Do you like horror with your fantasy?

Gothmog · Aug 7, 2002

I've been thinking more about this topic lately, and I was wondering what the opinions of people on these boards are regarding this topic. Do you like/use many horror elements in your fantasy games? If so, what style do you like (gothic, cthulhu-esque, gritty, etc), and what are your tips/techniques for setting the right mood and scaring the bejeezus out of your players? Do you use any house rules/home-brewed stuff when you do horror in d20? Finally, in your experience, how effective are horror elements/scenarios in a fantasy RPG (D&D or otherwise)?

Furn_Darkside · Aug 7, 2002

Gothmog said:
If so, what style do you like (gothic, cthulhu-esque, gritty, etc), and what are your tips/techniques for setting the right mood and scaring the bejeezus out of your players?

What is gritty style in horror? Do you mean splatterpunk?

And I think you are mixing styles and genre's of horror- cthulhu-esque (or Mythos) is not more of a genre- man vs the unknown.

Err.. let me just list how I see horror styles/genres-

Styles:

Gothic
Horrerotic
Splatterpunk
Humor/Horror
Action/Horror
Pop

Genre:

Man vs Nature
Man vs Monster
Man vs Unknown
Man vs Man
Man vs himself

My biggest style is the action/horror and as for genre- I flip between Man vs Nature and Man vs Monster.

Do you use any house rules/home-brewed stuff when you do horror in d20? Finally, in your experience, how effective are horror elements/scenarios in a fantasy RPG (D&D or otherwise)?

I use the sanity rules from CoC, but only in low magic worlds. If dragons and other monsters are common- then the rule does not make much sense.

The effectiveness of the horror depends on the campeign. As I said above, I think it works best in a low magic world. The problem with medium/high magic worlds is that access to divination spells would ruin a lot of horror- as would the meteor storm used to wipe out the antagonist.

FD

Henry · Aug 7, 2002

I use some horror elements in my games, but only when I'm trying to scare the players. Most beasties are not horrific, but when I describe a vermin or abberration, I try to get very graphic with statements that evoke a sense of alienness or revulsion. After all, insects are one of the more feared creature families in our world, because they don't quit, and they outnumber us 1 billion to 1.

I use statements such as "A hulking form, ugly dark shiny plates that seem to drink in the light, huge insectoid eyes that gleam in your light, and ENORMOUS jaws - my God, they'e huge! - and as it raises a long, wicked forearm over you, you notice - there are two more eyes! - no, four eyes, - no, two - no, four - eight, sixteen - what's that next number?..."

Can you guess the creature here I'm describing?

If we play a specific horror game (we save those for one shots, because having a horror game where the same characters survive week after week just bends my disbelief too much), then I pull out all the stops, decribe every last mind-blowing or disgusting thing, and if someone dies, I describe their demises in a way that is either graphic, or leaves very much doubt over what the heck really happened to them.

Desdichado · Aug 7, 2002

I like to incorporate horror to some extent, but D&D characters are simply too resilient to really feel horror, unless you're sending uber-high level creatures against them. And then, they just complain that combat is frustrating!

It's hard to do without changing the mentality of the players. And in my opinion, that means changing the game a little too. A CoC-esque fantasy probably needs CoC-esque rules, to a certain extent.

bwgwl · Aug 7, 2002

um, i don't have much to say other than i'm not a big fan of the horror genre so i don't tend to mix it with my fantasy.

i must say i don't really understand running a campaign with cthulhu-esque horror mixed with fantasy. it's just something that's not to my taste.

Gothmog · Aug 7, 2002

Fern- You made some interesting points about horror genres. I really hadn't thought of them in those terms before, but most of my games tend to be Man vs Nature, vs Monster, and vs Man, with the occasional vs Unknown. I have run a few Man vs Himself, but unless you have a REALLY good role-player who is willing to play along for the sake of the story, that hasn't worked to well IMO- gamers are too suspicious by nature.

Also- what I meant by gritty horror was more along the lines of something realistic, or something that could really happen. I have run and been in adventures dealing with the terrible things that can happen to the PCs loved ones, war, rape, ritual murder, serial killers, etc. These kind of things seem to hit players a little harder than a monster or ghost, although some people are not comfortable with it.

Henry- Um, umberhulk?

Joshua- I agree that D&D characters seem a little too resilient to be threatened by encounters most people would term "horrific". A lot of this has to do with player mindset, but there is also a strong rules component. What things do you think could be done ruleswise to encourage a horror-conducive rules-system. Off the top of my head the CoC Sanity rules would work, as well as maybe a WP/VP system. The 10 hp massive damage rule in CoC is an option too- but with the amount of damage spells and creatures that do lots of damage, this might be a little too fatal. We already use a WP/VP system, but not the CoC stuff.

I'm asking this question because I am getting to a point in my campaign where the PCs are going to be dealing with spirits and fiends pretty heavily, but I don't want the game to be about whacking the baddie with a +umpteen sword until it goes down. I run a low magic world without absolute good and evil, and depending on the PCs actions, they might end up siding with the demons against their own churches, lords, etc in order to uphold the greater good (it sounds weird, and its a long story). I want to make the otherworldy beings seem really alien and horrific in order to keep them guessing and somewhat on edge the whole time. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

mmadsen · Aug 7, 2002

i must say i don't really understand running a campaign with cthulhu-esque horror mixed with fantasy.

Have you ever read Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories?

Desdichado · Aug 7, 2002

Incorporating horror mid-stream is even more difficult. My comments were more for creating a game from scratch that had a thinly-veiled vein of horror running through it.

In this case, I think you're best bets are (1) lurid descriptions, and (2) nasty, nasty tactics. Be the rat-bastard-est DM you can, making sure the tougher fiends don't just stand around to be whacked by the +n swords. Make sure they frustrate the players to no end, and if they look like they might start losing, suddenly they're gone and the PCs can't follow to take the fight to them.
Besides, it's fun to be the Evil DM (tm) once in a while.

Shadoe's Lady · Aug 7, 2002

Well, I like scaring the characters when I'm running, does that count? My favorite tactic is eerie dreams, with little or no meaning (as far as they know). Keeps 'em jumpy.

Gothmog · Aug 7, 2002

Thanks for the comments. My game has always been fairly horror-heavy, putting a few minor seeds in each scenario that would qualify as creepy, as well as the occasional pure horror adventure. Whats coming up though will be a stroy arc of 6-8 adventures of mostly horror aspects, and I guess I was wondering how to keep things fresh for the players and prevent them from becoming jaded to it.

Also, I'd like to continue the discussion on how to make a horror-friendly rules system if anybody is interested. For the next campaign, you know.