Bad Movies can be fun.

Amen to that! Anyone here seen Starcash?

Starcrash is one of my favorite 'so-bad-its-good' movies! Awe-inspiring cheese; just when you think it can't get any dumber, David freakin' Hasslehoff shows up, playing a knock-off of Princess Leia!

One day I'll use the phrases "Come to me, golems!" and "Imperial battleship? Halt the flow of time!" in a (40k) RPG

I also like how they go on about the "haunted stars" and it's all colourfull and neat.

Compare to Galaxy of Terror wich just seems tailor made for 40k...

Ok Hijacking the thread here for a sec: It's poll time!

Wich movie(s) most closely resemble the 40k universe and therefore would make great sources of inspiration for 40k RPGs?

I'm gonna start with (perhaps) the obvious one: Event Horizon.

Also galaxy of terror and aliens.

Starship trooper, especially the second where it gives the feel of an insidious infiltration.

Otherwise, Event Horizon indeed.

Let´s not hijack a topic

Back2Topic: Outlander (2008)

The movie sees some human-like non-terrestiral and a Dragon-like Alien, who actually are at war with another, crashlanding & stranding seems like our earth during the time of middleages, as it Features Wiking communities. The Dragon-esque xenos continues the fighting out of deep seated (and well deserved?) grudge against humanitiy (or humanoids) and so, our "hero" (the human-like exter-terrestial) Needs to lead the local vikings against "the Dragon".

The Special Thing about this "high-tech man surrounded by low-tech barbarian" is the attempts of the Heroe to explain his enemy by using the vikings myth about Dragons. I could see a Team of acolythes on a feral world that does not even KNOW the concept of "xenos" by know which tries to avoid "Moral threat" by explaining those creatures as Monsters, without giving to much Detail about there whereabouts. the trick Thing is the crash-landing-Setup: to mimic this, one Needs to make sure that characters are not send onto a combat Mission, since it would be hard to explain why they are not giving a squad of guardsmen along then.

Perhaps the characters were send to give a "second opinion" about the world views and believes of the local human tribes, as the Inquisitor is not willing to trust the reports of the Missionaie Galaxis alone. The characters do not only hear legends about a Monster but have "luck" to arrive in a village where a warrior is about to be burried (by fire) who got killed by one. The wounds tell the tale for acolythes, and they want to investigate further...

The nature of the beast is crucial here. It should be inhuman enough that the tribesmen see it as a beast, but advanced enough to have Technology or ability that makes sure that acolythes don´t do it away as "local Fauna". Kroot have creatures along that match, as do the dark Eldar. But one of These mercenary encoutner in te Sabbat-World-Crusade might do the trick (see below)..one just Needs to find a reason why they are there...and only with a small number/detachment

PHANTASM (1979)

Strange goings-on at a spooky mortuary, involving the seemingly deathless Tall Man, who directs a number of deadly flying spheres and grotesque robed dwarfs . Investigation reveals that aliens are using the mortuary to harvest human corpses, which they send through a dimensional gateway to a harsh planet where they are re-animated and used as slaves.

As a DH mission, this would make for a good excuse to visit a Cemetery World. Just be careful about allowing them to achieve line-of-sight with your surrogate Tall Man (an alien parasite inside a human body?) too early, since even with gimmicks Unnatural Toughness, boss villains tend to die easily in WH40KRP . And you will want to change the appearance of the spheres to keep your players from identifying the inspiration for the mission; even though few people under 40 have seen this movie, the flying spheres are pretty iconic and easily recognizable (and, like I say in the first post, the whole point to mining B-movies for plot ideas rather than well-known A-pictures is to avoid breaking player immersion with too-recognizable source material).

LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (1988)

An adaptation of Dracula author Bram Stoker’s final novel, directed by noted visual stylist Ken Russell ( Altered States ) and staring a pre-fame Hugh Grant. Inspired by an actual British folk legend, the story involves a sinister aristocrat who takes up residence in a small community and attempts to revive an ancient snake daemon, which was once worshipped as a god in the ancient past.

A DH mission based on this movie would be pretty straight-forward, with the Acolytes sent to a back-water community to determine possible heretical ramifications of a recently unearthed archeological site, and spinning off into an investigation of missing locals and the appearance of ‘were-snakes’, ultimately concluding with a frantic attempt to prevent a human sacrifice that will revive the sleeping daemon. The culprit cannot be as obvious as Amanda Donohoe’s sinister-to-the-point-of-camp aristocrat, though.

BARBARELLA (1968)

Hey- quit laughing! Here me out!

Space pilot Barbarella is dispatched to a planet outside of charted space to look for a missing scientist named Duran Duran (yes, that's who the '80s band is named after) who has invented a super-weapon. Upon crashing on the planet, she discovers it is ruled by a decadent society that banishes anyone who isn't evil to a labyrinthine prison, while the rest of the population revels in decadence and debauchery in the capitol city. Escaping from the labyrinth with the help of a blind angel named Pygar, Barbarella infiltrates the city, finds Duran Duran, and learns the Terrible Secret: the city is built over a 'lake' that is in fact a sentient alien entity called the Mathmos, which feeds on negative psychic energy- it is the corrupting influence of this entity that is responsible for the evil nature of the denizens of the city. Duran Duran, corrupted by the Mathmos (and aged decades as a result) plans to take over this planet, then use his super-weapon to begin conquering the galaxy. Plus Barbarella has lots o' sex...

