RPG Inspiration: High Plains Invaders

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Nenad

High Plains Invaders

High Plains Invaders is a 2009 movie, directed by Kristoffer Tabori and starring James Marsters, Cindy Sampson and Sebastian Knapp. (IMDB Link)

This is actually a very fun movie, and deserves more recognition than it gets.

About to be Executed

At the start of the movie, the main character is in a cell, awaiting his own execution. I think it is a great way to start a story, or even a campaign. Perhaps all of the characters are on death row, which is how they meet.

A Hanging

The Gallows is Town Business

Soon afterwards, we learn the the gallows is the driving force behind the town’s economy. This is something that is not explored in the movie, due to the aliens invading, but is an interesting concept. It is something I would love to add to a campaign, just as a bit of background colour, if nothing else.

Interrupted Hanging

And of course, the hanging gets inevitably interrupted (I guess this would count as a spoiler for somebody who has never seen a western).

Another scene I would love to use in a game… Have a character get captured and sentenced to death, just so the other characters can rescue him in the nick of time.

Dealing with the Wounded

A large part of the problem that the protagonists have is the fact that one of them is wounded, and therefore needs special attention.

In most RPGs, damage and injury is abstracted, it would be interesting, both in story terms, and in strategic terms, if the actual effects of injury are treated more realistically.

Material Science

Finally, the day is saved due to one character’s understanding of material science. This is just a very good example of how normally ignored skills could still save the day in the right situation.

Dung Beetles

The aliens in this movie are compared to dung beetles, in the sense that they extract and concentrate the Uranium from their food.

This could work very well in a SciFi game. Perhaps the characters encounter a planet which uses animals for purifying materials in this way? Smelters get replaced by herds.

RPG Inspiration – Predators

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Nenad

Predators

Predators is a 2010 movie, directed by Nimród Antal and starring Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne and Topher Grace. (IMDB Page)

In Media Res

The movie starts with the characters falling out of an aircraft, with little idea of how they got there. It is a good way to start off a session with a bang.

It is not a new idea, by any measure, in this case, I think it just works very well.

Nameless Characters

There is something very old-school about the start of the movie, it takes a long time until any of the characters names are revealed. But even before that, they emerge as distinct individuals, and we get to know them more through their actions.

Attack Suddenly Ends

At one point, the protagonists are fighting a pack of quadripedal beasts, and the beasts just suddenly break off, for no reason that the characters can see. This is something that can really spook characters. Perhaps they are fighting a group of Orks, when they suddenly all turn as one, and run off into the bushes, ignoring the characters. Are they leading them into an ambush, or have they just been called to defend their king… Or is time for their coffee break?

Trophies

The Predators collect trophies from the creatures that they kill. Finding a trophy case from an enemy could be an interesting way to provide some information and hints to the characters. If they find the skull of a red dragon in a wizard’s trophy room, the characters might be a bit more cautious in their dealings with him.

Or, if you really want to mess with the characters, what if they find the skull of a loved one? Or even of one of the characters, perhaps of the guy standing right next to them?

Crazed Survivor

Enemy of my Enemy

We are not on Earth Anymore

RPG Inspiration – Call of Cthulhu

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Nenad

Call of Cthulhu

Call of Cthulhu came out in 2005. It was directed by Andrew Leman, and stars Matt Foyer and John Bolen (IMDB Page). Needless to say, it is based on the story of the same name by H. P. Lovecraft.

Silent Movie

This is a silent movie, with no speech, just music, and the occasional card of text. This gives a very interesting feel to the movie… It really takes you back to the era that the it is set in.

This got me thinking about running a silent RPG… It would not really work with a classic round the table set up. But in a LARP or a JeepForm, it might be an interesting experience. The players not allowed to speak, and they are forced to rely on other means of communication. There could even be an in-world explanation for this… Perhaps they have all been struck dumb by something, or for a darker game, they are all slaves whose tongues have been cut out.

Of course, the tricky part would be to keep the game from devolving into a game of Charades, which would kill the mood.

Specialists Called in

At one point, Thurston consults with the archaeological society. This scene reminded me of how rarely players actually ask for help from NPCs. It makes sense for the characters to ask specialists for their opinions. Of course, there is never a guarantee that those opinions will be accurate, or even sane.

Linked Timelines

The story is actually two simultaneous stories, the story of Thurston’s uncle, and the story about Thurston discovering what happened.

This could easily be applied to an RP session, as the characters discover what happened before, rather than presenting the information they found, allow them to play a short scene or two as the characters that they are learning about.

