Welcome...to Rapture!

[ZiggZagg]

Alright, so I have been getting back into playing Bioshock 2, and it really makes me want to try and D&D campaign with similar tones. So, I'm looking for input on how to turn a D&D 3.5 campaign into a trip through the world of Bioshock. Mainly, I need to think of a way to handle the Plasmids and Eve consumption. The Gene Tonics could be turned into magic items or even feats easily enough. For the Plasmids and stuff, I was thinking of trying to modify the Monster of Legacy template from Weapons of Legacy. Anyway, any thoughts or ideas are welcome!

[Kiren]

Let me guess, you saw the trailer for Infinite and were inspired to replay.

[ZiggZagg]

Nope, got access a big screen HD TV with HDMI and a high refresh rate and wanted to revisit the impressive visuals. It was, for lack of better words, VERY pretty :-p LoL

[Kiren]

Nope, got access a big screen HD TV with HDMI and a high refresh rate and wanted to revisit the impressive visuals. It was, for lack of better words, VERY pretty :-p LoL

Indeed, 1080P?

[BladeofOblivion]

You could try treating Gene Tonics as Magic Items and Plasmids as Reflavored Rods.

[jiriku]

Plasmids = charged spell trigger item.
EVE = method of recharging said items.

[Temotei]

That, or you could use psionics with faster-depleting power points (and less, probably), and a very reduced list of powers. Add in some relevant spells to the list and you have your plasmids in your character.

[ZiggZagg]

Well, as I have been thinking about it (it being Plasmids in this case), I was thinking of making them Spell Like Abilities that are tied to a pool of points, and introducing Eve Hypos to regain them. They would have increasing power, though I'm still working on that (Thinking of just increasing them with different spells, such as the Incinerate tree, going from either Scorching Ray or Lesser Orb of Fire->Fireball->Firestorm.)

As for the presence of ADAM, I need to think of a way to work it in that it is through Eve, ADAM, and Plasmids that you gain these abilities, but that it has a drawback if overdone. I'm thinking of trying to work with the drug addiction, taint, and possibly sanity mechanics to get the desired effects. To make sure that you actually need the Plasmids to accomplish the amazing feats they are capable of, I will probably limit the PC's in their class choices. Make it that only through Plasmids, Gene Tonics, and Feat selection that you truly flesh out your character. The most extreme idea I have juggle is making them all choose either the Warrior or Expert generic classes, and then using the class AC bonus variant in place of actual armor. Any thoughts on what I have so far?

I appreciate the replies so far, but as you can see, I'm looking for something a little bit more extreme than just minor tweaks and substitutions. I want to make this as much like Rapture as possible without having to resort to a different game system. Ideally, I think Bioshock would play really well in a World of Darkness setting (and even found a nice YouTube video detailing this possibility), but the group I play with only knows D&D and isn't too keen on learning anything different.

[BladeofOblivion]

If you are making modifications that large, you may be better off overhauling the entire class system. You could make one class that gets a bonus feat progression and make new feats around the Four Progressions (And Gun use, for good measure.)

[dgnslyr]

Don't forget to throw in Improvised Weapon Use progression. Those things are DEADLY.

[ZiggZagg]

Well, getting away from the idea of classes now, because honestly I would like to try and do a slightly classless system. I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle the idea of different races. Anyone with ideas for the mechanics behind ADAM and it's addictive properties and the side effects it can have on a person?

[DracoDei]

I concur that Psionics match more closely than arcane magic for Plasmids... for one thing they have "displays" rather than "components".

Other than that, it sounds like you are on a good track.

I would just drop the concept of Improvised Weapons all-together.... IE make them count as simple weapons and not give an attack penalty.

Big Daddies should definitely have natural armor.

Little Sisters will need statting out at some point since I think they are the major source of Adam... right?

[ZiggZagg]

Yeah, I wasn't going to worry about improvised weapons. I will take a look at the Psionics and see if they more closely represent the plasmids I'm looking at. I haven't gotten around to statting anything out yet. This "project" is still in developmental stages. As for the Little Sisters, considering they are effectively invulnerable to harm, statting them out isn't a huge priority so much as determining how harvesting and saving them will work. That brings me back to the effects of ADAM again and how to emulate how ADAM changes one's DNA and the mental and physical side effects that you see in so many of the citizens of Rapture...still working on that part.

