Re: [HOE] Some ideas?

["Bob Fletcher" <bobfletch@erols.com>]

>1) Whatever you do, lock the party in the park in one way or another.  A
main
>problem with the Klown adventure is that the party can literally, at any
>point, just say "Allright, we've saved most of the hostages (done early in
>the adventure) time to go"

    This one's a definite.  My thought was to have the park surrounded by a
high fence (which most of them are in real life anyway) that's also
electrified.  I like the idea of having innocents trapped in the park, but
I'm not sure yet how to set it up.  I've already done the introductory stuff
for the adventure and the posse is escorting a scavenging crew of eight.
That's not a bad number, and I think I could definitely use some of your
ideas below, as long as I'm careful about when, where and how I off the
NPCs.

>    Have the party get trapped in the park somehow.  Then they HAVE to go
>through the hoops you've set up to survive.  Perhaps by a trap where the
>party finds a tour bus, they get into it "Gee! Free car!", it gasses them
(A
>la Christine) since it's a lurker in disguise, and drops them
uncerimoniuosly
>off in the center of the unknown park.


    I think what's going to start it is that the park will seem completely
abandoned in the beginning.  The leader of the scavenging crew will lead the
group deep into the park, and then the proverbial shit hits the fan.

>    Give them little tickets.  Somehow tell them that if they can get 40
>tickets each, they can cash them in for an exit.  That way, they gotta play
>the games.  If they go on rides, they get tickets (better yet, the tickets
>are inside the ride, and if they can get on the ride and get off somehoe
>before the ride locks them in, tickets for thinking).  If they play the
>games, they get tickets.  If they kill everything with their hackmaster
+5...
>no tickets and they're trapped forever!
>
>    Tickets tickets! It's all fun and games!


    I _really_ like this idea, and I'm happy to tel you that I'm going to
use it.

>2) More action sequences on rides, Klowns just has a roller coaster, go to
>your local park and think of ways to make them happen (like the party
getting
>lured inside one of those 'cyclotrons' that spins and presses the party to
>walls.


    Another good one.  One thing I did in preparation for this game is send
off for some information about several of the big amusement parks in the
States.  As long as one of them arrives in time, I'll have a template to
work from.

>3) You know how many parks have enactments.  For a good 'westworld'
>reference, in one part is a Wild West enactment scene where your post
>apocalyptic party finds itself in the middle of a gunfight..... with Ninja
>guys too... oh yeah, don't forget the Firemen and the Cops and robbers.....
>Fun with robots.  All at once!


    Or what about those air-gun shooting ranges, where the targets shoot
back?

>4) Amusement park personalities!  It's one thing to have nameless robots in
>the park, but make there be a recurring Robot (maybe only have... one
>clown... or a mascot) so they have  a focus for their rage.  The robot fit
>the area, yet there's always that one clown (or have it be a particularly
>crazy and hideous mutant who wears an 'I love Umpty land!' t-shirt)


    What I had been working around in my head so far is a personality called
Bucky Beaver.  I bought a few books of brain teasers the other day and I'm
going to spread some of them about.  Bucky will be delivering them.

>    And in each scene, this personality does a cameo or more (Like he turns
>on the cyclotron ride to get it spinning the party to mulch). dressed
>appropriately.  Clown in cowboy duds.  Clown in mascot uniforn (Imagine the
>'Umpty Racoon! Except in clown shoes), Clown in the Hot dog vendor hat...
you
>get the idea.
>
>5) Scenes of just general danger without the need for killing something.
>Like Chickens in a pie machine, get the party in trouble where they just
have
>to get off the ride!  If every dangerous scene is a combat scene, it gets
>kinda dull.  Maybe they can find some sort of kiddie car they can drive
>around the park, and it for one reason or another locks them in, kicks up
to
>100mph, and then they have to get off without Dying!   AMusement park
rides.
>
>6) Scenes of just general menace of in the Killer Klown book.  Use them.
>Just because they don't involve immediate danger, doesn't mean you can't
take
>time to have the party just see things that are just freaky.  The
>Whack-a-mole game with people who got themselves whacked.. A+.  Quiet empty
>buildings and calliape music in the background (A nice touch of John Goff
is
>that he got some creepy Calliape music, the soundtrack to Hellraiser II.  A
>visit to the library could get you some of those).


    Definitely some stuff I can use in here.

>7)  Not just you normal axe or gun wielding clowns.  Why not Killer bumper
>cars who jump the track and seek to bump the party to oblivion.  Give em
fate
>chips if they jump into the cars and it becomes bumper cars.... of doom!
>Tickets attached to the steering wheels of the cars


    This one's definitely going into the game.  Another variation would be
to have the AI work on some of the little helicopters and planes you see on
the kiddy rides.  A few of those doing strafing runs could sure liven things
up.

>8) Lots of expendible NPC's!  they're not alone in the park.  And whenever
>they seem to get to one place, "Like the guess your weight booth", there's
>some other poor sap they see who just is in the wrong place.
>    A man walks up to the guess your weight booth "one hundred seventy
>pounds" it says.
>    The man steps up onto the scale, it reads 180  "Ha! I win! Gimme the
>tickets!"
>    A blade swings out, his head flies off to the left.  The dead body
slumps
>down, the scale reads 170.  "Next contestant please' the machine says.


    The only problem with this is above.  I guess I kind of shot myself in
the foot because I've set it up with the  group entering a park in a
desolate area with a finite number of NPCs to kill.  Like I said.  I think I
can still make it work if I'm careful with the dramatic effect.

>10) The last ride is "See the great Egress!" (A PT Barnum reference).  And
>that's where you have the last showdown with whatnot.  The recurring
>personality (see above), and it's boss.
>
>            Hope I helped.  Damnit man, I want to run these things if none
of
>you do.


    Hey, I can't thank you enough.  You've thrown out some really great
ideas here, and I'm definitely going to be using some of them.  I'll let
everyone know how it went.