Curse of the Tomb of the Living Gamer

By C. Demetrius Morgan

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Halloween draws nigh upon us. In twilight of fiendish fright comes this dark eve of costume-clad revelry. It is that one ghoulish night out of the year when boils and ghouls can haunt the mauls all across the country. Yet, it has been said by some , that Halloween is a fast dying holiday. True enough, in horror filled times past, some unwholesome communities sadly allowed the holiday to fade due to neglect and adult inaction. But few are they who are so vile as to ban the holiday altogether, thus the moldering corpse of this fun fright filled holiday yet remains.

Good thing, says I! For children are merely pint-sized adults who grow up all too fast. Eventually they will discover all the white lies, see the world as it really is, so why not embrace Halloween for all it’s worth! Trick or treat? That’s the question that should be on every ghouls mind as they walk down gloom-shrouded paths. Social interaction, friends gathering to make scary, that’s what this night should be all about.

Each year on Halloween parties are planned. Costumes are donned. And frightful fun times are had by most, if not all, even mummies shambling in their dusty cavernous halls. Typically Halloween parties will have tried and true tricks, such as having guests bring pumpkins for pumpkin carving contests. And of course costumes! Costume parties are arguably the best. Every dread ghostess knows that her guests have to come dressed for haunting good times. Which is why she takes the time to get the decorations just right. But beyond peeling grapes to create faux eyes and making front yard scarecrows out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper, besides adding a bit of red and green food coloring to melted butter to create blood drenched popcorn, or knowing spooking the Halloween punch with a giant ice cube created by filling a plastic glove with water can cause a stir. Beyond all these things there is one undying question…

Why not game? Role-playing, that is. It can be a real treat.

After all what better day than Halloween when the decorations and munchies are all set upon the table with uncare! No Halloween party would be complete without entertainment to stir despair. All of us have a tape or CD of Halloween sounds, the perfect background mood music to have playing while we cue up our favorite horror movies or tune into whichever channel is offering a Halloween movie marathon this year. All these things we know. All these things have we enjoyed. Frome gothic Halloween p arties with vases full of dried flowers, twigs, and autumn leaves to trips to the mall to load up on free tokens to play games for hours on end.

Yet how much more fun Halloween might be with a quick one shot horror! It can be humorous or in poor taste, tastefully done or just off some movie based, just so long as everyone is having fun.

If not this night of all nights, when props exist aplenty, and every one should find themselves with reasonable excuse to dress as Wizards or Witches, then when?

 

Setting the Stage

There’s no reason why a Halloween get together can’t be planned around playing a role-playing game. Ah, but which role-playing game to choose? There are so many with great potential, games that could have been custom made for Halloween like C. J. Carella’s Witchcraft or Call of Cthulhu. Indeed the most important consideration after the game having theme that ties into Halloween is simplicity. The game should be quick to pick up and have a premise that is fun and easy to understand so that everyone can join in, even the freshly risen vampires noobs! So where to begin?

First, begin with a plan. Set this up like any other get together. Just remember this should be a Halloween party. Make sure you have the space and the bodies to fill it. Of paramount importance are munchies. If you have the time, and inclination, prepare some Halloween themed munchies. The bloody popcorn is always a crowd pleasure; as are Halloween candies, just remember to balance out the sugary sweets with drinks. Second, choose a game with a suitable theme. Ghost Stories are a staple of Halloween as are many other cinematic themed games involving vampires, werewolves, or zombies. Try to pick something that can be played as a one shot. Third, set the mood. Music, costumes, decorations, and movies should all be chosen well in advance.

Movies might be a problem, especially if you wait till the last minute to look for a rental. Why? Simple enough there are certain notorious names and much-heralded studios known to hardcore horror buffs and B-movie connoisseurs. Names such as Barbara Steele, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Jean Rollins, Paul Naschy, and, yes, even Jess Franco. Odds are the shelves of your local video store will be barren around Halloween. So try to get your movie in advance.

