Best Horror Role Playing Game

[Parmandur]

Call of Cthulu is not just the best Horror RPG. It is frankly one of the most successful RPGs of any stripe, juat as a game design...hence why it is still big even though it is not hugely changed from since before I was born.

Gotta put in a word for Baesen: great atmosphere and interesting rules, I don't think it usurpation CoC but it is worth a good long look.

 

[Thomas Shey]

If CoC is the definitive horror game of cosmic horror, then Chill is very much the definitive horror game of things that go bump in the night. It's sort of like Cthulhu Pulp only facing off against Dracula and the Wolfman.

And if that doesn't sound scary you are very much underestimating how dark it is

Even the original was interesting, and I'm of the opinion it got better with each edition.

 

[Swanosaurus]

I suspect that Marvels & Prodigies is really, really good - but I still haven't played it. I know there's a gazillion "innovative new takes on the Cthulhu Mythos" out there, but I'd wager that this one is for real, mostly because it's not a "take" (Cthulhu and Mechs! Cthulhu and Sherlock Holmes! Cthulhu in (insert era here)), but just a game that takes Lovecraftian motives and does something new and relatively low-key with it that can't be boiled down to "Cthulhu & XY". It basically is a modern horror setting that knows its Lovecraftian ancestry. It's also effortlessly inclusive and anti-racist.
And the rules - okay, I haven't played them yet, but their focus on in-game character development and on how physical and psychical wounds scar you seems extremely appropriate to a horror campaign with a relatively serious tone. And the core story (the characters are seekers, people who don't turn away terrified, but are fascinated enough to try to figure it all out) is simple but an extremely effective anchor to make the game about them.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

I've played and run a lot of horror, and it's been hard to dislodge Call of Cthulhu from the top of the list. Here are some other systems I've run horror in:

D&D / 13th Age / Pathfinder: You need to add your own mechanics -- and the nature of high fantasy can make it hard to feel that your characters are really in a state of fear. You can do it, but the system doesn't help.

FATE: This works pretty well, using aspects that express fear, panic, etc. Because Fate defines characters in terms what they are (aspects) rather than what they can do (skills and abilities) it's a naturally good fit for horror, which is all about your state, not your abilities. The reason I still prefer CoC to Fate is that CoC is more simulationist, and I think that helps it feel more real to me.

Monster of the Week: The only PbtA game I've really enjoyed, it's not really horror, but it is fun. PbtA doesn't work for me for horror as you spend too much time out of character trying to come up with three questions to ask about the crime scene and similar. Feels too artificial to capture actual horror. But Monster of the Week is great for a pulp Buffy/Supernatural feel.

Trail of Cthulhu: A good candidate to replace CoC. For me I'm not keen on being able to spend to guarantee success. When I ran a campaign in ToC, it took away a lot from the feeling of despair when players can spend to guarantee they escape, for example. But very close!

Aliens: Great for a one-shot, terrible for a campaign. The panic aspects become bland and predictable after a few sessions ("I rolled 7, hey everyone, add a panic die as I'm screaming at you again") and it doesn't have a lot of non-combat mechanics that are of interest.

Chill: Haven't played enough to comment, but I would happily play again. I suspect I'd like it as much as CoC.

10 Candles: Fantastic. Ton of Fun. Would play anytime. But not suitable for campaign play. I've also played a few other indie one-shot horror games and these have pretty consistently been fun.

Also, an aside:

Thousand Year Old Vampire: This is a solo journaling game that, when I played it, had a strong Anne Rice vampire feel. Generated some actually emotional moments; as an example, I lost both memories and my journal about my first love, and ended up murdering her grandchild on a whim. Writing that scene was quite wrenching.

 

[aramis erak]

What kind of game is Chill? I can't find it anywhere. Help.

PCs are typically employed by an agency (governmental? Intergovernmental?) which investigates and neutralizes supernaturals, and possibly also cultists out to summon nasty supernaturals or to become supernaturals themselves.
Mechanics pretty traditional, and skills by background career. (I played one session in the 80's, have a copy, never ran it.)

 

[Committed Hero]

PCs are typically employed by an agency (governmental? Intergovernmental?) which investigates and neutralizes supernaturals, and possibly also cultists out to summon nasty supernaturals or to become supernaturals themselves.

S.A.V.E. I think.

 

[Thomas Shey]

S.A.V.E. I think.

Yes. Its an independent organization (there also were some serious changes what occurred with the organization between the second and third edition).

 

[MGibster]

Trail of Cthulhu: A good candidate to replace CoC. For me I'm not keen on being able to spend to guarantee success. When I ran a campaign in ToC, it took away a lot from the feeling of despair when players can spend to guarantee they escape, for example. But very close!

The key to ToC is resource management. Keep spending enough to get away and eventually you run out of resources to get away with.

 

[aramis erak]

Yes. Its an independent organization (there also were some serious changes what occurred with the organization between the second and third edition).

Which edition is the hardcover? Looks like 2nd Mayfair... I've the hardcover. Also is the edition I played. Which said, there are PDFs on DTRPG for it now.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

multiple editions in PDF, even.

 

[Autumnal]

I suspect that Marvels & Prodigies is really, really good - but I still haven't played it.

It’s really rare for me to encounter a game I haven’t heard of in a thread like this. But this is new to me. Thanks!