Horror Campaigns

[bugsysservant]

I'm thinking of running a horror campaign and want to know: how feasible is this with d&d? I have looked through Heroes of Horror, but that seems more up to providing brief adventures, or spicing up undead encounters. The only long running mechanical change it made would be taint, which, frankly, is a bit ridiculous, and I wouldn't use it anyway. ("You failed a fort. save after wandering into some dark woods. You're now gross looking")
My instinct would be to look into CoC, but I have never played, nor do I know much about it, and would prefer to not have to buy another game. Are there any major tweaks that can be made to D&D that would make it less "high fantasy"-ish? Are they even needed?

Edit: Yeah, my intention was more along the lines of "the darkness of human souls" than "you hit the vampire. It dies" Also, one of he best rule variants (IMO) in Heroes of Horror was that for ressurection to work you need someone of the same alignment to sacrifice themselves, to bring back the dead character, and I thought that was most appropriate. I think removing clerics would be a bit exteme though.

[Ceres]

Hmm, I seldom recommend D&D for anything other than what I believe it was built for: Dungeon crawling, the joy of increasing in power and balance (somewhat). A horror campaign designed to strike actual fear into your players should involve uncertainty (where not having the rules set in stone is beneficial), and have them fleeing in fear more than fighting. For this I would suggest a system that you can tweak to fit your demands, such as the generic rpgs GURPS and FUDGE (free download here).

Although, if you want more of a D&D-style campaign based around combat, and your intention is not to scare your players, but to have fun playing D&D in a horror-setting you probably just need to do some homebrewing.

So which is it? What kind of horror-campaign are you intending to build?

[Knight_Of_Twilight]

Horror Campaigns can work in D&D, you just need some tweaking.

Low or No Magic, no ways to bring characters back to life. In fact, I think its best to eliminate clerics and other healers outright. Describe the monsters instead of saying what they are. DR is suddenly really frightening without ways around it.

Every encounter becomes more dangerous, descisions are more important, etc. Oh, and don't let up on them. You don't need to murderize your players, but don't let them rest too long, no fudging rolls for them.

[Justyn]

The Call of Cthulhu and Heroes of horror have great information for a horror campaign. I think that the sanity point system is really good for horror: "You just saw somthing that defies all logic: you go catatonic and need to change your pants."

But, like it says on the first page of Erfworld: It's the little things which make a difference sometimes. Make sure that the room that you are playing in is dimly lit; enough to read the books, but not enough for every feature in the room to be seen clearly: candles can do this pretty well. Make sure that you don't go into obscene detail on the monsters, and make sure that the monsters stay out of sight for as long as possible, remeber, what is not seen can sometimes be more frightening than what is blatently obvious.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

I like using this thread for ideas.

[SpikeFightwicky]

d20 isn't the best choice for a horror game, but as the others said, it's possible.

I definitely agree that healing, rezzing and high magic can sometimes spoil the feeling of terror (An unspeakable thing appears before you! Ok, I cast time stop and then force cage, then etc....).

IMO, one of the biggest obstacles is the fact that EVERYTHING in D&D has a rule for it. Horror games work well 'rules lite' because it gives more power to the GM to do things that don't mesh well with the rules.

[mikeejimbo]

Depending on your players, I would suggest somehow getting them into a situation where it makes perfect sense, in character, for them to perform an extremely evil act. My theory here is that the most horrific experience would be to see just how far you're willing to go.

It wouldn't work with my group. We're infinitely selfish and evil.

[Winterwind]

I once stumbled (don't even know how) onto this page here, which contains all works of Lovecraft plus a lot more of the classic horror stories, like Shelley's Frankenstein or Stoker's Dracula.

Awesome for inspiration.

Also, good to get into Call of Cthulhu (which I can wholeheartedly recommend, at least the 6th edition, d%-based (don't know about the other variants of that game).

Oh, right, and about horror generally: always remember that the players' imagination can create images far worse than what you could ever hope to describe. Therefore, always try to make them know something other is around, but delay them seeing it, or prevent it altogether. Horror is about the things you don't tell.

