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mooseofshadows
2010-10-02, 08:58 AM
Wow, it's been a long time since I posted in these forums. So much lurking.

Anyway, I've been working on a haunted house one-shot game for my roleplaying group to play on halloween, but I'm trying to come up with ideas to make it the best I can. Mostly, I'm looking for just small creepy fun things that I can do. I'm borrowing a lot right now from house of leaves and buffy/angel, but if it looks like I'm borrowing too much from either let me know and I'll tone it down some.

I'm just looking for little bits of help (though if you've got huge bits of knowledge to drop on me, please do.)

General Info:
Game play will take place in a mansion. The idea will be, once they're in, they don't go out (not really, anyway. There may be false exits (like they go to leave, run to a police station or something, and then walk in to find themselves back in the mansion). It's probably going to start out modern day, but I do have some ideas for time shifts to take place. I'll elaborate on those later. I do have some general ideas for creepy things I'd like to do:
1)The players may be stolen to different realities. Different time periods. They house may be in a state of disrepair, or it may be inhabited. They may all coincide. They may view/perceive one reality why actually being in another (for example, being in the decrepit future house and falling through the floor even though all they see is a properly functioning house with children.
2)There is one room which is a room of memory. The players enter it and view something that happened in that room at some time. It may be a memory from the family. It might instead be seeing them or another member of the party walking around the room.
3)The characters may become invisible to one another. One might become effectively unseen and unheard to the rest.
4)The idea is to separate the characters to make them have their own judgments.
5)There are pieces of the house that don't make sense. Hallways that go on too long. The staircase that goes forever upwards but only takes a few steps to get to the bottom (ala mario 64). The rooms don't always lead to the same place, and where they do lead often makes no sense. Doors vanish and reappear in different places. Windows show to different parts of the house, much like portals in Portal. Walk through one and you might find yourself at the other end of a room you're already in, or maybe just one identical to it. Windows to different times could also be common You might look through a window and see the side of yourself, or even just part of the party. Like, you see only yourself and not the party behind you, then you turn around and they're all gone.
6)Layered Realities ala Inception, where time may not pass the same way between all of them.
7)Fake-exit ala 1408. They're out, then find a door and find themselves stuck back inside. Possibly give some hints that something's not quite right.
8) Symbolism for the house will keep the timelines straight. I go into that later.
9)Someone, possibly “the housekeeper”, is still deep in the house. Only he can answer questions about it all. The true history, and all the house's ancientness. He exists just on the verge of sanity.
10)Posessions are totally possible. I could have characters start reading from a script (though I'd insist they do it dramatically) when the rest of the characters aren't sure what's going on.)
11)Players approach door to leave, hear bang, see sparrow flying at window. Then see black mass of hundreds of sparrows assaulting the house on all sides

History of the House
This is an area where I'm really lacking. I want to call it "the butterfly house", and basically have each timeline kept by life cycle symbolism. I'll list the 6 timelines here.

0) No buttefly symbolism (origin of the house) The origins of the house are pure chaos. Entering into this realm is to exist outside the physical realm almost entirely. This is complete sensory deprivation; no light, no sound, no anything. A feeling of weightlessness may occur in utter black, but the spirit of the house may actually inquire as to your presence there without answering any questions or really giving information, just increasing your turmoil. Exiting this place could take years, even if only seconds have passed in other dimensions. Exiting is also random and probably unexpected or something. The idea behind this is that the spirit of the house has always been there.
1) Symbolism: egg. The first occupants of the house. There is a reason the house is this way, and this timeline documents it.
The house takes on a very different appearance for this one; it's set in the middle of 1600s england, and everything in it is that style, though the layout is probably the same, for convenience sake.
2) Symbolism: caterpillar. Previous entrance of the house. There can be many, but one probably got farther than the rest. None yet have survived.
Exploration of the house by 1650 witchhunters. This is the home of a suspected witch, and they have entered to kill her.
3) Symbolism: cocoon. The present, or near it. The players may see themselves previously or things of that nature. Possibly another group of their friends or people known to them.
4) Future 1. Symbolism: Moth. Parallel to future 2, just an option. The worst of all choices.
All humanity has ended, the house is the only thing that remains. I need to work on exactly how it ended due to the house, but I want this to be utterly post-apocalyptic
5)Future 2. Symbolism: Butterfly. Parallel to future 1, just an option. The best of all choices.

The symbolism works basically in the way that they might see a carving of one thing in one reality and the carving might be completely different in the other. It's a way, once they catch on, to tell them apart. I don't have anything nailed down for the specific timelines, so help on that is appreciated.

System

I'm thinking of using old world of darkness system because it lends itself so well to horror style games (and I don't know new world of darkness), but anything could work, really. Suggestions as to that are welcome.

The only system alteration I want to make is called "sanity points". Basically, every character starts out with 10 sanity points. At any point in which a character can't deal with something that's happening in the house, the player might lose a sanity point (based on a roll, the mechanics of which I haven't worked out yet). Remaining sanity points determine how crazy the house acts (players with 9-10 sanity might only notice strange shadows or confusing rooms, but players with 2-3 sanity might experience rooms miles long or a constantly rotating house or something like that). So, pointers on that are appreciated too.

So that's about it. Sorry for just dropping all that on you, but thanks in advance for any assistance.

Shadowleaf
2010-10-02, 09:33 AM
oWoD doesn't do Mortals very well, to be honest. An "average" is a two, and since the DC's are designed for Vampires/Werewolves/Mages etc, humans fail at everyday tasks quite easily.

An angle you could pull are, that they are an expert/the best of something - the best swordsman from them middle ages, the best thinker from the 1100'es, the best architect ever to have walked the earth, etc. (This will justify a skill of 5, and the corrosponding ability score of 3-5). This might or might not make sense with the whole time thing in the house.


Other than that is sounds like an interesting idea. Have you by chance played Vampire: Bloodlines?

mooseofshadows
2010-10-02, 10:06 AM
I see where you're coming from with oWoD being bad stat wise, but what else is there? More than anything, I want to make them feel like they can die without ensuring that they will die (which is how i feel about the oWoD health system). I may allow them less stat points (maybe 5-4-3 or 6-4-3 for base attributes. I may also just make things higher difficulty, and I really, really like the botch system.

DementedFellow
2010-10-02, 03:19 PM
So let me get this right. You want the people to be normal humans and you want to incorporate sanity points? Why not use Call of Cthulhu? It's super easy to pick up and play. And the character creation is one of the fastest out there.

It is so flexible you could have a pulpy action feel or a scary dark escapade with horrible alien horrors.

I hope you look it up.

Tyrmatt
2010-10-02, 04:44 PM
Since it's my current baby, hit up the Unisystem and it's Witchcraft and All Flesh Must Be Eaten settings for wonderfully brutal and gory horror. Sanity points are pretty easy to bolt onto the top of it too. There may even be some rules for it in there somewhere.The norms also make great "average people" who are very very squishy :D

Otherwise, Call of Cthulu is the default for horrific madness inducing scares.