Aberrant RPG - Planetary setting for Abbie

[SJEllis]

Dear all,

Having just read the Planetary comic book series in its entirety, I can commend it to everyone who likes intelligent, pathos-rich Aberrant games.

(One useful website is at http://users.erols.com/agrich/planetary.htm )

The most interesting thing from the point of view of an Aberrant GM is the search of the heroes through the 'secret history' of the 20th century. Much of this includes the pulp era superheroes, whom humanity has mysteriously 'forgotten'.

The parallels to Aberrant and Adventure are so obvious they need no repetition. The inclusion of Warren Ellis' writing in the upcoming Adventure! RB indicates that the White Wolfers have similar ideas about the comics usability for the Aeoniverse.

Unfortunately, they probably wont do a straight adaption of the Planetary story to aberrant, so I was wondering if any fan had converted it themselves? Is there anything on the Net about it?

Many thanks

Steve

[Guest]

I just finnished reading the synopsys for the Planetary line and I have to say.....WOW! Now I want to go out and buy whatever I can find on it!

On a side note I find the symmetry between Planetary and my own (ending) game quite spooky. In my game the characters have been brought together by a wealthy recluse named Renauld Montpillar to "Explore the wonders of the Nova Age." Along the way they discover there are many other forces at work in the world than just Novas.

Since most of my players were from a former gaming group that was heavily in to the World of Darkness, the only way I could convince them to try a "Superhero" game was to add in some of the edgy, gothic supernatural wieldness inspired by the other White Wolf titles. In fact their first case revealed to them the fact that Werewolves do indeed exist. Unfortunately I have had to end the game due to circumstances intruding on mine, and a few other player's lives. still, if I get a chance to run that game again, I will most likely turn to Planetary for inspiration.

[SJEllis]

Planetary has two graphic novels. The first, 'All around the World and other stories' is in both paper and hardback format and covers issues 1-6. This volume introduces Planetary as a series of stand-alone adventures that dont reveal much.

Everything changes in 'The 4th man' hardback collection (#7-#12) which suddenly draws everything you learned about in the previous novel into one enormous story arc and really sets events ablaze.

Two more individual comics have been released since then, #13 and #14 respectively. #13 tells the tale of Elijah Snow as a young man, meeting Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula, #14 explains how Planetary took on the Four and Snow lost his memory!

The series provides the perfect conspiratorial setting for aberrant. Having a mysterious benefactor hire the PC's to explore the secret superhero history of the 20th century brings them up against the Aeon truth suppression squads, the Pulp era of the 1920's that everyone has mysteriously forgotten about and the hidden psychomorph conspiracy. And who could be the 4th Man in Abbie? Mal or Mercer?

Pure gaming magic.

But I'm stilling mulling ideas in my head on how to combine the canon history of Abbie with Planetary, with Heaven and Earths Potters lake and my Abberant: Fighting Armageddon background.

Regards,

Steve

[Guest]

Instead of doing a carbon copy of Planetary, try doing an homage. That way you can incorpoarte the themes, style and mood without having to totally rewrite either the cannon background or your own works. Sound good?

[SJEllis]

"Instead of doing a carbon copy of Planetary, try doing an homage"- Atwight

A carbon copy of Planetary would be useless- most of the compelling story comes not through the main characters actions but from the tales of the people they meet. Most of the stories can be characterised as Planetary turn up- meet a witness and then listen.

It makes for great comic storytelling but rubbish gaming action as the PC's wouldnt be able to do anything.

What would be good would be to have Aberrant-stats for all the NPC's, a clear conspiracy of the Four and Hark Industries to investigate (and its still not entirely clear whats going on)

As for the homage to the spirit of Planetary, see my comments above. I think we'll get lots more usable material when Adventure! is published.

Regards,

SJE

[Guest]

Sorry, but I just get so incredibly jazzed when I hear people on the newsgroup talk about "Planetary," because in my mind's eye I hear the magical words "Klono's Tin Toenails and curved carbduralloy claws!"

Ha ha ha ha! Okay, so Planetary and Triplanetary (which to those of you un-cool unititiated types, is the first book in the greatest science fiction series ever written, the Lensman books, or the History of Civilization) sounds completely different, but really if you think about it, easy comparisons can be drawn between the Lensman series and the Aeonverse: for instance, Trinity is set in a starfaring future where psions are the defenders of the universe. Lensman was a setting where the Lensmen, the Psionic champions of the galaxies, battle an interstellar war with their mental powers. In Lensman, the Lens, a telepathic amplifier and universal translator and badge, was given to mankind by the billion-year old ancient civilization of pure thought energy, the Arisians, to battle an ancient evil, while in Trinity, the Prometheus treetment that grants Psi-powers was given to mankind by an ancient and advanced alien race of pure energy.

And finally, Lensman was written in the 1930s in a Pulp magazine, and the Aeonverse is coming out with a setting that is in the Age of Pulp.

(I'm not even going to try to compare Mercer with Nels Bergenholm, or Mentor, or whatever)

Just a simple rumination - but still, when many of us first heard the idea of Trinity, why Klono's Golden Gills, it sounded a heck of a lot like Lensman: psi-Patrol taking on evil in outer space. My Trinity game still feels a little like Lensman and follows the spirit of Lensman, and occasionally I find myself swearing by Klono's Brazen Hooves, or cry out "CLEAR ETHER, CHUMS!" (this is followed by weird looks by my players who have never even heard of Lensman).

[The Ranger]

Ah yes, Lensmen. Primary beams charged and ready to fire sir! Wonderful series. I heard rumours of a last book, that "Doc" wrote and never got a chance to publish which might be seeing the light of day soon.

Actually Lensmen bears a lot of similarity to Trinity and I am suprised that noone drew that parallel before. For anyone who is interested GURPS do a Lensmen supplement which gives an interesting overview of the universe. Bear in mind that the series was writteen in the thirties and shows its age in its approach to science and society. Its still really cool though. Vacumn tube technology rocks!

[This message has been edited by The Ranger (edited 07-09-2001).]

[Dr cornelius]

ranger, doc smith may have writen another book, following children of the lensman, but it was probable lost or destroyed, the way the series was writen and headed, was to create more powerful individuals, he concentrated on a minumum number of family lines, in the last book you had a brother and sister that had reached the third level, equal to or above the arisians.

they only way to continue for doc, was for the bro and sis to breed and try to make a higher level form being (incest), they where sopposed to be geneticaly perfect, so no draw backs involved in inbreeding. back when he wrote them even mention the incest word was a no-no, was moral and social problems. now in a sci-fi books its aceptable partly if you dont take in as real life.

Odds are if he did write it it was lost or destroyed by the family as being slightly immoral. just like an australian painter lindsay i think, his family destroyed alot of his paintings when he died, due to the fact they thought they where pornographic.

Dont you just hate, moralistic prigs.

[The Ranger]

Yeah, I heard that but he also wrote a lot of short stories around the Lensmen universe if I recall correctly and if I also remember correctly his son or grandson had at least a part script or plan for the books...much like Christopher Tolkien.