I've always thought that a prison of some sort would make a great setting for certain sorts of games. Lately I've considered setting a World of Darkness (Hunter: the Vigil) slasher "murder mystery" investigative game inside a prison. If you're a supernaturally empowered mass murderer, who better to prey on than the unwanted, the people society rejected for whatever reason?

And of course, the classic jailbreak scenario makes for an adventure of its own, whether the PCs are good folks wronged by a conspiracy, political prisoners in Bigbadistan or regular criminals (or all of the above).

Of course, I'm thinking a low-security prison, maybe a remote penal colony (like, say, a 1960s Siberian gulag). It's not like a bunch of modern Supermax inmates will have any chance of doing significative investigation, with a 23-hour daily lockdown.

Has anyone ever done this? Set a few adventures, or even a whole campaign, in a penal facility?

A whole campaign in a prison seems kind of limited but I could see having a segment of a campaign being centered on that sort of location.
I could especially see setting an adventure in a big fantasy prison... Cadwallon meets 'Midnight Express'. Lots of odd characters operating their own society in a magically guarded warren.
Then there's the whole 'Escape From New York' style scenario... I could see that being a full campaign.

Prison Planet for both Classic Traveller and Mongoose Traveller.

I realize this is lateral to what you are thinking of but the section on prisons in the 4th edition Call of Cthulhu rulebook always made me want to run a game where the "investigators" were stuck in one of the prison environments described therein.

If you never had the chance, the locales ranged from the typical "big house" of the 1930's in the states, to "Cool Hand Luke" inspired (erm, real life inspired) work farm/chain gang settings, to medieval fortresses converted to "modern" prisons in Europe, to dismal hellholes in Ecuador to "your character has been sentenced to here, roll up another one" salt mines in north Africa.

Wonderful stuff.

Someday I'll have another copy of that version of the rules, grumble grumble...

Watch the HBO series "Oz" for ideas on this subject.

For years, I've had a half-planned UA one-shot involving the PCs as political prisoners in a Soviet-style gulag / American style Gitmo who wake up one day and find that everyone else (guards, prisoners, staff) is gone except for them, and they can't leave.

Quote from: jeff37923;378462Prison Planet for both Classic Traveller and Mongoose Traveller.

Sounds promising, especially for a more Lovecraftian horror with a SF bent. Criminals are sentenced to forced labor in the mining operations of Planet Hellhole or whatever it's called, and start disappearing one by one... PCs can be either inmates, or outside investigators, or just unlucky traders passing by who are forced to land for repairs.

Quote from: thedungeondelver;378464I realize this is lateral to what you are thinking of but the section on prisons in the 4th edition Call of Cthulhu rulebook always made me want to run a game where the "investigators" were stuck in one of the prison environments described therein.

Not really, this is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about.

Quote from: Cylonophile;378474Watch the HBO series "Oz" for ideas on this subject.

I second this suggestion.

Quote from: The Butcher;378512Not really, this is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about.

I ordered myself another 4th edition CoC rulebook today, so I'll be happy to give you all the info therein as soon as I have it in hand, but briefly:

The "big house" is a fairly sterile and low-key.  The chief problem is not going stir crazy from boredom.  Inmates can make up to a couple of bucks a week in the various workshops (generally voluntary).  Healthcare varies, but is "okay".  Serious illnesses may be sent to nearby hospitals.  There's an extremely low (2%, IIRC) chance of anyone having knowledge of cults, cthulhu, etc.

The work farm is something along the lines of what you'd see in Fugitive From a Chain Gang, The Man Who Broke 1000 Chains or Cool Hand Luke.  Everybody works, the dispensary deals with the most rudimentary aliments or injuries, all others are sent to a nearby county hospital (if the "Captain" or "Boss" says so - currying his favor is KEY).  There is a slightly higher percentage chance (5% or so) of occult knowledge.

English prisons tend to be very stratified.  The guards treat common prisoners with barely concealed contempt, while more upper class inmates can (quite literally) buy favor with the guards and live in far better and freer conditions.  Medical care depends wholly on your social standing before you were incarcerated.  There's a low (2% I think) chance of any useful occult knowledge here.  Violence is rare to the point of nonexistant, but mixing political prisoners (e.g., Scottish separatists, Irish Catholics and Protestants) is a sure-fire remedy for trouble...

The exemplar prison near Quito, Ecuador, is pretty terrible.  Any food the characters need beyond green banana paste soup or the occasional stew pot of questionable broth and fish-heads must be brought to the characters, along with a considerable bribe.  The guards confiscate any and all items of value, although smuggling in money isn't unheard of.  The escape of non-notable prisoners is treated as routine; most outsiders who find themselves there will usually be swallowed up by the jungle.  Mass violence is dealt with simply; in the yard, machine guns are turned on the perpetrators (and victims).  No warning shots are fired.  Survivors usually get to dig the graves.  Medical care can vary wildly: one week it might be painfully honest Catholic missionaries treating wounds and illness with the same quality you'd get in an expensive hospital in the United States, but in the next week they've moved on and you're in the hands of "a rum-soaked fraud thrice expelled from medical school for stupidity".  Occult knowledge is high amongst guards and prisoners (10%, I think), but they don't know WHAT they know.  All they know is that there is something terrible in the unexplored jungles, something best left undisturbed.  Escape chances are best during the work periods.  Local plantation owners will typically pay the warden for a group of healthy prisoners to clear-cut jungle for crops, cattle, or a railway or road.

Finally the salt mine near Tangiers is as close to hell on earth as an Investigator can find.  Prisoners are dumped in with little more than a loincloth and digging tool.  Horrid food is distributed infrequently.  Medical care is almost entirely nonexistent.  Air is provided for the salt mine by a rickety hand-operated bellows; prisoners are chosen eight at a time to work the device near the surface.  Money is confiscated, and even a penny or shilling or pfennig (etc.) will be taken from anyone put here.  The only currency is the cigarette, which (depending on the amount of them or the amount remaining) can be bartered for a scrap of bread, a bit of clean cloth for a bandage, etc.  If a prisoner has associates or family on the outside who can petition successfully for freedom, the guards will call that prisoner's name seven times for seven days - after that they will cease, and no further attempts will be made or allowed.  Imposture is frequent, and is punished by death.  Although the prisoners have access to mining tools (picks, shovels, etc.) attempting to dig out of the mine is a death penalty offense  The guards view their position as a punishment unto its own and would be equally satisfied if all the prisoners were dead.  There is a fairly high percentage chance for occult lore (11%, IIRC).

I'll do my best to remember to update this when my rulebook arrives.

Great stuff. Pity it didn't make it to 5e, though.

Quote from: The Butcher;378548Great stuff. Pity it didn't make it to 5e, though.

Get a 4e book - they're like $6 on amazon resellers!

The best material for a new edition is the previous edition.