|
With 4e, how well could an original classic adventure like Ravenloft do? I mean with all the nuances like creeping around a spooky castle and piecing together the history of what happened and why. And especially, especially pulling off the sense of dread and, well, a feeling of real horror?
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
Hmm. I'd guess pretty well. At least, as well as 3E. I'd say for the most part a Horror campaign is defined more by the mood set by the DM than any amount of rules. It seems the 4E DMG agrees with me in its section about running a Horror campaign.
There are plenty of supernatural type horrors available in the MM though. Just make sure your players are aware you want to play a Horror game up front. Standard DnD characters are going to want to fight the ghost/vampire/whatsit, while a Horror character should probably poop his pants and run!
Cheers! :)
|
|
Granted, this question was tossed out here without the DMG in my hand, as I am waiting for UPS to darken my doorstep with the books at some point this afternoon...
I was just curious as Horror would be my favorite genre...
I think 3e did a good job with it. Though that broke down with high level characters...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
The ability to use lots and lots of creatures at once will probably work well with a horror-themed campaign. At least, with mine, I plan to have the players get trapped in confined spots as undead or strange aberrants close in at all angles.
In my Primordials campaign, there is a chamber infested with kruthik along with the mostly eaten bodies of hobgoblins. Then they go in, they will see a body in a corner, and if they get close, it wriggles a bit and gets yanked into a hole in the wall.
At that point, they can make Perception checks to hear scuttling sounds, and a good Perception check reveals two kruthik young crawling on the ceiling above them: whoever sees them acts in the surprise round, but if they dont, then the kruthik literally get the drop on them. Regardless, I'll be waiting to see their responses when eight hatchlings rush start "coming out of the walls!"
Hopefully, it will evoke a feeling of helplessness and work well with the atmosphere. Undead get along just fine with kruthik, who dont like being around them and generally ignore them, meaning that as the fight breaks out its possible for some of the dead hobgoblins to rise as zombies and further contribute to the mayhem.
Hmm. I'd guess pretty well. At least, as well as 3E. I'd say for the most part a Horror campaign is defined more by the mood set by the DM than any amount of rules. It seems the 4E DMG agrees with me in its section about running a Horror campaign.
There are plenty of supernatural type horrors available in the MM though. Just make sure your players are aware you want to play a Horror game up front. Standard DnD characters are going to want to fight the ghost/vampire/whatsit, while a Horror character should probably poop his pants and run!
Cheers! :)
I could see the "Minion" monster type being put to good use in a horror campaign, especially if we're talking zombies.
I think Horror is always going to be difficult with higher level characters. When you're one of the most bad ass Fighters on the block, it's hard to really roleplay out the fear some little ghosts inspire in you. Maybe if you ran an all Martial campaign, and always represented the Supernatural as REALLY strong, beyond the ken or mortal type stuff?
Just spitballing really, I can't say I've had run too many horror games myself. The only one that comes to mind right away was a one-shot I did with the players trapped on a Zombie infested island, ala movie zombies, not DnD zombies. They were d20 Modern characters too, but it was lots of fun (characters were pregenned and given out randomly with RP notes attached ... one player got the mad scientist who "accidentally" released the zombies, and in the end turned on his team mates when they tried to escape HIS island ... mwahahaha!)
I could see the "Minion" monster type being put to good use in a horror campaign, especially if we're talking zombies.
Absolutely! Zombies should ALWAYS come in never ending hordes. At least, that's how they stagger in my mind.
Cheers! :)
My Orcus campaign kicks off like that, with a crapload of zombies milling about a village at night. The initial wave is mostly rotters, but things quickly get mixed up with more normal zombies, corruption corpses, and gravehounds. I would throw in some chillborn, but thats probably overkill for 1st-level characters.
One of the things our group found out trying to do a D20 based game of Silent Hill is that horror requires a bit more hit points, because awful stuff is meant to happen to you without necessarily killing you. A fish with a tumorous human face and hagfish teeth chomps onto your hip. A staggering maniquin with a melted face stabs you in the arm with a corroded icepick. This stuff doesn't kill you in one shot, but is horrifying like crazy. In 3rd edition one or two of these kinds of things would drop a starting character. In fourth edition you get to get scuffed up more. That and the bloodied state can be used to great narrative delight by the DM to really make the character feel beat up.
And yeah, as was mentioned, minions will serve you very well--as will big ol' boss monsters stacked in fat layers of hitpoints (lots of those in the new Monster Manual) that do awful things to you if they catch you.
I think 4e will work fine for horror gaming. My biggest worry with it is that so many guys do so much stuff at range it feels like you'd have to box everybody into pretty tight confines all the time just to keep them from zorking everything with lances of faith and whatnot. That said, nice claustrophobic places are absolute gold in horror games.
|
|
nice claustrophobic places are absolute gold in horror games.
That and isolating characters from one another (which you never overuse, but if used well, can be great)...
*EDIT*
UPS has just darkened my door-step...
I will give 4e a fair shake now that I have the books...
We will just have to see...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-