System suggestions for modern horror?

[Ninjacat]

I've only played Supernatural, never WoD (old or new), and have really enjoyed it. I've never actually made a character for the game though, as my recurring character is from the show (Bobby Singer) and was made by the GM. Maybe [MENTION=24418]Ninjacat[/MENTION] will stop by and give his perspective of the system as someone who has run the game more extesively.
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..what I've found is that it forces the players to focus on really putting some thought into their PCs backgrounds - something that is invaluable when putting together a bunch of plot hooks that invest the players into the campaign.

On the other hand - if you are going for a less realistic game, I think either WoD or Supernatural would be fine - they are both fairly abstract rules sets. The only issue is that WoD has a heck of a lot more support material than Supernatural. Of course, if you don't mind kit-bashing, the Cortex rules at the heart of Supernatural gives you much more control than WoD.

Whoops, sorry I'm a little late to this party; I don't check my Profile for Mentions all that often.

Mouseferatu, you may well have made a decision already, but if you're still pondering, here's my (semi-experienced) $.02:

As Mark and others have said, Unisystem is quite good for a horror game; the "Classic" Unisystem WitchCraft is even available as a free PDF. Classic Uni is a bit darker and grittier, good for any horror campaign where the focus is on the setting itself, whether that's paranormal investigations (and their dramatic consequences!) all the way up to absurdly powerful beings duking it out over the rights to reality itself. It's just a question of what kind of horror setting your group wants to play. The Unisystem was streamlined into the Cinematic version for Buffy and other licensed horror settings, and it works well for that style of action-survival horror, as you mentioned being interested in. The streamlining is in a removal of much of the crunch, becoming a simple d10+Stat+Skill system, with Very Broad skill categories. Cinematic also adds the feature of Drama Points, which work Very Well for emulating a Hollywood feel kind of action. Unisystem is easy to use and has a wealth of supplement material, easy to file serial numbers off of or use as frameworks for your own ideas, so it would be my recommendation.

I'm afraid I can't recommend nWoD as anything other than source material for a setting. I played in two groups using nWod, one modern & one medieval fantasy a la Ravenloft, and the mechanics just don't hold up. We added a house rule of Aspects (somewhat like FATE) using a beautiful horror-themed Tarot Deck, but it still didn't make the system work. You have to play characters that are so powerful mundane challenges become nigh-meaningless to stand a chance in combat with an actual supernatural threat. All the Monster: the Somethings of nWoD are great source material, setting flavor, etc...but lousy games, IMO. Your Mileage May Vary, of course.

Cortex is a fantastically fluid system that is well and truly focused on the story being told, and Supernatural is the best version of Cortex before it shifted to Cortex Plus. It has mechanics built in to let the Players contribute to the story, while leaving control in the GM's hands (as you kinda have to, to run anything with a mystery/investigation angle, such as a horror game that is not straight-out survival horror.) It's a little tricky to work with, however, and of the three power levels presented in the Supernatural Corebook, the first two seem too under-powered to me, personally. However, the system is very much designed to allow the GM to make the challenges as big or small as they like, so less-robust characters aren't a problem, as long as everyone is happy playing at the level. Since my campaign is trying to parallel the show, I used the maximum points for all PCs, and added a few tweaks of my own to make them interesting. I tend to run a Supernatural adventure very much like the show: lots of Let The Main Characters Run Around Cluelessly Until Enough Horrible Things Happen They Figure It Out, then a bam-POW confrontation with the MotW at the end of the scenario, with maybe a few red herrings or 180-degree Plot Twists in the middle to keep the Players guessing and keep things from getting predictable. If you're comfortable with that kind of a rising-action scenario with a focus on the story, I'd say Cortex Supernatural would work great for you, but Unisystem is simpler. (Supernatural is worth picking up just for the reams of detail and the advice on running a horror event alone, if you want an excuse to get it!)

tl;dr = nWod: Bad, SPN: Good, Unisystem: Probably Better.

Hope some of that's useful to you!

 

[Hussar]

I've been reading Valherjar: The Chosen Slain Official Site Valherjar the Chosen Slain from GM Press and it looks really cool. You play a person who has died and been reborn in Valhalla. It's Ragnarok time and you go back to Earth and try to stop the end of the world by battling the Jotuns. Very cool. Simple system too. Very flavourful.

Also been reading Blood Games II Flying Mice LLC Blood Games II RPG Page from and it looks very cool. Very, very good for a Supernatural style campaign. Bit mechanics heavy though.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'd go with the GUMSHOE system from Pelgrane: Trail of Cthulhu, Fear Itself, Esoterrorists, the upcoming Night's Dark Agents, and the like. I really like it.

