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Another_Poet
2013-07-24, 01:08 AM
My girlfriend wants to try out RPing for the first time ever. She is not a big fantasy fan, and after talking with her about her favorite fiction it is mostly realistic, modern stories (20th century or later) about normal people (no super powers, etc) and she likes themes of mystery and/or exploration.

I have a story idea, but I need a lot of help fleshing it out.

Premise: You are a grad student in the 1960s. You have been chosen to go to Star Island, a tropical island in the South Pacific, to work with a famous professor there. But when you arrive, he has gone missing.

Yeah, Star Tropics ripoff, I know!

The Island: Very large, very primitive. A small port town founded by the French, a few Westerners live there. The natives living in the area near town have Westernized somewhat. They are friendly to outsiders and they farm for a living. Many have been convinced to grow cocaine for illegal export instead of food crops, and the drug cartels are extremely dangerous.

Farther inland, the thick jungle has prevented contact with Westerners. Much of the island has never even been mapped. The jungle tribes are extremely unfriendly to outsiders.

Story ideas: The Professor, whose name definitely won't be Dr. Livingston/e, disappeared in the last two days. He hired a local bush pilot to drop him off deep inland. They were to rendezvous on the beach for a pickup the next day. The bush pilot says the professor never showed for the rendezvous, but the pilot seems untrustworthy.

System: None really, I'll just use a very rules-light d20ish system to get her used to playing.

Thoughts and problems:

Who is the ultimate bad guy? Who kidnapped/stopped the professor and why?
What was the professor going into the dangerous interior for? What was his real reason, vs. what did he tell people?
What kind of hook would convince a normal grad student to go looking for him, instead of waiting for the next ship home?
No aliens (sorry Star Tropics), no magic, no psychic powers - she likes "realistic" games. How to spice up the story?
Could there be a secret research facility deep in the jungle? Did the prof know about it, and is he in favor or against?
What would make this story more awesome?


All thoughts and ideas extremely appreciated.

Manly Man
2013-07-24, 02:29 AM
No aliens (sorry Star Tropics)

Haaaaaate Zoda.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE.

That said, an idea is that there is an animal or plant on the island known for a certain poison it has that produces some kind of 'desirable' effect, such as extremely intense and long-lasting aphrodisia, euphoria, or pleasant hallucinations. It has a terrible side effect that is debilitating, crippling, or in some other way, shape, or form, malign; make this effect permanent if you wish for things to be more dangerous.

This poison is used both as a recreational drug and for religious and/or spiritual purposes amongst the natives. (Yes, I know there's already cocaine in usage here, but just have it be a far more rare, valuable, and powerful drug than cocaine, as well as relatively unknown to those who aren't in the deepest parts of the jungle.) However, through a bit of analysis, the doctor has managed to find a simple and efficient (in terms of time and cost) way to replicate the toxin for medical studies (that's what they all say), though to mass produce it would end up having a devastating affect on nature, something like the wastes poisoning the earth, water, or air. Anything that would be directly harmful to the fauna as well as the flora would be good to add in, having a spot where there are a couple of dead, formerly cute animals to hammer in the idea of just how bad this crap is.

Among those interested in the doctor's work is a very rich man (or woman!) who makes their money off of drug trafficking, and associated... activities, such as assassination, slave labor, etcetera. This person sees a huge opportunity to monopolize the market that is to come when the drug can be produced in large quantities, and abducts the doctor so as to get him to perfect the drug and its composition. He was originally offered money, but was instead kidnapped after his refusal, and his capture was messy, with one man dead, and a small trail of blood that leads into the deeper bits of the jungle.

The student takes an interest in the case because, although they're loathe to admit it, they idolize the professor for some kind of work he did in the past that was important to them, something like developing a new treatment for a particular kind of cancer, which in turn saved the life of a loved one. There are, of course, other motivations, but it's also half-past-midnight where I am right now, so I'm a little tired. Hope it's something you can build off of.

Another_Poet
2013-07-24, 09:24 AM
Thanks Manly Man. I definitely lie the idea of a rare and powerful plant - there could be many unknown species of plants on the island.

I especially like the idea that he is being forced to synthesize a drug deep in the jungle.

What if the Professor was after a medicinal plant that grows in the interior. He has seen native shamans use it and after some testing he believes it could help fight cancer (or something)?

Perhaps the plant is sacred and usually Westerners can't have it, but he believes he can negotiate for some. BUT the drug cartels are afraid he will stumble onto other, darker plants they are growing....?

What about another "faction"? So far we have the natives and the cartels. But what if another foreign power is secretly there too? It could be the Russians, the Chinese or some other group.

Scow2
2013-07-24, 10:03 AM
"Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?"

