Hello,
I finished reading Dead of Night a couple of days ago, and really like it. It seems like a very good horror roleplaying game, and I'm a big fan of the genre.
However, I was dissapointed by the scenarios included in the book. The ideas they present are typical horror stories and right on the money, but only the general Tension Ratings are mentioned. What about how the different ways of spending Tension Points would affect the scenario, or how the scenario would play using the different Types of Horror? It feels like a missed opportunity, and I hope this is something that's included in the published scenarios?
TTFN,
Yoki
Hey Yoki! We included
Submitted by Andrew Kenrick on Mon, 11/12/2006 - 09:43.
Hey Yoki!
We included Tension Ratings as a vague guideline as to how to pace the adventure. They're certainly not meant to be followed rigourously.
To be honest I hadn't considered recommending conditions for spending Tension - I think a lot of it depends on a group's preferences, so it might be a bit prescriptive to dictate it up front. Do you think they would help?
Tension Point Spending Options
Submitted by Yokiboy on Mon, 11/12/2006 - 19:41.
Hello Andrew,
I'm glad you replied, I've been checking in here regularly since I posted. I am really pumped about playing Dead of Night.
First, I don't mean tips on when to spend Tension Points during actual play, I'm referring to Managing Tension, specifically the list of circumstances on page 72.
Please refer to this post by Merwin over at the Forge. I know you've read it, and that Merwin is your partner in crime, but I think he touched on magic here. You should definitely elaborate on how different Tension Point circumstances/spending restrictions affect your published scenarios, it would be great!
Even better, how about dissecting a few more horror movies on your Web site? I would love that even more, then I could refer to your list and compare that to what movie's feel I'm trying to capture in my own scenario.
TTFN,
Yoki
View my gaming commentary in Holken
(Sorry for the delay in
Submitted by Andrew Kenrick on Fri, 15/12/2006 - 08:21.
(Sorry for the delay in replying Yoki - been moving house over here!)
I think you might be onto something there Yokiboy. To be honest, I hadn't included tension point circumstances as I figured that would be something each group would want to come up with on their own, according to their own preferences, but after Merwin's discussion of it and your comments it does make a lot of sense.
After all, each of the published scenarios does have a distinct style, and although all are pretty much schlock horror, they do play subtly differently, at least when I run them. I wonder if by changing the tension point circumstances in each this play can be encouraged and codified somehow.
In fact, you could chuck a couple of different tension point "setups" in there, to allow you to run the scenario into vastly different styles. Interesting.
What do people think?
Yes!
Submitted by Yokiboy on Fri, 15/12/2006 - 13:36.
In fact, you could chuck a couple of different tension point "setups" in there, to allow you to run the scenario into vastly different styles. Interesting.
That's exactly what I'm after! By simply discussing how a few different Tension Point circumstances would affect the scenario, and perhaps even what the designer or playtesters used and comments on how that worked out.
I would also like to see discussions on Types of Horror, and Mood, in addition to the already included Starting Tension.
View my gaming commentary in Holken