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Setting Games in foreign locations

Started by David R, December 02, 2006, 06:25:15 PM

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David R

December 02, 2006, 06:25:15 PM
Okay this may only work for historical, contemporary or near future games. So how many of you have set your games in foreign locations. Some games have foreign supplements ,WW did it for their oWoD Far East games.  

My current Cyberpunk campaign takes place in the Mid East using stuff from the When Gravity Fails sourcebook. Past campaigns have included UA set in Burma and Feng Shui set in the mean streets of South Africa. I'm thinking of using the Pendragon system for my Black Pharaohs campaign.

So, what about you folks?

Regards,
David R

Dr Rotwang!

#1
December 02, 2006, 06:35:49 PM
I think that any cyberpunk game which doesn't take advantage of Mexico City is  a steaming pile of kangaroo crap, and its GM has rocks and ham-hocks for brains.

...

...no, not really.  But the GM might want to look into it.
Dr Rotwang!
...never blogs faster than he can see.
FONZITUDE RATING: 1985[/font]

The Yann Waters

#2
December 02, 2006, 06:51:47 PM
Eh, "foreign" is such a relative word: to me, anywhere in the United States is a foreign location.
Previously known by the name of "GrimGent".

David R

#3
December 02, 2006, 07:53:51 PM
Quote from: GrimGentEh, "foreign" is such a relative word: to me, anywhere in the United States is a foreign location.

Cool. So what foreign locations (in the US) did you use and what systems?

Regards,
David R

The Yann Waters

#4
December 02, 2006, 08:09:53 PM
Quote from: David RSo what foreign locations (in the US) did you use and what systems?
Well, the good old Lovecraft Country is a perennial favourite for Call of Cthulhu, and in the first Nobilis campaign I ever ran the PCs served the God of Chicago.
Previously known by the name of "GrimGent".

David R

#5
December 02, 2006, 08:22:29 PM
Quote from: GrimGent.....and in the first Nobilis campaign I ever ran the PCs served the God of Chicago.

They served Oprah, kidding :D A lot of students from Asia who studied in the States used their place of study as the location for their campaigns, even though the systems had  default locations. Chicago came up a couple of times...

I spent some time in San Fransisco, and had to convince my players (some of whom had studied there) that basing my Donna Tart inspired Secret History meets CoC campaign there would be a dodgy idea :)

Regards,
David R

The Yann Waters

#6
December 02, 2006, 08:46:34 PM
Quote from: David RThey served Oprah, kidding :D A lot of students from Asia who studied in the States used their place of study as the location for their campaigns, even though the systems had default locations. Chicago came up a couple of times...
And of course, Chicago was also one of the earliest settings detailed for Vampire: the Masquerade... But Nob can be so loosely attached to the Earth that strict geography may not matter that much: for example, consider the House on the 43rd Street which can be found on the forty-third street of any city.
Previously known by the name of "GrimGent".

Pseudoephedrine

#7
December 02, 2006, 08:54:28 PM
I've always wanted to run an Unknown Armies game in a Soviet gulag where the PCs are prisoners. The game begins when they wake up one day, and everyone else in the prison has vanished. I think a gulag would bring out a lot of the interesting ideas and themes buried in Unknown Armies in a way that'd be really fun to play.
Running
The Pernicious Light, or The Wreckers of Sword Island;
A Goblin\'s Progress, or Of Cannons and Canons;
An Oration on the Dignity of Tash, or On the Elves and Their Lies
All for S&W Complete
Playing: Dark Heresy, WFRP 2e

"Elves don\'t want you cutting down trees but they sell wood items, they don\'t care about the forests, they\'\'re the fuckin\' wood mafia." -Anonymous

David R

#8
December 02, 2006, 10:11:14 PM
Quote from: PseudoephedrineI've always wanted to run an Unknown Armies game in a Soviet gulag where the PCs are prisoners. The game begins when they wake up one day, and everyone else in the prison has vanished. I think a gulag would bring out a lot of the interesting ideas and themes buried in Unknown Armies in a way that'd be really fun to play.

