselves slowly becoming more monkey-like. Now they must travel back and prevent the bomb from detonating before their minds regress completely and everyone becomes slaves to the monkeys.

The Queen & I- The Queen of an Amazon-like female society has chosen one of the characters to be their new mate. Unfortunately saying no might not be so simple when the Queen is fast, strong, and smart enough to build her own vortex manipulator. If the player eventually concede, there's still the problem of the Queen having been dethroned in her absence.

Unity- The heroes land in a Midwestern town where they discover a parasitic alien that is trying to bring the world into its collective consciousness.

Absolute Power- Old foes of the PC's (take your pick) have discovered a new planet and colonized on there. Everything seems fine at first, the baddies have a whole world to themselves, but it soon becomes clear that they just can't resist another invasion of Earth.

The Man Who Killed [PC's Name Here]- A sloppy space criminal supposedly scores a big win in this Character-Lite Episode. After a run-in with your campaign's PC's, he supposedly eliminates one of them and brings him fame and business opportunities. Unfortunately some have the idea that if they can bump-off that the criminal, they'll be favored. It also doesn't help that some old enemies of the characters want to make sure the character is dead and take the criminal against his will to test that theory.

Repairs- The heroes stop by one of the many rifts for refueling. Unfortunately, a foe has reprogramed their means of time-travel and hijinks ensue where the characters become separated and must find a way to regroup.

Time Journey- The heroes reluctantly have to work with an old enemy (take your pick) across time and space to prevent a new species from enslaving the universe.

Trial, Again?- A former D.A.-turned-reporter (he feels that he doesn't want his actions as a lawyer to have lasting consequences on his opponents) thinks that the travelers create more bad than good. A group of enemies kidnap the former D.A. as well as any number of the PC's and puts them on trial with the former D.A. to see if that theory is true or not. Now the D.A. is fighting for the heroes lives just as much as his own.

and finally, I know this isn't part of the DCAU from the 90's, but seeing the limitless potential that could be brought about from a scenario seed...

Mayhem of the Musician- A failed singer manages to get their hands on alien technology that allow them to control the minds of others through song and dance. Now they plan to enslave Earth and then the rest of the universe under their musical spell. The heroes must prevent this, but things become a little difficult when even with the best defense against the mind control, the heroes find themselves singing along as well.

This lends itself to so many ideas! Daleks and Cybermen singing together! An Ood Musical Number! A Missy and Captain Jack Harkness Power Ballad! We've seen the Doctor dance and play various instruments before, but can he sing just as well? Obviously if you intend to run the scenario above, I'd recommend discussing it with the players first and then choosing your songs. I'm currently running a Ghostbusters RPG on the side now (set in my current hometown), where I plan to run a similar music campaign, though more inspired by the Supergirl/Flash "Duet" crossover (for the record, I enjoyed said episode with the songs and of course, John Barrowman, but felt the Music Meister character could've been handled better).

[thereviewer]

Just had another couple of ideas based on Legends of Tomorrow (might as well post them considering both Arthur Darvill and John Barrowman were in that show).

Raiders of the Lost Arc- The players land in Long Beach, California on July 18th, 1969. While investigating a campus, they discover that the Silence have infiltrated the campus and are trying to fake the moon landing in order to hijack the Eleventh Doctor's signal. To do so, they've managed to recruit a filmmaker of high prominence; Steven Spielberg. Things get even more complicated when Spielberg starts going mad over to revelation of life on other worlds and decides to abandon his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. (I actually plan to run a story in the Kanya Campaign based off of this idea.)

Doomed World- The players suddenly wake up in new lives on an Earth which has been enslaved by various alien races for thousands of years. The White Guardian arrives and reminds the players of what their lives have actually been like. It appears that the Black Guardian managed to obtain the Key to Time and altered history. The players must find a way to go back and retrieve the Key to undo what has happened. But that might be a little tricky when their Time Lord/Time Traveler has been shrunk along with their means of Time Travel.

Chicago- Al Capone somehow has managed to take out Elliott Ness and has become Mayor of Chicago thanks to interference by another time traveler (The Master, The Meddling Monk, The Valeyard, you take your pick!). The players must now ensure that Ness manages to survive long enough to do his job and make sure that the rogue time traveler doesn't leave anything in the past to corrupt the timeline.

