Monday, December 17, 2012

RPG Wish List: Brazil



Movies, Games and Books that I wish were available as Roleplaying Games.

Brazil
Sam is a man who works in a mind-numbing, bureaucratic job, living in a cramped apartment in a dystopian world in dependent on ducts, paperwork and poorly maintained machines. But when he sleeps, he is a warrior on a quest to rescue the woman of his dreams.

Then one day, he sees her walking into the Ministry of Information to complain about a clerical error that will thrust both of them into a dangerous game filled with renegade heating engineers and pursued by an inept government that will do anything to cover up its mistakes. At night, his dreams grow ever darker as he tries to save the woman of his dreams.

I have no idea how I saw this movie when I was eleven years old, but I didn't have the slightest clue as to what was going on. Then nine years later, I saw it as a late night movie and was completely blown away. This is one of those films that you can watch again and again and see something new every time. It struck me that it would make for a trippy campaign, where the party is stuck is a bureaucratic nightmare during the day, but at night they must battle through a surreal landscape and ruled by dream logic.

Suggested Supplements:
A Citizen's Guide to the Ministry of Information, A Citizen's Guide to Central Services, The Lucid. Of course all character sheets must be filled out in triplicate.

Suggested Systems:
Depending on how the Gamemaster wanted to handle this kind of game, it could range from Chuthulu Dreamlands, to Over the Edge, to Paranoia. I would try Something Went Wrong where a GMless game would be a good fit for the directionless ineptitude of the Ministry, and the dream logic of the Lucid.

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