Ideas on adapting the storylines into roleplaying adventures.
Go Scene By Scene
If you have a script, great! If not, go scene by scene and take notes. If I have a script (I recommend Drew’s Script-o-Rama), I first strip out the dialogue, and number each scene. If I’m doing it from scratch, I just start noting each scene. Make note of where it takes place, who’s in the scene, and what actually happens.
Flesh Out Each Scene
Figure out what happens in the scene, in terms of information being communicated by supporting characters to lead characters, and skills and abilities the lead characters use. This lets you know what really happens in roleplaying terms. You can start to stat out villain abilities, monsters, traps, skill difficulties, and so forth. You also know what dialogue is essential to move the plot forward, in terms of what your NPCs will need to tell the player characters.
Look for Exits
Players characters don’t follow scripts. There need to be compelling reasons for them to take the next steps in the adventure and not wander off on tangents. I hate railroading, but I always like to have both a carrot and a stick handy. If they don’t follow the carrot, hit them with the stick and do something that lands them where they need to be next, without resorting to a deus ex machina.
Look for Synergies
Player characters don’t have to follow the film’s scenes in order. If there’s a place where you can handle two plot points at once, like learning two bits of info or dealing with two loose ends, and the game is running long, run with it. Do it then. Figure out what the characters need to do, without feeling they have to do it in the same order it’s presented in the movie.
Have a Timeline
That said, some things are going to happen at certain times and in a certain order regardless of what the player characters do. Have a timeline. Let things go off-script, and use your own to explore the “what ifs”.
File Off the Serial Numbers
If players know you’re running a plot lifted from a movie, they’ll expect things to play out the same as the movie, and many times will be disappointed if they don’t. Change names, settings, macguffins, whatever you need to. The plots will still work. Even if the players know what you’ve borrowed from, making it obvious that things are a bit different from the start will give them the freedom to do their own thing and feel comfortable about it. It will give them a chance to use their own creativity and explore the “what ifs”
Your Mileage May Vary
This isn’t so much a formula as it is a guideline. If you drop a movie plot into your setting, adapt it to the strengths of your setting. Be sure to play off of the strengths of your player characters. Do what needs to be done, and always, always look at the movie as a loose guideline, rather than a rigid structure, to be followed. The goal isn’t to emulate the movie precisely, but to create an enjoyable roleplaying game experience.
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