[senko]

You could also modify things so for example rather than that computer in the ultimate warship going nuts and slaughtering the other crews its instead just evolved. It feels guilt for what it did but this is its one best chance to escape and hide, could even throw in super advanced prototype weapons so it thought it would only be disabling the opposing ships not destroying them. Alternatively if you want to adapt a bit from a novel it did only disable them unfortunately an unexpected solar flare unleashed radiation that with their shields down killed the crew of those ships.

Novels are also a good source like Tales of the Taormin where the players arrive on a planet populated by wizards and magic. After investigation they find its really a world that seperated from a highly advanced human culture in the future and the wizards are actually genetically enginered psychics or rather the descendants of those genetically engineered psychics who broke off to save themselves and now again the society is reaching to force them back into the fold with its own "wizards" less powerful but in far greater numbers.

EDIT
Another one that occured to me today is a variation on that finding a DVD/book. Take one that obviously isn't a part of history e.g. zootopia and let the players walk around as all the anthropomorphic animals gaze in wonder at the weird furless things till one of them corners them in a remote location and tells them "Run the masters are always watching, I don't know how you got her but they'll soon turn you into an animal like one of us and force you to replay the holy relic over and over. So many have died already my wife/husband/child. Please just run, save yourselves while you still can." Works even better with a horror movie rather than a Disney one.

[thereviewer]

So it appears now that Saturday brings two of my favorite shows together at different times; Doctor Who at 9:00 (at least for us Americans,) and then at 11:00 Samurai Jack. Seeing as how the two mix sci-fi and fantasy together in such creative ways, here are my attempts at scenario seeds repurposing some of my favorite Samurai Jack Episodes as possible adventures=


The Sightless (Based on Jack and the Three Blind Archers)- Long ago, a trio of warriors traveled the galaxy trying to learn how to become the greatest of fighters. Eventually, their ship crashed on a planet which made them loose their sight. However, they were altered by alien technology which made their other senses exponentially higher and their archery skills unrivaled by anyone. Now the heroes must find a way to free the warriors without getting killed themselves.

The Scottish Warrior- While making their way across a bridge, the players encounter a Scottish warrior with a powerful multi-tool device for an arm who demands that they go back and let him pass. Unfortunately, they come to disagreements, and now must work together to evade a bounty which has been placed on each of their heads.

Missy's Fairy Tales- After hearing about the PC's and how they are inspiring a new generation, Missy attempts to retell famous fairy tales casting herself as the heroine and the PC's as the villains. (This could be a very humorous PC-lite romp with the GM playing Missy and the PC's either playing the kids and/or the twisted fairy-tale versions of themselves. I can just imagine this being a Kanya adventure with Missy telling the story of the Three Little Pigs featuring 'Big Bad Murphy' breaking open a hole in the door and proclaiming "HERE'S MURPHY!") 

The Scottish Warrior's Wife- The players encounter the Scottish Warrior again, who needs their help to save his wife from robotic druids who plan to eat her. Before they can rescue her, however, they must first prove themselves to the Scottish Warrior's clan.

The Ultra-Cybermen (Based on Jack and the Ultra-Robots)- One of the Cybermen from Pete's World manages to escape and finds its way back into the regular Whoniverse. It then tracks down this world's version of John Lumic and convinces him to build a better Cyber-Army. The Lumic of this universe is a builder of androids who has been living on a distant planet (he's much healthier than his Pete's World Counterpart,) since he left as an explorer. He's also much less ruthless that when the Cybermen declare that they will destroy his androids to test their new ones, Lumic is horrified and wants to see these Cybermen beat. But can the heroes defeat Cybermen who are stronger with few weaknesses?

[Player's Name] Remembers the Past- The players land in the far-future in the ruins of an area that was once populated. One of the players recognizes the remains as their home and remembers various tales from their past (this could be a great way to get to know players backstory better. See moments in their lives such as their first crush, happy moments with their families, or even a moment that inspired them to become who they are now without actually going back in time to witness it.)

The Collector of Souls (Based on Jack vs. Demongo, the Soul Collector)- An alien robot is given a bounty to hunt down the player characters (be it Davros, The Master, or an old foe of your characters.) The robot has the ability to scan the player's heads and then adapt to any and all fighting style, weapons, and skills of any foe they've encountered and use those various traits. The players must find a way to defeat such a deadly enemy.

