20
votes
Accepted
What is this 1990s horror game of otherworldly PCs dealing with monsters on modern Earth?
Sounds to me like the Whispering Vault. That, too, was a horror game that came out in the early '90s — Wikipedia says the first edition came out in 1993, and that jibes with my memory. The ability to ...
- 56k
16
votes
How do you keep the horror spooky when your players are a bunch of goofballs?
You talk with your players and get on the same page
I’ll preface this answer by stating that while I ran several scenarios in Call of Cthulhu, I am far from an expert in the system. I have, however, ...
- 11.5k
15
votes
Accepted
How can I convey and sustain a level of realism in a given horror campaign?
Slasher-horror movies are about transgression and death.
This is wrapped up in the idea of horror movie as "cautionary tale", a kind of morality play where only the people who do the right thing can ...
- 42.2k
13
votes
Accepted
How do you keep the horror spooky when your players are a bunch of goofballs?
Use table rules and isolation
I’ve played a lot Call of Cthulhu, both as player and Keeper. The first thing I'd like to share is that while CoC is of course a "horror" RPG, you need to be ...
- 135k
11
votes
Accepted
Are there any mechanics for tracking sanity or performing sanity checks?
There are optional rules that add sanity as an ability score. They can be found in the DMG on pages 264-5. The rules for madness start on page 258 and define short-term, long-term and indefinite ...
- 61.9k
11
votes
Do consent forms genuinely contribute to safer playing environments in practice?
Consent forms have issues because they can never be specific enough, but may still be useful for some people.
It is worth having a discussion, especially in horror, about what players may be ...
- 35.6k
9
votes
What is this 1990s horror game of otherworldly PCs dealing with monsters on modern Earth?
Is it… Nightbane?
Palladium Books's Nightbane (1995) "is a dark urban fantasy and setting very much like our own modern world yet with sinister differences lurking just below the surface." It's ...
- 193k
8
votes
Creating Horror Atmosphere
General Advice
A lot of this relies on your presence as a DM, and the trust and willingness to be scared among your players. At the end of the day, if they want to joke, they're not going to be ...
- 3,532
6
votes
Are there any mechanics for tracking sanity or performing sanity checks?
Another option using standard Conditions and Mechanics
If you don't want to use the Optional Sanity score in the DMG as suggested by Szega and Kviiri, you still have access to some options in the PHB ...
- 126k
5
votes
Accepted
How can I simulate paranoia in a Call of Cthulhu One-Shot?
You simulate hallucination by creating different experiences
You don't have to use secret notes, at least not for long. If you give two players, two different descriptions of what they hear, see or ...
- 61.6k
5
votes
Are there any mechanics for tracking sanity or performing sanity checks?
Variant sanity rules in the DMG
Dungeon Master's Guide has optional rules for sanity checks, on pages 265 and 266. The rule is that Sanity is a new ability score (along with Strength, Dexterity, etc) ...
- 54.2k
4
votes
How can I convey and sustain a level of realism in a given horror campaign?
Simply put; consequences.
If you you think a character shouldn't/wouldn't do X, then if they do X make sure there's a 'realistic' consequence. This should ground anything they'll try to do in the ...
- 112
4
votes
How can I convey and sustain a level of realism in a given horror campaign?
The first thing to consider, is what sort of game does everybody want to play? Do you all want to play a survival-horror? Or do they just want to play an adventure hack-n-slash as a group of vagrant ...
- 23.2k
4
votes
Do consent forms genuinely contribute to safer playing environments in practice?
Depending on what you mean by "form", they can help or hinder.
In all the games I run, I ask the players for a list of things they want, would like, would not like, and do not want in the game. The ...
3
votes
How do you keep the horror spooky when your players are a bunch of goofballs?
Frame Challenge: A certain amount of comedy can help.
First, while I'm offering a frame challenge, I want to make clear that your goal is a perfectly valid one. Other existing answers make good ...
- 35.6k
3
votes
How can I simulate paranoia in a Call of Cthulhu One-Shot?
I would recommend you provide more fluff details for certain things. If they investigate something that you took some extra time to describe and cant find anything it will make them feel paranoid. ...
- 27
3
votes
Are there any mechanics for tracking sanity or performing sanity checks?
The Out of the Abyss module (spoiler below)
That's probably the closest you'll get from official sources, although for a campaign that features real threats to the sanity of the characters, I think ...
- 16k
2
votes
Tried all the existing advice, but players still never roleplay fear
Supplemental answer: In Ravenloft, one suggested method for instilling fear was for the DM to be the only one who knew exact damage dealt by an attack, and thus exactly how hurt pcs were. Instead ...
- 352
2
votes
Tried all the existing advice, but players still never roleplay fear
I've got a group of fairly new players who started the game under the assumption I would only ever send them against things they would be able to defeat. I quickly reminded them that this is not the ...
- 3,065
1
vote
How do you keep the horror spooky when your players are a bunch of goofballs?
My suggestion would be very simple: remember that there is a difference between the players and the characters.
The questions of whether the players are horrified, or whether the characters are ...
- 921
1
vote
How can I convey and sustain a level of realism in a given horror campaign?
Are you sure those are adventure-fantasy tropes the players are enacting? The examples you gave, at least, could instead be horror movie tropes.
If the car breaks down outside a spooky mansion, ...
- 8,055
1
vote
How do I keep a horror-like feeling with supernatural powered PCs?
Horrors should be Horrible
It sounds like a tautology, but it's not. Don't confuse "horror" with "enemies with (more powerful) supernatural abilities." It's fine for PC to have some supernatural ...
- 3,452
1
vote
How can I deal with a "goof-ball" player in my WoD group?
You are playing the best system to deal with such a behaviour
The point is that this doesn't have to be fixed OOC. You have a lot of built-in mechanics and in-setting stuff for that -- because this ...
1
vote
How to fight the unseen, and still keep things interesting?
Take their security blanket away
A horror story usually starts with a build-up phase. As the PCs progressively discover their environment, give them small clues that won't lead to a fight, but hint ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible