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Hello, come on inside, don't mind the dark. Storm knocked the power out..

Welcome to Phobia, my column about the horror genre, horror RPGs and adding elements of terror to just about any other RPG out there. To begin with, I'd like to give a bit of a micro-historical overview of the horror RPG. Admittedly this is biased according to my taste and perceptions and the reader's mileage, as always, may vary.

Back in the 1980's horror role-play gaming was a barely acknowledge sub-set of the RPG hobby as a whole. Only a few such games existed; Call of Cthulhu, Chill, Stalking the Night Fantastic (now Bureau 13).a few others, were even available. During those paranoid `Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons' days, playing games that so obviously courted the dark side of human nature was just asking for trouble.

I feel nothing but pity for those poor spiky haired, members only jacket wearing youths that tried to explain exactly what `a cthulhu' was to their parents. It is an interesting note that the decade that brought us `splatter punk' in horror fiction brought the RPG industry serious amounts of self censure and apologetic behavior.

Not knowing the meaning of the word censorship, one game back then really picked up the horror banner and ran with it. Creating quality content and raising the standard not only for horror, but the RPG industry in general, Call of Cthulhu certainly wasn't for everyone. The earliest editions of the game were set only in the 1920's, a time not very familiar to most RPG fans, and featured a setting created by a relatively obscure horror writer (this of course has changed and old H.P. has become much better known).

Nonetheless, the game drew an impassioned group of followers and Chaosium was a vital and quality RPG manufacturer. By the close of the 80's Call of Cthulhu had lain the groundwork for the horror RPG.

As we all know the 1990's was a renaissance for the genre. Horror games of various stripes abounded, even the normally slow to action TSR put out its Ravenloft setting.. The clear leader of the pack (pun only slightly intended) was White Wolf. Not only did they re-invent several old chestnuts (vampires, werewolves and witches.oh my!) but also did the gaming world a tremendous boon by attracting non-gamers of various stripes into the fold.

Additionally, they were innovative in the organization of live action events. While LARPs were going on loooooong before White Wolf started adapting their games to the style, the Wolf did it well and they did it large scale.

Other companies tried different takes on the genre, SJ Games had `In Nomine', Palladium game it a shot with 'Nightbane' and GDW produced the ill fated `Dark Conspiracy' line. Things were hopping and as the collectible card game money flowed in a lot of companies seemed ready to try new things.

But by the end of the 90's, when the CCG market finally hit the ceiling and then shrank, the industry as a whole seemed to beat a retreat. Many good (and thankfully, not-so-good) games and companies died off due to attrition. Even the pace of the bastion of the Outer Gods, Chaosium seemed to be faltering. Things seemed a bit bleak for the horror RPG.

Fortunately, Pagan Publishing had different ideas and out of a mix of governmental paranoia and extra dimensional horror, Delta Green was born. This seemed to tie in with the particular zeitgeist, as shortly there after other games and game supplements with themes of conspiracy and horror appeared all over the place. Pagan got there first though and did so with style and substance. Once again it looked like Mighty Cthulhu had plans for the horror RPG.

The 2000's once again look like an exciting time for the RPG industry. Things like increased ease of self-publication and distribution, the open gaming license and a wealth of new systems and ideas have really seemed to energize the community. Naturally what is good for the group as a whole is good for the sub-sets of the group as well.

It's a good time for the horror RPG, some of the `old school' publishers are trying new things and the innovators are still at it. The Internet is a hotbed of ideas, scenarios, homebrew rule sets and plain old good advice. Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror are all over the various and sundry entertainment media. I suggest you grab your dice, your pen, your cross and your gun because something big might be coming.

Topics	Author	Date	Latest Reply
Scary v.s. cliche (1) new	Lugaru	11-25-2002 05:36	11-25-2002 05:36 new
You're kidding, right? (2) new	Dan	07-02-2002 20:20	07-10-2002 01:27 new
Evil vs Alien vs Bad (3) new	theghost	08-29-2001 15:46	07-10-2002 01:34 new
Faceless can be good... (5) new	Levekius	08-29-2001 07:26	08-31-2001 21:46 new
Horroe vs. Gore (2) new	Mungo	08-29-2001 06:50	08-29-2001 12:37 new
could be a long thread... (5) new	Eoin Murphy	08-29-2001 01:48	04-27-2002 17:17 new
Small Fish in a Big Pond (2) new	John Morrow	08-28-2001 19:46	08-29-2001 08:18 new
Horrible GM (4) new	Fandango	08-28-2001 14:20	08-29-2001 08:12 new
Deep Rising (5) new	Mithras	08-28-2001 13:58	08-29-2001 10:55 new
Nastybad goblins (21) new	Dan Davenport	08-28-2001 13:45	11-25-2002 05:11 new
Kult (1) new	Matt C.	08-18-2001 01:36	08-18-2001 01:36 new
Horror vs. Terror (4) new	Wyvern	07-31-2001 23:21	08-18-2001 01:23 new
Question on "Horror" (2) new	Meltdown	07-23-2001 09:45	07-23-2001 09:46 new
A question for all you "horror" experts (14) new	Meltdown	07-23-2001 09:31	09-02-2001 02:40 new
Another fear? (5) new	David	07-13-2001 23:12	07-26-2001 04:25 new
BTW thanks (1) new	Matt C.	07-13-2001 20:03	07-13-2001 20:03 new
Some points (5) new	Theophagos	07-12-2001 03:38	07-13-2001 19:47 new
White-Wolf doesn't do horror anymore (21) new	David	07-11-2001 22:20	03-12-2004 11:52 new
A very short piece. (2) new	Craig Oxbrow	07-11-2001 15:25	07-13-2001 19:51 new
Talking (5) new	Matt C.	06-16-2001 19:12	07-01-2001 09:45 new
Does redemption negate personal horror? (5) new	morgue	06-14-2001 18:35	07-13-2001 19:55 new
Innovation Part 2, Classes for D20 Cthulhu (13) new	Quixdraw	06-14-2001 13:47	08-29-2001 00:50 new
Lesser-known games. (14) new	Graham MacLean	06-14-2001 09:30	06-29-2002 10:34 new
What is horror? (3) new	Theophagos	06-14-2001 04:02	08-29-2001 00:47 new
How can Kult be bypassed? (21) new	Joonas Laakso	06-14-2001 00:46	07-02-2002 19:26 new
Innovation, CALL OF CTHULHU D20-- Opinions? (20) new	Quixdraw	06-14-2001 00:29	11-21-2005 09:10 new
And the rest.. (2) new	Godfather Punk	06-13-2001 13:37	06-13-2001 14:01 new
Ah, yes. . . (11) new	Scott a. Smith	06-13-2001 11:08	07-11-2001 14:44 new
Horror is not a genre (49) new	Greg Chatham	06-13-2001 09:23	11-25-2002 05:30 new
In Nomine? (12) new	FXR	06-13-2001 08:38	08-29-2001 07:26 new