Indeed the easiest most fun way to go about setting up such themed games is to adapt a favorite horror movie to the role-playing system most familiar to our gaming group. Alternatively using a system that we feel best recreates a style of play reflective of the movie is also plausible, if potentially more time consuming, but this may also be the most appropriate method. But wait! Not just any movie will do. Oh no, for the denizens of Halloween are unique, thus we need a movie to match the monster portfolio of our chosen game. Obvious choices might include Dungeons & Dragons, which has monsters aplenty, as do most fantasy role-playing games, but which movie to choose?

 

Movies, Movies Everywhere. . .

The first two indications of a movie's content, including possible usefulness for adapting as a
adventure, are the title and cover art on the packaging.  Many a movie can look and sound like a winner but prove to be a total dud when actually viewed.   Even so every movie fan has one chance, whether we are looking to rent a movie or buy one from a retail chain store, to make the best possible choice for a blind buy by reading the packaging.  Of course the true borderline fanatic will be able to tell whether a movie is worth renting based on the distributor.  However this is a subjective.  For instance many love Troma Studios, yet many do not. Some think Goodtimes titles aren't worth the tape or discs they are recorded on.  Too, some genres are more difficult to gauge than others.  Take the zombie horror sub-genre.  Who can possibly tell from just the titles which of the following movies might be fun campy schlock and which are just crappy shite:  Night of the Living Dead, Orgy of the Dead, Dawn of the
Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Hell of the Living Dead, Return of the Blind Dead, Day of the Dead, Fangs of the Living Dead, and that's just the tip of the "(something) of the (something) dead" title iceberg! And, yes, some aren't even zombie movies at all.  So read those jacket blurbs with care.

If in doubt write the title down and do a Google search on it when you get home!

Alas, while in the store, the best information on a title will be found by reading the back jacket blurbs. But what to make of titles in the bargain bin? Some, like Transylvania 6-5000, tell you exactly what the movie is about. But what to make of mystery titles in multi movie packs like Project Vampire, Horror Express, Lady Frankenstein, Sisters of Death, Horror of the Zombies, Messiah of Evil, Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman, Fury of the Wolfman, Horror Hotel, or Carnival of Souls?

Sure the titles may jump out at us, we may even pick the boxes up, but even if the cover art looks right- meaning it indicates the contents contain horror movies- when we turn the keep case box over to read the blurb on the back it may not be very in formative. Since jacket blurbs are the second main hint we have to go on about the content of a movie this can leave us scratching our heads. Sadly, as we all too soon learn, jacket blurbs often lie; or rather stretch the truth beyond all proportion t o make the movie sound much better than it actually is.

So when you are out shopping for horror movies this Halloween season keep two things in mind: Unless stated otherwise bargain bin multi packs usually contain PD (Public Domain) or TV versions of movies. Where horror is concerned one name stands out against all other studios for quality horror movies. That name is Hammer.

The “Hammer Horror” movies are considered by many to be amongst the most atmospheric and fun to watch. Especially the Dracula titles. If in doubt, and the price is right, buy the Hammer Horror title.

Who was Hammer?

Hammer Studios, while recently resurrected, produced movies in the sixties and seventies. Their movies all have a dreamlike atmosphere to them many studios have attempted to mimic over the years. Some with a modicum of success, such as Amicus, whose movies starred many of the same actors and ar e often mistaken for Hammer productions.

Which of these studios little known classics are worth renting?

For my money, from a “has great ideas that can be used in a RPG” standpoint, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter is probably the best choice. Before Buffy donned her cheerleader uniform, before the life essence sucking space vampires of Lifeforce, before dapper Van Helsing ever set out to do battle with CGI monsters, there was Hammer Studios Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter. Kronos, late of the imperial guard, is a stylish 19th century swashbuckling vampire hunter whose tagline could easily be: Have sword will battle the supernatural!

This nearly forgotten gem is not just perfect for Halloween and bad movie nights. There are ideas here that an enterprising GM could mine for use in most any horror themed game session. Of course this is just one possible movie choice, but I think it is really good. To find out more about this movie on DVD, and a few others, you can find some reviews of mine in HTML and PDF formats here: http://www.hinterwelt.com/reviews-ref.html. You can also go to RPGnet where, from the front page, you can se arch that sites reviews to find dozens of reviews, by this author, covering both DVDs and RPGs.

