What’s your favourite horror RPG and why?

Morrus · Oct 23, 2018

What’s your favourite horror RPG and why?

So it’s nearly Halloween. What horror RPG (or setting) is our go-to? Cthulhu? Dread? Ravenloft?

pogre · Oct 23, 2018

I really enjoy the built-in tension the tower brings to Dread. It is my "go to" system for one-off horror scenarios.

I have not been particular successful in maintaining a true horror campaign. I have run Cthulhu campaigns, but they always seem to fall apart - at least the PCs do.

Nagol · Oct 23, 2018

Probably All Flesh Must be Eaten and associated Uni-system games. I also like Bureau 13, The Laundry, and Deadlands.

I'd like to try Esoterrorists or Night Black Agents.

Arilyn · Oct 23, 2018

Had great fun with the old Buffy game. More recently, Fate -Secret of Cats and Cthulhu One 2 One.

billd91 · Oct 23, 2018

Call of Cthulhu is still my favorite - the source material is pretty compelling and with a lot of awesome adventure material. Plus, questions like this give me a chance to flog one of the best RPG campaigns I've ever experienced, from both the player and Keeper side - The Masks of Nyarlathotep.

Though I do have to say that It Came from the Late, Late, Late Show did have its charms. Having a Scream skill was very valuable.

Hjorimir · Oct 23, 2018

I love sneaking horror elements into my D&D game, because the players rarely expect it until it's too late.

hawkeyefan · Oct 23, 2018

Delta Green is a nice blend of cosmic Lovecraftian horror and X-Files like secret agencies and conspiracies. It’s a great combo, in my opinion. I think I like that PCs are more capable so they get to do some cool stuff, but ultimately they’re just as doomed as characters in other horror games.

Jhaelen · Oct 23, 2018

Trail of Cthulhu: Imho, it's 'Call of Cthulhu' done right. I really like the strong focus on investigation and storytelling and the vague monster descriptions & stats. The thing is: The CoC made for some great reading and promised great gameplay but for me they somehow always failed to work well when we actually tried to play them. The conversions created for Trail of Cthulhu really deliver the kind of experience that I always hoped for.

pemerton · Oct 23, 2018

I don't do a lot of horror RPGing, but recently ran Cthulhu Dark and enjoyed it. I've also played the Cthuhu variant of A Penny for My Thoughts which produced some pretty wacky stuff.

I'd play either of those ahead of traditional CoC.

(un)reason · Oct 23, 2018

Wraith:the Oblivion. White Wolf were able to go to genuinely dark places there in a way they've never done before or since, and a long term Wraith campaign can really rack up the existential horror long after you've become inured to jump scares as you deal with the ramifications of being a soul with unresolved issues that needs to feed off emotion to survive and a hyperactive dark side that means you can never really trust yourself or anyone else.