The title says it all, although I'm not talking about Horror on the Hill or Tomb of Horrors. I'm talking horror themed stuff. Kessukoofah noted in another thread that
Just in the paizo lines, there's Carnival of Tears, Into the Haunted Forest, Gallery of Evil, Hangman's Noose (possibly. havn't read this one in depth yet), Hook Mountain Massecre, Hungry are the dead (assuming you can get it on time. it's preorder for october), the Silent Tide Society Adventure is pretty horror themed, and there's the first adventure from AoW
So, what else is worth noting, other than, of course, Ravenloft.
Actually Savage Tide has a lot of horror themes in it. If it's done properly it can give players the genuine creeps. Generally the horror stuff that is best in it evokes films like Predator or Aliens. Bug hunt stuff but creepy and disturbing.
I'd say that practically any adventure, published or homebrew, can be run as horror if you so desire. It all depends on the tone and the 'feel' you give your players. For low-level characters, just fighting a small monstrous spider scuttling down a wall at them (especially if they're walking down a cramped corridor, and can't maneuver easily) can be scary.
Aberrations from Necromancer Games is definitely very horror-themed, although it can be a bit over the top at times. But if you tone it down a little it is a great horror adventure.
I vote for I6: Ravenloft.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I've spent the last year or so deeply contemplating horror in D&D -spending a lot of time reading and collecting other game systems trying to get to the heart of the problems with D&D horror. I'm no longer convinced that the genre is effective in the 3.5 system.
As a DM, I have run many, many horror games in a fantasy genre over the years. I'll state without ego that I'm pretty good -I've studied the intricacies and have had players twisting and squirming -even on one occassion had a whole group freak out and run back into the house from the darkness outside during a smoke break! They were SCARED! Classic!
But that was admittedly many years ago -back in second edition.
More recently, I have found it very, very hard to evoke anything more than slight discomfort for horror-themed D&D games. Usually, the result is this disgusted look on a player's face where they seem more horrified that a reasonable human mind (read: me!) actually came up with something so disturbing, rather than being genuinely disturbed by the scene itself. Hook Mountain Massacre comes to mind, too. Even though I was a player in these games and not DM, the result was the same -slight disgust, but more directed toward the 'obviously disturbed' writer than the described events the characters had just witnessed!
I blame the influx of modern media, the internet and violent videogames (do I sound like an old fogey?) There is just too much real and imagined horror in the world that we, as a race, have become largely numb to it. For example: how many frikkin' vampire shows and movie are on right now? That old Ogrish site and its many imitators? Not to mention rampant violence in what are now considered moderately tame TV shows by modern standards.
Furthermore, I don't think 3.5 rules lend themselves to creating an atmosphere of horror, which is why I've sent the last year or so collecting and reading Chaosium's wonderful Call of Cthulhu line. There are mechanics there (Sanity, Cthulhu Mythos skill) that seem very real and palpable -you KNOW you are putting your character at risk when you mess with forbidden texts and hold witness to horrific events or try to cast a spell. There is very real sacrifice and players don't last long if they aren't smart or fleet of foot. It doesn't help that you have only a dozen or so hit points with a damage system almost identical to 3.5, and that you aren't a 9th level evoker or a raging berserker doing 1d12+90 point of damage each round. Hell, in Cthulhu -you're lucky if the 7 shots you've got in your gun will even do a single point of damage from whatever thing you just accidentally conjured! In D&D, you just run up to something and kill it -and that's pretty much the solution -which is FINE for what it is -although it doesn't lend itself to horror. CoC takes the approach that -for the love of God -you'd better RUN! The faster the better -and find another way to deal with the horror you've just witnessed, even at the cost of your own sanity. I can't remember the last time players ran from anything in the games I've DMed or played in a 3.5 fantasy genre.
In fact, I ran a rather horrific game in where a Nighttwist (those keening trees from MMIII) was used in a Iuz-occupied city to keep out good-aligned adventurers (I'm sorry I can't recall the specific ability -but they have a large area singing ability that charms good folks and draws them to it, I think) The point is, the monster was an ACCESSORY -just part of the atmosphere of the setting, like a magic fountain or something, but the players, who were FAR too low level to take this thing on, INSISTED on seeking it out and killing it. It worked well on the intended level at the onset of the adventure -they found a way past the orc guards checking ears for wax plugs at the city gates and infiltrated as they were meant to, but then couldn't resist the urge to try to kill the thing, despite the odds. One player even angrily threw his dice down and said "Why would you put a monster in an adventure if we aren't meant to KILL IT???"
