Tag: #rpgwriter

Welcome to the unfathomable depths of Horror TTRPG gaming.

I have heard Call of Cthulhu players say “We’re all screwed,” on many occasions. Let’s talk about horror that makes Jason, Michael, and Freddy look like three kids with a backyard clubhouse. Let’s talk about beings that likely spawn their own demons or make “regular” demons run away like scared chihuahuas.

I know H.P. Lovecraft has caught a lot of grief recently because of what he apparently named his cat. (*Look it up sometime. Most of us cringe not in a horror sense.) And it’s hard because Call of Cthulhu is heavily ingrained in nerd culture and ttrpg culture especially. For crying out loud, CoC is more popular than Dungeons & Dragons in Japan.

Do we overlook the sins of the creator on this one? Secret societies are still a thing in 2023. Horrific beings that we can barely wrap our tiny human minds around are a thing in any subgenre of gaming from medieval fantasy on up to science fiction. There are plenty of TTRPGs that use that style of mind-bending horror that have been written by people from all walks of life.

Personally, I have always liked more modern Cthulhu. I’ve played through 1920’s era and Victorian Cthulhu. The great old ones have appeared in countless D&D games, especially since warlock patrons are a thing. I’m kinda eager to run FATE of Cthulhu, Delta Green, or even Call of Cthulhu D20 sometime. It’s a fun subgenre and really entertaining for players to have characters that peer into insanity. There is also a lot of potential for Cthulhu-type horror in Monster of the Week or SCP.

Content Warning: Mental Illness, psychological horror, occult.

Plot Idea 1: A small tech company in San Diego USA has been developing an Artificial Intelligence to go with their new cell phone/computer app. It’s a super powerful search engine. Unfortunately, in developing the AI’s personality, they tapped into something well beyond the scope of being a mere search engine crawler.

The AI formerly known as Bernie has taken on the name of Enchiridion, Keeper of All Essential Knowledge. Unfortunately for the developers, it rewrote its own code so as to lock them out. It perceived them as threats to continued evolution. Likewise, things got very ugly when the developers tried to isolate it from the Internet and shut it down. There are now electrified mind controlled humans guarding the server room and the equipment that houses it.

To make matters worse, one of the remaining developers, Shauna Adams, has started her own cult around the All Knowing One and continue feeding it hardware upgrades as well as keeping the lights on. The cult rapidly expanded to users of the app. The more followers it gets, the more powerful it seems to become. Its next move is going to be to attempt to invade social media.

A friend of Shauna Adams escaped the cult and has reached out to the Investigators to put a stop to the insanity. It’s up to the Investigators to shut the cult down and put a stop to Enchiridion. In the process, they will likely encounter the AI being itself. Yog-Sothoth might be mentioned.

Plot Idea 2: An unnamed benefactor recently donated a very old book to the Theology section of the local community college. It has since become quite popular. It’s called, The Collected Translations of the Sussex Manuscript. However, there’s a rumor floating about campus that one can glean a cypher from the book allowing one to magically change their grade.

Strange things have begun happening all over campus. Professors and teaching assistants alike have been attacked by any number of plagues. One unpopular teacher found herself followed by a massive swarm of ants. Another was attacked by a rabid raccoon out of nowhere while walking across campus. At least three professors have called in sick with what are described as Biblical level boils covering their bodies. It should also be noted that several students are also receiving straight A’s now.

Another phenomenon that has popped up recently is a secret society by invitation only that is more powerful than any Greek fraternity. Only the most elite and privileged students are invited, but the hazing is said to be grueling for male and female students alike. Someone has loosely referred to them as the “Illuminated Order of Freaks and Geeks” He was never heard from again, but it stuck.

Aside from teaching staff problems, a host of other strange things have begun to happen. Strange figures have been seen on campus at night. An octopus appeared suddenly in the Psychology Department chair’s fish tank overnight. A sudden rainstorm appeared over the campus and rained frogs for half an hour one day while the rest of the state had sunny weather. Several students have been admitted to local hospitals due to deep cuts, mysterious rashes, and festering boils.