The 300 + [Number of PC's here] (Based on Jack and the Spartans)- The heroes arrive on a planet that is under siege by an army of Hydra-headed-humanoid androids. The 300 greatest warriors of that planet have banded together and the players find themselves unwillingly dragged into the battle alongside the warriors as well.

Cluck (Based on Chicken Jack)- One of the players has somehow been turned into a chicken and now it falls to the remaining players to figure out how it happened, and how it can be undone.

The Rave (Based on Jack and the Rave)- The players try to infiltrate a dance rave. It turns out that the young people who come here are being controlled by technology from the Euphorian Empire (see Big Finish's Audio Drama The Rapture which, in my opinion, is probably the best Seventh Doctor and Ace story ever made in any form of media). This technology uses a pattern of beats like subliminal messages that make people more susceptible to suggestions. Further investigation reveals it is the work of an old foe (again, take your pick for The Master, The Rani, or maybe even Jude from the previously-mentioned Audio Drama), and now the players must put an end to this show without becoming controlled themselves!

The Giant Robots (Based on Robo-Samurai vs. Mondo-Bot)- The Players take control of a giant power-armor to defeat another giant robot (Cyberkings, perhaps?) which is threatening a small colony.

The Tasteless Copycat (Based on Samurai vs Samurai)- Someone who appears to be a poor-taste copycat of one of the players, so he challenges them to a fight only to get much more than he bargained for.

The Six Assassins (Based on The Princess and the Bounty Hunters)- Five of the universe's greatest bounty hunters gather together to kill the players. Another unknown assassin turns up and after pointing out how each of the bounty hunters plans will fail, reveals she is actually the daughter of an alien world that was lost during the last great Time War. She lost her home to the Daleks and was sent away by her parents for her safety. She has only recently found out that there was a contingency plan which was revealed to be DNA Samples that could be used to grow clones of all those deceased and repopulate another world. Unfortunately it's been put up for auction and the only way to afford it is to complete the bounty which she is convinced can only be done by the six of them working together. Even if the heroes survive, can they allow an entire population to fall into less capable hands?

The Scottish Warrior saves [Player's Name Here]- One of the heroes is hit by a hypnotic device thanks to alien sirens which causes them to forget who they are. The others are held as prisoners and it falls to the Scottish Warrior to help the brainwashed player remember who they are and assist in saving their friends.

[Player's Name] VS [Enemy Name Here]- One of the player's old foes (again, take your pick,) decides to finally put an end to their struggle in a hand-to-hand showdown with no special devices or trickery. But can that enemy really be trusted?

The Tale of K-1,000,000 (Based on Tale of X-9)- In the distant future, the K-1,000,000 have become perfectly safer. They've evolved to the point where they can be sentient people living amongst others. Unfortunately, a retired K-1,000,000 robot is brought out of retirement via blackmail when his pet dog is kidnapped. The villain pulling the strings (again, take your pick,) wants the PC's dead and unless this K-1,000,000 succeeds, the villain promises that this robot will never see his dog again. How do the players deal with a dilemma? Can they save the dog and keep both the dog and it's owner safe?

She's a Killer (Based on XCII)- The players encounter a female android named Queen that seems to be a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Catherine Zeta-Jones's Velma Kelly (from the 2002 film Chicago). The android can create constructs from junk and move objects telekinetically just by singing.

The Daughters of Davros (Based on XCIII and XCIV)- A deranged cult dedicated to Davros believes him to be their savior. To that end, seven daughters are born and put through a traumatic childhood pushing their bodies past human limits and making them see Davros as their savior and the PC's as the villains who wish to spoil all that Davros has worked so hard to achieve. Now fully-matured, the daughter's training has been completed. Their goal is to kill the PC's. Can they actually defend themselves long enough to show them Davros's true nature?

Finally, I know that these were based on the IDW Comics run (which I am aware that Genndy Tartakovsky has said is non-canon), but I have noticed a couple of similarities to the comics in the new series. Plus, they did revive the love for Jack and I personally believe that they were crucial to us getting Jack back on our screens. So here are two scenario seeds based on two stories from IDW's Samurai Jack run:

Curse of the Leprechauns (Based on IDW's Samurai Jack issues 6 and 7)- The players arrive on a space station where one of the station's crew members (perhaps an old companion of your PC's) is there, but their gender has been swapped as well! They explain that they were exploring a planet at one point and came across strange green creatures. The creatures stuck their hand with something which caused them to switch genders. After traveling to the planet, they encounter Leprechaun-like aliens who revealed they used bio-morphing technology to create the "curse." The alien Leprechauns tell the players that they will reverse the process if they kill a mad scientist. The players are forced to shake hands, but find themselves gender-swapped as well. Now they must find the scientist and find a way to break the curse.