[elpollo]

Are you set on using D&D as a base? I'd have thought something like BRP (spiced up with the combat from MRQ II) would have been a good fit.

[ZiggZagg]

Forgive my ignorance, sir, but what are BRP and MRQ II?

As for D&D as a base, I regret that I am forced into such a position, but I at least need to try to keep D20. The group I play with only knows D&D and a bit of Pathfinder. Now, that has not stopped us from playing a Modern Setting Campaign with nothing but D&D rules and a bit from the D20 Modern SRD for the rules on firearms, so they are willing to go outside "the norm" for it. But, they refuse to learn another system. Otherwise, I would consider running this campaign in the World of Darkness rule set, as I found a nice video on YouTube that details how someone did just that, custom character sheet and everything, and it seems to work quite well.

[DracoDei]

I found a nice video on YouTube that details how someone did just that, custom character sheet and everything, and it seems to work quite well.

Link please? (Especially since seeing how that was done might be very helpful for creating what you need.)

[ZiggZagg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSHfT...eature=related

He has a few videos made that pertain to this particular topic. He seems to have done an amazing job. I have only seen the first video, and the video that was about how he designed the system, making the character sheet, and how he invented the personalities and voices he was using for the characters involved. Quite interesting.

[DracoDei]

Well, maybe you could send him a PM on YouTube and ask for the full details? Maybe even offer to clean it up and post it here with a link to his YouTube channel and proper credit (would probably get him more viewers). Or course, if he has it posted somewhere already (such as a WoD fan-site), he could just give you that link.

[elpollo]

Forgive my ignorance, sir, but what are BRP and MRQ II?

BRP is the Basic Roleplaying System, perhaps best known as the system that Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu uses. MRQ II is the second edition of Mongoose Publishing's version of RuneQuest, Mongoose RuneQuest. It's a very similar system but has more interesting results in combat. I really like the two as the basic system is easy (roll under your skill level on a d100), but it's got a lot of options. It can also be very gritty.

[ZiggZagg]

Interesting concepts. I shall look into them. Thank you :-D

[Croverus]

BRP is the Basic Roleplaying System, perhaps best known as the system that Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu uses. MRQ II is the second edition of Mongoose Publishing's version of RuneQuest, Mongoose RuneQuest. It's a very similar system but has more interesting results in combat. I really like the two as the basic system is easy (roll under your skill level on a d100), but it's got a lot of options. It can also be very gritty.

By roll under your skill on a d100, you mean like in Dark Heresy and Rouge Trader?

I'm very interested in a Bioshock style forum game.

[Dashwood]

I suggest building off of something like "D20 Modern". It's built for firearms and magic.

As for a classless system, I agree wholeheartedly. Magic and stats should determine your character, and you should be able to trade between the two. Making stat points and spell points interchangeable (to an extent) would balance character design.

Biggest thing Bioshock did (And I'm sorry if I love the first one to death over the second) was atmosphere. If you're doing this game, not only do you need to set the scene for the players, but add a bit of psucological horror to the players. If this is a single module, build them right into your characters.

Most people do "Living" ganes now and not "Classic" so that probably won't happen.

Anyway, those are my suggestions.

[BladeofOblivion]

In fact, a sanity system might not be out of place.

[DaragosKitsune]

What about something based off of the Taint and Depravity system from Heroes of Horror. Heck, making it so that every stage carries benefits would encourage splicing.

[ZiggZagg]

I am currently trying to balance in my head how to do a D20 classless system. What I have so far is that I am thinking of introducing a Sanity mechanic. Maybe corruption and depravity as well. As for the Plasmids, I came up with the idea to make each one a skill. Not sure how this would work out, though. Trying to think of how to work that, but it seems like the best way to go, in a way. Can't have access to the skills until the first time you splice up with ADAM, then you can take any number of the Plasmid skills. After that, you have to spend more ADAM to upgrade them to make them more effective, turning them into their more powerful versions the more ADAM you dump into them, but also tying ADAM to sanity, almost in relation the Cthulu Mythos skill from the Call of Cthulu system subtracts from your maximum sanity. Any ideas on how that would work?

[The_Admiral]

It already does exist

[ZiggZagg]

What exists where?

