"Gaming Tremors (Ideas & Suggestions)" Topic

This has been brewing in my mind for a while.

A while back from Netflix, I got Tremors (A 1990 film that is like a 1950s B movie; giant worms, "Graboids", threatening an isolated, very small town in Nevada). See: imdb.com/title/tt0100814 I remembered liking it when I saw it way back when and was in the mood for it. Turns out there are three sequels, so I got those too. II & III are the sequels they are; "Screamers" aka Chickens from Hell are a added threat. IV is a prequel with the Graboids in an Old West setting. That is what really got my mind going for what could be a fun game.

Setting: Old West

Rules? The reviews are really great for Gutshot. I like that it is supposed to have a pulp cowboy feel. And as they are currently working on a zombie scenario, it seems flexible for this type of "Weird Western". Would it work for this? Seems like there would need to be a borrowing of rules for movement for creatures both above and below ground. Suggestions if that is the case?

Figures: Cowboys: Artizan 28mm. (BTW, would Pulp Figures Chinese work well with the Artizan Cowboys? I think having a some Chinese with a nasty side (kind of like Mr. Wu from Deadwood) would be great (and I love the Pulp Figures Chinese!).

Graboids: Burrower Bugs (from Starship Troopers)
Graboid in films:
picture
or
picture
Burrowers:
link

Screamers in films:
picture
or
link
Astral Mauler:
link

Any other thoughts/suggestions?

In case you missed it, there was a TV series that ran for at least a season a few years back.

scifi.com/tremors

I am a huge fan of the Tremors movies and TV show. I would love to hear how you game has gone. I was planning on running a game based on Tremors myself. I have written a set of rules for a small group of heroes to adventure through Horror Movies and or Horror Survival games like Resident Evil.

Most guns have lousy if any penetration when shooting through earth. I would think that anytime the Graboids are underground they are safe from gunfire. The earth that makes up Perfection valley is real loose and light. So if there are vehicles like early automobiles, maybe if someone drove over a Graboid near the surface it could do crushing damage. There is always dynamite. While it does little physical damage to the worms it does hurt their sensitive ears and causes them to flee the area where it has gone off. Are you going to use any sort of hearing rolls for them to locate their prey? There is also dynamite on the end of a lariat. Are you going to represent the Graboid tendency to learn from their prey? Are they going to set up it pit traps? Can the players trick the Graboids? Trust me, from experience with my own game and players these questions will come up and you should be prepared for them. Players are a crafty, cleaver lot!

Are you good with Green Stuff? A SST burrower with a custom crafted beak and a few tentacles from GW mail order (or made of Green Stuff) would make a great Graboid.

As for Screamers there are some Kryomek two legged critters that are kind of close.
kryomek.com/kryomek.asp Look about half way down the page for Hellions 3. The Astral Maulers look pretty close too.

Have you seen Tremors 3? There is a third level of metamorphosis called an A$$blaster. It's a bi-pedal creature with wings that look like those dinosaurs with a spiny fin on its back. Imagine a row of spines sticking straight out on each side with webbing connecting the spines to form accordion-like wings and a three-part jaw like the bigger Graboid. This creature also sees heat like a Screamer. It has that name because the Asian shopkeeper (Jodi Chang) named it that after she saw it use an internal sulfur mixture to blast off into the sky. The creature can also use the sulfur mixture to burn through barricades to get to prey. The ABs can glide but not truly fly. With the hot air currents in the dessert they can probably soar for a few hours.

I also suggest seeing "Tremors 4, the legend begins" and if possible get your hands on some Sci-fi Channel episodes of the Tremors TV show. If you are a cult-like fan of Tremors like me you'll enjoy the episodes, otherwise you may find them a little cruddy.

Here is a little more data on Tremors.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremors
tremors3movie.com
link
link
tremorsnews.plusdimension.com
tremorsfan.com
burtgummer.proboards3.com

I hope this helps and good luck with your game! Please follow up with details of the game!

Try to find a copy of the Great Rail Wars miniatures rules by Pinnacle Entertainment (I think they are now with Great White Games). I think they even had rules for critters that were inspired by Tremors.

Plus you gotta love a Wild (weird) West miniatures game that uses playing cards and poker chips in the game mechanics!

I too have been toying with an idea for a Tremors game. I am looking at staging it on two separate identical table layout with one for the residents of perfection and the other for the players who are graboids. The graboid map only needs paper cutouts that show building foundations. Mind you after the one ran into the channel in the movie it might be better if they just get a blank layout and have to feel around. If the players make a noise in a building then I would put the outline of the foundation in.I was thinking of allowing the human players a serries different actions that had a "noise" factor applied. These factors could be tallied up and a template size then assigned. The louder the noise the smaller the template seen by the graboid players. They would then have to move to the area of the template and then start diceing to see if they can grab some one. That was just a few of the rough ideas that I had. I have a very good sculptor friend who I was going to ask to knockup some different counters for the game. One being a Graboid just surfaceing out of the ground. My game is stillabout 8 months away so let us all know how yours goes.

for Figures, Reaper makes this thing, called a purple worm

link

Peachy: TOTALLY COOL IDEA! Right now I'm busy with "Night of the Living Deadwood" and my "other" gaming project, otherwise I'd jump in and lend you a hand. If you do a Gutshot adaptation, though, just say the word and I'll offer whatever support I can (I could always help by adapting Character Sheets to your needs, or just answer questions about movement rates and Damage results).When you're done, we could even help you post it to the Web as an "unofficial but sanctioned variation" of the game. Unofficial meaning we don't want to see Grabbers in "normal" games, but we sure like the idea of it.