RPG Inspiration: Boondock Saints II: All Saint’s Day

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Nenad

Boondock Saints II: All Saint’s Day

Boondock Saints 2: All Saint’s Day was a 2009 Movie, directed by Troy Duffy and Starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus and Billy Connolly (IMDB page)

Framed

The movie starts of with the main characters getting framed for a murder of a friend of theirs. This is made much easier since the killer followed the same M.O. as the characters.

This is an obvious way to start an adventure. If the characters are fond of using a specific weapon, this could very well be used against them, as people use the same weapon to frame them. This could be an attempt to get the characters arrested by the authorities,

Forced out of Retirement

It is something of a cliche, but it works here, the characters have given up the vigilante life, but are forced by circumstance to take up their old life again.

This could easily be used with old characters that have retired, perhaps the party of adventurers has settled on some land given to them by the king as a reward for saving the kingdom, but when their homes are threatened by a tribe of Orks nearby, they are forced to take up their swords and spells again?

Of course, you can start the characters off this way, and allow them to fill in their background as the game progresses, answering the questions of why they have retired in the first place?

Gearing up Scene

Before they leave, the brothers need to prepare themselves, and we have the classic gearing up scene, as they get ready. This is something that I have not really seen in a roleplaying game, where a gearing up scene seems to involve going through weapon lists and rulebooks, trying to get that perfect set up of equipment…

Copycats

One thing that I liked is the fact that the brothers had people imitating their MO. This is something you can always use to throw a bit of a twist to the players. Perhaps they become so well known that other people start using their ideas, either to discredited them, as n homage, or possibly just because the characters’ methods work.

Planning

One of my favourite scenes in the movie is when they show the Saints’ plan as it happens in their heads, with everything perfectly organised… The actual execution was a bit different.

This is something I would love to see in a game… First play through what the characters expect, then actually go through what actually happens. I think that it could be great fun with the right group.

Last Rites

Before killing someone, if they can, the brothers administer the last rites to them, acknowledging the fact that the person they are killing is a human being, even if they are a criminal.

This is something of a stark contrast with the casual way in which death is treated in most RPGs. This is some advice to players: Perhaps the Paladin utters a short prayer to the Orcs he has slain, wishing them a higher incarnation in their next life, or the vampire who makes sure to bring flowers to the grave of a person she killed.

The Saints Organisation

At the end of the movie, it is implied that there is an entire organisation devoted to looking after the saints, a sort of benign conspiracy, that even they are nor aware of.

The applications of this idea to a roleplaying game is obvious: Perhaps the characters find themselves being followed, or find evidence that there is a conspiracy targeting them, just to discover that they are there to help.

The characters could even be on the other side, as members of a conspiracy to protect the chosen ones and guide them on their path, without ever revealing their existence. It might make for a nice change of pace.

RPG Inspiration – Crank: High Voltage

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Nenad

Crank, which I have talked about before.

Crank: High Voltage

Crank: High Voltage came out in 2009, was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor and stars Jason Statham and Amy Smart. (IMDB page)

I thought I was Dead

This movie start exactly where the previous one left off, with the main character discovering that he was not as dead as he expected.

This is something that you can spring on your players as well. In a situation when they should have died, they might discover that they survive, but for somebody else’s purposes.

For example…

Stealing the Heart

The whole reason why the main character is being kept alive is because somebody else wants his heart as a transplant, since he has proven its quality by surviving for so long in the previous movie.

You can easily do the same thing to the PCs, with somebody being after them for their internal organs, or possibly, in a more supernatural setting, perhaps their soul. Maybe in the setting it is possible to gain somebody’s strength by eating their heart/brain/liver?

Device to keep alive

Without his heart, the character ends up with an artificial one, and needs a battery pack to keep it going.

Perhaps a PC could have something that she needs to keep her going? A battery pack for a droid PC? Or even a magic item of some sort that is holding the characters death at bay?

There is no reason why an NPC could not have one of those. Perhaps a villain in a Superhero game has a stasis device that keeps him in this dimension, and will revert to his home dimension if that device is destroyed.

Recurring NPCs

This movies is filled with characters from the previous one, as the main character runs into them with the flimsiest of pretexts.

The fact is, if the players like a PC, they will not care how you put him back into the story. He just happens to be having a beer at the bar the characters walk into, even if the last time they saw him was getting trampled by wildebeest on another planet. I am sure the players will forgive you.

