Horror/Urban Fantasy RP

[DonScorpio]

Hello Lit,

I was looking through the RP for a horror-themed game and didn't see one. I was wondering if anyone would be interested. Since it's my first shot, I'd like to keep it small, about four participants, in order to maintain a nice consistent pace and not get overwhelmed.

The general setting would be an online message board where ghost hunters post their case studies in a fictional paranormal community. Players would be investigators with various skills (tech, psychic sensitivity, nerves of steel, etc.) who are either tasked with obtaining proof of the paranormal or banishing it from a location that's confirmed haunted.

Characters created can be killed. Indeed, even an entire party kill would leave behind an investigation log that would serve to deepen the overall story and setting by adding to the urban legends that are being investigated. The play sessions should ideally read like single-serve ghost stories more than chapters in a world-spanning epic so characters needn't be permanent.

Contributions in the form of potential investigation locales (adding to the lore by giving players "haunted places"), additions to the beastiary, or the paranormal investigators themselves would be appreciated.

Hope to hear from you. PM if interested in a character. If you have a different contribution to the game, post it here.

 

[DonScorpio]

Gameplay

An investigator communicates with the GM through their walkie-talkie. Everything said is heard by everyone else through the walkies. Everything is recorded through the GM "uploading the investigation notes to the website".

Player: "I'm going into the basement. It's dark. I'm using my flashlight to look around."
GM: [tells player what they find in the basement]

Player: "I start my digital recorder and start asking the spirit questions."
GM: [tells player the atmosphere of the room]

Player: "I splash holy water on the black figure."
GM: [tells the player the monster's reaction]

When a puzzle is unlocked, or information is obtained that is important to completing the mission, it is shared among all investigators.

GM: "You have the name of the slave girl's baby. It's Margaret."
Players: [can pass the door blocked by not knowing the information, can use it against the monster, etc.]

GM: "[investigator] is being attacked by a shadow person in the library"
Players: [can move to join investigator if they are in the area]

When a player wants to perform a special action, they will have a tool that coresponds to their unique ability. Players simply need to use this tool to use the ability.

Player: "I hold my rosary out in front of me, keeping it between me and the demon."
GM: [describes effects of the ability "Psalm 23"]

Player: "I read the name of the demon from my little black book, and command it to halt."
GM: [describes the effects of the ability "Book of Shadows"]

That's it. Gameplay is simple and should move quickly without excessive stopping to rework the rules.

 

[DonScorpio]

Adding to the legend...

If you're not interested in playing, contributing a little spooky atmosphere here and there is appreciated.

Locations:

The setting of any ghost story is crucial. Abandoned factories, churches, lighhouses, etc. are all fair game. The players are paranormal investigators by trade, so nothing is too out-of-the-way to qualify. If it's scary enough, someone is curious enough to go poking around.

Example:

The Waterhouse Foundry
Back in the 1880's, the Waterhouse foundry was the largest steel mill in the area. Built before modern safety standards were inforced, the foundry saw it's share of death over the years. Over a hundred workers died at the foundry during it's operation. Today, the massive black stucture sits empty, but locals claim they can hear machinery running late at night.

Monsters:

Without creepy-crawlies to get in the way, play sessions would go more like an episode of scooby-doo than...something where the meddling kids die horribly. While the "get proof it's really haunted" sessions will likely play out like this, the more intense sessions where players banish the evil from the place will see monsters trying to stop them. Even sessions where a disquieted ghost is put to rest will need a noisy spirit to calm down, dangerous or not.

Example:

The Grey Lady:
Said to be the ghost of a noblewoman whose husband died at sea, the grey lady stalks the grounds of Waterhouse Manor, attacking any women who come onto the property, but luring men deeper into the twisting corridors of the ramshackle old mansion with her song.

Grinners:
Reported emerging from pipes and found near water, Grinners have been reported to have bodies made entirely of black ichor that smells strongly of rotting meat and which contains a variety of teeth, animal and human. After entering an area as a sticky, black puddle, the creature grows in the shadows to the size of a medium-sized dog. When attacking, it uses the teeth stored in it's mass to create a mouth, biting it's victim and dissolving the chunks of flesh it tears off inside the mass of it's main body. Grinners count as shadow creatures and are vulnerable to light.

