I suppose that it goes without saying that this thread will contain spoilers to the movie Cloverfield that is now in theatres.
So SPOILER!
It also goes without saying that since I have listed this entire topic as a spoiler for the movie I will not be using spoiler cuts in my posts.
Now that the warnings are out of the way on to the subject.
Having just returned from seeing the movie my head is filled with ideas for implementing a Cloverfield style attack on a city where the runners are some how involved.
However as a GM I am not terribly fond of waiving my hands especially since I feel that by designing the monster I will be able to leave clues for the players who may want to research what exactly destroyed the city that they lived in.
What I am looking for is ideas for what game mechanics would be used to make the monster. I am thinking of a kind of bug spirit but I am shaky on my street magic rules, and story ideas for using the monster as a plot device.
For Plot ideas; The one idea I had was an action/mystery story where they players while battling the parasites and trying to avoid the main event were also trying to discover key facts about where the creature came from and who if anyone was responsible for the attack.
As for the monster I was thinking of it being a lovecraftian horror that uses the spirit possession powers as the basis for it's "construction" as well as bug spirits to represent the parasites that are so effective at terrorising the population of NYC.
Thoughts? Comments?
Full Version: Cloverfield monster in SR !Spoilers!
Don't bother explaining it. It is less scary if you explain it. If you want the PCs to be able to kill it, then pull some stats out of your butt. If not, then just treat it as a plot device.
Put like this, there is that thing at the end, after the FAE are dropped all around it, at the very end of the credits: the slightly garbled radio transmission that is "Its still alive."
NOOOOO!!! RUN IT'S MOTHRA!!!
I know it's been a bit cliche but I say giant bugs. Hey what if some crazy organization like the Cult of Evil Doom to Everybody managed to create a massive ant hive somewhere in New Mexico and there is a nearby town that was wiped out by the ants initial depredations and has become a haven to shedim and wraiths. Then the Cult of Evil Doom to Everybody managed to use evil/twisted/toxic spirits to dump the shambling hordes smack dab right into [insert major city here]. Then to add to the chaos the Cult of Evil Doom to Everybody had drones dump astrally tainted sugar onto the city thus attracting Them. So you have giant ants attacking to get at the sugar, and shedim and wraiths terrorizing everybody thanks to the utter anarchy of the situation. Just an idea.
I know it's been a bit cliche but I say giant bugs. Hey what if some crazy organization like the Cult of Evil Doom to Everybody managed to create a massive ant hive somewhere in New Mexico and there is a nearby town that was wiped out by the ants initial depredations and has become a haven to shedim and wraiths. Then the Cult of Evil Doom to Everybody managed to use evil/twisted/toxic spirits to dump the shambling hordes smack dab right into [insert major city here]. Then to add to the chaos the Cult of Evil Doom to Everybody had drones dump astrally tainted sugar onto the city thus attracting Them. So you have giant ants attacking to get at the sugar, and shedim and wraiths terrorizing everybody thanks to the utter anarchy of the situation. Just an idea.
One giant fragging great form spirit...
Does 30m tall (despite being hunched over) and 60m long seem right to you folks?
Does 30m tall (despite being hunched over) and 60m long seem right to you folks?
| QUOTE (cardul) |
| Put like this, there is that thing at the end, after the FAE are dropped all around it, at the very end of the credits: the slightly garbled radio transmission that is "Its still alive." |
The movie implied NYC got nuked at the end. I agree that the Gov would try a big FAE first, though. Or maybe a 10-ton bunker buster.
I bet a stealth bomber with a nuke would be in the air at the same time though. Maybe even the same formation.
| QUOTE (Ed_209a) | ||
| One giant fragging great form spirit... Does 30m tall (despite being hunched over) and 60m long seem right to you folks?
The movie implied NYC got nuked at the end. I agree that the Gov would try a big FAE first, though. Or maybe a 10-ton bunker buster. I bet a stealth bomber with a nuke would be in the air at the same time though. Maybe even the same formation. |
Well I was expecting that the military would bring down a nuke on the creature, however if a nuke had been dropped the video tape would have been wiped by the EMP. At least if I understand properly how nukes work.
So I think that fuel-air weapons were deployed in the "hammer down" scenario with a nuclear reserve but I don't think that the nuke was actually deployed.
Unless I am completely wrong about what an EMP will do to a video tape.
I like the idea of a Cult of Evil Doom, or even better a AA corp of Evil Doom.
What I am thinking of doing is using the possession rules for great form spirits and making something that would be at least physically comparable to a great dragon, I sort of like the idea of a lone cultist transforming into a 500 foot tall mess.
| QUOTE (kindalas) |
| What I am thinking of doing is using the possession rules for great form spirits and making something that would be at least physically comparable to a great dragon, I sort of like the idea of a lone cultist transforming into a 500 foot tall mess. |
Possession really only works if you have a 500 foot tall host to begin with, the same for Inhabitation.
