Some sources for running horror in RPGs

With a stomach bug taking me out of action for a day or three, I’m slowly getting back to the new normal.

Which means I’ve been doing a bit of research that I should have been doing a while back.

Earlier in the year I was watching the Gen Con YouTube channel and their three streamed Alien RPG sessions for the Chariot of the Gods cinematic scenario (these are one shot adventures, that use precon characters and have a high body count!). During the start of the first session the GM quickly runs through what amounts to a session zero. It was when he stated that he was a fan of body horror, and he will be describing things in detail.

That left me a bit confused. What was body horror? It’s not a term I was familiar with. I knew slasher flicks (Friday 13th, Halloween etc), video nasties (hey that was my teenage years in the 80’s, although I pretty sure the majority were banned for the shit acting), and torture porn (Hostel).

But body horror? Nope not heard of it.

Then again it didn’t surprise me, these days I rarely watch any horror movies. I suppose I could have asked my friend James. He’s a massive horror fan. Boy does he watch some obscure stuff. But I never got round to it.

Over the months afterwards I got the rulebook for the Alien RPG, I already had the D&D Curse of Strahd (CoS) adventure, and the desire to run a horror based game of some sort buried itself away in the back of my brain.

With the recent release of another D&D horror inspired adventure, Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden (IDRotF) that desire to run a horror based game floated to the forefront once more.

But what information was out there to help run such a game?

Well within the pages of CoS we are given page 7 Marks of Horror. Which is a page of tips for running horror. Whilst in IDRotF all we get is a breakout box warning about the content (see image below).

But this fails for me as a warning. You actually have to go to D&D Beyond to get an idea about the content and some great advice for running horror in D&D in the post Creating Terror without Being a Jerk.

But none of this stuff told me what body horror was.

Then I remembered that the Pathfinder RPG had a horror adventure book. What did that have inside?

In Chapter 6 – Running Horror Adventures it defined body horror as…

This visceral subgenre concerns itself with the organic terror of the flesh, including disease, physical corruption, and transformation. At its basest level, body horror is the revulsion felt upon hearing a bone break or seeing a joint violently bend in the wrong direction. Elaborated upon, it’s the terror of becoming physically monstrous and the awfulness that might hide within.”

Cool I was a lot wiser now.

I can see how that would fit in with the Alien RPG and the cinematic scenarios. Although I feel that the Alien RPG would be more cosmic horror with some body horror moments (facehuggers, chestbursters). The Pathfinder book has some pretty cool stuff in there that is of use for other systems.

In my internet journeys I stumbled across a quote by Stephen King (see below) and his book of essays about writing and horror Danse Macabre. It’s a bit old now.

But going by that quote still relevant. So I picked up the audible version of the book.

There is a little but brief information within the Alien RPG about running a horror session. Shockingly light really. There is also a section on Horror as a tone within the Genesys RPG core rulebook.

That’s been the disappointing bit with D&D and the Alien RPG. The brevity or lack of information.

But I feel between King and the Pathfinder book I now have enough to equip myself with running a horror based RPG session. But more importantly use the correct language whilst talking with the players, and be comfortable knowing where the lines should be based on the players feedback. Which is where I should be when using a pre-written adventure/scenario.

I’d like to think that once I’ve finished King and the Pathfinder chapter I’ll have basic tools and knowledge to create my own horror one-shot. Whether it’s a cinematic scenario for the Alien RPG (I do love the Alien universe), uses the Genesys system (ideally with the Android setting), Cyberpunk Red, D&D or Judge Dredd/Strontium Dog.

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