[bugsysservant]

I once stumbled (don't even know how) onto this page here, which contains all works of Lovecraft plus a lot more of the classic horror stories, like Shelley's Frankenstein or Stoker's Dracula.

Awesome for inspiration.

Thanks for the link, but I already had it bookmarked :). I hope others can enjoy them though, as the works of Lovecraft are sometimes harder to find than other older authors (although I think manybooks has a large portion)
But I probably should look into CoC, for nothing more than the fact that I love Lovecraft's stories. (I love printing them out, and reading them in that innocuous format in classes. I also read all of the discworld books that way.)

[Winterwind]

Thanks for the link, but I already had it bookmarked :). I hope others can enjoy them though, as the works of Lovecraft are sometimes harder to find than other older authors (although I think manybooks has a large portion)

Really? That's strange - they are not that difficult to find here.

But I probably should look into CoC, for nothing more than the fact that I love Lovecraft's stories. (I love printing them out, and reading them in that innocuous format in classes. I also read all of the discworld books that way.)

Doesn't that spoil the mood, though? But it might be safer than reading them in the depths of the night.
CoC is quite easy to learn - it's a system comparably light on rules.
And if you know Lovecraft's stories, well, then you know pretty much all there is to know anyway.

[bugsysservant]

Doesn't that spoil the mood, though? But it might be safer than reading them in the depths of the night.
CoC is quite easy to learn - it's a system comparably light on rules.
And if you know Lovecraft's stories, well, then you know pretty much all there is to know anyway.

Nonsense, nothing more eerie than a high school chemistry class . Especially when the teacher doesn't know what she is talking about. Not that she doesn't grade off for perceived faults. She took 10 points off a major lab because I didn't cross a t in my notes. Take make matters worse, she didn't even teach us much. In the only chemistry class offered by the school, the word "entropy" wasn't once spoken throughout the course of the year.

Anyway, I will consider looking into CoC, but if its just a rules-lite game patterned strongly on the Lovecraft Mythos, could I get away with modding other bare bones systems. I am cheap, and both d20 and another mentioned here (was it FUDGE? I'm too lazy to check) are free. And I really was hoping for some D&D variant since I have access to a considerable number of their supplements, and could use many different elements.

Edit: Note-I really do like science, and chemistry is almost as good as physics ("all science is either physics or stamp collecting" -Rutherford), what I object to is the blatant incompetence of my teacher.

[horseboy]

Anyway, I will consider looking into CoC, but if its just a rules-lite game patterned strongly on the Lovecraft Mythos, could I get away with modding other bare bones systems. I am cheap, and both d20 and another mentioned here (was it FUDGE? I'm too lazy to check) are free. And I really was hoping for some D&D variant since I have access to a considerable number of their supplements, and could use many different elements.

d20 CoC or Chaosim's CoC? Cause Chaosism's was freakin' awesome. D20, much less so. And since it's out of print, there's probably a used copy floating around at the gaming store on the cheap.

[bugsysservant]

d20 CoC or Chaosim's CoC? Cause Chaosism's was freakin' awesome. D20, much less so. And since it's out of print, there's probably a used copy floating around at the gaming store on the cheap.

Damn, I meant to write "true20", a rules light game that is essentially D&D stripped down to bones and muscle-much fewer options, but much less cheese.

[horseboy]

Damn, I meant to write "true20", a rules light game that is essentially D&D stripped down to bones and muscle-much fewer options, but much less cheese.

Non dary is important if you're trying to scare your players. After all, how scared are you going to be of something when you've got a rocket launcher?

[Ceres]

Non dary is important if you're trying to scare your players. After all, how scared are you going to be of something when you've got a rocket launcher?

"After all, who needs courage when you have... a gun?!"

"Peow peow! Now world, you put your hands up!"

[Xuincherguixe]

Non dary is important if you're trying to scare your players. After all, how scared are you going to be of something when you've got a rocket launcher?

What about if the rocket launcher you use was held by a cult of cannibals who took out their eyes because they were useless to them, living in the dark. With the intent of killing those ignorant surface dwellers who are slaves to that accursed sun.

And also, when they hit the thing it takes out five people thanks to the blast radius and the thing appears to be completely fine.