One word: Bloodzilla
| QUOTE (Kingmaker) |
| One word: Bloodzilla |
Book? Page number?
| QUOTE (kindalas @ Jan 23 2008, 10:20 AM) | ||
Book? Page number? |
It is a glich in the blood spirit rules while essentially allows a character to increase a blood spirit's force by about 2160 points per day (assuming constant supply of Essence 6 victims) with no ceiling for total force. If the GM allows the blood spirit to essence drain multiple victims at once when it becomes large enough, it can potentially reach a force in the millions and swallow entire continents rather quickly.
It isn't intended, but it isn't even an exploit. The rules clearly leave blood spirit force uncapped.
| QUOTE (hyzmarca) | ||||
It is a glich in the blood spirit rules while essentially allows a character to increase a blood spirit's force by about 2160 points per day (assuming constant supply of Essence 6 victims) with no ceiling for total force. If the GM allows the blood spirit to essence drain multiple victims at once when it becomes large enough, it can potentially reach a force in the millions and swallow entire continents rather quickly. It isn't intended, but it isn't even an exploit. The rules clearly leave blood spirit force uncapped. |
Interesting, I think I've found a monster now all I need to do is develop a scenario for my players.
Well then the two other things you need to ask yourself.. does it have little blood spirit parasites to really give that "pain-in-the-ass" feel to the adventure (and harrass your characters when they think they're safe)
And where will you fit the flaming homeless guy in at?
And where will you fit the flaming homeless guy in at?
Unrelated question, does the movie take the Blair Witch angle and never directly show the monster or do get a good look at it?
| QUOTE (Ravor) |
| Unrelated question, does the movie take the Blair Witch angle and never directly show the monster or do get a good look at it? |
The Blair Witch angle more or less.
If you can withstand watching it all the way through without getting motion sickness.
| QUOTE (john_doe) | ||
The Blair Witch angle more or less. If you can withstand watching it all the way through without getting motion sickness. |
In the movie at first the monster is hidden but as the movie winds down there are a number of very clear views of the creature and how it moves.
As to the motion sickness I found that drinking two redbulls before the movie started was more then enough to compensate for any dizzyness that I could have felt.
| QUOTE (kindalas) | ||||
In the movie at first the monster is hidden but as the movie winds down there are a number of very clear views of the creature and how it moves. As to the motion sickness I found that drinking two redbulls before the movie started was more then enough to compensate for any dizzyness that I could have felt. |
And here i thought RedBull was only good for mixing booze...
I'll have to try that.
| QUOTE (hyzmarca) | ||
Possession really only works if you have a 500 foot tall host to begin with, the same for Inhabitation. |
So use a whale. From the looks of it, Cloverfield did.
Get yourself a blue whale, put an insect spirit in it. Not a good merge, and not a true form, but one of those in between creepy buggy ones. I forget the name, I'm hopped up on cold meds somethin' fierce today.
Make it a big scary queenie, and then put littler buggies all over it. Instant cloverfield.
I can actually see a very simple type of run.
The PC's have 24 hours to get inside the city find [name here] and extract them.
After 24 hours the city will be nuked if the military is unable to beat the beast through conventional means.
The PC are jet choppered to the location and have to track down the subjects RFID signal but due to all the destoryed equipment and such and radio interference they can't get an exact position on the signal.
So they have to dodge the BIG monster, battle the little ones, avoid the UCAS military find the subject (likely someones child, sibling, lover, proof of corps involvement in monster menace)
Or you could really take a bit of plot out of the movie and have it be one of the runners friends. You could say introduce a love interest for on of the PC's then five or so runs later do this.
The PC's have 24 hours to get inside the city find [name here] and extract them.
After 24 hours the city will be nuked if the military is unable to beat the beast through conventional means.
The PC are jet choppered to the location and have to track down the subjects RFID signal but due to all the destoryed equipment and such and radio interference they can't get an exact position on the signal.
So they have to dodge the BIG monster, battle the little ones, avoid the UCAS military find the subject (likely someones child, sibling, lover, proof of corps involvement in monster menace)
Or you could really take a bit of plot out of the movie and have it be one of the runners friends. You could say introduce a love interest for on of the PC's then five or so runs later do this.
I was actually thinking of something similar, but instead of a person the PCs have to get into the origin point of where the creature came from and depending on their mission, collect evidence or plant and destroy evidence before the military breaks out their heavy city demolition weaponry.
Or do what I tend to do whenever I introduce L-Strain Zombies
Of course, a little foreshadowing is always a good thing, plus I love seeing the look on my players faces when they realize that they were the ones that put the virus in the hands of whoever released it, whether it was released one purpose or by accident.