 

Twice Told Tales of Dread?

Next to Werewolves and Vampires the monster perhaps most associated with horror and Halloween after the Mummy is the Zombie. Whether you’re thinking of Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, or a spoof like Shaun of the Dead everyone knows the genre clichés by heart. The hardest part will be choosing a set of game rules. True, some role-playing games are more suited to this genre than others, but only a few are custom designed for it.

For instance obvious choices for a zombie game are All Flesh Must Be Eaten or Army of Darkness: The Role-Playing Game (assuming it gets released). Less obvious are generic rule sets, some of which, like GURPS Horror, have detailed line s of supplements. However let’s not overlook underdog game systems, such as JAGS Horror, which happens to be available free for download. Speaking of which D20 or D20 Modern may also be feasible alternatives given the existence of supplements like Blood and Brains: The Zombie Hunter’s Guide. Don’t like zombies? There are always the tried and true warty faced cauldron stirring witch with her black cat familiar, those vile and villainous crypt dwelling vampires (Ravenloft, Vampire the Masquerade), the elusive yet seductive dark fairies (Urban Faerie), closet dwelling skeletons that reveal the world to be not quite what it appears (Dead Inside, Unbidden, The Whispering Vault), maliciously grinning dwarven goblins, and their angry green hobgoblin kin, to name but a few of the ghoulish spirits that wander the night on Halloween. With a little tweaking just about any roleplaying game from Ars Magica to Warhammer could have horror potential.

Just be aware that what is key is a strong theme supported by an appropriate creature crucible. Most fantasy role-playing games should support the critters mentioned above. As should most popular generic rule sets such as GURPS, JAGS, Risus, FUDGE, and of course D20. However to adapt genre specific movies or movies set in specific periods of time a set of rules, or game with a world setting, that best reflects the movie environment should be sought out when possible. Failing that Halloween themed game sessions can be the perfect excuse to dust off those aged tomes sitting long disused and forgotten in your library of arcane delights. That’s right this is the perfect time to reintroduce your gaming group to classic RPGs of yesteryear such as Ghost Busters, Chill, Call of Cthulhu, Bureau 13, Paranoia, or maybe even a classic AD&D module like Ravenloft?

If you don’t have any of the old classics not to worry, more than a few role-playing games and supplements currently on the market can get the job done for you. Just take a gander at this…

 

13 Delightfully Ghoulish Games

If you are worried about not having time to properly set up such a game, or fear that things need to be set up weeks in advance, weeks you just don‘t have time to dedicate to the task of adapting a favorite horror movie or show then you may want to consider an alternative. Adapting a movie can require a lot of prep time and writing. Miracle workers that we Game Masters sometimes can be that harsh mistress called reality, who comes riding in on her broom stick real life, has a tendency to rudely intrude. So what is an overworked, under appreciated, Game Master to do?

Simple, find a rules light “beer and pretzels” game! Something that can be easily setup and played in a single evening. Don’t have time to run around like a zombie chicken with its head sewn on backwards? No worries. There are quite a few horror RPGs available online, some are even free!

But how to find them?

Just keep reading! Because what follows is a synopsis of 13 role-playing games whose themes should be suitable for Halloween. Read over each entry and decide for yourself if any of the games sound like something your players would find fun.

 

Blood and Brains: The Zombie Hunters Guide

67-page D20 Modern splatbook

RPG Objects

Price: $6.95

Blood and Brains is a D20 Modern splatbook designed specifically for one purpose, to recreate the atmosphere of the Zombie movie horror sub-genre. The author has done a superb job, presenting more zombies than you can shake a gas powered chainsaw at. Sample shambling living dead critters include the dire "Zombie, Bloodsucking", dreadful "Zombie, Revenant", and rarefied beasties like the evil sounding "Zombie, Cryonoid" and menacing "Zombie, Kyoshi Spawn"! There is something here for every Zombie fan including 15 new occupations, some of which are: Boy Scout, Cheerleader, Mental Patient, Nerd, Jock, Scream Queen, Mad Scientist, Stoner, and that all important Y-mart Employee. Overall this is a very impressive supplement that covers just about everything zombie from Astro Zombies to Zombie Lake.

