Gate Hoppers
A Sliders-inspired roleplaying campaign.
01 / THE CAMPAIGN
Four strangers awaken aboard a mysterious orbital prison, with no memory of how they got there or why they’re being held. Accused of crimes ranging from mass murder to unauthorized dimensional travel, they manage to escape through a strange gateway, only to discover that they’ve landed in a world that isn’t quite their own.
Armed with a stolen device capable of locating portals between realities, the unlikely companions begin an unpredictable journey through alternate worlds. From familiar places with unfamiliar histories to worlds of magic, monsters, and advanced technology, every jump brings new dangers, new opportunities, and occasionally new companions. All the while, the mysterious organization known as the Facility remains in pursuit.
Gate Hoppers was a d20 Modern campaign that began in 2014 and returned for a second season in 2017. Originally conceived as a lighthearted diversion between Shadowrun and Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, it borrowed liberally from Sliders, Stargate, and Quantum Leap. My original ambition was simply to create a game where someone could throw grenades at a beholder. What emerged was an episodic, anything-goes adventure that turned out to be considerably more entertaining than I expected.
SYSTEM
d20 Modern
SETTING
Alternate Realities
CAMPAIGN YEAR
2014 / 2017
PLAYERS
4 (initially)
STYLE
Episodic Adventure
STATUS
Archived
02 / The Adventurers
Eli Hollis
EMT & First Responder
A Detroit-based emergency medical technician whose training proves invaluable across countless dangerous worlds. Practical and resourceful, Eli often finds himself trying to keep his increasingly unpredictable companions alive, and eventually get everyone home.
Hotblack
Death Metal Musician & Technical Genius
A gothic death metal singer and guitarist with an unexpected talent for technology. Equally comfortable with electronics and unconventional problem-solving, Hotblack becomes the group’s resident technical expert as they navigate increasingly bizarre realities.
Mark Wahlberg
Actor, Producer & Former Rapper
Yes, that Mark Wahlberg. The Hollywood celebrity finds himself stranded in the multiverse alongside a collection of unlikely companions. Confident, impulsive, and surprisingly dangerous, Mark approaches every new world with the conviction that he can handle whatever it throws at him.
Barry Henderson
Street Magician & Illusionist
A street performer and Cedar Point enthusiast whose interest in illusions develops into genuine magical ability. His pursuit of greater power leads him into dangerous bargains, ultimately threatening both his companions and their freedom.
Wyatt
Wild West Gunslinger
A wandering gunfighter who stumbled through a dimensional portal and joined the travelers during their first season. Accustomed to solving problems with a quick draw and a steady hand, Wyatt takes the increasingly strange worlds in stride.
Brother Caboose
Seraph & Heavenly Warrior
A peculiar soldier from a world where the armies of Heaven and Hell have waged war for generations. Caboose joins the travelers following the fall of the orbital fortress Arcadia, bringing combat experience and a somewhat unconventional perspective.
Ko Bong
Zen Buddhist Priest
A 14th-century Korean Zen priest with a fondness for alcohol and a remarkably relaxed attitude toward dimensional travel. Philosophical, enigmatic, and frequently intoxicated, Ko Bong seems content to follow wherever the multiverse takes him.
03 / The Story
Season One – 2014: Lost Between Worlds
Four strangers, Eli Hollis, Hotblack, Mark Wahlberg, and Barry Henderson, awaken aboard a mysterious orbital prison known as the Facility. Accused of crimes they have no memory of committing, including unauthorized dimensional travel and potentially destroying entire realities, they escape through a portal with a stolen device capable of locating gateways between worlds.
Their journey begins in a version of Montana seemingly trapped in the 1980s, followed by a Wild West frontier, a world populated by dinosaurs, and a steampunk British Empire. Along the way, they discover that dimensional travel is more common than they imagined, and that an organization known as the Institute is policing the multiverse. Pursued by its agents, the travelers discover a gateway hub at Stonehenge and narrowly escape into 1960s San Francisco.
From there, their travels take them to a dark fantasy world, where they encounter Wyatt, a displaced gunslinger who joins their group. Barry, whose amateur illusions have developed into genuine magical abilities, makes a dangerous bargain with a mysterious woman at a crossroads. In exchange for greater magical power, he promises to reveal the secrets of dimensional travel to her master.
The bargain comes due when the party reaches Stonehenge and discovers an army of apparent demons awaiting them. Realizing the danger, the travelers refuse to cooperate, and a desperate battle erupts around the portal. In the chaos, Mark shoots and kills Barry before escaping with the others.
The survivors emerge in a world resembling ancient Rome, only to encounter another version of their recently deceased companion. This Barry, a member of a sinister religious cult, has apparently summoned them into a gladiatorial arena. After escaping imprisonment and fleeing the city, the travelers abandon their new acquaintance and leap through another gateway.
They emerge aboard a space station in the middle of a firefight, where a military officer greets Eli with a rather unexpected announcement: “Father Eli, I’m glad you’re here. We’ve got work to do.”
Season Two – 2017: The Long Way Home
The travelers discover that they’ve arrived aboard Arcadia, a space station serving as a stronghold for the armies of Heaven in an ancient war against Hell. Their host, Sister Mary, claims to have encountered Eli on three previous occasions… and watched him die every time. Before the group can make sense of their situation, demonic forces overrun the station. With two new companions, the warrior Brother Caboose and a wandering Zen priest named Ko Bong, they commandeer a spacecraft and escape through another dimensional portal.
Unfortunately, their ship is badly damaged during transit, crashing into Central Park in an alternate Manhattan resembling a 1970s exploitation film. Following an unfortunate confrontation with the authorities, the travelers escape into another reality: a bizarre fantasy theme park called Wade’s World, where unwilling participants are forced to play out adventures under the watchful eye of the mysterious Lord Wade.
Their next jump deposits them in Middle-earth, where Mark decides that stealing the One Ring is an excellent idea. After murdering Bilbo Baggins and acquiring the ring, the party continues into a strange feudal Asian world whose inhabitants seem incapable of lying. A lengthy journey aboard a magnetic airship, complete with an attack by pirates, finally brings them to a remarkable destination: Rary’s Inn Between the Worlds.
The Inn is a refuge for dimensional travelers, existing somewhere outside conventional reality. Its proprietor, the enigmatic Rary, knows considerably more about the group’s origins than he initially reveals. After allowing them to rest, resupply, and explore a technologically advanced future, Rary offers something the travelers have been seeking since their escape from the Facility: a way home.
With Rary’s assistance, the group finally returns to Detroit, Michigan. Unfortunately, months of fighting their way across the multiverse have left them poorly prepared for ordinary civilian life. Their heavily armed appearance attracts police attention, and a confrontation quickly turns violent. In the confusion, Mark is taken into custody by agents of the Facility, which has apparently been waiting for their return.
Mark manages to escape, and the travelers converge on a local airfield, where the Facility has deployed reinforcements to intercept them. Leading those reinforcements is a familiar face, Barry Henderson, their supposedly dead former companion.
And that’s where season two ends, with the travelers finally home, their original pursuers closing in, and the mystery of their alleged crimes still unresolved.
I still play with a lot of the same group today, so theoretically, we could pick up where we left off. Will we? Who knows… this might just be another unfinished sci-fi series.