I really, REALLY like the idea behind the DOOM games, but I always wished there was a bit more of a roleplay feel to them, less run and gun and more discovery. Yeah DOOM 3 had a bit of that, but it was still very overly shoot 'em up. A while ago I got the idea of being gm of a DOOM rpg but couldn't find something on the internet premade and I didn't like the rulesets of most zombie games, so I decided to go with Shadowrun. Great system for any kind of modernized/futuristic warrior whether the person chooses gunslinger, explosives, or any kind of melee, and the solid magic system would allow me to add in all kinds of deviously satanic powers which should have been rocking the Mars base from side to side.
I gave the idea of it some thought, knocked the idea between a few friends, and forgot about it, but recently found the papers of it and now I want to actually go for it, but not without near excessive preparation. Part of that preparation is getting it all on paper (or in this case internet forums) to keep a solid record for myself and to get some ideas thrown around as well, including any advice, good or bad. This thread, in addition to collecting advice, is also meant to be a personal storage bank and I'll update it regularly regardless of posts to let anybody who likes it keep tabs. I have some stats, maps, plans, and such already made but it may take a bit to throw up on the screen. Now, to business.
Firstly, this will not be a free-form RPG by any means. The players may wander the base and go where they please, but it's gonna be pretty set. No conveniently placed towns to mull around in to find quests and no chances to say "I'm just gonna go on my own mission to find myself a friend." The players will almost always have some sort of overlying goal to get them towards the ultimate goal (getting off the cursed Mars base!).
Secondly, please take most of your fluff books and throw them out the window.
The game is supposed to be set on a secret mining base on Mars established by (insert megacorp name here) where they uncovered something and lost communication, so they hire a team of shadowrunners to escort a tech team there to re-establish communications on the surface (at least as far as the runners know. The corp knows they pretty much unleashed Satan but if their techs don't shut it down nobody will) and come home.
I know magic comes from nature and there are no trees in space. I know there are no bases on the moon, much less Mars. I know there is know ftl travel in the current Shadowrun time period.
As part of an attempt to get away from the generic urban sprawl which I and some of my companions have gotten a bit bored of, we decided to go a bit into the future and say a megacorp-fueled space race occurred and the moon is now populated completely and there are cities being built on Mars, as well as space station cities (think the Citadel from Mass Effect on a smaller scale, about the size of Brooklyn) floating at intervals between the planets like truck stops. Space travel isn't ftl yet but much, much faster than what we have now. A trip to Mars would take maybe 2 weeks.
Anyways, barring the fluff, I think the system will work. As I stated earlier, I have some maps drawn up, a basic idea of enemies I want in the game as well as NPCs and where the game flow should go. I will post these separately as soon as I get them typed up, as well as an introduction like a prompt basically for any gm who wants to use this to go by (it's kinda in the fashion of the "prologue" of the DOOM games that came in the manuals and in between episodes).
Any comments whatsoever are ALWAYS appreciated. I think it's a good idea. You might not. Just make sure if you don't like it you tell me why
