Author Topic: A Strange Prison... (Read 1391 times)

Erebus · « **on:** December 04, 2003, 05:50:55 AM »

I am currently considering how to start a new single player campaign with impact…

It struck me that it might be interesting for the adventure to begin with the PC as a prisoner within a very exotic and unusual prison. I will expand on this later but for the moment I am interested in ideas to flesh this location out.

As a guide – I am more interested in unusual and intriguing features than ‘magical’ effects.

Ideas might include special rooms, security, ethos and inmates….

Erebus · « **Reply #1 on:** December 04, 2003, 08:31:00 AM »

I just wanted to expand on how the PC ends up in prison because I think I'm onto something interesting...

The idea I'm floating at the moment is that the player begins not as an adventurer neither a VIP of any kind. However (with shades of Face Off) they bear an uncanny resemblance to a notorious criminal (I'm toying with the idea of a kind of empathic assassin).

This killer and their gang are being pursued by special agents of the kingdom and have fled to the PC's home environment. When the PC is discovered by these bad guys they are set up to take a fall on behalf of the real killer...

Hence when they arrive in the prison - many of the inmate will be responding to them, either with emnity or friendship - under the impression that they are someone else...

Anyway - any help you can give to fleshing out either this opening or the prison itself would be appreciated. Naturally I'd be flattered if you want to also use any of these themes in your own games...

manfred · « **Reply #2 on:** December 04, 2003, 12:22:47 PM »

Nice. Please add the idea to Character Hooks, where are some more ideas to start a campaign.

Erebus · « **Reply #3 on:** December 04, 2003, 12:33:21 PM »

Thanks I may well do that...

although I'm not sure it's the beginning yet... I tend to get a key scene in my head and then start moving both forward and backwards asking myself; but what interesting thing might the PC be doing before that!

Ylorea · « **Reply #4 on:** December 05, 2003, 09:25:17 AM »

How about having your PC ('s) imprisoned on a slave carrier? (i.e. a boat)

Yours Ylorea

Erebus · « **Reply #5 on:** December 05, 2003, 11:30:30 AM »

Well I've begun play now and the game has gone thus:

Opening (play track 8 from Gladiator soundtrack)

The PC envisions space and feels an affinity with it, which gradually draws back to a semi-industrial but isolated community on an otherwise un-colonised world. Passing through the midst of great machines and the lively sensing all the lively emotions of the humans who inhabit this realm - the PC's conciousness draws back through palacial grounds and into a room where they 'awake' from this meditation.

The PC is a kind of senstive (mechanically something between a jedi and psionist) and they are a special commody belonging to a great family who mine for crystals which power the communities machines and have many applications (including transport and weapons). They are used to mystically determine the location of these rare crystals and have the protection of a loyal NPC who is a member of an elite warrior caste (similar to a samurai's place in society.., or one of Matt Wagner's 'Grendels').

We ran through a mission and also a situation where the PC had to use their powers to ferret out a corrupt member of the organisation.

One day they come home to discover agents of a Secret Police waiting for them. These people come from the homeworld - this is merely a semi-colonised moon, and are convinced the PC is a psychic killer (in fact their sibling). Mental interogation reveals seemingly indentifiable thought patterns and they even think the PC's claims of innocence may be a form of self-brainwashing - hence an arrest is made and off to the prison they go...