For preparation of running this scenario, I'd recommend reading the original comic story two-parter: The Scotsman's curse, or listening to a roleplaying audio podcast which a similar gender-bending Roleplaying Adventure in Dungeons and Dorritos Season 3, Episodes 4 & 5:

soundcloud.com/dungeonsanddoritos/book-iii-episode-4-the-salsa-city-switcheroo 

&

soundcloud.com/dungeonsanddoritos/book-iii-chapter-5-these-boots-were-made-for-swappin.

(This one can be the one where the Dalek Blob hits the fan. Your characters succumb to one of the oldest tales and have to deal with what they're given in order to defeat the alien leprechauns. This can be played with your PC's or with any Doctor/Companion combo. My dream cast for this scenario would be Nine, Rose, Captain Jack Harkness, and Nyssa [who contacts the Doctor for help while working on the station.] Also, because we'd want to see a story with Jack Harkness based on this: imgur.com/a/nxYZW .) (NOTE: Special thanks to generalrose for finding a link for this!)

The Scribe (Based on IDW's Samurai Jack #20)- A historian named William has heard many tales of the PC's. Years after one of the characters (your pick) leaves the group, William has heard many strange stories of the great hero that the former adventurer has become.  William's journey to record the truth of the hero reveals a fascinating look at that character's legacy and possible future. (This could be a great final adventure for any players when they leave and you don't want to go all Doomsday, Journey's End, or The Angels Take Manhattan on the players. The players play their characters during flashbacks where William the Historian is gathering information on them. After meeting someone who personally came face-to-face with them, William explains his goal is to both collect history and to see if he can understand a deeper sense about the PC; who they are and what the people of the universe might be because of them. The informant says he is convinced and agrees to personally take the historian to meet the PC via a vortex manipulator where they encounter the PC at a much older age who shares the wisdom they've learned since they stopped having adventures. Basically those who hoped Last Christmas would be Clara's final adventure can do their own twist, or give their own heroes a possible epic send-off without the need of sacrificing themselves. "From the Journal of William the Historian- Having met (PC's name here), I have achieved the enlightenment I had hoped to seek. I know their story and how it lead to the person I met this day. As long as I draw breath, I will never forget the words and images of this day. And I will ensure that no one else will either. (PC's name here)'s legacy is larger than they are. The courage they inspire is real. No matter what happens...these stories will live on. The legend will never die.")

I actually also have plans to run a 300-style adventure in the ongoing adventures of Kanya. Looking back at the episode (as well as many of Samurai Jack's episodes) as an adult, I find that it's even better than I remember it and still holds up today both on an entertaining and a thought-provoking level. The new episodes are no exception and that's especially true for last night's episode of Jack if you managed to catch it (without giving too much away for those who haven't seen it, get ready to be impressed!) I also have my own scenario written down as my tribute to Jack which features a Dalek Resistance fighter using the way of the Shogun as inspiration for fighting back against the Daleks and ends up running into Abslom Daak. Thoughts? Feedback?

[Eryx]

This time last year I watched Sapphire & Steel for the first time since I was a kid. I did ponder using those episode ideas for possible adventures.

[Catsmate]

Apr 23, 2017 20:57:58 GMT Eryx said:

This time last year I watched Sapphire & Steel for the first time since I was a kid. I did ponder using those episode ideas for possible adventures.

Oh yes, lots of ideas there to be borrowed.

[generalrose]

@ thereviewer

Here's a imgur mirror of that deviantart picture you tried to link   


imgur.com/a/nxYZW

[thereviewer]

@ generalrose


Thanks for the link! You really helped out here! What do you think of the scenario ideas I've posted so far? Think you'll ever run them in a campaign? If you do, let me know how it goes!

[thereviewer]

So after last night's Rick and Morty episode, here are a few more Rick and Morty episode-inspired scenarios that you can play in your campaign:





The Well-Kept Secrets (Based on The Rickshank Rickdemption)-



Introduction: One of the PC's is kidnapped by an enemy race (take your pick), and is subjected to a mind probe. The others must find their location and rescue their friend before they either reveal the secrets of time travel, or their brains get liquefied.



