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Ok, I have an idea for a game that basically boils down to this:
What if Ghosthunters actually, ya know, found stuff?
A group of paranormal experts go around to haunted places (houses, asylums, victorian mansions) and confront ancient evils, satanic cultists, vampires and werewolves, and other bump-in-the-night ghoulies.
My criteria for the game-system:
Simple system; d20 preferred but I'm open to other systems.
It should allow for combat and adventuring, nothing "too" realistic
A nice magic/psychic power system
A nice beastiery of monsters like ghosts, vampires, and demonic forces
I've tried d20 Modern for a different game, and it didn't sit too well with me (Combat is too lethal IMHO) but if someone can convince me to try it again, I might.
Imagine that the directors film their show based on Ghost Hunters (or that crappy MTV series FEAR from a few years back) for those who want to take a walk on the wild side. You get people from all walks of life signing waivers, paying $50,000 dollars to come on the show... and find where they settle in .
You get player loss (catastrophic failures cause madness, character death, etc.) but each player generates 5 'understudies'. Each episode is watched by a public enraptured by the idea; lots of press has occurred over the launch of the show, people questioning whether things are real or fake. Anyone who submits the initial application is vetted, found to be safely 'unattached' (no one is coming after the production company) and they pay the cash forward. The production is insured for damaged equipment but even that is becoming difficult to cover simply because there seems to always be a busted camera, or some other equipment.
You could easily have the understudies represent camera men, on-site crew, etc. which the players can go 'retrieve' or otherwise try to protect. The 50 grand is used to pay off various bribes and expenses... no one really knows who is filming.
A game like this SCREAMS Dread. It's an excellent system for a game like this, and an episodic structure where bad things can happen, players can die, things go bump in the night... Dread is what you want.
Slainte,
-Loonook.
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Unfortunately, in the d20 department, d20 Modern (or Modern 20, from RPG Objects) is pretty much it for modern-ish games. If you're open to other systems, however, I recommend Against the Darkness, Blood, or Chill (now OOP). Indeed, Chill matches your description exactly. You can pick up the core book pretty cheap at places like Noble Knight. I'd go with the Mayfair edition if at all possible.
You are elite investigators combating the plots of the Esoterrorists, a loose affiliation of occult terrorists intent on tearing the fabric of the world. The Esoterrorists introduces the GUMSHOE rules system, which revolutionizes investigative scenarios by ensuring that players are never deprived of the crucial clues they need to move the story forward.
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I have 2 games I like for modern horror. Both GURPS and World of Darkness handle this well, but they aren't d20 so they may not work for you.
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Check out Call of Cthulhu d20... It's extremely lightweight, although still d20. It's basically class-less; there are still feats and skills, but that's about it. It's similar enough to 3.x that the system really just disappears if your players already know how d20 games work. I can even send over some of my house-rules if you'd like, put together from a few years' experience running it.
While you might want to avoid the Sanity stuff for the kind of game you're looking for, it's got enormous sections on how to run a modern-day horror game. You could use the monsters pretty easily, too.
Psychic abilities are handled through feats. Their use drains Sanity and deals ability score damage. They aren't insanely flashy; the beefiest one is psychokinesis.
Spells, too, cost Sanity and ability score damage. They tend to be less flashy, but still quite powerful.
I think you could easily make it work, especially because 3.0/3.5 monsters are 100% compatible; I've pulled in giant scorpions just recently, as a substitute for eurypterids.
You might like, "All Flesh Must Be Eaten." It's a zombie survival horror system that includes options for more heroic characters (instead of fragile, realistic ones). It's not d20-based but it is very easy to pick up.
d20 CoC uses more or less the same d20 system as d20 modern. I'd expect d20 modern to be slightly more survivable, depending on how much of the tech you give the bad guys.
That said, Delta Green is basically exactly what you describe. Basically, the events of Shadow over Innsmouth happen as described, then the OSS forms a team of Mythos fighting agents. At some point, the group goes rogue and officially doesn't exist anymore. However, it continues to get support.
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* Simple system; d20 preferred but I'm open to other systems? Check. This is multi-genre d20, simplified and streamlined a bit, and changed in a few other ways.