Twin Brother

This is just another way to reintroduce a character, perhaps with a twist. IF the NPC died without a doubt, feel free to return him as his twin/clone/body double.

Of course, you could always do a switch: “That was not me, that was my twin brother, he offered to take care of a couple of things for me while I was out of town”

You can even do this with PCs, but watch out for going overboard (unless you feel like it)

RPG Inspiration – 30 Days of Night

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Nenad

30 Days of Night

30 Days of Night is a 2007 movie, directed by David Slade and starring Josh Hartnet and Melissa George. (IMDB Page)

Strange Day Cycle

I always found the idea of the changes in the day/night cycle fascinating for some reason, especially when they differ from the norm.

This is just something that can be used in an RPG as well, perhaps it’s set on a planet that has a 48, rather than a 24 cycle? How will that affect how things are done?

Another idea, for a more fantasy bent, is an area that is plunged into darkness until the heroes can rescue the sun from the underworld. This could work nicely for a more mythical quest.

Burned Cellphones

The first hint that the main characters get that there is something going on in the town, is when they find a bunch of burned cellphones in the snow. This is never explained, although it might have been to reduce their chances of calling for help. Things escalate after that quickly, and the next step is the death of the dogs.

I like the fact that everything starts of with something small, the significance of which is not revealed until later.

Lets apply this to a haunted house story. Start of with the characters going into the house, perhaps a vacation home. The first thing they might notice is that

Blocking off the Exists

Things in the town continue to escalate after the cellphones are discovered, with the killing of the dogs, and later with the destruction of the helicopter. The impression is that somebody is preparing the town for an attack, and does not want anybody escaping.

This is something you can expand on, as the characters options for exists are gradually cut off, without the characters realising why. In a game it is a good idea to remember that the characters enemies can be organised and plan ahead. If the bad guys are planning to attack the characters, they might think of cutting phone lines first, or perhaps they create false alarms on the characters security system, so that they take it down for repair.

Renfield

To be honest, I do not remember what the character was actually called in the movie, but he was definitely based on Renfield from Dracula. The somewhat insane servant to the vampires is a stock character, but can be used anywhere. Perhaps a lich has convinced a villager he would grant him immortality, if only he would get the PCs into a trap?

Becoming a Vampire to fight Vampires

Another classic trope, becoming the monster in order to have the strength to fight monsters. This is something that is very difficult to get right in an RPG. Either the players would do anything to get out of it, or would just go “Hey, I get to be super-strong, fast and regenerate! Where do I sign up?” The tricky part is making it a difficult choice, making it clear that without the added power the characters and their loved ones are doomed, but that the character who chooses to become the monster would be utterly damned in some way. Perhaps they could witness the degeneration of an NPC, who gets bitten by a werewolf, saves his family using his new found strength, only to wake up covered in their blood a couple of days later?

RPG Inspiration – Jonah Hex

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Nenad

This time, I am drawing on another movie: Jonah Hex. It got really bad reviews, but I actually enjoyed it.

Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex is a 2010 movie, directed by Jimmy Hayward, starring Josh Brolin. (IMDB Page)

Frustrated Revenge

In the beginning, we start of with Jonah Hex trying to hunt down the man responsible for the death of his family. Before he can exact his revenge, the man is killed in a fire, and Jonah Hex continues trying to find a way to get rid of his rage. This is an interesting spin on the “looking to avenge” idea… What if its already too late? What if the barbarian that wants to hunt down the Orc Chieftan that ransacked his village finds out that the chieftain died of the Giggling Plague two years ago? Does he give up his quest? Does he look for others to get his revenge on?

Memento

The villain brands Jonah, as a reminder about what he did. In an RPG, you could use something similar, or a variation of it. Perhaps the scars on the paladin’s skin serve to remind him of the battles he has been through, and of the cost of righteousness. He could heal them easily enough, but they have become a part of who he is. Another variation of this idea is the use of tattoos, scarification or branding in a culture to mark the accomplishments of the person. Of course, you could use this the way it was in the movie, as a punishment by the villain, or even the organisation that the character is a part of (such as the old story about the Yakuza cutting off fingers)

Talking to the Dead

Jonah Hex is able to bring the dead back to life, but only for a short time. Its a power that I have not seen very often, at least in this form. It could be interesting.

There is also the possibility that the character is the one brought back from the dead, and only has a couple of hours of life left to him… What will he do with it?

Centential

The villain of the movie has chose the Centenial to strike, due to the significance the date held in the minds of the people.