Abilities:
People who chase ghosts for a living are decidedly "special". This manifests in the form of totems that the investigators keep on themselves. When they use that totem, it allows them to affect the story in unique ways that give them an edge over the legions of darkness.

Psalm 23: "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."
Growing up, this investigator said their prayers before bed every night. Now their belief is strong enough to keep the forces of the other world at bay. Saying the prayer creates an inpenetrable shield around the investigator. The investigator is wearing a simple wooden rosary around their neck. The rosary can be used as a weapon against shadow creatures.

Book of Shadows: "Know thy enemy as thyself"
Growing up, this investigator had an obsession with the other world that most would categorize as "unhealthy". Over time, they have written the secrets written in the dark, and the result is a small, black book filled with knowledge that other investogators have categorized as "unhealthy". The book will provide the true name of any dark creature. Opening it in the dark attracts monsters.

 

[DonScorpio]

Character Building

Character building is intended to be simple. Provide a short Biography of the character introducing themselves to the online community and list up to three abilities.

Example:

Brandon
After his mother died when he was twelve, Bradon's childhood home became violently active. Years later, it was discovered that his father murdered her. Since then, Bradon has been investigating the paranormal, hoping to bring the closure to others he never received.

Sprinter: Tennis Shoes
Brandon was a track star in high school. He can immediately go to an investigator's side as a free action.

Tech Specialist: Ghost Camera
Brandon has been working for years to find proof of the paranormal. This contraption is designed to photograph spirits. He can photograph ghosts and see hints from the other side.

Banisher:Iron Nail
Brandon has had some run-ins with violent spirits. It's said that cold iron is harmful to earthbound spirits and Brandon keeps a tenpenny nail in his pocket just in case. Can be used to remove a ghostly seal. Can be used as a weapon against incorporeal monsters.

 

[DonScorpio]

Dying or Chickening Out

Characters have six "stamina" points and six "nerve" points.

Fighting monsters reduces your nerve for every round you have to fight alone.

Losing a round of combat costs a point of nerve in addition to any injuries sustained.

Paranormal Activity can cost a point of nerve if the character is alone.

Losing all nerve results in the character "Chickening Out". The character loses their nerve and runs until they're out of breath. They can communicate with the group, but are lost and cannot navigate the map until someone finds them.

Losing all stamina results in the character "passing out". They cannot communicate with the group, but can be revived if someone finds them.

A character that passes out and is not revived within three gameplay rounds vanishes and is presumed dead.

A "round" of play passes when each participating investigator has taken an action.

A round of combat passes when each character in combat has taken an action. Combat rounds can run seperate to normal gameplay rounds. There is a max of three combat rounds per gameplay round so players can get three attacks in before help arrives.

 

[Nerd159]

Three Haunted Locations

1. A secret tunnel network in a coastal city running from a couple of taverns to the docks which were used to transport shanghaied sailors and kidnapped women to waiting ships. Dank, dark, and a long history of misery and murder. (An actual example exists in Portland, OR.)

2. An old, abandoned WWII coastal defense battery. The guns are long gone, but the concrete emplacements are still there, covered with graffiti and littered with broken beer bottles. Back in the fifties, they say a couple of kids disappeared during a summer break kegger. Now two more kids are missing.

3. The mine. High in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, an old silver mine closed down with no explanation. Sure, mine closures were common as the ore seams were fully exploited, but in this case, the miners said that there was plenty of silver still down there.

 

[DonScorpio]

Thank you Nerd,

I wouldn't mind using one of these locations once some players show up.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Some locations for you.

1. The School. Even as this inner city school was being constructed, it had more than its fair share of problems – perfectly good equipment refusing to work, sometimes having catastrophic failures, workers getting hurt but thankfully only one death. After it was built, things just went from bad to worse. Gangs moved in and essentially took control in the second year of operation. Soon, it was almost normal for an ambulance to be at the school every day to take at least one student to the hospital, either for drug overdose or for a potentially fatal injury or injuries that had been inflicted. After the second incident that required a SWAT team response, the school was closed and has been abandoned for years now.

2. The Anasazi Ruins. Ancient structures built up on the sides of cliffs, these sites where already abandoned and in ruin even as the white man first crossed the ocean to the New World. The ancient Anasazi people might have been the Aztec or Mayan Empire of the Southwest, but unfortunately, we know more about the Aztecs and the Mayans than we do about the Anasazi. All that remains of the Anasazi are what’s left of their buildings, built in impossible places high up on cliff sides. No one knows what happened to the Anasazi, where they went, or why. (All true, although speculating on age of the ruins.)