Yeah, I was going to suggest Esoterrorists or Fear Itself.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

I'm afraid I can't recommend nWoD as anything other than source material for a setting. I played in two groups using nWod, one modern & one medieval fantasy a la Ravenloft, and the mechanics just don't hold up. We added a house rule of Aspects (somewhat like FATE) using a beautiful horror-themed Tarot Deck, but it still didn't make the system work. You have to play characters that are so powerful mundane challenges become nigh-meaningless to stand a chance in combat with an actual supernatural threat. All the Monster: the Somethings of nWoD are great source material, setting flavor, etc...but lousy games, IMO. Your Mileage May Vary, of course.

Sorry, I have to disagree. I ran a Bughunters campaign using nWoD instead of Amazing Engine and it ran really well for me, even with combat. I had added some 2300 AD and Justifiers in for extra flavor and used the psychic rules in Second Sight. In most horror games combat is something to be avoided anyway and story/character interaction must be emphasized.

 

[Aus_Snow]

"Blue book" (i.e., core or mortal) nWoD works extremely well for modern horror. I'll second Second Sight as a great (but optional) sourcebook for this, too.

White Wolf has basically been the number one enemy (or rather, target) since day one, for the "Forge" crowd. By all means, WoD is a "trad" game - that much is true. However, this is no crime. And it's actually just fine and totally playable, as trad games go.

So it doesn't bleed at the edges and scream "indy" every page. And neither might it fit neatly into some abortive "theory" construct. Oh well.


edit: And besides, wouldn't you have quite the advantage with this system, seeing that you've written part of at least one nWoD core book, Mouse?

 

[MortonStromgal]

Another vote for nWOD.

Big thing to remember is SPEND WILLPOWER! The system is designed that if you want something to happen your supposed to be blowing through your Willpower. Otherwise its like taking 10. Also dont be afraid to start with XP. XP is the new "freebee points" of the old system. We typically min/max our build then round it out with 35-75XP for a mortals game.

 

[Tharian]

Though I haven't picked it up, the feel of the Dresden Files rules I had a chance to experience at the previous Boston Game Day seemed a very good fit for what you seem to be describing. I loved the more free-flow nature of the combat system, too.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

The Dresden Files RPG would seem to be ideal for your purposes.

Urban Fantasy out of the box, and if you go with the lowest starting power level very suitable for action horror.

Change of pace from D&D mechanically, without being completely alien to trad RPG players.

 

[thastygliax]

As Mark and others have said, Unisystem is quite good for a horror game; the "Classic" Unisystem WitchCraft is even available as a free PDF. Classic Uni is a bit darker and grittier, good for any horror campaign where the focus is on the setting itself, whether that's paranormal investigations (and their dramatic consequences!) all the way up to absurdly powerful beings duking it out over the rights to reality itself. It's just a question of what kind of horror setting your group wants to play. The Unisystem was streamlined into the Cinematic version for Buffy and other licensed horror settings, and it works well for that style of action-survival horror, as you mentioned being interested in. The streamlining is in a removal of much of the crunch, becoming a simple d10+Stat+Skill system, with Very Broad skill categories. Cinematic also adds the feature of Drama Points, which work Very Well for emulating a Hollywood feel kind of action. Unisystem is easy to use and has a wealth of supplement material, easy to file serial numbers off of or use as frameworks for your own ideas, so it would be my recommendation.

Of the systems mentioned so far (that Mouse hasn't already ruled out), I have the most experience with Buffy/Angel, having played for a few years in a spinoff-style series.

While these two naturally focus on Buffyverse canon, the base system and char-gen can be used pretty much as-is for any heroic modern-day horror game. Buffy has the most support, with supplements on magic, monsters, and Slayers. Of those three, The Magic Box is most useful for a non-Buffy game; the spell list is drawn directly from the series, but many are suitably generic, and the book has rules for creating new spells and weird science devices. The Angel book is invaluable for its detailed rules for building supernatural races for use as both PCs and NPCs. Buffy and Angel both default to a very simple monster stat block, but with the Angel book, more important demons can be fleshed out as thoroughly as the PCs.

If you want a more thorough magic system, however, try the Ghosts of Albion RPG (also Cinematic Unisystem; PDF only). It includes a much more balanced (and generic) spell list, multiple magical traditions, and more detailed spell creation rules. GoA is set in Victorian England, but most of the magic and monsters can be used as-is in any time period. (The treatment of ghosts and faeries is especially nice, as Buffy/Angel barely touch on either category.)

And of course, the various Cinematic Unisystem games are fully compatible with each other, so you can mix and match elements as needed.