URL: http://www.rpgobjects.com/

Review: http://www.hinterwelt.com/reviews/BloodandBrains.htm

 

Blood Games: Occult Horror Role-Playing

182 pages

Flyingmice LLC

Price: $10.00

This is a monster hunting “modern Occult horror role-playing game” in which religion plays a prominent role, as opposed to merely being part of the forgettable flavor text. Characters come in two basic varieties those of the Path (supernaturally attuned) and Non-Path (mundane). Overall the game setting occupies a fantastical realm somewhere between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Exorcist. Blood Games uses the same rule mechanics found in Starcluster 2.

URL: http://jalan.flyingmice.com/bloodgames.html

 

Bump in the Night

59 pages (PDF)

Michael Dunlap

Price: Free

A horror oriented RPG in which players choose from a myriad number of monster races. Character races include Vampires, Demons, Were-Creatures, Soul-Less Ones, Constructs, Ghosts, and the Possessed. The game system is rather simple and uncluttered, but otherwise provides a decent framework to build upon. However, being a freebie, there is lack of detailed background. Which means the GM will have to do a bit of legwork to create an appropriate milieu. Still it is available online in both HTML fo rmat and as a freely downloadable PDF. Worth looking into?

URL: http://wu.wss.yale.edu/~michael/bitn/

 

Dead Inside: The Roleplaying Game of Loss and Redemption

128-page horror RPG

Atomic Sock Monkey

Price: $13.00 (PDF), $25.00 (POD)

Dead Inside presents a synthesis of ideas drawn from various schools of thought regarding the nature of spirit and the soul presented within a conceptualized pseudo-cabalistic game environment in which players create characters that are soul-less or soul-lost. Indeed the very concept is constructed around the idea that the characters, having discovered themselves to be missing part of their souls, must set out to heal their earthly vessels. Dead Inside is powered by the Prose Descriptive Qualitie s (PDQ) system, a FUDGE like rules lite system, and has great potential to be run as a high concept philosophical game or as just a bit of silly fun. You have to love that.

URL: http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com/products/di.asp

Review: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10693.phtml

 

Ghost Stories

41 page mini game

Politically Incorrect Games

Price: $4.00

Here is a ready to run mini game. Ghost Stories presents a simple, straightforward, and easy to learn minimalist system with four ready to play stock scenarios. All you need are two six sided dice to play. Scenarios include a haunted house mystery in the vein of House on Haunted Hill with shadings of Poltergeist. A scary teen adventure set at a masquerade ball on, appropriately enough, Halloween! This scenario is a tale of classic occult misdirection involving an object of power and a malevolent spirit ala The Legend of Hell House. Next up is a scenario involving an investigation into the supernatural that could have been based on an episode of Twilight Zone, Poltergeist: The Legacy, or maybe a movie like White Zombie. This scenario involves psychic visions and thus should pose an interesting challenge to both GM and players. The final scenario involves a cursed item. The perfect scenario for players who are fans of television series like Friday the 1

URL: http://www.pigames.net/

Review: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10621.phtml

 

Inspectres

80 pages

Momento Mori

Price: $10.00

With a tagline line of: “Fighting the forces of darkness so you don‘t have to.” You just know Inspectres is prime Halloween gaming material. A quick perusal of the free downloadable PDF “startup” shows that this game is centered on a busines s specializing in ghost hunting, vampire slaying, and research into occult phenomena. A more in depth look at the full 80 page role-playing manual and it immediately becomes obvious this RPG has potential to be either a enjoyable root beer and candy co rn, perfect for playing on Halloween, game or a serial campaign. The player characters are agents of InSpectres; or rather they‘re newly assigned agents to an InSpectres franchise. That‘s right it‘s Ghost Busters meets McDonald‘s. Problem is a ny world that requires an InSpectres franchise on every corner is bound to be full of mystery and intrigue with supernatural horrors aplenty. Can your players handle that?

Before you answer be aware that while Inspectres is a game of paranormal investigators battling with the preternatural in a world not unlike our own with a tongue-in-cheek hard boiled slant it‘s also a game that makes use of multiple dice pools. Not everyone likes dice pools. Thus, while the premise is solid, if you feel your players might not enjoy the mechanics it may be best to hop on your broomstick and fly on by to the next entry.

