Both games deal with fighting the unknown, both games deal high school students and both games are steeped in 80s clichés and pop-culture. Where Buffy attempted to subvert those clichés, Dark Places & Demogorgons embraces them.
I am just throwing this out here, I have a lot of issues with Joss Whedon. I think he is an asshole.
But I am damn proud of the work I did on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.
Reading through the core of DP&D and all the supplements it became very, very obvious what game I need to run.
Welcome to Sunny Valley, OH
"I am certain that whoever named this place Sunny Valley was having a joke on us. The winters are long, cold and dark. It rains in the spring and fall. I think they named the place in the three days of the summer we do get sun. Not to mention the werewolves, the vampires and oh yeah the Hellmouth just outside of town. Welcome to Sunny Valley Ohio California girl. Bet you can't wait to leave."
- Alexander "Alex" Harris to Elizabeth "Buffy" Summers.
I decided to take the entire "Buffy Package" and drop it wholesale to the Midwest and set it all in 1984. There are some changes that need to be made.
In this new setting Elizabeth Anne "Buffy" Summers moved from sunny California to the ironically named Sunny Valley, Ohio. As a nod to my friend and co-author on many of the Buffy books, Thom Marrion, who was going to do a series of Buffy books set in Cleveland, I wanted to do this in Ohio. Cleveland is the "big city", but I never detail how far it is.
There is a Hellmouth, but is more indistinct. No one is sure where it is, but they all know it's there. There are two high schools, Sunny Valley Prep (the "good" school, where we start) and Sunny Valley Community High (the "bad" school).
Class: Monster Hunter (vampires) Level: 5
Alignment: Good
Languages: English, French
Age: 15
Attributes
STR: 18 +3
INT: 12 +0
WIS: 12 +0
DEX: 18 +3
CON: 18 +3
CHA: 16 +2
SUR: 18 +3
AC: 15 HP: 35 Attack Bonus +4 / +7 (vs. vampires)
Courage: 6 (additional +3 vs. vampires)
Critical: 5
Death: 6
Mental: 4
Poison: 5
Background
Mother is rarely at home.
Annoying little sister.
Class Abilities
+3 to hit, track, dmg to Vampires
+1 Toughness
Skills
Outdoorsmanship +4, Paranormal +5, Knowledge (Historical) +2, Brawling, Persuasion +2, Basic Athletics +3, Stealth +2
Possessions
Leather jacket, pants, stakes
Money: $30
This version of Buffy is actually named Elizabeth. She is a former California girl and now lives here with her mom and weird little sister. She is a Slayer, but she has no idea how or why. There are no Watchers here in Sunny Valley, no Giles. Elizabeth just knows she is strong, fast and she can sense vampires.
At the end of Series 1 she dies, but only for a little bit. This gives us Faith Lehanne, a wild girl from Sunny Valley Community High.
Class: Monster Hunter (vampires) Level: 5
Alignment: Neutral
Languages: English
Age: 14
Attributes
STR: 17 +2
INT: 12 +0
WIS: 10 +0
DEX: 18 +3
CON: 18 +3
CHA: 17 +2
SUR: 18 +3
AC: 15 HP: 32 Attack Bonus +3 / +6 (vs. vampires)
Courage: 5 (additional +2 vs. Vampires)
Critical: 5
Death: 4
Mental: 3
Poison: 4
Background
Parents are dead, lives with Aunt
Dirt poor
Class Abilities
+2 to hit, track, dmg to Vampires
+1 Toughness
Skills
Outdoorsmanship +4, Paranormal +4, Knowledge (local ) +1, Brawling, Intimidation +4, Street Smarts +4, Stealth +2
Possessions
Leather jacket, pants, stakes
Money: $0
Faith shows up in Series 2 from SVCHS where she makes an impression by killing two vamps right away. She introduces us to her friend Tara, and she and Willow start to spend a lot of time together.
Both Buffy and Faith are built using the Monster Hunter class from DP&D: Player Options & GM Guide. In truth I could build a "Slayer" class, but I didn't really want to do that. I wanted to try them out Rules As Written.
