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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
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The popularity of horror adventures/settings for 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 9249619" data-attributes="member: 2629"><p>People gravitate to horror because they are attracted to actual storytelling and horror inherently invokes the idea of a story incredibly efficiently.</p><p></p><p>This is <em>not</em> me claiming everything horror has a meaningful story. That is obviously not true. A lot of horror movies are just excuses to be gross and titillate. In truth, horror has a tendency to be the <em>least</em> story driven genre out there next to porn. However, like porn, the simplicity of the story and obvious direction it might take draws you in faster and breeds faster interest. It is easier to get to the point of investment.</p><p></p><p>When you hear the start of most horror premises you instantly have a pretty good idea of where that story will likely go. You might be right - or in a good story you're probably wrong - but you get the idea instantly. Whether I tell you about the kids that go to a cabin in the woods, the family that gets stranded when their car breaks down in the back country, or the people that find a blood soaked machete outside the prison ... most people will instantly have an idea for where they think the story will go. That gives you something to be drawn into right away - a hook.</p><p></p><p>Contrast that to being told that the adventurers walk into a bar, the mayor calls on the adventurers to come and see him, or the adventurers meet a cheerful gnome at the edge of town. Do you have any idea what will happen in those stories? Likely not. You have to wait to see where it goes. That means you're waiting for the other shoe to drop without having anything to care about. </p><p></p><p>When selling these stories to garner interest and get people to buy in, it is easier when people quickly have something to follow rather than taking longer to grab them. They sell better and get more interest because the hook is more obvious.</p><p></p><p>In a way, it is similar to the difference between starting a blind date with confident rizz ... or starting it by reading your resume. Horror catches the attention faster.</p><p></p><p>This is not to say that it is impossible to grab people with non-horror premises, either. Rather, it is saying that it is easier to do it in horror than in most other genres. I actually spend quite a bit thinking about the first sentence I'll tell players when describing an adventure or campaign when I invite them to make sure I can grab them within a few seconds.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 9249619, member: 2629"] People gravitate to horror because they are attracted to actual storytelling and horror inherently invokes the idea of a story incredibly efficiently. This is [I]not[/I] me claiming everything horror has a meaningful story. That is obviously not true. A lot of horror movies are just excuses to be gross and titillate. In truth, horror has a tendency to be the [I]least[/I] story driven genre out there next to porn. However, like porn, the simplicity of the story and obvious direction it might take draws you in faster and breeds faster interest. It is easier to get to the point of investment. When you hear the start of most horror premises you instantly have a pretty good idea of where that story will likely go. You might be right - or in a good story you're probably wrong - but you get the idea instantly. Whether I tell you about the kids that go to a cabin in the woods, the family that gets stranded when their car breaks down in the back country, or the people that find a blood soaked machete outside the prison ... most people will instantly have an idea for where they think the story will go. That gives you something to be drawn into right away - a hook. Contrast that to being told that the adventurers walk into a bar, the mayor calls on the adventurers to come and see him, or the adventurers meet a cheerful gnome at the edge of town. Do you have any idea what will happen in those stories? Likely not. You have to wait to see where it goes. That means you're waiting for the other shoe to drop without having anything to care about. When selling these stories to garner interest and get people to buy in, it is easier when people quickly have something to follow rather than taking longer to grab them. They sell better and get more interest because the hook is more obvious. In a way, it is similar to the difference between starting a blind date with confident rizz ... or starting it by reading your resume. Horror catches the attention faster. This is not to say that it is impossible to grab people with non-horror premises, either. Rather, it is saying that it is easier to do it in horror than in most other genres. I actually spend quite a bit thinking about the first sentence I'll tell players when describing an adventure or campaign when I invite them to make sure I can grab them within a few seconds. [/QUOTE]
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The popularity of horror adventures/settings for 5e
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