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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7892934" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>I'm going to play the part of devil's advocate here a bit, and say that I'm not a fan of this trope. I don't like the memory loss plot device. It is in my opinion a bit cheap and unoriginal, no offense intended.</p><p></p><p>I feel it robs the players of a bit of grounding and control. Rather than throwing the players straight into situation where they have no control, I prefer it when a horror campaign starts with the players being in control and gradually losing it. Speaking as both a DM and a player.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I like this concept better. I think you'll want to combine an original theme with an original objective. In horror it is the unknown that often forms a fantastic source of suspense. In that respect, maybe a mystery is at the heart of the objective. Maybe their sudden lack of resources is unexpected and sudden, and ties directly to the main plot. Maybe something strange has happened to motivate them to find a new safe haven. Maybe they've received a mysterious message that motivates them to go on their journey.</p><p></p><p>I'm currently working on a plot for a future horror game, that takes place in 1930's London. The initial catalyst to the adventure will be a strange house with a troubled history, that suddenly started emitting loud and terrifying noises. The players are sent to investigate, but other parties are also interested and will interfere with their plans. As the players explore the house, they learn more about its bizarre and terrifying history, and a mysterious world opens up to them beyond their imagination.</p><p></p><p>Thus a spooky mystery is at the heart of the plot and the reason for the adventure. The adventure starts fully grounded in reality but slowly unravels into a situation where the players are starting to lose all control.</p><p></p><p>What you could do, is give the players a simple angle (such as, you are a part of a secret organization), and allow them to write how their character fits into it all. Or alternatively, give them a list of plothooks that they can choose from, to determine how their character fits into the plot. And then of course keep those plothooks a secret and let them be revealed by the players over time.</p><p></p><p>Another thing I like to do, is give the players a bunch of black envelopes, containing a list of possible secrets for their characters. They pick one spooky secret that they find interesting, and it is then up to them to keep that secret or there will be a penalty. But of course the plot will touch upon each of these secrets, which puts the players in a situation where they obviously have secret knowledge but can't tell their fellow players. This creates a feeling of paranoia among the players, because their lives may depend on the secret information that they are keeping from each other.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7892934, member: 6801286"] I'm going to play the part of devil's advocate here a bit, and say that I'm not a fan of this trope. I don't like the memory loss plot device. It is in my opinion a bit cheap and unoriginal, no offense intended. I feel it robs the players of a bit of grounding and control. Rather than throwing the players straight into situation where they have no control, I prefer it when a horror campaign starts with the players being in control and gradually losing it. Speaking as both a DM and a player. I like this concept better. I think you'll want to combine an original theme with an original objective. In horror it is the unknown that often forms a fantastic source of suspense. In that respect, maybe a mystery is at the heart of the objective. Maybe their sudden lack of resources is unexpected and sudden, and ties directly to the main plot. Maybe something strange has happened to motivate them to find a new safe haven. Maybe they've received a mysterious message that motivates them to go on their journey. I'm currently working on a plot for a future horror game, that takes place in 1930's London. The initial catalyst to the adventure will be a strange house with a troubled history, that suddenly started emitting loud and terrifying noises. The players are sent to investigate, but other parties are also interested and will interfere with their plans. As the players explore the house, they learn more about its bizarre and terrifying history, and a mysterious world opens up to them beyond their imagination. Thus a spooky mystery is at the heart of the plot and the reason for the adventure. The adventure starts fully grounded in reality but slowly unravels into a situation where the players are starting to lose all control. What you could do, is give the players a simple angle (such as, you are a part of a secret organization), and allow them to write how their character fits into it all. Or alternatively, give them a list of plothooks that they can choose from, to determine how their character fits into the plot. And then of course keep those plothooks a secret and let them be revealed by the players over time. Another thing I like to do, is give the players a bunch of black envelopes, containing a list of possible secrets for their characters. They pick one spooky secret that they find interesting, and it is then up to them to keep that secret or there will be a penalty. But of course the plot will touch upon each of these secrets, which puts the players in a situation where they obviously have secret knowledge but can't tell their fellow players. This creates a feeling of paranoia among the players, because their lives may depend on the secret information that they are keeping from each other. [/QUOTE]
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