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Enix18
2010-05-16, 02:26 PM
I recently had a great idea for a campaign that I want to run. It's going to be a mix of sci-fi and horror, with the players being fairly normal people who find themselves trapped in a universe overrun by alien horrors. They start out on a normal, every-day mission (I'm thinking they might be merchants, traveling between planets for trading purposes) but things slowly start to get strange. On one planet, they hear rumors of odd occurrences in other parts of the Galactic Empire. They visit a colony to stop and offload some trade goods, only to find the colony abandoned. Eventually, they dock at a planet to find an entire city devoid of human life. But there are other things there. Terrible, monstrous things. Maybe they only catch a few glimpses out of the corners of their eyes, or maybe they watch in horror as some hideous beast reaches out of the shadows to claim one of their allies. And from there, things can only go downhill...

To me, this sounds like an awesomely frightening campaign, but there's one problem: I don't know what system to use.

My first thought was to use Cthulhu Tech. Lovecraftian horror is exactly what I'm looking for, and as far as I know this is the only futuristic Call of Cthulhu setting. I'm wondering if there are any other game systems that combine sci-fi and horror in such a way, though. The only other sci-fi game I have is d20 Future, and aside from the fact that there's no built-in insanity system d20 characters quickly become unrealistic as they level up, and I don't want the players reaching superhuman levels of power. Fighting these alien horrors shouldn't be their first resort, and when they do enter combat it should be very dangerous.

As you can see, I'm at a loss for what system to go with, and I was hoping you folks might be able to give me some suggestions.

Altair_the_Vexed
2010-05-16, 02:50 PM
Use d20 Future, but add these variant rules I found lying about:

Injury (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/injury.htm)
Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm)
E6 (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html)
And scrap Action Points.

That'll stop your PCs getting too awesome, keep everything scary, and make it dangerous to get into a fight.

Satyr
2010-05-16, 02:54 PM
All Flesh Must Be Eaten (http://www.allflesh.com/8020.html)with the All Tomorrow Zombies (http://www.allflesh.com/8015.html)Sourcebook is probably all you need. Yes, it is apparently about Zombies, but the game includes a very decent monster building set, which can easily applied to all kinds of creatures, and it is a very good game in general - flexible, adaptable and quite fun.

Lord Loss
2010-05-16, 02:55 PM
Not what you're looking for, but this gives good insights on playing action/Cthulhu campaigns (albeit in modern times)

Micheal Tresca's The Horror (http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column.phtml?colname=thehorror)

The Early bits of the series is amazing. Then it starts to become more... meh.

a_humble_lich
2010-05-16, 03:07 PM
I would go with GURPS. It is easily tooled to lower power PCs (just don't give the players many points). There is a Fright Check mechanic which can make the PCs go insane (always a bonus). Also, I really like classless systems for Modern/Sci Fi games. As it is a generic system, you can design the setting to be exactly what you want it to be. The downsides? The system does put more work on the GM.

Another good Sci Fi/Horror game is Dark Heresy. It is set in the Warhammer 40k universe which means there is a lot of flavor that might not fit what you have in mind, but it is designed to pit the players against dark powers which man was not meant to know.

Axolotl
2010-05-16, 03:35 PM
Can I ask why you need a sanity system in the first place?

The D20 future system could work fine if you either slow advancement or siply cap it at level 3 or 5 so they don't spiral out of control. Avoid the sections of the rules that don't work and you have the advantage of a system everybody is familiar with.

If you want something a little more stylistic then Dark Heresy would work very wellbut it would take some effort to de-40k it.

Enix18
2010-05-16, 03:59 PM
Use d20 Future, but add these variant rules I found lying about:

Injury (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/injury.htm)
Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm)
E6 (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html)
And scrap Action Points.

That'll stop your PCs getting too awesome, keep everything scary, and make it dangerous to get into a fight.

Thanks, those variant rules definitely look like they might make d20 Future a more viable option. I really like the idea behind E6, which I think I might even incorporate into some of my regular D&D campaigns.


All Flesh Must Be Eaten (http://www.allflesh.com/8020.html)with the All Tomorrow Zombies (http://www.allflesh.com/8015.html)Sourcebook is probably all you need. Yes, it is apparently about Zombies, but the game includes a very decent monster building set, which can easily applied to all kinds of creatures, and it is a very good game in general - flexible, adaptable and quite fun.

Hmm... I never particularly enjoyed the AFMBE system, but I'll be sure to check out All Tomorrow's Zombies.