It is a mindset -and one that is hard to fight against for us modern D&D players. That has become the game. Sure, you could try the horror check rules from Heroes of Horror or some other alternative, but there is still the fact that, in the 3.5 system, you have tons of hit points. And destructive magic. And miriad ways of overcoming beings and obstacles that would be impossible in the more realistic setting of a game like CoC.
So -I think setting, atmosphere and tone are all important, but it ultimately will just make for a dark and brooding game -not necessarily a horrific one that really gets under your players skin. For that, you need a retooling, in my honest opinion. I've been doing both for years, and I think if you want genuine horror, that's the way you need to go...
Don't be discouraged -it CAN be done! You just have to apply those same techniques in the 3.5 system (maybe massive DR, more immunities, planeshifting) in order to get your players to look at other solutions that damage. THEN, you can start evoking the squirming horrors in your players...
Fleece
|
I've spent the last year or so deeply contemplating horror in D&D -spending a lot of time reading and collecting other game systems trying to get to the heart of the problems with D&D horror. I'm no longer convinced that the genre is effective in the 3.5 system.
. . .
"What he said."
Literally.I have written and said the same exact things in other discussions.
That said, I will suggest most of Bruce Cordell's late 2nd ed adventures:
The Gates of Firestorm Peak (introduced the Far Realms)
The Shattered Circle (more Lovecraftian themes)
Return to White Plume Mountain (not as Lovecraft, and less overt horror, it contains references to Gates)
Return to the Tomb of Horrors (more Pulp Fantasy, but with the horror element)
Well I have to agree with the premise that its very difficult to get D&D players, especially in the more modern editions (3rd and 4th) to become scared.
There is a very real sense that these guys fight terrible horrors rather routinely so getting past that mind set is very difficult. The modern editions of the game tend to emphasize certain kinds of 'combat puzzle solving'. This means that, instead of freaking the heck out the players are usually engaged in trying to figure out how best to place their piece or exactly what combination of powers are going to be optimal in this situation. The larger number of choices in combat takes the focus off of any horror and instead focuses the players on tactical descisions.
Might still be possible to do horror. I can't really say but I can certianly say that my attempt at a Ravenloft inspired Horror adventure recently was considered 'rather sick and twisted' but not scary by my players.
Cold Visitor is D20 version of the movie remake of the Thing in a fantasy setting.
Gel is D20 version of the movie remake of the Blob in a fantasy setting.
"Meenlock Prison" in one of the later issues of Dungeon is exceptionally hard to beat.
|
I'd concur that 3.5 is not the most wieldy of vehicles for horror gaming. Call of Cthulhu, Kult would probably rank at the top. 2e Ravenloft worked passably. That said low level 3.5 can still do the genre though magic items need to be limited. lvl 1-5 would be ideal though still possible for a few levels higher beyond that.
*Tammeraut's Fate from Dungeon comes to mind as another horror-themed adventure. Sea Zombies!
*Also Quoth the Raven more Tim Burton/suspense w a dash of Silence of the Lambs
*This example would for the most part contradict what I just said but Skeletons of Scarwall is a pretty good stab at higher level horror if ran in that mode. Its a bit more in the Hellraiser territory what with Zon-Kuthon but a lot of the encounters would be very much horror (danse macabre, chainbound spirit guy and well there's a demi-lich!).
I have always been impressed by the horror rules of, you guessed it, Torg. The scary realm in this multi-genre game conjured a very real sense of dread in the players (until it became overused by the writers) even though the game was an heroic-style action adventure game, similar to later editions of D&D. The key was a ruleset that set it up so that monsters were initially MUCH more powerful than the PCs, with particularly powerful "kill the PC" powers that negated certain PC special abilities. Over time, the party earned points through investigation, overcoming smaller encounters, and experiencing horrific events (including getting their butts kicked by the BBEG, running like hell, and living to tell about it). This system also encouraged the classic 'splitting up to investigate' horror-genre tactic by adding together points collected by all groups, rather than taking the highest. Eventually, the party had enough information and gumption to encounter the BBEG, whose PC-killing powers were no longer useful, and the survivors would kick its butt (but not for good, unless you happened to discover the beastie's 'true death').
