If you wanted to run/play a game very similar to Stranger Things what game would you choose and why?
Kids on Bikes
Dark Places & Demigorgons
Tales From the Loop
Other
I'd probably roll my own set of house rules with the Basic Roleplaying gold book.
It depends what kind of game you want to have.
If you just want a nostalgia adventure in "a simpler time" virtually any ruleset would work.
If you want something where kids can go have adventures, get into trouble, and survive it, use the White Hat Scooby rules from Buffy the Vampire Slayer aka Cinematic Unisystem. This gives underpowered characters special points that they can spend to squeak out of a dangerous situation. More powerful characters are more formidable, but get fewer second chances.
If you want to focus on solving a mystery, perhaps Robin Laws' Gumshoe system? I think there is a "junior detective" variant of Gumshoe that would probably work well. I haven't played that one yet.
I'd use Cepheus Engine coupled with Mongoose Traveller 1st Edition and the MgT Psion splatbook with material drawn from Traveller 4's Psionic Institutes splatbook. Limit the tech level to 7 and it should do nicely in covering the first two seasons of Stranger Things (I haven't seen any of the third season).
Honestly, I would probably go with the Buffy version of Cinematic Unisystem, but that's largely because I already own and know it and I wouldn't be willing to spend time and/or money on something new for Stranger Things. The White Hats can cover most of the characters, with a select few being Hero-types.
An early version of "Call of Cthulhu" or "Silent legions (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145769/Silent-Legions)".
Quote from: jeff37923;1092295I'd use Cepheus Engine coupled with Mongoose Traveller 1st Edition and the MgT Psion splatbook with material drawn from Traveller 4's Psionic Institutes splatbook. Limit the tech level to 7 and it should do nicely in covering the first two seasons of Stranger Things (I haven't seen any of the third season).
I don't think anyone has seen season 3 yet. Soon though. But I agree, I could absolutely do Stranger Things with the Traveller rules system.
Call of Cthulhu is a natural fit, too. In fact, the show is practically a CoC game set in the 1980's where half the investigators are pre-teens.
Depends... All three will work.
But Kids On Bikes and Tales from the Loop are both story games with a lot of player agency. Which is fine, if you're into that. I'm not a fan of a lot of player agency - so if I was to use KOBs I would play it more like a traditional game. The rules are very simple. Both it, and TFTL simulate that genre. They specifically deal with mechanics for kids, their relationships and problems. They have a narrative structure that closely follows the genre.
For example, KOB has a powered NPC that is controlled by the players, basically 11 (is that her name? I can't quite remember now). Again, I don't like the idea of players each controlling an aspect of a characters personality. So I'd chop that shit right out and play them as a GM controlled NPC. In KOB you can play a kid, teen or adult. Each one has their own strengths as you would expect. Kids don't have money, but they have charm as everyone loves kids (except me), Teens are tougher while adults have access to money and more skills.
Dark Places & Demi Gorgons is an OSR game. One of my personal favorites as it goes. It's definitely the most traditional out of the three, but you can do a lot more then just Stranger things with it. There's also good amount of material presented in the book unlike KOB. In DP&DG you can play a wide variety of characters (each with their own style, skills and abilities) and generally, they are older, late teens or early adult. But you can of course play kids.
There is a good progression through levels but they are never going to get super tough. I'd think of it along the lines of a Buffy or East Texas University. They can be in school or just delinquents as well.
While I like KOB also, I would definitely NOT play it as written. And there are a lot of details left out and certain things open to interpretation (which I'm fine with personally). I mean, there are no monsters per se. You're going to have to make them up. Oh, and there are a shit load of 'warnings'. Things like that stupid X-Card and Veils but I just ignore that shit.
That's not to say KOB can't be horrific, it certainly can (unlike TFTL). If you do go that route, I'd suggest getting the adventures book that was also released. It provides some really cool frameworks for adventures (you could use them with any game actually).
It really depends on what type of game you're looking for - Traditional or more narrative?
Beyond the Supernatural: This one is well suited to that sort of action.
Dragao Brasil issue 112 has a Stranger Things adaption to their 3D&T RPG system.
First, going with games that are oriented to kid characters you could look at World of Darkness: Innocents or Little Fears. But for me I'd probably go with Gurps (it's what I used for a street kids game set in the Dresdenverse).
Dark Places & Demigorgons is surprisingly good. It looks like a cheap cash in, but perhaps despite that, is a very solid game with some solid support material.
People who mention Gurps/BRP seem to be overlooking that the kids don't all get slaughtered after a few sessions...
Quote from: JeremyR;1092355People who mention Gurps/BRP seem to be overlooking that the kids don't all get slaughtered after a few sessions...
