Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Five More Cultclassic Films As Fodder For The Crimson Dragon Slayer Rpg

So today I've been thinking about the Crimson Dragon Slayer Rpg and reading through the pulpy pst apocalyptic goodness that is the CR  rpg system. And back to my glory days of working in the video rental store back in Nineteen Ninety something. Which five other fantasy film would I pull from to bring some weirdly odd nostalgia into the world of Thule. Now the thing about Thule is that its instant recognizable from the usual tropes of D&D but with a ton of awesomeness that gotten thrown into the mix. Your PC's are survivors from the 80's who have been transformed into POA survivors. But the game just begs for 80's weirdness to get tossed in to the deep end of this game system. So right off the top of my head here's what I came up with. 
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So when we're looking into Crimson Dragon Slayer the DM is walking a fine line between nostalgia and sheer high weirdness. The game does this balance very well and Thule really needs to get more of edge on treatment in how it handles itself. Reference Back To The Future is one thing but playing around with the usual tropes of the Eighties is another. For example using one of my favorite true fantasy films from the 1980's. The Never Ending Story has for some folks all of the charm and wit of the 80's fantasy films right at its center. The books are far,far better but that's alright we're more concerned here about the film. 


The Never Ending Story 1984 

So the basic outline in the Never Ending Story has a plot according to Wiki that goes something like this :
Bastian Balthazar Bux (Barret Oliver), a shy and friendless bibliophile child, hides in a bookstore, interrupting the grumpy bookseller, Mr. Coreander (Thomas Hill). Bastian asks about one of the books he sees, but Mr. Coreander advises against it; despite which, Bastian seizes the book, leaving a note promising to return it, and hides in the school's attic to read. The book describes the world of Fantasia threatened by a force called "The Nothing"; wherefore the Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach) who rules over Fantasia has fallen ill, and has summoned Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) to discover the cure. Atreyu is therefore given AURYN. As Atreyu sets out, the Nothing summons Gmork(voiced by Alan Oppenheimer), a werewolf, to kill Atreyu.
When we look at the dire force behind the world spanning affairs in 
Fantasia. That's really the DM's ticket here. You see the 'Nothing' wasn't exactly pulling out all of its forces right on Atreyu and the Child Empress, instead there were still dark forces that threatened that world. Enter the PC's to help mop up the left over horrors that still lurk on the edges of Fantasia and Thule. Plenty of opportunity to mix in the real world of The Never Ending Story with the high fantasy pop corner  of the film. 

Speaking of working around films and adventure opportunity, the film Time Bandits is another film whose loose ends can easily be exploited full for the DM to involve his PC's from the Crimson Dragon Slayer game. Did all those pieces of evil simply round themselves up and collect themselves into those rubbish bins by the Supreme Being? I don't think so. I think that the very clever and kindly looking Supreme Being whisks the adventurers away from Thule to help clean up the mess. There's also potential for dungeon exploitation by finding out if the weird head vile villain is really gone by exploring that massive castle at the center of the setting. 
Time Bandits 1981 



Erik The Viking 1983 
Plenty of opportunities here as well, the PC's get called in to help fill in some of the gaping plot holes and keep getting shafted by Erik and his crew of misfits. They still gain the treasure and experience but they keep getting shafted by the gods who use them as an adventuring clean up crew. 
You can find more information about this one right Here

This sort of campaign can walk the line between comedic and adventure. The high weirdness factor of the film certainly fits in with CR's feel. And the none pc nature is in keeping with some of the material that one finds in game. Lots of famous and infamous bits and pieces of legend and mythology make their way in and out of this one.
This isn't a well known film which makes it perfect fodder for adventure creation. 

Big Trouble In Little China 1986 
Lots of potential here and this all begins and ends with two characters, one is Egg Shan and the other is the Oni Troll. There is a history between Lo Pan and Egg Shan stretching back quite a few years.  I get the impression that Jack Burton is only one in a very long line of heroes that the little sorcerer has used to battle the forces of Lo Pan over the years. 
Could the forces of Lo Pan have threatened other worlds in the past? Was he reduced in power since the glory day's of China's mythological period? I think so and in fact that I'd go so far as to say that Thule might be next and that the PC's are in for a very rough ride. And what about that underworld in BTILC? That place is perfect to bring in adventurers to face down the forces of darkness and shake the pillars of Heaven.

Here's another not so quick choice that comes to mind when we're talking about Crimson Dragon Slayer. Flash Gordon from 1980. Yeah, this might not seem like the obvious choice at first but Mongo has a ton to offer. Besides a killer soundtrack, the film has a great world to threaten Thule with. Lizardmen, Hawkmen diving from the skies, War Rocket Ajax, imperial Mongo kinkiness, and its an icon of the 1980's just waiting to be plundered!
Flash Gordon 1980 


Because its going to be the last thing that players are going to be expecting. Flash Gordon has a ton to offer. There is plenty of megadungeon its and lots of sci fi adventure just waiting to be added into the world of Thule and let's not mention that there are ton's of gadgets, NPC's, treasures, and more. 

4 comments:

  1. Good list. It's been many years since I've watched Erik the Viking, but the rest were easy inspirations. Thanks!

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  2. Great list as always, Needles. Of course, when is it ever the wrong time to suggest BTiLC?

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  3. Yeah, I thought that 'Erik The Viking' might throw some folks, you've got to do a bit of squinting but it does fit with the nostalgia ethos of Crimson Dragon Slayers. As for the rest of the movies it's a case of looking at the VHS collection and really wondering where can the party fit in? Thanks Venger.

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  4. I doubt that there's a bad time for Big Trouble In Little China, I've been staring at the film for the past six months and then it hits me in some of the dialogue in the movie. Wait a minute Lo Pan has done this stuff before lots of times! Yeah, this is one of my favorite movies to go to.

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