Adventure Seed - Invasion of the Meta-Snatchers

[thereviewer]

I was just watching Scream and this idea popped into my head:


PLOT: Two best friends have been watching one-too-many alien invasion flicks from Independence Day, to Invaders from Mars, to War of the Worlds, to Signs, to Plan 9 From Outer Space, to Mars Attacks! and they've just come across a cache of real-life alien equipment to stage a real-life "alien invasion" and make it so that they are the lone "survivors" of the attack. The PC's arrive in their quaint town to discover the telltale signs of an alien invasion. The cows are missing, there are strange symbols being burned into local crops, and reports of UFO Sightings citing the UFO as being straight out of the 1950's. However, what can you do with two over-enthusiastic teenagers? Can you really just turn them over to the shadow proclamation for use of alien technology? Wiping their minds won't work as the town's already been publicized for the "events." Can you willingly send them to prison where they might spend the rest of their lives for breaking so many laws? Worse yet, what happens when the ACTUAL owners of the equipment come back and see how their gear has been abused?

Let me know what you think in the comments!

[olegrand]

This is a really interesting idea - and I think it would work even better if it actually took place in the 1960s or 1970s - since you could also add an extra "Cold War" vibe to the story (perhaps even undercover Soviet agents on the trail of the artifacts etc.)

So your hapless kids could actually become caught in a quadruple crossfire, so to speak:

- the local authorities
- the national secret service / Torchwood / MIB whatever
- the Eastern Bloc agents
- the alien proprietors of the artifacts!

...with the player-characters arriving in the middle of all this!

[thereviewer]

Oct 14, 2018 15:30:20 GMT olegrand said:

This is a really interesting idea - and I think it would work even better if it actually took place in the 1960s or 1970s - since you could also add an extra "Cold War" vibe to the story (perhaps even undercover Soviet agents on the trail of the artifacts etc.)

So your hapless kids could actually become caught in a quadruple crossfire, so to speak:

- the local authorities
- the national secret service / Torchwood / MIB whatever
- the Eastern Bloc agents
- the alien proprietors of the artifacts!

...with the player-characters arriving in the middle of all this!

An interesting idea. I might actually experiment with this idea (although I don't have that much experience with that many alien invasion films from the pre-mid-1970's/1980's save for Plan 9 From Outer Space, Invaders from Mars, and (I guess if you want to count this technically since it involves an alien which ultimately threatens humanity) The Thing from Another World (although I've only seen bits and pieces from the original). I don't know what ideas that I'd use for the over-enthusiastic kids to emulate or how they'd emulate them. But if you can give some ideas, I'd appreciate it.

[olegrand]

Well now that you mention it, yes, the story would also work very well either in the 50s or in the 80s too.

In the 1980s, you'd have the extra advantage of having more sci-fi invasion movies (and TV series - remember V? to draw inspiration from. Media attention would probably be more important too. That being said, the existence of Star Wars etc. and the way it changed pop culture and the general public's perception of science fiction should also be taken into account.

In the 1950s, you could really thump the Cold War / Red Scare button - and "alien invasion" actually was one of the only themes explored by science-fiction movies back then. And if you play in Britain, well... QUATERMASS was on TV! (or was it Nightshade? )

Here are some "alien invasion" films from the 1950s that might be used as backdrop (or you could just as well invent your own meta-fictional movie, taking elements from several different sources...

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)
KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954)
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
EARTH vs. THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956)
INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN (1957) - mmmh do I detect a pattern here?
PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE (1959)

[thereviewer]

Oct 15, 2018 6:13:59 GMT olegrand said:

Well now that you mention it, yes, the story would also work very well either in the 50s or in the 80s too.

In the 1980s, you'd have the extra advantage of having more sci-fi invasion movies (and TV series - remember V? to draw inspiration from. Media attention would probably be more important too. That being said, the existence of Star Wars etc. and the way it changed pop culture and the general public's perception of science fiction should also be taken into account.

In the 1950s, you could really thump the Cold War / Red Scare button - and "alien invasion" actually was one of the only themes explored by science-fiction movies back then. And if you play in Britain, well... QUATERMASS was on TV! (or was it Nightshade? )

Here are some "alien invasion" films from the 1950s that might be used as backdrop (or you could just as well invent your own meta-fictional movie, taking elements from several different sources...

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)
KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954)
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
EARTH vs. THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956)
INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN (1957) - mmmh do I detect a pattern here?
PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE (1959)

olegrand,

That's a great idea to have it set during the 80's! I could also use a meta-fictional movie, maybe even have it that the kids are trying to make a Super-8 film that ultimately turns into their own then-modern-day take on The Day the Earth Stood still. I do have a lot more 80's Invader/Alien/Sci-Fi Films that I can choose from here:

HEAVY METAL (1981)

THE THING (1982)

DUNE (1984)

THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984)

NIGHT OF THE COMMET (1984)

STARMAN (1984)

GALAXY INVADER (1985)

STARCHASER: THE LEGEND OF ORIN (1985)

ALIENS (1986)

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986)

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE (1986)

STAR CRYSTAL (1986)

CREEPOZOIDS (1987)

PREDATOR (1987)

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1987)

THEY LIVE (1988)

MOONTRAP (1989)

Let me know if I'm missing any other classics or if you have any other suggestions for this adventure. Thanks for the inspiration!