Post by thereviewer on Dec 3, 2018 15:44:54 GMT
Hey guys! So I thought I'd share my ideas for two different takes on A Christmas Carol as adventures based on two different reinterpretations from the pages of two comic publishers. Why am I not putting it in my 'Repurposing Comics Events Section?' Well, because of one reason. Mostly it's that these aren't exactly comic events, but a limited series and a graphic novel that are essentially done-in-one stories. They don't really have any lasting effects nor do they take part in the same universe as most major comic continuities. But anyways, I know some people are groaning since Doctor Who already did A Christmas Carol, but the thing that always draws me to the tale is well, how timeless A Christmas Carol is. Some people tend to forget that at its heart, the story isn't so much about Scrooge being forced to accept Christmas, but it's more about him having to learn to change as a person entirely. You don't just try to change for one day, you try to change and work on making yourself a better person every day of your life. As such, there have obviously been many adaptations of a Christmas Carol, but these two stories seem to really stick out in my mind.
Nobody Ought to be All Alone on Christmas (Based on Batman: Noel).
Backstory- If you've been living under a rock, some of you might not be aware of the latest in backlash against DC for the new DC Dark Imprint which recently published Batman: Dammed. I will not go into detail other than before that, writer/artist Lee Bermejo previously made a shockingly awesome new spin on A Christmas Carol using Batman as Scrooge in Batman: Noel. Now, this might be head-scratching but there's a good reason why Batman is being so angry this Christmas. This story is implied to be taking place a few months after the events of Death in the Family where The Joker beat up and killed Jason Todd. Naturally, with the story involving Bats going after a henchman of the Joker (named Bob who has a son named Tim) desperate to make bait out of him to catch the Clown Prince, the Dark Knight is not thinking straight and as a result, hallucinates seeing Jason Todd (acting as Marley which is fitting since Jason was Bruce's partner as Marley was to Ebenezer Scrooge,) before encountering Catwoman (who serves as The Ghost of Christmas Past albeit with more implied flashbacks rather than physically taking Bruce back), and Superman (serving as Christmas Present which is a great choice seeing as much like the Dicken's characterization of the Ghost of Christmas Present, Superman can be anywhere in the present at once and even has a similar warmth and kindness to him in spite of his towering figure). Lastly, The Joker arrives serving as the Ghost of Christmas Future to bury Batman alive where he hallucinates on everything going wrong in his death and his harsh outlook being mimicked by vigilantes before coming to and escaping. Naturally, Bruce stops the Joker and gives Bob a job as well as benefits, 401K, and other loose change that Bruce has lying in the couches as Stately Wayne Manor.
Introduction: This can be a great one-shot for a character piece if one of your players has left recently. One of the PC's has grown colder and harsher. An old enemy (of your picking) whom said PC especially has it out for, is revealed to have recruited a poor father trying to support his sick kid. The PC naturally doesn't feel in the mood for helping and is dealing with a cold. But can some old friend and foes change that?
Things To Do: Re-learn what it means to do good and the methods one takes to stop evil. Participate in another kind of Christmas Carol as the 'Scrooge' of the story.
Antagonists: The enemy who the PC has it out for.
Action Scenes: Stopping the enemy when said foe has come around to the house of the poor man to learn how the PC and their friends interfered.
Visuals: I highly recommend reading Batman: Noel for some Christmas visuals to get a feeling for the kind of game you'll be playing. You could set it either on-or-off-Earth, but looking at the art in this book (aside from a few hiccups here-and-there,) really nail the mood you should go for.
Problems: These will be more for the main character themselves; do they decide to change? Can they figure out where the enemy is? Can they prevent the broken father from becoming a criminal? More importantly, how can the PC make it up to the person they unintentionally treated like dirt?
Things To Prepare For: Run some ideas with your PC's first. Make sure that the main character for this adventure will be okay being the 'Scrooge' of the story and figure out who will serve as the allegories for the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Also be sure to find the incentive for why the main PC of the story goes more violent than usual.
