Trick or Treat

[pife]

Okay, looking for some ideas.

I'm wanting to put together a Halloween night game for my wife and kids. (kids are 14/12/6, but the 6 y/o is a more instinctive roleplayer than any of them)..

I'm wanting to do something spooky/creepy, but not bloodsoaked.. I'm just looking for some hooks or plot points. This is going to be a one night game, so they won't have any time invested in the characters, but I'm trying to figure out not only what the story will be, but what system to run it in.. So, for bonus points, chime in and tell me which game system listed below you think would be the most appropriate..

DnD 3.5/4.0
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
7 Seas
Gurps
Cyberpunk
Twilight 2000
H.O.L. (Just kidding, I wouldn't even play that game with YOUR kids)
Anything OWOD or NWOD (pretty much have them all)
Star Wars D20
RIFTS

*Disclaimer.. I know that several of these systems don't automatically make you think "ghost story" (Cyberpunk, Twilight 2k, Star Wars, etc), but in the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to add them.

By the way.. Has anyone ever done a detailed murder mystery in one of these games (or any game, for that matter)? I've always wanted to do one, but I don't know where to start story-wise...

[Aron Times]

You want horror? I vote for FATAL.

[Dusk Eclipse]

You want horror? I vote for FATAL.

He has KIDS!!!! do you want him loose his kids, for child abuse????


.... If you want some horror, I suggest looking the ecnounter At Grandma's House in Heroes of Horror, you might get some ideas from that.

[Zaydos]

You want horror? I vote for FATAL.

Family friendly horror, though. That's one thing FATAL definitely is not.

Can't be much help myself as I'm only really familiar with D&D 3.5. I will say any system in which the PCs are not, or do not think of themselves as, invulnerable is a good one for a horror story. The main thing is the skill of the story-teller.

[Aron Times]

Hm...

World of Darkness: Innocents is an nWoD splatbook that lets you play children in the World of Darkness. Since horror is the main shtick of the World of Darkness, you might want to give Innocents a try.

Innocents: Fighting the Big Bad Ventrue before bedtime!

[Duke of URL]

No advice on system, but on style, I'd simply go with building tension and suspense. Give a lot of description, but little detail. Put out a lot of things that simply are there to make them nervous or otherwise on edge. Make them chase after shadows (not literally... well, then again, maybe literally). All the while knowing (or strongly suspecting) that something truly terrible could pounce at any moment.

It wouldn't hurt to make the playing environment a little dim and spooky, too.

[dsmiles]

I played in a murder mystery back in 1e AD&D. It ended up being a lot like the movie version of Clue. More funny than serious, so my advice is probably not what you're after.

As for a system, doesn't GUPRS do horror well? I've heard good things about it. (Although, Arkham Horror is a great horror board game, but I didn't notice it on your list. I usually have more fun with that than trying for a horror-themed roleplaying game.)

[pife]

Oh, I'm definitely going to be going for the candle-lit spooky music theme for the kiddos..

And I'm definitely looking for more tension and suspense than actual gore, (with as much comic relief as I can squeeze into it without getting ridiculous.. I'm not wanting to scar them for life, just give them a good Halloween spooking..

[The Pressman]

You could try Call of Cthulhu, unless that's too dark. It depends.

[dsmiles]

Oh, I'm definitely going to be going for the candle-lit spooky music theme for the kiddos..

And I'm definitely looking for more tension and suspense than actual gore, (with as much comic relief as I can squeeze into it without getting ridiculous.. I'm not wanting to scar them for life, just give them a good Halloween spooking..

1. Watch the Clue movie.
2. Use it and add some scary parts.
3. ???
4. Profit!