[Driderman]

You don't really need a rules system for horror. Although some rules systems are pretty horrible, but thats another matter
D&D isn't really cut out for it, but it's possible.
I'd suggest going for World Of Darkness or Basic Roleplaying Call of Cthulhu. True 20 might also work pretty well.
But the main part about horror is atmosphere, story and the imagination of the players. I once played a 12-hour detective horror scenario which had all of us players seriously scared. We had this statue, supposedly of Lucifer, which supposedly had killed all its previous owners. All manner of non-hilarity ensued, people died and in the end we finally figure it out. The statue has a mechanism that if triggered makes the arms and claws rake whoever is in front of it.
Of course, we had all sorts of terrible ideas and speculations on how this thing came alive and such, especially since some bastard moved it around at times. An especially horrible scene I remember was when my character was alone in the mansion, trying to sleep with his trusty hunting rifle nearby ( the statue might come alive and kill me, best to be prepared ). I had placed coins on the eyes of the statue and the house is silent as I lay in my room, until in the middle of the night I hear the clinking of coins falling across the floor...
Nothing more happened, I think it was the cat who triggered them actually, but I can tell you my mind was racing with all sorts of horrors at the time

[bugsysservant]

*Bewildered Expression* You say con queso like its a bad thing.

But really, I was looking for a more medieval feel, if at all possible. The Lovecraft level of technology is about as high as I would accept, as there is no reason to be able to level R'lyeh with an h-bomb. There just always seemed something about technology that strips away the horror of any given situation.

[Xuincherguixe]

Who's to say the H-Bomb does anything even if it hits? Maybe the technology for some reason just keeps failing for some strange reason.

[horseboy]

What about if the rocket launcher you use was held by a cult of cannibals who took out their eyes because they were useless to them, living in the dark. With the intent of killing those ignorant surface dwellers who are slaves to that accursed sun.

And also, when they hit the thing it takes out five people thanks to the blast radius and the thing appears to be completely fine.

Nah, compare Resident Evil (with Rocket launchers) vs oh, Fatal Frame (with a camera, wtf?) Which one is more scary?

[bugsysservant]

There always seems to be something about high powered technology that reassures people. Even if it does no good against an opponent, holding a rocket launcher will generally serve to allay the fears of the players. Thats why I want to limit the time frame to Lovecraft, or even before, or just to go for strait up modded middle ages.

Edit:I looked at FUDGE, and that may be feasible. There is virtually nothing there. While my inspection was cursory, it seemed as a means for providing a rough system for interactive story telling, rather than the modus operandi for the story itself, like D&D. While this will be a big shift, it might work. Does anyone with experience with FUDGE have input on this?

[Xuincherguixe]

There always seems to be something about high powered technology that reassures people. Even if it does no good against an opponent, holding a rocket launcher will generally serve to allay the fears of the players. Thats why I want to limit the time frame to Lovecraft, or even before, or just to go for strait up modded middle ages.

You may be right, but there's still something that appeals to me about showing that that technology is but a false hope.

[TomTheRat]

I ran the full Hyskosa's Hexad sextuplet of modules for the 2nd ed Ravenloft campaign setting. It took almost 7 years to get through. Each adventure is set in a different domain in Ravenloft, and it details the PCs more or less accidentally triggering the destruction of Raventloft, the Gods informing them that they have made an error of cosmic proportions, and that they must trick Strahd and Azalin into recreating the demiplane. Serious Business.

Here's a few things I learned:

1. Mood is 50% in game, and 50% out. All it takes is one player feeling a little goofy and making a fart joke to murder hours worth of spooky buildup. Either dock xp for tabletalk, or just make it unacceptable behavior.

2. The unknown is scary. The only thing scarier than a 10 foot tall monster is a 20 foot tall monster. And the only thing scarier than a 20 foot tall monster is a 50 foot tall monster. Nothing is scarier than a monster who's height cannot be determined. Have monsters do things that the PCs cannot explain, describe mundane abilities and effects in terms that the PCs are unfamiliar with.

