Adapting cliche rpg adventures for modern day setting

[Fri]

So I have a plan for my next campaign. It will be a light-hearted, somewhat tongue-in-cheek urban fantasy set in current modern world, where the players play ordinary characters given magic power. There's much more about it, but the main gimmick is about the players running cliche rpg adventures, but adapted to modern setting. Like, fighting rats in the basement of a shop to get the shop owner's favor, those kind of things.

Do you guys have any suggestions of well-known enough rpg cliche adventure that I could adapt into modern setting? The adventures should be recognizable as cliche by my players so they would get the premise of the campaign. It could be a board game cliche, jrpg cliche, or crpg cliche adventures.

An example of an idea that I got is classic "save the princess" adventure, except we're saving the mayor's daughter from a biker gang called "The Dragon" or that's lead by a Bruce Lee knock off nicknamed the Dragon."

I'll definitely be starting the campaign by having the players cleaning rats out of a shop's basement.

Any more ideas?

[Libertad]

Earthbound is what you're looking for.  It has great inspiration.

The main character's a teenage boy with psychic powers.  An sapient bug in a meteor from the future crashes into the hills near his house, and informs him that he is one of the chosen 4 meant to defeat the evil alien overlord Giygas.

Cliches:

Rescue the princess: One of the chosen 4 was kidnapped by a cult obsessed with 'turning the world blue,' and Ness must save her from their leader.

Dungeons: dungeons have a more modern feel.  One of them involves a group of miners who have to stop as they dig into a giant mole colony.  Another is the upper floors of a skyscraper owned by Mr. Monotolli, a corrupt mayor in the New York-like city of Fourside.  Robot bodyguards patrol the interior.  And of course a sewer level with rats and slime molds.

Weapons: baseball bats replace swords, frying pans replace clubs, stun guns and air rifles for the more tech-inspired.

Shops and markets: Shopping malls are general bazaars, black market fences sell powerful weapons, fast food joints sell food which acts as healing items, drug stores serve a similar purpose.

Inns and taverns: Hotels serve as places for the PCs to rest.  Instead of gathering information at the bar, you read the local newspaper (or Internet social media in more modern games).

Impassable, broken bridges: Most towns are connected by an interstate highway.  One of them is haunted by ghosts and thus transportation is cut off.  Another time a traffic jam happens, forcing Ness and the gang to trek on foot.

[CaptRory]

Reminded me of this:


But yeah EarthBound is awesome =3

[X-Codes]

May I also recommend looking to Monty Python and the Holy Grail for some potential inspiration for interesting/comedic twists that are also jabs at classic fantasy?

For example, the Princess turns out to actually be a really effeminate Prince, a mysterious, strange person sends you on a fetch quest that is simultaneously mundane (as in not magical) and strange (as in why-the-hell-would-you-want-that), and that small rodent?  Secretly an epic-level encounter.

[kitep]

Just take a recent movie they've all seen, or a favorite computer game, and use that plot.

[Libertad]

... and that small rodent?  Secretly an epic-level encounter.

Boss Battle: The Plague Rat of Doooooom!

[CaptRory]

Or Mondo Mole

[Dkonen]

"He is the Chosen one!" (just have some mystical sort announce this somewhere to one of the characters with people gaping-maybe at the town fair or a magic show?)

"Evil Twin" (clone or add in the stolen at birth cliche-PC gets accused of awful things only to find out he has an evil twin. Could add in mysterious injuries that are being done to the twin for triple cliche goodness)

"Mustached villain for Marriage" Capture a woman, tie her to the rails and threaten her if she doesn't agree to marry (you can just make him looking to get her inheiritance, or he could be bonkers and completely obsessive)

"Find the McGuffin!" Think Belgariad. Super awesome powerful artifact that can destroy the world gets stolen, chase the bad guys until big climactic fight. Bonus if the McGuffin is a sentient goodly being that can't actually save itself, double bonus if it can only be used by "one pure of heart", triple if it has to be from a certain bloodline, quad if the evil villain is actually *gasp* the true parents of the hero/s)

"Disturbed native burial ground" nasty things start happening, can also be retyped to read "curse of xxx's tomb" and involve an archaeology class/tour group/oops, I fell into an ancient tomb in downtown new england.

Amnesia. You think everything is X, but it's really Y. Bonus points if it involves superhuman powers, double if it's from top secret gov't programs or aliens, triple if the head of the group is a parent, or they're the alien's unknown heir to the galactic throne.

Portals! As above, only everyone finds out they're really lost people from <portal land> (think harry potter)

Ancient extinct race is not really extinct, only in hiding. In fact, you're all descendants! bonus if someone's a lost royal or chosen one or prodigy of some lost ability/tech.

Science fair robot/computer/computer program gains sentience!

Time travel. Pick a show/movie

BBEG is going to detonate a nuke in <populated area> you have 24 hours to find him and disarm it.

Zombies!

Vampires! (pick your flavor, but double cliche if twilight-with bonus scaling for each session as a pain threshold exercise, triple if taken stright from dracula)

Frankenstein! (seriously there a ton of varieties to choose from)

Werewolves! (see above)

(Any of this can be reflavored to mundane if need be, just "Science!" it. That whole "any sufficiently advanced technology is virtually indistinguishable from magic" ) 

[Fri]

Thanks guys, these are definitely helping .

I totally didn't thought of the relation with Earthbound. It should've been obvious, really.

[Quillwraith]

Dungeons: dungeons have a more modern feel.  One of them involves a group of miners who have to stop as they dig into a giant mole colony.  Another is the upper floors of a skyscraper owned by Mr. Monotolli, a corrupt mayor in the New York-like city of Fourside.

The subways in NYC could make great dungeons, too.

[X-Codes]

Dungeons: dungeons have a more modern feel.  One of them involves a group of miners who have to stop as they dig into a giant mole colony.  Another is the upper floors of a skyscraper owned by Mr. Monotolli, a corrupt mayor in the New York-like city of Fourside.

The subways in NYC could make great dungeons, too.

How many times do you have games and movies set in abandoned NYC subway tunnels?  It's perfect for this game.