BRP is flexible enough that you can tailor the level of lethality. I assume GURPs can be similarly tweaked.
I don't know that it could be anything other than make believe, because everyone must survive every encounter. That's a stretch for an RPG which models consequences for failure. If all of the heroes must make it home alive every day, that doesn't sound like D&D to me.
I would look for a system with built-in non-death, non-wound consequences. I would probably go Buffy as its the best system I've seen for emulating TV/movies where PCs might suffer, yet still survive to win.
Word of caution. Don't run it with strangers. Make sure you know your group of adults gathered to pretend being teens.
Paranoid? Nope, just really creepy memories of playing Cybergeneration at two different cons and discovering "playing teens" brought out the wrong adults.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1092373I would look for a system with built-in non-death, non-wound consequences.
Tales from the Loop definitely fits the bill for this. I have both TftL and
Kids on Bikes and am back-and-forth on which one to run for a Stranger Things type of campaign, and I'm really on the fence as to which one I like best. I'm leaning towards TftL at the moment, but KoB has something for "Free RPG Day" and that may tip[ the balance back.
In any case, games with kids exploring shouldn't focus on character death.
Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;1092356BRP is flexible enough that you can tailor the level of lethality. I assume GURPs can be similarly tweaked.
This, and yes Gurps can easily be tweaked on the lethality level.
Quote from: finarvyn;1092418Tales from the Loop definitely fits the bill for this. I have both TftL and Kids on Bikes and am back-and-forth on which one to run for a Stranger Things type of campaign, and I'm really on the fence as to which one I like best. I'm leaning towards TftL at the moment, but KoB has something for "Free RPG Day" and that may tip[ the balance back.
I've got both and TftL is better imo, but either would work well. And TftL has really spectacular artwork that really evokes the atmosphere of the setting.
QuoteIn any case, games with kids exploring shouldn't focus on character death.
This, and it's incumbent on the GM to be careful if you're trying to emulate
Stranger Things. Now if you want to do something more like
IT, then lethality can go up (way up).
Quote from: JeremyR;1092355People who mention Gurps/BRP seem to be overlooking that the kids don't all get slaughtered after a few sessions...
"We stopped using BRP after what happened to Barb." :)
There was also Bob.
Maybe avoid B names if you're going to play Stranger Things.
I will second Innocents for nWoD. Onyx Path has announced that they're doing a 2nd Edition, compatible with CoD, at some point in the future.
This was on my shelf (it's now missing, argh) and looked fun. Never tried it though, but, well, it's a story game (which made it linger amidst my group's focus on other stuff):
https://www.protagonist.industries/homebydark
Quote from: soundchaser;1092493This was on my shelf (it's now missing, argh) and looked fun. Never tried it though, but, well, it's a story game (which made it linger amidst my group's focus on other stuff):
https://www.protagonist.industries/homebydark
I don't know much about this game, but I found a link to it a while back on DriveThru and looked at the game. Or maybe just a preview. Not sure. Anyway, they seem to have a number of free download "playsets" that sounded interesting. I'm curious if anyone has played
Home By Dark and what they thought about the game.
Keep your pants on folks,Paul Drye is busy putting the finishing touches on a Lovecraftian take on Cepheus Engine which was inspired by Stranger Things.
Quote from: Paul DryePlugging away at the Cepheus Mythos setting book, which is set in the 1980s (thank you, Stranger Things) and assumes a Lovecraftian universe based around HPL's purely SF tales--At The Mountains of Madness, "The Whisperer In Darkness", "The Shadow Out Of Time", and others.
The premise is that "the stars came right", so to speak, and the world's governments just went along with it, sliding into dystopia along the way. Look at Charles Stross' "A Colder War" for something in the same vein.
One consequence of this is alliance with a couple of alien species, suitable for NPCs.
So, for GURPS I'd put the kids at 0 points with up to 20 points of disadvantages, like I did with my Harry Potter campaign.
I'd suggest that the kids mostly don't die because they run away and many of their foes have Pascifism (hesitates to kill children) at -5 points.
Alternately you could go with an It or Monsters Incorporated based notion where the monsters actually feed on the kids fear and don't really want to kill the cattle and lose that.
Ouija Board
Quote from: finarvyn;1092418In any case, games with kids exploring shouldn't focus on character death.
Which is exactly why I could never run a
Stranger Things game! :eek:
I just can't do Scooby Doo. For me, horror is always about the risk of imminent, gruesome death...or worse.
What I'm not sure of regarding RPGs, what replaces the "fear of death" in a Scooby Doo game as the stakes for failure?