[The_Admiral]

a classless D20 system it is Mutants and Masterminds

[ZiggZagg]

I know of Mutants and Masterminds, but from what I have seen of the system, it doesn't really lend to what I need. It's built for super heroes. This is going to be built for normal people stuck in an extraordinary situation. Not to mention I don't know how it could work for a suspense/horror campaign

[elpollo]

By roll under your skill on a d100, you mean like in Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader?

I'm very interested in a Bioshock style forum game.

I've not played either, but Wikipedia tells me that yes, it is very similar. There are a few differences (this being difference to what I've gained by a quick look over the "rules" section in the Warhammer 40k Roleplay article on Wikipedia), but here's a brief overview of how you work out whether you succeed at a task or not:

Spoiler

Show

Mechanically, a character is primarily made up of Characteristics and Skills. Characteristics are the equivalent to D&D attributes, and are Strength, Constitution, Size, Intelligence, Power, Dexterity, Appearance, and (if you want) Education. These are rated from 1-18 for a normal human, although you can have things (or people enhanced with magic or what have you) with higher scores). If you are ever called to make a check against one of these you roll a d100 and have to equal or get lower than the Characteristic score multiplied by a number. You might have to roll under Strength x 1 (so if you have a strength of 9 you have a 9% chance of success) to break down a difficult door, for example, or Appearance x 10 to charm a woman in a bar into coming back home with you after playing a most excellent slap bass solo (so if you have an appearance of 10 you'll have a 99% chance of success [as there are various optional rules about whether you can automatically succeed or not when you've got 100%+ skill rating]).

Skills are rated from 0 to 100 (you can go over, depending on the level of grittiness), and to pass a roll you have to roll under or equal to the skill level. This can be modified, so you might have a -20 to your Shotgun skill if you're fighting in darkness (I'm sure there must be official rules for this but I can't remember off the top of my head), or you might be rolling at half your skill rating for a difficult action.

On top of this, you've also got critical successes/fumbles as options. Critical successes occur if you roll 01 (or more if you've got a higher skill value - the higher the value the larger the range for a critical success), and fumbles can occur at 96-100 (or at fewer values if you've got a high skill value).

What about something based off of the Taint and Depravity system from Heroes of Horror. Heck, making it so that every stage carries benefits would encourage splicing.

Actually, that's a very good idea, although I don't remember there being advantages to gaining Taint - I was under the impression you gained various disadvantages. The reason to splice is splicing. You can make yourself stronger, faster, change how you look, control people's minds, shoot fire out of your eyes (maybe)... there are plenty of reasons without needing other benefits. The Taint and loss of Sanity give reasons for people to not oversplice, or the risk becoming monsters, which is a feeling Bioshock never really captured (sure, the Splicers were all crazy and ugly, but Jack never had any problems from Splicing Up(TM). It's possible it just requires more Adam than he took to create problems, or maybe the effects take longer to manifest, but it would have been interesting to have to weigh the pros and cons of splicing).

I am currently trying to balance in my head how to do a D20 classless system. What I have so far is that I am thinking of introducing a Sanity mechanic. Maybe corruption and depravity as well. As for the Plasmids, I came up with the idea to make each one a skill. Not sure how this would work out, though. Trying to think of how to work that, but it seems like the best way to go, in a way. Can't have access to the skills until the first time you splice up with ADAM, then you can take any number of the Plasmid skills. After that, you have to spend more ADAM to upgrade them to make them more effective, turning them into their more powerful versions the more ADAM you dump into them, but also tying ADAM to sanity, almost in relation the Cthulu Mythos skill from the Call of Cthulu system subtracts from your maximum sanity. Any ideas on how that would work?

The problem that I see with D20 as any sort of horror system is that gaining levels makes a lot of things trivial, and therefore kinda takes the horror out. I'm not saying that you can't do horror with D20, but it seems that at first level when the party's struggling against a group of splicers the game has a very different feel to when you're five levels in and can take on that same party of splicers single handed.

Also, with powers as skills you risk having people optimising skills to the point where you can hit stupidly high DCs regularly, meaning you get incredible effects. I suppose a lot of this is mitigated by not having magic in a setting, though.

I was going to comment on the fact that a lot of "useless" plasmids would be useless in this sort of system, but they actually work with it. People without the boost (read skill ranks and possibly focus) to apply these to combat would only be able to light cigarettes/lift forks/turn on electrical devices rather than set people on fire, fling them across the room then char the remains with lightning.


edit - also, a quick search revealed this, which might be something to build on.