D&D 5E (2024) D&D Universes Beyond - what should they do?

[Ruin Explorer]

Oh humor horror is a genre that's kind of underserved in the RPG space.

I mean, whether horror is humour horror in an RPG or not is largely down to the precise setup of an adventure, who the PCs are, and how the players play them.

Look at all the genuinely funny quasi-horror movies out there, and in almost every case, you could play the same thing straight, and if the antagonists were even a bit more threatening it would be pretty alarming. Likewise you could easily turn a lot of horror situations comedic by lowering the threat, maybe changing the location a bit to be sillier and having the characters behave in a more ridiculous manner.

So I don't actually think it is "underserved", because fundamentally mechanically it's not any different to normal horror, it's just about how you use the same pieces. I think the only real difference is maybe you'd want to pick weaker/less threatening enemies

EDIT - As an aside, I would have thought, as experienced DMs etc. many of us would have seen horror adventures descend (ascend?) into humour horror simply the players can't take it seriously, or the antagonists are just insufficiently threatening to the PCs for whatever reason, whether it's rolling really badly, just unintentionally not being strong enough, or whatever.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

My opinion is humor works in D&D when players try to seem serious, then it is funny when it is totally unexpected. The action-live "honor among thieves" could be an example.

Horror and comedy can be mixed. The franchise "Ghostbuster" is a good example, and this even can be family-friendly. Evil Dead is other example of how funny and dreadful can be mixed.

But horror franchises would be better in "Ravenloft special".

Family-friendly franchises could be right in "Witchlight" but this isn't oficially a setting yet.

Some videogames have got special game mechanics and they can't be easily adapted into a tabletop, but with help of computers, for example Fortnite or "Orcs must die" where you have to build "killboxes" with dozens of traps.

A licence of Pokemon seems very hard to be got. Easier options could be mon games like Palworld, Pickmon, Aniimo, Dokev, or a d20 version of mon ttrpg "Monster Wrangler"

 

[RageKage2250]

Humor and horror are much more down to the playeds for a TTRPG.

A well written module or TTRPG system can't make someone who is not great with comedy funny, nor can it make a session or campaign scary in and of itself.

One of the groups I game with are all semi-pro improv comedians with the exception of myself. In some of my other games ans friend groups I'm considerd funny here and there, but not in this one by comparison of skill level. The improv crew is running a homebrewed Vecna Eve of Ruin module. I don't think that module is written to be comedic, but those comedians make every session goofy and hilarious.

Horror is more realistic in TTRPGs, but can still be tough to do.

But combining them? I don't think you can sell a product that makes a TTRPG session both funny and scary. That's really down to the players.

I love the occasional horror comedy fulm like Scream, Cabin In The Woods, Obsession, but don't think the genre mix translates well to this hobby in a way that can be sold.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

There are several example of comedy horror videogames: Dead Rising, Lethal Company, R.E.P.O. or House of the Dead: Overkill.

Buffy: the vampire slayer had some moments for humor

Usually the TTRPGs don't mean to be funny but when the players choose that tone.

The module "Castle Greyhawk" was written to be a parody of famous franchises.

The episode "Rick Potion #9" of Rick & Morty cartoon shows us how horror and comedy can be mixed

Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" is other fusion of horror and humor, and also his "Dark Shadows" also had got some funny scenes. Zombieland is also horror and comedy.

Even a tragic story can become a dark comedy when the main character is replaced with somebody you hate and you want to watch him to suffer.

* I suggest other idea for a "collab" with a no-fantasy franchise: a pack like a "starter set" with "new" classes for horror or modern-age but only five levels.

 

[RageKage2250]

I

The B&G post implies it’s B&G exclusive, but we know the book has a gazetteer. My guess is the “Volo” framing is unique to the platinum edition but the info is lifted from the book.

There are several example of comedy horror videogames: Dead Rising, Lethal Company, R.E.P.O. or House of the Dead: Overkill.

Buffy: the vampire slayer had some moments for humor

Usually the TTRPGs don't mean to be funny but when the players choose that tone.

The module "Castle Greyhawk" was written to be a parody of famous franchises.

The episode "Rick Potion #9" of Rick & Morty cartoon shows us how horror and comedy can be mixed

Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" is other fusion of horror and humor, and also his "Dark Shadows" also had got some funny scenes. Zombieland is also horror and comedy.

Even a tragic story can become a dark comedy when the main character is replaced with somebody you hate and you want to watch him to suffer.

* I suggest other idea for a "collab" with a no-fantasy franchise: a pack like a "starter set" with "new" classes for horror or modern-age but only five levels.

I think comedic horror works in mediums like film, TV, and video games because you can have written scripted scenes where the timing and atmosphere can be more carefully constructed. I think you can get together a group of friends who agree to do a horror campaign with a comedic bent, but you can't write a module or rules set that can make this work at any given table. A module can't make people be funny.

So to be clear, not saying horror and comedy don't mesh, not even saying you can't play horror and comedy together in a TTRPG group. Just saying, with or without an IP crossover, you can't make a TTRPG book that does this. Horror and comedy both heavily rely on timing, and a book can't make people improv that genre mix.

 

[Stormonu]

Has anyone mentioned Pirates of Dark Water yet? Or, perhaps Pirates of the Caribbean?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Has anyone mentioned Pirates of Dark Water yet? Or, perhaps Pirates of the Caribbean?

I wonder if the folks who approved the Star Wars book are Disney execs or Lucasfilm execs. Because if they're Disney, the PotC one I could see happening, although it's been years since there was any credible movement on another movie.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Has anyone mentioned Pirates of Dark Water yet? Or, perhaps Pirates of the Caribbean?

I'm a Disney adult and one of the players in my campaign lives in Orlando. As a thought experiment I've actually designed an adventure using the park maps of each Disney park with individual rides as short dungeons or boss encounters (I'm particularly proud of what I did with the world showcase in epcot). If star wars does well I could see a generalized Disney supplement.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I wouldn’t know who to go to for the Pirates of Darkwater license. No one seems to be trying to revive it.

 

[Parmandur]

I wouldn’t know who to go to for the Pirates of Darkwater license. No one seems to be trying to revive it.

Yeah, I wouldn't expect any of these to event yate for any inactive IP.