Widow's Bay and Horror Campaigns

[Reynard]

Widows Bay itself, sure, you would want a skill based system. But you could use D&D for something like Widows Bay, but using combat for conflict resolution.

But then you are no longer doing psych horror and back to doing action horror, which sort of misses the point.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But then you are no longer doing psych horror and back to doing action horror, which sort of misses the point.

I would dispute the idea that Widows Bay is only psychological horror. The back half of the season makes it clear that the monsters are very real and a physical threat. Indeed, you can find a sea hag and a relentless slasher in the D&D rules.

And D&D handles comedy horror much better than CoC and any other horror RPG I’m familiar with, which tend to be seriously humourless.

 

[Reynard]

I would dispute the idea that Widows Bay is only psychological horror. The back half of the season makes it clear that the monsters are very real and a physical threat. Indeed, you can find a sea hag and a relentless slasher in the D&D rules.

And D&D handles comedy horror much better than CoC and any other horror RPG I’m familiar with, which tend to be seriously humourless.

There is nothing in Widow's Bay I would call a D&D fight, nor a D&D style protagonist.

Widow's Bay is funny, though.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Widows Bay itself, sure, you would want a skill based system. But you could use D&D for something like Widows Bay, but using combat for conflict resolution.

I don’t think a skill-based system is required so much as one that’s not designed around combat and niche-specialization like D&D.

A general resemblance to a domain of dread wouldn’t be what I’d use as the basis to pick the system for such a game.

 

[jhallum]

I've been running a Savage World ETU campaign that has been more monster of the week focused for...years now (8 years, maybe 3 times a year, it's for when we don't have at least 4 players) that has been more serial based with a very thin through line. Since it's played so rarely, not sure I want to have a ton of continuity.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I don’t think a skill-based system is required so much as one that’s not designed around combat and niche-specialization like D&D.

A general resemblance to a domain of dread wouldn’t be what I’d use as the basis to pick the system for such a game.

It’s a format that could be used with with whatever RPG system you happened to be using. But Cthulhu Modern would be the obvious pick for a direct translation. Which is skill based I seem to recall?

 

[hawkeyefan]

It’s a format that could be used with with whatever RPG system you happened to be using. But Cthulhu Modern would be the obvious pick for a direct translation. Which is skill based I seem to recall?

I think game systems can be a good or bad fit for any given genre. I think that D&D’s classes and focus on combat probably aren’t very well suited to something like Widow’s Bay.

Call of Cthulhu is a skill based game, which helps perhaps make it a better fit… but I don’t think a game would need to be skill based to be a good fit. My suggestion of Brindlewood Bay isn’t a skill based game… the characters just have five ability stats and a special move.

 

[Reynard]

I think Fate Accelerated would be a good fit for something like Widow's Bay, especially if you really leaned into complications and negative consequences of failure that drive action forward. You need lean rules than can adapt to the situation AND a system that rewards players embracing their characters' flaws and vices.

 

[Saracenus]

Well, if you want to put fear and tension in the game and are willing to off the players one by one, the Dread is your game. Nothing else makes people nervous as when the Jenga tower starts getting iffy and your character's life is on the line. But that is more survival horror.

 

[Reynard]

Well, if you want to put fear and tension in the game and are willing to off the players one by one, the Dread is your game. Nothing else makes people nervous as when the Jenga tower starts getting iffy and your character's life is on the line. But that is more survival horror.

Well in this case you explicitly do not want to off any PCs.