I would go with GURPS. It is easily tooled to lower power PCs (just don't give the players many points). There is a Fright Check mechanic which can make the PCs go insane (always a bonus). Also, I really like classless systems for Modern/Sci Fi games. As it is a generic system, you can design the setting to be exactly what you want it to be. The downsides? The system does put more work on the GM.

Another good Sci Fi/Horror game is Dark Heresy. It is set in the Warhammer 40k universe which means there is a lot of flavor that might not fit what you have in mind, but it is designed to pit the players against dark powers which man was not meant to know.

GURPS actually did cross my mind, but I personally can't stand the complexity and level of work inherent in running a GURPS game of any type. I do like the Dark Heresy system, though, so that may actually suit my needs.


Can I ask why you need a sanity system in the first place?

I want my game to have that Lovecraftian feel of dark, unknowable horrors the likes of which the human mind can barely manage to comprehend. I personally think a sanity system helps to achieve that feel.

Kaun
2010-05-16, 06:13 PM
I find running a suprise horror game like it sounds like your cooking up doesn't work if you use anything CoC mainly because your players go into the game jumping at shodows and opening box's with 10ft poles.

I agree on your view on gurps, while i love the system the amount of effort required my the GM can make it far to much work in a lot of situations untill you have been playing it enough that it become second nature.

Riva
2010-05-16, 06:30 PM
Hmmm, its got good flavor, but I think it needs more GRIMDARK

poisonoustea
2010-05-16, 06:31 PM
Use a simple system, like the Storyteller (World of Darkness 2nd edition). I know that another suggestion will confuse you, but you don't have to worry about the system. Horror and Sci-Fi both focus heavily on the narration.
You have to keep the players concerned about what they don't know they're facing, so combat/rules should be your least concern.

Also, insanity doesn't work well as a rule; try playing tricks on 'em, mess with their heads. Put them in a combat in a corner against something they have no chance against, only to reveal they were having a hallucination.
Tell 'em they're losing health levels. When they'll check, they'll find wounds and scratches on their chest. Things like that. They'll probably develop some sort of paranoia about their characters. They'll be afraid of anything from mirrors to microwave ovens, if you make 'em scared of these things.
Play outside the system, using simple basic rules.

WoD is compatible with john-doe humans, it's a system easy to die in, it allows for a lot of customization (monsters, characters) and it's sci-fi friendly.

Enix18
2010-05-16, 06:55 PM
Use a simple system, like the Storyteller (World of Darkness 2nd edition). I know that another suggestion will confuse you, but you don't have to worry about the system. Horror and Sci-Fi both focus heavily on the narration.
You have to keep the players concerned about what they don't know they're facing, so combat/rules should be your least concern.

I never thought of using WoD, but now that you suggest it it actually seems like a really good option. I haven't played it a whole lot, but even with my limited experience I'm a fan of the storyteller system. I like your tips on insanity as well, I just like giving the players a chance to have the fate of their characters' minds in their own hands (or dice). I was thinking maybe some sort of hybrid system, where I use the player's sanity scores as a guideline for what sorts of mental conditions they should be experiencing. I'll have to take this into consideration too...

Wow, there are so many good options.

The Bellmaker
2010-05-16, 10:30 PM
Gah, dammit. Must...not...metagame....

I should probably not read threads my DM starts. Deleting from memory.

Although, I would have to agree with Poisonoustea's statement about insanity rules. Her method seems a lot better for engendering fear of the known in the players.

Kaun
2010-05-16, 10:39 PM
Gah, dammit. Must...not...metagame....

I should probably not read threads my DM starts. Deleting from memory.


Haha your totaly going to die first!

poisonoustea
2010-05-17, 08:14 AM
Her method
:smalleek: ...but... why? :smallsigh:

SurlySeraph
2010-05-17, 08:17 AM
Because you have a feminine avatar, my good chap. It's easy to overlook the gender symbol and jump to conclusions.

poisonoustea
2010-05-17, 08:19 AM
(So do a lot of other people on the forum...)
Anyway, I'll live with it :smallsigh:

Oh, and remember the Storyteller has a nice Insanity/derangements system, too.

The Bellmaker
2010-05-17, 12:17 PM
:smalleek: ...but... why? :smallsigh:

It wasn't the avatar, I didn't even see the avatar, sorry. It was a combination of your name and the coherence of your statement.

SOmething about your writing style makes me think you are a girl. Sorry? :smallfrown:

Enix18
2010-05-17, 12:22 PM
SOmething about your writing style makes me think you are a girl. Sorry? :smallfrown:

Bellmaker... I don't think you're helping your case...

Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-17, 01:10 PM
Use d20 Future, but add these variant rules I found lying about:

Injury (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/injury.htm)
Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm)
E6 (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html)
And scrap Action Points.

That'll stop your PCs getting too awesome, keep everything scary, and make it dangerous to get into a fight.

See, I can agree with the sanity. It makes sense for a Lovecrafty type game...But not the other two. As someone who's run Sci-Fi horror before (even one that involved the players in mechs) I can tell you right now that you don't need extra rules to make the game scarier for your players. Especially in d20 modern. E6 is meant for D&D, and takes D&D power levels into account and not d20 modern's/future's where a sixth level character is simply tougher/stronger/smarter/etc then a 1st level rather then being able to throw around fire balls or the like (unless you are including FX abilities and classes.

And Injury is...un-needed as long as you remember the words 'Massive Damage Threshhold' which a lot of d20 modern GMs forget about. If EVERY monster (or close to it) can force a massive damage save on average whenever it hits then your players will naturally be disinclined to tussle with them unless they have a clear advantage. (Remember...unless a PC has a +15 Fort. save ((Unlikely as hell at low levels)) there is anywhere from a 1 in four chance or 3 in four chance that the PC will go into shock and fall to negative 1 hitpoints)

That said, I highly recommend that you do take away Action Points because they are MEANT to make the heroes feel more like an Action Star.

Enix18
2010-05-17, 09:26 PM
My main problem with d20 is that, even when it's not DnD, the power level of the characters increases dramatically over time. Sure, a 1st level character might be taken down by a single, well-placed blow, but by the time they gain a few levels they'll have sufficient hitpoints to stand a few gunshots to the chest unarmored and keep on fighting. At higher levels, even a d20 modern character can stroll nonchalantly through a hail of bullets. In a fantasy setting this can mostly be hand-waved away, but in the real world it just doesn't make sense. I want the players to feel like normal people (i.e. Virtually helpless against these alien monstrosities that I'll be throwing at them) but I don't want to have to achieve that effect by giving the monsters more hit points and stronger attacks as the game progresses. Beyond the lower levels, I find d20 to be quite impractical for realistic games. Hence why I'm probably going with WoD for this one.

Callos_DeTerran
2010-05-18, 11:58 AM
My main problem with d20 is that, even when it's not DnD, the power level of the characters increases dramatically over time. Sure, a 1st level character might be taken down by a single, well-placed blow, but by the time they gain a few levels they'll have sufficient hitpoints to stand a few gunshots to the chest unarmored and keep on fighting. At higher levels, even a d20 modern character can stroll nonchalantly through a hail of bullets. In a fantasy setting this can mostly be hand-waved away, but in the real world it just doesn't make sense. I want the players to feel like normal people (i.e. Virtually helpless against these alien monstrosities that I'll be throwing at them) but I don't want to have to achieve that effect by giving the monsters more hit points and stronger attacks as the game progresses. Beyond the lower levels, I find d20 to be quite impractical for realistic games. Hence why I'm probably going with WoD for this one.

d20 isn't meant for realistic, but again if you end up going with d20 modern...MASSIVE DAMAGE THRESHHOLD. Unless each and everyone of your PCs pimps out that threshhold, even a twentieth level character has a chance of going down from a single attack.

Megaduck
2010-05-18, 12:25 PM
Use the Serenity RPG system and replace the Zombies with Reavers and other alliance projects.

crazedloon
2010-05-18, 12:44 PM
I am going to suggest Dark Heresy (again) as it will work perfectly for the sort of game you wish to play. It has a very gritty feel where people can die with a stupid mistake. There is a rather good insanity (and corruption) system. And it has all the sci fi you may want. Just flavor the creatures in DH or change to a more DH oriented game. It works well if you want an example look up Saldre's What lies beneath.... game, it is one I am currently playing in an he is heavily inspired by CoC and as such as created a very creepy very tense game with plenty of intrigue

poisonoustea
2010-05-18, 02:02 PM
Something about your writing style makes me think you are a girl. Sorry?
... My writing style? :smallconfused:

Whatever.

Dark Heresy seems to be the only logical alternative. If you're focusing on grimdark Sci-fi, use Dark Heresy. If you want to focus on horror/insanity, try WoD. They're both low survivability systems.
Also, I like cars, hot and promiscuous chicks, and drinking beer while I'm watching the game.
I shave with a straight edge.

Suzuro
2010-05-18, 03:17 PM
You could use Eclipse Phase.

Just have your players not take bioware. It has rules for fear and paranoia and all that good stuff.

Best off all? It's free! You can download it from the maker!


-Suzuro