3. The Sacred Grounds. To the uninitiated, these grounds are quiet, tranquil, and unassuming locations. To those with a mind towards development and advancement, the grounds are resources that are not being used to their potential. However, the local native people staunchly defend the grounds from developers and hold these locations as sacred and not to be defiled. What secrets can these locations reveal to those who earn the trust of the locals and show the proper respect?

4. The Battle Ground. A forest meadow protected by civilization from the encroachment of civilization, this hallowed ground played host to a long and bloody battle in the mid-1800s. Thousands of men on both sides gave their lives without ever knowing why the place was important, other than the fact that their enemy wanted it too. Hundreds of weather-worn gravestones just a mile north and south of the meadow mark the final resting places of those lucky enough to have a marked grave. People who have visited the meadow at night and as the sun rose, while mist still covered the meadow, claim to have heard the sounds of the battle still being fought by the dead, the report of cannons and rifles, and the war cries of men and moans of the dying.

 

[DonScorpio]

I like the school for a small group. It'll probably be the one I go with for the first session.

No players yet, but the interest seems to be there so I'll add something too:

Monsters: Shadow Children

Encountered everywhere from schoolyards to old houses, the squat, slumped shape of the shadow child is frequently photographed by paranormal investogators. It is theorized that this is due to their curious nature.

Attacks vary, usually limited to draining batteries or pushing investigators but injury and even death is not uncommon should the spirit become emboldened by an investigator's fear. A favorite form of attack involves dropping something heavy on the investigator. Often classified as a "playful" spirit due to the prankish nature of contact with the creature.

Shadow Children are ambush attackers and usually will not attack once they have been spotted. Incorporeal creatures, photographing them tends to make them avoid the photographer for a while.

 

[DonScorpio]

...so it's that tyoe of game

Now that we have players, we can start organizing a play session.

To give players the neccessary resources, game sessions will "begin" at a certain midwestern university. No name, just think of the creepiest parts of your old school and it's that everywhere, all the time.

Feel free to name the buildings though. If you need a library, a dormitory, a locker room, etc. then that hall will be yours, conveniently placed within walking distance of whatever other structures your character needs easy access to (that hasn't already been conveniently placed by another player). Offices, dorm rooms, items, etc. are also the posessions of their owners and presumed to be within reasonable access at all times so should be written as such.

Finally, feel free to give descriptions of your little corner of the school by adding an urban legend or two. After all, it's not exactly a coincidence that so many people in one place have such similar experiences with the unknown.

This framework should allow for the simple creation of characters with whatever background needed to satisfy the player. Characters can be students, professors, staff or alumni. So we can have characters ranging from the young believer with a digital camera in a dark warehouse basement to the wizened professor brimming with forbidden knowledge of lost, black arts whose only companion is the posessed skull of a syphyllitic alchemist, which he keeps on his desk and shares demonic limericks with between classes.

their mad chuckles echo in the shadowy halls

 

[AgentBond]

I'd seriously, seriously like to play this.
_Yours ever,
An avid horror RPG fan

 

[DonScorpio]

Jump on in, the framework is pretty flexible (presuming a generous suspension of disbelief given the subject matter) and you can contribute as much or as little as you like to the lore.

 

[DonScorpio]

Avengers! Assemble!

The first gameplay session is being set-up now. Any interested players may introduce their character in the OOC thread in order to get everyone on the same page.

 

[Ravenloft]

Tristan Danvers

Tristan's parents were famous for tracking down rare and important historical artifacts, often being called 'The Real Joneses' in media and print. Tristan rarely got to go along on their adverntures, but when he did, he delighted in the thrill of it all. When he turned 16 his parents went off on an expedition and never returned. He lived the next two years in foster care, hating it. Once he was of age, he returned, alone to his parents estate, which was left to him. During the two year process of going through his parents belongings he found several odd documents. Books on the occult, demons, long lost religious artifacts... There was more to his parents than he ever imagined, it was as though they lived in a completely diferent world.

Pool of knowledge: Occult library
Given time, Tristan can find reasonably reliable information on just about anything spiritual or supernatural through out the world and its history. (So, ancient beings and rituals, but not viral zombies or mutations, or anything more modern.)