Continuing The Adventure: Not really sure how to continue this, for once. Any ideas are appreciated, but I think this is best played as a one-shot.
Dark Holliday (Based on Zombies Christmas Carol).
Backstory- Much like Batman Noel, Zombies Christmas Carol takes the classic Christmas Carol tale and pairs it up with the classic zombie uprising tale. However, it's done with a nice new twist that ties both stories together in a weird twisted way. Basically, the way the zombie plague works here is that it's not so much the bite that turns people into zombies, but because Scrooge accidently spread it all throughout his life as he became colder and harsher, that same cold and harsh attitude he adopted was spread turning them into zombies which can only be cured by the compassion that Scrooge learns of by the end of the story. If you don't believe me, watch Atop the Fourth Wall's review of the series. You might be surprised.
Introduction: The PC's land on a planet for the holidays only to find zombies running amuck. The only hope is a man who, if given proper treatment and donates his blood, can cure the zombie plague. The problem is he might be willing to let the world go to hell for selfish reasons.
Things To Do: Figure out why the old codger is willing to let his fellow men be committed to an undead existence, figure out how to change his beliefs and convince him to help save everyone. Survive the Zombie Apocalypse while re-enacting A Christmas Carol.
Antagonists: The Zombies. Possibly the old miser if he's not changed.
Action Scenes: Getting through the zombie apocalypse.
Visuals: I would recommend re-watching the Doctor Who Christmas Carol episode for some visual ideas on the colony planet. Also, read Zombies Christmas Carol to see how you can blend Zombies with Christmas.
Problems: The old man believes that he cannot give any more compassion as his attempts to do so as a child resulted in him being the first infected. He unintentionally spread the plague further killing his sister as well, who was the only source of light in his life. It's going to take a lot of work to convince him that his sister still lives on in him.
Things To Prepare For: Besides looking at the Doctor Who Christmas Carol, and Zombies Christmas Carol, I would recommend re-watching the classic zombie movies of yesterday and today for ideas on locations the characters could visit to learn more about the Old Man's past. Perhaps he worked at a Pub at some point (referencing Shaun of the Dead), or perhaps he met his formerly beloved at a shopping mall (referencing Dawn of the Dead). Also, be prepared to have a good reason to get the old man to help and a blessed Christmas for everyone.
Continuing The Adventure: After curing the planet, it seems like a few livestock that the old man treated as a child were sent to other worlds. Looks like there's some more Christmas cheer that needs to be spread.
Let me know what you think of these ideas!
Nobody Ought to be All Alone on Christmas (Based on Batman: Noel).
Backstory- If you've been living under a rock, some of you might not be aware of the latest in backlash against DC for the new DC Dark Imprint which recently published Batman: Dammed. I will not go into detail other than before that, writer/artist Lee Bermejo previously made a shockingly awesome new spin on A Christmas Carol using Batman as Scrooge in Batman: Noel. Now, this might be head-scratching but there's a good reason why Batman is being so angry this Christmas. This story is implied to be taking place a few months after the events of Death in the Family where The Joker beat up and killed Jason Todd. Naturally, with the story involving Bats going after a henchman of the Joker (named Bob who has a son named Tim) desperate to make bait out of him to catch the Clown Prince, the Dark Knight is not thinking straight and as a result, hallucinates seeing Jason Todd (acting as Marley which is fitting since Jason was Bruce's partner as Marley was to Ebenezer Scrooge,) before encountering Catwoman (who serves as The Ghost of Christmas Past albeit with more implied flashbacks rather than physically taking Bruce back), and Superman (serving as Christmas Present which is a great choice seeing as much like the Dicken's characterization of the Ghost of Christmas Present, Superman can be anywhere in the present at once and even has a similar warmth and kindness to him in spite of his towering figure). Lastly, The Joker arrives serving as the Ghost of Christmas Future to bury Batman alive where he hallucinates on everything going wrong in his death and his harsh outlook being mimicked by vigilantes before coming to and escaping. Naturally, Bruce stops the Joker and gives Bob a job as well as benefits, 401K, and other loose change that Bruce has lying in the couches as Stately Wayne Manor.