Although the execution is goofy in the extreme, the basic plot makes for a perfect DH mission: find a valuable scientist who has apparently crashed on an uncharted planet, discover that he is in fact a heretek who has fled to the planet in hopes of using it as a base to strike against the Imperium, find a society dominated by a Slaaneshii daemon, and escape to warn the Inquisition before the heretek can use his new weapon (ideally ending in Exterminatus). You can even work in a variant of the blind angel, by having the Acolytes discover a blind Space Marine held prisoner in the city, tortured daily for the entertainment of the corrupt masses. If they can manage to rescue him in the course of the mission, he could become a valuable ally/future plot point.

What if Pygar was a blood angel scout that was separated from his chapter that succumbed so far into the black rage he came back as an aspect of sanguinius?

Blood calls out to blood, my sons. I have returned.

What if Pygar was a blood angel scout that was separated from his chapter that succumbed so far into the black rage he came back as an aspect of sanguinius?

Blood calls out to blood, my sons. I have returned.

I don't think that's how the Black Rage works. True, the rage causes BA to think they are Sanguinius on the day before he dies (with his foresight he knows Horus is going to kill him), but there is no support for the Black Rage causing mutation.

What if Pygar was a blood angel scout that was separated from his chapter that succumbed so far into the black rage he came back as an aspect of sanguinius?

Blood calls out to blood, my sons. I have returned.

I don't think that's how the Black Rage works. True, the rage causes BA to think they are Sanguinius on the day before he dies (with his foresight he knows Horus is going to kill him), but there is no support for the Black Rage causing mutation.

That's true. Maybe in conjunction with some latent psychic powers or something. I just tought that it would be cool to make this guy a Blood angel.

What if Pygar was a blood angel scout that was separated from his chapter that succumbed so far into the black rage he came back as an aspect of sanguinius?

Blood calls out to blood, my sons. I have returned.

I don't think that's how the Black Rage works. True, the rage causes BA to think they are Sanguinius on the day before he dies (with his foresight he knows Horus is going to kill him), but there is no support for the Black Rage causing mutation.

That's true. Maybe in conjunction with some latent psychic powers or something. I just tought that it would be cool to make this guy a Blood angel.

Humm . . . I guess that could work! And since we're talking about BA and not the Sisters of Battle, I don't have to scream Heresy! as soon as you say "psyker."

What if Pygar was a blood angel scout that was separated from his chapter that succumbed so far into the black rage he came back as an aspect of sanguinius?

Blood calls out to blood, my sons. I have returned.

I don't think that's how the Black Rage works. True, the rage causes BA to think they are Sanguinius on the day before he dies (with his foresight he knows Horus is going to kill him), but there is no support for the Black Rage causing mutation.

That's true. Maybe in conjunction with some latent psychic powers or something. I just tought that it would be cool to make this guy a Blood angel.

Humm . . . I guess that could work! And since we're talking about BA and not the Sisters of Battle, I don't have to scream Heresy! as soon as you say "psyker."

Yeah the Blood angels even had/have a psychick power called "wings of sanguinius" wich caused ethereal wings to sprout from the psykers back (and the model counted as having a jumpack for a turn, yes even if they wore terminator armor.)

I figure with Pygar he can't turn it off anymore.

What if Pygar was a blood angel scout that was separated from his chapter that succumbed so far into the black rage he came back as an aspect of sanguinius?

Blood calls out to blood, my sons. I have returned.

I don't think that's how the Black Rage works. True, the rage causes BA to think they are Sanguinius on the day before he dies (with his foresight he knows Horus is going to kill him), but there is no support for the Black Rage causing mutation.

That's true. Maybe in conjunction with some latent psychic powers or something. I just tought that it would be cool to make this guy a Blood angel.

Humm . . . I guess that could work! And since we're talking about BA and not the Sisters of Battle, I don't have to scream Heresy! as soon as you say "psyker."

Yeah the Blood angels even had/have a psychick power called "wings of sanguinius" wich caused ethereal wings to sprout from the psykers back (and the model counted as having a jumpack for a turn, yes even if they wore terminator armor.)

I figure with Pygar he can't turn it off anymore.

Yeah! I modeled metal wings on my Mephiston just before the dew 'dex came out since I always gave him that power. The model doesn't make sense any more, but whatever.

I miss my flying Librarian Dreadnoughts.

REPO MAN (1984)

Petty criminals steal a car, unaware that their are highly radioactive alien corpses in the trunk. As the car changes unwitting hands, it is pursued by a combination of government agents, UFO cultists, and street punks seeking a reward, while the deaths from radiation continue to mount...

This basic plot could make for a fun DH mission, as the Acolytes chase some kind of commonplace item -which is actually possessed by a highly-Corrupting daemonic force- through a hive city, competing with various 'interested parties' (criminal gangs, decadent nobles, Chaos cultists) who don't know the item's true power.

LIFEFORCE (1985)

Astronauts making a fly-by of Haley's comet discover that it is 'towing' an ancient alien spacecraft in its wake. Entering, they find it filled with hundreds of mummified bat-like creatures, and three carefully preserved humans. Taking the bodies aboard their space shuttle, the astronauts begin their return... then Earth loses contact with them. A rescue mission finds the shuttle drifting in orbit, with one crewmember missing and everyone else dead- reduced to mummified husks. And the three mysterious bodies found on the alien ship are still intact, so they are brought down to Earth...

Eventually it is revealed that the three beings are still 'alive', and they feed on human life-force, reducing their victims to mummified husks- which reanimate an hour later and feed in like manner on other humans. The three beings escape into London, causing an exponentially spreading zombie plague as the heroes realize that an event like this was the inspiration for ancient legends of vampires. Can they figure out how their ancestors banished this threat before the world is doomed...?