[ Spoiler ]
, hit the Runners with the outbreak in the middle of something completely unrelated and watch whether or not they are able to land on their feet. Of course, a little foreshadowing is always a good thing, plus I love seeing the look on my players faces when they realize that they were the ones that put the virus in the hands of whoever released it, whether it was released one purpose or by accident.
| QUOTE (Ravor) |
| Or do what I tend to do whenever I introduce L-Strain Zombies [ Spoiler ] , hit the Runners with the outbreak in the middle of something completely unrelated and watch whether or not they are able to land on their feet. Of course, a little foreshadowing is always a good thing, plus I love seeing the look on my players faces when they realize that they were the ones that put the virus in the hands of whoever released it, whether it was released one purpose or by accident. |
Thats an interesting idea. Do you have a link to your alternate setting?
| QUOTE (Moon-Hawk) |
| So use a whale. From the looks of it, Cloverfield did. |
Someone needs to get out and watch the movie and not look at fan art online
Although I love that fan art... I wanna use it for something later (non-SR related)| QUOTE |
Get yourself a blue whale, put an insect spirit in it. Make it a big scary queenie, and then put littler buggies all over it. Instant cloverfield. |
This however, is a great idea! And rocks muchly.
| QUOTE (Caine Hazen) | ||||
Someone needs to get out and watch the movie and not look at fan art online Although I love that fan art... I wanna use it for something later (non-SR related)
This however, is a great idea! And rocks muchly. |
Oh yeah? Is that not at all what it looks like? I certainly never meant to give the impression that I'd seen the movie. I just googled for "Cloverfield monster" and clicked images.
And enjoy your insect-whale. I suggest it be named the Lobstrosity.
| QUOTE (Moon-Hawk) | ||||||
Oh yeah? Is that not at all what it looks like? I certainly never meant to give the impression that I'd seen the movie. I just googled for "Cloverfield monster" and clicked images. And enjoy your insect-whale. I suggest it be named the Lobstrosity. |
I think I am going to use a genetically engineered super whale as the basis of his creature.
That or I'll have a sea dragon be possessed. If that is possible.
| QUOTE (kindalas) | ||
Thats an interesting idea. Do you have a link to your alternate setting? |
I'm afraid that I'm not internet savvy enough to even pretend to put together a website so my notes tend to be hardcopy only, but the basic gist of the setting is that the Fourth World looked more like a post-apoc version of Disney's Atlantis viewed through a very dark and twisted looking glass after the Scrouge, although metahumanity had already fucked itself over even before the Scrouge with various mana-tech.
Also bare in mind that the Fourth World isn't really all that fleshed out even in my scattered notes, just enough that I can occasionally throw a tainted Kaer, weird artifact, or even a Fourth World WMD into the mix and have them mesh together.
Of course, I also tend to butcher the Sixth World just as badly, starting with the Immortals only being able to stay active through the Fifth World by finding some big mana pools and diving deep into the nastiest side of blood magic, and then I usually go on to have the Ghost Dance be a flop and have more of the cannon nukes actually doing their jobs.
| QUOTE (Ravor) | ||||
I'm afraid that I'm not internet savvy enough to even pretend to put together a website so my notes tend to be hardcopy only, but the basic gist of the setting is that the Fourth World looked more like a post-apoc version of Disney's Atlantis viewed through a very dark and twisted looking glass after the Scrouge, although metahumanity had already fucked itself over even before the Scrouge with various mana-tech. Also bare in mind that the Fourth World isn't really all that fleshed out even in my scattered notes, just enough that I can occasionally throw a tainted Kaer, weird artifact, or even a Fourth World WMD into the mix and have them mesh together. Of course, I also tend to butcher the Sixth World just as badly, starting with the Immortals only being able to stay active through the Fifth World by finding some big mana pools and diving deep into the nastiest side of blood magic, and then I usually go on to have the Ghost Dance be a flop and have more of the cannon nukes actually doing their jobs. |
Sounds like a grittier version of the current SR world. I may steal a number of your ideas to flesh out my setting. I especially like the idea that the people who survived from the 4th to the 6th had to work hard to make it.
If you want the Cloverfield monster as seen in the movie, but don't want to reboot your game world, how about this...
The mystic signs and portents aligned at just the wrong point, and for a fraction of a second there was a huge magic surge, all over the world. It lasted just long enough for mages world wide to stop what they were doing and thing "WTF!". It lasted just long enough for something to force its way to our world. Something ancient. Something Horrid.
Yes, a titanic Horror has forced its way in 3 millennia early. The good news is that there is nowhere near the mana level to sustain it for long. The bad news is that it is hungry in a way it cannot understand. It only knows it must feed.
The parasites are just that. They feed off the big one's astral presence, and when they drop off to feed, they don't live long.