These adventures were honestly frightening for the players, who knew there was a good chance that their characters, who were nigh invulnerable everywhere else, would wind up in a coffin if they spent too much time in the horror realm. To transfer to 3.5, I think you need to establish that the PCs are up against something that truly is too powerful for them to fight straight up, and that they only way to win is to make tough choices and make real sacrifices (ranging from permanent penalties to the character to the sacrifice of close friends or even fellow party members). It's not enough to merely threaten death, it must be clear that the options are horrible, horrible death for the PCs and those they love or horrible, horrible death for only the PCs (sometimes).
O
I just sent in my first published adventure, The Bloody Fix.Co-written by Lou Agresta, it's 3.5, for 0one games' Road to Revolution campaign arc and I believe it does a fine job at delivering true horror.
Then again, what do I know? I was fired from the M&Ms factory for throwing out all the W's. (old joke, sorry)
What level? Where buy it? pdf? I grok.
:) Thanks for wanting to check it out! It's for levels 4-6 and will be sold as a PDF through Paizo and print through Lulu.
It's off getting artwork now but I'll keep you posted.
|
I just sent in my first published adventure, The Bloody Fix.Co-written by Lou Agresta, it's 3.5, for 0one games' Road to Revolution campaign arc and I believe it does a fine job at delivering true horror.
Then again, what do I know? I was fired from the M&Ms factory for throwing out all the W's. (old joke, sorry)
Interesting...I'm planning on using the Road to Revolution series for my Thieves World Campaign.
|
|
I'd concur that 3.5 is not the most wieldy of vehicles for horror gaming. Call of Cthulhu, Kult would probably rank at the top.Oh lord someone else who knows Kult! Good lord yes that game ROCKS!
Kult is a very evil, twisted game. A lot of fun. Looking back the mechanics might not have been the best but from the games that I ran or played in no one was too concerned about that. The setting, the flavour made it one of the most unique horror rpgs out there.
I used stuff from Kult in a lot of games (including d&d)Archons, Demiurge, Lictors, Razides, Metropolis, Gaia. Lots of possibilities.
|
I'd concur that 3.5 is not the most wieldy of vehicles for horror gaming. Call of Cthulhu, Kult would probably rank at the top.Oh lord someone else who knows Kult! Good lord yes that game ROCKS!Kult is a very evil, twisted game. A lot of fun. Looking back the mechanics might not have been the best but from the games that I ran or played in no one was too concerned about that. The setting, the flavour made it one of the most unique horror rpgs out there.
I used stuff from Kult in a lot of games (including d&d)
Archons, Demiurge, Lictors, Razides, Metropolis, Gaia. Lots of possibilities.
Most of the time we never worried about mechanics in that game. The setting roleplayed so well. I used it for other games too, for years. I lost my copy of it and have been looking for a new one for ages. ANyone know where I can get an English version of Kult.
Interesting...I'm planning on using the Road to Revolution series for my Thieves World Campaign.I just sent in my first published adventure, The Bloody Fix.Co-written by Lou Agresta, it's 3.5, for 0one games' the Road to Revolution campaign arc and I believe it does a fine job at delivering true horror.
Then again, what do I know? I was fired from the M&Ms factory for throwing out all the W's. (old joke, sorry)
Very cool! The Road to Revolution series should snap snugly into a Thieves World campaign.
The first entry in this arc is The Skullcrackers, by John E. Ling jr.(Zherog on Paizo), and it's a brawler taking place in the Trades Ward. Our Residential Ward piece is more investigative, but with one heckuva reveal in cinematic scope. A BBEG with a fascinating agenda, neither of which anyone is likely to forget.
Ever?
Yes, ever. When old magnates gasp their last upon feather plumped deathbeds it will not be 'Rosebud' but 'The Bloody Fix' which escapes their parched grey lips.
Cages of Delirium. I had my player shrieking at some of the "treatments" right out of the module. It's right up there with Carnival of Tears.
