Free Idea Dumping Ground

A moon nazi woman falls for a rugged pulp hero and denounces fascism but has serious identity issues and insists on the hero sparing her people.

Eventually she comes to identify as a Moon-Nazi as a purely psudo-ethnic term describing blonde 'aryans' born on the moon and the hero lets them live after the people transition from moon Nazi to Moon-Nazi.

A team was assembled to defend the Earth from an Alien Invasion, no not that team...another team back in 1983...

An alien got romantically involved with a scientist, a cop taking revenge on the mob, The Cape - a patriotic superhero, a pair of superspies (one Russian as the Token Evil Teammate), a '90s Anti-Hero, a foursome of young teens with paranormal abilites and an inventor with Power Armor... defeated and Alien mothership back in 1984. The friendly alien perished, but it's child vowed to be ready in case the invaders came back.

Well it's 2016 and the Aliens are back for a rematch.

But the team isn't. Half-Human Hybrid daughter now has to put the team back....Only there is now a ton of UN paperwork, the General Ripper who hunted her "father" is now in charge of the mission to fight the invaders. And he has a team of heroes, but heroes who've never fought this threat.

The daughter has to get the old teammates:

• The Cape was really a double agent for an Ancient Conspiracy group, he sold secrets to old USSR and got a life sentence. This mission is his last chance.

• One superspy is now a mother with grandkids who only joins because of said grandkids. The other is now a millionare since the USSR fell ans is reluctant to leave a successful business.

• The inventor passed away in an accident, but his son has all gadgets, that have never been tested.

• The '90s Anti-Hero is in prison and Jumped at the Call to get a clean record.

• The teens are All Grown Up and they trained a new team with the General Ripper and are only going as "advisors", they think their new, media savvy "millennials" will do the job.

A lot of the team has to deal with growing old and having to get back into shape after not having done any hero work "since Nirvana was on the charts" and deal with the Dysfunction Junction that the team has become.

Avengers meets Space Cowboys......

edited 11th Aug '16 6:45:19 AM by TairaMai

This isn't my own idea persay, but I think that the scale of grimness vs. darkness should be popularized (maybe even be made into a trope!). For those of you who don't know, the scale is like an alignment chart in D&D. On one axis, there is grimness, on the other darkness. Grimness is a measure of the intentions of the characters. Works with purely intentioned main characters are noble. Darkness is the measure of the tone of the setting, at least on the surface. Works that have happy settings are referred to as bright. For example, WH 40 K is grimdark because it is both has badly-intentioned characters and a dark setting. Berserk has a very grim setting, but Guts and other main characters have intentions that mean well most of the time, even if that doesn't always work out.

Unable to afford a domme, a broke masochist starts showing up to feminist events holding a sign labeled "the patriarchy" and inviting everyone to beat him up.

A Space Opera about a group of space mercenaries who work as tax collectors for the Terran Empire of humans. So basically, these Loose Cannon space mercs to up to various criminal operations across the galaxy, not to stop said operations or turn over the criminals to the authorities, but to collect back payments in taxes.

I like it. I always wished there were more shows about the mundane jobs in sci fi universes.

A related idea would be a series about the guy whose job it is to repo spaceships in the Used Future.

A lot of comics have Cape Busters or super-spies like S.H.I.E.L.D., but in Real Life, most military and quasi-military forces have the main force and the reserves .

A show that focuses on former superheroes, a Boxed Crook and some Cape Busters who are "weekend warriors": they are only a force when called up, otherwise it's train on the weekends and then work, college or homelife.

• A former hero who went to far and is now working to defend the city he lives in and raise a family.
• His wife who was a super-spy who now also wants a family, but wants to keep her skills sharp and protect the city.
• A former villain, now reformed, who has a "normal" family and tried to keep the kids from following in his footsteps.
• A Boxed Crook who wants to show that she's reformed and was framed for the crime that got her a Restraining Bolt. She loved the villian life, but Good Feels Good.
• A platoon of Cape Busters who are either veterans working for retirement or fresh out of the academy newbies too green to risk on the front lines.
  • A Retired Badass and Ensign Newbie are taking the same classes in said college.
• A former Kid Hero who now owns a successful business, wants to run for office, but has Chronic Hero Syndrome...

edited 28th Jun '16 10:43:22 AM by TairaMai

"The Frankenstein Four"

Mr. Frankenstein: His power is invention, mostly inventing reasons why the strange things and the voice he hears that remind him of his dead finance are just his imagination.