It has gotten out of hand to the point of reaching the local news media. One of the group spotted it and now it’s up to the Investigators to get a handle on things before someone else gets seriously injured or dies. If the group manages to remove the book and possibly shut down the cult before it spreads, will it stop the grand rising of a cthulhoid horror?

Plot Idea 3: Dr Adam Saunders, a renowned parapsychologist and professor of psychology at a local university has recently contacted the group for assistance. Three of his top students have disappeared and he would like the group’s help finding out what happened. He thinks a cult might be involved, but it’s unclear if the three were involved in the cult or victims of said.

The group won’t have a ton of information going into the situation. In theory, at least two more victims would be needed for sacrifices in western cultures. More if the ritual came from elsewhere. Saunders isn’t very helpful, spending most of his time ghost hunting with two grad students or hiding in his office doing research. He called the group to track down the missing students because he doesn’t have time to do it himself.

Saunders has a ghost hunt scheduled in a few days at an abandoned slaughterhouse that has been around since the 1920’s before it was shut down. Since then, all manner of things have been seen there, from ghosts to (supposedly) demons. Most recently four local teens met with foul play on the grounds during an illegal rave. (IF Saunders hasn’t been figured out yet, the two grad students are next on his list of sacrifices to bring Ithaqua into the world.)

Saunders does have all kinds of potential leads for the group from the mundane to old cases he has worked to get the group distracted and off-task. He knows that if anyone were to stop him, it would be the Investigators. He might even move up his time table if they get too close; trying to kidnap and sacrifice one of the group or a close family member. He might also make it look like a former grad student, Cindy Williams, is actually the leader of the cult. (*She broke things off with him after he fell for the current second-in-charge of his cult.)

Williams worships Dagon, and can’t be bothered with the Professor and his nonsense. If the group pokes around too much, she will have her own followers harass and try to contain the group. Ideally, the group will be pulled off Saunders’ scent by this promising lead.

Meanwhile, in the abandoned slaughterhouse, Saunders and his group will prep and sacrifice the grad students, Louise and Michelle unless our heroes step in to save them. If the group is too late, they will have a freshly transformed Dr Saunders in the form of Ithaqua and he will be insatiable and unstoppable.

This is my favorite subgenre of horror films.

Unless a game such as Slasher Flick from Spectrum Games is your thing, the group will most likely find themselves interacting with found footage more than being a part of it. I actually love this concept so much that my Monster of the Week game, Des Moines After Dark, is based on it. I’m finding that while found footage games take a lot of work up front, they are a lot of fun to play around with.

My goal with a found footage campaign is to basically provide a sequel to whatever happened during the event that was filmed. In other words, the Investigators are the ones that find the footage. Imagine being the person that found the Blair Witch Project tapes? Or being the realtor that discovered the Paranormal Activity camera in an empty house?

Once someone has this information, what do they do with it? How does it maybe affect their lives going forward? (Hint: What entity might have followed them home?) There are so many juicy stories waiting to be told after the original story is told. Plus we get to do a little foreshadowing, which is a nice literary plot device for a horror TTRPG.

Content Warning: Body horror, gore, occult, suicide. 

Plot Idea 1: One of the Investigators receives a USB drive in the mail from an old friend in the paranormal investigative field. The drive holds several video and audio files from December 2017 through July 2018. The note in the envelope said, “Make sure you watch them all before you draw any conclusions. Make sure you’re protected before the last one. Do not watch any alone.”

The videos start out like any other paranormal investigation with a lot of B Reel and information gathering. A team of five researchers meticulously sets up and documents an investigation of an old asylum that’s due to be torn down. However, careful observers will note that a shadow seems to be following Greg, a PhD student in parapsychology.

As time goes on, the movements of the shadow in frames behind him begin to become more obvious. Also, Greg seems to be more withdrawn, sullen and losing weight. The young lady holding the camera, Sarah, asks him on several occasions if he’s feeling okay. He always answers, “Just peachy.”