URL: http://memento-mori.com/inspectres/

 

Noche de Los Vampiros

Online HTML Document

Zak Arntson

Price: Free

Intended to be played in a single night Noche de Los Vampiros essentially takes the premise of movies like From Dusk Till Dawn and John Carpenter’s Vampires and turns it into a fun beer-n-pretzels role-playing game of survival. Uses a dice pool.

URL: http://www.harlekin-maus.com/games/vampiros/vampiros.html

 

Pumpkin Town

Online HTML Document

Gargoyle 13

Price: Free

Pumpkin town is a cute little Halloween themed RPG in the vein of Nightmare Before Christmas that could be suitable for just about the whole family, depending on how the GM handles it. This pun filled game centers around the sleepy little vil lage of Pumpkin Town, a cubical world with sugar mines, a graveyard that is a “sprawling labyrinth of tombstones, mausoleums, forlorn crosses and creaking wrought iron gates”, an icky mucky swamp, and a sinister little place called Tentacle Hill where “various herbs and candies grow wild”. To name but a few of the sites PCs can explore. Speaking of which characters include a hodge-podge of Halloween archetypes set apart by unique, and very individual, gimmicks. The game mechanic is fa irly simply and boils down to: D10 + Traits + Skill = Result. A nice little game that needs to be converted to PDF.

URL: http://memento-mori.com/games/pumpkintown/

 

Shadows

HTML and PDF

Zak Arntson

Price: Free

A simple narrative game exploring themes of good and not so good. Characters are essentially versions of the players, with each character having a “Shadow” that literally follows them around trying to get them into trouble. The game use two dice, o ne assigned to be the “shadow” die, with resolution being roll vs. roll. Very simple.

URL: http://www.harlekin-maus.com/games/shadows/shadows.html

 

Unbidden

91 pages

Politically Incorrect Games

Price: $6.99

Unbidden establishes a distinctive style for a modern horror milieu, with a depth of psychological exploration that should appeal to fans of Stephen King novels. The setting presents a darker version of our own world in which Agents of the Darkness roam our unsuspecting world. A world of Secret Stories and hidden truths that may or may not be Truth. It is a world sifted through a prism of individual perceptions, a reality shaped by character’s personal demons. Demonic forces against which chara cters wage a Secret War. The knowledge of these secrets comes unasked for and unwanted, and that is precisely why the game world is: Unbidden.

URL: http://www.pigames.net/

Review: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10398.phtml

 

Vault Collection One

(The Whispering Vault)

Ronin Arts

Price: $9.95

There is far more to the world than what our mundane senses reveal to us. In this world there are the Unenlightened, mere mortals to whom the Unseen is never revealed, and the Enlightened, whose curiosity and desire to learn has directed them to explore the nature of the Unseen. Alas, and all too often, this leads them into conflict with the Unbidden. The Unbidden being entities “from the other side”, beings that at best exist as awkward shadows in our world, wh ich is the Realm of Flesh. Think of the characters as cousins of the Reapers from Showtime‘s Dead Like Me series, only detailed to kick ass and slay horrors rather than free souls to set them on their journey beyond when not sittin g in a waffle house feeling sorry for themselves. Vault Collection One includes: The Whispering Vault, Dangerous Prey, Smuggler’s Run, and The Book of Hunts.

URL: http://rpgnow.com/

Review: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10533.phtml

 

Vs. Monsters

20 page 24-Hour Game

Philip Reed

Price: Free

This is a game about 19th century monster hunters where the setting is the America of the period. Contains the basics for setting up a game, including a number of stock monsters, and character sheets are also included. Requires at least two players and a deck of cards.

URL: http://www.24hourrpg.com/

 

Vs. Monsters Deluxe Edition

80 pages

Philip Reed

Price: $6.00

This is the “expanded, improved edition” of the game listed above which presents a “revised and expanded” system including “many more options for characters, new monsters, a look at the world of vs. Monsters, and more”.

URL: http://www.rpgnow.com/

 

Copyright © 2004 C. Demetrius Morgan