Starting a Horror game in a PbP - Guidance wanted

[Cerulean_Wings]

Yup. I've never done it, a horror game (whether by PbP or not), and I'm feeling in the need for some suggestions in terms of what to do/not to do in my soon to be created game.

For one, I'd love to see some sort of "list of horror cliches" to avoid using them in my game.

Other than that, anything you nice folks out there reading this think is a good thing to keep in mind for the game, let me know

If you happen to need some specifics about the setting and whatnot, it'll be most likely in the 1950s, when humans had some technology, but not that much to help them out. It will very likely start as an expedition to the equivalent of Count Dracula's castle (that is, a vampire's castle), with their goal being to eliminate any supernatural beings in the place (or maybe live to tell the tale, if possible).

If the system is a concern for giving suggestions, all I'll say is that I'll be using Fate 2.0, with some modifications to adapt it to the horror genre (such as an insanity meter or sorts). I might go for D20, as well, but it's an option I'm not too keen in considering.

 

[steenan]

What kind of horror do you want it to be?

Survival horror, with monsters that are hard to kill, surprise attacks and death waiting around every corner?
Supernatural horror, where characters are faced with things they didn't expect and can't understand?
Psychological horror, where the supernatural is only a background for human characters and for inhuman things they do?
Personal horror, where you use the situation to confront characters with their own weaknesses and the darkness in their hearts?

Also, do you want the game to be immersive (in case of horror: do you want to scare the players)? Or do you want to play a horror story, where the players have their characters act scared, because that is the genre you all agreed on? The first is extremely fun for players that like it, but uncomfortable for ones that don't. The second approach is much easier to do, but less satisfying, at least for me.

If you aim for immersive game, use fast, simple and transparent mechanics. Unknown Armies is perfect, in my opinion. If you aim for story, Fate or one of its variations is a good choice.

For survival horror, make sure that the typical success rate in the mechanics is low, around 30-40%. Create a group of NPCs and have them go with the PCs; you may then have them killed, or have PCs killed, with players switching characters. Control tension; make sure that you have parts with strong pressure and parts when the players may relax. Also, make sure that the most horrid things happen without warning, when the player thought the worst is past.

Supernatural horror does not seem to be what you are going for, as the characters already know that they will face vampires.

For psychological horror, have lesser supernatural creatures to create a constant danger and the main vampire that won't be encountered until the very end. The vampire will affect minds of your mercenaries, confusing them, tempting, leading to betrayal. There should be a returning question: "Who is more dangerous? The zombies, or the men with guns in my team? This guy is looking at me in a strange way. Is it my paranoia, or should I send him to his death before he kills me?".
Don't be afraid of tempting and/or killing the PCs. Horror loses its teeth if you artificially increase their chance of survival. Just make sure that the worst comes during the last hour or so and that the game is interesting enough that players of killed characters won't be bored by listening to it.

For personal horror, have your players create characters with painful and dark things in their backgrounds. Then build on these. You don't really need any kind of "monster" in the castle; it's enough if if it reflects desires and fears of whoever enters, twisted by echos of whatever happened there earlier. Read Lem's "Solaris" for an example of such story. You want the characters to spend more time talking about what they think and feel, sharing their dark secrets of trying to hide them, than exploring the physical place.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Many horror stories in various forms are characterized by their relentless pace. A PbP game presumably can't duplicate that. Therefore, I think such a game is best suited towards creating a sense of dread. Being in written form allows you to go to graphic extremes with the events that happen, but it's best to hold off for a while and really focus on atmosphere. Developing a sense of when to deliver a scare is key to any horror game.

It's also a good opportunity to communicate with the players individually by email without the others' knowledge, so you can pit them against each other, make one of them an enemy agent of some type, use insanity, etc. Much easier than in a live game.

I suggest making a separate thread for players to post out-of-character comments and insights (for any PbP game, really). It's important to get feedback so you can push the right buttons. In a live game, it's obvious who's nervous and who's engaged and who's not. In a PbP game, you kind of need them to tell you. As a DM I would post to such a thread rarely if at all to maintain a sense of uncertainty among the players.

 

[Desdichado]

For one, I'd love to see some sort of "list of horror cliches" to avoid using them in my game.

Why would you want to avoid them? Cliches are useful shorthand, especially in gaming.

If you happen to need some specifics about the setting and whatnot, it'll be most likely in the 1950s, when humans had some technology, but not that much to help them out. It will very likely start as an expedition to the equivalent of Count Dracula's castle (that is, a vampire's castle), with their goal being to eliminate any supernatural beings in the place (or maybe live to tell the tale, if possible).

Speaking of; that sounds pretty cliched.

If the system is a concern for giving suggestions, all I'll say is that I'll be using Fate 2.0, with some modifications to adapt it to the horror genre (such as an insanity meter or sorts). I might go for D20, as well, but it's an option I'm not too keen in considering.

I'd not recommend d20. I love that system to death, and I've used it in many Pbps, but I find that its clunky for that medium, unfortunately. I almost get to the point where, as the GM, I dread combat and go out of my way to avoid having it come up.

Perfectly happy with it at the table in a face-to-face environment, but in a Pbp, it's a bit trickier to use.

Also: horror in general is tricky with a Pbp. I'm a huge fan of horror in gaming, and even my fantasy campaigns are dark fantasy games; fantasy/horror hybrids, most often. But successful horror gaming is really hindered by a medium in which delivery and pacing are so different than in face to face environments.

 

[cdrcjsn]

I tried a horror version of 4e D&D before. Worked very well.

Until it got to the fights.

Fighting foes that you know you can beat is not very conducive to a horror setting.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

What kind of horror do you want it to be?

I hadn't considered all the different kinds of horror that existed But now that you've written them down, nice and tidy, I can tell you that I'm going
for a mix of survival horror and maybe psychological horror. Personal horror sounds fun, but it's not my goal right now.

Also, do you want the game to be immersive (in case of horror: do you want to scare the players)? Or do you want to play a horror story, where the players have their characters act scared, because that is the genre you all agreed on? The first is extremely fun for players that like it, but uncomfortable for ones that don't. The second approach is much easier to do, but less satisfying, at least for me.

I'd love for both, actually. I mean, I'll try, and hopefully I can get the people behind the characters to go "Oh sh-"

For survival horror, make sure that the typical success rate in the mechanics is low, around 30-40%. Create a group of NPCs and have them go with the PCs; you may then have them killed, or have PCs killed, with players switching characters. Control tension; make sure that you have parts with strong pressure and parts when the players may relax. Also, make sure that the most horrid things happen without warning, when the player thought the worst is past.

Those are good. What I also had in mind was having a big cast of 10 or so nameless characters, each with a different shtick, and have the players control some of them (the rest function as NPCs), and when one player controlled character dies, the player takes over another NPC.

There should be a returning question: "Who is more dangerous? The zombies, or the men with guns in my team? This guy is looking at me in a strange way. Is it my paranoia, or should I send him to his death before he kills me?".
Don't be afraid of tempting and/or killing the PCs.

Good call, I like that.

For personal horror, have your players create characters with painful and dark things in their backgrounds. Then build on these. You don't really need any kind of "monster" in the castle; it's enough if if it reflects desires and fears of whoever enters, twisted by echos of whatever happened there earlier. Read Lem's "Solaris" for an example of such story.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for all the advice.


Note: too much text in one post. I'll reply to other people's posts in the next one.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Advice

Agreed on all accounts. Thanks for the help.

Why would you want to avoid them? Cliches are useful shorthand, especially in gaming.

I wish to avoid as many big cliches during the adventure as possible, that's all. Or at least be aware of the ones that will make players go "really now?" when I wanted them to go "holy crap!"

What do you mean by "shorthand"?

Speaking of; that sounds pretty cliched.

Agreed, BUT, I'm a firm believer that a premise, while not original, can be fun to play out if it's delivered well and creatively.

 

[Desdichado]

What do you mean by "shorthand"?

One of the ways in which cliches are so useful is that you don't have to explain them fully or connect all the dots. You see, for example, a starry-eyed farmer kid longing for adventure, well, you don't need to spend too much time on character development. At least not until you want to show how he diverges from the cliche. It's shorthand. You can skip over that and jump to other things.

Similarly, if you see a dark, brooding castle in the Carpathian mountains that the locals shun, well... you don't really need to explain what its doing there or what the players should expect when they go there. It's shorthand. They know right away that it's a vampire castle, and a big chunk of what that likely means, so you can skip right to the meat of it without having to do too much set-up.