By the way, I'm a big fan of the movies. I admit I've only seen the first two, but I really liked them. To me, they did a wonderful job of taking the 1950s B-Movie and modernizing it without losing the rather innocent feel of the earlier times.

————————

By the way, am I the only one who can't help but picture a cowboy riding on the back of a grabber worm, trying to break it like a bronco? I can see how the Horsemanship Specialty could be modified for this (and I could give you a copy of our beta rules on bucking broncos and taming horses).

Let me know if you pursue this idea! Sounds totally cool and a LOT of fun.

Mike Mitchell
Hawgleg Publishing

This Reaper fig also makes a wonderful Graboid

link

Hello All:

Sorry I have been having computer problems for the last few days so have not been able to keep up with this thread and thus now have to post something really long.

First: Very happy to see I am not the only one who liked these films. III & IV were news to me. God bless Netflix. I have not seen III yet. For those who want the Old West setting, get IV. It is kind of made-for-TV, but I found it fun. Also, I did not know about the TV show. Sadly, it seems it will not be coming out on DVD and thus I won't be seeing it as I have not SciFi. (I don't know why every show is not released on DVD. Seems like money waiting to be made.)

Second, as for specific rules, I am really far away from that but appreciate the input, and hope it keeps coming! Watching II made me think that for each person killed, it should produce a new Screamer (The asexual reproduction if enough food, IYWR.) Speaking of rules, I am REALLY glad to see the Gutshot is now being sold through Brigade Games. (Paypal requires yet another password, ugh. Anyway, I like being able to do through-the-mail orders. Guess I am old school. I have watched the promo on the Hawgleg site but each time have been put off by having to sign up for Paypal which I would not use again as I have seen too many problems with E-Bay.) Once I save enough for the order I want, I probably will be buying it with the Western miniatures I am eyeing (Artizan). If I can get it through my used book shop, Great Rail Wars might have to be scooped up for a resource. (I love the Deadlands idea from what I have read about it. The cost of a used rule book is just too much however. Hopefully GRW will not be the same way.) However, I don't like the idea of running posses so don't see using GRW. I am drawn to Gutshot as it seems that there are individual characters for players(which seems more like the games I used to play way back when using nothing more than agreed roles with the friends I was playing with ("10-12 to hit that?" "Sounds reasonable."))

As for miniatures, for the Graboids: the Reaper Cavern Worm is great. However, I want something besides one rearing so I still think a set of the SST Burrowers and a Reaper Purple Worm (with added leg-nubs) is the way to go. While I can see adding legs, I am unsure about crafting beaks and thus probably will be stick with the killer ramora eel look. As for the Screamers, Kryomek seems to Alien/Aliens/A3/A4 for my taste. The Astral Mauler seems closer. I will have to wait to see the A$$blasters in TIII to look for something for that. It would be great to find something for a Hiram Gummer (city dude with bowler outfit covered by a duster holding an elephant gun).

A bronco buster on a Graboid would be a very neat touch. I'd like to see Hexxenhammer who posts on here have a go at putting together a figure. It was his Gwangi stuff and then Steam Posse stuff that drew me over to the Old West message board in the first place and has gotten me fixated on the West for the last couple of months, though, as my following those threads first might indicate, I must confess I like my Old West with a dash of the Weird or with some VSF.

Thanks for reading this monster post and again keep the ideas coming.

Peachy

I think the game mechanics would depend on the mission. I can think of two variants.

1. Humans trying to get out of town and off the table. The table has hidden patches of soft earth that trigger an attack. Combat could relatively simple. Humans have initiative, if they kill the graboid, It goes away. If they fail, the graboid attacks automatically killing an extra or requiring some sort of die roll to kill a main character. This game can be solo or cooperative with graboids controlled by the GM or a reaction table.

2. Graboids attack a human town. The idea of the double blind table makes sense. The actions to defeat a graboid naturally attract attention of more. I can't recall how much damage they could do to a building, but in general, high up on a structure was safe. Too much action near a building might bring on a concerted attack

Well, I let this drop for a bit. Sorry. My wife saw me drooling over the Griffen Greys and surprised me with ordering them as an early Father's Day gift. So I have been kind of fixated on those and stopped thinking about this for a bit. However, I don't want to see it drop completely so:

As for Jlundberg's game options, option 1 was what I was thinking about, though it would be started by an attack on the town first.

