Advice on a one horror rpg's
- Thread starter Clumsy Bob
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Barendd Nobeard
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Re: Re: Re: Advice on a one horror rpg's
It's a game of "childhood fear" - you play children, fighting some sort of monster(s).
Basically, the "monster under the bed" (and the bogeyman, and whatever the GM decides) is real. And only children can see them and interact with them. As you get older, you "rationalize" more and more, and eventually stop believing in the monsters. That's why no adults can help the children.
On the plus side (for the child), children's belief can give power to help fight them. For example, their teddy bear might come alive at night to help protect them.
The system is fairly simple, and character creation should be fairly quick. Can't remember the details off the top of my head. The book is at home, and I'm not, so I can post more details later tonight.
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Yes, their site is a little clunky.Orias said:
It's a game of "childhood fear" - you play children, fighting some sort of monster(s).
Basically, the "monster under the bed" (and the bogeyman, and whatever the GM decides) is real. And only children can see them and interact with them. As you get older, you "rationalize" more and more, and eventually stop believing in the monsters. That's why no adults can help the children.
On the plus side (for the child), children's belief can give power to help fight them. For example, their teddy bear might come alive at night to help protect them.
The system is fairly simple, and character creation should be fairly quick. Can't remember the details off the top of my head. The book is at home, and I'm not, so I can post more details later tonight.
[edit - remove sig]
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Mouseferatu
Hero
But there are plenty of other sorts of horror. Vampire is much more the "What have I become/what have I done" style of horror than the "Dear God, what is that!" style (though you can certainly do the latter with Vampire as well; there are plenty of mysterious entities in the WoD that even Vamps should fear).
Now, if that's not the style of horror you're looking for, hey, I fully understand. But it is horror.
The whole personal horror thing is hard for me to get because I rarely ever see it done very well. And many aspects of Vampire that I like are the ones who get beyond alot of the personal horror aspect & start embracing their Vampire nature (i.e. Lasombra, Tzimisce, Followers of Set, Assamites, etc.)mouseferatu said:
I guess this just boils down into a "what do you find skawwwy" sort of thing. Oh well, I'm not bagging on Vampire, it's just not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of horror.
haiiro
First Post
Call of Cthulhu, of course!
CoC games can be as short as you like, because the characters start their slide into madness and death from moment one.
In fact, my favorite way to play CoC is tournament style, using one-shots with pregenerated characters.
If you want a one-session break, pick up the best adventure ever (IMO): "In Media Res," by John Tynes. You can find it in The Unspeakable Oath #10 (Pagan Publishing's CoC magazine, an older issue) or The Resurrected III: Out of the Vault (also from Pagan, collects several scenarios including IMR -- with extras!). It is very definitely "mature."
I don't want to spoil even the tiniest element of it, but IMR is absolutely amazing.
Just remembering running it makes me grin -- and want to run it again.
CoC games can be as short as you like, because the characters start their slide into madness and death from moment one.
In fact, my favorite way to play CoC is tournament style, using one-shots with pregenerated characters.If you want a one-session break, pick up the best adventure ever (IMO): "In Media Res," by John Tynes. You can find it in The Unspeakable Oath #10 (Pagan Publishing's CoC magazine, an older issue) or The Resurrected III: Out of the Vault (also from Pagan, collects several scenarios including IMR -- with extras!). It is very definitely "mature."
I don't want to spoil even the tiniest element of it, but IMR is absolutely amazing.
Just remembering running it makes me grin -- and want to run it again.
Gothmog
First Post
You can't got wrong with the original Call of Cthulhu game. Its got so many great adventures and supplements that you're sure to find something easily.
Kult- you might be able to find this one in a used section of your game store. Its VERY dark and fritty, with a Hellraiser-like quality to it. Basically, reality isn't what most people think it is, and horrible entities lurk at the edge of reality. Unlike Cthulhu, these creatures are not uncaring, but very much malign and view humans as playthings. Done well, it can be the most confusing, disorienting, and horrifying game imaginable.
Deadlands (non-d20). Ok, not entirely horror, but its good campy fun. However, I have played in and run games in Deadlands that are the rival of any CoC or Kult game for their fear factor. The added bonus is that its easy to pull off a sense of total isolation in Deadlands, which is harder to do in CoC or Kult.
Kult- you might be able to find this one in a used section of your game store. Its VERY dark and fritty, with a Hellraiser-like quality to it. Basically, reality isn't what most people think it is, and horrible entities lurk at the edge of reality. Unlike Cthulhu, these creatures are not uncaring, but very much malign and view humans as playthings. Done well, it can be the most confusing, disorienting, and horrifying game imaginable.
Deadlands (non-d20). Ok, not entirely horror, but its good campy fun. However, I have played in and run games in Deadlands that are the rival of any CoC or Kult game for their fear factor. The added bonus is that its easy to pull off a sense of total isolation in Deadlands, which is harder to do in CoC or Kult.
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
Call of Cthulhu, either flavor, is good. I'm playing in a CoCd20 campaign that is just now winding down to the last 1 or 2 sessions, and it's been very cool. Check out the legendary Delta Green CoC stuff also, for modern horror.
I think Palladium has either re-released or will re-release Beyond the Supernatural, a RPG they first published in the late 80s. It has a Cthuluesque feel to it, and even succeeds in evoking an atmosphere of horror that rivals CoC in some respects. It doesn't really outshine CoC, of course - few games could - but it was an admirable attempt, in my opinion. It's worth taking a look at, if nothing else.
If you can find a copy of the old, original WEG Ghostbusters RPG, it's a good beer & pretzels game. Yeah, it's more aimed towards comedic horror, but it's still a fun game. I don't recommend the sequel, though; like with the movies, the sequel just doesn't work.
I think Palladium has either re-released or will re-release Beyond the Supernatural, a RPG they first published in the late 80s. It has a Cthuluesque feel to it, and even succeeds in evoking an atmosphere of horror that rivals CoC in some respects. It doesn't really outshine CoC, of course - few games could - but it was an admirable attempt, in my opinion. It's worth taking a look at, if nothing else.
If you can find a copy of the old, original WEG Ghostbusters RPG, it's a good beer & pretzels game. Yeah, it's more aimed towards comedic horror, but it's still a fun game. I don't recommend the sequel, though; like with the movies, the sequel just doesn't work.
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