It's interesting to note that there is a new sequel to Tales from the Loop. It's called Things From the Flood and according to their website, characters are older and death is an option this time.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1092650What I'm not sure of regarding RPGs, what replaces the "fear of death" in a Scooby Doo game as the stakes for failure?
Having to deal with your parents when they get called to the hospital to pick you up?
I swear there was a game, possibly Teenagers From Outer Space, where Relationship With Parents was a stat that determined if you could get get away from the family to do stuff, have the use of the family car, etc.
Quote from: Lurkndog;1093088Having to deal with your parents when they get called to the hospital to pick you up?
I swear there was a game, possibly Teenagers From Outer Space, where Relationship With Parents was a stat that determined if you could get get away from the family to do stuff, have the use of the family car, etc.
Yup,
Teenagers From Outer Space. Another piece of awesomeness from Mike Pondsmith.
Fate Accelerated would be ideal for this. There must be a Fate hack out there somewhere which has already done all the work.
Fate Accelerated is ideal for this kind of thing, but it takes a bit of GM tinkering to get role/archetypes built into Aspects.
Not normally a game I discuss much here, but I reckon it can portray this kind of genre quite well
I also know that the Fate Horror Toolkit describes how to do teen horror investigations like Buffy or Scooby Do, so it wouldn't be hard to port that down to Goonies or Stranger Things.
Quote from: jeff37923;1093092Yup, Teenagers From Outer Space. Another piece of awesomeness from Mike Pondsmith.
It could probably do Stranger Things in a pinch. I think there was a provision for psychic powers?
Quote from: Lurkndog;1093195It could probably do Stranger Things in a pinch. I think there was a provision for psychic powers?
Not for humans, some aliens can have psychic powers. I wonder how good of a fit it would be, though.
Stranger Things is fairly gritty while
Teenagers From Outer Space is a beer and pretzels kind of comedy game.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1092650For me, horror is always about the risk of imminent, gruesome death...or worse.
What I'm not sure of regarding RPGs, what replaces the "fear of death" in a Scooby Doo game as the stakes for failure?
It doesn't have to be the *PCs'* lives at stake. Most of Season 1 of Stranger Things turned on the threat to Will, who was offstage.
Alternately, throw some form of imminent family collapse into the mix. Maybe a PC's parents are on the verge of divorce, and will use proof of the kids getting into danger as ammunition against one another; or a PC is a child of a single parent who will lose custody if the kids are caught "causing trouble". There are plenty of devastating stakes you can hit kid heroes with short of death. (Wow, that sounded bad didn't it?)
Petty revenge would also work well as a motivator for kid heroes.
Just have the Evil Lab guys going around being obnoxious, or abusing their authority. Maybe they get the ham radio lab at school shut down (because it is picking up things...) or threaten a teacher that they like, or the kids catch them lying their asses off after Will disappears.
So the kids go to prank the lab guys, and hear or see something...
Would the 5e Stranger Things for D&D Starter set work for you?
Stranger Things D&D 5e Starter Set
https://nerdarchy.com/stranger-things-dungeons-and-dragons-starter-set/
Quote from: Mankcam;1093162Fate Accelerated is ideal for this kind of thing, but it takes a bit of GM tinkering to get role/archetypes built into Aspects.
Not normally a game I discuss much here, but I reckon it can portray this kind of genre quite well
I also know that the Fate Horror Toolkit describes how to do teen horror investigations like Buffy or Scooby Do, so it wouldn't be hard to port that down to Goonies or Stranger Things.
Was going to mention FATE, as well. You've got lots of toggles and such you can use to tailor it.
Quote from: GameDaddy;1093584Would the 5e Stranger Things for D&D Starter set work for you?
Stranger Things D&D 5e Starter Set
https://nerdarchy.com/stranger-things-dungeons-and-dragons-starter-set/
I don't think that has much to do with Stranger Things other than marketing and novelty value. It's for a new audience watching Stranger Things trying to work out what game the kids are playing - and this isn't it, they would probably be playing D&D B/X or possibly BECMI, not 5E with house rules to portray juvenile unchained ego-play ( I think it's a crazy mash-up of the actual PCs the kids are playing in the show).
But from the description it certainly doesn't sound like a D20 version of Kid Investigators
Quote from: Mankcam;1094556But from the description it certainly doesn't sound like a D20 version of Kid Investigators
You are correct. It's a generic D&D set with an adventure in the style of what the kids played in the show. And "the demogorgon" mini isn't as cool as advertised. It's not similar to the mini used on the show, but instead looks more like the monster the kids actually encountered in the show. Only kind of small, IMO.
Just bought Stranger Stuff. Based on Tiny D6 engine.
Simple elegant system with more GM agency than the others.