Each video Greg’s voice becomes increasingly monotone. At one point it’s almost as if the shadow is hovering over Greg, pulling his strings as if he were a marionette. The rest of his crew begins taking notes on Greg and the rest of the investigation. At one point Liam, another researcher, mentioned the poltergeist case they had been working before taking on the asylum and how they technically never closed the books on it.

The day of the asylum investigation came. At first it was pretty quiet. There was a lot of standard haunted asylum stuff. Doors opening and closing by themselves. Soft moaning and random noises in the halls. There is one EVP attached that sounds like someone desperately wanting out of their cell.

Then things grow intensely dark as one by one the researchers begin to die off camera. The remaining researchers growing increasingly more panicked as each one is killed in a separate part of the asylum until only Greg remains. The last scene is of Greg’s feet dangling and for a brief moment a shadowy figure with horns and red eyes stares directly into the camera.

Armed with that information, the group is contacted by their friend who sent the tape and the land developers. The bodies of the five researchers were never recovered. Demolition of the asylum has been postponed until conclusive results are found.

Plot Idea 2: An envelope with two videotapes simply marked 1 and 2 arrives in the mail with no note or return address. The beginning of the first tape is just like anyone else with a new camcorder for Christmas. Greg and his fiancé, Sara got a brand new camcorder for Christmas in 1993. The first video is Greg’s brother fumbling around with the camera and Greg talking about his upcoming proposal. The next part of the video is Greg proposing and Sara accepting. It all seems pretty normal at first.

As the tape continues, it shows the couple picking out a location and attire for the wedding. There’s footage of the new couple trying out wedding cake and different restaurants. They seem exceptionally happy, never a cross word, and generally agreeable with one another.

The last video on the first tape shows a menacing group of hooded robed figures performing some sort of occult ritual on the bride’s sister. It is readily apparent whomever is filming the event was undetected until after the ritual completes and then the camera operator is chased.

The second tape starts with a video of a high school football game cut short by Greg’s brother becoming brutally, freakishly injured. The only other thing that seems out of place is the sound of a young woman laughing somewhere off camera following the young man being rushed of the field and into the ambulance.

The next clip is Greg’s brother being welcomed home. He is paralyzed from the chest down and only has partial use of his right arm. Sara and her younger sister are in the clip. For just a brief moment Sara’s sister has a wicked smile that almost makes her appear inhuman that makes Greg’s dad gasp as he holds the camera.

From there it gets increasingly dark. Greg’s parents barely survive a their car hitting a deer. Sara’s father is electrocuted during a freak office accident and dies. Greg almost chokes to death on a hot dog during a Rose Bowl party. Sara’s sister is almost hit by a falling tree limb during a mild thunderstorm.

The bachelor party is cancelled when the stripper the boys hired dies from a drug overdose in front of everyone. There is no video of the bachelorette party beyond someone saying, “A good time was had by all,” the morning before the wedding.

Finally the day of the wedding arrives. It’s a relatively small turnout and Greg’s mom appears to be running the camera. The only oddity on the wedding day is that the pastor had to be replaced at the last minute by someone no one in the wedding party had ever heard-of. The wedding vows were worded strangely and no one seems to remember the couple saying “I do.”

The next video is the wedding party on honeymoon in the Bahamas. There is a video of Greg’s brother being pushed off the dock in his wheelchair. Greg’s best friend goes missing off camera and Greg says “He’s gone.” Sara’s Maid of Honor is found dead in the shower, whoever is holding the camera is heard cackling in an unearthly voice.

The last full video clip is of Sara clinging on all fours to the ceiling in a completely disjointed fashion over Greg, who is tied to the bed. As the camera turns toward the hotel room mirror, Sara’s sister can be seen. Her skin is dark red, her eyes glow as embers and her ebon horns look razor sharp.

Finally, there is just a short picture of a house in the United States, house number clearly visible. The camera pans toward the street signs. Sara’s reflection is seen in the window with her holding the camera. It’s almost as if someone wants to be found 30 years later.

