System Suggestion for Horror Game?

[Terazul]

My friend is planning a horror/mystery game, and is looking for system reccomendations:

"I'm looking at a power level of 'regular folks', with some minor magical/supernatural ability. I'm familiar with BESM, and while point-buy isn't totally necessary I enjoy something simple and modular. I like Exalted's extensive background traits, and the flavor of Call of Cthulhu."

Essentially I think he's going for a kind of Arkham Horror feel; There are goals, but lots of mystery and danger. A somewhat hodge-podge assortment of heroes, ranging from former cultists to mob bosses and secretaries.

Anyone got any ideas?

[Bearpunch]

There is a Call of Cthulhu RPG. Its like 30-40 bucks on Amazon. Haven't played it myself, but it seems to be pretty popular.

I play All Flesh Must Be Eaten, a zombie horror game, but it seems to be built more for slaughterfests rather than detective stuff. However, he could fluff it a bit and the magic system seems about right.

[MunsterJujus]

Since Call of Cthulhu has been mentioned there is another Horror game I played at dragon*con called Little Fears. The original system has you play as kids and there is magic but its super hard/rare to use. Check it out and just refluff the character creation sheets if you like it.

[Bearpunch]

Also, Don't Rest Your Head.

[Shadowknight12]

Obligatory nWoD recommendation.

[Knaight]

Do not waste money on Call of Cthulhu. There have been two games about investigators in the Cthulhu universe. One of them, Call of Cthulhu, is a cheap fantasy game with a sanity stat strapped on. The other one, Trail of Cthulhu is from a brilliant game, based on investigation and constant tension, punctuated by horror and the occasional violence. Trail of Cthulhu is also cheaper, so there's that.

[Show]

Well, depending on what you're going for, you might as well have a look at the window. It is basically a rules-light, ultra-adaptable system where each action can be decided with a single simple roll. No real modifiers, levels, etc.
Best of all, no stats for monsters or how powerful you are. That is up to your imagination! Players won't be able to quantify the creatures' abilities beyond what the story has told them.

It's quick, dirty, and lethal. I've never tried it, but I hope to soon. Best case, it will help the story move more smoothly with a minimum of reading and rules... worst case, it's a total failure. Either way, I'd like to see you try.

I wish I had more experience with my suggestion, but that's what I've got at the moment.

[comicshorse]

I'd say Call of Cthulhu

[Mr.Bookworm]

Do not waste money on Call of Cthulhu. There have been two games about investigators in the Cthulhu universe. One of them, Call of Cthulhu, is a cheap fantasy game with a sanity stat strapped on. The other one, Trail of Cthulhu is from a brilliant game, based on investigation and constant tension, punctuated by horror and the occasional violence. Trail of Cthulhu is also cheaper, so there's that.

Trail of Cthulhu features a very distinct lack of Delta Green. I'll stick with CoC.

Other stuff:

Unknown Armies is amazing and brilliant and gets nowhere near enough recognition. It comes with it's own unique cosmology, which is awesome, but might be detrimental to what he's going for.

The World of Darkness is good. Hunter: the Vigil sounds like it could model well what he's going for, and you could strip a lot of the fluff out of that for whatever he wants to do.

[Elvenoutrider]

Can't go wrong with gurps, just be ready to really build from scratch