An idea that came to me recently

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

This was just one of those odd stream-of-thought style things that drifted into my head after I started thinking about three videogames -Eternal Darkness, Silent Hill, & Clive Barker's Undying- and how I might go about putting the Ranma 1/2 crew into a similar "situation".

The basic idea I have is that, just prior to the story's beginning, Ranma received a letter detailing that some elderly obscure relative, the last surviving member of an 'estranged' branch of the Saotome family, has died and left him that branch's ancestral estate. So, naturally, Ranma and Genma have to go an see it- and equally naturally, everyone else (Tendos, Amazons, Ryoga & Ukyo) tag along. The rough I dea I have so far is that the "estate" turns out to be a large, decaying mansion in the middle of a thick swamp- which brings up a problem, because as far as I know Japan doesn't have any swamps.

They get delivered there and are told that heavy storms are brewing, which means the "roads" will flood so they have to stay put until they clear. So, they start a rudimentary exploration of the place- this is where they begin to get a bad feeling about the sinister/creepy surroundings. Despite the growing feeling of unease, things are pretty much normal; it's late, so they eat dinner and then drift away to their rooms to sleep. As the "new master", Ranma gets the Master Bedroom- there, he finds a strange box/small chest, which his curiosity prompts him to open. It takes a bit of fiddling, but it opens- albeit cutting/pricking his finger so that it bleeds in the process. Inside, Ranma finds a strange, trapezoid-cut jewel, which has a strangely hypnotic effect. Seized by an inexplicable urge, he picks it up.

And that's when things go to hell...

The rough idea for the story is that, after the 'dark forces' get called up, everyone vanishes bar Shampoo & Ukyo, who will have to put aside their enmity for each other and find a way to A: retrieve Ranma (oh, and everyone else too), B: put the dark forces down for good and C: get the hell out of this nightmare. It's not going to be easy, naturally, especially as the unearthly creatures that have started stalking the halls are relatively resistant to mundane attacks.

There are some more details, but what do you think? Is this a concept worthy of development?

[Comartemis]

Sounds kinda lame and cliche-filled right up until you get to the point where Ukyo and Shampoo team up. This will obviously be the meat of the plot, so as long as you can make the opening scenes, the arrival and so forth seem different from your run-of-the-mill horror movie by inserting a healthy dose of Ranma-brand humor and other craziness, you should be able to keep your audience's attention long enough to get to the interesting stuff.

[mondu_the_fat]

Might as well make it a Lovecraft crossover. The trapezoid and box you described is pretty much Nyarlathotep's (except it was in the attic), not the master bedroom.

If you want to avoid cliche (which, unfortunately, this setup is), then start the story with Shampoo and Ukyo teaming up, and refer to past events in dialogue or character reflection instead. Maybe start with Shampoo/Ukyo in the middle of battle with one of the monsters.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

No, an outright Lovecraft crossover won't be done. I admit to borrowing the "key's" design from the Shining Trapezhon, but I'm no real fan of the Cthulhu Mythos. I aim to create my own menagerie of horrors and things that go bump in the night.

Thanks for the suggestion of a better opening; that sounds like it would work much better.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Speaking of creatures, as I mentioned one of the inspirations for this idea in the first place was the Silent Hill series, where straight-out combat with the various lurking beasties is something that should be considered carefully, as ammo is scarce, your melee weapons aren't much and the creatures themselves will kill you quickly if they get hold of you. I was thinking that I might import a similar "resilience" into my menagerie (perhaps with the explanation that, as these things are alien abominations from another dimension, they are thusly harder to hurt by kicking & punching?)- what do you think of this idea? This means that Ukyo & Shampoo will need to rely, especially right at the start, on wits and tactical thinking. Not to mention running.

However, even in Silent Hill, the monsters can be hurt, so I was thinking of having the duo find some "equalisers". The question is, I'm not sure whether they should find 'artifacts' of various sorts left behind by the Saotome ancestors, or have them find actual magic/spells to use on the freaks, or maybe use both- what's your opinion?

Speaking of magic, I was initially thinking of going for a "design a spell" style similar to Eternal Darkness; locate the various Words of Power for the three spell components (Power Source, Action, Target), then assemble to create your own spells. Then, I began thinking that maybe specific, "dark magic" type spells (ala Undying's Ectoplasm, Scry, Skull Storm, etc). What do you think?

[jasonjkay]

Why just focus on Ukyo and Shampoo? Couldnt you also focus on Ranma and the others who disapeared into whatever hellish ploace they went to? Maybe make it like silent hill, in which Ranma and the others went into the hellish alternate dimension or whatever that is. Im not sure how well this story could be done with just Ukyo and Shampoo in it for the most part.

[Staren]

Ok, I have an idea, but by the end of the story their would be some serious character development...or OOCness depending on how you look at it. Magic is pretty well accepted by Shampoo and Ukyo to a lesser degree, I would probably give them something they normally would never be willing to use, modern weapons. The girls could pick up some magic from the area, but I would say limit it so that it can only be used sparingly.

Perhaps the previous owners had been dealing with these things for only a few months before they died and had managed to aquire a few hand guns and hollow points (maybe a small selection of military weapons to defend their ancestral home.

I could see the girls having to grow up a little in that situation.