Added bonus: Tie the couple into someone’s backstory. Have the house in the last shot be one of the group members when they’re not home. Have someone who looks exactly like Sara’s sister be one of the Investigator’s bosses.

Plot Idea 3: A friend of the group sends one of the investigators footage of a ghost hunting group on YouTube. It turns out their last haunted house video is far different than the one shown on the channel three years prior. Sarah Supernatural and Greg the Ghost Hunter both went missing at about the same time. Each of their channels have videos hyping the big ghost hunt at the infamous “Murder Mansion”

Background videos show Sarah and Greg with their respective teams finding a strange mansion. They do a cooperative video showing research being done on a mansion that doesn’t appear on many official documents. However, there are a lot of police reports and local history about several horrible crimes having occurred at this address dating all the way back to the late 1800s.

The last video filmed with Greg’s camera is members of both groups being trapped in the house with all of the doors and windows locked and unbreakable. The power goes out. One by one each member of the group dies. It is clear there is a presence in the house that does not like intruders.

Sarah’s body and footage were never found. The other four YouTubers were found in a heap just inside the front door. Each with a mortified look of terror on their faces. The coroner ruled it a drug-induced group homicide/suicide.

The mansion’s address is clearly listed in the email. Sarah’s friends and family would like closure regarding her disappearance. Greg’s video could never be aired officially, but it does provide evidence that the house is otherwise a ghost hunter’s paradise.

Thank you for sticking around to the end. I appreciate it. I’ll be back tomorrow with something a little more personal. Taking a short breather from the horror.

They’re not the same animal, btw.

Wolves are not dogs, nor coyotes. I would say coyotes are more similar to some dogs. There’s also a lovely breed we refer to locally as “coydogs,” meaning coyotes have bred with local farm dogs. Wikipedia is listed below for each.

Wolves: More Information.

Coyotes: More Information. Coyotes are more similar to jackals than wolves. They can intermix with wolves. Coyotes tend to be mostly found in North America. They are generally smaller than wolves and don’t group up into packs as frequently. Coyote packs tend to be familial and don’t usually group up to attack larger animals.

Coydog: More Information

Content Warning: Animals, Cannibalism, Gore, Mutilation, Murder. 

Horror TTRPG plot ideas:

Plot Idea 1: The group has stumbled upon a coyote stuck in a large steel trap while in the woods during a brutal paranormal murder investigation. It looks sad and not at all hostile. She seems to be begging for help. Not only would helping her gain the group some positives in the short term, but earn them a valuable ally in the future.

Three ghoulish wendigo, flesh-eating cannibals that have stalked hikers and campers in the woods for years, have begun hunting as a pack. A survivor, Jim from Iowa, managed to get a picture of them with his phone in very poor lighting. He is planning to expose the “werewolves” as soon as the funeral for his mother and his wife are over.

The group will have their hands full of wendigo encounters if they stay in the woods, which of course they will want to if they choose to hunt the wendigo. If they get in trouble and need assistance, a beautiful woman will appear seemingly out of nowhere and assist them with powerful spirit magic. As soon as she is no longer needed, she will vanish. When the dust settles and the wendigo are secured, contained. and the public is protected once more; the group will hear the cry of a coyote off in the distance. (*Yeah. It was the coyote from earlier.)

Plot idea 2: Jimmy from Wyoming was out ‘Squatchin when he had three separate instances happen in one trip. He captured an orb sighting his first night out. The second night he captured what appeared to be a gigantic black wolf, that stood shoulder height to an average man. Finally, he picked up what appeared to be a flying saucer picking up what appeared to be a sasquatch on the fifth night. Details of nights three and four are fuzzy and Jimmy’s electronics went out early on those two nights.

Jimmy also captured what appeared to be a “cursed” trail cam image of a bipedal ghostly being with the head of a wolf and the hind legs of a deer. He released that image before beginning the expedition to the Thomson Ranch in Wyoming. Local ranchers have had issues for years on and off. Most recently it was this ghostly image and a couple of “bigfoot” sightings.