Large celebrations of this sort are rarely seen in RPGs, and I really think our worlds could be richer for them. It just gives a bit more depth, rather than a random celebration, perhaps the villagers are celebrating the 100 years since the evil wizard was vanquished?

I think that things like that are a good way to make the setting feel more real. Just about any country has a date of significance that they celebrate in one way or another. It could be an anniversary of the date the country achieved independence, crowned a king, or something else. In most countries, it just means that people get a day off work, but there could be more to it.

He Don’t Look so Tough

In one scene, two people at a bar recognize Johan Hex, and one of them remarks “He don’t look so tough,” with predictable results.

This got me thinking that as characters get more famous, they will have people trying to get glory by trying to prove they can beat them. You can use this to start a bar-room brawl if you really want to, which is a fine thing in itself, but it can go further: A drunk youth tries to pick on the characters, and gets beaten to a pulp. The next day, the characters discover that he was the mayor’s son, and the mayor is not too happy about it.

This could also be a case of mistaken identity. Perhaps the character just looks like an famous warrior, and keeps wondering why so many people are trying to pick fights with him.

How not to Handle Animal Companions

This movie is also a good example of how not to handle animal companions. Johan Hex has two: a horse and a dog he saves. The horse acts as transport, while the dog… follows him around… that’s it. The dog does not in any way contribute to the plot, or provide much insight into the characters. It’s just there.

Basically, if you have a character with an animal companion of some sort, you can do better than that.

RPG Inspiration – Jennifer’s Body

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Nenad

Today, in my RPG inspiration article, I will talk about Jennifer’s Body. I have to admit that my expectations for this movie were extremely low, but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie is much more intelligent than it seemed from the PR campaign around it.

Jennifer’s Body

Jennifer’s Body is a 2009 Movie, directed by Karyn Kusama, and stars Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox. (IMDB page)

My Friend is Different

The central theme in the movie seems to be the fact that Anita’s (played by Amanda Seyfried) friend changes suddenly.

Perhaps one of the NPCs that the characters have become close to is suddenly different, with no explanation? Perhaps the tavern keeper at their favourite tavern, who has always served their drinks and taken their gold without saying a word suddenly starts cracking jokes, and treating the characters like they were his best friends. Has he just decided he likes the characters after all? Did he convert to some religion? Is he possessed? Or perhaps has a split personality? Or a twin brother than occasionally relieves him?

Of course, you could do this with any NPC, possibly even with one of the PCs, although you would have to come to an agreement with the player beforehand.

Fire

Everything in the movie starts with a fire at the bar, and that is something that can be also used in any game. A fire is a great opportunity for heroism, and it will force the players to use something other than their combat skills. After all, you cannot beat up a flame.

Than, there is also the issue of what started the fire. Was it natural, or was it one of the character’s enemies that started it?

A fire can also serve to expose things sometimes. Perhaps after an old house in the neighbourhood burns down due to an electrical fault, the investigators discover a pile of corpses in the basement?

Animals Gathering

Whenever the demon is about to eat someone, all the animals in the area seem to gather. This is a nice change from most movies, which show animals as getting scared by the supernatural.

You can use this to indicate to the characters that something is wrong. The classic way to do this is all the dogs in town barking and snarling at the stranger in town.

You may even use this to indicate to the players that something is going on with their characters. Perhaps a character’s horse suddenly shies away when he approaches, or all the pigeons in the park gather in front of a character, looking at him.

Weird to Normal

Anita keeps seeing Jennifer (Megan Fox), in strange situations, often covered in blood, yet the next day she acts completely normal, as if nothing had happened.

This is something that would work very well in a horror game. The characters may witness a murder, and the next day, the murderer is walking around, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. If you really want to play with the characters heads, than the victim is walking around, as if nothing had happened.

Satan Worshipping Indie Band

A simple thing to add to any campaign really, why not make the bad guys a band that offers sacrifices to the dark lords in exchange for power? Perhaps they need more than one sacrifice…

The characters are following up on a series of grizzly murders, and they discover that most of them lie on the bands tour route.

The Need to Eat People

In the movie, Jennifer needs to eat people in order to survive. This is something that could be treated in a very similar way to vampirism, after all in each case the person needs to get a part of somebody else to survive.

So, that is another way to give the characters a dillema: “You can have all this power, but in exchange, you have to eat people.” Like I said before, not that different from becoming a vampire, but I think the characters might find this more disturbing.

Ritual Gone Wrong

The reason why Jennifer comes back after getting sacrificed is that she is not a vairgin as required by the ritual.

