For the sake of sharing good brain candy, here's a great thread for horror ideas:
Creepy... - EN World D&D / RPG News
Creepy... - EN World D&D / RPG News
It could vary. I kinda envision something similar to a Call of Cthulhu campaign, or The X-files show, but set in a fantasy setting.It might help if we knew exactly what you meant by "fantasy horror."
Difficult to tell. A horror campaign isn't about just PCs dying (that's more likely to turn into bizarre comedy a la Paranoia if it gets out of hand) but the very real threat of PC death has to linger over the campaign at all times. I guess that depends on how smart and/or lucky the players decide to be.Kamikaze Midget said:Do you expect PC's to generally survive from adventure to adventure, or are you willing to put the fear of actual permanent character death before them as a common (and likely) thing?
Yes, I have it. It's probably my favorite RPG book bar none in my entire collection.Are you acquainted with the Call of Cthulhu d20? I don't have any first-hand experience with it, but from what I've heard it's quite an effective "port". My guess is that the material would be mechanically pretty compatible with D&D 3.5.
That reminds me; a few years ago we had a resident surgeon in our group. Whenever we tried to describe gore for shocking (or schlocking) effect, it kinda rebounded on us, because he could give us the real dope.Mere disgust at gore is sometimes mistaken for the desired affect in clumsy attempts to evoke horror.
Got both books. I don't really need generic advice on how to run horror; not only do I already have some of the best ever in print, but I've done it a few times and (as modestly as possible) like to think that I'm pretty good at evoking the mood and all that. I'm more looking for some specific ideas on what to do.D&D can most certainly be used as a horror game. See if you can find copies of Heroes of Horror and D20 Call of Cthulhu for some very good pointers as to how to run a horror style game.
No. Fine setting and all, but not what I'm looking for....Ravenloft ?
"But Mr. Hobo, you idiot," you may be saying, "why in the world would you use D&D 3.5, which is a system totally inappropriate for horror?"
To my mind, horror is distinguished by a sense of dreadful wrongness that disturbs on a level deeper than rational fear.
Well, here's my thought. First of all, level isn't something that you're entitled to in this game. You don't actually gain levels. Levels are for me to calibrate the "power level" of the game, and the game is meant to remain at that level the entire time. That doesn't mean some character advancement isn't possible; I think you can spend 1,000 XP to gain a rank in a skill (up to your maximum ranks for that level. I'm thinking 3rd is probably where I want to set it) and you can spend 5,000 XP for a new feat. BAB increases with skills like Weapon Focus, HP increases if you take Toughness, etc. You don't automatically get increases here.
But systemwise, I can't think of any reason why low(ish) level D&D, stuck permanently at that level like an even lower powered E6 variant, couldn't be used to evoke the same feel as a game designed specifically for horror.
I like Taint/Corruption systems too. Good call; I had forgotten to mention that, but I almost certainly would have remembered in time and wanted to add something.Use a Taint or Corruption system. Personally, I use the one from True20, but anything that tracks maddening choices and evil choices that tacks on to the standard D&D system easily is worth it.
I'll probably borrow the expanded fear rules from Darkness & Dread, but I'll need to look them over because it's been a while since I read them. If not, I've got lots of options for Sanity/Madness/Fear/etc. to choose from, most of them designed to interact natively with d20.The_Walock said:Add another level of fear condition, "Freaked Out" or "Jumpy" that penalizes Will saves and to hit by 1, but gives a bonus to Initiative or Spot as the character becomes totally on edge straining for the horrors around the corner. Then follow the normal fear progression.
Huh? It's literally the least complicated process I can imagine. I can describe it to the players with a single sentence fragment, and as GM I never have to worry about calibrating, or recalibrating as the game changes due to levels going up.While that will work, it is probably more complicated than it needs to be. You can write an entire supplement about turning 3e into a point-buy system, and calibrating such can be a hassle.
You can get much the same effect by simply massively cutting XP awards, and leaving everything else in place.
Actually, many of those are native to 3e. They're just not core to 3e. I don't think much of swapping in and out modular house rule systems, though. I've been doing since the beginning of 3e, and this option is actually the most conservative that I thought of.Umbran said:That depends on the kind of horror you want. There are a few mechanics (sanity loss, death-spirals, use of supernatural power having a major "price") that are not native to 3e that some kinds of horror really call for. If you don't want them specifically, 3e is fine.
Huh? It's literally the least complicated process I can imagine. I can describe it to the players with a single sentence fragment
and as GM I never have to worry about calibrating, or recalibrating as the game changes due to levels going up.
Actually, many of those are native to 3e. They're just not core to 3e.
Well, it seems we're splitting hairs here. One incredibly incomplex adjustment vs. another. It doesn't really matter. The point is, I have other reasons for doing so (I like the much, much flatter growth curve. I mean really flat.) for it's own sake. And the solution isn't complex at all.And you can't describe cutting XP that simply? Four words - "I'm cutting XP awards". If you go point-buy, you need a price list to fully describe what you're doing. Sure, it's a sentence fragment, but it is more data.
Pretty much it does save me from that, actually, yeah. You can't bring to bear too many feats in any given situation anyway, so the growth tapers off to a flatline, for all intents and purposes, at probably a more or less 5th level effectiveness or so.Umrban said:With any form of advancement, if the game goes on for a while, you need to occasionally recalibrate - not having levels does not save you from that.
With levels, you know when you need to recalibrate - when PCs gain levels. Point buy signals do not signal when the PCs have gained enhancements that make a notable difference in what they can do. End result - the need to recalibrate can sneak up on the GM of a point-buy system, where it announces itself in a leveled one. This is one of the (some would say few) strengths of having levels.
How are they not native? If they're designed specifically to mesh with the d20 system and use the same mechanical underpinnings, they're native. They're just not core, because those rules aren't in the core books. Native doesn't have anything to do with, "is a different play paradigm" and has everything to do with mechanical commonality, the way I see it.Umbran said:Death spirals, sanity, and hefty cost to use of magic are about as native to D&D as curry is to London. "Good versions easily found" does not equate to "native".