Horror or Hell? Dracula or Lucifer? Ravenloft or Dante's Inferno?

[Morrus]

Which of the two concepts below intrigue you most (as presented as a shortish adventure path)? Assume the system is your favourite system; this is just about the topic.

Classic Horror - misty valleys, villagers speaking in hushed tones, locals acting strangely, howls on the moor, gothic castles, powerful vampire. Think Dracula, Ravenloft, etc. Very cliched, very creepy.

Hell - a descent into Hell, manipulative devils, pure evil, infinite power, gruesome scenes. Think Paladin in Hell, Dante's Inferno, Abandon All Hope All Ye Who Enter Here, more Judeo-Christian version than most D&D versions, very dark.

 

[Nightfall]

I always liked a mixture of the two myself, Mister Morrus. Mostly because it keeps the PCs on their toes when dealing with one thing.

That being said, of late I've considered more and more possession by the forces of Hell. Certainly I'm a huge fan of The Exorcist and of course now the Conjuring.

 

[howandwhy99]

Demons are classic horror, but travelling to Hell wouldn't be. Both ideas could be interesting, but there isn't enough info for me really.

 

[amerigoV]

Classic Horror. Reasons?

1. I can use in any campaign. Decent into Hell is only if you dig the planes (in 4e you cannot take a dump without falling into the Fey or Shadowfell - its just not that interesting anymore).

2. Makes me a better GM. Horror takes talent to write and talent to run. It stretches you as a GM. I have to really focus on setting a scene and a mood.

3. Pure, in your face Evil is actually rather boring as it does not create interesting opposition. Slaughtering demons does not create any player qualms. Stopping a man that is about to kill a child that eventually turns out to be something "else" is much more interesting.

4. Since I don't play D&D anymore, horror is more fun to run and play in (point blank its hard to run a D&D horror campaign - the term monster is really "obstacle" after you've played for a bit. You can do it, but its just not the best vehicle).

There are other reasons, but that gets it started for me.

 

[Stormonu]

I'll take Horror any day.

However, I've yet to see a Hell adventure that really captures the "Lost in Damnation" aspect of Hell. It's always being about good guys going in, kick Devil butt and get out. If you were to do an adventure path (which I'm guessing your fishing for), I'd like to see one that starts the characters off as damned souls - or damn near it, not trying to escape, but to scrabble to the top of the heap. Initial missions might have the characters attempting to distinguish themselves from the wretched, tortured souls around them (sort of like the Troubleshooter angle in Paranoia, but with a decidedly serious tone - you become a troubleshooter by "turning in"/betraying one of your fellows, then you get sent on errands to investigate and fix issues in the nasty corners of Hell, gaining power, contacts and favors if you survive).

The middle part might have the characters promoted to corrupters, enforcers and/or arsonists on the Prime plane, performing various tasks vital to the machinations of Hell. And the characters have to content with whose planting knifes in their backs while they're away, or deal with paranoid overlords who are afraid of the characters accomplishing too much or looking too good and becoming a threat to the established order.

High level adventures would be where the characters start to plot and plan to rule Hell for themselves - and perhaps likewise face celestial opposition to their ascension (Imagine a scenario where the angels unite to back The Dark One to keep the characters from gaining to much power - fearing that once they've conquered Hell, the party may be moving on to overwhelm Heaven).

This could be an adventure trek with a LOT of inter-party plotting and politics going on. It can be paced to occur over years with the characters making bit-decisions along the way that culminate in the fruition of decades-long (if not centuries or millenium-long) plans. Boot-licking, usurpations, back-alley dealing, bargaining, assassination (character and literal), blackmail, double-dealing, spying and misinforming at every turn. Combat only occurs against outsiders to this game in Hell, or when someone woefully screws up and drops their guard too far. Think of Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad and less of Untouchables.

Basically, imagine a game of Diplomacy interspersed with brief spats of combat or adventuring in-between all the double-dealing going on.

 

[Libertad]

Gothic horror is more atmospheric and (to me) is more versatile in terms of adventure ideas. I do enjoy lower planes adventures Planescape-style, but I wouldn't say they're Judeo-Christian in tone.

Classic Horror it is, then!

 

[Serendipity]

Honestly neither, as I've seen treatments of both to varying degrees of good and/or useful; though of the two, if I saw the book on the shelf, I'd pick the 'Dante' book up and leave the other one on the shelf unless something particularly stood out.
Doing a trip to hell is difficult to pull off however, and far less likely to please as many people as a classic horror treatment would.

 

[delericho]

Actually, I'd prefer something new. "Classic Horror" has been done extensively, and is almost hackneyed by now. "Hell", on the other hand, tends to be taken as an excuse just to try to shock - the same way "adult themes" seems to just mean "boobs and blood".

If I have to choose between those two, I'll go for "Classic Horror".

 

[Herobizkit]

Gothic horror always devolves into camp for me... the tropes are simply too old and too overused. Descent Into Hell, now, there's something you can sink your teeth into. I watched the anime which came with the Dante's Inferno game for PS3 and it messed up mah mind.

If you were to do an adventure path (which I'm guessing your fishing for), I'd like to see one that starts the characters off as damned souls - or damn near it, not trying to escape, but to scrabble to the top of the heap.

This would be amazing.

 

[Umbran]

Classic horror.

For one thing, a trip into Hell generally requires extremely high level characters. For another, Hell is (or should be) big enough to call for more than a shortish adventure path to do it justice.