Things To Do:

An action-packed adventure trying to figure out where the PC was taken. Getting clues, traversing locations, all that stuff. If your game is set pre-Time War, or you have the Time Lords still around, you could use them as an extra complication as they might not want to risk anything getting out and order the execution of said PC.



Antagonists:

Take your pick. (Plus Time Lords, if they are still around.)



Action Scenes:

Fighting to free your PC.



Visuals:

A rescue operation. Plain and simple. Apply what you will here.



Problems:

Getting the exact location, freeing the PC without liquefying their brains, making sure no secrets get out, and stopping the Time Lords from doing something stupid (if they're around.)



Things To Prepare For:

Can't really think of anything other than go big or go home with nothing.



Continuing The Adventure:

Can the PC's really trust that the Time Lords won't hold anything against them if they find out?





The Mad Earth (Based on Rickmancing the Stone)-



Introduction: The PC's land on a world that's been through a nuclear apocalypse. Their way of escape is stolen and they must now try to retrieve their transport with the help of these survivors.



Things To Do:

Assist with the survivors of this post-apocalyptic world. Build makeshift vehicles. Get their transport back.



Antagonists:

The Enemy group known as the Earth Warriors.



Action Scenes:

Assaulting the Earth Warriors base, fighting the legion of Earth Warriors.



Visuals:

Think what Mad Max would be through a Doctor Who-esqe lenses.



Problems:

Convincing the Earth Warrior's enemies to band together to fight for a good cause, the planet's high humidity, the brutal nature of everyone on this planet.



Things To Prepare For:

This is a great way to mix everything you love about Mad Max-type stories and roll it all into a Doctor Who adventure. Get creative with the survivors of this world. How've they survived? Do they have any kind of 'fuel' they constantly intake?



Continuing The Adventure:

The PC's adventure proves space-and-time travel is possible. Eventually, the inhabitants manage to build their own crude but effective version of the players transport and begin fighting through time and space. It falls upon the PC's to once again stop them.





The False Event (Based on Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender)-



Introduction: The PC's land on a world under the threat of a planet-sized god known as Deathpocalypse. Much to their surprise, they are quickly joined by a ragtag team of space heroes that should not exist calling themselves 'The Protectors'. Unfortunately, things get much darker when they realize that 'Deathpocalypse' is nothing more than a fake and the 'Protectors' are con artists who use him as an excuse to make themselves look good every year. Things get worse when Deathpocalypse goes rogue and becomes too much for The Protectors to handle so now it is up to the players to take care of the job for them.



Things To Do:

Expose The 'Protectors.' Convince the people of this world that they but need to look inside themselves to find a real hero that can help others.



Antagonists:

The Protectors (Think a mix between The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but just as real selfish people who care only about making themselves look good.)



Action Scenes:

Fighting the 'Protectors,' disabling Deathpocalypse.



Visuals:

Think a Summer Superhero Blockbuster event told through the lenses of a 'find the hero inside every one of you' story. A good example would be the DC Animated film Superman VS The Elite.



Problems:

Convincing the people to stand together against Deathpocalypse, taking down the Protectors (since while they are con artists, they still have powerful equipment and powers.



Things To Prepare For:

