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doliest
2008-03-14, 01:21 AM
I've been fiddiling with the idea of a horror game set in a homebrew DnD world- heres the idea-

1.The characters are NPC-classed & low-leveled.
2.Low magic, so that magic is uncommen enough to be used as a plot point.
3.It all happens in one isolated, out-of-the-way town(cliched, but it works)
4.This isn't a path, either the players survive & stop the____(horror monster) somehow, or die, and they aren't fighting random creatures & such-these are normal people trying to stop dracula or frankinstein, & luck & some decent planning are probably the top players.

This looks good on paper, but I've come across a few problems-

1.The world around them-Some players will want to know what the world is like, & I can't think of a decent way to explain it without spending hours on something I probably won't use.
2.The races-How do I work out mutliple races into one isolated low-magic community?
3.Players who want to play this-Aside from it seeming like the opposite of DnD, I doubt most people wanna play something were there is a 75% chance of death.
4.Keeping them together-I can't think of a decent reason that 4 unrelated people could stick together.


So what do you think of the idea, can you answer the problem, or did you try this & what to talk about it?

Djinn_in_Tonic
2008-03-14, 01:33 AM
Hmmm...

Let me think.

1.The world around them-Some players will want to know what the world is like, & I can't think of a decent way to explain it without spending hours on something I probably won't use.

Well, you'll have to rough something out, especially if it turns out to be more than a one-shot game. But keep it rough...maybe the town is REALLY isolated, and there's not much nearby...and thus no-one to call for help when things go bad.

2.The races-How do I work out mutliple races into one isolated low-magic community?

Pretty easily. There are a few of many races. Maybe one or two Elf families, a smattering of Half-Elves (all related somehow to those two houses), and the same with the other races.

Also, don't use them all. Maybe there are no Halflings, Gnomes, Dwarves, or Orcs as the town is in Elven territory. Maybe, being close to a mountainous region, it has a few Gnomes and Dwarves. Maybe, since it's SO isolated, there are even some Goblins living there, away from the social stigma that often hits monstrous races.

3.Players who want to play this-Aside from it seeming like the opposite of DnD, I doubt most people wanna play something were there is a 75% chance of death.

With horror you need the right players or it doesn't work. Simple as that. Without players willing to cooperate, you can't make it work at all.

4.Keeping them together-I can't think of a decent reason that 4 unrelated people could stick together.

Then make them related. A good horror game needs a lot of DM/Player cooperation. Maybe they're all from the same family, or all have some personal connection to someone killed or threatened, so they have to band together to save them. Things like that.

Anything else you need? Those ideas help you at all?

doliest
2008-03-14, 02:12 AM
Yeah, my current idea involves a town that's been cut off for about two centurys by mountains & desserts(One causes the other) and the 'monster' is a single mind controlled ogre zombie, possibly with class levels, being controlled by a low-leveled teenager dabbiling into necromancy(and creating this spell himself.)

Djinn_in_Tonic
2008-03-14, 02:24 AM
As a horror fan myself, may I ask how you plan to make this horrific? Zombies and necromancers are staples of D&D without adding horror...what exactly were you planning to do with them?

doliest
2008-03-14, 02:30 AM
Thats the point of a good deal of the rules-
1.Low-magic-which means magic is so uncommonplace that there isn't a town wizard or mystical object to stop it.(Might not even be a PC with magic)
2.Low-lv NPCs-An ogre zombie with class levels(possibly PC class)...oh yes, there will be blood.
3.Side note-Might be awhile before they find out what the monster is.

Bhu
2008-03-14, 02:39 AM
1) Set it someplace in the real world thats easily researchable and change all the names. For example you said it's in a desert. Find a real world desert that semi fits the description and audit to make it work.

2)Pick one race and stay with it. Horror campaigns work better when the players are all the same species.

3)Most people understand horror campaigns are more lethal than usual campaigns. Just be up front about it.

4)Have them work that out in their backstory when they make the characters, and have them make the characters far enough in advance that you can use their backstory to make plot points around.

Djinn_in_Tonic
2008-03-14, 02:46 AM
Thats the point of a good deal of the rules-
1.Low-magic-which means magic is so uncommonplace that there isn't a town wizard or mystical object to stop it.(Might not even be a PC with magic)
2.Low-lv NPCs-An ogre zombie with class levels(possibly PC class)...oh yes, there will be blood.
3.Side note-Might be awhile before they find out what the monster is.

While all helpful, that's not exactly the beginning of a horror game. It CAN be, but rules just won't cut it. It's all in the story and the way you run the game.

Being outclassed is useful, as is a powerful opponent, but its all in the reveal and the details. Taking a while to find out the monster only to then face a Zombie in a knock-down fight isn't that frightening...

To get the real horror feel, make sure you never give away to much. Make any death happen in a way where it will be almost impossible to find out what's causing it. Maybe have them fight the monster in the darkness, unable to see exactly what sort of beast they fight.

Make sure your descriptions are terrifying, and keep away from the gore-fest in place of the more chilling set-ups. Lots of blood is only scary if described in the right manner.

If you don't have a copy, check out Heroes of Horror by WotC. It's a great book for instilling horror into your players (and it has some rules to, but meh).

Good luck with this!

doliest
2008-03-14, 03:53 AM
I was going to make it so that it starts with animal deaths-nothing major, but slowly it grows to humans found dead-not eaten, just dead. Slowly, the town turns into a witch hunt, where few people are above suspision(one of them likely being that teenager) until slowly, one of two things happens-the teenager gets cocky & reveals it to a PC or NPC, or due to some sort of interferance, loses control & we now have a very powerful monster that has no form of remorse.

I'm basing this somewhat on the original Frankinstien novel, if you couldn't tell.

Luean
2008-03-14, 06:34 AM
As far as i remember, the "monster" in frankenstein wasn't really "evil", was it?

DracoDei
2008-03-15, 10:18 PM
In the original book? Yeah it was evil... it also was a genius level intellect that taught itself to read from a chest full of books that fell off a wagon and was laying in a ditch. It also REALLY got the shaft from the doctor, and most of its evil was of the "tit for tat" nature.

In the movie? Well, the source of the brain would argue that it at least had strong leanings in that direction... whether it could have been brought up with the right "parenting" to be better than that? Who knows...

Stormthorn
2008-03-15, 10:31 PM
4.Keeping them together-I can't think of a decent reason that 4 unrelated people could stick together.

Remember, in a small town everyone knows everyone. Just remind the players of that.

JackTR69
2008-03-17, 05:17 AM
Make sure that the players are actually worried that their character could die at any minute. If someone does something stupid, don't DM shield them, just let them die horribly. The surviving characters will find the world alot scarier. And consider looking up sanity rules, give the characters a little more to worry about.

Hazkali
2008-03-17, 07:23 AM
Heroes of Horror is a wonderful book in terms of explaining how to do horror- if you can get your hands on a copy, do so.

Also, check with your players what level of horror they are willing to go to. Don't step over it, but go as close as you are willing. Things are a lot more scary when you're pushed to the edge of your comfort zone.

Secondly, try to limit distractions and focus the game. Horror isn't going to work if everyone is cracking jokes or making bad horror film references, and it is not going to work if people aren't willing to get into character and RP horror properly.