The Invisible Ghoul: She hasn't mastered the ghost power of non-invisibility, but is otherwise a powerful poltergeist. The only sane woman in the team and being dead hasn't weakened her sanity at all. She always suspected that Mr. Frankenstein was using his inventions to cheat on her by spying on other girls. She also looks after her little brother. Both men can hear her clearly, but just don't listen.

The Human Lightning Rod: Rod is Mr. Frankenstein's "victim zero", and refuses to accept any responsibility for his own role in the deaths of his sister and her fiance's best friend. It's all the fault of these unwanted powers that everybody blames Rod for. His powers tend to go out of control (with shocking results) everytime he imagines he hears his dead big sister's voice.

The Monster: Mr. Frankenstein's best friend, greatest accomplishment and greatest failing. Its greatest power isn't the super strength or undead durability, but rather just being the team heart. (It must have been a really great corpse Mr. Frankenstein took that heart from, because it's a big improvement.)

Together they fight villains almost as often as each other. Their greatest nemesis being Dr. Dracu.

edited 2nd Jul '16 4:20:36 AM by hcobb

I'd watch it...

But won't you please write it?

In the far future, humanity has since regressed back into the tribal ages after a cataclysmic event led to the end of civilization as we know it. The humans of the future now worship these androids that survived the cataclysm as gods.

Inspired by a line from "If I ever become an anime hero."

A character does one of the above, it turns out to be a massive turn-on for the admirer, and the character who initially wasn't interested is shocked to find someone who likes the trait they thought would prevent them from finding someone in the first place. Perhaps, even if they don't get together, they end up having a fun, fetish-based FWB relationship.

edited 4th Jul '16 5:07:49 AM by Wheezy

I'm not a game developer, so I know I'll never get the chance to make good on this.

You play as a brave young hero in a land beleaguered by giant monsters. You have taken it upon yourself to slay the foul beasts and bring order back to your world; but you can't do it alone. You have to train and find weapons and tools to help you on your quest!

As you defeat your colossal foes, you creep closer and closer to your goal. Stability. And when you best you last opponent...

The world is still as messed up as it was before. Yes, they're isn't a Troll hanging around the only trade route in and out of the kingdom now, but a group of brigands have moved in his absence. In fact, the kingdom is just a little less magical. Whose going to return lost cattle, or rustle up the fireflies on summer nights now?

Yes the whole point of the game is not killing the monsters. You can do it, but there'll be consequences. No the point is to find the monsters by using the tools you discover to find and reach them and to help them in their own plights, and by doing so helping the kingdom.

Essentially equal parts Undertale, Shadow of the Colossus, Legend of Zelda and King's Quest.

I suspect it might help to make combat be nothing more than "You attack Group of Trolls. They die as [succinct but horrific description of death]. You lost 12 HP but gain 30 Death Energy". Just a part of the whole "you're not supposed to attack them with any regularity" theme.

You will have to HEAVILY hammer in the theme from the very start. Plaster it all over the name and cover of the game. Stuff the tutorial with it. Don't let the player attack until the last part of the tutorial, when the tutorial immediately shows the consequences of the attack. Present every creature as a person who happens to look funny. Show they have families, friends, jobs, goals, aspirations, emotions, personalities, aspects of people.

Heck, the intro you just gave? Bake it into the tutorial. Not an introduction, people will skip it until the cutscene finishes and resume killing immediately. Make people play through the journey of a 'hero' who killed every monster, but ended up ruining everything.

From what I know, Shadow of the Colossus doesn't give you the option of not killing the Colossi. Well, you could, but only by putting down the game and not playing at all. Undertale did it better, by actually giving non-lethal choices and presenting them in every interaction with other creatures (just by the existence of the MERCY button sitting there, silently judging you).

edited 9th Jul '16 1:51:20 AM by hellomoto

Not sure if this would work in a narrative, but it would work be pretty good in a Video Game.

Character A and B are on an epic quest in an Epic Fantasy. You know how the story goes: rescue the Prince/Princess, slay evil monster, get treasures, and be evil's bane. The catch? They're Punch Clock Heroes and they punch the clock on a strict schedule.