This brings us to the idea of rituals going wrong. In the movie, the band never realises that their ritual did not go exactly as planned, and the players might do some sort of ritual (perhaps to be rid of the ancient evil), and then return to the village to discover that as a result of their ritual, everybody in the village now curses their name. Or maybe, they just hear a story about a village that was devoured by the god of battle, in his anger because somebody dared to use honeysuckle that was not harvested at the full moon.

The flip side of the coin would involve the characters getting involved after the ritual had already gone wrong. In a modern supernatural game, perhaps somebody trying to cure a loved one from cancer succeeds, but turns them into a flesh-eating ghoul by accident. Make the person who performed the ritual sympathetic (perhaps the reason the ritual failed was because he could not bring himself to kill people and render their fat into candles, but used normal candles instead?)

Even the Monster has Family

One of the nice touches in the movies comes in at the very end, after Anita has killed Jennifer, and Jennifer’s mother comes in, to see her daughter horribly murdered by her best friend.

The PCs, especially in modern horror games, forget that very often the monsters may have families of their own. Perhaps the kill a fledgling vampire, and a couple of days later, they find a woman putting up posters, offering a reward for any information about her son.

Getting Bitten by the Demon

It turns out that getting bitten by a demon gives you some of her powers.

This got me thinking about a new spin on this idea: What if this is a well known fact in the setting? Of course, the trick than becomes to get bitten and survive. Perhaps the characters capture and fight monsters, purely so that they can get bitten, and get those powers.

Or, maybe somebody keeps a monster captive, forcing it to bit their lieutenants, as he builds his army.

RPG Inspiration – Crank

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Nenad

Welcome to the second edition of my semi-regular feature, drawing inspiration for RPGs from Media.

This time, I will be discussing the movie Crank. This will be a somewhat shorter post than the previous one. While I enjoyed the movie, I am not sure that there is that much I can draw on for this article.

Crank

Crank is a 2006 movie, directed by Mark Neveldine, and starring Jason Statham and Amy Smart. (IMDB page)

The DVD Waiting for the Character

At the beginning of the movie, the character wakes up, feeling confused, and finds a DVD waiting for him.

This is an obvious idea to apply to an RPG. It could be an interesting way to start an adventure, or just to throw the PCs for a loop. Perhaps they wake up in their secure castle, to find that their enemy has left them a scroll lying by their bed. It does not matter what the scroll actually says, it would be a bit worrying that somebody gained access to them so easily.

Or, this might even be a normal event, perhaps that is how members of a conspiracy get their orders and missions (and how do they know that the DVD is from the person they think it is?)

Of course, this is also another way to leave the classic “We have kidnapped your girlfriend/daughter/hamster/singing sword” message.

Poisoned

The whole movie is about the character getting poisoned, and trying to get revenge before the poison finishes him off. He does try to find a cure, but once he realises that there is no such thing, he focuses on vengeance.

The obvious thing to do is to put a character is this situation, but be careful with this, either offer the possibility of a cure, or talk it over with the player in advance… Perhaps save it for when a player wants their character to go out with a bang.

If the players use poison, you can reverse the situation. It does not even have to be poison… Perhaps they shot somebody, and they survived, but the bullet is in such a position where it could puncture their heart at any moment? The characters will now have to deal with somebody who they thought was dead, but is now out for their blood. Of course, if they just wait long enough, the problem will resolve itself, but as the movie demonstrate one person can do a lot of damage in a couple of hours.

Remote Treatement

For most of the movie, Jason Statham’s character is dealing with his doctor over the phone, and getting instructions on how to treat himself. This could be used to make for a tense scene in a game, if the characters don’t have first aid skills, perhaps the only way they can save their friend is if somebody walks them through a surgery over the phone (maybe they are far away from civilisation/on a spaceship/under the sea, and it would take too long for the doctor to get to them)

This could lead to some great role-playing.

“And now, you need to suture the aorta”

“What’s an aorta?”

Note: I know nothing about medicine, so the above paragraph might not even make sense.

Secret Identity

I like the fact that the main character’s girlfriend had no idea about his real occupation. This is something that could be used in any game, and in some, such as superheroes, it is an established trope.

OF course, things get really interesting when this is tried in another setting. Perhaps the superspy poses as an insurance salesman, in order to protect his family.

Or, take this to the fantasy setting. Perhaps, since a character is not of noble birth, he has to pretend to be a common peasant to his family, while he slays dragons at those times that he tells his wife that he is at the tavern , drinking with the rest of the guys. Maybe all the characters are like this, with the bartender in on it?