Far Cry 3 has a lot of cool ideas:
Give the island history and lots of "Points of Interest", such as a Tourist Resort responsible for a large number of jet skis, ATVs, Dune Buggies, and hang gliders scattered throughout the island by the locals.
- Scatter ruined polynesian temples, old WWII Japanese military bases around the island recovered by nature, and Cold-War era armories and outposts. Russian supplies would justify other Soviet Bloc vehicles scattered around the island, and weapon caches (Guns+Cars easily combine for Awesome Sequences)
- Make the locals just normal, semi-tribal people. Some might be Somalli-style pirates. Others are working drug farms...


But to throw in a huge twist on all this: The professor is actually a CIA agent, sent to investigate a mysterious NGO terrorist organization allegedly set up on the island. It is lead by a mad scientist, who has built a secret base within the inactive volcano dominating the middle of the island, and is using the pipe of the volcano as a Missile Silo, with a threat to extort money from nearby countries and islands. Have it be highly implied he has several Backup bases, and a functional airfield. It becomes the player's job to pick up after her professor, who gets critically/mortally wounded on the job.

It starts off Far Cry 3, but then turns James Bond.

Another_Poet
2013-07-25, 01:45 PM
Those are great additions. I was struggling with how to add variety to an all-tropical-jungle setting and all those ideas, hotels, old WWII bases etc add a ton of variety and flavor.

What kinds of challenges do you guys think I can include? I can think of:


Giant snakes
Poisonous things
Monkeys stealing things
Cartel foot soldiers (obviously)
Paranoid tribesman attacking her for going into sacred areas
Environmental hazards
Someone stalking her, trying to kill her


....but around the eighth or ninth quicksand pit or the tenth poisonous tarantula it's gonna get old. What else can I throw at her? (Reminder: nothing supernatural.)

Arkhosia
2013-07-25, 02:25 PM
Those are great additions. I was struggling with how to add variety to an all-tropical-jungle setting and all those ideas, hotels, old WWII bases etc add a ton of variety and flavor.

What kinds of challenges do you guys think I can include? I can think of:


Giant snakes
Poisonous things
Monkeys stealing things
Cartel foot soldiers (obviously)
Paranoid tribesman attacking her for going into sacred areas
Environmental hazards
Someone stalking her, trying to kill her


....but around the eighth or ninth quicksand pit or the tenth poisonous tarantula it's gonna get old. What else can I throw at her? (Reminder: nothing supernatural.)

You could easily reuse some fantasy monsters, refluffing. For example, a wingless green dragon that spits venom, dire creatures as failed genetic experiments, and orcs being elite tribals, for example.

TheThan
2013-07-25, 02:55 PM
I think the best place to start is asking what sort of science does the good doctor study?
Is he an archeologist?
Is he a paleontologist?
Is he a botanist?
Is he an anthropologist?
Is he a Biologist?
Is he a geologist?
Etc.

Once you figure that out, then you can write a story semi-related to his field.

If you decide he’s Is he an archeologist then it’s simple, he’s gone after some treasure lost deep in the jungles and has had a run in with the natives. Maybe they know where it is, maybe they worship said treasure. Maybe it has a terrible curse on it and all who own it suffer terribly, let your imagination go wild and tell that story.

If he’s a botanist, then he’s after some rare herb that might cure cancer or something. Maybe the drug cartels have grabbed him and are forcing him to make stronger or more addictive cocaine. Maybe the local shamans use it and jealously guard it, using the natives to fight against the doctor.

If he’s an anthropologist maybe the locals have taken him in as their new god, with his modern medicine being treated as mystical powers. Naturally the local shaman is jealous and suspects a fraud even if it’s a simple misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the good doctor ran out of “magic” and now the shaman has imprisoned him for his treachery and lies. It’s up to the player to rescue him.

See writing out a basic synopsis is pretty easy once you know why the plot critical NPC is doing there. once you have the basic idea for the adventure, then you can break it down into encounters.

Scow2
2013-07-25, 04:14 PM
Those are great additions. I was struggling with how to add variety to an all-tropical-jungle setting and all those ideas, hotels, old WWII bases etc add a ton of variety and flavor.

What kinds of challenges do you guys think I can include? I can think of:


Giant snakes
Poisonous things
Monkeys stealing things
Cartel foot soldiers (obviously)
Paranoid tribesman attacking her for going into sacred areas
Environmental hazards
Someone stalking her, trying to kill her


....but around the eighth or ninth quicksand pit or the tenth poisonous tarantula it's gonna get old. What else can I throw at her? (Reminder: nothing supernatural.)

Combine them in interesting ways:
Jet Ski/ATV races across the island, in pursuit or running from people trying to shoot her.
Trying to keep tigers out of her car
Storming the secret base's control bunker.
Sharks with lasers on their heads (Or just ill-tempered sea bass)
Racing up a Control/Radio Tower, trying to take out the guys on it in fierce melee (Or with guns, if it has enough cover to keep her from just being able to snipe them off from the ground, and keep them from shooting her)
Hanglider dogfights.