Has anyone ever tried to run a campaign based on a video or computer RPG? I mean literally following the plot of the computer game (obviously taking into account that players may will screw you up and go off in a totally unexpected direction ).

I've been thinking about running one based on one of the games in the Might and Magic series, because I'm pretty familiar with it, it has a lot of side quests that will provide story fodder as well as an engaging main quest that I think I can work with, and I have the Prima guide which has just about everything you need to plan it out.

Has anyone tried this before? How did it work out? Does it help/hinder if any of the players are familiar with or have played the game before?

I've never done it, but I have a friend with a track record of deciding every couple of months, after beating a new game e(that he always buys the strategy guide for) that he needs to run it in an RPG.

I have never seen that end well...especially the first time the players don't follow the yellow brick road laid out in my video games.

Over the years I'v considered doing a campaign that was based on Ultima IV, but it never got past the planning stages.

I've always wanted to run something based on Thief : Dark Project . At one time I was thinking of using Castle Faulkenstien. Nothing much came of it. Pity, I think it would have made a good campaign.

Regards,
David R

I had some computer games in mind, but I probably wouldn't follow the plot exactly. First of all, the plot of most games is utter crap translated to the gaming table and second, some players might already be familiar with it.

Having said that, someday, I'll run a Monkey Island campaign...

well, see, there's two schools of CRPG design.

The Japanese school is basically to railroad the hell out of the player from the absolute start of the game.  The player is lucky even to get to choose their characters name, and Dragon Quest 5 is absolutely revolutionary for actualyl inculding a single (that's right, as in ONE, and only ONE) meaningful choice in the game: there's a point were you have the possibility of marrying two different girls, and the one you marry ends up in your party while the other goes on to live her life.

Given this utterly linear nature, actually taking the plot of these games would, I would think, wind up utterly terrible.

Now, on the other hand, you've got the Western school, which is stuff like Ultima and Fallout.  There may be a set over-arching goal to the game, but the interim is pretty much a total sandbox, you can go anywhere and do just about anything.  This I think would probably be less frustrating for a tabletop audience, but the thing is, most of these games don't really have much of a plot to adapt, so much as a setting with a lot of simple quest hooks and things to do.  But it's still way more fun that way anyway.

Most non-CRPG games pretty much go with an episodic approach, where there's a set plot the player has no control over, but he does get to play through the levels, where the only outcomes are "You fail, try again" and "You win!"  I was going to say action sequences rather than levels until I realized there's plenty of games that put the most exciting scenes in movie clips instead of interactive sequences . . .

Well, i bought (for some stupid reason), the God-awful Diablo II - To Hell and Back 'campaign' book back when i decided to buy everything that came out. That is definitely a video game in pen & paper format. Each area of the campaign was meant to be mapped out on graph paper and there were rules for placing monster in each square and rules for streaming adjacent monsters when PCs stumbled onto a square that contained critters.

It was horrible and i've never looked at it since.

Edit: I should point out that the book was a d20 product and that i was taking your question very literally!

I know this game goes way back but there are some elements of the game that I think could be really fun.

 Really, don't laugh.  I will explain.

 The Story:

 A team of special operatives, known as the H.U.N.T. (High-risk United Nations Task-force), is sent to San Nicolas Island to investigate deadly cult activity taking place in an ancient monastery. Their boat, the only way back, is destroyed by patrols, and the team soon learns that the cult plans to systematically destroy nearby Los Angeles. The operatives, now unable to return to from whence they came, are then left to fight their way into the monastery on the island, and eventually put a stop to the cult's activities.
------------

  So characters are created that are agents of H.U.N.T and are stuck on the island and their only choice is to fight their way in and stop the cult.

  I think if done right could be a great deal of fun

World of Warcraft d20 (got the main book and another one) worked out pretty well for a good while. I was the only one who played the MMO, so there was no problem of having others out-"Lore" me on the setting. I just used quests from the game translated into Pen and Paper and it worked well. Suited my groups hack 'n slash style as well.

Toyed with the idea of a Halo game. May have ot break down and do that one sometime.

I actually wrote the beginning of a tabletop game based on play being similar to a platform style interface. Ho ho. I am indie.

What I find fascinating about video games, especially the nintendo style (Zelda, Mario, especially) is the way adventure structures are used.

Like in Zelda they way you have to collect 3 triforce pieces to open up a gate, and then once you get there you have to find three switches to open up the room with the sword. And of course you need the sword before you can attack Ganon.

I thought that was neat.

But in other terms of video game/RPG crossover- the beast-gods inspired by Primal Rage used to make an appearance in several of my campaigns, and (historically) appear in my current campaign, although they haven't made an appearance yet.

i've wanted to do it for the two baldur's gate:  dark alliance ps2 games, but haven't.

i'd love to run stuff in the world of phantasy star 2 sometime, but i've never bothered to stat anything out.

Quote from: TechnomancerHas anyone ever tried to run a campaign based on a video or computer RPG? I mean literally following the plot of the computer game (obviously taking into account that players may will screw you up and go off in a totally unexpected direction ).

I've been thinking about running one based on one of the games in the Might and Magic series, because I'm pretty familiar with it, it has a lot of side quests that will provide story fodder as well as an engaging main quest that I think I can work with, and I have the Prima guide which has just about everything you need to plan it out.

Has anyone tried this before? How did it work out? Does it help/hinder if any of the players are familiar with or have played the game before?

I had the same idea, I'm a big fan of the M&M series, I even started to write a system to better resemble the game mechanics.
Which M&M plot do you have in mind? The one from M&M VI, VII, VIII?

Quote from: UmaSamaI had the same idea, I'm a big fan of the M&M series, I even started to write a system to better resemble the game mechanics.
Which M&M plot do you have in mind? The one from M&M VI, VII, VIII?

M&M VII. I figure it starts on an island so there's only so far off-track they can go, at least at first.  And the scavenger hunt seems like a good start.

I plan on leaving out all the sci-fi outer space stuff and running it as straight fantasy, and I only plan on taking them through the first half, up through the war between Erathia and Avlee determining who gets Harmondale (hopefully the PCs )

Incidentally, if you know of any sites with good setting information on Antagarich (especially the different Temples and Churches), I'd be interested.

Quote from: TechnomancerM&M VII. I figure it starts on an island so there's only so far off-track they can go, at least at first.  And the scavenger hunt seems like a good start.

I plan on leaving out all the sci-fi outer space stuff and running it as straight fantasy, and I only plan on taking them through the first half, up through determining who gets Harmondale (hopefully the PCs )

Incidentally, if you know of any sites with good setting information on Antagarich (especially the different Temples and Churches), I'd be interested.

Yeah I would also leave the sci-fi stuff out.
As for sites with information, that was the first problem I came across, there's a few sites with tables in which you find the location of every, trainer, shop, temple, etc. but the best source is the game itself.

Quote from: UmaSamaYeah I would also leave the sci-fi stuff out.
As for sites with information, that was the first problem I came across, there's a few sites with tables in which you find the location of every, trainer, shop, temple, etc. but the best source is the game itself.

There are actually several sites about the Heroes of Might and Magic series that have a good bit of setting history in them.  Worth looking for.