In general the cast would be much younger than the TV show. Anywhere from 2 to 3 years younger. This fits perfectly with DP&D but changes the dynamic a little. For starters, I would downplay the sexual tension to almost nothing, or at least a slow burn. A 200+-year-old vampire prey on a 17-year-old sounds bad. Preying on a 14-15-year-old sounds worse for some reason. I am also going to give Faith the benefit of the doubt here. During my Buffy game Season of the Witch, I pointed out that what the show writers had done to her essentially was so contradictory that the character was broken beyond repair. So what if I took a potential "Bad Girl" and instead gave her a friend. Maybe someone she saved from some bullies. Enter Tara. In this world Faith saved Tara from being picked on because of her poor family and the open secret that she is gay; something that was still very hard to deal with in the 80s. Both girls help each other out till they meet the cast.
Class: Telekinetic Level: 1
Alignment: Good
Languages: English
Age: 11
Attributes
STR: 10 +0
INT: 12 +0
WIS: 16 +2
DEX: 12 +0
CON: 14 +1
CHA: 12 +0
SUR: 16 +2
AC: 10 HP: 4 Attack Bonus +0
Courage: 3
Critical: 2
Death: 3
Mental: 4
Poison: 2
Background
Mother is rarely at home.
Class Abilities
Telekinesis, Psionic Attack, Psionic Push
Skills
Paranormal +1, Investigation +1, Knowledge (local) +1, Stealth +1, Video Games +1
Psionic Attack +1
Possessions
Bike, Backpack, Journal describing how she used her powers in secret.
Money: $10
In my games, Dawn developed psychic powers. Maybe not Jean Grey levels, but certainly Carrie ones. I thought it would be fun if the "Annoying Kid Sister" trope was subverted by making her Powered. She was built with the optional Psionic classes in the Core Rule book.
I also did Cordelia Chase (basically an archetype "Princess"), Alexander "Alex" Harris (a "Geek" due to his Star Trek obsession), Oz (Metalhead turned Werewolf) and Angel (Teen Heartthrob turned Vampire).
What can DP&D Players get from Buffy?
The Buffy RPG is a great game that focuses a lot on the high school experience and how fighting monsters can be a metaphor for life in High School. Personally, I think EVERY player and GM of DP&D needs to read Chapter 7: Episodes, Seasons and Drama. It is hands down the best chapter written about running anytime of modern supernatural game or a game set around High School age kids. The mechanics on Drama Points and their use would also be useful.
And of course all the monsters, vampires and demons the book has would be helpful to any DP&D GM.
What can Buffy Players get from DP&D?
The Buffy RPG is a mature game. Not just in content, but shelf-life. I know people that are still playing the game 15+ years later. For me, DP&D has given me a breath of fresh air and has re-energized my Buffy-related experiences. Hell, this is the first honest to goodness Buffy campaign idea since Season of the Witch and that was more than 12 years ago.
The "Back to Basics" feel of DP&D cannot be ignored or understated. It really helped me think of this game in a different way.
This is what I want to do with DP&D. It's really cool to see your take on it. I think players of each could definitely get something out of the other game.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I never considered DP&D as a Whedonverse game. Nicely done, because when I bought DP&D I was a bit let down. I thought it was a little too cliché. But I can see doing a modern horror game with it, now.
ReplyDeleteNot to derail, but why the beef with Joss? I never met the man and don't get too much into his personal life, but he always seemed OK. Yes, a bit too smug, but he is very bright and knows his way around a story and TV production, and supports feminism (all things I appreciate).
His support of feminism is surface at best. I am not going to get into here, but I have a long history of hating this guy.
ReplyDeleteOh, OK. Didn't realize I'd hit a nerve. Didn't mean to offend.
ReplyDeleteYou are cool! No worries. I also tend to forget that not everyone has seen my 15 year long crusade.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely going to give this a second look. I had waved it off as a Stranger Things game only. (I love, love, love the show, but I don't think I'd want to do it as a campaign.)
ReplyDeleteYou know people playing BtVS 15 years later? Man, I haven't met anyone in my area with even a remote interest in the game since I was in undergrad.
Wow, this is interesting as "heck", definitely want to look into it a bit more now. Not to mention, I love your idea of changing the Buffyverse to fit the 1980s.
ReplyDeleteNow just to throw in a little Goonies and Lost Boys into the mix, lol.
Ron
(Seran McKay)
This is awesome.
ReplyDeleteYou listed that you did Cordelia Chase (basically an archetype "Princess"), Alexander "Alex" Harris (a "Geek" due to his Star Trek obsession), Oz (Metalhead turned Werewolf) and Angel (Teen Heartthrob turned Vampire), but I can't seem to find them on your site. Are they not available, or am I just not looking in the right place?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all of this BTW.