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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MGibster" data-source="post: 9817693" data-attributes="member: 4534">Rather than hijack another <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/will-there-ever-be-new-editions-of-the-major-systems.716581/page-7#post-9816834" target="_blank">thread</a>, I thought this topic warranted its own discussion.  As with most discussions on TTRPG, what's appropriate for one game might not be appropriate for another game.  I might handle computers completely differently in Buffy the Vampire Slayer compared to Delta Green.  Horror stories very often rely on uncertainty and isolation to help create a tense atmosphere, which many people find difficult to maintain given the ubiquity of cell phones and the internet.  How is tension maintained when a PC can call 911 at a moment's notice?  How can anyone be uncertain when the internet puts information at their fingertips?  How do you prevent these devices from ruining your horror game without relying on tired contrivances like dead batteries, no signal, or whatever will make the player feel as though the GM is cheating them?  Rather than ruining games, I think modern technology can be used by PCs to enhance the game.  Instead of thinking of the internet as a way to circumvent challenges, use it as a way to move the plot forward by allowing it to be a useful resource for player characters.  In many ways, using the internet is really no different from poring over documents at a library or an archive.  Your PCs might very well find an internet article about Philemon Barrowe, a reputed warlock living in Massachusetts circa 1680, on Wikipedia or some regional historical site, noted for being lynched for "transgressions" against God and Man.  PCs might look online to learn more about a historical home, find out it was part of the Underground Railroad, which could lead them to search for secret passages or rooms.  It's important to remember the internet isn't a series of tubes through which you can access the sum of all human knowledge.  You might find a Wikipedia article about Philemon Barrowe, but you're unlikely to find his personal papers outside of an archive or in someone's personal collection.  You might be able to hack Globicide, Inc's network from the comfort of a Holiday Inn, but you're unlikely to find much information about their black ops government projects that way.  Everything hasn't been digitized, so your PCs are going to have to do some legwork.  Cell phones do make it much easier for people to communicate with with others which many see negatively.  I simply view it as a way for the plot to continue moving forward and for all the players to be able to participate.  The PCs can share information quickly instead of us having to take a break in game to meet up at a later time.  But many do see it as a negative because why wouldn't the PCs just call 911 when their in trouble?  911.  When seconds count, help is only minutes away."  While you can communicate with others in real time, it might take minutes or hours for them get to to the callers location.  A lot can happen in a few minutes.  Anyone have any ideas on how to make good use of the internet and cell phones in horror games?</blockquote>

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