If ever there was a TV series crying out for a roleplaying game adaptation using Eden's superslick Cinematic Unisystem (as drove their Buffy The Vampire Slayer RPG) it is Supernatural.Sadly, from my point of view, the Supernatural RPG licence has gone to Margaret Weis Productions for use with their rather more clunky Cortex system.
However, to be honest, there's enough material in the available Buffy books to run a decent game of Supernatural and the Margaret Weis version could serve as a great fluff provider.
And you never know, the game might actually be pretty good in itself!
Supernatural follows the lives of two modern day monster hunters - brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles).
The Pilot episode hits the ground running and immediately sets out its mission statement that this isn't going to be yet another vanilla Buffy wannabe. Supernatural is contemporary TV-friendly horror with top notch special effects and 'genuine' spook lore that pits mankind against the creatures of the night (no reformed vampires in this series... yet).
The series has the gloss and panache of a Dark Castle horror movie, but with layers more substance.
This pilot episode doubles as an 'origin' story and a first adventure, giving us the gruesome details of what turned the boys (and their father) into monster hunters as well as sending Sam and Dean off on a quest to find their missing father that introduces them to a murderous ghost called a "Woman In White".
The ghost is dealt with quite quickly as the real plot of this episode is to draw Sam, who has disowned his obsessed brother and father and is trying to live a normal life, back into the fold and give the first season its main focus.
And as a setting for a roleplaying game, I reckon the universe the Winchesters inhabit would work with pretty much any contemporary horror system that centred around freelance characters fighting creatures of the night, from White Wolf's World of Darkness or Pinnacle's fast and furious Savage Worlds to Abstract Nova's Heaven & Earth or, of course, Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu.
The 'character wronged or hurt by a supernatural creature in the past' is a solid start for a backstory for an archetypal monster hunter. Throw in a bit of family history and not only will your Gamesmaster love you, but you should have enough material to keep a game on track for multiple sessions.
However, to be honest, there's enough material in the available Buffy books to run a decent game of Supernatural and the Margaret Weis version could serve as a great fluff provider.
And you never know, the game might actually be pretty good in itself!
Supernatural follows the lives of two modern day monster hunters - brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles).
The Pilot episode hits the ground running and immediately sets out its mission statement that this isn't going to be yet another vanilla Buffy wannabe. Supernatural is contemporary TV-friendly horror with top notch special effects and 'genuine' spook lore that pits mankind against the creatures of the night (no reformed vampires in this series... yet).
The series has the gloss and panache of a Dark Castle horror movie, but with layers more substance.
This pilot episode doubles as an 'origin' story and a first adventure, giving us the gruesome details of what turned the boys (and their father) into monster hunters as well as sending Sam and Dean off on a quest to find their missing father that introduces them to a murderous ghost called a "Woman In White".
The ghost is dealt with quite quickly as the real plot of this episode is to draw Sam, who has disowned his obsessed brother and father and is trying to live a normal life, back into the fold and give the first season its main focus.
And as a setting for a roleplaying game, I reckon the universe the Winchesters inhabit would work with pretty much any contemporary horror system that centred around freelance characters fighting creatures of the night, from White Wolf's World of Darkness or Pinnacle's fast and furious Savage Worlds to Abstract Nova's Heaven & Earth or, of course, Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu.
The 'character wronged or hurt by a supernatural creature in the past' is a solid start for a backstory for an archetypal monster hunter. Throw in a bit of family history and not only will your Gamesmaster love you, but you should have enough material to keep a game on track for multiple sessions.
Hello there!
ReplyDeleteI'm a long time RSS lurker, never commented before, but thought you may like to know about a trailer for an ITV sitcom I discovered today. It's set in a superheroic London, looks very funny and there appears to be some very geeky easter eggs (have a look at the site)! Anyway, here's the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3zpMTKvvgk
Keep up the good work,
Jake.
Hi Jake, thanks for the link - that's looks like it might be quite good. Liked the comic-book themed drinks at the pub (as shown on the website).
ReplyDeleteJust went back to this post after reading the Dead in the Water and Wendigo reviews. Nice to see you are going through all of Supernatural - it's a great show that too few are watching.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading the reviews while waiting for Season 4 to start on 9/18. Thanks!
Thanks, Wendy. As time allows, I'm hoping to review all of Season One - in order - throughout September.
ReplyDeleteI shall be using the reviews to break up the usual run of posts here, so please come back often and let me know what you think.