Movies that translate directly into Shadowrun sessions Options

[Wordman]

I was just reading the master movie list and realized that it isn't really telling me what I want to know. While many of the films on that list can be a source of inspiration for a Shadowrun game, very few of them would be something that might actually be produced by a session of playing Shadowrun.

In other words, say you wanted to translate a film directly into a Shadowrun adventure. Not "an adventure inspired by...". Not "is mixes elements from...". But a direct, scene for scene translation into SR. (You'd never actually do this, of course, but bear with me...) For what movies would that even be possible?

To be specific, I want to build a list of "Shadowrun-like" movies that actually reflect Shadowrun play. Such movies must contain:

1) An ensemble cast. This disqualifies about 80% of the master movie list. Minority Report and Blade Runner are great cyberpunk movies, but they do not translate directly to Shadowrun play because they revolve almost entirely around choices made by single characters. That's horrible for a group-based role-playing game. Note that it is possible for a film to focus more on one character than the others and still be an ensemble cast. Something like Strange Days or Ronin are probably ensemble enough to translate to the table. Johnny Mnemonic might be as well (though maybe not).

2) Magic. This disqualifies most of the master list entirely. If it doesn't involve magic, you might as well play some other game than Shadowrun. "Supernatural elements" are probably enough to qualify.

3) Future technology. This seems to be one of the main ways a film gets on the master list. If you don't have high tech, stick to the Dresden Files.

So, given those requirements, what makes the list?

[Critias]

Good luck with that, Captain Picky. You're basically asking for a list of Shadowrun movies, which have never been made.

[crash2029]

When I read the title of the thread I was thinking that The Expendables would make a great run, but when I read the the criteria I cannot think of any movie. The only thing I can think of is a movie based on the JSA or a similar comic book team. Shadowrun is unique in that it successfully melds disparate genres into a coherent whole. The only mainstream media I can think of that contains all those elements are superhero comic books. I guess there might be some anime/manga stuff but I don't really know those genres.

I just remembered Hellboy. It has an ensemble cast, some technology, and some magic in the infernal/mythical style.

Another thought I just had is Ebberon(sp?). It has technology, magic, and ensemble casting. It's like the SR paradigm in reverse. Although I heard it is somewhat carcinogenic.

I just realized I am rambling pointlessly so it will just wrap it up now.

[Kruger]

Yeah, you've pretty much ruled out every movie ever made. While I agree the "Master Movie List" is a bit too broad in scope, there's nothing that fits what you've asked for.

You're best to take inspiration and then work in the missing elements. A movie like Heat has far more in common with Shadowrun than many cyberpunk films simply because it deals with an organized team of criminals working with contacts, preparing for jobs, doing legwork, and interacting with elements of organized crime and the police. But there's obviously no cyberware or magic or trolls.

So here's your list:

[Summerstorm]

Hm... yeah. There is nothing out there like Shadowrun. Either the magic is missing, the technology or the "theme".

I think the thing MOST resembling Shadowrun might be the anime "Outlaw Star". But that one ADDS on top of it all that it plays IN SPACE. But it has: Magic powers, cyborgs and augmentation, gen-tech, adepts, weird races (though as aliens, not awakened ones), working as a team of highly individual and eccentric people. Doing odd jobs while working to resolve ones own meta-plot (and trying to get enough fuel and ammo for your own van... i mean ship).

Hm, can't remember anything fitting better. Only vague memory of some 80's anime movie i think i once saw...

[Karoline]

Isn't there that movie about a few psychotic girls that I saw a link to on these forums not too long ago? I think it looked like it had all the elements you asked for, but can't be sure. Especially since I'm not sure that the movie isn't just a psychotic episode or something.

Other than that, I can't think of a single movie that has magic (not counting movie magic) and high (or even modern) tech.

Maybe Heroes? If all the mutations are actually magic...

[jimbo]

So here's your list:

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)


Maybe some episodes of Babylon 5 if you translate mages into telepaths. I guess that opens the door of other shows like Star Trek where the crew dealt with SUPERnatural phenomena, I'm just pointing out B5 because the show was very serial.

In particular there was the episode where replacement Kosh was dealt with...the crew laid out a plan:
Garibaldi and his mooks attempting a physical arrest of the Vorlon...actually a feint

Lyta, a telepath that took action against him (actually "betraying" him)

A much deadlier physical ambush/trap involving PPGs and the station's fusion reactor (ok, raise your hand if you would love your char to use a fusion reactor in some fashion during a run. If you did not raise your hand but routinely have your char plan or use slanderous amounts of chemicals or high explosives, you are only fooling yourself)

[Neurosis]

The only ones I can think of (Strange Days, Ronin) are the ones you already mentioned.

In spite of the lack of magic and tech, Ronin is the most Shadowrunny movie possible.

[jaellot]

Farscape springs to mind, but that's a TV series. You got the tech, I think there was some sort of galatic bully figure, and didn't the blue chick have some sort of mojo?

You could also fit Star Wars. The Jedi use of the Force basically is a magic. There is advanced technology, and the Empire is Aztech and Ares having a love child in outer space.

Another thing that might have at least the magic and tech would be Seasons 4 and 6 of Buffy. There isn't a dark, dystopic feel, though.

[Neurosis]

Wait a second, the reason I love Shadowrun is because of how totally unlike things like Star Wars it is.

[jaellot]

I know, right? And I didn't even mention the Mos Eisley Cantina, where you can wander in, hire some shifty characters to smuggle you somewhere in their T-Bird, err, Mellinium Falcon. Just call him Mr. Obi John(son) Kenobi.