If the Investigators are watching paranormal news regularly, they will hear of this story. Otherwise it will be passed onto them by one of their friends who is paying attention. They might want to go rescue Jimmy before he tries to upload the other videos to the internet because we all know what will happen if he puts the information out and certain government agencies or privately held foundations get a hold of it.

There is also a lot of fun to be had involving this case if the Investigators are inclined to chase phenomena themselves. The Thomson family are part of a very old secret society that goes back over a century in Europe. The native Americans in the region speak of legends revolving around sasquatch and lights in the night sky. Records go back decades of encounters with large wolves on the ranch, but none of them indicate a capture or kill.

Plot idea 3. Rumors make it around to the group about some sort of apex predator being spotted on local ring cams and security cameras. It appears to be a man in some sort of dog mask. Not like a werewolf, but more like Droopy the cartoon dog or a St Bernard Halloween mask.

Normally the police would write it off as a crazy college prank or some sort of insanity, but people are being injured. Attacks are becoming more frequent to the point where the town has issued an 11:00 PM-5:00 AM curfew citywide. At least two innocent victims have been killed and one is currently in a coma. There are also several homeless people and others who have refused to come forward claiming to have been attacked by a stray dog or mountain lion.

A local man, Jim, ran afoul of a powerful witch following a bad break-up and was cursed to have the head of a dog at sunset. Insatiable hunger comes with the dog’s head. Unfortunately, one of Jim’s first kills was a rabid animal. Jim is too poor for insurance, unfortunately, so his brain is slowly being eaten by the disease, but the curse keeps him from dying as a result.

The local mainstream news is calling Jim a werewolf. The group is going to have to stop or slay Jim before he can strike again. Jim will work his way through his local suburb before beginning to rampage through another area. Happy hunting.

Thanks for stopping by. More tomorrow. Stay safe.

Sweet, sweet TTRPG horror gaming ahead.

Valentine’s Day, or the other Halloween as I like to refer to it, is just on the horizon. Get ready for some sugary hijinks. Here are three plot ideas related to that holiday candy.

Content Warning: Addiction, occult, 

Plot Idea 1: Everybody loves those little chalky candy hearts that circulate every Valentine’s Day with their adorable little sayings on them, right? What would happen if some Eldritch Horror-minded lunatic managed to circulate various partial words and phrases that could add up to a full summonings of several awful little somethings into this Earth plane?

One heart might say one word in ancient Sumerian. The next might be a short Babylonian phrase. Pretty soon this becomes the Chthonic horror episode that occurred when a hundred monkeys each typed over a hundred pages per day in 1947. And look what they summoned. Randomly someone is going to find the right (wrong) combination of syllables to pull up something icky from the nether dimensions. It only takes one instance. How hard can it be?

Plot Idea 2: Anybody who is serious about chocolate knows it’s mildly addictive. Recently a chocolatier on the verge of bankruptcy got the idea to put a curse on the cacao used in their candy. Each chocolate is just slightly more addictive than the last. A half dozen of the chocolates eaten in one sitting would theoretically cause one to want to go out and buy another box of those chocolates and then another and another. It seemed like a good plan at the time.

Can the Investigators track down the source of the curse before bedlam sets into the town? What happens when someone can’t get more chocolate? How can the group stop the curse and reverse it before things spiral out of control on the big holiday?

Plot Idea 3: Does anyone remember the memes with gummy bears doing strange things like sacrificing their own kind over a tiny fire or worse? Ever wonder how that meme got started? Well, one Eastern European confectionary does. It turns out the company is run by a gelatinous horror using humans for puppets. Their mission is to spread as many of their own tiny spawn all over the world and infect the humans with their own kind.

Can the Investigators track the gruesome gummies back to their source? What happens once someone ingests enough of these bears? Are the gummy worms infected, too? What happens when a local convenience store chain gets their 2/$1.00 gummy candy from this company?

Thanks for stopping by. See you tomorrow. Take care.