Music

I found that music was used to great effect in Crank, and definitely added to the sheer insanity of the movie.

Music is something that is hard to bring into a game, since it might act as a distraction, but I really believe that it could really add something to the game, if done properly.

I have yet to figure out how to do it properly, though.

RPG Inspiration – Casino Royale

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Nenad

This is an idea that I am taking from the sharkbone podcast (my favourite rpg podcast, you should really listen to it), from their GM’s reef section.

The idea is to take some piece of media, and mine it for ideas that can be applied in roleplaying games.

So, for this article, I will be discussing the James Bond movies, Casino Royale. By its very nature, this article will contain spoilers, so if you have not seen the movie, you might want to stop reading now.

So, without further ado, I give you

Casino Royale

Made in 2006, directed by Martin Campbell, staring Daniel Craig and Eva Green (Casino Royale Imdb Entry)

Origin Story

One thing that jumped out immediately at me, is that this is an origin story, for a character that most people already know very well. In all the other instalments of the series, James Bond is already one of the top spies, while this movie shows it as his first mission.

A lot of RPGs start off with the heroes origin, in the classic D&D, the heroes start off at level one, and work their way up, but this is not always the case.

So, in a game in which the characters start off as fairly experienced, it might be interesting to take a couple of sessions and go back to how the characters got started, possibly casting some new light on the characters and their stories. You can answer questions like:

Why does the entire Carribean Mafia owe Sgt. Donald a favour?
How did the characters get together?
Why does Olaf hate Orks so much?
Who taught Serena to shoot like that?

I think this could be a fun thing to do in an extended campaign, just tone down some of the characters abilities during the origin story, to represent that the characters are just starting out.

Footchase

This is just something that I have not seen done in RPGs very well, in the movie it made for some very good scenes. I think the trick is to vary the environment, and make the environment itself a threat, with chasms, construction equipment, fences to leap. It is one of those things that can be done in any genre.

Taking Prisoners

This is something that characters hardly ever do. It would be interesting if the characters need to get somebody alive, perhaps for interrogation, or one of the NPCs that has been brainwashed has to be rescued for programming.

To make things a bit more interesting, the people that they are getting the prisoner from may not be interested in keeping him alive: “Better for her to die than fall into their hands!”. So, not only do they have to get an uncooperative person out, they have to keep them alive as well.

Newspaper

I thought the scene where you can see the headlines about Bond’s actions to be something that could easily incorporated into an RPG, just to make sure that the characters see that their actions are noticed by other people.

Of course, the articles may not be accurate, or even true, and can cause difficulties if they mention the characters by name, or include their photos. It is the old story about the reporter who may expose the characters. I do think that this storyline should be used sparingly, but do use the newspapers to add flavour to the world.

Of course, there is no reason why it should be newspapers. They could be campfire stories, bard’s tales, rumours in the tavern, blog posts… Anything really.

The 1964 Aston Martin

The car was a shout out to the classical James Bonds, the car that was used in Goldfinger and Thunderball. I really enjoyed the fact that they decided to include it in this movie.

In an RPG, it might be cool to include references to things that the players have encountred before, even if their characters have not. You could even include things from other campaigns, just little bits that the players will appreciate. Perhaps the tavern the characters hung out in a D&D game could have the same name as the coffee shop they visited in a World of Darkness game?

If you do decide to go this route, just be careful that you do not overdo it.

The Poker Game

Most of the action in the movie centres around a high-stakes poker game. This is something that could be interesting to bring into an RPG session. Perhaps the characters have to play in a game of Baccarat in order to win something of value? Or are they in the game in order to get information out of one of the players? Perhaps they are infiltrating a gambling ring?

Accountants as Characters

Two of the main characters in the story are accountants. Just found it interesting, since it is a very under-represented career in fiction, and even more so in RPGs. I have never heard of anybody actually playing one.

Locations Feel Different

Like the rest of the James Bond series, the action takes place over a number of locations, and each one feel different.

Of course, this is something to include in a game, by mentioning the little details that the characters notice, that makes things different from their homeland. The fact that the language you hear in the streets is different is something that anybody in a new country will be very aware of, not to mention the different architecture and customs.

Note that the details do not even have to be that accurate, although if you are using real world locations, a little bit of research does not hurt. Just make sure you highlight a couple of points, even if you get the details wrong, the players will not notice. Even though the people in Montenegro do not have French accents, the fact that they have accents at all served to highlight the difference of location.