Role-playing in the Land of the Lost

Courtesy LandoftheLost.net

The recently revitalized Land of the Lost is tailor-made for role-playing, incorporating the pulp action of dinosaurs, time travel, alien lizards, and psychic crystals.

Land of the Lost was a very different kind of television show, following the adventures of the Marshall family who become trapped in an exotic prehistoric land. Created by Sid and Marty Kroft, who were known for their off-beat, bizarre shows for children, Land of the Lost hosted an impressive roster of science fiction writers who went on to greatness, including Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon, and several Star Trek alum (most notably, Walter Koenig AKA Chekov).

"I did try to be very accurate for the eight people who cared, because some of the dictionary had been added onto by people who had done like D&D role playing stuff for Land of the Lost." --Jorma Taccone, Land of the Lost and Saturday Night Live writer and performer.

The concept of a pocket universe is familiar to role-playing gamers, but it was a new idea for television, especially a children's show. In the show, the protagonists – who were only equipped for a short camping trip – have to make do as a family in a hostile world. Land of the Lost features hostile lizard-like Sleestaks, ape-like Pakuni, cross-dimensional travelers from different realities, and of course dinosaurs.

Land of the Lost made dinosaurs cool long before they became a mass-marketing tsunami aimed at young boys. In fact, as a child of the 70s/80s, I proudly owned every dinosaur book ever written at the time for children, which numbered thirty-two in total. When I tried to get a dinosaur bedspread and curtains for my room, my mother was surprised to learn that no such thing existed.

Setting a game in Land of the Lost is more about what not to include, as the setting can theoretically contain just about anything with enough justification. R. B. Bergstrom defined in his Transitive Gaming Wiki the key elements of a Land of the Lost game: 

• Survival: Land of the Lost emphasized the odd nature of the land. Although it was strange, it was a thriving ecosystem that was survivable. The key is learning to live off the land and the rules that control it, a continuing theme throughout Land of the Lost.
• Pakuni: The Pakuni as a people can be played comically, emphasizing the differences between human and Pakuni cultures, or seriously, as misunderstandings can lead to conflict or even open warfare.
• Sleestacks: Like the Pakuni, the Sleestack are ignorant of modern culture. They're also more violent, making them convenient villains.
• Pylons and Crystals: The "magic items" of the Land of the Lost, pylons and crystals are the means for characters to interact with the peculiar nature of the universe. They're a reminder that the Land isn't just a dinosaur-filled jungle, but a sometimes fickle pocket dimension.
• Time Travel: Land of the Lost is the missing-sock-receptacle of the universe, a place where the lost are found. Characters from any time or place can be trapped there, including aliens, civil war veterans, glider pilots from the future, and even alternate reality versions of the player characters.
• Monsters: Land of the Lost's fauna includes more than just dinosaurs. The series also featured fire-breathing Dimetrodons, a Medusa, Yeti, giant carnivorous plants, and a two-head Elasmosaurus. In other words, any monster from your typical role-playing game menagerie would fit right in.

The next question is what rules system to use. Game masters can of course adapt the setting easily to any existing game, as the Land of the Lost is coterminous with all realities. But for those looking for a rules set complementary to Land of the Lost, there are a few options. Lizard created Lands Out of Time for GURPS that brings humanity and dinosaurs together with the inevitable results. Savage Worlds pretty much encapsulates the kitchen sink style of pulp gaming.  For players who want to play a Pakuni with a comedic bent, there's always Og. And then there's the granddaddy of Lost World type adventures for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Isle of the Ape, a cross-dimensional island filled with prehistoric monsters that resulted in the death of two high level characters in my campaign.

Ultimately, Land of the Lost can fit just about anywhere with any setting using any rules system, so long as the game master is willing to foist what amounts to a transdimensional flytrap on his players. The key isn't getting into the Land. It's getting out!