Widow's Bay and Horror Campaigns

[Reynard]

I just finished the season of Widow's Bay on Apple+ [no spoilers!] and it was legitimately the first horror thing that made me think "wow, that would make a great horror RPG campaign." Specifically, a campaign that was kind of episodic but with a through line, as opposed to a specific singular plot as an adventure (even if long).

I don't have much experience running or playing in horror campaigns. I have played in horror one shots and con games, and run a couple, but usually if I run a "horror" campaign, it's really just action with a dark esthetic: Deadlands, Angel or zombie stuff. The thing Widow's Bay does with episodes built around specific horror subgenres all linked to the core conceit is really great.

Have you ever run a successful horror campaign that was more episodic than serial? How did it go? What system?

If you have seen Widow's Bay, what system would you use to run a campaign like that?

Again, let's try not to spoil Widow's Bay for those that have not seen or finished it yet. Please use spoiler blocks.

 

[MGibster]

Have you ever run a successful horror campaign that was more episodic than serial? How did it go? What system?

Today I learned there was a difference between episodic and serial. In Delta Green, player characters are members of the titular Delta Green, an illegal conspiracy within the US government dedicated to containing, destroying, and suppressing anything involving hypergeometry (magic). Scenarios are set up where Agents (PCs) get an invitation from their handler for a "night at the opera" where they are assigned a specific mission to accomplish. Most missions are self-contained and next time you might be doing something else entirely.

Call of Cthulhu has so many individual scenarios published that it's trivially easy to use them in an episodic campaign. The only hard part is justifying the presence of the same Investigators scenario after scenario.

 

[payn]

Have you ever run a successful horror campaign that was more episodic than serial? How did it go? What system?

I've done a little Delta Green, and it was fun. I think the issue with episodic is asking why the same folks keep getting into the same situations over and over and coming out alive. If you have a pool of survivors or agents that can keep the game going, that helps make sense of it all. I was once in a Mask of Nyrlanhotep campaign and it was really hard to keep continuity going when we were on our 3rd or 4th characters. It kept becoming a stretch to keep going with it.

I just finished From season 4 Which is a Lost style horror mystery series. I think it could be the basis for a really good horror investigation campaign.

The Lost Room was a great mini series and its a shame it didnt get picked up. The theme was a hotel room was engulfed in some unexplainable phenomenon. Each item in the hotel room is capable of extraordinary things. The flask when opened, created a tunnel that sucks out all the air in a space, the comb when used slows time down for everyone else to like 10% of normal time, and the room key will turn any lock on a door and when you open it will transport you to the hotel room which is in some unexplainable place. There are different factions searching for these items for their own purposes.

So, yeah I think its possible, but it needs a really good premise and reason for folks to go along with it and make it work.

 

[Reynard]

Does horror have to come with a body count?

 

[wicked cool]

Curse of stahd and Ravenloft would be my choice

 

[payn]

Does horror have to come with a body count?

Nope. I was actually just thinking of the show Evil. Its premise is a cast of characters are hired by the Catholic Church to investigate "miracles". Often, they find scientific explanations that debunk the miracle, but there are also times where the unexplainable remains a mystery. The characters are haunted in dreams, and set upon in dark schemes, but they are not killed during the story...so far.

 

[bsss]

I ran Call of Cthulhu for a while, CthulhuTech for a while longer, and also an X-Files-ian d20 Modern game for a little while. I actually think the genre is ripe with opportunity for episodic horror mysteries in a greater meta-plot if you have an organization funding the PCs, lining up cases, providing the greater picture, and/or representing a sinister or benevolent purpose.

I don't know the first thing about Widow's Bay, but I find having a way to hand-wave the questions like why the PCs put up with this and how they get around (answer to both: it's their job) helps focus on the horror parts.

Notably, I have never had a strong connection with WoD-style horror.

 

[Maxperson]

I just finished the season of Widow's Bay on Apple+ [no spoilers!] and it was legitimately the first horror thing that made me think "wow, that would make a great horror RPG campaign." Specifically, a campaign that was kind of episodic but with a through line, as opposed to a specific singular plot as an adventure (even if long).

I don't have much experience running or playing in horror campaigns. I have played in horror one shots and con games, and run a couple, but usually if I run a "horror" campaign, it's really just action with a dark esthetic: Deadlands, Angel or zombie stuff. The thing Widow's Bay does with episodes built around specific horror subgenres all linked to the core conceit is really great.

Have you ever run a successful horror campaign that was more episodic than serial? How did it go? What system?

If you have seen Widow's Bay, what system would you use to run a campaign like that?

Again, let's try not to spoil Widow's Bay for those that have not seen or finished it yet. Please use spoiler blocks.

Call of Cthulu is the one I would use, but I don't have a super wide experience with RPGs. I think Daggerheart would also work well.

 

[MGibster]

Does horror have to come with a body count?

Ideally, it should. At least once in a while. And not even necessarily the bodies of player characters. Throw in the corpse of an NPC every once in a while to keep things interesting. There are plenty of other avenues of horror of course. There's one horror campaign that no matter what the PCs do they find out its in service to some strange entity/force older that god himself. No matter what the PCs do, it's in service to this...thing. It's like the whole universe conspired for them to be useful tools and nothing more. That's pretty horrific.

I was once in a Mask of Nyrlanhotep campaign and it was really hard to keep continuity going when we were on our 3rd or 4th characters. It kept becoming a stretch to keep going with it.

I know they've published Masks several times, but have they updated it at all? I've never played it, but when I read my copy more than twenty years ago, I marveled that some scenarios within the campaign were flat out meatgrinders. I didn't run it for fear of trying to maintain a cohesive campaign in what I expected to be a PC bloodbath.

 

[payn]

I know they've published Masks several times, but have they updated it at all? I've never played it, but when I read my copy more than twenty years ago, I marveled that some scenarios within the campaign were flat out meatgrinders. I didn't run it for fear of trying to maintain a cohesive campaign in what I expected to be a PC bloodbath.

I was only a player. I wasnt sure if the campaign is a pure meat grinder, it is CoC after all, or my GM was just PC murder happy. Im guessing its a little of both.