The big one is on a timer too. Whether 6hrs, 12hrs, 666 minutes, or whatever, it is getting weaker by the minute. Eventually it will just shimmer into nothingness.
The mystic signs and portents aligned at just the wrong point, and for a fraction of a second there was a huge magic surge, all over the world. It lasted just long enough for mages world wide to stop what they were doing and thing "WTF!". It lasted just long enough for something to force its way to our world. Something ancient. Something Horrid.
Yes, a titanic Horror has forced its way in 3 millennia early. The good news is that there is nowhere near the mana level to sustain it for long. The bad news is that it is hungry in a way it cannot understand. It only knows it must feed.
The parasites are just that. They feed off the big one's astral presence, and when they drop off to feed, they don't live long.
The big one is on a timer too. Whether 6hrs, 12hrs, 666 minutes, or whatever, it is getting weaker by the minute. Eventually it will just shimmer into nothingness.
| QUOTE (Ed_209a) |
| If you want the Cloverfield monster as seen in the movie, but don't want to reboot your game world, how about this... The mystic signs and portents aligned at just the wrong point, and for a fraction of a second there was a huge magic surge, all over the world. It lasted just long enough for mages world wide to stop what they were doing and thing "WTF!". It lasted just long enough for something to force its way to our world. Something ancient. Something Horrid. Yes, a titanic Horror has forced its way in 3 millennia early. The good news is that there is nowhere near the mana level to sustain it for long. The bad news is that it is hungry in a way it cannot understand. It only knows it must feed. The parasites are just that. They feed off the big one's astral presence, and when they drop off to feed, they don't live long. The big one is on a timer too. Whether 6hrs, 12hrs, 666 minutes, or whatever, it is getting weaker by the minute. Eventually it will just shimmer into nothingness. |
Thats a good idea, however the two issues that I have with it is that it will "die" on its own and there isn't room for repeatability.
A similar idea that I am formulating is that the creature is a 4th age WMD that was leftover and accidentally (or intentionally) set off.
| QUOTE (kindalas) |
| Thats a good idea, however the two issues that I have with it is that it will "die" on its own and there isn't room for repeatability. |
Repeatability? Could the stock Shadowrun setting survive more than one Cloverfield encounter?
Way I see it, the only way the standard SR setting can survive a Cloverfield encounter as proposed by the movie is if it only has a few days to rampage.
That would put it in the same scale as Bug City. You lose one city, but not the world.
If it pops up in Seattle Harbor, it probably takes less than a day to maul Seattle. It then either heads south through Tir & CalFree, or it smells Ghostwalker and heads east. In a year or less, it could topple the global economy by leveling coastal cities throughout the world.
| QUOTE (Ed_209a) | ||
Repeatability? Could the stock Shadowrun setting survive more than one Cloverfield encounter? Way I see it, the only way the standard SR setting can survive a Cloverfield encounter as proposed by the movie is if it only has a few days to rampage. That would put it in the same scale as Bug City. You lose one city, but not the world. If it pops up in Seattle Harbor, it probably takes less than a day to maul Seattle. It then either heads south through Tir & CalFree, or it smells Ghostwalker and heads east. In a year or less, it could topple the global economy by leveling coastal cities throughout the world. |
When I say repeatability I mean that I want it to be an event that could happen more then once. Something that is caused by a mana spike that allows for some foreshadowing of what the horrors can bring would make a good story, but unlike bug city it can't happen a second time or even be threatened to happen a second time.
I want an even that has the potential to be world shaking and has the threat of happening again. Just like the threat that a Bug City scenario could occur a second time will make its own scenario.
Well a person could always have a magical researcher pay a trid pirate to cut into primetime predicting further Astral Storms that caused the monster and have him start desperately showing charts and graphs before the feed is either cut or a goon squad breaks into the studio and kills him on live trid. 
| QUOTE (kindalas) | ||||||||
I think I am going to use a genetically engineered super whale as the basis of his creature. That or I'll have a sea dragon be possessed. If that is possible. |
The last I heard, the Sea Dragon was THE Sea Dragon, like as in the only one of her kind known, possibly even to the other Greats.
But, of course, your campaign may vary. Please see your GM for details.
Well, if you particularly want a giant whale-monster with a population of more than 1, meistersingers (awakened humpbacks) would be a good place to start. 85 feet of pissed-off super-whale with immunity to normal weapons, control of other sea critters, and a sonic attack would certainly keep your runners busy for a while. And the magically-active ones have an effective Magic of 9, allowing them to drop massive spells or, if so inclined, call up ginormous spirits of the sea to do their rampaging for them. And that's before you decide to make then Toxic or Mutated.
| QUOTE (TonkaTuff) |
| And that's before you decide to make then Toxic or Mutated. |
With frickin' laser beams attached to their heads?
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