Murderous Ghosts

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Murderous Ghosts is a game from the mind of D. Vincent Baker. It pits two forces against each other: a young urban explorer, and murderous ghosts. The game has two players. One is the M.C., who provides the ghosts, atmosphere and reactions of a dark and ghost infested basement. The player is the athletic, young twenty-something who is going to discover that there are worst things than being lost when alone and deep underground. I played with a full physical set—little folio, sort of like … [Read more...]

Monsterhearts

Monsterhearts

I've only played Monsterhearts twice, both times at conventions in 2012. The story game from Joe Mcdaldno is based on the same rules mechanics as D. Vincent Baker's Apocalypse World. I feel a bit strange calling it "rules" since it feels far more like narrative guidelines that keeps the forward momentum going. Monsterhearts is described by its cover as a story game about the messy lives of teenage monsters. I can say with confidence that I've rarely found cover copy so succinct and yet … [Read more...]

A Year of Zombie Fear

28dayslater

When I was little, my nerves were unshakable.  I read and watched anything that was scary and age-appropriate (and quite a few things that weren't).  Goosebumps?  Had it covered.  Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?  Sure thing.  I wrote short stories that were likely ripped off from inspired by the Poe and Bradbury I was reading and the episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? I was watching.  The only time I can remember being scared by something I read was the topiary scene from The … [Read more...]

More Than Cheap Thrills: Keeping Horror Scary

kitteh-krueger: your antagonist should be scarier than this.

Call it horror fatigue. For those of who grew up cutting our narrative teeth on spooky books and scary movies, we can cite, reference and recite the appearance of numerous common horror tropes without ever having to bust out a smart phone. If you have one of the Children of the Genre among your players, they’re going to prove one of your hardest nuts to crack in a horror game. Follow me through a whirlwind tour of some of the top tropes many horror fanatics at the table have already seen … [Read more...]

Orpheus: Into the Maw

WODOrpheusLogo

Orpheus was the first time I felt confident as a tabletop GM. It's nine years old now, I still don't own all the books, and it laid the foundation for me sticking with the hobby. In White Wolf's game Orpheus, you are racing a clock. There are six books in the line, including the mainbook. The plotline for those books doesn't just have a timer, it has a detonator. In that respect, Orpheus laid the groundwork that would let me come to story games later on in my gaming experience. Story games, more … [Read more...]

Genre Invasion: Aliens, Zombies and Werewolves, Oh My

eric

I'm calling it now: vampires are on their way out.   Okay, let's be real.  Vampires will never really die (pun intended).  They've been enjoying a slow, steady burn of popularity for the last 30 years at least.  The combination of sheer horror and a monster who looks normal - or attractive - has ignited our imaginations for years.  The vampire mythology is loose enough that you can make nearly any kind of vampire you like (as evidenced by Whitewolf's Vampire: the Masquerade series). … [Read more...]

The Best Sixty Cents I Ever Spent (Plus Tax): Part One

deadyvol3

The Silver Snail is among Toronto’s eldest and most venerable of comic book establishments, and a frequent stop on my downtown journeys (partly because it is close to four different tea shops and two yarn stores, but that’s rather beside the point). Besides its huge selection of comics, toys, and memorabilia, it is also notable for the fact that it is entirely above ground! I love comic book shops, and one of the reasons that I love them is that they are usually in basements, attics, or, in … [Read more...]

Dexter: A Definite Addiction

E17TVa

Usually it's not a secret when I'm a fan of a TV show.  But there's one show that comes second only to Doctor Who when it comes to my fangirlishness; a show that makes one year seem twice as long when I'm waiting for a new season.  But I don't talk about my love for it very much, because it seems, well... kind of wrong. See, I'm a fan of Dexter.  I root for a serial killer. Do what, now? Dexter works for the Miami Police Department - homicide.  He's not a cop, though - he's a … [Read more...]

Scare, Shock, Gross Out, Entertain – Running a Horror-Themed RPG

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By the time you read this article, my friends, I will have gone through the ultimate test of a LARP GM’s experiences. I will have run a weekend that was almost entirely developed by yours truly. From the rules to the setting to the story to the characters…this weekend is all about my vision of how to run a scenario set in a Lovecraft-based setting. Even as experienced a LARP GM as I am, this particular event has had tons of challenges. It’s actually easier for me to run a game set in … [Read more...]

Fright Night: Mixing Fun and Fear

frightnight

Fright Night hit theaters last weekend.  "Ah, another vampire movie," you probably thought.  You may have also heard it's a remake.  What you might not know is that it's a great example of a good remake, one that takes the fun ideas from the first and makes them better.  Without totally spoiling the new version, here's a bit about the campy 80's cult classic, and why it made a viable remake in the first place. Rear Window with Bite The premise is simple: Charlie Brewster, a typical teen, … [Read more...]