Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Building A Deeper Horror World
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Pauper" data-source="post: 7749270" data-attributes="member: 17607"><p>There's really just one problem with this concept when applied to horror games (as opposed to intrigue or similar types of games): part of the thing that makes a game a 'horror' game is the presentation of the unknown and/or the uncanny. A well-developed, competent organization with institutional memory defuses a great deal of this source of horror, because someone in a competent organization will have experience or knowledge of the thing that the group needs to tackle in the current adventure.</p><p></p><p>This, to me, is why 'the world' in a horror game should more resemble something like "Kolchak: the Night Stalker"; there are individuals that might have understanding of the horrors you are facing, but they are deliberately hard to find, because if they were easy to find, the horrors themselves would have found them and removed them for their own protection.</p><p></p><p>This doesn't even address the central conceit of Lovecraftian or "cosmic" horror: that mere knowledge of the true nature of the universe is harmful to the human psyche and destroys that which makes us human in favor of remaking us in preference to 'reality'. Any organization in a Lovecraftian universe that is competent enough to put the pieces of the puzzle together is already serving one of the Great Powers of that universe, because there's no way to understand how the universe works and maintain one's humanity.</p><p></p><p>If you really want to model a horror-style magical culture, I'd steer away from Harry Potter (which, IMO, only works if you presume that everyone in authority is either incompetent or secretly omniscient) and focus more on a universe like The Dresden Files or the city of TunFaire in the Garrett, P.I. books -- it's a world where horrors exist, and knowledge is out there, but you can never be certain if the people providing you with knowledge are doing so for your benefit or that of the things that are hunting you.</p><p></p><p>--</p><p>Pauper</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pauper, post: 7749270, member: 17607"] There's really just one problem with this concept when applied to horror games (as opposed to intrigue or similar types of games): part of the thing that makes a game a 'horror' game is the presentation of the unknown and/or the uncanny. A well-developed, competent organization with institutional memory defuses a great deal of this source of horror, because someone in a competent organization will have experience or knowledge of the thing that the group needs to tackle in the current adventure. This, to me, is why 'the world' in a horror game should more resemble something like "Kolchak: the Night Stalker"; there are individuals that might have understanding of the horrors you are facing, but they are deliberately hard to find, because if they were easy to find, the horrors themselves would have found them and removed them for their own protection. This doesn't even address the central conceit of Lovecraftian or "cosmic" horror: that mere knowledge of the true nature of the universe is harmful to the human psyche and destroys that which makes us human in favor of remaking us in preference to 'reality'. Any organization in a Lovecraftian universe that is competent enough to put the pieces of the puzzle together is already serving one of the Great Powers of that universe, because there's no way to understand how the universe works and maintain one's humanity. If you really want to model a horror-style magical culture, I'd steer away from Harry Potter (which, IMO, only works if you presume that everyone in authority is either incompetent or secretly omniscient) and focus more on a universe like The Dresden Files or the city of TunFaire in the Garrett, P.I. books -- it's a world where horrors exist, and knowledge is out there, but you can never be certain if the people providing you with knowledge are doing so for your benefit or that of the things that are hunting you. -- Pauper [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Building A Deeper Horror World
Top