This week's WISH is about Movies, and the question my GM brain asks every time: How can I use this as a GM to make things difficult and fun for the players?
Ginger's Wish question 28 is:What are three movies that have inspired you as a gamer? Would you recommend them to other gamers, and if so, what would you tell them to look for and/or hope for them to get?
The Seven Samauri is such a basic plot that it's almost hard to use anymore. Defend the defenseless villagers from the outlaws. A great plot for dragging players into (perhaps they're stuck in the village, perhaps they have moral obligations, perhaps they're looking for pay) a group.
Lesson: Throw 'em together and mix it up.
Alternate: The Magnificent Seven / Battle Beyond the Stars / High Noon
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai This one is for balance and comedy. Watch Jeff Goldblum. Yes, he looks like he'll be a Shaggy, but he's a brain surgeon, Buckaroo wants him on the team, and he shoots a lectroid that was coming at BB's back.
Lesson: Let everyone have their niche. Let them have their incompetencies. Let them need the team. Serious stories can be really funny if you mix it up right.
Alternate: Tremors
The Dirty Dozen Fully 65% of the movie is planning and practicing the perfect plan, and still the team Scooby is a problem. It's a great plan, of the kind that cannot fail.
Lesson: Even the best plan has risks. For the best plans, it's probably the PCs. Give them the opportunity to run the plot, and give them the tension that comes from it.
Alternate: The Great Escape / The Bridge on the River Kwai
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