* It should allow for combat and adventuring, nothing "too" realistic? Sure.
* A nice magic/psychic power system? Definitely. It's an integral part of the core system, most accessible to the Adept role (as opposed to Warrior or Expert) but open to all.
* A nice bestiery of monsters like ghosts, vampires, and demonic forces? Yep. And there's the True20 Bestiary, if you really want to get hardcore about it.
But make sure you get the revised corebook, if you decide to check it out - the sections on Horror and Modern gaming would be pretty handy, I imagine.
Spycraft 2.0 with Fragile Minds and either the Spellbound books or the Archer conversion document.
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You are elite investigators combating the plots of the Esoterrorists, a loose affiliation of occult terrorists intent on tearing the fabric of the world. The Esoterrorists introduces the GUMSHOE rules system, which revolutionizes investigative scenarios by ensuring that players are never deprived of the crucial clues they need to move the story forward.
Though perhaps Fear Itself might work better for your needs.
Same basic system, but the skill list is simplified, and it adds some psychic powers.
All of the GUMSHOE system offerings can be seen here
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Witchcraft, by Eden Studios is Free and Legal to download here and has rules for ghosts, spirits and more.
It uses Unisystem, a slightly more complex version than used in Buffy and Angel and is compatible with Armageddon, Terra Primate and All Flesh Must Be Eaten with no changes.
There are a few supplements for it with more nasties and such
My only regret is that it doesn't sell well enough to get the support I think it deserved. There are six books I'd have loved to see that probably will never be made
My initial suggestion has already been nixed by you- D20 Modern (Urban Arcana and/or DarkMatter), but also like the MC:WoD and Spycraft suggestions. If you do go with one of those, you might also want to check out Ultramodern Firearms and Second World Sourcebook as well.
My next choice would be M&M, esp. with the new W&W rules.
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Savage Worlds!!
SW is perfect for this type of game. I actually ran a short modern horror campaign using SW and some of the modules by 12 to Midnight. I highly recommend checking them out. They were some of the best modules I've read for any system hands down. Plus, they come with a lot of handouts and awesome maps.
Grab a copy of the the SW Explorer's Edition and a few of the 12 to Midnight modules and you are ready to go!
Check out the SW forums at the Pinnacle site too. Great community and very helpful.
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New Horizons in 3.5 Roleplaying
I'd recommend Unknown Armies, most likely a street level campaign. Its an incredibly simple, yet elegant system based off percentile dice, but without the charts normally associated with d100 based systems, and the outcome allows for a better range of successes and failures without resulting to the storyteller system's "fist full of dice" that basically assures success.
The world of it is what really intrigued me, with its emphasis on obsession and passions. This bleeds over into the magic system schools. Cliomancy for instance, is obsessed with the relation between place/people and memory. Its adepts draw their power from charging from historic locales, and channel that into altering memory and perception. In the case of most schools, just charging up fuels good role playing in itself. Its got a list of formula spells, but each school has its own random magic specialty that allows players to invent effects on the spot.
As far as the beastiary goes, its somewhat light compared to a monster manual. There are some creatures and constructs to be found, but the system is simple enough for you to wing it, and the combat guidelines are good enough for eyeballing damage. However most conflict can occur within the occult underground, the cabals and weirdo's who are in the know, and vie for power.
It lends itself to giving a grain of truth to urban legends and our own weird history, particularly if you're players are willing to get involved and do some research. I had an entropomancer go dig up the grave of Anthony di Stasio, a child who surfed (and survived) a 35 mile per hour 40' tall wave of boiling molasses in the Boston Molasses flood of 1919 to get a bone to make an enchanted skateboard. Its definately a very different feel than CoC.
Last edited by ehren37; 13th July 2009 at 10:52 PM..
Dread, a diceless and numberless RPG, is best for a suspenseful, Twilight-zone style intrusive fantasy.
Savage Worlds, a Fast! Furious! Fun! system would be better for more-combat focused games.
The difference here is that Dread is elegant in its simplicity, whereas Savage Worlds is flexible and satisfying--ultimately it may meet more of your criteria than Dread.
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