This is so weird...my UA campaign set in Burma was about a group of high ranking intelligence officers (the pcs) who awaken one fine morning in prison garb living in a flea infested vast prison city (the setting of the campaign) accused of being local reporters for an outside publication. They are shown articles written by them and nobody has any knowledge of them ever having been intelligence officers.

UA, this game freaks me out, man.

Regards,
David R

Pseudoephedrine

#9
December 02, 2006, 10:27:49 PM
Cool.

The game I'm thinking of would begin with a scuffle in the night time, as a new prisoner is brought in after hours. The PCs, and maybe a handful of others, are the only ones who see the incident. The next day, the entire gulag population is gone, except for, as is gradually revealed, the people who saw that prisoner being dragged away. A fierce blizzard prevents escape across the tundra. Over time, the remaining prisoners gradually begin to gradually fade out one by one, as their memories of the incident fade.
Running
The Pernicious Light, or The Wreckers of Sword Island;
A Goblin\'s Progress, or Of Cannons and Canons;
An Oration on the Dignity of Tash, or On the Elves and Their Lies
All for S&W Complete
Playing: Dark Heresy, WFRP 2e

"Elves don\'t want you cutting down trees but they sell wood items, they don\'t care about the forests, they\'\'re the fuckin\' wood mafia." -Anonymous

David R

#10
December 02, 2006, 10:40:49 PM
Quote from: PseudoephedrineThe game I'm thinking of would begin with a scuffle in the night time, as a new prisoner is brought in after hours. The PCs, and maybe a handful of others, are the only ones who see the incident. The next day, the entire gulag population is gone, except for, as is gradually revealed, the people who saw that prisoner being dragged away. A fierce blizzard prevents escape across the tundra. Over time, the remaining prisoners gradually begin to gradually fade out one by one, as their memories of the incident fade.

Consider this stolen (for an upcoming Cyberpunk adventure)...yeah we play rough around these parts...:D

Regards,
David R

Pseudoephedrine

#11
December 02, 2006, 11:13:45 PM
No worries ;)

On the technical side of things, I've given a bit of thought to that scenario, and I think the trick to pulling it off, at least in my mind, will be leaving whether or not "fading" leads to non-existence or to escape from the gulag ambiguous.
Running
The Pernicious Light, or The Wreckers of Sword Island;
A Goblin\'s Progress, or Of Cannons and Canons;
An Oration on the Dignity of Tash, or On the Elves and Their Lies
All for S&W Complete
Playing: Dark Heresy, WFRP 2e

"Elves don\'t want you cutting down trees but they sell wood items, they don\'t care about the forests, they\'\'re the fuckin\' wood mafia." -Anonymous

RPGPundit

#12
December 03, 2006, 01:12:38 AM
Well, I've obviously run games in Uruguay (which isn't foreign to me), as well as Canada, the UK and the US (neither of which are particularly foreign to me).  Other than historical games (Historical Rome, Medieval spain, and now China) I can't really say I've run a game set in a (contemporary) location I haven't actually been to.

RPGPundit
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ChalkLine

#13
December 04, 2006, 05:55:08 AM
I'm an Australian, everything is foreign to me, even Australia :)

Games/Location.

RQ3 Historical / Southern England circa 1650, Venice circa 1475

Twilight 2000 / Poland (of course)

Space 1889 / London

Call of Cthulhu / England, the USA, Singapore, Egypt, Congo

Cyberpunk 2020 / USA, UK, Germany, Indonesia
I don't believe in Forge Game Theory

JongWK

#14
December 04, 2006, 09:35:40 AM
Shadowrun:
Seattle
Tir Tairngire (former Oregon)
Prague (Czech Republic)
Columbia (Missouri)
Lisbon
Paris
The Amazon
Germany

Pulp Heroes:
Egypt
The Jungles of Indochina
New Jersey ;)
"I give the gift of endless imagination."
~~Gary Gygax (1938 - 2008)
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