Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Using D&D for fantasy horror
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 4822823" data-attributes="member: 2205"><p>Cross-posted from another board. I got some good discussion there, but I think it's about played out so I thought I'd reopen it with a different crowd...</p><p></p><p>I keep tossing around ideas for potential games (Sky Pirates of Mars, Ice People of the Outer Planets' Moons, etc.). Right now (maybe because I'm re-reading Libris Mortis, the Fiendish Codices, and a few other similarly themed books) is to use D&D (3.5) for fantasy horror.</p><p></p><p>"But Mr. Hobo, you idiot," you may be saying, "why in the world would you use D&D 3.5, which is a system totally inappropriate for horror?"</p><p></p><p>Well, here's my thought. First of all, level isn't something that you're entitled to in this game. You don't actually gain levels. Levels are for me to calibrate the "power level" of the game, and the game is meant to remain at that level the entire time. That doesn't mean some character advancement isn't possible; I think you can spend 1,000 XP to gain a rank in a skill (up to your maximum ranks for that level. I'm thinking 3rd is probably where I want to set it) and you can spend 5,000 XP for a new feat. BAB increases with skills like Weapon Focus, HP increases if you take Toughness, etc. You don't automatically get increases here.</p><p></p><p>The paradigm of play needs to change, too (obviously.) If these 3rd level character encounter, say, a vampire, they're going to get their butts seriously handed to them if they think they can just walk into combat like normal. I can also give a lot more monsters a fear aura, or something similar, to represent the fact that "adventurers" aren't expected to just go looking for monsters to kill, because that's a crazy, usually suicidal endeavor in this kind of setting.</p><p></p><p>But systemwise, I can't think of any reason why low(ish) level D&D, stuck permanently at that level like an even lower powered E6 variant, couldn't be used to evoke the same feel as a game designed specifically for horror.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Desdichado, post: 4822823, member: 2205"] Cross-posted from another board. I got some good discussion there, but I think it's about played out so I thought I'd reopen it with a different crowd... I keep tossing around ideas for potential games (Sky Pirates of Mars, Ice People of the Outer Planets' Moons, etc.). Right now (maybe because I'm re-reading Libris Mortis, the Fiendish Codices, and a few other similarly themed books) is to use D&D (3.5) for fantasy horror. "But Mr. Hobo, you idiot," you may be saying, "why in the world would you use D&D 3.5, which is a system totally inappropriate for horror?" Well, here's my thought. First of all, level isn't something that you're entitled to in this game. You don't actually gain levels. Levels are for me to calibrate the "power level" of the game, and the game is meant to remain at that level the entire time. That doesn't mean some character advancement isn't possible; I think you can spend 1,000 XP to gain a rank in a skill (up to your maximum ranks for that level. I'm thinking 3rd is probably where I want to set it) and you can spend 5,000 XP for a new feat. BAB increases with skills like Weapon Focus, HP increases if you take Toughness, etc. You don't automatically get increases here. The paradigm of play needs to change, too (obviously.) If these 3rd level character encounter, say, a vampire, they're going to get their butts seriously handed to them if they think they can just walk into combat like normal. I can also give a lot more monsters a fear aura, or something similar, to represent the fact that "adventurers" aren't expected to just go looking for monsters to kill, because that's a crazy, usually suicidal endeavor in this kind of setting. But systemwise, I can't think of any reason why low(ish) level D&D, stuck permanently at that level like an even lower powered E6 variant, couldn't be used to evoke the same feel as a game designed specifically for horror. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Using D&D for fantasy horror
Top