| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So, given that October is here and my gaming group has moved back to Pathfinder after a year trying out 5E, I have been giving some thought to running a mini campaign or a one shot kind of adventure with heavy horror elements (probably using the 3E Ravenloft Fear/Horror/Madness rules). The idea I had last night was something of a Lovecraftian experience in the town of Sandpoint, hence the title of the topic. The town of Sandpoint as presented in Runelords seems like a good place to start for something like this.
My initial thoughts were to start the game similarly to Burnt Offerings, though when the party arrives there is a decidedly darker atmosphere, and something about the town just isn't quite right. There are plenty of spots around the town for creepy stuff to happen, and being right on the sea, there could be any number of horrors waiting beneath the waves. The NPCs in town would be different, perhaps radically, from how they are presented.
I'm not sure of the exact time of when the darker divergence happens, but I'm thinking right from the start or maybe after the Burnt Offeringss' events have occurred, perhaps a great deal of time later (a few years, even).
I've not got much developed so far, mostly just a few ideas that I'm going to hopefully expand on:
-The haunted mansion, after being cleansed (or perhaps not), was turned into an asylum (maybe ran by the same fellow in the later chapters of Runelords)
-A new cult has taken over Thistletop and is using it for dark rituals
-there is a new serial killer in town, with a new method of killing their victims; most likely its one of the named NPCs in town.
-The Glassworks has been closed down for some time, but there are still strange sounds and odd smells coming from there.
That's pretty much all I've got at the moment, but I'm hoping to expand this out and give it a go in a week or two. Hoping for some feedback/thoughts/suggestions on running something like this. What do you think? Good idea/bad idea? Got some thoughts on how to turn Sandpoint into a hotbed of Lovecraftian horror? Love to hear any thoughts you might have.
Ask, and ye shall receive...
I like what you've got there. Very good inspiration for what I'm hoping to do myself!
Lovecraftian horror is hard to do in fantasy because PCs have the mindset of being able to take on whatever threat they encounter. So when they eventually do encounter a large threat, make it so they can't easily handle the threat with normal means. Examples: a large group of innocent townsfolk who have been mind controlled and empowered; the mind boggling monster easily shrugs off all attacks and can only be banished by solving a puzzle/ritual.
A few other suggestions:
Slow play the horror as much as possible. Have them spend a good amount of time in the town first as things slowly start getting stranger and stranger.
To increase tension and unease: when some in your group make a save/check and others fail, pass them notes with the info. Have them make saves/checks when one isn't even needed, pass a note saying "Everything is fine". Another option is to have copies of their saves/skills in front of you and make rolls secretly and also roll dice when nothing happens.
Ask them unsettling questions: "Remind me, you all drank the ale at the tavern, right?"
Lovecraftian horror is hard to do in fantasy because PCs have the mindset of being able to take on whatever threat they encounter. So when they eventually do encounter a large threat, make it so they can't easily handle the threat with normal means. Examples: a large group of innocent townsfolk who have been mind controlled and empowered; the mind boggling monster easily shrugs off all attacks and can only be banished by solving a puzzle/ritual.
A few other suggestions:
Slow play the horror as much as possible. Have them spend a good amount of time in the town first as things slowly start getting stranger and stranger.
To increase tension and unease: when some in your group make a save/check and others fail, pass them notes with the info. Have them make saves/checks when one isn't even needed, pass a note saying "Everything is fine". Another option is to have copies of their saves/skills in front of you and make rolls secretly and also roll dice when nothing happens.
Ask them unsettling questions: "Remind me, you all drank the ale at the tavern, right?"
Very good tips; I'd been thinking along similar lines myself, so its good to know I've been on the right track. Basically: ramp up the paranoia and sow uncertainty/mistrust.