More help for my one-shot!
So, as I mentioned here before, I’m doing a one-shot where the players are all famous monster-hunters from media (e.g., Buffy, Harry Dresden, Hellboy, etc.). The setup is a local sf/gaming convention where fantasy has become real, sort of like SplatterCon! from Dresden.
My thinking is that the PCs are really attendees who were cosplaying and who have now become their subjects. However, with no memory of their true selves, I don’t really know how history/relationships and such is supposed to work. What should be done for this one-shot context? Does it matter?
I’m thinking the main villain is the con’s organizer who pulled off some Big Magic that got out of hand. What kind of monster does that make him? Sorcerer? Would it make sense to have a fake-out Big Bad, something created by the con organizer but not the true threat to be thwarted? I sort of like that idea.
As for the minions and such, thematically it would make sense if there were a myriad of different monsters running around, since most of them are transformed cosplayers: zombie LARPers, stormtrooper security volunteers, etc. Is there a “general-purpose” minion I can use for these threats, or should I just craft a few different kinds?
Also, I sort of like the idea of the PCs realizing that since the monsters are really just transformed attendees, they can’t just haul off and kill them wantonly (sort of like Buffy S02E06, “Halloween”). How would that be handled? Should I just add some color to how Harm is dealt, or should the PCs have to actively find ways of defeating them w/o doing Harm?
Any suggestions are welcome.
If they have no memories, picking history doesn’t make any sense – you could just skip it.
Pick your villain’s monster type based on what they want to do. Sorcerer could make sense, but others too depending on their motivations.
A fake out monster can work – just make them as a minion (or even a second monster if you prefer).
For transformed people, I’d just define a “Transformed Cosplayer” minion type and give them a power like “They can do magic stuff based on the costume”. You could let them use magic to remove a curse to get an original victim back. To catch without harming these people, I would suggest you go for act under pressure and try to avoid kick some ass during the fights. No need for special weapons rules.
You can have them kill a monster and have it revert to an unconscious patron.
The characters have experienced something like this in their fiction such that you can explain it away – even referencing things from their worlds.
I like this idea. I can see doing it as a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen style game too.