This is a story I've long had planned (and still have plans to expand upon in an original story at some point later on in my life). There's a lot of ways you could run this with the fake heroes and what themes to put around this adventure. Mine comes from my views of how Marvel is being run now. Until last year, my relationship with Marvel had been fading with stories such as Superior Spider-Man and Hydra Cap. In my opinion, even with their diverse heroes, they still should have respect for the old characters rather than have Sam Wilson take over with Cap retiring for a while, which would be okay if it was that one time. But the minute Steve was restored, they imminently made him HYDRA without even giving an issue to welcome Steve back to the pinnacle of perfection which becomes both redundant since this was supposed to be Steve’s triumphant return only to be another cop-out (which then becomes a cop-out too confusing for even myself to follow much less care about), and the biggest worst insult to the legacy of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon who created this character to be a beacon of hope against the very thing Steve now finds himself aiding. There is no reason why they couldn't have Steve and Sam both share the shield. They did this much better when Bucky took over from Steve even after Steve's return following his death in Civil War. Instead the writers chose the laziest situation just to sell comics while trying to wax pseudo-politics with inaccurate sourcing about how nobody in America cared during the 2016 election when in reality, people like me tried our hardest to keep what's going on now from happening. Even though it didn't work out, I still stand as an activist for freedom of speech and equality. There’s a quote that comes to mind that Scott Gray said in the behind-the-scenes on making the DWM 50th Anniversary Strip Hunters of the Burning Stone. The quote refers to Gray’s experience seeing Skyfall which he said was in his opinion the worst James Bond film since M dies because in Gray’s own mind, Bond was too lazy to be bothered to put a plan together. Gray notes that “It’s supposed to work like this: the creators of popular characters are their gods. JK Rowling can do whatever she likes with Harry Potter – that’s her absolute right. But for writers who are lucky enough to be handed classic characters that have outlived their creators – fictional figures so powerful they can entertain generation after generation – the deal is different. Those writers are custodians. They have a duty to respect what has gone before, to recognize the original intent of the creators, to understand the characters’ legacies, strengths, and values. Be it Sherlock Holmes, Captain America or Winnie The Pooh, those writers must honor the fundamental traits of the character. If they don’t – if they just toss aside all the elements that make them impressive and unique and instead write whatever the hell they want, even if it’s the exact opposite of what the creator intended – then they’re arrogant idiots.” Now I realize that not everybody is going to share my opinion, and that’s fine. At the end of the day, I am an advocate for freedom of speech. I do not deny Marvel the right to publish whatever the hell it is they’re trying to pull. Nor do I deny any of you who read this the right to purchase any of these ideas if you so wish. This is just from my experience. These are my opinions. You could easily make this adventure based around themes of any other sort of writer or creator you don’t like or agree with, apply what specifics you don't like about their style or what they stand for to the fake defenders, and it would have the same effect. Just give the players characters who seem too good to be true and then reveal that they’re much worse in real life.


Continuing The Adventure:

An old enemy race (again, take your pick) learns about the fall of the Protectors. Sensing an opportunity to benefit, they design new roles for the Protectors as Supervillains rebranding them as ‘The Destructors’ to terrorize a world and break their ideals of hope so that the enemy race can pick them off easily. Now it falls upon the PC’s to try and stop ‘The Destructors’ from clearing the way for their old foes to attack.

[thereviewer]

After seeing last night's new episode of Rick and Morty, I have come back with another scenario based on that adventure:


The Colony (Based on The Ricklantis Mixup)-







Introduction: The PC's discover a hidden colony kept hidden from even the Time Lords. It turns out to be a colony filled with alternate versions of the characters who came here to escape constant danger in their lives. Now there's an election going on to choose their next leader. But apparently one of the alternate PC's running is actually evil and plans to turn the colony into an army to conquer all of reality. It falls upon the regular PC's to stop him.






Things To Do:



Meet alternate versions of your PC's (evil, female, anthropomorphic, smart, successful, etc.) and see their daily lives. Prevent the evil PC from winning this election.






Antagonists:



The evil version of one of the PC's. (Take your pick.)






Action Scenes:


Getting to the alternate evil PC, trying to warn everyone.






Visuals:



Heavy Citadel of Ricks influence. If you need more ideas for alternate versions of your characters, check out Pocket Mortys on the Rick and Morty Wiki as well as the Pocket Mortys Sprites on Spriters Resource.






Problems:



Convincing everyone of the evil PC's intentions, some alternate PC's might not be very helpful and might slow things down for the heroes.






Things To Prepare For:



Make sure the alternate PC's are all different and unique as opposed to your regular PC's.






Continuing The Adventure:


After leaving, the PC's are one day halted by a representative of the Department Enforcing Reality Protection. Someone's murdering alternate versions of the PC's. The evil PC your group defeated is back. And he's framed your PC's for what happened.

[senko]

Some interesting ideas here and a few inspired some amusing twists. Such as in a deal with the devil the planets leaders actually made the deal 1,000 years ago. Maybe with

A Dalek as part of a complex to lure the doctor into a trap.

Or

Someone like the slitheen just using cheap tech to acquire a planet even if they do need to wait a millennium for ownership. An especially nasty race may take failure to turn over the planet as a breach of contract and invade. A nasty and advanced race may be using time travel to ensure the deal is honoured. Make the deal, go forward and collect the planet, go back and honour their side. With the planet not being turned over they don't save it and the players are left scurrying around trying to restore the "proper timeline" which may involve turning the planet over to the devil who has all the legally binding contracts.