Phobia: Horror in gaming

Don't Mind the Dark

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Phobia: Horror in gaming Don't Mind the Dark Matt Cowger June 13, 2001	Hello, come on inside, don't mind the dark. Storm knocked the power out.. Welcome to Phobia, my column about the horror genre, horror RPGs and adding elements of terror to just about any other RPG out there. To begin with, I'd like to give a bit of a micro-historical overview of the horror RPG. Admittedly this is biased according to my taste and perceptions and the reader's mileage, as always, may vary. Back in the 1980's horror role-play gaming was a barely acknowledge sub-set of the RPG hobby as a whole. Only a few such games existed; Call of Cthulhu, Chill, Stalking the Night Fantastic (now Bureau 13).a few others, were even available. During those paranoid `Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons' days, playing games that so obviously courted the dark side of human nature was just asking for trouble. I feel nothing but pity for those poor spiky haired, members only jacket wearing youths that tried to explain exactly what `a cthulhu' was to their parents. It is an interesting note that the decade that brought us `splatter punk' in horror fiction brought the RPG industry serious amounts of self censure and apologetic behavior. Not knowing the meaning of the word censorship, one game back then really picked up the horror banner and ran with it. Creating quality content and raising the standard not only for horror, but the RPG industry in general, Call of Cthulhu certainly wasn't for everyone. The earliest editions of the game were set only in the 1920's, a time not very familiar to most RPG fans, and featured a setting created by a relatively obscure horror writer (this of course has changed and old H.P. has become much better known). Nonetheless, the game drew an impassioned group of followers and Chaosium was a vital and quality RPG manufacturer. By the close of the 80's Call of Cthulhu had lain the groundwork for the horror RPG. As we all know the 1990's was a renaissance for the genre. Horror games of various stripes abounded, even the normally slow to action TSR put out its Ravenloft setting.. The clear leader of the pack (pun only slightly intended) was White Wolf. Not only did they re-invent several old chestnuts (vampires, werewolves and witches.oh my!) but also did the gaming world a tremendous boon by attracting non-gamers of various stripes into the fold. Additionally, they were innovative in the organization of live action events. While LARPs were going on loooooong before White Wolf started adapting their games to the style, the Wolf did it well and they did it large scale. Other companies tried different takes on the genre, SJ Games had `In Nomine', Palladium game it a shot with 'Nightbane' and GDW produced the ill fated `Dark Conspiracy' line. Things were hopping and as the collectible card game money flowed in a lot of companies seemed ready to try new things. But by the end of the 90's, when the CCG market finally hit the ceiling and then shrank, the industry as a whole seemed to beat a retreat. Many good (and thankfully, not-so-good) games and companies died off due to attrition. Even the pace of the bastion of the Outer Gods, Chaosium seemed to be faltering. Things seemed a bit bleak for the horror RPG. Fortunately, Pagan Publishing had different ideas and out of a mix of governmental paranoia and extra dimensional horror, Delta Green was born. This seemed to tie in with the particular zeitgeist, as shortly there after other games and game supplements with themes of conspiracy and horror appeared all over the place. Pagan got there first though and did so with style and substance. Once again it looked like Mighty Cthulhu had plans for the horror RPG. The 2000's once again look like an exciting time for the RPG industry. Things like increased ease of self-publication and distribution, the open gaming license and a wealth of new systems and ideas have really seemed to energize the community. Naturally what is good for the group as a whole is good for the sub-sets of the group as well. It's a good time for the horror RPG, some of the `old school' publishers are trying new things and the innovators are still at it. The Internet is a hotbed of ideas, scenarios, homebrew rule sets and plain old good advice. Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror are all over the various and sundry entertainment media. I suggest you grab your dice, your pen, your cross and your gun because something big might be coming.