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Lovecraftian Corruption In Your Role-Playing Campaigns
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<blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 7737418" data-attributes="member: 57112"><p>Sanitariums are typically frightening for one of two reasons:</p><p></p><p>1) Our fear of the patients, descended into madness, for fear that we too will lose what makes us "us"</p><p>2) Our fear of the practices & practitioners, often exemplified as sadistic doctors and treating horrific treatments as forms of torture (sometimes rightfully so, such as lobotomies, other times more sensationalized, as with shock therapy)</p><p></p><p>Sanitariums don't exist anymore more, for a variety of reasons, but I have to imagine that our cultural fears of them were probably a significant factor.</p><p></p><p>These days, the largest state-run (or state-overseen, at any rate) mental health housing facilities are the prison industry. So... not really an upgrade.</p><p></p><p>Without having read "The Sanatorium" myself I can't really comment on it specifically, just more broadly on a particular negative outcome as a result of more generalized and exploitative fear of the mentally ill and sanitariums. </p><p></p><p>If I were writing an adventure set in a mental health institution of any nature, particularly in a horror setting, I would firstly, and most importantly, do what I could to paint the inmates as three-dimensional human beings with serious, but empathetic, mental illnesses, as a start, rather that as less-than-human objects to be feared. If there is anything torturous happening to them, I'd make it was clear that it was a unique feature of this particular institution, and probably a result of some form of corruption (either the supernatural kind, if we're in a CoC-type setting, or just good-old-fashioned evil bastards at the helm that need to be exposed or otherwise dealt with). Finally, I would ensure that whatever is happening to these inmates is neither (a) inevitable or (b) unstoppable. If my players are there to solve a problem I want it to be a problem that they <em>can</em> solve, which, as I understand, does not always fit with the vibe CoC tends to go for. </p><p></p><p>To reverse that, I would probably not ever run (or recommend running) a sanitarium adventure in which the inmates represent the villains or otherwise the most dangerous physical threat, as objects to be feared. Nor would I run, or recommend running, an adventure in which inmates suffer at the hands of some threat the player characters are powerless to prevent, leaving the mentally ill little more than targets to gawk at and be pitied. Both of these can be dehumanizing and exploitative.</p><p></p><p>Again, your mileage may vary based upon your group. I consume a lot of pop culture and very little of it is fully and completely perfect, but if I can break down what I'm taking in with like-minded people I know that it's a lot less likely to have any impact on my unconscious biases.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Gradine, post: 7737418, member: 57112"] Sanitariums are typically frightening for one of two reasons: 1) Our fear of the patients, descended into madness, for fear that we too will lose what makes us "us" 2) Our fear of the practices & practitioners, often exemplified as sadistic doctors and treating horrific treatments as forms of torture (sometimes rightfully so, such as lobotomies, other times more sensationalized, as with shock therapy) Sanitariums don't exist anymore more, for a variety of reasons, but I have to imagine that our cultural fears of them were probably a significant factor. These days, the largest state-run (or state-overseen, at any rate) mental health housing facilities are the prison industry. So... not really an upgrade. Without having read "The Sanatorium" myself I can't really comment on it specifically, just more broadly on a particular negative outcome as a result of more generalized and exploitative fear of the mentally ill and sanitariums. If I were writing an adventure set in a mental health institution of any nature, particularly in a horror setting, I would firstly, and most importantly, do what I could to paint the inmates as three-dimensional human beings with serious, but empathetic, mental illnesses, as a start, rather that as less-than-human objects to be feared. If there is anything torturous happening to them, I'd make it was clear that it was a unique feature of this particular institution, and probably a result of some form of corruption (either the supernatural kind, if we're in a CoC-type setting, or just good-old-fashioned evil bastards at the helm that need to be exposed or otherwise dealt with). Finally, I would ensure that whatever is happening to these inmates is neither (a) inevitable or (b) unstoppable. If my players are there to solve a problem I want it to be a problem that they [I]can[/I] solve, which, as I understand, does not always fit with the vibe CoC tends to go for. To reverse that, I would probably not ever run (or recommend running) a sanitarium adventure in which the inmates represent the villains or otherwise the most dangerous physical threat, as objects to be feared. Nor would I run, or recommend running, an adventure in which inmates suffer at the hands of some threat the player characters are powerless to prevent, leaving the mentally ill little more than targets to gawk at and be pitied. Both of these can be dehumanizing and exploitative. Again, your mileage may vary based upon your group. I consume a lot of pop culture and very little of it is fully and completely perfect, but if I can break down what I'm taking in with like-minded people I know that it's a lot less likely to have any impact on my unconscious biases. [/QUOTE]
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