[Thanee]

In other words, say you wanted to translate a film directly into a Shadowrun adventure. Not "an adventure inspired by...". Not "is mixes elements from...". But a direct, scene for scene translation into SR. (You'd never actually do this, of course, but bear with me...) For what movies would that even be possible?

I actually did that once. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

The movie was Species. The runners were the team hired to bring Sil back (or exterminate her).

All the players had not seen the movie yet, but later at least one of them watched the film in the cinema and mentioned afterwards, that he had known pretty much the complete movie already from the game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[KarmaInferno]

The A-Team!

...what? It would totally make for a nifty pink elephant game.

As would The Losers.




-k

[Karoline]

Oh, wait, what was that movie, with the really weak superheroes?

It had the shoveler and guy who threw spoons and the girl who could have her dad's spirit possess a bowling ball? Maybe some other people? I think there was a thread about how to make all their characters ages and ages ago.

I don't recall the plot at all, but I have a vague suspicion that it might work well.

[KarmaInferno]

The Mystery Men



-k

[CanadianWolverin...]

Dark Angel came pretty close to this OP's criteria. It was heavily criminal/rebelious, dystopian, corped out, Seattle based, bioteched out, and an ensemble cast some of the time. Season 2 even got into some stuff that gave the more impressions of meta-humanity/mutant freedom stuff than the first season and even dabbled in some ancient dark magic and destiny thing going on. Of course, it was cancelled, I would have really liked to see where the story would have went in Season 3 and beyond.

Other than that, how does Stargate, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe fit your fancy? Once they got into the Ancients and those religious fanatic bad guys, some of that came off magical and what have you. That was also most certainly an ensemble cast as well. Hmm, stargates/wormholes might even get around the problems of magic in space, since you would potentially be ending up in another place producing what magic needs from a living planet, I wonder how well that would fit in SR as a new magi-tech...

As long as your definition of magic isn't too narrow, say, could be expressed as "Any technology sufficiently advanced resembles magic" to those not familiar with its inner workings, you could consider things like psionics (telepathy, telekinetics, etc) as an expression of a different point of view on the reality as magic and you might be able to shoe horn in a few visual media as fitting right into SR with a bit of obvious tweaking.

[Neraph]

Isn't there that movie about a few psychotic girls that I saw a link to on these forums not too long ago? I think it looked like it had all the elements you asked for, but can't be sure. Especially since I'm not sure that the movie isn't just a psychotic episode or something.

Sucker Punch. And it is just a psychotic episode. I'm totally going to watch it though.

[Dumori]

Sucker Punch. And it is just a psychotic episode. I'm totally going to watch it though.

Oh yeah I'm per viewing that if I can.

[Shrike30]

The Losers is definitely a Shadowrun movie.

Beavis and Butthead Do America is also a Shadowrun movie, but more like the kind of 'run that ends up happening when only two players show up and the GM hauls something out of his ass for the evening.

(I'm serious about The Losers; everyone should see it)

[crash2029]

Are there any actual movies that translate into SR without handwaving anything? I honestly cannot think of any movies with cyberpunk elements, ensemble casts, and actual magic. I can think of plenty of movies that have two elements strongly. It is the integration of the third that makes SR unique.

The Losers/Armageddon/Sneakers: Ensemble/Technology
The Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter/Dungeons & Dragons: Ensemble/Magic

[crash2029]

Shadowrun Movies List

Wizards
Ghostbusters

[Mäx]

Silent Möbius(at least the manga version, not so sure about the anime)
X-men movies(just re imagine the mutants as adepts,magician and cyberfreaks)
Other then that not much can fit inside a criteria that trick.

[Elfenlied]

What about Hellsing? It's fairly dystopian, with advanced cyber/biotech, some magic and an ensemble cast.

[TheScrivener]

Yeah... while there's a fair amount of near-matches in anime and TV, there's nothing, especially in movies, with *all* the elements of Shadowrun. That's why we *love* Shadowrun - its ridiculous combination of different tropes and genres, Tolkienish fantasy with cyberpunk, aliens and monsters - the only things it really has a lot in common with are other RPGs or games. Looking for one-to-one comparisons to draw inspiration from is a mistake. If you can't see who the troll ganger would be in Smokin' Aces or the headware'd hacker in Leverage or the illusionist mage in Ocean's Eleven, you're doing it wrong. Don't depend on Hollywood to do your job for you, look to find seeds EVERYWHERE, and you'll be surprised where they turn up. Not just in movies or TV shows, but the weird guy talking to himself on the bus, or the company going to court for illegal corporate espionage in the news, or the sordid love affair your neighbor is having. Stories happen every day, and there's a million ways to tell each one.

Don't get hung up on the tech or the magic or the races - those are just the stage, the props, the costumes.

The play's the thing.

[Ascalaphus]

Farscape is very close. It's got ensemble cast, alien mysticism, lots of weird critters, and hypertech. It's just not on earth.

Season 5 of Angel; Wolfram & Hart turns out to have lots of experimental technology, it has supernatural elements (!), and an evil corporation. Oh, and ensemble.

X-Men is also pretty neat; some of them have magic-like powers, there's secret hypertech, ensemble cast and plenty appropriate plots. The animated series may be even better than the movies.

That's the best I can come up with, I'm afraid. Shadowrun is pretty unusual, and your criteria are pretty harsh.