Cursed: Synchronisity
A few years ago, when he was confident in his understanding of his ability to perform 'magick', Tristan invoked a spell that was meant to 'make him one with the stream of time'. The result was not what he expected. He has become 'aware' of supernatural events before they happen. Like an animal knows rain is comming, he can feel it in his bones. The 'feeling' helps him be where he needs to be, when he needs to be there... But he has no control over it. The 'feeling' often wakes him from a dead sleep.

Enchanted item: Hand mirror
This mirror was the result of Tristan's second attempt to use magick. He's enchanted a hand mirror to be able to reflect images from up to 10 years in the past. If used too long, the subject being viewed may feel they are being watched. Powerful supernatural beings might potentially be able to 'look' back at me.

 

[Virgininneed]

Anna Rivers
http://th04.deviantart.net/fs41/300W/i/2009/259/c/8/__Kate_Beckinsale___Painting_by_Darkona_Goth.jpg

Anna was always an outsider, even with her family. She wore all black and had a dark sense of humor that many people didn't understand. She was a very friendly girl, but had difficulty making friends. Eventually she stopped trying. Her older sister was murdered a few years ago, something she never got over. Since then she rarely talked unless necessary, and avoided other people.

A Gift and a Curse: Psychic
At times Anna can see the future, speak to the dead, or be taken over by spirits. She doesn't like to do this unless absolutely necessary, although at times she can't control it. At times this can also hurt her physically if the spirits are violent or disturbed

Siren's Song: Voice
Anna's voice has the ability to heal a person, but not herself. She can also use it to call spirits. Again, she doesn't like using it, mainly because she is embarrassed about singing around others

Sweet Dreams: Communicating in Sleep
Anna can be very vulnerable to spirits in her sleep and is much more likely to become possessed by them, but it allows her to learn more about the spirits

 

[DonScorpio]

rolling along

I'll keep posting boring stuff like gameplay mechanics and the like here. The OOC thread is decidedly in-character and, instead of watering that down by droning on about the "getting scared" system, we can talk about that here and use the campus setting as a "hangout" if you will. Players can flesh out, play around with, or just tread water with their characters while waiting for a session to start.

To track the action once the action commences, the investigations will be their own threads. This should seperate players actively in a session from those still putting the finishing touches on their characters.

I'm working the first location, the aforementioned haunted school (it just screams "level one" out of all the choices I have here) into a "map" and we'll launch a game session later in the week, giving the rest of the players who have expressed interest to come up with their characters.

We could use some physical characters in the first session. I've plenty of psychological and existential horror for you guys, but the monsters with meat on them might prove problematic. I've got stock characters to run in-game alongside the players but, since I'm going to play as a true antagonist, the active players will be ordering them around rather than me doing it. Still, I'd like to see what you guys come up with before I go copypasting "tank/dps/nuke" characters into the narrative so I'm holding off on putting my own in.

 

[DonScorpio]

Mapping an area

For anyone playing the home version, creating a map of a location goes like this.

1. List all the locations in that area a person could go to
2. List everything of interest in that area

A map of the school would look like this to players...

Osborn Elementary
Room A
Room 101
Room 102
Room 103
Room 104
Grand Staircase
Room 201
Room 202
Room 203
Room 204
Library
First Floor Hall
Second Floor Hall
Gymnasium
Boys Bathroom
Girls Bathroom
Basement

The GM would have a more descriptive version of those rooms, each of which would display it's own zones with notes as to what awaits a player within.

Basement

...Boiler Room
(this is what's spooky and/or dangerous about this room)
(players can use or take the following items or objects)

...Theatre Storage
(this is what's spooky and/or dangerous about this room)
(players can use or take the following items or objects)

...Music Room
(this is what's spooky and/or dangerous about this room)
(players can use or take the following items or objects)

...Locker Room
(this is what's spooky and/or dangerous about this room)
(players can use or take the following items or objects)

And so on.

There are actual dice rules for this game, but they don't really fit into the forum RPG format so they've been tossed for rules that make a better story (skills are part of the characters wardrobe instead of numbers) instead of the ones that make for a better RPG (health and courage are shown as numbers even though describing a deteriorating mental or physical state would make for a much better narrative).

Anyway, thanks for the interest and keep coming back.

 

[Ravenloft]

Tristan Danvers is 35 and here is a picture of how I would like him to look.

http://www.starsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/rhys-ifans.jpg