The game has an in-game clock and after 12 in-game hours, the heroes switch off, regardless on what they were doing at the time. There's only enough magic between the two for one of them to be in their 'Hero Mode' so the other has to wait around and tag along and wait for their turn before they can be the badass. The heroes can give up their turn to the other for various reasons: feeling sick, not having the time due to personal reasons, just because, or if it's a game: then the player just prefers one play style over the other.

Having a certain character in 'Hero Mode' enables them to go to places only they could go if they're in power.

edited 10th Jul '16 6:56:47 PM by HydraGem

Wrong thread.

edited 20th Jul '16 11:12:46 PM by hellomoto

A sci-fi show/serialized comic that has a cast mostly of B-Movie or obscure characters. The cast might go as follows:

• A Kulimonian (a la Star Man) engineer who decided to defy the stereotype of Kulimonian counsuelers and hypnotists and go into the field of engineering.
• An AI whose neurochemistry was modeled after that of a gorilla. It struggles with human emotions but so far has learned love, hate and joy, a la Robot Monster.
• An ex-cultist who belonged to an anti-cybernetics sect. Said sect had an odd focus on hands as a motif and the first implant she got was a cybernetic arm. (Manos: The Hands of Fate)
• A Starfish Alien telepathic fungus who acts like a Bunny-Ears Lawyer with their multiple quirks a la Matango.

There would also probably be some more standard characters involved, but I like the idea a lot.

A hammy, Card-Carrying Villain whose attempts at being evil invariably help people more than harm them-but he always has a quick rationalization as to why his actions are actually super evil. For example, he creates cures for diseases because he thinks it'll deprive doctors of their income. Or he helps a couple get together because it will "give them less freedom". He saves a kid from drowning because there's a small chance that kid will one day grow up to be EVIL.

Just a random thought I had and not sure I'll ever use myself: A person with incredible, One-Punch Man level strength becomes a superhero for the express purpose of Trolling the strongest supervillains to their faces. Especially the ones who claim to have higher goals but are generally full of it.

edited 7th Aug '16 10:43:51 AM by sgamer82

A guy works at a company that has become so bloated, redundant, and bureaucratic that no one there actually knows what kinds of products or services they sell. Twist: they haven't produced anything for ten years. An outsider wonders how they keep getting clients, and then it turns out that the clients are themselves so bloated, redundant, and bureaucratic that they don't even notice that they're paying for nothing.

Needless to say I've done nothing with this, for the following reasons: 1. It's too much like Dilbert 2. I just thought of it five minutes ago 3. I don't feel like it

Definitely has the makings of a 70s Conspiracy Thriller pastiche.

Nah, I envisioned it more as a satirical, absurdist Black Comedy. Of course, it would probably take place in a Crapsack World where conspiracies are rampant, so you may be correct after all.

1. A story about a sorcerer who is released from prison and finally reunited with his familiar after 40 years (or however many years you'd like. I like even numbers.)

2. A setting where magic is a natural resource. It's found abundantly in deep nature. So people who live in urban areas pay a magic utility to funnel magic into their city homes. As for a plot, maybe there's a power outage? Sometimes we have power outages in my town, and everyone gets worked up. And it's always during the summer.

3. A story where magical beings are born with the tool that will define their purpose in life. The conflict is that the protagonist either has an ill-suited tool or no tool at all.

a cocky teenage priest and a nun girl are part of organization of catholic demons hunters. the two of them aren't quite fond of each but eventually began to develop feelings which goes against the organizations' vow of celibacy. the nun girl turns out to be a nephilim (a half angel half human hybrid) who was banished from heaven due to her heritage. the only way she can transform is if her partner kisses her.

edited 27th Sep '16 1:47:47 PM by ewolf2015

A group of Mice Knights are on a pilgrimage to search for new lands outside of their closed-off city, which is running out of resources and they're naturally too skittish to open up trade with other creatures. Their expedition is interrupted by a a cat that slaughters the entire troop except for one survivor who washes down the river and ends up in the care of a group of Monks in the tallest tree in the middle of the forest, far away from home.

The Mouse has to make her way back home, evading various predators, marauders, and hazards. And it's gonna be a long trip.