Introduction: This can be a great one-shot for a character piece if one of your players has left recently. One of the PC's has grown colder and harsher. An old enemy (of your picking) whom said PC especially has it out for, is revealed to have recruited a poor father trying to support his sick kid. The PC naturally doesn't feel in the mood for helping and is dealing with a cold. But can some old friend and foes change that?
Things To Do: Re-learn what it means to do good and the methods one takes to stop evil. Participate in another kind of Christmas Carol as the 'Scrooge' of the story.
Antagonists: The enemy who the PC has it out for.
Action Scenes: Stopping the enemy when said foe has come around to the house of the poor man to learn how the PC and their friends interfered.
Visuals: I highly recommend reading Batman: Noel for some Christmas visuals to get a feeling for the kind of game you'll be playing. You could set it either on-or-off-Earth, but looking at the art in this book (aside from a few hiccups here-and-there,) really nail the mood you should go for.
Problems: These will be more for the main character themselves; do they decide to change? Can they figure out where the enemy is? Can they prevent the broken father from becoming a criminal? More importantly, how can the PC make it up to the person they unintentionally treated like dirt?
Things To Prepare For: Run some ideas with your PC's first. Make sure that the main character for this adventure will be okay being the 'Scrooge' of the story and figure out who will serve as the allegories for the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Also be sure to find the incentive for why the main PC of the story goes more violent than usual.
Continuing The Adventure: Not really sure how to continue this, for once. Any ideas are appreciated, but I think this is best played as a one-shot.
Dark Holliday (Based on Zombies Christmas Carol).
Backstory- Much like Batman Noel, Zombies Christmas Carol takes the classic Christmas Carol tale and pairs it up with the classic zombie uprising tale. However, it's done with a nice new twist that ties both stories together in a weird twisted way. Basically, the way the zombie plague works here is that it's not so much the bite that turns people into zombies, but because Scrooge accidently spread it all throughout his life as he became colder and harsher, that same cold and harsh attitude he adopted was spread turning them into zombies which can only be cured by the compassion that Scrooge learns of by the end of the story. If you don't believe me, watch Atop the Fourth Wall's review of the series. You might be surprised.
Introduction: The PC's land on a planet for the holidays only to find zombies running amuck. The only hope is a man who, if given proper treatment and donates his blood, can cure the zombie plague. The problem is he might be willing to let the world go to hell for selfish reasons.
Things To Do: Figure out why the old codger is willing to let his fellow men be committed to an undead existence, figure out how to change his beliefs and convince him to help save everyone. Survive the Zombie Apocalypse while re-enacting A Christmas Carol.
Antagonists: The Zombies. Possibly the old miser if he's not changed.
Action Scenes: Getting through the zombie apocalypse.
Visuals: I would recommend re-watching the Doctor Who Christmas Carol episode for some visual ideas on the colony planet. Also, read Zombies Christmas Carol to see how you can blend Zombies with Christmas.
Problems: The old man believes that he cannot give any more compassion as his attempts to do so as a child resulted in him being the first infected. He unintentionally spread the plague further killing his sister as well, who was the only source of light in his life. It's going to take a lot of work to convince him that his sister still lives on in him.
Things To Prepare For: Besides looking at the Doctor Who Christmas Carol, and Zombies Christmas Carol, I would recommend re-watching the classic zombie movies of yesterday and today for ideas on locations the characters could visit to learn more about the Old Man's past. Perhaps he worked at a Pub at some point (referencing Shaun of the Dead), or perhaps he met his formerly beloved at a shopping mall (referencing Dawn of the Dead). Also, be prepared to have a good reason to get the old man to help and a blessed Christmas for everyone.
Continuing The Adventure: After curing the planet, it seems like a few livestock that the old man treated as a child were sent to other worlds. Looks like there's some more Christmas cheer that needs to be spread.
Let me know what you think of these ideas!