The Marvel comic Planet of the Apes has gotten me on a bit of an ape kick. Which got me thinking, why not use it (modified) as a D&D setting. Use the old sci-fi classic of nuclear war restoring magic to the world. For people who complain of elfly/dwarfy fantasy this could be a new twist.
What's really great is how the original movie even helps us map the ape types to character classes. Based on the films, especially the first two, it is obvious that gorillas would be fighters. The scientist types are all chimpanzees so they would be our magic users. Finally, Dr. Zaius and the Lawgiver are cleric types which gives us the orangutans.
Grab the cave city inspired architecture (especially if you can find the old 70s comics) and use James M's Stranger for Taylor like visitor humans and you've got all you need for a great classic D&D version of the classic franchise.
Plus, no elves.
Nice Idea. I'd be inclined to include gibbons as thieves in the first supplement.
ReplyDeleteWere they in one of the movies and I'm just forgetting or are they a new element?
ReplyDeleteI don't think gibbons were in any of the movies. The lack of a thief analog in The Planet of the Apes is yet more proof that that class is unneeded and wrong!
ReplyDeleteBut, if you had to have thief I think it's obviously the humans.
I'd play a Ape World game in a heart beat. I freaking love PotA. I might be the only person on earth to have actually run Terra Primate.I could see a S&W supplement along the lines of the Majestic Wilderlands, or Carcosa. Perhaps you could even coincide it's release with the new movie rumored to be starting in July:
ReplyDeletehttp://robojapan.blogspot.com/2010/04/planet-of-apes-caesar-set-to-begin.html
@Norman: I actually considered using humans as thieves for a moment, but went with the Stranger (which was my original intent).
ReplyDelete@BlUsKrEEM: I do have Terra Primate somewhere...it was the only hard copy Unisystem game I could locate and wanted one instead of all PDFs. I'm also glad to see the idea struck a chord. I think there is some potential in it, using the Marvel stuff, the first and last of the original movies, and the TV series as an inspiration more the middle three movies (Escape may be the best of sequels in terms of movies but not the best RPG material).