Horror in Role Playing Games

I will start this out simply, I have a great deal of respect for people who run horror games that are genuinely scary, the same to those who can make video games and the like that are genuinely creepy. I say this starting out because my topic for today is the difficulty in running a horror based game and especially in terms of trying to create one. Horror games, at least in my view, have several main issues that can often gum up the works in terms of delivering a good scare.

The first is simply whoever is running the game. I have said before and will say again, I SUCK at running horror games, maybe it’s just not my personality but I have a hard time making it work. I have been able to creep my players out occasionally but really these were the exceptions not the rule. While I recognize the truth that any system has to depend heavily on the person running it does mean that horror can be very difficult because some people are going to have a harder time than others. The second part which dovetails is the players and some groups are hard to properly creep. Again, while I admit that I suck at horror I also have a fairly jaded group of players, if they saw cthulhu they’d be more likely to walk up and shake his hand or say hello than to run in panic, but meh.

The third thing is somewhat a consequence of how the system is organized, but I think it was explained best by Ben ‘Yathzee’ Croshaw of Zero Punctuation, heavy ordinance does wonders for keeping fear at bay. This is simply to say that when players are able to reasonably threaten the various horrors of the night said horrors are a bit less scary. Some of it is simply that the danger is somewhat more abstract, while said entity might be able to hurt their characters it can also be hurt. Having a means to make the thing blink is a fairly potent security blanket and can appreciably cut down on the horror.

That being said the other way can also be a problem. Make something totally invincible and it might not elicit horror but instead either frustration or exasperation. Being totally unable to deal with something can end up creating apathy, if the players can’t do anything then they’re more likely throw up their hands if they experience it and say ‘well, that was fun’ or something more colorful and less printable. Horror requires something that might be possibly beatable but it would either be difficult or it has to represent something complex.

I think a part of it comes down to how the systems are designed but also the mindset of those involved. Fear comes from a lack of understanding but also out of a belief that the unknown thing can harm you. Suspense and tension are helpful in this but there is also the helpful element of things not feeling quite right. Horror can sometimes be achieved by having a mechanical tie, sanity checks from games like Call of Cthulhu or the guts checks in Deadlands are all good examples of things that impede a character through terror or minds falling apart. These things are bad and while they might not ‘scare’ the player they are likely to at least make them feel uneasy or nervous.

As to system design, just the way the game is weighted can do a lot to create or impede horror. Heroic systems like d20 are probably going to have to depend more on the person running than say a game like Call of Cthulhu by the nature of the systems and the mindests of the games. Games where things scale more in the players favor and bonuses to saves are easier to acquire things are likely more to lean in their favor. That being said there are other examples too, Dark Heresy is another interesting horror game that managed to sit between a heroic game and a true horror game, I hope to get into that one in the future.

I want to know what others think though, anyone out there that wants to mention their own ideas of what makes horror work in a video game are welcome to chime in. I hope to hear from people.