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D&D is a Horror Game
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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 4767396" data-attributes="member: 177"><p>As a broad generalization, most D&D games do not have the tropes to be considered horror, in my opinion. </p><p></p><p>What the characters <em>could have ended up as</em> does not matter. That a rational person would have been afraid in those situations does not make the piece horror. That a plain person <em>would have been</em> scared in the same situation doesn't make it horror - because in a fantasy, the story isn't about a plain person, but a hero. </p><p></p><p>The issue is not "plot immunity" - it is power. Your typical horror protagonist doesn't have any. He or she is a shlub without the skills necessary to take on the darkness. This does not describe most fantasy characters. There are many kinds of fear. The fear in horror is a helpless fear, the fear in fantasy is not. In typical horror the dangers are strange, outside the protagonists' experience. Fantasy heroes are specialists in the strange, dangerous, and monstrous.</p><p></p><p>This is not to say you cannot play D&D (or other fantasy) has horror. I'm just talking about the typical variants. </p><p></p><p>For those who want a handle on the differences between fantasy and horror, I recommend the non-fiction treatise on the genre definition written by Stephen King (a current master), titled <em>Danse Macabre</em>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 4767396, member: 177"] As a broad generalization, most D&D games do not have the tropes to be considered horror, in my opinion. What the characters [i]could have ended up as[/i] does not matter. That a rational person would have been afraid in those situations does not make the piece horror. That a plain person [I]would have been[/I] scared in the same situation doesn't make it horror - because in a fantasy, the story isn't about a plain person, but a hero. The issue is not "plot immunity" - it is power. Your typical horror protagonist doesn't have any. He or she is a shlub without the skills necessary to take on the darkness. This does not describe most fantasy characters. There are many kinds of fear. The fear in horror is a helpless fear, the fear in fantasy is not. In typical horror the dangers are strange, outside the protagonists' experience. Fantasy heroes are specialists in the strange, dangerous, and monstrous. This is not to say you cannot play D&D (or other fantasy) has horror. I'm just talking about the typical variants. For those who want a handle on the differences between fantasy and horror, I recommend the non-fiction treatise on the genre definition written by Stephen King (a current master), titled [i]Danse Macabre[/i]. [/QUOTE]
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