3. The devil is in the details. Scary scenes don't happen because there is A BIG SPOOKY MANSION. You gotta get small when you describe scenes. Talk about the scuff marks of unknown origin on the table legs. Talk about the russet stains on the manacles. The minutae of a room, the sounds, the smells, everything needs to build towards something that intimidates or repulses the PCs.

4. Make them make horrible choices. Its been mentioned before so I won't dwell. The lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.

I have more I guess, but I'm rambling. The players at the end of the campaign were between 12 and 14. Things were still scary. It has nothing to do with level.

[horseboy]

There always seems to be something about high powered technology that reassures people. Even if it does no good against an opponent, holding a rocket launcher will generally serve to allay the fears of the players. Thats why I want to limit the time frame to Lovecraft, or even before, or just to go for strait up modded middle ages.

Heh, did you ever see the old Torg series? That was interesting look at horror. It also kept players from just jumping straight to the villain. Basically you made the villain stupidly powerful. The players then had to "unravel" his power to make him be something they could handle.

[bugsysservant]

Heh, did you ever see the old Torg series? That was interesting look at horror. It also kept players from just jumping straight to the villain. Basically you made the villain stupidly powerful. The players then had to "unravel" his power to make him be something they could handle.

No, I haven't seen, or even heard of the Torg series, but that is an interesting idea. That was one of the better ones in Heroes of Horror, invincible villains with but a single weak point.

[TomTheRat]

No, I haven't seen, or even heard of the Torg series, but that is an interesting idea. That was one of the better ones in Heroes of Horror, invincible villains with but a single weak point.

Superman is invincible with a single weak point. Thats scary, not horror.

[Prometheus]

One example I like from Krimm_Blackleaf's thread, posted under it by thebigb:

When he opened the large walk-in closet, he deeper in the closet a flickering candle on a little girl's tea table. A very old doll sat there, with no hair & its face full of cracks. After seeing the creepy sight, the player was very freaked when it opened its eyes. His character then proceeded to smash that doll into bits against the wall, then grab the little chair it was sitting on & smash all the other dolls. The dolls bled as they died, and another Listen roll heard the sound of babies crying as he smashed them.

It not only presents the creepy and unknown, but the overreaction/self-assurance of the player causes him to do what might be percieved as a horribly evil act. If the dolls were evil, having them be immortal or undefeatable would lead to rational fear, but horror is irrational fear. From evil's perspective, leaving the player with uncertaintity and dread is far more valuable anyhow. If the dolls were innocent, their tortured state that should bring the highest level of empathy is what brings them to more otherworldly torment: we could only hope he was putting them out of their misery, sadly this is unlikely.

[bugsysservant]

Superman is invincible with a single weak point. Thats scary, not horror.

I don't know about that. I find the idea of an invincible vampire that can't be killed in the normal fashion a lot more horrific than the standard BBEG. And to extrapolate-forcing the players to choose between killing a thousand innocent people, or letting a mad god live, is pretty horrific if the God can only be killed in that fashion. Allowing for few options in dealing with evil is one of the hallmarks of horror, and giving the BBEG only one or two weaknesses is one way to achieve this.

[Jarlax]

my tip for making D&D more scary, challenge players expectations:

my first campaign i ran with my current group was just after another person finished his game, in that one i had observed players laugh and recite powers or stat blocks on monsters with each encounter or naming obscure creatures and their monster manual source based on a short description.

so i ran my first night of gaming. no monster appeared as it did in the MM, war-crocodiles, extra hit dice on jellies and finally a young white dragon with the spell warped template, which completely threw the players who were expecting no SR on the dragon. from that point forward the Players were afraid of my encounters because they expected whatever it was to be completely different to what was in the book.

and i kept it up, something as simple as changing the description for the monster would do it for some encounters, glammered heavy armor on ogres to give them an AC that seemed impossible for ogres wearing torn shirts.

make up something that produces a magic purple rash and does nothing else. a remove poison or disease spell doesn't work, it actually has to be dispelled. but players will be freaking out over it until they find out.

[TSGames]

I'm thinking of running a horror campaign and want to know: how feasible is this with d&d?

Very feasible. I have not had more success running a campaign then when I ran a horror campaign. However, it affects the players more than the DM so it's usually a good idea to make sure that they are OK with running such a campaign.