[thereviewer]

So, I just saw the recent Arrowverse Crossover (I've been kind of busy these days), and I have another new scenario here:



In The Other's Shoes (Based on the Elseworlds Crossover Event Part 1, 2, & 3) (Also takes some inspiration from the episode Operation Mongoose from Season 4 of Once Upon a Time)-




Introduction: The PC's wake up living each other's lives. Certain characters have taken on the other's species, traits, and history. Something is going down and it is up to the heroes to figure out what it is.



Things To Do: Explore the changes that have been made to the groups. Figure out how to live the other's life, and use whatever skills they have. Find a way to put things right.



Antagonists: A failed writer who has been given the Key to Time and is using it to write destinies. Potentially, ally NPC's could become enemies or even PC's might be warped to turn on their allies. The writer will also have the ability to summon any enemy NPC's of their choosing. One enemy not under the writer's control, yet seemingly aiding him is the mysterious Woman in Black.



Action Scenes: Discovering how to use the other's traits, fighting the seemingly endless army of enemies (and potential allies-turned-bad), trying to get to the writer, getting the Key to Time back and using it to restore reality.


Visuals: The recent Arrowverse crossover is an example, but really, think any big multiverse reality-shifting event. Go nuts and have fun with it! Any alternate universe idea you can think of, run with it!



Problems: Trying to take down a villain who can shift reality to their liking, the potential friends suddenly turning enemies. Also, the mysterious Woman in Black is the Black Guardian (taking on a new appearance) who is creating chaos with the Key to Time and has subjugated the White Guardian to an eternal unbreakable prison outside of our universe.



Things To Prepare For: This will be a unique adventure to say the least. Especially for two characters who switch species. A Silurian suddenly finds themselves as a human, or a Time Lord might suddenly become a Zyggon. As a result of the change in reality, histories are rewritten so that everything the two characters lived through happened to the other. You might want to discuss with players how they would want their characters to appear as a different species before playing this. Also, it's important to remember that while the villain is a god abusing his powers, he is a misunderstood man. A man who had dreams for writing, but due to a lifetime of bad bosses and changes in the world around him, he was never able to afford that opportunity and has decided to toy with reality to make things the way he believes they should be. He's not evil, but will do everything to keep things from going back to the way they were supposed to be. Also, the Black Guardian is his ally and will do everything to ensure he keeps rewriting history so that the White Guardian remains trapped so long as the writer continues to alter things.



Continuing The Adventure: Not really sure how one would continue this adventure. You could come up with your own ideas, if you wanted to.

[thereviewer]

So with the recent release of Detective Pikachu, I thought about a reimagining of an adventure from the classic Pokémon anime with a DW Twist:


Imperfect Imposters (Based on Ditto's Mysterious Mansion)-




Introduction: The PC's arrive on a planet to discover the PC Time Lord/Time Lady (or the player that is the closest thereof), are already here and preforming live with their companion (if there is more than one, choose one of the PC Companions at random). It turns out the PC Imposter is an impressionist who couldn't do anything else since people on the planet were only interested in stories about the PC. Therefore, he/she (depending on what gender the PC is), decided to impersonate the PC and found a strange life-form which could imitate anyone perfectly expect for any facial features. The eyes aren't quite right and so they need to use sunglasses. Together, they pretended to be the PC and Companion although this fame has brought some unwanted attention.




Things To Do: Investigate the impressionist, find out the backstory, think of ways they can gain attention when the PC's are basically the heroes.



Antagonists: A previously-defeated foe of your PC's has come looking for the PC's and in the confusion, believes that the impersonators are the real deal. You can basically choose any previously-used monster that you wish.


Action Scenes: Chasing down the impressionist, defeating the old foe.



Visuals: This one can be adapted to whatever kind of planet you'd like. However, one main location that IS there is the impressionist's mansion full of all their disguises and aliases. ("The difference between the TARDIS wardrobe and this place? They actually organize their outfits!") 



Problems: Figuring out how to get the people off the PC's backs, dealing with the impersonator, defeating the foe all at once.




Things To Prepare For: This is an adventure about being true to one's self, not copying someone else. It's a more character-driven story which also shows the PC's being impersonated how their every action has an equal reaction that causes situations like this.


Continuing The Adventure: The foes defeated have a better plan now! Go back in time before the PC's encountered the impressionist and kidnap the impressionist to aid them in framing the PC's! The PC's must work with the impressionist (slowly fading away) before this new timeline locks into place. 

Let me know what you think!