Strange campaign themes

[Anders]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Now I want to run a scenario that involves killing communists during the same era. After all, Stalin's achievements as a mass murderer outdo even Hitler's. Maybe the good guys could be fighting to defend Finland or something.

Bill Stoddard

Originally Posted by combatmedic

A Winter War or Continuation War game could kick ass.

You could look to Fänrik Ståls Sägner or Kalevala for inspiration.

There was a lot of bitterness both in Finland and Norway against Sweden for the "betrayal" during WWII. The truth was that we could have accomplished nothing except a swift occupation.

[dcarson]

How about the UPA, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army who fought Nazis and kept fighting the USSR until the 1960s.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Gygax ran a game with Nazis versus an evil high priest and his monsters.

It's described in The Strategic Review # 5 and also, I'm pretty sure, in the first Best of Dragon compilation.

I thought Hitler WAS an evil high priest with a lot of monsters?

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Anders

You could look to Fänrik Ståls Sägner or Kalevala for inspiration.

There was a lot of bitterness both in Finland and Norway against Sweden for the "betrayal" during WWII. The truth was that we could have accomplished nothing except a swift occupation.

Every country looked out for it's own end for the most part, and Sweden didn't do as bad as some in that regard. And they did send volunteers(or at least the citizenry did) to fight for Finland and take in Finnish refugee children.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

A Winter War or Continuation War game could kick ass.

If you could somehow convince players to play a:
a)historical game
b)military game
c)game without supernatural elements.

Any of those three seem to be dealbreakers in these here parts.

[Bengt]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Every country looked out for it's own end for the most part, and Sweden didn't do as bad as some in that regard. And they did send volunteers(or at least the citizenry did) to fight for Finland and take in Finnish refugee children.

Sweden was not neutral for the Winter War, just non-belligerent. So they sent war material along with the volunteers, including artillery and aircraft. Also any active servicemen who wanted to go to Finland were given leaves of absence.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by dcarson

How about the UPA, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army who fought Nazis and kept fighting the USSR until the 1960s.

If you don't mind lost causes. Nothing wrong with a game you can't win(heck most of the earliest arcade games were lost causes), just some players might not take to it.

[mehrkat]

One of my current campaigns was almost weirder than it is.

The concept is a Heroes (TV show) type world where all the other heroes but you is crazy and more powerful. Each "wave" that makes all the heroes more powerful also causes random destruction world wide (Tidalwaves, earthquakes, storms, volcanos).

Each player created a character and then randomly drew powers. My original concept (before I realized my players wouldn't enjoy it) was that the powers were going to move around the group and each time there was a wave their powers would switch around.

Fun for me but I decided a little too maddening for my players to be constantly having to learn a new powerset. Might someday run something like that but it is an odd concept for me.

[The Benj]

Originally Posted by mehrkat

One of my current campaigns was almost weirder than it is.

The concept is a Heroes (TV show) type world where all the other heroes but you is crazy and more powerful. Each "wave" that makes all the heroes more powerful also causes random destruction world wide (Tidalwaves, earthquakes, storms, volcanos).

Each player created a character and then randomly drew powers. My original concept (before I realized my players wouldn't enjoy it) was that the powers were going to move around the group and each time there was a wave their powers would switch around.

Fun for me but I decided a little too maddening for my players to be constantly having to learn a new powerset. Might someday run something like that but it is an odd concept for me.

It would grate on me because powers are an extension of the self. Or they are when they're done well.

[mehrkat]

Originally Posted by The Benj

It would grate on me because powers are an extension of the self. Or they are when they're done well.

Do you mean the entire concept: the random powers or the original concept where powers switch around? The normals get super powers seems to be a fairly common theme in fiction. The random aspect just means they couldn't maximize their character for the power.

Honestly its been incredibly interesting to watch each player and each character make the powers their own. Some in ways it would have never occurred to me.

There are continued waves of power and they get a pretty nice chuck of points to tweak the powers every so often and a few points here and there.