Anyone have an idea of where loose "dragon wings" could be picked up? Maybe some GW thing? With those, I think the Astral Maulers could be converted to A$$blasters without too much fuss. For the actual dynamic of how A$$blasters would work in a game, I have no idea for now. Maybe find some VSF rules somewhere for pterodactyls and adapt them. Though that would have to be down the road as I think just getting Graboids and Shriekers set up would be a good first step.

I was actually reading the post about Billy the Squid and thinking of other Cthulhoid monsters in the Old West, when I remembered your thread. Have you considered using Cthonians as Graboids? Here's a link to RAFM's mini:

link

Don't know if it's too tentacley for you, though?

I am going to try making one this weekend. Wish me luck!

TMP link

CC

If you need Baby versions, I'll have this coming out next month.

link

Rich

It is funny to see this thread revived as I started it. Naive I was thinking that I could put together something this grand whilst living through toddlerhood. I have been lucky to play in maybe five games in one year and done very little painting. It is nice to see some others are still faithful to the idea of playing out Tremors.

Anyway, CC best of luck. In one of the recent postings by Grimm he showed an excellent repaint of a D&D figure he did for a Graboid in a Deadlands setting. It does not have the beak but it is the best Tremors thing I have seen come along yet. Maybe the easiest thing to do is use the body of the D&D figure Grimm used for the Graboid and then use the D&D Astral Mauler figure head portion? If that works, the Graboids and Screamers would look mighty close.

Mysterioso

Mysterioso,

Please keep in mind that this is just a preliminary (and very rough) sculpt, for the purpose of getting the correct proportions for the Graboids' body:

link

The body section ended up being 5 3/4 inches in length (14.5 cm), and about 2 inches (5 cm) maximum width. I suspect that the head and jaw section will add another 1 1/2 inches (3.5 cm) to the overall length.

When I finally make the sculpt in GreenStuff, I will try to make it less conical and more grub-like. This Sculpy model was just to get the basic length, height and width.

This is what I'm actually shooting for:

link
link

The head portion is next. Wish me luck.

Thanks.

CC

Here's how Burt and Heather took one of them down . . .

link

CC

Did you see those Western Buildings from Blue Moon. They are not cheap, but look cool. I'm gonna check out a "Gutshot" game scheduled for Recon, as I too have heard great things about it.

Those worms with teeth at Mega Miniatures look like potentially good material:

link

Any progress CC? It looked good so far.

Smokeyroan,
Have you seen some of the maps for Perfection, Nevada, on this other thread?
TMP link

Mysterioso,
A very debilitating stomach virus hit me this weekend. I hope to continue on the model soon.

CC

Those worms with teeth will definateley be of little use!!!

Do not check the link!

I can't find that toothy worm!

CC

It was in the very nice full color catalog that came with my mega minis order. They don't look big enough to fit the bill, save for the "Big Worm", which has the body shape for a baby one, but the mouth is ALL WRONG. Hadn't seen the movie in some time, your link to Perfection tour refreshed me.

Interesting FAQ from the creature's designers/makers:

link

CC

Interesting video clips from the film:

TMP link

Hopefully, this will spawn new gaming ideas and scenarios.

CC

Mysterioso,

What do you think so far?

TMP link

Just a little more to go and it's done.

CC

CC:

It is looking great! I agree it looks like it is almost done. In some of the pictures it looks like you have a "peg" coming from the body's "neck". I think the head need a ring around it so it will slip over the peg and cover it (Kind of like how the cap on deodorant slips over the deodorant). Do that and I don't see what else you could do with it.

I have to agree with others who wish that you could cast these things and sell them without fear of running afoul of the law. (I understand the purpose of the law and am NOT trying to turn this conversation off topic. Just merely wishing that I could get a couple of CC's Graboids without him getting in legal trouble.) I'll settle with some pictures of a group of H. floresiensis versus a Graboid!

Mysterioso

Mysterioso,

Almost done. Finally!

TMP link

CC

Did anyone have any luck running a Tremors game since 2007? I have been noodling around with some ideas for staging it in an historical setting and was wondering if anyone had come up with some ideas since this topic was first posted.

My thought was to have two enemies converging on a town (say Napoleonic British and French in Spain or Union and Confederate troops in the Western US, for example).

Saw the Tremors the series on DVD set in the stores for anyone wishing to complete a collection.

Mysterioso,
There was a fourth Tremors movie made for tv and set in the Old West when the critters first appeared. Bert was very funny in that one.
Count NAtokina.

If anyone still wants to work on gaming "Tremors", you might find this interesting:

link
link
link
link

Dan

For rules playing these worms, you might want to check out I, Zombie by Two Hour Wargames. Plus there are a lot of other useful rules that come along with this supplement. They can all be intergrated into the free CR.30 rules.

Kurt

I didnt relize that this tread was so old but here is a place you can watch the whole series of Tremors hulu rocks

hulu.com/tremors